Need the best DK specs for WotLK?  Why do they work, and what doesn’t?  I’ve got the updated 411 here for you.  After a bit over 24 hours from the release of WotLK, I’ve learned a lot about Death Knights.  Why?  Because Beta and Live are not the same thing at all.  Do I have some idea at how to get your DK leveled up quickly?  Sure.  Skeletonjack is now level 67 (half way to 68) with 1 day /played on him.  It’s no record, but considering I did that within the first 29 hours of release (2 hours of which were spent on travel, buying the game, installing, etc…) I might have some good info.  Best piece of advice?  Get more sleep.  31 hours now with no sleep…I’m so tired I’m not tired anymore.  >.<

OK, so where to start.  SPECS!!!!  That’s what you want.  I’m changing up some from what I listed previously.

BLOOD

32/0/17  This is the spec you should have at level 58.

51/0/20  This should be the leveling spec finished at level 80.  This is a leveling spec, not an end game spec.

OK, so lets address the major issues off the bat.  Why not build directly into getting Heart Strike early?  On a Pale Horse is a defining ability for leveling up as a DK.  And I mean that.  Defining.  You will level far more quickly than another player who skipped this talent.  The level of travel time cut down is monumental. 

Now the next biggest glaring point is the 5 points in Blade Barrier and the 2 points in Anticipation.  One of the stong points of Blood is the single target DPS.  This build will be stronger for taking on elites.  And trust me, when you get into the upper 60’s some of the elites can be nasty.  And quite frankly, the healing or dps you can buy won’t keep you up always even spamming Death Strike.  The extra avoidance is key for taking on some of the more difficult encounters later on when solo.

The next question should be, “Why no Rune Tap or Vendetta?”  Well, you’re going to be picking up Blood Worms right away (capping it later).  And they are more than enough when combined with Blood Presence and Death Strike.  I did a lot of leveling up with a guildy Blood DK.  He never used RT and skipped Vendetta.  And he still was overhealing too much.  You just do not need those tools.  It’s overkill.

And while I did say before that you didn’t need Epidemic…I was wrong.  Get it.  Not only is it one of the best dps talents in game, but it’s also one of the best leveling talents as well.

In the end this spec optimizes recognized highest raid dps talents for leveling, while working in the right mix of healing and avoidance to take on the more difficult elites in the game solo.  But the fact is that it still doesn’t keep up with Unholy.  Now, keep in mind when I say that that player skill always can affect things.  Such as if you know how to level up with quests really well, and know all of the quest chains and where to go.  But someone else doesn’t.  You’re going to level faster with that knowledge base alone.

UNHOLY

0/0/49  This is the spec you should have at level 58.

18/0/51  This should be the leveling spec finished at level 80.  This is a leveling spec, not an end game spec.  (**You have 2 free points left to spend still)

OK, so if you read my Leveling at a Glance: Unholy you’ll notice my standpoints here have barely changed at all.  It’s almost identical.  Just a few tweaks.  But here’s a few things to note:

You’re ghoul is not going to be a true contributor to your dps.  It’s there more for utility and for soaking damage.  The movement powers are huge, but your AoE is even more huge.  Anything that can keep you alive through packs of 4-10 mobs at a time is a big deal.  And being able to take advantage of your diseases with Pestilence and the Scourge Strike Major Glyph is a big deal.

So what do I take for leveling, and how do they pan out?

The short version here is that you should take Unholy.  Why?  Because of Unholy Blight and On a Pale Horse.  Unholy Blight does a ridiculous amount of AoE and has no CD.  On a Pale Horse will make you level faster, and Unholy doesn’t have to sacrifice early access to top tier talents like others do to have access to it.  Don’t level up as Frost or DW spec.  I listed them previously only so they’d be there for the people who really really really wanted them.  They’re not good choices.

My guildy Blood DK who leveled up at the same time as me, and some of that time with me, is the exact same level as I am.  But he has 2 hours less total /played time than me.  Why?  Because I always level toons in instances (I’m a sucker for a dungeon) and he has always been a big solo quest guy.  I followed Jame’s Guide (which is good…but quite frankly not the fastest option out there).  So we group up, start questing together, and we start trucking.  I’d pull packs of 3-6 mobs at a time and just start AoE nuking. 

As Blood spec he couldn’t keep up.  And trust me, this guy is good.  He raided Sunwell with us as a Fury Warrior.  He knows what’s up. It was simply a spec issue.  In fact he had upgraded his gear and I didn’t (it was too hot to swap out for ugliness!!!).  Just Unholy in any AoE situation is going to win.

Use your ghoul to bring one mob in (make it Leap to and attack, then recall it to follow you), use Icy Touch on 2 mobs to pull at range, pull in one mob with Death Grip, and save a Mind Freeze for a troublesome caster trying to stay at range.  Or if you have time to mount (and this is BETTER this way).  Just run near a bunch of mobs, then dismount and start dropping your abilities.  Always keep some RP banked from fight to fight so you can drop Unholy Blight whenever you need to.

Unholy AoE Rotation  (assumes you’re banking RP after fights – if you didn’t then work in 1 Blood Strike to generate enough RP for Unholy Blight)

Icy Touch -> Plague Strike -> Pestilence -> Death Strike – > Unholy Blight (from here use Blood Boil, Death and Decay, and Death Strike in a priority based upon how much healing you need and how fast the mobs are dying)