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#1 2008-12-07 03:35:24
Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Introduction
We've now been able to raid abit and test specs for real against
raid bosses and trash. So I've decided to put up a small
compilation of builds to make it simple for new Death Knights to
get inspiration and help.
Quick notes:
For PVE dps reaching the hit cap will boost your DPS the most. So, reach the hit cap!(290 hit-rating, 9%). Also, instead of posting rotations I preffer thinking of our skills as a priority list. Expertise is another stat that should be capped, current cap is at 25 expertise. And I will assume that you apply diseases before thinking about what skills to prioritize.
Blood
PVE Builds - DPS
44/0/27 - Heart striking ghoul - This build is contributed by Creasehearst. Allows for perma-pet+gargoyle and utilizes the IT,PS,HS,HS,OB,IT,PS,HS,HS,HS,HS rotation.
Build
51/13/7 - Button-smasher - This build dishes out decent damage, but be wary, to maximize dps you need to use a rather complex rotation. Requires alot of practice. Comes in two varieties due to debated talents in frost. Skill priority: Obliterate, Heart strike, Death-coil
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMVh0IsbRtzAohxb0hZfM
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMVh0IsbRtzAoG0x0hZfM
50/0/21 - Heart striker - This build is arguably one of the few that has a real rotation: IT,PS,HS,HS,OB,IT,PS,HS,HS,HS,HS. Sadly, this means that you rarely will be able to throw any death-coils. This is where the gargoyle comes in handy, it will eat your RP away and you will not loose much, if anything. Note that this build is subject to change as of 3.0.8, gargoyle is being nerfed and corpse explosion are being buffed. Check for updates ;P
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMVh0IsbRtzAZZf0hhxck
PVE Builds - Tank
<I havent tried any blood tank builds yet.>
PVP Builds
44/27/0 - Burster - Euthia's pvp build. Has good burst and includes alot of utility talents from frost.
Build link
Frost
PVE Builds - DPS
17/54/0 - Bloody Killing machine - One of the post 3.0.8 frost/something builds. Should produce close to the same numbers as the build below. Focus rotation on IT to maximize dps.
Build link
0/44/27 - Obliterator - This build is what I've been running with after 3.0.8. The build is analyzed in greater detail here.
Build 1 or Build 2
PVE Builds - Tank
<I havent tried any frost tank builds yet.>
PVP Builds
19/52/0 - Arena maestro - (UPDATED) This build is meant for 2handed weapons. The build will give amazing control over enemies when played right. It can also produce good damage, and will give you pretty good survivability. The build is discussed further here.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfV0qcZGMxzGxdMGRAcsz
Unholy
PVE Builds - DPS
17/0/54 - Keep it simple - The build I leveled against. After raiding alot with blood build nr 1 mentioned above I sometimes found the rotation too complex. This in turn made me either focus too much on the rotation or on the boss tacs, both being sub-optimal. This build has suprisingly high single target and aoe dps. This is the build that seem to be working best for me. Skill priority: Scourge strike, death-coil, blood strike, unholy-blight
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMVZZfMhIxckgco0csut
0/32/39 - Dual-wield Unholy - Currently the highest dps build available for DK's. Killing-machine post 3.0.8: Go for slow MH, fast OH. Very good aoe through Howling blast and very nice single-target dps. Currently ebon plaguebringer and crypt fever stacks, so one DK with and one without will give 2x30% increased disease damage. However, note that rumors has it that Killing machine and stacking crypt fever and ebon plaguebringer will be nerfed next patch, this build can be hit hard, we'll see.(UPDATED)
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZG0ex0x … hxckxcq0do
PVE Builds - Tank
7/11/53 - Unholy immortality - Great ae and single target threat. For mitigation you have get Lichborne, Bone shield and anti-magic zone. Works great for tanking anything from MT raids too heroics. Keep Bone shield up as much as you can. This in combination with icebound fortitude makes you a rock, all tho healers might find you bursty. Also remember to spam out your blood runes to keep blade barrier up(+10% parry)
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=j0xMZhxb … coxx0ocsut
PVP Builds
10/11/50 - Duelist - I havent pvp'd that much since I reached 80. However there is two talents that I found very usefull. Improved death grip and bone shield. The build also gives fear immunity, in combination with icebound fortitude you have the possibility to become fear and stun immune. I've also found out that I do not preffer unholy precense for pvp but rather the small healing and huge damage boost from blood presence. This makes unholy aura very usefull both for you and your party.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfcMZhg0 … bkx0qMcoux
Misc Builds
15/37/19 - Tri-spec - Yet another spec I personally havent tried out yet. Rumors has it that this build will dish out decent damage, however supposedly under-par compared to 2hander builds. This build is NOT viable for tanking. Frost/unholy supposedly works better.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfV0VZG0ethxdRhoZfM0hxco
Further work
As you can see there is alot of builds still not covered. Feel free to post comments and specs to fill in the holes.
Last edited by denatus (2009-01-28 11:45:59)
Anyone who thinks the sky is the limit ... has limited imagination !
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#4 2008-12-07 04:11:57
- Baloth
- Guild Friend
- From: Groningen, Netherlands
- Registered: 2005-07-18
- Posts: 4000
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Completely agree with apox, that spec rocks.
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#5 2008-12-07 12:37:34
- Gogeta
- Guild Member
- From: Nakkila, Finland
- Registered: 2006-07-29
- Posts: 574
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
nice post, im in the point of having 51/0/0 in my DK, and have no idea where to put next points 
but this clears it up.
Frasieris - Warrior - TEO
"i know who i am! i'm the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude!"
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#6 2008-12-14 14:08:45
- Draken
- Guild Member
- From: Denmark
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 1912
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
In the next raid I join I will be trying out this build http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqI0IcboxzAoZfM0uxco it's simpler than the 51/13/7 spec in its rotation, and is far less dependent on bosses not moving and you don't have to achieve that perfect rotation that the 51/13/7 spec requires but will probably never get due to latency/misses/dodges
"You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind!"
"You got an organ going there, no wonder the sound has so much body!"
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#8 2008-12-17 19:17:12
- Draken
- Guild Member
- From: Denmark
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 1912
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
"You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind!"
"You got an organ going there, no wonder the sound has so much body!"
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#11 2008-12-20 18:58:02
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Trying a Tri-Spec DW build atm, and the singletarget dps is pretty good imo. ofc the AoE is imba aswell due to howling blast, but if it's raid viable remains to be seen as I don't have enough hit rating.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfV0VZG0ethxdRhoZfM0hxco
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#12 2008-12-23 21:01:26
- Euthia
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- From: Norway, Bergen
- Registered: 2005-11-08
- Posts: 1433
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
After some experience and testing with my last PVP build. I've decided to go for this:
UBER Spec to Kill all horde untill they die
I've basicly ditched Lichborne, toughness and rage of rivendare for Runetap and Mark of Blood. Mark of Blood seems pretty sick and I've also got some nice dmg talents along the way on the blood three
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#13 2009-01-03 00:26:29
- Draken
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- From: Denmark
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 1912
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Dual Wield Trispec: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfV0VZG0ethxdRhoZfM0hxco
"You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind!"
"You got an organ going there, no wonder the sound has so much body!"
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#14 2009-01-07 12:12:06
- Enimusha
- Officer
- From: Finland
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 6039
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
I've tried out some (like 15 of them) DW specs now and this is the one i found the best: Frost DW. Only thing missing from this spec is the aggro reduction from Blood tree, but with the current threat generation of our tanks, i havent found it to be a problem.
Fast weapons on both hands works very nicely with this spec, since its all about KM procs. Equipping a slow MH will raise your FS damage but lower your proc amount of KM, so its up to your personal preference. I'm going with 2x fast weapons, Hailstorm and Hatestrike. I also tried Trispec posted above but found it low dps compared to the spec i'm using now.
Now i'm just waiting for a new MH, Silent Crusader or Torment of the Banished from Naxx, to see what a really good slow main hand weapon can do with this spec.
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#16 2009-01-07 23:37:16
- Enimusha
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- From: Finland
- Registered: 2005-08-17
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Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Frost strike gains alot from Cinderglacier and Black Ice, it also gains crits from Killing machine procs, which are plenty with double fast weapons. So its alot better rune dump than Death coil.
I tried some instances with Denatus today with slow MH, and it seems that when ebon plague is up, slow MH is alot better, since you get some extra damage to blood strike and frost strike from third disease and ebon plagues 13% spell damage increase. I got up to aproximately 3000 dps from 2 full heroic runs, some bosses bursted to 4400 dps.
Going to try with slow MH tomorrow in the raid and see how that goes. Got Titansteel Bonecrusher crafted for this testing. Hoping to get Silent Crusader from the run though. 
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#17 2009-01-07 23:40:57
- Draken
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- From: Denmark
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 1912
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Ebon plaguebringer should only function as a third disease for unholy specs, and even on top of that multiple unholy specs in the same raid get shafted due to only one of those DKs being able to get any use from that ebon plaguebringer as an extra disease, so you should in reality only gain a 13% extra spelldmg done due to you being in the same raid as an unholy death knight.
"You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind!"
"You got an organ going there, no wonder the sound has so much body!"
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#18 2009-01-08 09:18:02
- Enimusha
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- From: Finland
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Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
What i read from EJ, Ebon plaguebringer works as third disease for every DK in the raid, and for that reason you should only bring one Unholy DK per raid. I'll check my sources and post them here when i find them again.
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#19 2009-01-08 09:53:12
- Enimusha
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- From: Finland
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Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
I stand corrected:
Elitist Jerks wrote:
Please note that you should only have one Unholy DK in the raid at a given time. Ebon Plague does not stack, and will only count as a third disease for strike damage to the DK that applied it.
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#20 2009-01-09 09:45:37
- Enimusha
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- From: Finland
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Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
So testing yesterday in Naxx proved pretty much succesfull. Second in overall damage, pretty much in top 5 at boss fights. Frost DW seems to scale insanely well with raid buffs and the aoe is awesome with KM proccing and HB critting everything around you. I loved it!
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#21 2009-01-09 15:04:07
- Draken
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- From: Denmark
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 1912
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Namino wrote:
So testing yesterday in Naxx proved pretty much succesfull. Second in overall damage, pretty much in top 5 at boss fights. Frost DW seems to scale insanely well with raid buffs and the aoe is awesome with KM proccing and HB critting everything around you. I loved it!
And you are getting nerfed next patch, Killing Machine is being reduced to a PPM model which won't favor fast over slow weapons. Avg PPM rate will be 5 procs per minute.
Proof of what I said: http://blue.mmo-champion.com/28/1428725 … -proc.html
Last edited by Draken (2009-01-09 15:09:05)
"You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind!"
"You got an organ going there, no wonder the sound has so much body!"
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#22 2009-01-09 15:12:05
- Enimusha
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- From: Finland
- Registered: 2005-08-17
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Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
And i bet you are very happy about it, looking at your unholy dps...
But! There's a buff coming aswell, Howling blast CD (6 seconds) will be removed, so overall i think it will be just allright.
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#23 2009-01-12 10:40:29
- Enimusha
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- From: Finland
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 6039
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
At the moment i'm using Unholy DW spec, and it seems to be the strongest around: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZG0ex0x … hxckxcq0co
Virulence and Epidemic is again personal preference, but i'm using Epidemic. Though, with Desecration, you'll be spamming Plague Strike alot so Epidemic is not so much needed and +2% more hit with spells is always nice. I can push up to 3300 dps on heroic doll with this spec, up to 4000 dps on single target non-moving boss with some group buffs. Still need to try this in raid enviroment, but looks like this will be my spec untill the patch atleast. After that i need to do more testing with new Howling Blast and Killing machine. 2x fast weapons is preferred for this specs, since your main skills wont require slow weapon speed.
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#24 2009-01-12 12:17:51
- Draken
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- From: Denmark
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 1912
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Namino wrote:
At the moment i'm using Unholy DW spec, and it seems to be the strongest around: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jZG0ex0x … hxckxcq0co
Virulence and Epidemic is again personal preference, but i'm using Epidemic. Though, with Desecration, you'll be spamming Plague Strike alot so Epidemic is not so much needed and +2% more hit with spells is always nice. I can push up to 3300 dps on heroic doll with this spec, up to 4000 dps on single target non-moving boss with some group buffs. Still need to try this in raid enviroment, but looks like this will be my spec untill the patch atleast. After that i need to do more testing with new Howling Blast and Killing machine. 2x fast weapons is preferred for this specs, since your main skills wont require slow weapon speed.
That is pretty much the only viable top dps spec for DKs atm, and even then your 4k dps is low compared to what these guys pull out in naxx. Compare that to the avg dps of ~3-4k of any 2hand spec on the same fights then you start realising just how OP DW frost/unholy is in comparison to all the 2hand specs. So far the highest dps i've seen on that site from a 2hand spec is somewhere around 5.5k whereas the top DW frost/unholy specs pull between 7-9k on some fights.
"You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind!"
"You got an organ going there, no wonder the sound has so much body!"
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#25 2009-01-12 12:43:47
- Enimusha
- Officer
- From: Finland
- Registered: 2005-08-17
- Posts: 6039
Re: Compilation: Death Knight Builds
Draken wrote:
That is pretty much the only viable top dps spec for DKs atm, and even then your 4k dps is low compared to what these guys pull out in naxx. Compare that to the avg dps of ~3-4k of any 2hand spec on the same fights then you start realising just how OP DW frost/unholy is in comparison to all the 2hand specs. So far the highest dps i've seen on that site from a 2hand spec is somewhere around 5.5k whereas the top DW frost/unholy specs pull between 7-9k on some fights.
Before you start comparing how low my dps is compared to those guys, you should propably compare gear. Also some of the top DPS Death knights at the page you posted, seem to be 2h unholy in armory at the moment.
Anyway, Frost DW is pretty much viable top dps build for raiding, i think i proved that already. Unholy DW seems to be abit better (no testing on my side yet), i admit that. But if you look at our WWS report from last 25 man, denatus did pretty good with a Blood spec. I can only imagine what he could do with 2h unholy spec.
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