DK build advice :)

Dcully

Yet again i turn to you fine boardsies for build advice
This time im looking for advice for my lvl 80 Death knight alt.
Im thinking a DPS build.
I used to be specced heavy into unholy and always top 3 in raid dps.
As with my priest i havent a clue what the craic is with this class nowadays.

nix

My DK, i have crappy pvp gear on atm. ill try fix

http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Laughing+Skull&cn=Nihlathak&gn=Epiunion

i have a frost and blood build, both dps

for unholy id go:

http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/basics/talents/deathknight/talents.html?tal=00000000000000000000000000003200500000000000000000000000230130335003215203150203133151

copeyhagen

heres my dk, http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Laughing+Skull&n=Shadowkn%C3%ADght (ty anti)

he has duel spec, dps i have the cookie cutter 17/0/54 and put out about 3k raid buffed on patch, maybe a little higher.

the tank spec is my own, 9/55/7 tried tanking in all tiers and find this buikld suits me down to the ground.

my hp is actually 29k ub, not sure why the armory has me as 25, maybe it doesnt take into account what aura you have, jus the item bonuses from gear.

Anti

you forgot to link there copey.

From what i know of dk's isn't it just

1. Get epics
2. Faceroll your keyboard
3. ????
4. Profit?

Nah just kidding, actually i'd like to know a good spec too, got my dk to 80 tonight and i still have no idea how to play it or how to spec/glyph it, i just mash the buttons....Seems to be working so far though !

copeyhagen

fixed it there, just got my hunter to 80 earlier, the gear race starts all over again luckily i got lw on my dk so i have a tonne of mats to be used for the epic lw craftables

Nehaxak

Here's my DK...

http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Chamber+of+Aspects&n=Ihavabigdk

Yeah I know, dual weild - However, I top dps in the guild every time as well as doing between between 30% to 50% more entire overall damage.
I would *like* to have that fking 2h axe from KT in Naxx heroic but it has NEVER dropped for me on all the runs I've been on, both guild and pugs before that, sucks Have the third highest amount of DKP saved up in the guild, just going to transfer it my Mage as I'm a little bit bored raiding with the DK.

Oh and the slow offhand, honestly, makes little or no difference at all with the amount of haste anyway, both hit at 2 speed normal and from what I've noticed, it seems to proc cinderglacier more often - that plus nobody else wanted the Angry Dread's when they dropped on the same run, 5 dkp spent on each :P

Average around 5k dps in Naxx 25, 6k+ if I time the rotations perfect

Rotation I use is Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Blood Strike, Scourge Strike, Scourge Strike, Unholy Blight, Death Coil x 2, Refresh diseases with Pestilence, Scourge Strike etc.,

Death Coils when power bar is full and I'm not needing Unholy Blight or Gargoyle. Would never really let power bar go near 100% unless it's before I pop Gargoyle.

Lot of the time on Trash I'd drop a Death & Decay at the start and drop the Blood Strike from the rotation at the start. Tanks can hold aggro fine so it's grand.

Other spec (blood) is my tanking spec (on a pale horse I use only for farming tbh).

Nehaxak

Oh and Darkmoon Card Death (from Undead deck) - it does more damage on a raid than Necrosis or Blood Caked Blade strike, it even hits (and crits) from Unholy Blight !
If you can't get the Greatness card (like 5k gold for Nobles deck on my server) then the Death Card is a nice alternative if you've nothing better to use in that trinket slot

Nehaxak

One last thing, couldn't forget this one - http://www.skeletonjack.com/

Just bookmark that blokes site, it's a great read, learned a lot when I was starting my DK out raiding just by reading from that guys site.

nix

Nehaxak wrote: »

Here's my DK...

http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Chamber+of+Aspects&n=Ihavabigdk

Yeah I know, dual weild - However, I top dps in the guild every time as well as doing between between 30% to 50% more entire overall damage.

I happen to love DW build, was using it before i picked up my Armageddon. I have the mace from pacthwork as soon as i get a good main hand im straight back to DW ;D want that sword from naxx trash to drop >_<

papajimsmooth

Dual wield cant compete with a 2 handed at the moment. There leaving dual wield underpowered until they can figure out how to balance it properly.

nix

But it can compete with other classes dps, we know its not as good as 2h but some like to use DW

Nehaxak

I dunno, I'm not totally sold on the not competing part tbh unless you have good gear, a very good 2hander and are blood spec plus know how to really time your rotations right - in that way, yes, DW won't compete with it and it's a waste to drop the points in Nerves of cold steel if going DW blood spec, just doesn't seem to work (I have tried!) as blood spec is best used with a two hander (my own opinion anyway).
Unholy on the other hand, most of your dps comes from diseases and shadow damage so you (well I anyway) seem to benefit more from dual weilding, especially so as you can use two enchants (crusader and cinderglacier).
I think this is the biggest benefit from DW as Unholy, two enchants to use which benefit the spec. Same with DW frost, I used cinderglacier on the offhand and Razorice on the MH, massive dps boost it seemed than with a two hander and a single enchant. DPS'ing as Frost now is bloody boring though, I really don't like it at all.

Blood does seem to be doing the best single target dps but again, you get the most from blood spec with great gear and a very good weapon. I have tried blood spec to death with the Armageddon 2handed sword but It's not good enough and I can't compete dps wise with the other two active and skilled DK's in the guild who both run as blood spec (they both have the 2h axe from KT) nor can I match anywhere near my current dps as unholy and Dual Weilding.

*IF* I ever get a decent two hander, especially a two handed axe (I'm an Orc so benefit most from an axe) I would gladly switch to a two handed blood spec - would also expertise cap if I had an axe in blood spec.

I guess what blizz are thinking, or even what they know the problem is, is that DK's are built around their diseases (even blood now relies on them to get the most dps, no more diseaseless spec) and dual weilding will have to be thought about differently in regards DK's compared to other classes who dual weild, without making them overpowered (in all honesty, DK's are overpowered anyway) that plus the stupid pvp balancing which will always have a knock on effect to pve due to arena players whining. :rolleyes:

At the end of a raid, my overall top damage output is from simple auto-attack melee as DW. If they buffed DW without balancing the rest of the tree's and available specs you could probably then use as DW, it'd just be too much.
I think what people are saying that DW can't compete is based mostly around how overpowered it used to be before the changes to the Frost and Unholy tree's - it was way overpowered, really it was, you could get massive dps without even trying. Now you have to rethink, concentrate a lot more on your rotations etc., but it's still useable, just not as overpowered as it used to be and yes, ultimately not comparable to dps you would get with good gear and a good two hander in Blood spec.

Btw, if you are raiding with blood spec, drop Dancing Rune Weapon for Unholy Blight and see if it makes a dps improvement for you - it seems to be the thing to do these days, I was never a fan of DrW anyway, just doesn't seem to be worth the point put in it at all.

Nehaxak

nix wrote: »

I happen to love DW build, was using it before i picked up my Armageddon. I have the mace from pacthwork as soon as i get a good main hand im straight back to DW ;D want that sword from naxx trash to drop >_<

Yeah I was waiting for that sword to drop or the one from Malygos

You can also use 2 x fast one handers in the meantime with the same spec I use, try it and see, Crusader on main, Cinderglacier on offhand - you should still average around 4.5k+ dps in Naxx.

Don't worry about the loss of threat reduction from blood if DW as unholy, your tanks should be good enough to hold aggro. Just hold back a couple of seconds on any trash pulls before you let loose if you do notice you tend to pull a bit

Try this change (inc glyphs) to your 2h blood build, see if it makes a noticeable improvement/help to your raid dps...

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#jfVMVhhIsbof0sxZfzhhxcz:LGAMmV

It's generally thought bad to raid with points in bloodworms as they unfortunately eat up group heals/chain heals from the raid and bad for the raids healing. Can put the 3 points taken out elsewhere, whatever you like, I just usually drop them in Spell Deflection - it's a waste of 3 points but better than your blood worms eating up heals meant for the group.

You can also drop the Unholy blight glyph for glyph of disease, which is also an overall dps improvement as you only have to hit one button to refresh diseases on your target rather than ICy touch, then plague strike, then probably pestillence anyway to spread diseases on other mobs/trash.
Try out both glyphs, see which work the best for you and your gear.

nix

I have often thought about speccing into blight instead of DRW but alot of fights ive been in in ulduar take advantage of the burst damage. (The dragon when he lands, xt's heart etc)

And i only specced into worms for giggles to see how much they were buffed, think ill revert back to rune tap instead tbh.

Havent played my DK much lately anywho as ive been getting my shammy and rogue to 80, gonna transfer my DK to friends on kazzak next and revamp builds/glyphs/ui ;D

Dcully

Nix that linkage in your first post is dead mate.
Im thinking of going with this build http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#jfVMVZG0xxAbckf0Vostc

Id like a change from unholy which i used to be when i was playing.
I reckon my gear is ok for Ulduar http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Terenas&n=Sanol

Ran Ulduar for sirst time lastnight on my priest,was good craic,managed to get a nice helm drop too.

nix

Yeah didnt think of that, migrated the DK to Kazzak to play with old CSS friends so his name and realm changed ;D

Link is: http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Kazzak&n=Madjake

I now have him with a blood and unholy build.

The frost specc you posted is perfect.

Dcully

Cheers Nix, had a quick voa run and was 2nd top dps, not bad considering i need to work out a cycle

nix

Snagged this rotation from ejerks, hope it helps.

IT, PS (fs), OB (fs), BS, BS (fs)
OB (fs), OB (fs), OB (fs)

Rotation is ment to be good for rime proccs

For glyphs grab glyph of frost stroke, oblit for defo and either HB or IT

Minor i use glyph of undead, pestilence and horn of winter.

Berns

We needa getta run on both DK's as DPS cully I wanna see which is better Dunno whose got better gear though atm for dps Know they said any spec could tank and dps before but always thought Frost was more towards tankin and other 2 where better damage *says the blood tank*.

Coulda swore i logged off in DPS gear last night but imba keeps showin my tanking gear this morning. Wanted to see what sorta score I woulda got with it.

Dcully

Berns yourour the best geared in the guild i think? but thats tank gear right?
Im mostly Naxx gearded so far, not bad for an alt i guess

I cant get over that howling blast ,feck me ive seen it crit for 7k on each of a group of mobs, a glorious site i must say

Dcully

Quick question folks, up to now ive being using the Titansteel Destroyer ahead of the Colossal Skull-Clad Cleaver for DPS.
My thinking was the superior AP and hit rating of the destroyer was the better dps.
That was until a guildie suggested to me that the Cleaver is infact a better dps weapon.

Im still not sure, anyone any suggestions?

Destroyer http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41257
Cleaver http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37852

Anti

Why not try to get one of the better weps from naxx 10 like demise or deathbite, or jawbone or EoM from Naxx25. But i think maybe the destroyer might be better for you out of those two just from the hit rating.

nix

Id go with Destroyer over Cleaver tbh

In the mean time try jump in as many pug 25man nax/eoe ya can and get one of the good two handers, i got my armageddon this way.

Dcully

Cheers guys

Nehaxak

Yeah, the destroyer is much better than the cleaver.
Haste is such a wasted stat for DK's, don't understand why blizz are throwing it about on melee weapons everywhere but I suppose you can't have everything as a DK.

Your +hit from the destroyer is a better stat to have anyway. If you're hit capped without it then play around with whatever else comes your way.

StormEdge http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45458

or WorldCarver would be nice though http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45165

If http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40384 doesn't drop for you on KT.

Berns

Dcully wrote: »

Berns yourour the best geared in the guild i think? but thats tank gear right?
Im mostly Naxx gearded so far, not bad for an alt i guess

Aye in tankin gear. Armoury showin me up in DPS gear now but gotta few bits to work on for it. Need a bit more dps gear. Leg armour and enchant shouldnt be a problem on the 2 bits that got atm that imba says need improved but still some tank items. Need rings and trinkets and sigil. Prob not get much DPS gear in 25 man runs though. Wanna get dagger for Betty in em too with duel spec so can get sublety.

Warcrafter scores are 1820 in tank, 1762 in DPS
Imba = 508.08 in tank, 475.89 in DPS.

Nehaxak

Berns wrote: »

Aye in tankin gear. Armoury showin me up in DPS gear now but gotta few bits to work on for it. Need a bit more dps gear. Leg armour and enchant shouldnt be a problem on the 2 bits that got atm that imba says need improved but still some tank items. Need rings and trinkets and sigil. Prob not get much DPS gear in 25 man runs though. Wanna get dagger for Betty in em too with duel spec so can get sublety.

Warcrafter scores are 1820 in tank, 1762 in DPS
Imba = 508.08 in tank, 475.89 in DPS.

My own DK (dps) I score 1804 on warcrafter and 494.08 on Imba but I prefer Wow Heroes http://www.wow-heroes.com/ as it will list your realm in detail so you can compare other characters and see where you rank along with your whole guild. To see for instance if they're bothering their arses to gem and enchant their gear, or for example to see how ready they might be for Ulduar gear wise. I score 2258 on my DK on Wow Heroes, ranked 14th on the realm Horde side.
Left my guild on Sunday as I got just too pissed off with slackers, no raids for Ulduar and I'm sick of doing Naxx and it taking a whole weekend to complete. They wiped for nearly 3 hours after I left on Thaddius, I mean ffs how hard can it be just to get a simple enough tactic right

Looking for guild ! Pro DK or Mage (My Mage is ranked 17th on server btw) :P

copeyhagen

yeh im rollin with demise for my dk, all i ever do with the dk is tanking now tbh but its an imba weapon. (until you get a 203 dps 2 hander)

Dcully

Nice link Nehaxak cheers.

Id like to tank with my Dk tbh but ive feck all tanking gear.
Should i start doing normal instances to get blue tanking gear and then move onto heroics?

Berns

If you get on Saturday for the 10 man naxx if they do it, maybe go. I'll be tryin to get DPS gear there, know someone else wanted tankin stuff so thinkin we will have too many tanks and you'll prob have some compitition on the gear. No harm in options though imo. Prob be competin for my tankin gear then

Check atlas for defence gear and then if you can get the 60 valor bracers from priest maybe theres one item, know there is a ring and not sure if there is bracers from somewhere tbh, check that out first. I'd generally just dps and roll on tankin stuff for a while until get enough. Need 540 defence i think*not rating* ,

nix

Dcully if you wanna try tanking you can pick up ALOT of decent tanking blues from the rep vendors, especially wyrmcrest. Also dont bother with normal instances, just rally heroics and make sure you get a druid tank to go so you can need on the plate :P Or alternativley just get a tank thats over geared for heroics :P