Death Knight WotLK Talent Builds

[Tyveris]

Hey guys. We need your help. We are going to be updating our talent guides for Wrath and were hoping you could post your planned build for level 80 along with a short description about it. Also, if you have any thoughts on the individual talents, listing those would be helpful as well. Each person will be credited and we will keep track of it with our new contribution system (no details yet).

Thanks in advance for everyone who helps out.

[juventino_hero]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfmMqc00oZ0xZfMGh0rkrxqocou
21-5-45, 2v2 with healer mainly (though not bad for 3v3)

21 points in Blood for mark of blood, plus all the +dmg modifiers.

5 points into frost for toughness since DK's biggest weakness is snares and this will help ALOT with kiting issues, in 2's especially where it is not always so easy to switch targets. This works especially better with trolls/gnome for their snare reduction/root/snare abilities.

Only 45 points into Unholy, instead of the common 50, what your giving up in this build is reaping and 2 points into Rage of the rivendare, which is a nice but marginal DPS increase. however, i feel that toughness overweighs those small +dmg modifiers since it is more important to stay on your target then to do abit more damage when your on them but be easily kited away.

overral, very strong 2's with a healer spec (especially priest/shaman/druid, as pallies can give u freedom and have very high survivability themself so Mark of blood isnt necessary).

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfcMaMZ0xZfMGh0fkRgqofou
2's spec with a hpal/shockadin (wont work well with 3 because mark of blood is godly in 3's and toughness isnt really needed).

Same as above, except 4 points are taken out of Blood tree (so you lose mark of blood, and 33% in imp rune tap) and place those extra points into Unholy to pump up your dps some (reaping, rage of the rivendare).

i see this as the ideal DK/shoackadin spec, as both are EXTREMELY durable agaisnt melee, plus anti magic zone, a pet, death grip and a range of silences are going to make killing a pally a living hell for both casters and melee.

[afk4lifez]

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/deathknight/talents.html?tal=000000000000000000000000000305200 01300000000000000000002052003350231100531512031031 50


0/14/57

insane burst from two consecutive obliterates (possible due to 3 pts in annihilation)

blood strike - bloodboil - plague strike - scourge strike - obliterate 2x

also lich born acts like evasion for rogues, in addition to immunity to fear sleep charm

[juventino_hero]

dont know if this is a discussion thread, but felt i had to comment on the OP above's me spec, because id hate to see non-AJ posting members seeing this spec and using it...

your spec is HORRIBLE.

No virulence/unholy command/morbidity/dirge/impuruty.....yet you find points to max out Anticipation (5% dodge wtf), Necrosis (HORRIBLE for pvp), outbreak (pretty lucklustre to its alternatives)....and all this with 57 points in unholy. As Darren Hinch would say...SHAME SHAME SHAME!

[Windwalk]

Hey prorug, could you post a frost PvP build?

[Taiyoken]

How is this for Frost?

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcbZ0gxzhtdMGRAostfMG

I didn't take Runic Power Mastery because smart usage of skills should prevent you from running dry on runic power, and I don't see many cases where you would be banking all that runic power up, it's usually better to cast all your spells ASAP anyway - there usually is always a spell you can cast.

Imp Rune Tap was not taken because so many defensive cooldowns are taken that you shouldn't need the extra health (18 sec (or 21) IBF, Lichborne, UBA)

A thing to note also, is that with Lichborne, you become UNDEAD, meaning Death Coil can heal you, so I find that Rune Tap is a bit redundant here (because DC can heal you for about as much as Rune Tap)

Icy Talons tree takes too many talents to get.

Hungering Cold is the "lol I made your entire team trinket" button, with Death Grip, this is very possible.

Bladed Armor was skipped for Blood Plague and Merciless Combat. With the huge amount of crit you have for Obliterate, it might as well be a 35% execute, because it does a HUGE amount of damage.
With this Sigil http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40207 , Obliterate IS pretty much a spammable execute.

Frost Aura was taken instead of Acclimation, because Frost Aura gives 45 resist, while each stack of Acclimation gives 50. While Acclimation may be better vs lock/DK teams, the buff is also purge-able, which may prove useless in some team setups (I actually don't know what teams people will run, but if there's a lack of priests/shamans then Acclimation may be more viable than Frost Aura).

Unbreakable Armor is also a DPS increasing CD.

I'm not sure on the amount of hit rating people will be getting at 80, but if it's over 6%, then Frigid Dreadplate can be dropped for Glacier Rot.

Edit; 2 points in Blade Barrier can be moved elsewhere as well, that's kind of filler.

[afk4lifez]

dont know if this is a discussion thread, but felt i had to comment on the OP above's me spec, because id hate to see non-AJ posting members seeing this spec and using it...

your spec is HORRIBLE.

No virulence/unholy command/morbidity/dirge/impuruty.....yet you find points to max out Anticipation (5% dodge wtf), Necrosis (HORRIBLE for pvp), outbreak (pretty lucklustre to its alternatives)....and all this with 57 points in unholy. As Darren Hinch would say...SHAME SHAME SHAME!

i changed it a bit

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZhg0zhZfMGh0fkgeqocoux

is this one OK now, i really dun know much about DK's

[Taiyoken]

Don't get Obliterate boosting talents and Scourge Strike because they both take Unholy and Frost runes, and one will end up to be a waste of points to get.

Wandering Plague is amazing.
Blood Caked Blade is lackluster if you're not Dual Wielding
The only way I'd see Unholy Blight skipped is in a pve build.

You should get Corpse Explosion with all those Ghoul talents for a really big nuke (not sure if this was changed).


I'd recommend playing the class a bit, you can't just throw together random talents and hope for a good build.

[Dynimight]

Unholy: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jbNMqc00oZZfMGh0fkReqocou with 2 points to spare for rage of rivendare or unholy aura, depending on your team

Frost: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfcMacZGgxzI0dMGRVost

Blood: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jbNMqc00oZZfMGh0fkReqocou

Some of the specs/info in this thread already are really bad... :(

[Dynimight]

Blood Caked Blade is lackluster if you're not Dual Wielding
No, it's decent burst for unholy, and there's nothing better to get that early in the tree.
The only way I'd see Unholy Blight skipped is in a pve build.
Unholy blight should really only be taken for a pve build now that it's no longer a disease. It's not worth missing out on Mark of Blood.
You should get Corpse Explosion with all those Ghoul talents for a really big nuke (not sure if this was changed).
Corpse explosion is terrible.

[Windwalk]

How is this for Frost?

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcbZ0gxzhtdMGRAostfMG

I didn't take Runic Power Mastery because smart usage of skills should prevent you from running dry on runic power, and I don't see many cases where you would be banking all that runic power up, it's usually better to cast all your spells ASAP anyway - there usually is always a spell you can cast.

Imp Rune Tap was not taken because so many defensive cooldowns are taken that you shouldn't need the extra health (18 sec (or 21) IBF, Lichborne, UBA)

A thing to note also, is that with Lichborne, you become UNDEAD, meaning Death Coil can heal you, so I find that Rune Tap is a bit redundant here (because DC can heal you for about as much as Rune Tap)

Icy Talons tree takes too many talents to get.

Hungering Cold is the "lol I made your entire team trinket" button, with Death Grip, this is very possible.

Bladed Armor was skipped for Blood Plague and Merciless Combat. With the huge amount of crit you have for Obliterate, it might as well be a 35% execute, because it does a HUGE amount of damage.
With this Sigil http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40207 , Obliterate IS pretty much a spammable execute.

Frost Aura was taken instead of Acclimation, because Frost Aura gives 45 resist, while each stack of Acclimation gives 50. While Acclimation may be better vs lock/DK teams, the buff is also purge-able, which may prove useless in some team setups (I actually don't know what teams people will run, but if there's a lack of priests/shamans then Acclimation may be more viable than Frost Aura).

Unbreakable Armor is also a DPS increasing CD.

I'm not sure on the amount of hit rating people will be getting at 80, but if it's over 6%, then Frigid Dreadplate can be dropped for Glacier Rot.

Edit; 2 points in Blade Barrier can be moved elsewhere as well, that's kind of filler.
Looks good. I think 130 rune power is pretty good considering you have quite a few abilities that deal a lot of damage (or heal) and will be prioritized over frost strike/death coil.

Also, it might be worth equating DKs to mut rogues in some situations. If I save my rune power so it's at a constant ~80, I can dump it all when we CC something.

Interesting about the deathcoil selfheal, I didn't think of that.

[Krigare]

If a priest wants to spam purge acclimation let them go ahead. Dispel isn't cheap. I agree frost aura is better though.

[Taiyoken]

Corpse explosion is terrible.

If you're in Unholy your ghoul is going to have lots of health, and you can CE your own ghoul for like 6000+ damage. Situational, but it's better than it dying without anything.

I'm not really sure on the damage it does at 80 cause I remember doing this early in the beta, so if it's crappy now I apologize.

[Dynimight]

If you're in Unholy your ghoul is going to have lots of health, and you can CE your own ghoul for like 6000+ damage. Situational, but it's better than it dying without anything.

I'm not really sure on the damage it does at 80 cause I remember doing this early in the beta, so if it's crappy now I apologize.
I'm almost positive they've nerfed the damage, but I'll check sometime soon. The self explosion from shadow of death does hit for a lot I know.

[Maplestory]

Unholy: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jbNMqc00oZZfMGh0fkReqocou with 2 points to spare for rage of rivendare or unholy aura, depending on your team

Frost: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfcMacZGgxzI0dMGRVost

Blood: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jbNMqc00oZZfMGh0fkReqocou

Some of the specs/info in this thread already are really bad... :(

Don't you think instead of going 13 into blood, you should go 13 into unholy for dispel resist and shorter death grip CD? Talking about the frost tree.

[Mfdoom]

yo i leveled a dk to 73 on beta and stopped when i could make premade template 80 dk anf plyed it alot, i got very used to the class and was able to beat majority other classes and outlast holy paladins etc

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/deathknight/talents.html?tal=230500140300000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000002302322050201102501310231331 50

that was a build i tried out for a while, you can switch blood cake for desecration cause i didnt have that when i used it, its self heals, extrea ap/crit and runic power really helped, btw i also dual wielded to be that odd guy out who did that, and i did ALOT better then those who used 2h for some reason, it did really good sustained dps, had all the utility unholy has, and you can mitigate a load of dmg while keeping yourself healed well with rune tap. this was way back in beta so i dont know how well itd be now but im sure it would still work very well

[Dynimight]

Don't you think instead of going 13 into blood, you should go 13 into unholy for dispel resist and shorter death grip CD? Talking about the frost tree.

No I don't. There's a ton of discussion on this subject if you look at the Death Knight crash course thread that Faction started.

[afk4lifez]

This spec in blizzard DK forums i found

the person calls it "cheebo spec"

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=12661604021&sid=1

it seems like this will require high degree of micro/pet management, and constant monitoring of runes and runic power.

[Dynimight]

This spec in blizzard DK forums i found

the person calls it "cheebo spec"

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=12661604021&sid=1

it seems like this will require high degree of micro/pet management, and constant monitoring of runes and runic power.

That spec looks absolutely terrible.

The simple fact that he skipped gargoyle should be a clear sign that he has no idea what he's doing.

[afk4lifez]

well, gargoyle is pretty mediocre dps, non controllable, and has no useful abilities.

and u have to remember the fact that it costs 50 runic power to summon, and will drain your runic power to 0

[Dynimight]

Have you even used gargoyle before? It's the strongest runic power dump a deathknight has. The thing hits like a truck. Why do you think blood specs are getting it over their 51 pointer.

That spec relies on obliterate, but it doesn't get subversion, rime, or guile of gorefiend. Your obliterate is gonna crit for jack shit, and it's missing 24% crit chance.

All of your special abilities are gonna hit for less because you have no ebon plague, and then then they're gonna hit for even less because of all the damage you're missing from early blood talents.

It's bad.

That spec also has 2/3 in outbreak........................ please try to justify that.

[Steamboat]

This spec in blizzard DK forums i found

the person calls it "cheebo spec"

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=12661604021&sid=1

it seems like this will require high degree of micro/pet management, and constant monitoring of runes and runic power.

The only worse spec I've seen might be the frost spec someone posted in the "annoying stuff" thread. but by all means spec into this, I love free points. It's almost like this cheebo guy was thinking...how can I make the most ineffective build possible?

[Majy]

Excuse me for not actually looking into every spec listed here - any theorycrafting being done on a mostly frost spec w/ enough in unholy for garg & permanent pet?

I was thinking along the lines of picking up a wide array of both offensive and defensive frost abilities so you can play the "tank 'em til they break" game and then be able to switch to burst when you're ready for it..

Just curious if there's no way it will work due to mediocrity or whatnot.

[Steamboat]

Excuse me for not actually looking into every spec listed here - any theorycrafting being done on a mostly frost spec w/ enough in unholy for garg & permanent pet?

I was thinking along the lines of picking up a wide array of both offensive and defensive frost abilities so you can play the "tank 'em til they break" game and then be able to switch to burst when you're ready for it..

Just curious if there's no way it will work due to mediocrity or whatnot.

Looks like you are looking for the 21/0/50 build. I think that is the best mix of offense and defense



I'm thinking of trying this really offensive frost build out once people learn that focusing DK's is a bad idea
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZGtxthxdRGoAostbhG

[Dynimight]

Excuse me for not actually looking into every spec listed here - any theorycrafting being done on a mostly frost spec w/ enough in unholy for garg & permanent pet?

I was thinking along the lines of picking up a wide array of both offensive and defensive frost abilities so you can play the "tank 'em til they break" game and then be able to switch to burst when you're ready for it..

Just curious if there's no way it will work due to mediocrity or whatnot.

Honestly, I just couldn't justify a reason for going that deep into frost without picking up Hungering Cold. I suppose it could work for some comps, but I think you just lose too much for it. Frost also gains a lot of damage from the early blood talents, which you'd be skipping out on.

[Majy]

Honestly, I just couldn't justify a reason for going that deep into frost without picking up Hungering Cold. I suppose it could work for some comps, but I think you just lose too much for it. Frost also gains a lot of damage from the early blood talents, which you'd be skipping out on.

Hungering Cold is one of those "this can win the game" abilities, but I also feel like it's not a total necessity (garg can be considered one of those spells as well). Anyway, I had done almost no looking at the blood tree so thanks for pointing that out.

[Abeyance]

What's going to be the standard tanking spec at 80?

[Steamboat]

Here's a list of pretty standard builds you will see

Unholy/blood (w/toughness)
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfcMacZ0xZfMGh0fkReqofok

Unholy/blood (standard)
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfmMqc00oZZfMGh0fkReqofokb

Deep frost/blood
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfcMacZGxxthxdoGoVosu

Very deep frost/unholy
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZGtxthxdRGoAostf0G

[juventino_hero]

wtf were you thinking, I think this just won the award for worst build ever.

LOL

dw, for our sake, lets assume he was trolling

[Convection]

Undoubtedly going

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZhg0tI0doZf0GI0fkMxqocou

at 80. Every single good death knight ability in one build, this is going to own so much for a cleave setup with windfury. (lol 40% haste + desecration + lichborne + toughness + unholy armor + antimagic shell + intimidation on a ghoul)

[Steamboat]

Undoubtedly going

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZhg0tI0doZf0GI0fkMxqocou

at 80. Every single good death knight ability in one build, this is going to own so much for a cleave setup with windfury. (lol 40% haste + desecration + lichborne + toughness + unholy armor + antimagic shell + intimidation on a ghoul)

too bad you cant fit reaping in :( I don't like using weak ass untalented blood strikes all the time


This is an interesting build I came up with awhile ago just remember bloodstrike glyph inreases blood strike damage by 20% (chillblains lawl) then you got another 30% from bloody strikes and 15% from blood of the north.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqc0hsboZG0xthxzoGoA

you might have to use it in a cleave comp though

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqc0hoZG0xthxzkGoAos
same concept but going a little further down the frost tree

[Malacothdai]

Unholy/Frost Build

0 / 16 / 55

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZhg0tZfMGh0fkRxqofsux

[SlayersKT]

Well what about this?
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jf0GqI0IsbotzAZhg0xhZc

[Steamboat]

Well what about this?
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jf0GqI0IsbotzAZhg0xhZc

if your going that deep into blood get will of the necropolis.

[ratcho]

Well what about this?
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jf0GqI0IsbotzAZhg0xhZc

If this build was intended for PVP, it lacks some key talents.
Not picking up Bladed Armor or Lichborne is mindblowing to me.

I would also use Virulence for dispel resist as diseases are our bread and butter.

In sum, here's what i come up with for Blood PVP, PVE or levelling is different though.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfmMqI0IsbotuhZhg0zhZf0h

[Carecup]

I'm going to go Blood/Unholy for PvP, something like
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqI0IsfozzAoZfMGc0f


But then I was playing around with specs and came up with
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqI0IsfozzhZZfMGc0fkh0o

I think giving up DRW and Blood Gorged for Gargoyle and Ghoul pet would be a very good trade off. You would get the pet stun + damage from Gargoyle.

It seems like I'm one of the few planning on going Blood for arenas at 80 though. :(

[Deccard]

I'm planning on going blood, too. I'm just torn up wether to go slightly into Frost, Unholy or a mixture. May depend on my comps which are not finished yet.

[jones_]

removed since finding out shaman buffs dont stack with dks

[Roflade]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jbNMqc00oZZfMGh0fkReqocou

unholy heal spec to run with a healer/rogue in 2's

also for 3's.

only trouble i had deciding upon was 2h specialization or unholy aura.


also will have an ice/unholy or ice/blood spec for when duelspecing comes out. just like steamboat, its for when people stop getting on dks. ( and for when i can resil cap myself)

note* my specs are still un in the air until s5 starts. ill decide then when im not basing it on my pve items.... while i can get a great idea as to an educated guess about arena pvp specs, its hard to really finalize.

ill through my legitimate ones up 1-2 weeks into s5.

also, any word of if savages gears coming out prior to s5? or do i have to sit on my already honor point capped dk for longer :(

[jones_]

Undoubtedly going

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZhg0tI0doZf0GI0fkMxqocou

at 80. Every single good death knight ability in one build, this is going to own so much for a cleave setup with windfury. (lol 40% haste + desecration + lichborne + toughness + unholy armor + antimagic shell + intimidation on a ghoul)

Icy talons does not stack with WF sadly, that spec would work better without a shaman in a cleave team.

[jones_]

I love blood, and once more high end gear comes out I have a good feeling its going to turn into a popular build for pvp.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jciMqIhIs0RzzhZhg0zhZfMG

Big burst, great survivability, lots of anti CC abilities. I think its a great spec for cleave teams.

[Roflade]

I love blood, and once more high end gear comes out I have a good feeling its going to turn into a popular build for pvp.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jciMqIhIs0RzzhZhg0zhZfMG

Big burst, great survivability, lots of anti CC abilities. I think its a great spec for cleave teams.

oh agree'ed. but for right now blood sadly gets bumped to the bottom :(. def my favorite spec, i just with deathstrike healed for more as blood then it does now in unholy.

also the 51 pt needs a revamp imo. unholy is nice aggro for tanking, ice offers cc for our glass cannon spec( not as defensive as the blood tree or the unholy tree overall) and bloods just is lack luster. only time ive ever liked it was when i lagged out and it casted hystaria on me when i did my own.

[Ihqdaa]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jbIMZhg0zZfMGhzfkMeqofou

10 / 11 / 50 instead of 21 0 50

Why lichborne:

- no global, no rune or rp cost
- 25% miss
- Immunity to fear, charm, sleep, polymorph, hex and sap
- Can be used WHILE feared
- Sick DC spam on yourself costing only 20 rp with the glyph
- 30 yd on chains of ice
- The downsides of being undead can be neutralized with AMS

[Speedo]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jbIMZhg0zZfMGhzfkMeqofou

10 / 11 / 50 instead of 21 0 50

Why lichborne:

- no global, no rune or rp cost
- 25% miss
- Immunity to fear, charm, sleep, polymorph, hex and sap
- Can be used WHILE feared
- Sick DC spam on yourself costing only 20 rp with the glyph
- 30 yd on chains of ice
- The downsides of being undead can be neutralized with AMS

i like it alot, decreased snares + even more anti cc

edit: i would consider dropping two-hand weapon spec or maybe even blood caked blade to get unholy aura, its just too good to pass up

[Deccard]

Why no max Blade Barrier?
Wouldn't Rage of Rivendare be more damage than 2h spec+Bladed Armor?

[Ihqdaa]

Don't really know how so big chunk of ap increases your dmg and haven't done any calculations. But good point there didn't really put thought into those talents :P

I like the 2 rp from butchery cause a lot of times I have 59 / 39 RP and it generates a lot of RP over time, it adds up. Just a preferance here.

Unholy aura is also a preference just depends who are you grouping with, obviously if all your teammates have 15% already it's useless.

[Roflade]

if i findmyself grouping with a holy pali then i most certainly will grab unholy aura. but with a rogue ill be grabbing 2h wep spec.

[Hypé]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfmMqc0MoZZfMMIxfoMcqMcouo

23 0 48

23 points in blood that will give really good survivability whit rune tap and mark of blood.

and the 48 points in unholy for the dps ;) you can remove the unholy aura and put it somewhere else, thats your own choice I guess :)

[Convection]

Is it just me or is unholy TERRIBLE for dps? It feels like I can't kill a thing since everyone has 15-20k health, and that's only going to be improved with resilience and twice as much stamina on pvp gear. I think I'm going to be speccing blood for sure for arena.

[keke]

Is it just me or is unholy TERRIBLE for dps? It feels like I can't kill a thing since everyone has 15-20k health, and that's only going to be improved with resilience and twice as much stamina on pvp gear. I think I'm going to be speccing blood for sure for arena.

I felt the same, so i went frost and i'm destroying people. But it might be due to the fact that frost = burst spec and nobody has resilience

[Fayde]

Unholy does sick damage. Just spam scourge strike with all your diseases up.

[Convection]

Yeah, well either way I don't really feel good about how we're going to do in arena with this little damage. We may be forced to spec unholy cause of anti magic shell which means we're pretty much going to be useless against melee teams.

[Convection]

Unholy does sick damage. Just spam scourge strike with all your diseases up.

Still doesn't even get remotely close to the damage that frost and blood have.

[Fayde]

Still doesn't even get remotely close to the damage that frost and blood have.

Except that it does if the enemy has any kind of slow and can kite you, compared to blood that is.

[Tist]

you underestimate diseases too

unholy diseases tick for a fuckload more than any other spec, and that does add up

[Dynimight]

Unholy does plenty of damage compared to blood and frost. Wth are you looking at?

[Speedo]

What would you guys think about a 20/51/0 build? frost has some pretty ungodly good talents to choose from so there would be alot of variation, but what would be the ideal spec for arena?

[Convection]

Except that it does if the enemy has any kind of slow and can kite you, compared to blood that is.

TBH I don't think I'll need a slow in any setup that a DK would work well in. Mages and warriors synergize so well with us that they can do all of the snaring. Ret paladins did just fine in double melee 3s and triple melee 5s teams and they have zero snares.

[Feruswerre]

Why are Unholy builds going into Rage of Rivendare instead of going further down Blood for Veteran of the Third War and Abomination's Might?


Example: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqc0cobZZfMGh0fkhxaocou

[Fayde]

Why are Unholy builds going into Rage of Rivendare instead of going further down Blood for Veteran of the Third War and Abomination's Might?


Example: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqc0cobZZfMGh0fkhxaocou

No reaping in that build :/

[Feruswerre]

No reaping in that build :/

Okay, take Reaping. My question is RoR vs VotTW+AM. You can move the 3 points from Ebon Plague to Reaping because a build with Abom's Might will probably be in a cleave team anyway, no real need for the 13% spell damage.

[Arcturus]

In a melee team as you mentioned it would work better, but you sacrifice a Scourge Strike for an Obliterate every time you want it, unless you rely on a 50% chance Blood Strike to proc it...

[afk4lifez]

Is this spec good?

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jciMkI00oZhg0tu0zZfMGhofkMco

Description:

21/21/29 (lol)

may sound stupid but heres what i thought...

1. (frost) Lichborne is pretty much requirement so that DK does not get CC'ed. Also 20% haste (ouch) from improved icy talons. Might as well fill up the tree up to deathchill.

2. (unholy) Improved ghoul is also very important because it provides on demand leap+stun to prevent kiting and interrupt spellcasting. Requires pretty good pet micromanagement. Also include gargoyle for some impressive runic dump. Also, lower tier unholy talents are very important, since it helps disease rotation with longer duration, and gives dispell resist.

3. (Blood) DPS boost from lower tier blood tree. Rune tap is exceptional survivability. Invested points up until mark of blood which is another exceptional talent.

This tree also generates lot of death runes! Meaning all of your runes will be very flexible for which skill you want to use.

I could not find room to put points in improved anti magic shell. It is pretty pointless to put 1~4 pts in it, since it is either 0pt of 5pt talent.



Please rate and fix. Some of the talents shown here may be good on "paper" but not be practical.

[Fayde]

Is this spec good?

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jciMkI00oZhg0tu0zZfMGhofkMco

Description:

21/21/29 (lol)

may sound stupid but heres what i thought...

1. (frost) Lichborne is pretty much requirement so that DK does not get CC'ed. Also 20% haste (ouch) from improved icy talons. Might as well fill up the tree up to deathchill.

2. (unholy) Improved ghoul is also very important because it provides on demand leap+stun to prevent kiting and interrupt spellcasting. Requires pretty good pet micromanagement. Also include gargoyle for some impressive runic dump. Also, lower tier unholy talents are very important, since it helps disease rotation with longer duration, and gives dispell resist.

3. (Blood) DPS boost from lower tier blood tree. Blood tap is exceptional survivability. Invested points up until mark of blood which is another exceptional talent.

This tree also generates lot of death runes! Meaning all of your runes will be very flexible for which skill you want to use.

I could not find room to put points in improved anti magic shell. It is pretty pointless to put 1~4 pts in it, since it is either 0pt of 5pt talent.



Please rate and fix. Some of the talents shown here may be good on "paper" but not be practical.

Icy Talons sucks
You have Reaping and Death Rune Mastery (which sucks without heart strike)
Necrosis instead of Impurity

that's just to improve your build and give you some constructive criticism on it...then the fact that I think it sucks overall is another thing :p

[Final]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfmMqc00oZZfMGh0fkhxqocoux

Currently running with this build. Rage of Rivendare is 10% more dps. Not quite sure why everyone is picking up Toughtness instead I feel like there's several more options to keep people by me than needed 30% reduction on snares and a bit more armor.

Also, how useful is Reaping? I feel like I could just bloodtap for a chains of ice if I need to.

[Fayde]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfmMqc00oZZfMGh0fkhxqocoux

Currently running with this build. Rage of Rivendare is 10% more dps. Not quite sure why everyone is picking up Toughtness instead I feel like there's several more options to keep people by me than needed 30% reduction on snares and a bit more armor.

Also, how useful is Reaping? I feel like I could just bloodtap for a chains of ice if I need to.

People don't get toughness instead of RoR, they get reaping.

Reaping is a must if you go unholy in my opinion.

[Taiyoken]

I've been picking up a lot of dps offpieces with armor pen on them (I'm a 'main' offtank for our guild), and so the only spec I can really play effectively would be Blood.

I came up with

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jciMqI0IRbotuhZZfMGh0fk

Skips tougness for garg/shadow of death/bcb for a LOT of extra damage, although Garg/Shadow of Death/BCB could be placed into Toughness as I'm aware that this build has no snare. As far as teams go, this will probably be in a 3s/5s cleave team.

And because badge loot sucks, I can't really gear myself with damage for unholy or frost. I suppose arp could work with obliterates, but with Frost Strike hitting so hard I'd think it would be a waste of stats.

[jones_]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfcMqI0IsbopzhZhg0tI0d0M

Im really considering this one of the better blood pvp specs, you gain so much utility. The blood talents are pretty basic for pvp, but the frost talents are what make everything mesh together so well.

The main talent that helps so much is endless winter, making it possible for a blood dk to effectively use his frost runes, adding 2 debuffs to the target and putting a disease up to help boost damage.

The filler talents also mesh with endless winter as well, having the increased range, procing icy talons, free obliterate crit.

The increased RP also helps when it comes to sudden doom ( deep in blood ), you end up being able to throw a lot of damage out from a full RP bar, as well as healing yourself with lichborne ( Id like to add that sudden doom procs are amazing to use on yourself with lichborne ).

[Abdoom]

Why take veteran of the third war in a pvp spec? wouldn't bladed armor be a better filler w/ toughness included?

[Arcturus]

Strength, stamina and expertise... not sure why someone would increase those in pvp either.

[jones_]

Why take veteran of the third war in a pvp spec? wouldn't bladed armor be a better filler w/ toughness included?

Ive done the numbers, and they are near exactly the same as of right now with my current gear in terms of AP.

[Speedo]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc0hoZZfMGh0fkRxqocoub

My current build, with the glyph my blood strikes hit hard as hell, what do you guys think of it?

[Malacothdai]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc0hoZZfMGh0fkRxqocoub

My current build, with the glyph my blood strikes hit hard as hell, what do you guys think of it?

It's my favorite build. I like to go 27 / 0 / 44 & pick up Abom. Might, but if the pet proves to live long enough I'll pick up 1/1 MoG & 2/2 NoD. Unholy + bloody strikes seem to be the perfect balance between killing plate, killing cloth, & defense.

[Pantophobia]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc0hoZZfMGh0fkRxqocoub

My current build, with the glyph my blood strikes hit hard as hell, what do you guys think of it?

seems good, but if you pick up reaping you can set up a burst with x3 scourge strikes(arena wise), but then again if you try to pick up reaping you have to go with something like this:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc00oZZfMGh0fkReqocoub
or, http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc00oZZfMGh0fkRIq0coux

depending on how good anti-magic zone will be in arena. Popping it on the healer or some ranged dps maybe? but yeah, the enemy team will always make you/team mates move out of it.
A really good anti-burst ability to save a team mate when getting gibbed tho, we will see.

[Pantophobia]

ohps, you can change the lower blood talents and lower tier unholy talents to pref, but you get the idea.

[Militant]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc0hoZZfMGh0fkRxqocoub

My current build, with the glyph my blood strikes hit hard as hell, what do you guys think of it?

amazing spec, like it alot.

btw, veteran of third war vs rage of rivendare?

4% str + stam vs 4% more damage while blood plague is, i know 4% more damage is better then 4% str obviously, but the str increases your parry (runestrike) and the stam obviously increases your health pool

also, 4 expertise vs 2 expertise, i'm unsure how well that'd be in an arena situation though, can't imagine it being very good

so you can choose:
4% str, 4% stam, 2 expertise
vs.
4% extra damage while blood plague is up (which will be most of the time)

it also goes without saying these 2 points can go in unholy aura if the team calls for it

i'll probably switch between them but im leaning toward veteran of third war, still undecided though

[Dynimight]

I would actually stick those 2 extra points in Night of the Dead. Ghoul is kinda squishy, but he's very important. Worth much more than that small amount of extra damage.

[Pantophobia]

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc0hoZZfMGh0fkRxqocoub

My current build, with the glyph my blood strikes hit hard as hell, what do you guys think of it?

Isnt impurity a really needed talent for dot damage or something..? :p
BTW scourge strike doesnt benefit from that talent aswell?

[Newna]

I was thinking something like this (mainly for smaller brackets), sacrificing some damage for maximum survivability/anti-cc. Any input?

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=0323021503000000000000000003052000100 000000000000000000230232320020115053101003100100&glyph=000000000000

[Lambda]

How important do you guys think Virulance is in comparison with Subversion for a Frost DK?

I'm leaning towards Subversion because Virulance seems so situational outside of the 3% spell hit, and I plan to cap melee/spell hit through gear anyway.

With the spec I'm testing, I can't pick up both of them, so I'm forced between one or the other. Just wondering what other people thought about it.

[Militant]

I was thinking something like this (mainly for smaller brackets), sacrificing some damage for maximum survivability/anti-cc. Any input?

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=0323021503000000000000000003052000100 000000000000000000230232320020115053101003100100&glyph=000000000000

ebon plaguebringer is ALOT of lost damage, i really wouldnt recommend not taking it for any build that is that deep in unholy

[Bigsalleyh]

I think deciding what spec is the best one is a hard assignment!
I'm personally leaning towards either
Unholy;frost (http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZhg0tI0doZf0GI0fkMxqocou)
or
Unholy;blood (http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc0hoZZfMGh0fkRxqocoub)

wouldn't the problem be solved by comparing the different speccs difference in damage and survivability? anyone feel motivated to compare them? To give us some statistics that is.
As the speccs are pretty similar, the issue is, of course, to determine whether frost or blood is the right tree to put those last 25ish points in,

[ammo]

what u ppl think about this build suggestions are welcome
for frost http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqM0f0bZG0xxILdRhoV0s

[Ihqdaa]

Going 3/51/17 frost:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcZGgxzI0dMGoVostfMGh0b

Didn't find runetap useful at all and I hate gimped diseases.

[Timoxa]

Ok i am now hesitating between those 2 specs:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcizqc0hoZZfMGh0fkRxqocoub

and

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=2305021503003010200000000000000000000 000000000000000000230232330023115000150003103100&glyph=090311040503

Basically its Rage of Rivendare vs Aboms might.
And reaping against outbreak and maxed impurity.

Basically question is: Viable pvp/pve spec for current state of talents.

Thoughts?

[Roflade]

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=0325021503003010200000000000000000000 000000000000000000230232300023113050141003103100&glyph=000000000000


abom/ ebon plague spec. have yet to see this up on the dk talents.

big burst with bloody strikes. less consistant dps. more for double dps and melee based teams.

[Follow]

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=0325021503003010200000000000000000000 000000000000000000230232300023113050141003103100&glyph=000000000000


abom/ ebon plague spec. have yet to see this up on the dk talents.

big burst with bloody strikes. less consistant dps. more for double dps and melee based teams.


I use a build similar to that for my 3s and 5s (3s is ret/dk/rsham) 5s is all melee dps

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=2305021503000310200000000000000000000 000000000000000000230232300023115200130223102100&glyph=000000000000

Works very well and I'm quite used to not having the death runes avaliable. It also has quite a bit of survivability and I have used the same build in 2s (resto/feral dk) with much success.

[Shortyx]

Going 3/51/17 frost:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jcZGgxzI0dMGoVostfMGh0b

Didn't find runetap useful at all and I hate gimped diseases.

Decent but take those 3 points out of blood and put them into chillblains imo.

[Urhiel]

Why would he? Chillblains is plain Bad.