Death Knight (Full Guide)

Subject: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 11:55 am

Death Knight Guide:
-The Death Knight is a hero class, introduced in Wrath of the Lich King. A Death Knight is a hybrid class that mixes together both magic and melee to bring a devastating force to both the armies of the Horde and Alliance. Death Knights are effective tanks, damage dealers, and can devastate most magic users with their anti-magic abilities. Not to mention their ability to reanimate the dead! These former knights of the undead, are a formidable force to be reckoned with.
-This guide should walk you through the various aspects of the Death Knight class, from the novice to experienced user. The guide is broken into several different parts, and organized so that you can get to what you need when you need it. This is the starting point of the guide. If you need something else then feel free to return to this page.
-Death Knights are part of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. They require the expansion and a level 55 character. For more information about the requirements to unlock a Death Knight, how many you can have on each server, and more information see basics section part.
Death Knight Overview:
1.*Magic/Melee hybrid with emphasis on melee.
2 *Uses runic power and runes instead rage, mana, or energy.
3.*Wields two-handed axes, maces, and swords along with the ability to dual wield.
4.*Uses a stance like system called "presences" which switches the Death Knight from a primary damage dealer, to magic user, and finally to a tank.
Death Knight Strengths:
1.*Starts at level 55 with a full set of gear. Can get to level 57/58 through a lengthy but easy quest chain.
2.*Gets a free normal mount.
3.*Excellent anti-magic tank.
4.*Can easily heal self with blood magic.
5.*One minute cooldown on self-teleport to Ebon Hold for training, resupply, and quick teleporation to Azeroth (Eastern Kingdoms).
6.*Mixes magic with melee to create both a good brawler and magic user combo with lots of various skills and abilities to use.
Death Knight Weaknesses:
1.*Can not tank with a shield.
2.*Depends on runic power generation and rune cooldowns in order to deal damage, tank, and stay alive.
3.*Depends on active abilities to stay alive instead of passive defense.
4.*Can be complicated to play.
Death Knight Basics:
-This guide is designed to help you understand what the Death Knight is, why you should play one, what professions go along with the Death Knight, and provide an introduction to many of the unique mechanics that fuel the unholy warrior’s unique playstyle. All information provided is currently, from the beta and may not be accurate for the release. This is a multi-part guide so be sure to check back as we continue to expand not only this guide but our entire Death Knight guide as a whole.
-You may find some terms in this guide that may seem foreign if you’re just starting the game.You try our best to use as little gamer speak as possible but sometimes there are words that only the game utilizes. For that we suggest, especially if you’re a new player, that you check out our WoW glossary of World of Warcraft and gamer terms.
What are Death Knights?
-Death Knights are unholy warriors who fill both a DPS and tanking role. This means, they know how to deal the damage and take it. They have cannot use shields making, them the only tanks in the game who tank with two-handed weapons. Most of their damage mitigation is from their tough armor, their presences (see below for more information), and various abilities.
Pros on playing a Death Knight:
1.*Death Knights wear Plate armor, start at level 55, and come with a set of uncommon gear and get a set of rare gear from their starting zone quests.
2.*Death Knights use runic power and a rune system which is unique to the class and provides a new and interesting style of gameplay.
3.*Death Knights can tank with two-handed weapons and get free weapon enchants as part of their “Runeforging” ability.
4.*Resilient class with lots of magical abilities and melee abilities providing a dynamic combat style.
5.*Can pull enemies directly to them with an instant ability.
6.*Lots of abilities to take down casters.
Cons of playing a Death Knight:
1.*Requires a character to reach level fifty five to unlock, meaning you cannot begin the game as a Death Knight.
2.*Identity Crisis: Death Knights start at level fifty five, making them attractive for everyone’s first choice when they decide to make an alt.
3.*Cannot use a shield when tanking, meaning that damage mitigation is from the presence and abilities.
4.*Starting quest can be annoying if you just want to hop directly out into the world.
Creating a Death Knight:
-Death Knights require you to have a level fifty five character before you can create one. You may create one per server and they can be any race (though some racials lean themselves to the Death Knight more than others). You’ll also need the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. If you have a level fifty five character and the expansion then you’re ready to make one.

-Is it right for you though? Well, that’s an excellent question that’s also very difficult to answer. There are a lot of different factors to look at with the Death Knight. If you don’t have a character to level eighty yet (but do have one to fifty five) then you’ll need to ask yourself if you’re ready to give up on your longtime friend to start on something new. If you’re already the max level then you’re going to want to ask yourself if you’re going to be serious with the Death Knight. If you’re not going to be serious then it might not be worthwhile to start.

-A lot of classes require a certain psychological profile to really connect with the player. For instance, ranged DPS classes suite people who want to stand in the backlines and plunk arrows or fireballs to the front lines while Warriors are great for people who want to get right up into the face of danger. Death Knights mix a little bit of both worlds (but have a good emphasis on the later). They can pull enemies to them, send spells flying a good distance, and do a lot. They’re a mix of a lot of things and are easy to try out to see if you like.

-A good suggestion is to make one and take it through the starting zone. By the time you’re done you’ll have had a good deal of fun questing with all of the unique and high-tech quests in the area. Then you’ll be able to make up your mind if it’s right for you. Since you have to be seasoned with the game to make one you should have a good grasp on what you’re looking for in a class. The Death Knight is already leveled up a good bit too giving you plenty of things to try and play around with.
Which race you should pick?
-The Death Knight can be any race which opens it up to a world of choice. Each race has its own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to picking. Races can be considered both subjective and definite. Some races are “better” in that their racial abilities are superior to others as far as the class is concerned. However, the differences can be cast aside whenever looks or visual appeal come into play.

-If you’re going by racials then there are some obvious choices. For the alliance you have Night Elves with their ability to shadow meld which can often give them an excellent PvP boost, Gnomes who have Escape Artist, and Dwarves with Stone Form (which is excellent for tanking). Humans have the weakest set of racials, except when it comes to grinding for reputation. On the Horde side you have two very strong choices. The Tauren’s War Stomp (another great PvP and PvE racial) and the Forsaken’s Will of the Forsaken (which is also amazing in both PvP and PvE for the Death Knight) are excellent choices.

-Of course, if you like the looks of the Orc or Human then by all means make one. You won’t be looked down upon or be noticeably weaker than other races. They may have an additional cool trick they can pull out of their sleeves every few minutes, but you’ll be much happier with the look of your character. Remember that you’ll have to stare at it a good deal as you play it!
Choosing a Profession:
-A long time ago there was a high sense of self reliance on the profession that you choose. If you were a Warrior than you’d look down at Tailoring since you'd have no use for cloth armor. I mean, here is a big burly Warrior able to tank legendary dragons and he wants to knit in his spare time?! This is still true (replace big burly Warrior for big burly unholy Warrior though) but not to as high of an extent both in the current game landscape and as a class.

-You can choose Blacksmithing to get some awesome bind-on-pickup items (that is times that only you can craft for yourself and cannot trade to anyone else) because you use both Plate and a large variety of weapons. Engineering is also an excellent choice because it includes a lot of unique mounts and helpful items. Jewelcrafting, Enchanting, and Inscription are both heavy money makers and can allow you to craft very expensive items for yourself. Alchemy can supply you with tons of potions to make leveling faster and temporarily buff you up in instances. Though, it can provide an annoying stream of “hey, can I have a potion for free?!?!” spam from the random people in your instance.

-Tailoring and Leatherworking will provide you with a few useful items (bags from tailoring, drums from leatherworking) but beyond that will provide almost nothing of use. Gathering professions like Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning are all-star choices because these both make pure profit but can also be used to grind resources for another character.

-The cool thing about Death Knights is that they start at level 55 and not far from level 60 or even 70. With a little bit of patience you can use a Death Knight as a quick way to gain access to high level crafting without grinding through the first 55 levels. You can also use it as a pure gatherer to fuel your other characters crafting habits or your bank roll. You can also just choose combos like Engineering and Mining to make yourself cool gadgets. The choice is all yours.

-If you choose a profession like Engineering then make sure you choose its counter profession (like Mining for instance). Otherwise you may lose more money than you’ll ever gain (unless you expend a ton of effort) just leveling the tradeskills up. As of right now, Death Knights do not gain an instant boost to 250 crafting level so you’ll need to do a lot of backtracking!
Runeforging:
-Runeforging is a unique ability that Death Knights get that allows them to laugh in the face of Enchanters. That is, of course, until they need their armor enchanted. Runeforging allows Death Knights at a Runeforge to “enchant” their weapon with one of eight enchants that are gained as they level up. They will overwrite normal enchants but they’re 100% free and very powerful. For instance, the level 80 rune that you can forge into your weapon, “Fallen Crusader”, heals you for 3% of your health and increases your strength by 30% for 15 second. Pretty amazing!

-Runeforges are located in The Ebon Hold and in the city, The Shadow Vault. You can access the forges in Ebon Hold as soon as you enter the game while you’ll need to go through the quest lines to phase through until The Shadow Vault is open to you.

-I hope this guide helps you guys.
It's really long and very helpfull.Enjoy it and read it.Make it sticky if you wish.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 12:03 pm

Love this guide....death knight dont seemm very fun to play....there like a dark magyk pally

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 12:05 pm

Drew22 wrote:: Love this guide....death knight dont seemm very fun to play....there like a dark magyk pally

Yes, because playing a character like that doesn't sound fun at all.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 12:11 pm

uduandy wrote:

Drew22 wrote:: Love this guide....death knight dont seemm very fun to play....there like a dark magyk pally

Yes, because playing a character like that doesn't sound fun at all.

well first off (I) think pallys are a boaring class to play (I) dont think the deatknight would be very fun.
And (I) think this is (MY) opinion

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 1:07 pm

Nice Job making the Guide Smile

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 4:38 pm

Very very nice guide.

I am now leaning into buying WOTLK afro

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 4:45 pm

lazy 2 read atm.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 5:37 pm

DK is complicated to play. Soon as you make one, you gotta start making combo's since certain spells require a certain amount of runic power, however using just 1 or 2 skills of the same tree isn't good enough.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 5:52 pm

This guide is horrible, tbh.

What are Death Knights? "Unholy Warriors...?"
Retard, much? They're ex-Paladins that have had their specs turned about-face.
...but, there's too much shit here for me to sort through.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 5:55 pm

Min0rity wrote:: DK is complicated to play. Soon as you make one, you gotta start making combo's since certain spells require a certain amount of runic power, however using just 1 or 2 skills of the same tree isn't good enough.

No.
You start all the strikes going 1UH strike, 1B strike, 1F strike and keep continuing the rotation so you always have one active rune while the other regens.
Death Knights are one of the most simple classes I've seen next to a hunter.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 6:03 pm

Pretty cool guide. But DK's don't use maces, and you kinda misunderstood the presences.. + some other things Razz

But yea, cool Wink

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Thu 20 Nov 2008, 8:13 pm

Awesome guide. I will look into this to see if I should roll DK's after my warrior.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Fri 21 Nov 2008, 8:32 am

Weiss wrote:: This guide is horrible, tbh.

What are Death Knights? "Unholy Warriors...?"
Retard, much? They're ex-Paladins that have had their specs turned about-face.
...but, there's too much shit here for me to sort through.

WoWwiki wrote:: Death knight is the name of a class shared by several organizations of powerful necromancers. These orders share a few things in common, including riding horses with horned skulls for heads and many of the same abilities.

The death knights of the Second War were powerful undead necromancers created by Gul'dan to replace the warlocks slaughtered by Orgrim Doomhammer. The first and most prominent of the death knights was Teron Gorefiend.

A new order of death knights emerged during the Third War, in service to the Lich King. They were created from living and undead humans (and occasionally other races) who had been granted unholy runeblades, and most were former paladins who had forsaken the Holy Light.

Most were paladins, not all.

(Late post is late, and nice guide)

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Fri 21 Nov 2008, 8:34 am

NICE GUIDE!

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Sat 22 Nov 2008, 12:19 am

Jimmjim wrote:: Pretty cool guide. But DK's don't use maces, and you kinda misunderstood the presences.. + some other things

But yea, cool

Pretty sure Death Knights can use maces, both 1 and 2 handed.

No fist weapons or daggers, however.

I have a 70 one right now I'm working on.

Edit: Btw, this isn't a guide.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Sat 22 Nov 2008, 12:58 am

Dang dude nice guid i bet ur hands like burn of so much writing lol but still that was an awesome guide dude.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Sat 22 Nov 2008, 2:53 pm

Skulliedoo wrote:

Weiss wrote:: This guide is horrible, tbh.

What are Death Knights? "Unholy Warriors...?"
Retard, much? They're ex-Paladins that have had their specs turned about-face.
...but, there's too much shit here for me to sort through.

WoWwiki wrote:: Death knight is the name of a class shared by several organizations of powerful necromancers. These orders share a few things in common, including riding horses with horned skulls for heads and many of the same abilities.

The death knights of the Second War were powerful undead necromancers created by Gul'dan to replace the warlocks slaughtered by Orgrim Doomhammer. The first and most prominent of the death knights was Teron Gorefiend.

A new order of death knights emerged during the Third War, in service to the Lich King. They were created from living and undead humans (and occasionally other races) who had been granted unholy runeblades, and most were former paladins who had forsaken the Holy Light.

Most were paladins, not all.

(Late post is late, and nice guide)

sadly, nearly all of the paladins was turned into death knights due to the plague.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Sat 22 Nov 2008, 2:57 pm

Nice guide! Know i've learned a lot about Death Knights Very Happy

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Sat 22 Nov 2008, 3:10 pm

I can tell you this now and later i have my own server latest patch and some of the mounts capabilites (carry 2-3 people) are awesome. There is ne mount though i have to say about and the reason i say it in this topic is because it looks like a perfect fit for a DK. It is a skeletal dragon that looks like a dragon from kara instance.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Tue 06 Jan 2009, 3:29 am

this was a good guide for a new class. dont let anyone tell you different because they have nothing better to do than nitpick details. you should work on trying to create a pvp guide though because i think alot of people would be interested in that.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Tue 06 Jan 2009, 4:08 am

Spamming Obliterate is the easy way.

Subject: Re: Death Knight (Full Guide) Tue 06 Jan 2009, 5:15 am

LOL @ Not your guide

/cough "Gamespot"