Apr

Death Knight Specs for 3.1 Release

Posted by: Skeleton Jack in PvP, Raids, Specs, Tanking

Heya guys!! How’s it going? Well, here are all of the 3.1 release specs for Live that you could possibly want. I’ve got your PvE DPS, your PvE Tanking, and your PvP Arena specs all ready to go. Nothing but WIN all over this post!! I know you want a piece, heh. There are a few things that you should be aware of when reading this however:

All talent specs can be altered to tailor any situation. These are intended for top end content, meaning Ulduar raiding and Arena PvP. If you play in other content primarily (such as BG’s, Naxx, or Heroics), then you may find that alternatives to these specs would suit you more.
Some specs have situational talents, which may not be listed here. For example IIT is not necessary (as a tank) if you always have a Warrior present providing the debuff for you. Situational talents like IIT, Spell Deflection, Mark of Blood, and Acclimation are good talents. But are not necessarily going to make it into a “standard day to day” spec. Move points as you need to.
I will be doing in depth posts for each one of these specs. These will cover all relevant information such as swapping talents, glyphs, itemization, rotations, reasonings behind decisions, scaling, and more. Please check back for more details.
Rotations: Tank and DPS rotations are almost always identical with the exceptions that Tank rotations work in Runestrike whenever it becomes available. PvP rotations are non-existent however. You use what you have to when you have to. It’s that simple.
AoE Rotations – Move DnD to a latter part in the rotation if initial threat is an issue with your tanks. If you are the tank, lead with DnD unless specified otherwise. For packs where mobs are not dying within 20 seconds, sub in an extra Pest as needed to keep diseases up. Do not ever Pest the same target 2 times in a row. Pest off of a new target.
Please read the bottom for corrections, addendums, and edit notes.

PvE DPS

Blood

Blood DRW: 51/2/18

Blood UB: 50/0/21

The biggest question asked here is why no Bloodworms? They eat AoE healing. That is not good. Ever. Don’t be a jerk to your raid. As to dps potential, they are nearly equal atm. DRW is more burst, while UB provides more sustained and AoE. Personal preference really. T8.5 4p armor is an upgrade for Blood, over T7.5 4p.

ST Rotation:

DS – IT – PS - HS – HS – DCx2

HSx2 - DS - HSx2 – DCx2

The only caveat to this rotation is that it is very, very, very *tight* on GCD’s. 7 GCD’s per 10 second rotation = 10.5 seconds. With the 2SR this is well within the realm of possibility unless you suffer from serious lag issues. If you do, drop 1 DC from the rotation until either you perfect your skills or fix your lag.

AoE Rotation – 5+ mobs:

DnD – IT – PS – Pest – DC

BB – DS – DS - BB – DCx2

AoE Rotation – 2 to 4 mobs:

IT – PS – Pest – HS – DS – DC

DS – HSx4 – DCx2

If there are only 4 mobs up, it is questionable at best when deciding which rotation to use. The dps is relatively close at that point. Make sure that you never use DnD with 3 or less mobs however, because the auto-cleaving HS is far far more valuable.

Frost

Frost (blood): 17/51/3

Frost (unholy): 3/51/17

Which one is better? Frost (blood) performs better really, but it’s not as user friendly so to speak. Realistically the difference in dps between the two is marginal at best however. So again, personal preference should be the tie breaker for you.

Because the Frost (blood) spec has shorter duration diseases however, it could be a potential dps loss if you get lucky on Rime procs. Also if you have lag issues, you could have the OBx3 in the second part of the rotation miss out on their disease bonuses if they tick off.

ST Rotation

IT – PS - OB – BS – BS - FSx2

OBx3 - FSx3

Without the T7 4p bonus you will run into RP issues with this spec. Considering how easy these pieces are to get, you *should* have them. T7.5 4p also appear to be the BISI in T8 content, over T8.5 4p armor.

You should be running a dmg meter of some kind as well. Track what does more damage for you, HB or FS (should be HB). If you do not have enough GCD’s popping HB on Rime procs to complete your rotations, drop a FS/HB as needed (whichever does the least damage).

AoE Rotation

DnD – IT - Pest – Blood Tap - HB - FSx2

BB - OB – BB – HB - FSx3

AoE Rotation (no Blood Tap)

DnD – IT - PS – Pest - FSx2

HB – BB – BB – OB - FSx3

Always, always, always take advantage of Blood Tap for AoE damage. The combo is sick, out performing even Unholy in burst scenarios. A 1 min CD however could mean that you will have to skip it sometimes.

Unholy

Unholy T7: 12/0/59

Unholy T8: 0/10/61

Unholy T7 is basically the spec you want to start out with when 3.1 releases. You will be in full T7 gear. But as you attain more and more T8 gear, you will want to respec into Unholy T8. Basically the second spec scales better, but with current T7 itemization the first spec will win out at first. T7.5 4p also appear to be the BISI in T8 content, over T8.5 4p armor.

Once you swap to Unholy T8, if you find you have threat issues swap one point into Subversion if you have to. As a lot of your dps comes from your Ghoul and Gargoyle however, if threat is an issue then that is largely your tank’s fault. You should speak to your Raid Leader.

ST Rotation:

IT – PS - BS – BS – SS - UB

SS x3 – DCx3

Unholy plays a little differently with it’s rotation from any other spec because the SS Glyph can refresh your diseases on the target that you hit with a SS. Because of this it’s possible to get into a rotation when you only ever hit SS, BS, UB, and DC. UB lasts exactly 20 seconds. Simply use it at the same time every time and you will be fine. If your diseases are about to drop, always use IT/PS to refresh them.

AoE Rotation:

DnD – IT – PS - Pest - UB

BB – SS – SS – BB- DCx2

Which one is the best?

Well…Unholy and Blood are almost equal really for DPS. Unholy beats blood out by enough of a margin to notice it however. The flip side is that Blood is much much more forgiving when learning new content. If your guild is learning Ulduar conent, you will have a much higher survivability rate with Blood due to the self healing bonuses.

As to Frost, it’s sadly lacking still. It’s not so far behind as to not spec into it. But the gap is much more noticeable here. It was nerfed into the ground because IT Spam and DW builds were Frost centric. Due to that, and the fact that Blizzard has been considering making it the “DW Tree”, it is unlikely that Frost buffs will release in time to make it equal to Blood and Unholy.

DW has been nerfed into the ground. It’s not competitive with the current specs atm, and so far every DW spec discovered to date performs better by equipping a 2H weapon.

Runeforging, Presences, and that other stuff…

Simple. Fallen Crusader and Blood Presence. Nuff said. As to the rest, you should have at least 8% hit and 15 Expertise minimum. If you have any questions regarding Hit and Expertise please read my post: Hit and Expertise Revisited.

Always gem Bold Scarlet Ruby, except when you have to meet the metasocket requirement for Chaotic Skyflare Diamond. You really should have 1 TS as Jewel Crafting however to gain access to Bold Dragon’s Eye. It will meet any socket bonus, while at the same time meeting the requirements for the CSD. Strength always = WIN. Nuff said.

PvE Tank

Every spec here has a great deal more “wiggle room” than PvE dps specs. First off the Glyphs can be changed for various needs. Some will want the DnD glyph for AoE trash threat generation. Others will be MT’s and want defensive glyphs for learning content. And others will only be concerned with TPS (threat per second) and glyph out for dps/threat. Choose new Glyphs based upon your raid tanking role please.

In addition to that, you then have talent selections. Some people will be MT, OT, or ST (specialty tank). And depending on which bosses you tank, and your dedicated role, you will likely find that changing your talents from these “cookie cutter builds” will be to your advantage. Any given tank spec has 5-10 points that can be shifted depending on your role.

Blood

53/8/10

Spell Deflection is situational, meaning you may only choose to select it if you find yourself tanking a lot of single target spell casting bosses. Some tanks may choose to take Hysteria for raid dps synergies. Also if you have someone providing the haste debuff in the raid, IIT could be pointless for you. Perhaps purchasing RPM or SoB in its place would be best then.

Frost

12/51/8

Again, talents should move as needed. Morbidity is a great talent if you are used for a lot of trash clearing or picking up spawned adds at range as an OT on boss encounters. However if not, then you really might prefer something like 3/3 Acclimation for an additional 150 resists at fights like Hodir. Know your role, move points as needed.

Unholy

10/5/56

Unholy has a lot more “problematic” choices to sort through. Namely you have to look at Ravenous Dead, Necrosis, Wandering Plague, IIT, and Improved Unholy Presence. IIT still is simply a question of whether someone else will be providing the debuff, and then IUP is a question of are you an OT or MT? If you are picking up adds then IUP is probably invaluable. While the rest are questions of TPS and personal needs.

Which one is the best?

Frost is probably the best one, but Blood is right up there with it. It’s a tough call, especially considering I’ve not really been doing all that much tanking. Unholy has serious TPS issues, and I do not recommend it for any tank who is a MT for their guild or tanking a “first kill” target in a boss encounter.

PvP

More so than for even the tank specs, you *WILL* absolutely *HAVE* to move points around in these specs. If you are hardcore about PvP in Arena, then you will come to realize that the “comp” (composition, meaning what class/specs are in your Arena team) you play with will determine what will work the best. A 5v5 team with 2 other physical dps might favor Blood, whereas a 3v3 DK/Lock/Paladin would definetly favor Unholy.

Blood

52/0/19 or 51/11/9

The BS Glyph is actually a HS Glyph (fyi). The main question here is whether you wish to pick up survivability/utility, or just a bit more dps. A 3 min trinket with movemend debuff reduction is something to seriously consider. Overall this spec is more for “Cleave” teams in 3v3 and 5v5 brackets where multiple target damage can be dished out. However if you go sub-Frost, the major strength becomes less movement reduction with non-stop snares on your target once it is in range.

Frost

10/52/9

The biggest mistake that most people make is to think, “But I need Acclimation!!” Imp Frost Pres got changed, so you can no longer get 200+ undispellable spell resistance anymore. The only Glyph change I might suggest, *maybe*, would be to sub in a Glyph of Hungering Cold simply because Frost Strike is your “go to” attack, and having to blow an entire FS on a HC could cost you a kill. Consider dropping HB Glyph.

Endless Winter, topping off Bladed Armor, and Deathchill are the obvious glaring holes, but you have to realize that this spec is spread very thin on points. Be very very careful about moving points if you choose to. The sub-Unholy are the “mandatory” PvP points every spec includes. And the sub-Blood are major dps boosts.

Unholy

0/17/54

This is, imo, the nastiest PvP build possible. It does not have the ranged “caster in plate” potential, but that has been lost to us now. AMZ and Magic Suppresion are likely to be near mandatory due to predicted caster comp dominance, but if you truly do not like these talents this gives you more wiggle room. 1 point in Wandering Plague *IS* mandatory imo because disease ticks do not interrupt stealth, drinking, etc… But a WP proc will!!

Ghoul Frenzy is only good if you think you need it to keep your ghoul alive. The dps gain is craptastic from the haste. The only talent I was forced to skip on in the build that bugged me was Impurity. But to ensure you get the good stuff, while making it to Endless Winter, you pretty much get screwed there. With non-stop ground snare procs from SS, and with a ranged snare causing a disease, this has the most “closing the gap” potential.

Frost Ghoul

0/45/26

Hands down the best “CC” build for DK’s. It brings improved DG, ghoul stun, Chillblains, and Hungering Cold to the table. This will devastate healers if you master it. The glyphs could use some altering possibly with UB. This will kill your HC, so unless you use a “cancel aura” macro with HC, take UB out of your spec. While I did go 3/3 Outbreak for PS damage, depending on numbers 3/3 Necrosis might be more dps depending on your white damage. But that would be sustained, not burst.

Which one is the best?

Frost Ghoul and Unholy look to be the best hands down, though you never really know until the games get played. Unlike PvE specs, PvP specs tend to grow and develop as the Season does. So it’s anyone’s game still at this point. Unholy looks to be the better dps/snare build, while Frost Ghoul stays in solid burst damage with the best CC possible. Try ‘em both imo.

Fin

So, that’s it. I’m going to bed. I have to be at work in like 2 hours… >.<

Notes, Questions, Answers, and Explanations

These (specs) are intended for top end content, meaning Ulduar raiding and Arena PvP. That also means the specs are “raid” specs maximized for boss encounters, outside of PvP specs.
As I’ve always said a million times, before you ask a question make sure you actually read the whole post. Don’t just click on a spec and then ask questions about it without reading first please. A lot of people are asking, or asked, questions that are answered here.
People who are talking about the specs being old builds, did you forget your common sense? Did you actually really *look* at the specs? Unholy was moved around, but the talents are exactly the same. EXACTLY. I am updating the specs to alleviate confusion, but the specs are literally 100% correct for live as far as where to actually spend points.
Specs are all updated to the Live build.
Most bosses do not run around the room, but most of the boss fights require *YOU* to run around the room. Imp UP is a mandatory dps talent if you are Unholy. It’s major dps.
NotD is a big time Blood talent because -70% AoE damage means your ghoul actually lives. Believe it or not, you will actually do more dps with your ghoul now than before simply because it won’t just get insta gibed by AoE.
The Unholy rotation has 3 DC’s because Unholy is an intuitive priority system rotation. You will actually use a DC before a SS, allowing you to spend RP before you RP cap.
Ebon Plaguebringer is supposed to be fixed finally for 3.1, allowing all DK’s to get their diseases.
Dummy testing is going to be 100% inaccurate always. No raid buffs, no raid debuffs, inacurate dps results from Necrosis, Merc Combat, and more. Spell damage will be higher and melee will be lower. Etc, etc, etc… Dummies are to compare PTR changes from one spec to the new incarnation, practice, etc…
If you are so die hard that you still want to DW, then you can run any spec with a slow MH weapon and just try to move a few points into the DW frost tree talent. It will work, but just not as well as 2H specs. Like I said.
Blood Gorged is +10% more damage *AND* ignore 10% of the target’s armor. That’s huge, and worth more than a perma-ghoul.
You open with Death Strike for the Blood rotation to get Abom’s Might up instantly for your raid. Your raids dps being buffed = greater dps than running the rotation that makes your lil mod show higher numbers. It’s the same reasoning behind not selecting Bloodworms. They eat AoE healing, so they hurt your raid. Play smart.
The builds again, are intended for top end content, meaning Ulduar raiding and Arena PvP. They can be used for leveling, etc… But I’d recommend moving some points if you choose to do so.
Glyph of Disease totally sucks beyond reason. Sure, it refreshes diseases. But it’s also a Rune spent to do ZERO DAMAGE and a Glyph spent to do ZERO DAMAGE. Sucktastic. Not running the numbers for you guys, but leave it as a total waste.

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters.

Tags: PvP, Raids, Specs, Tanking

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 6:49 am and is filed under PvP, Raids, Specs, Tanking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

180 comments so far

Reuell

Awesome, thank you a whole ton for such a quick post. Looking forward to your in depth posts on each. =)

April 14th, 2009 at 7:11 am

Khayven

Awesome post. Even with all the changes, and losing DW, I am still looking forward to to trying something new.

I think I speak for even that reads your blog when I say, thank you, thank you so much for your time, and effort, I have learned a lot from you, and the community you have built here. Any time I run into a new DK I always ask, “Have you discovered http://www.skeletonjack.com yet?”

Thanks again for everything that you do.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:16 am

Jaekil

It looks like you used one of the old PTR talent calcs for PVE Unholy.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:16 am

Ghpst

This is just excellent, you saved me here

Still i am a bit concerned about what glyphs to use for each spec.
When can we expect a conclusion on that part?

April 14th, 2009 at 7:18 am

Khayven

Wow, did I really make that many typos? Let me repost without the errors.

Take 2…

Awesome post. Even with all the changes, and losing DW, I am still looking forward to trying something new.

I think I speak for everyone that reads your blog when I say, thank you, thank you so much for your time, and effort, I have learned a lot from you, and the community you have built here. Any time I run into a new DK I always ask, ?Have you discovered http://www.skeletonjack.com yet??

Thanks again for everything that you do.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:20 am

Typhoonandrew

Hey SJ, great work again (as usual). I’ll have to read those BIS posts again to see what matches for a Frost Tank now that we can dual spec.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:38 am

Bugmaster

so no more disease less blood? i rly enjoyed that spec

April 14th, 2009 at 7:44 am

Runefaust

Great work, SJ. Thanks for all the hard work. One thing to note, your Unholy DPS specs use an old version (9722) of the PTR talent builder on mmo-champion.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:46 am

Krushe

Thanks for all the hard work you do SJ.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:56 am

drk

thanks alot for all those info ! you are the best source for DK info!

April 14th, 2009 at 7:59 am

Vladius

I noticed no Death and Decay Glyph on the unholy tank spec. Has it been removed or drastically changed?

April 14th, 2009 at 8:11 am

Moto

Great Work SJ

Double check your links for the DPS Unholy specs, their not linking to the correct talent tree.

April 14th, 2009 at 8:15 am

Vladius

dang, re-read your post and answered my own question

April 14th, 2009 at 8:16 am

Typhoonandrew

Tank spec question: does the bonus from the Glyph of Icebound Fort actually have an affect if you are already at the Def cap?

April 14th, 2009 at 8:21 am

Black

Thanks for your work!!!
i have a question for you why spend 2 point in imp unholy presence… it not increase in any point your dps u can spend this 2 point in some other talent to increase your dps like ghoul frenzy or morbodity…..

April 14th, 2009 at 8:22 am

Elen

Man.. the work you put down is just amazing hands down SJ. Keep up the good work!
and dont overdo it =) Health > anything

April 14th, 2009 at 8:28 am

Iskald

Ghoul frenzy adds about 40 dps to your ghoul in unholy presence and 20 in blood presence. And it costs 1 unholy rune.

April 14th, 2009 at 8:34 am

Terror

The faster you move the quicker you and the rest of your raid can get back to a boss. The 15% movement increase is phenomenal and shouldn’t be skipped

April 14th, 2009 at 8:47 am

Skeleton Jack

Yes, some of these are old PTR build pages. No, that doesn’t matter. It’s the same.
Disease-less is basically dead yes, along with DW.
IBF glyph is useless once you have enough defense. I’d have to double check (so I could be wrong), but I believe def cap pushes you to around 35% ish. Don’t quote me there.
Double checked the links. They appear to be working fine.
In depth posts on each spec will be forthcoming over the next week or so.
DPS from Ghoul Frenzy stinks. Period.

April 14th, 2009 at 9:00 am

Black

I give certainly in order that it is left give blood presence, u got only 15% movement fro imp unholy presence for your own and not for raid….and spend 2 point… most of the boss dont run around the room lol…(ps sorry for my english)

April 14th, 2009 at 9:08 am

Ujai

Well done SJ.. Thank you very much for the effort!

April 14th, 2009 at 9:10 am

Darcz

Night of the dead is really that attractive in blood dps spec?

April 14th, 2009 at 9:17 am

Daemun

Hey SJ just wanted to say thanks a ton for all the hard work you’ve put into bringing all this information into one location. I know it can be quite the time investment (Before I knew of your site I had written detailed accounts of about 6 or so DK specs for my guild’s forums so I can only imagine how long it took ya!). Oh and P.S. LONG LIVE UNHOLY!!! I’m so glad it is gonna be on top again.

April 14th, 2009 at 9:17 am

Vespian

Hey SJ, before I start ranting, great post, excellent effort and one day ahead of the EU patch

Now, I wouldn’t be me, if I didn’t ask the following questions.

About your Frost Tank spec, I’d like to see the reason why you’d want to pick up Hungering Cold. With the use of HB, all your targets will constantly be affected by Frost Fever and the effect that is supposed to “capture” targets, well, let’s just say that with the introduction of massive aoe to every class, that part never lasted longer than .5 seconds anywhere I went leveling from 70-80 and some instances into 80. I’ve dropped it for 1 point in Merciless Combat.

I also pretty much had the Unholy spec you posted in mind, with a slightly different rotation.
Mine would have been, assuming that you have to start with IT + PS, not counting Glyphs :
IT > PS > SS > BS > BS > Unholy Blight
SS > SS > SS > Runedump DC
SS > SS > BS > BS > Runedump DC

IT > PS > SS > SS > Unholy Blight
SS > SS > BS > BS > Rune Dump
SS > SS > SS > Rune Dump

Rinse and repeat on the above, where you’ll be able to switch out any SS for IT/PS, whenever they run out.

I’m sure your rotation would be superior, although I’m still going to chalange it with my own , but could you clarify why this is your prefered rotation ? For example, you include 3x DC as a fixed rotation, but per definition, this spec only has 100 RP. Last time I checked 40 RP x 3 = 120 and not 100. That won’t, I think, be covered by Butchery and other talents don’t provide additional RP while using DC or White Attacks. (correct me if I’m wrong)

Also, Desecration vs Dark Conviction .. Dark Conviction will likely be better on moving targets. Desecration on those that stand still for larger periods. Correct or wrong ?

April 14th, 2009 at 9:30 am

Brian

Thanks for all the work! Alot of time went into this and I cannot thank you enough.

April 14th, 2009 at 9:33 am

Black

if your guild got a nice tank at the end i think the best is 0/10/61 and can start with 7.5 item…. but imo change 2 point in imp unholy presence to 3/3 morbidity(from2/3) and take C.Exp nice in aoe

April 14th, 2009 at 9:58 am

El Che

Thanks Jack, I have been looking for a good tanking spec for my Death Knight to switch. Here have some of my spare internets

April 14th, 2009 at 10:22 am

Rumik

Cheers dude, dunno what I’d do without your advice!

April 14th, 2009 at 10:55 am

Detective

Just wanted to say thanks for putting all this work in for us to refer to. You’re a great help to the DK community.

April 14th, 2009 at 11:29 am

Kallaystra

Did they fix Ebon Plaguebringer so multiple Unholy DK’s won’t overwrite it and screw each other over yet?

April 14th, 2009 at 11:32 am

Radaliin

A few of the specs posted in this have different talent tree set-ups, for example DRW blood vs Unholy t7, might be i’m foolish, or it’s an oversite and i’m helping you, good post though.
Good pvping against you last weekend too heh..

April 14th, 2009 at 11:46 am

ODk

with your unholy build, i seem to start out low and slowly build my way up to around 3k dps on heroic dummy….. with frost i seem to spike randomly between 2800-3200….

ive been tryin my butt off to figure out how you describe unholy as bein the top dps and frost the lowest when everyone i seem to find doing over 3k is frost, 2700-3k unholy and like 2k-3k blood (havent seen a quality blood player on the PTR dummy atall recently and ive never played blood myself so im not sure how well that one plays out for me)

and im pretty sure on live, with my 4piece bonus, frost damage will go up even more…

if your useing SS as your main attack, keepin diseases max’d (including UB) , ghoul attackin, garg up as often as possible, with bone and horn up — this pulls me up to around 3k with some time (allways seems to start out low tho) — now where do i pinch some more dps outa unholy? any idea’s?

thx…

Also anyone finding a better frost rotation than keepin disease up and spammin OB/FS?

April 14th, 2009 at 12:22 pm

Asüra

Ummm. The Unholy builds are on the incorrect talent calculators.

April 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pm

Amsterdammed

Mate the Unholy DPS links are in old calculator.

check it up cant wait to test it

the old blood spec whas whicked. ill test both this unholy and blood Ub spec 2morrow

April 14th, 2009 at 1:13 pm

Havick

@ ODk – You’re only fighting one dummy there, Unholy will yeild a lot more aoe and as such more dps.

I have a question though, if im running the T7/8 unholy spec there, should i be running in blood or unholy presence?

Thanks for all your hard work SJ!

April 14th, 2009 at 1:17 pm

Vespian

[quote]
@ ODk – You?re only fighting one dummy there, Unholy will yeild a lot more aoe and as such more dps.
[/quote]

AoE dps doesn’t count towards actual dps. SJ is setting up these builds based on a 1v1 situation.

The actual answer is, that target dummies do not provide 100% accurate information, you’d have to see for yourself in a raidbuffed situation over a longer period of several weeks.
I’ve managed, due to raid synergies, up to 5K myself, on OS, VoA and Naxx25, but I’ve also dropped to 3.7K in an entirely different set-up. Comparing only two raid encounters won’t help you much and a Target dummy won’t help you at all, when you’re comparing little percentages extra dps. They’re probably a nice indication of where you’re heading though.

April 14th, 2009 at 1:24 pm

Havick

Vespian I don’t see how that is true… I can go run RFC and get 1800 dps and only use DnD which at max per single target is 500 dps, how do you explain that?

April 14th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

Vespian

What I mean to say is, that when SJ posts a DPS build, he’s not basing them on Trash dps, but on Boss dps. Most bosses are based on single target dps. So when we’re talking about dps in this blog, you’ll most likely 99% of the times, will be talking about single target dps.

April 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

Serib/Sparerib

SJ strikes again! Legend! cheers for all the obvious hard work you’ve put in yet again. you deserve abit of a break now tbh thanks again

April 14th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

Rumik

Sorry I’m a little confused about the Unholy T7 rotation – can you clarify? Consider me a noob

April 14th, 2009 at 2:12 pm

Dez

Have to say I’m really disappointed that DW seems dead. Being Frost since Wrath day 1, 2H until recently, it got insanely tiresome. I’m a DW fan and have been curious how DW works for DKs, so I decided it’s worth a try (2H was a no-go anyway). DW seemed both good and bad, something seemed a bit weird. First time I specced DW was like 2 months ago, but that was the same time I put my DK on Ice, so only recently coming back to my DK have I got to try DW for real. I also decided to stick with it 100%, just got 2 epic swords. It’s funny to be close in DPS as 2H DKs that have full epics etc, when I’m 50% blue 50% half-assed/tanking epics, uncertain glyphs, spec, rotations, bindings, lacking enchants and gems. That just shows how well DW scales. While Frost may be a bit tiresome I’ve decided that it’s the spec I’ve had since day 1 and I’m gonna stay a frosty, also the other specs don’t interest me much, blood = lame (IMO), unholy = 80% of DKs. So that’s settled, but I would also like to stay DW frost. I’m 80% sure that I’ll stay DW regardless of it’s state of “dead”, I’ve always been pro personal choice/preference, and in all my 4 years as a DPSer seen performance beat more powerful gear/specs. Worst case scenario I don’t see DW being all that bad, and here’s a question, how can DW a spec go from powerful to dead just like that? Changes to trees and talents sure, but not so much as making it impossible to make a decent DW spec. I won’t believe that DW is “dead”, merely nerfed but exaggerated.

Was hoping to prepare for a 3.1 DW spec, but if you won’t give us any specs then I’m not sure where to look. I’ve always been good at making my own builds, and believe that it all comes down to personal preference, talent “insert name” may be useful to me even if it sucks for everyone else, or I may have a use for it, or just simply like what the talent does and so it’s beneficial to me. Additionally. if you’re not having fun playing a spec, chances are you won’t perform well – even if said spec is the “best” one. Many seem to think otherwise “Lol its the best spec, lol that spec sucks”, but while some may think the best spec will perform better regardless (cause it can’t be too hard to play it the way it should), if you don’t enjoy the play style then you’ll end up not satifised and performing less (imo). Anyway, gonna go look for DW specs I guess? Thanks for this guide though.

April 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

ODk

ive found like 10 different specs that all seem to give me nearly the same exact dps…. guess Live is where ill see which comes out on top….

but whats everyones highest single target spec so far? (on the heroic dummy)

Also which do you think would pay off the more…. 3 bladed armor and 3 dark conviction or 5 bladed 1 dark?

April 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

Gxy

Hey SJ, did you find it not worth it to give up Blood Gorged to go for Perma Ghoul for your blood specs? Because I really like the ghoul, was the damage a lot lower?

Thx for all the work you do btw, your site is one of my first reads everyday at work

April 14th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

Chronocle

SK… I personally dont agree with your Blood PVE rotation… I dont see any reason to open with DS…

My rotation will be as follows: IT, PS, HS, HS, DS, DC (or 2), DS, HS X 6 (or 8), repeat..

You want to set yourself up to using HS as many times as possible as it is your bread and butter…

plus the fact that it’s a cleave and because two HS crits will always be higher than one DS crit.

April 14th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

Gxy

I believe he opens with DS to immediatly activate abominations might. Atleast I think I have heard him say that before.

April 14th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

fear

Is the blood PVE build, can it be used for solo leveling or just raids?

April 14th, 2009 at 3:14 pm

Big B

Thanks a ton SJ, you f’n kick ass!

April 14th, 2009 at 3:48 pm

kyN

I’m interested to know whether Glyph of Disease might be a stronger candidate for the 0/10/61 Unholy PVE build over Glyph of Scourge Strike..

In a 4-SS rotation you have a 68.36% chance to refresh your diseases with it, which makes your rotation less consistent and your dps *even* more RNG dependent.

With Glyph of Disease you loose the dps of 1 bloodstrike out of your 2-sets of runes, and in its place never have to refresh your diseases with two GCDs ever, as well as making your rotation rock-solid.

There is, of course, Desecration to consider, but if it’s soooo valuable why use glyph of SS? those 5 points could top off morbidity, hit up subversion with a couple.. and then you have your choice of something fun.. like Corpse Explosion or Lichborne or hell, On a Pale Horse.

Maybe I’m being retarded and missing something reaaally obvious here..

April 14th, 2009 at 3:50 pm

Corben

Um… Anyone notice that Howling blast and Hungering Cold are no longer listed as switching places in the final notes.

April 14th, 2009 at 4:09 pm

kyN

oh lol, plz delete my last post, i fails a reading, so SS also causes Desecration, got it.

April 14th, 2009 at 4:27 pm

Corben

wait nvm they hid it:( fail

April 14th, 2009 at 4:28 pm

Armadilla

Thanks so much!! this really helps a lot!

April 14th, 2009 at 4:33 pm

Eightbit

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=23050200000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000230200335003215203150203133151&glyph=272208040605&version=9767

12/0/59 spec for ya updated on the new talent tree.

April 14th, 2009 at 4:54 pm

meach

so jack ive read through some of the posts and ive read some of the feedback along with sorting through all the posts on the wow forums while were all waiting for the servers to come back up :*(…..have they really done nerfed our class so much that dw isnt an option anymore?? pre 3.1 i was keeping up with most 2h dpsers that had about the same gear as me but is that guna be an option now with 3.1 live? or am i stuck with breaking out my skull clad axe again and going back to 2h dps

April 14th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

Nab

You take Glyph of Dark Death but no Morbidity??? What’s the point in that??

April 14th, 2009 at 5:19 pm

Nick

SJ, I’ve been reading that Necrosis has been nerfed since you can’t double dip anymore. The math is over on the elitist jerk forums but I think I’m gonna use
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#jfVMZZfMhIbMdgcqMssut:rbL
maybe switch around the ghoul frenzy to another point in necrosis, but apparently it is a dps gain. I’ll have to test it out though.

April 14th, 2009 at 6:23 pm

Will

For the t7 unholy dps build. Wouldn’t yield more dps to drop imp unholy presence and put those points in Dark Conviction in the blood tree for extra crit?

April 14th, 2009 at 6:23 pm

ODk

ive seen a few dw people pull about 85% of the dps of the 2h people on the PTR….but there were only a couple of people i saw who even tried….

April 14th, 2009 at 6:24 pm

Treemp

Excellent job getting this post out in time for 3.1

One question I have, in the 3/51/17 dps spec would you consider losing the 3 points from Subversion and put 3/3 in Blood-Caked Blade if threat reduction is not an issue?
9% crit on Obliterate is very nice especially considering the boost it gets from Guile of Gorefiend, but with the boosts to Obliterate’s crit chance in the frost tree as it is I’m not sure whether 9% is worth losing BCB for considering how fast a frost DK attacks.

April 14th, 2009 at 6:30 pm

Nick

For all the people wondering about IUP, its is necessary. The math has been done, just expect to have it.

April 14th, 2009 at 6:54 pm

Osimann

Is it just me or is there an issue when you click the build link? I cant see the build. Someone with more smarts help me out plz.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:32 pm

Kala

Can someone relink the specs? mmo-champion seems to be down for me.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:34 pm

Zac

Thanks for all the specs but for some reason I get page load error for all the links. Anyone else getting that?

April 14th, 2009 at 7:38 pm

Osimann

Nevermind, suddenly its working.

April 14th, 2009 at 7:39 pm

David

Great stuff, as always. Though Im curious, why in the T7 unholy build would you throw 5 in desecration instead of putting them in dark conviction?

April 14th, 2009 at 8:27 pm

Skeleton Jack

The builds being down was an MMO issue guys. Their site appears to up and running again.

April 14th, 2009 at 9:03 pm

Zupa

Thanks for the awesomeness!

I just found your blog today, but will be following from now on.

Cheers,

zupa

April 14th, 2009 at 9:29 pm

Lessthanthree

OK I have one question about Unholy PvE. Why dirge? I have never as a DK said to myself hmm, I’m not generating enough runic power. I always have more than I need. So why not put those 2 points in dark conviction or some such to increase your damage output on all your other abilities? I mean especially on the T7 one you don’t even have morbidity to buff the deathcoils you’d be spending the extra RP on… and seems like 3/3 morbidity would be a better choice on the T8 with maybe 1 pt in dirge? though I’d probably end up putting that 1 pt in subversion instead.

Other than that, all this info seems really solid. Must have been a ton of work to collect all the data. Thanks a lot for your monumental effort, very helpful.

April 14th, 2009 at 9:41 pm

Earantur

I have a question for you SJ (or for any commenters). Which spec would you reccomend for a freshly dinged 80 starting heroics?

April 14th, 2009 at 9:54 pm

Hepp

Casual 51/13/7 with improved DS is the only change i will do.

Gonna test it for some PvEraiding.

April 14th, 2009 at 10:15 pm

Banch

I would like your feedback on this spec. Seems like it would be a very solid blood dps spec.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#jfVMVh0IsbRf0sZZfzhhhcdx0o:bGLVMm

April 14th, 2009 at 10:24 pm

Castas

Great site, love what you do here. However, with the 2h blood rotation, shoudln’t it be DS-IT-PS-HS-HS DCx2(can usually only do 1 tho at first) HSx2 DS HSx2. the way it is now, ur usin death runes for death strike and ur stuck doin 2 of em. for a HSx4 rotation, u cant start with DS. also ur blood+UB doesnt actually have UB. Just thought id bring these to ur attention

April 14th, 2009 at 10:30 pm

Nick

@ Lessthanthree

I took this off some math from Elitist Jerks forums.
“Dirge: Interestingly enough and perhaps fairly obvious dirge = a fair amount of DPS. It packs about 1.2% per point. That means no passing this one. Ever.”

April 14th, 2009 at 10:47 pm

Hobosic

Hi,
Amazing! Not clear for me, how offen you updating your http://www.skeletonjack.com.

Thanks
Hobosic

April 14th, 2009 at 10:50 pm

ben

Hey so for blood.
is it DS – IS – PS – HS – HS – DC – DC
DS- HS -HS – DC -DC -DS -IS -PS…..?

April 14th, 2009 at 11:14 pm

Geistig

Right on cue thanks!

April 15th, 2009 at 12:57 am

dw-redux

Wondering about your Frost tank specc.
to qoute from tankspot:
“I still don’t see why many frost tanks bother putting points in Morbitity. Really. DnD is practically worthless for a frost build, HB+BB is going to net you more threat for the same amount of runes, and allow you to put those 3 points into something useful.”
http://www.tankspot.com/forums/f175/48287-3-1-frost-tank-build-2.html
Just something to think about. Otherwise great post.

April 15th, 2009 at 1:13 am

Reapin

Nick – I noticed your talent build and was wondering are you in unholy presence or blood presence? What spell rotation are you using? Another question I am torn going back between here and Elitist Jerks when it comes to itemizing. Which is correct? I have followed the itemization here but a guildy states that elitist jerks are more accurate.

April 15th, 2009 at 1:17 am

Skeleton Jack

Just because someone at Tank Spot said, doesn’t make it right. DnD has baked in uber threat, and if you play with the kind of DPS’ers that I do, you’d know that it’s necessary sometimes. And the fact is, you DnD and HB both. Did you even read the AoE rotation? DnD + HB = WIN

April 15th, 2009 at 1:31 am

Milesy

Ok, I needed to get my head around the Rotation. So I have started a Spread sheet. Its for Blood DPS.
http://www.milesy.net/WOW/MilesyBloodDPS.xls

Its still in its infancy. I’d love some feedback.

the Basics:
Each cell in 1/2 a second
I have left a half second gap between abilities as I’m in OZ, and I’m luck if I have less than a 500ms Ping.
I’d like to add rune power generation, but I couldn’t find a calculation.
I didn’t leave room for a 2nd Rune dump. Perhaps do that before I re apply dieseses?

Milesy

April 15th, 2009 at 1:50 am

SuperDeathk

Great post as always SJ really informative, I’m liking the DRW spec the most, however i’m just wondering is it better maybe to have Mark of blood instead ofd the point in Rune tap, yes we as a player lose a nice safety, but for new raids etc where healesr may/will be under more prssure this would be beneficial?

Or am i completely wrong and this talent is pretty useless?

April 15th, 2009 at 2:31 am

Amsterdammed

Nothign to say but:

/Clap
/Cheer

I’ve tested both Blood (UB) and Unholy T7.

Unholy great for trash and i switched to blood on bosses for the healing to the raid for now. Unholy does do a bit more Dps as you stated, but yeah when guild is new to Ulduar Healing is needed.

SPank you very mucho and keep up the damn awsome work.

April 15th, 2009 at 2:48 am

Thaurr

What about a Frost-Ghoul PvE Spec?
I tried the 0/45/26 (http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=00000000000000000000000000003200505035200311230005101300230200305003205000100000000000&glyph=181327060501&version=9767) on the PTR and it gave nice numbers.

Used Razorice+Blood Presence

April 15th, 2009 at 5:13 am

Maricar

SJ why would the Necrosis 5/5 be better than Morbidity 3/3 , Necrosis 2/2 for trashpulls and boss?

April 15th, 2009 at 5:33 am

Nab

Why not 10/10/51 for Unholy DPS? It takes the best of both your specs, and only loses a aoe trash talent (wandering plague)

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#jfVZG0xZfMhI0MdxcqMcout

April 15th, 2009 at 5:54 am

Hepp

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=23050215300033132012230013513200500030000000000000000000230200000000000000000000000000&glyph=100612010405&version=9767

how about this PVE-specc? Its not a big different from the best bloodspec pre-3.1.

Somebody who have the ballz to count how long DRW will be up if everything works out well? I really prefer DRW as pet instead of a ghoul PvE.

April 15th, 2009 at 6:23 am

Alsalam

Thanks very much for all that work. The DPS stuff I have no argument with whatsoever, you’re the expert there. The Tanking builds though, specifically the blood and frost build had me scratching my head a bit. Hungering Cold? And you skipped Lichbane. Lichbane is like the oh crap button for us tanks and is very useful for breaking out of fear effects for example. The Blood spec I found a way to reduce a couple of the points in blood enough to take more points in unholy and get Unholy Blight which would help maintain a higher level of threat, requires 46 points in blood only, enough points in unholy and rest in frost. I think you might want to revisit those tanking builds

Thanks so much though, just giving opinion, not criticizing, I’m sure you have your reasons for what you picked.

April 15th, 2009 at 6:23 am

Dürer

SJ, have you tested 0/17/54 Unholy DW spec? Here’s a link to my armory for the spec http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Exodar&cn=D%C3%BCrer&gn=Immortal+Army. I used UH presence and the rotation goes PS > IT > BT > IT> IT > GF > BS > DC(as many you shoot out). I was able to pull off 3.6k dps on archavon. It’s technically a death coil spam build. Spam PS/IT for runic power, pop GF ever 30s. I dunno if I got lucky with numbers or whatnot, was hoping if you have the time to test it since you have better gear than I do.

Thanks.

April 15th, 2009 at 6:39 am

Sonalita

@Black regarding imp UP – you say it does nothiong for dps… Think about this.. How many bosses are there where you literraly stand stll and do not move? hmm maybe patcherk… so all those bosses where you;re running around, 15% increased run speed means you and your raid get to the new position 15% faster meaning 15% of your normal running around time is now dps time. There it IS a dps boots to the whole raid.

April 15th, 2009 at 7:07 am

Lidge @ Nazgrel

Thank you so much for putting in the work for this list. Makes it so much easier to have a start point for tinkering instead of flailing over the patch notes trying to figure out which spells/talents are now worthless, lol.

April 15th, 2009 at 7:54 am

Belmos

he jack thx for the post just made my day 1 thing though i am afraid some people are right about teh necrosis.

on the blue list of the patch notes:
“Necrosis: The damage from this ability will no longer benefit multiple times from damage increasing effects.”

question is would you still prefer necrosis on top of morbidity cause the dc is a straight dps gain now were necrosis is flat white dps talent.

April 15th, 2009 at 8:08 am

ben

Miley…

The issue with your excel spread sheet… you do not get Death runes when IT and PS runes regen.. so you will have to throw in some DS after the initial death coils.

April 15th, 2009 at 8:10 am

redux

@SJ yes I did, and granted ive not tested things out in the PTR, but did you miss how BB now adds threat w/o diseases?

And if we are talking threat on trash, I hope you agree that insta threat of BB+HB is better than the dot from DnD. Again ive not yet tested it myself, but dismissing it, so offhandidly seems odd to me.

April 15th, 2009 at 8:14 am

Dez

Redux, DnD adds a “high amount of threat”.

And it doesn’t require to target something and cast etc, just drop it on the ground then instantly high threat to you when they walk in it.

April 15th, 2009 at 8:27 am

Mike

Hey SJ

Nice job. Just wondering if any other test were done on the “Howling Fever” or as you posted some time ago “Diseaseless Frost” spec. Is it still somewhat viable with a roation around something like HB-OB-BS BS dump—HB-OB-OB-OB-dump.

Thanks again and keep up the good work.

April 15th, 2009 at 9:25 am

Shiboliath

to skeletonjack
the 0/10/61 spec does have threat issues
i’m going to try 3/10/58 at our next raid

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=03000000000000000000000000003200500000000000000000000000230230335003215203130003133151&glyph=270820050304&version=9767

to the poster asking about ghoul frenzy
on EJ they suggested using it either at the same time you reapply your bone shield (by using 2 death runes) or you use blood tap…

it is also suggested on EJ that DC’s taken to heal the pet is lost dps which is when they suggest to use ghoul frenzy/ bone shield), but as the pet hardly takes any dmg in aoe and I’m still working on finding a spec I don’t want to try it out

April 15th, 2009 at 11:01 am

explo

Yo SJ EMial me or something i found a spec of gold. its weird to explain its like Diseasesd DIseaseless blood. lol i know it sounds crazy but im hitting the dummys for 10k Self buffed.

April 15th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

morbidkill

hey man, I have a noob question about the 12/0/59 unholy rotation, Ive been trying it on heroics and raid and I really liked it but theres something thats bothering and I hope you can clear that out to me:
before 3.1 I was using the 32/39 dw spec, comparing to this unholy build (im not complaining, just staing something I noticed and that I probably might be doing wrong since im really used to the dw spec) I have a huge downtime

I start with IT, then PS, BS, BS, SS and UB like the rotation you told to use, but after UB all my spells are on cd, I usually need to wait a few milliseconds to get another SS and after that SS I dont have SS at all, I usually have IT or BS up, so Im wondering what I might be doing wrong in the rotation or something like that

thanks a lot for everything man! these builds really helped me out =D

April 15th, 2009 at 12:09 pm

john

your the man… just so you know…

April 15th, 2009 at 12:54 pm

Deddis

100

[Improved Unholy Presence] isn’t a raidbuff anymore… So what to do?

April 15th, 2009 at 1:09 pm

Gravestone

101

Heya S’Jack thx a ton for the update! Having someone like you that can run numbers and then still have enough energy to post your results for everyone in such a concise manner is a godsend. Here is a question I haven’t seen anyone ask yet; which of the PvE DPS specs you listed above was the most fun to play? Thx again m8

April 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm

Brallus

102

“A 3 min trinket with movemend debuff reduction is something to serious”

excellent post, found a typo :] i’m sad that DW is seemingly dead, i loved that spec.

April 15th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

Arknight

103

Wow, there’s a lot of posts here … but I have to ask for one quick point of clarification. I’m new to your site, so forgive me if you’ve answered this a thousand times before.

“Runeforging and Presence: Fallen Crusader and Blood. ‘Nuff said.” Your words. But why? Jack, I would really like to be using that Unholy Presence as an Unholy DK. But is BP really that big a boost over Imp’d UP? Do the reduced rune cooldowns really count for nothing?

At the same time, RotFC got scaled back. Does it remain that much better than, say, Cinderglacier? I always see the same answers to these questions, but I never see why.

Why, Jack? Why?

April 15th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

Erosia

104

Hi Skelly!

I love your site, you saved me so much time, not having to sift through all the endless forums that seem really unsure of the specs, or still referring to old specs.

I really wanted to try something new, I was dw before patch, think ill dual spec blood and uh and see which i like best =D hehe

Anyways, I had a question, just for learning’s sake, when you say the blood worms eat the raid’s HoT’s what do you mean exactly by that? That comment got me really curious I just like to learn all the ins and outs of why people choose certain things!

Thanks again!

April 15th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

Atmosfear

105

For your Unholy build question (T7), I was wondering why you didn’t spec out of Imp. Unholy Aura and put the two points into Morbidity for increased Death Coil damage? Please comment… because it would be a bigger dps increase. I know you’re losing on the speed to GET to the targets but still, I believe overall DPS is increased seeing as though Death Coil should be in the top 5 of your damaging abilities.

April 15th, 2009 at 4:45 pm

finalthril

106

i want to thank you for your blog and your post you have helped me so much. Please dont stop doing what you do

April 15th, 2009 at 6:07 pm

Dárknight

107

is there any duel wield dps Specs at all Skeleton Jack after the major nerf to duel wield…. im asking because im more of a fan of duel wielding

April 15th, 2009 at 7:06 pm

Milesy

108

Thanks Ben. (#92). I missed that (used to diseaseless blood).

I’ve amended the Spreadsheet.

http://www.milesy.net/WOW/MilesyBloodDPS.xls

So as I see it the best blood rotation is:

DS IT PS HS HS DC
HS HS DS HS HS
IT PS DS DC DC HS HS

Rinse and repeat. A little confusing to remember, but should be ok once you have it under control. Love some more input.

SJ we need to get you some forums

April 15th, 2009 at 7:54 pm

Milesy

109

Dárknight, you can DW with any spec. But they will all perform better, just by changing to a 2 hander, as all our primary DPS skills work off base weapon damage. 2 hander weapon damage > 1 hander.

April 15th, 2009 at 7:56 pm

Reapin

110

Since your unholy builds are suited only for end game raiding do you know or know where I can find a good unholy dps spec for naxx and such?

April 15th, 2009 at 8:33 pm

Kachen

111

Explo your idea intrigues me. Can you post up some more info and maybe the spec so I can go do some testing myself? Thanks!

SJ awesome site! Truely the work you do here is amazing, and I thank you for it!

April 15th, 2009 at 11:55 pm

Gravestone

112

morbid #98 – I’m having the same issue. I follow the rotation to the letter and end up with everything on CD for a few after first SS then for a lot longer after the second SS. What am I missin SJ?

April 16th, 2009 at 5:12 am

LB DK

113

What do you think about this for PvP? It’s an additional snare, no FS, less damage probably but also got useful Unbreakable Armor.

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=00000000000000000000000000003202500135220310203100100000230202330023204003150000000000&glyph=271813060504&version=9767

April 16th, 2009 at 6:11 am

LB DK

114

Oh and ignore the Glyphs, forgot to change them XD

April 16th, 2009 at 6:11 am

Reapin

115

Erosia – I think what he meant by that was say a shaman who chain heals and you have bloodworms up, it could very well heal them instead of an actual player. I could be wrong but I am thinking that was what was meant.

April 16th, 2009 at 9:27 am

Lia

116

Just look at this horde of comments! Guys, *read* the notes at the bottom.

If you have questions about new builds or rotations don’t ask SJ to send you an e-mail to an arbitrary link, send *him* an e-mail with detailed information. I really doubt he has time to wade through all of this and provide detailed responses to all of this.
On top of that many questions asked here are answered in the initial post!

Blood Spec opens with Deathstrike because it grants the raid 10% more AP off the bat.
Improved Unholy Presence is a must, look at any run speed math on any forum anywhere and that will tell you it *ALWAYS* wins out.
Blood Presence increases your damage by *and* gives you healing *and* gives run speed with imp unholy presence > unholy presence.
Rune Tap vs. Mark of Blood: Preference but look at the damage being dealt raid wide and you may want another pot/healthstone/SHT button.

Take some time to figure out why SJ put the information to everyone in this format. Its not like he’s grabbing glyphs and talent points all willy nilly without looking at dummy and even boss testing. Consider why you might be wrong rather than posting the same question that was already answered in the post and was asked already by someone in the sea of comments.

This is a very informed post by SJ for the community’s benefit. He’s considered Glyphs, he’s considered rotations, he’s done it from a max raid perspective not AMIGAD E-PEEN. He’s read Elitist Jerks, he’s read Tankspot, he’s *done* the research. Arbitrarily quoting some random person and then asking why SJ disagrees with them is like asking why a high school student disagrees with someone with a Doctorite.

Srsly useful post, so use it, don’t abuse it. <3

April 16th, 2009 at 11:29 am

Kolbey

117

Showing your gear and the dps numbers to back up these claims would be nice

April 16th, 2009 at 11:37 am

Lia

118

Additional: I should mention that I do have immense respect and appreciate all that the communities and posters at places like EJ and TS do for the WoW community at large.
The point simply being that Skeletonjack has put in the time to look into all the availble info he could get his hands on and has put in huge amounts of time testing and tweaking.
I’m sure he’s taken the bust of their information into consideration.

April 16th, 2009 at 11:45 am

Shiboliath

119

to lia: there are some frost builds that still use unholy presence (at least for frost (especially with 4 peice t7))
i don’t think there is any reason to use unholy presence (and get the talent imp unholy presence (less downtime on your runes)) for anything besides pvp atm

April 16th, 2009 at 11:56 am

120

Was very curious about this spec: 0/18/53.
The increased speed works well with Necrosis. I’m always unsure about points in Dirge and Reaping. Your thoughts appreciated.

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=00000000000000000000000000003200505030000000000000000000230220335003205000140103133151&glyph=082227060504&version=9767

April 16th, 2009 at 1:55 pm

Nukem

121

Great info ty. Just curious what build you would suggest for a non arena pvp – battlegrounds. Guessing it’s probably the same. I prefer blood atm because of the survivability, but open to any spec. Thanks

April 16th, 2009 at 4:47 pm

dave

122

I was wondering with the 51/2/18 blood spec what people’s thoughts are on using pestilence and disease glyph to keep the diseases refreshed after first rotation. I have tried and can maintain 3500-4k dps on the Highlord’s Nemesis Trainer in Ebon Hold. Im sure this has been discussed and i missed it. I dont have DRW glyph atm that is the only reason i even tried this.
BTW the information here is wonderful.
ty

April 16th, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Shiboliath

123

to dave:
I wouldn’t try pestilence (especially on boss fights) as it doesn’t do dmg to the boss
I also found a nice rotation on EJ that was seeming to do more dmg on XT-002

IT-PS-HSx2-DS-DC-DS-HSx4-DCx2

April 16th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

Söth

124

Hey man great job on the specs. Saved me a lot of embarrassment when 3.1 went live.

Wanted to report on how the specs were working for me though. I was a DWer before 3.1, and in preparation for the patch i went unholy (same one as you). So, naturally after patch that’s the one i tried first.

Only pushed around 3.2k tops on XT-200. Worst attempt i was doing 2.8k, getting some of the kinks worked out, but still pretty terrible for me considering i could usually do 3.5-4k easily.

Switched to Frost DPS spec today for the haste to raid (the unholy one) and went 4.7k on XT. Lowest attempt was 3.7k (first one). I gotta say… i love that spec. I blow up AoE, still pretty sustained DPS on bosses and it feels like my old DW spec. Maybe i’m just bloody terrible at unholy rotation, although I’m positive I’m doing the rotation properly… i don’t know. Just what i found so far.

Also, just a note – I know the DPS isn’t completely accurate on XT because you do a lot more damage to the heart, but it’s still comparative to the other spec in the same encounter.

Here’s a link to my armory encase you have time to check it out. Not the greatest gear, but i have my stats somewhat balanced. And I’ve been rotating around a lot of other items in and out to get balancing right.

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Jaedenar&n=S%C3%B6th

April 16th, 2009 at 10:41 pm

Dürer

125

Little more on the info for Unholy DW spec (http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#jZG0e0bbZf0hhxcdgcqMsoht). Was able to to get 4.2k on patchwerk in 10m naxx. This was including gargoyle and AotD. Rotation goes: PS > IT > GF > BS > BS > IT > UB > BT > DC. From there PS/IT spam, using IT on death runes, and using BS to create death runes. Pop GF every 30 seconds and renew UB whenever you can. I used a slow MH (FC) and fast OH (RI) for weapons. Since the build works in unholy pres. no haste is really required, though it might be helpful. This build focuses on DC spamming, so never go over your RP cap and spend as much on DCs as possible. At the end of naxx raid, i was able to shoot out 1433 DCs and it was my top dmg done, 3.3k overall dps.

If anyone with better gear can test this spec out, that’ll be great. Trying to get more parses and info on it.

April 16th, 2009 at 11:34 pm

Halfajoke

126

yeah but with disease glyph your using one blood rune or death rune instead of a frost and unholy which means you can get another death strike in instead of heart strike. so only question is which does more damage on single targets such as bosses

April 16th, 2009 at 11:42 pm

Elen

127

It seems that the blood rotation has problem with runicpower starvation for the 2 DC in the end of the rotation when you have t8 peaces in your gear hearby no longer have t7.5 4set bonus. Is it just me or is t8 still crap compared to the 4 set bonus ?

/Elen

April 17th, 2009 at 2:42 am

Dryank

128

I must say that for the blood specs i tried, i finally settled on a 52/0/19 spec because i like that playstyle the most. i did find myself messing up rotations a lot though in blood presence because of the rune cooldowns. fixed it by going into unholy presence which still gives me +15% speed/haste increase and .5 sec off of GCD which i think is better than IUP. my dps actually went up and it’s nice to see unholy presence finally being useful. just my 2 cents for anyone who is finding the blood rotation too difficult to manage because of cooldowns on runes.

April 17th, 2009 at 3:57 am

Atsuki

129

Did 7.1k dps on XT yday 25 man. Topign meters ofc, rogues where behind me and the other unholy DK.Unholy spec… I hope the guy with only 4.7k was on 10 man :p

Nice post, keep on going

April 17th, 2009 at 6:20 am

Deddis

130

What specc should I use when I only have 1 piece of T7 (will be getting 1-2 more pieces today/tomorrow )? I do have full purple gear.

April 17th, 2009 at 7:16 am

Thebrotherii

131

Nothing but respect to SJ on this Very Detailed DK spec guide. What rotation would you guys suggest when using the Frost Ghoul spec?

April 17th, 2009 at 9:19 am

redcedar

132

I am testing the unholy dps spec of 12/0/59 which is also the one you mention on using in Ulduar when dpsing. I am very confused by the end of the rotation listed below. how are you able to ss x 3 or even dc x 3. i have to be completely misunderstanding something.

IT – PS – BS – BS – SS – UB
SS x3 – DCx3

April 17th, 2009 at 10:33 am

shystechris

133

Hey SJ!

I have a question about AP…

I absolutely love the 12/0/59 build…but what are your thoughts on trading desecration for Toughness?

You’d be giving up the snare for glyph of blood strike, but gaining AP all around…

Thanks

April 17th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

Overpower

134

Hey guys, and dear SJ, I was wondering if Armor Penetration is worth stacking for dps Dks, or better yet, is it worth geming. I figure with my noobish concept that warrior/dk stats are similar that if as ArPen has been buffed, dps warriors now gem strictly for it –source: search armory of ’s warriors.

But like you mentioned, “always gem for str=win”, I’m suspecting that str is the way to go still. Just out of curiosity.

Note: My computer is broke, so all I can do is guess, can’t really do anything to test it out in-game.

April 17th, 2009 at 1:01 pm

Overpower

135

edit: that was “search for Ensidia’s dps warriors”

April 17th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

Bloodynails

136

Hey SJ – I’m going pvp for my off-spec and i’m using your 0/17/54 build for now. I’m guessing the glyphs you used in the link above were left over from the PVE Unholy dps spec.

Which glyphs are recommended for unholy pvp? Major and minor.

Also, what about some loose rotation for PVP – I know the talents you use are always situational with pvp, but i’d like to get a feel for when to use my talents (i.e. in what situations skills should be used – something along the lines of one of your earlier posts about how to destroy healers etc.)

Other PVP DK’s please weigh in.

Thx

April 17th, 2009 at 2:17 pm

Skeleton Jack

137

Heya guys!! Sorry but with 134 comments atm I can’t answer everything, lol. That would probably be like 5 posts at least, rofl. One or two things though.

Any time you’re looking at a DPS spec, you’re pretty much done. Go with what I’ve got. I mean it. There is *VERY LITTLE* wiggle room in those specs except for in Blood. As to tanking/pvp, there is a lot more wiggle room so feel free to manipulate the points there. The only Glyphs up for debate are tank ones, depending on your role and need. PvE dps and PvP glyphs are as is for the most part. If you guys check out my more recent post “Ulduar, Specs, Kill Shots, New Readers, Q&A, Cancer, and MOAR!!!!” you’ll see that some concerns are addressed there and expectations are set.

Thanks for reading, it makes me feel very proud to have provided material like this and have it be so well receieved.

April 17th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

Jorzinta

138

Thanks a bunch man! This really help me and a few DK guild members out a ton. I just did a new post on my guilds website, almost based on everything you said, don’t worry; i gave credit :]. Awesome post 10/10

April 17th, 2009 at 6:19 pm

Felyxx

139

curious about any DW dps specs i know it got nerfed out the ass just wondering if its even possible

April 17th, 2009 at 11:13 pm

Gravestone

140

IT – PS – BS – BS – SS – UB
SS x3 – DCx3

How does this happen? I’m missing something because it’s more like

IT-PS-BS-BS-SS-UB-SS (2 sec cd) SS (eternity passes) SS

I know you wouldn’t say it was so if it wasn’t so what’s the trick?

April 17th, 2009 at 11:57 pm

Darksara

141

Love the information, but what Glyphs should we be using? A current thread on Glyphs, including the new ones, should be discused.

April 18th, 2009 at 2:53 am

primeintellect

142

considering new glyph Dark Death to replace glyph of frost Strike in Frost Tank PvE

April 18th, 2009 at 9:45 am

Dkvorex

143

Hey SJ, Love the site. Just wanted to get your opinion on Diseasless blood. I know it was thought to be dead but after messing with it some I have been able to pull 3k+ on bosses and upwards of 5k on aoe trash. This is roughly what i was pulling with diseasless pre-patch. I did a quick write up on it here

http://dkvorex.blogspot.com/

Let me know if you get a chance to test this.

April 18th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

Gravestone

144

Doh I read it like 10 times but it only now hit me:

The Unholy rotation has 3 DC?s because Unholy is an intuitive priority system rotation. You will actually use a DC before a SS, allowing you to spend RP before you RP cap.

Consider the question answered. Thx SJ

April 19th, 2009 at 8:23 am

Semyazza

145

I’d like to share a spec that I have been playing around with lately in Battlegrounds, and its generally been brutal for other person of my Betrayer of Humanity. Its a deep frost build that is much more fun to play than stupidity that was Shadowfrost. The spec does rely upon some PvE gear to perform amazingly. Use of 4pc T7.5 is highly recommended for the Oblit and Runic Power generation, and then using PvP gear in the other slots save Weapon and Sigil. Its meant to be played in Unholy Presence for maximum burst, but don’t be afraid to switch to other presences. Credit for the build goes to Serennia

More detailed explanation at:

http://www.arenajunkies.com/showthread.php?t=77497

Spec:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#jfVMVZGMxzArcocuV0stc:kaNmMV

Personally, I’d think about dropping a point from Virulence to pick up Unbreakable Armor as a nice defensive Cool Down. Its possible that picking up the talent that increases the CD on Death Grip might be needed, but I’d like to test it out when the season starts.

Rotation should be once you have your diseases up, a full RP bar, and death runes:

FS->FS->FS->Oblit->Oblit->Oblit->FS->FS->FS

I’ve only used the build in BGs, but its devastating. The offensive capabilities are quite nice. I generally aim for getting the healer in Hungering Cold and then burst the DPS. I use 4pc t7.5, Deadly gloves, Greatness, sigil of awarenss, Betrayer of Humanity and the rest is PvP gear.

April 20th, 2009 at 3:15 am

Leth

146

With the 50/0/21 spec, is it then really worth speccing 2/2 Night of the living dead over 4/5 Necrosis for the constant ekstra dmg?

Just a thought since my logic tells me that the extra 2 points in Necrosis would turn out better on the dmg meter? ,. or does Ghoul do enough dmg on bossfights to be worth speccing the CD reduction ?

April 20th, 2009 at 8:53 am

Shiboliath

147

To SJ from another DK on your server,
the blood rotation you listed sucks (as other have pointed out)

I found a different one on EJ and have been using it successfully in raids

IT – PS – HSx2 – DS – DC – DS – HSx4 – DCx2
this is in blood presence

April 20th, 2009 at 12:58 pm

DeathConche

148

Is Improved Unholy Pressence really worth it after patch? and why? Can someone please explain.

Great Site SJ.

April 20th, 2009 at 6:40 pm

Skeleton Jack

149

Sigh. You “read it at EJ”. It must be true then (read sarcasm). Your rotation is the same as mine, just in a different order. So why are you wrong? Because putting up Abom’s Might *IMMEDIATELY* is more of a raid dps gain than it possibly going off later. DS first to guarantee it. Think about the raid, and not yourself. I do not support E-peen glory hogs.

April 20th, 2009 at 7:10 pm

xyz

150

i’m using 10/10/61 build and i don’t know if it’s just my guild, the peeps on my server or luck but it’s coming out really strong. i’m still topping the meters on most fights. last night i did a sustained dps of over 4k on Archavon(25-man), next to me was a full Valorous gear hunter. i have only 3/5 valorous. on Patchwerk(25-man) i did a dps of over 5k . this was something i couldn’t do as UH unless i went for the 32/39 build pre-3.1. on sartharion (25-man) i was doing over 4k dps as well. =D

April 20th, 2009 at 9:14 pm

xyz

151

errr that’s 10/10/51. my bad. =P

April 20th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

Caldrayvia

152

hey I like what you got here a lot. Just have a few questions for your T7 Unholy DPS spec why put the points in Imp Unholy Presence if we DPS in Blood Pres (sorry if its nub questions). I was thinking those 2 points could be better in Morbidity for DC bonus or better yet for Runic Mastery for extra DCs

Here’s what im thinking
http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=23050200000000000000000000000200000000000000000000000000230200335003215203150003133151&glyph=082227060504&version=9767

Let me know what you think as well as anyone else

April 21st, 2009 at 2:26 pm

Cadaver

153

Hey Skeleton Jack I’m a big fan of your site but anyways do you think you could help me out with spec for 10 man naxx for 3.1? Thanks

April 21st, 2009 at 3:26 pm

Yaly

154

I started up with unholy and got up with frost in the late Naxx 25 Content, thinking for me its more DPS.

IT – OB – Blood Tab – OB – HS – FS (3-4 Times depends on Rime Progs)

OB – OB – IT – HS – FS (Again depends on Progs)

Cause of that Blood Tab i´ve got to consume the Unholy Rune so it doesnt turn back at wrong time, after this its a pretty round thing with

IT – OB – OB – HS – FS (3-4 Dump Rime Prog situation)

I think bringing up 2 deseases at the the cost of one OB is no option. Please tell if it got something wrong here.

I dont really think blood can compare to frost at this rotation at least the DK´s in my guild can´t get even close. (Most of my dmg comes from Froststrike 2. OB 3. Auto Hit)

I think its not worth playing like that with T8 4p but i still play t7,5 4p and need to come up with something new until the new Tier set.

April 22nd, 2009 at 2:51 am

Yaly

155

I´ve forgotten [url=http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=23050205000000000000000000003200505035200311230005101351030000000000000000000000000000&glyph=131718040506&version=9806]my Spec[/url] and that i Play (is there an option in Blood Presence

else maybe its working with t8 4p but only with Glyph of Icy Touch, anyways loosing 20% bonus dmg from diseases is some kind of hard i can´t imagine its worth not changing the rotation or spec.

P.S. My english is pretty bad plz forgive me

April 22nd, 2009 at 3:01 am

Gravestone

156

Hey SJ, again you are the man-with-the-plan and your builds are on point, but since I’m a selfish specrobber who sucks at math, is there any chance you will be crunching out some specs for those of us who aren’t in full T7.5+ and are just starting to run Naxx/Maly etc? Or are these still the top dps specs and I just need to tough it out until I get the pieces? Thanks again, you are gangster.

April 22nd, 2009 at 5:44 am

Craxas

157

So what race would you say is the best for doing frost ghoul for pvp and frost for tanking?

April 23rd, 2009 at 12:17 pm

craxas

158

*Which horde race?

April 23rd, 2009 at 9:30 pm

frozenthorn

159

I am conflicted, a lot of people say gem STR, STR is your god stat. Ok, well with 3.1 out i’m conserned armor pen is being way over looked. In raids I’ve regemmed to about 25% armor pen, + the blood gorged giving upto 10% and from my point of view its a dps upgrade over the STR loss for me.

Has anyone done some serious testing that can show me STR is actually better? Cause I’m really tired of everyone just saying it is and leaving it at that. It certianly doesn’t appear to be true anymore in 3.1 for a blood dk

April 23rd, 2009 at 11:11 pm

Pixiking

160

Very Good write ups on 3.1 SJ. Still reading up on A Dps Specc, leaning towards Bloos seeing its more forgiving for the newbie Dpser lol. Tanked since my Dk was Born loving it, even if Iam Unholy atm lol. Keep up the good work SJ.

April 26th, 2009 at 4:01 am

Relykk

161

Hey SJ! Not sure if you noticed or whether or not it’s been brought to your attention, but the talent build links to mmo champion are not showing correctly, the points are there, it’s just that the icons stating which talents are which are not visible. For ease of better use, it would probably be better to link to Wowhead talent calculator, which not only will display correctly, but also give users the option to print the builds out via summary. Just an FYI. I love your site and visit mostly every day. Keep up the great work!

April 29th, 2009 at 10:06 am

Gxy

162

quick question, for your Blood DPS rotation, how to you have enough runic power in the first part of the rotation for 2 death coils?

April 29th, 2009 at 12:17 pm

Inurphayce

163

What would you change in the rotations for tanking? I am going frost for tanking and using your 12/51/8 spec, what would the rotation be for that spec for both ST and AOE?

May 1st, 2009 at 11:38 am

Ali

164

Hi guys,

Here is me http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Bloodhoof&cn=Deathcoke&gn=Endless+Horizon

Just incase the wowarmory dose not update here?s my spec.

Frost http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#jfVMVZG0xxAbckf0Vostc
(Glyphs: Frost Strike, Obliterate, Icy Touch. Gear Setup: 4pc T7 Rotation: PS > IT > BS > BS > OB dump OB > OB > OB > Dump, 3702.6 DPS)

Unholy http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=23050200000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000230230331003215203150213133151&glyph=082227060405&version=9767

I do have the Axe from the 25 man Naxx run, BoH.

My Frost rotation Macro is /castsequence reset=6/combat/shift Plague Strike, Icy Touch, Obliterate, Blood Strike, Blood Strike, Frost Strike, Frost Strike, Frost Strike

My unholy rotation Macro is /castsequence reset=6/combat/shift Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Blood Strike, Blood Strike, Scourge Strike, Unholy Blight, Scourge Strike, Scourge Strike, Scourge Strike, Death Coil, Death Coil

My Presence is always Unholy.

Weapons i use are either BoH or Titansteel Destroyer.

I use the rune of fallen crusader.

Now regardless of which talent tree, or weapon or presence. My DPS is always 2200 + or – 50 to 100, depending on buffs or Heroic run group members etc.

Can anyone guess or know, or pinpoint what the problem might be?

No one on BloodHoof server who has experience with DK’s or even DPS can think of any reason.

The specs and the Rotation are 99% same as deathknightbuilds.com and Skeletonjack.com.

The frost Spec and rotation is supposed to give me 3704.7K DPS. i am not even getting close.

This is so frustrating. So confusing.

*PLEASE KINDLY ONLY RESPOND IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING GOOD TO ADD. SUGGESTION OR COMMENT.
*MY LAST POST HAD MANY IDIOTS RESPONDING.

Thank you in advance.

Ali

May 4th, 2009 at 5:53 am

Mattssacre

165

Frost is not dead at all. On elite boss dummies 13/51/07 can hang with unholy no problem. Both of them doing 3.3-3.5.k over 5+ minute fights. Jack you should add the 13/51/07 build to your specs list!

May 4th, 2009 at 8:48 pm

Amsterdoomed

166

Guys i’ve been checking http://www.talentchic.com/Death%20Knight and see that the 17/51/3 is favorite for most US dk’s anyone that can share their opinion on this? Or is the site just crap?

May 5th, 2009 at 5:21 am

Keen

167

Hey SJ I was wondering in the Frost Ghoul Spec do you have a rotation for that?

May 6th, 2009 at 12:21 pm

168

Hi! Im using the frost ghoul spec for pvp! but i have no clue what rotation to use! Can any1 help me out?

And another thing! do you think I should use frost pressence or blood pressence during Pvping (bgs and areana etc.)?

Please help me out! it would mean a great deal of help for me!

Cheers!

May 9th, 2009 at 1:00 pm

Menok

169

so far i have found as many others have that 51/0/20 is the highest raid boss dps (with blood worms) i have yet to see blood worms eat AoE healing as sj says it does. Be aware tho this spec is highly gear dependant and dont expect to out aoe others with it.

May 11th, 2009 at 9:50 am

Jason

170

Heya SJ, i’ve got (what feels like) a retarded question for you. In the unholy spec that you posted for PVE dps, our/your rotation would be performed while in Blood Presence, yes? not Unholy?

May 12th, 2009 at 7:08 pm

Prizefighter

171

The best DK info on the web. I really appreciate it. Thank you!

May 13th, 2009 at 11:02 am

ark

172

I personally think frost is the highest single target dps right now, i have a different rotation, but, 9-11k frost strikes, 6-8k oblits > 8-9k death strikes, 5-7k heart strikes, imo

May 18th, 2009 at 9:29 pm

173

for frost ghoul pvp spec!!! im stuck on what rotation to use! can any help me out!

May 19th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

dkjones

174

My only problem is your blood DPS spec. Night of the dead is pointless talent if your dealing most of your dmg through blood. You can take those two talent points max out blood caked. Also being speced into imp blood pres and vampric blood also pointless. You can tank those and put into blood worms because they add a smidget to your dmg. other then that generally good specs.

May 28th, 2009 at 9:51 am

lolshot

175

SJ. i have come upon an odd problem…

im using the 12/57 unholy pve spec you suggested and works well. however. when im in unholy pressence i seem to do more dps then when i am in blood. and blood has a 15% more dps boost when in blood pressence. im so confused am i doing rotation wrong or something if my dps is better in unholy pressence.

tyvm in advance

lolshot

June 12th, 2009 at 4:25 am

alleksi

176

i think that this spec is better for PVP

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=00000000000000000000000000003202503100020000000000000000230232330020205003150003133151&glyph=000000000000&version=9767

in ur spec u got: unholy blight wich is useles, u should put 5/5 in impurity, take the points off from magic suppression and anti-magic zone(well maby in 5v5 it can be useful), Imp. unholy presence is not talent that i wouldn’t get(ofc its good for chasing healer or something[if u use bloodpresence like i do], but thats why u got chains of ice and DG), I putted 3/3 in wandering plague because u can sometimes get lucky and hit rogue and get nice advance(and it gives nice little extra damage),I maxed rage of rivendare because 10% is nice round number .

And for frost talents; those first talents are kinda optional i putted those 3 in Imp. Icy touch because i tought it would be better, and for that Annihilation talent: its pretty much useless because oblirate is a crappy attack that you’ll never use and that 2% crit is not enough…

sorry if my english was bad at some points, im from finland

June 18th, 2009 at 8:17 am

Blodalv

177

I really enjoy reading your posts. I’ve definitely learned a whole bunch of stuff I’d never even thought of before going here.

Me and my 3v3 team (disc, arms warr and me) have been trying it out with me using a 20/51/0 build for quick burst and massive damage output. However, I have to agree with you, it’s not putting any real pressure on the other teams healer. I feel almost like a rogue once all his cd’s are on. Also, we’ve been getting completely eradicated and by teams like druid/rogue/priest, priest/warlock/rogue and other teams heavy on CC abilities. Some of these teams make it look like an art, how their CC’s are timed and so on. So I’ve modified your Frost-Ghoul talent spec to an even more hybridish build, namely this: 0/35/36. I’ve included Chillblains from frost and Imp. Icy Talons, all the way down to and including Hungering Cold. In Unholy, I’ve got permaghoul and 5 points in Desecration as well as Antimagic Zone for mitigating spellcasters damage to us. I guess this is somewhat of a tradeoff between crit/damage done and survivability, but 3v3 is all about surviving imo. So basically my role in our comp will be to assist the warrior on whatever target he’s on, making it go down faster, while controlling the other dps with icy touch (-50% movespeed) and deathgrips.
Once we have an opening on killing a dps I will make sure our priest has recently made the healer burn his trinket by a fear, then I will deathgrip the healer followed by a hungering cold. That should give us enough time to kill one of the dps.
Remains to be seen how this will work.

Anyways, thanks for the inspiration!

Kind regards B-A

June 29th, 2009 at 3:28 pm

Rumik

178

I have a question about rotations – they’re written down like this, for example:

IT – PS – BS – BS – SS – UB

SS x3 – DCx3

So let’s say I setup a macro to do the first part…

#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=nocombat Icy Touch(Rank 5), Plague Strike(Rank 6), Blood Strike(Rank 6), Blood Strike(Rank 6), Scourge Strike(Rank 4), Unholy Blight(Rank 4),

do I then throw in 3 scourge strikes and 3 death coils? Why are the two sets of abilities separateed onto two lines? I’m obviously missing something fundamental about rotations, can you explain it to me?

Thanks

July 8th, 2009 at 2:18 am

Hideagin

179

about the Frost tank spec you posted, i really dont see any need at all for Hungering Cold, ive been tankin for a while and the only use ive ever gotten out of that is tanking the Chow on Gluth (I HATED THAT!)

jus sayin, great work tho SJ, DAILY READER!

July 28th, 2009 at 11:32 am

just another DK

180

you say DW tanking is a big nono. but since the boss parry haste has been removed wouldnt you say that DW tanking is viable now more then ever? providing you can hit defence cap without rune of the stoneskin gargoyle. your thoughts on this?

August 14th, 2009 at 4:50 pm

10 Trackbacks/Pings

Patch 3.1 spec for Death Knight « TyphoonAndrew’s - Eye of the Storm Apr 14 2009 / 8am:

[...] Death Knight specs are all stolen 100% from Skeleton Jack. [...]
Patch Day 3.1 « Awakening in Progress Apr 15 2009 / 10am:

[...] Death Knight Specs for 3.1 Release and Hit and Expertice Revisited at Skeleton Jack [...]
Death Knight Dual Specs Arrive « What Would Big Red Kitty Do? Apr 15 2009 / 3pm:

[...] confused about what the official specs for Unholy PVE DPS, tank, etc are at. Jack’s done his homework on the PTR for us, and now you and I can take [...]
Death Knight 3.1 Raid and Arena specs : The Daily Death Knight Apr 16 2009 / 8pm:

[...] DK blogger Skeleton Jack lists his recommendations for Death Knight specs in Patch 3.1. These specifically cover high end raiding and Arena PvP and span all three major specs, Blood, [...]
Death Knight Update - 3Hybrids Apr 17 2009 / 1pm:

[...] So I finally had a chance to spend my talent points for my DK last night after the raid and I took a quick peek at a nice post made my SkeletonJack: http://www.skeletonjack.com/2009/04/14/death-knight-specs-for-31-release/ [...]
Back to Naxx « Reputation Grind Apr 18 2009 / 8am:

[...] plunked down the 1k gold I was saving for epic flight, and plugged in the two Unholy builds from Skeleton Jack’s list of 3.1 specs. I made one small tweak, but otherwise kept them just as he [...]
World of Warcraft: Battle of the Wrathgate | World of Warcraft Help Apr 27 2009 / 1pm:

[...] Death Knight Specs for 3.1 Release | Skeleton Jack [...]
Death Knight Specs for 3.1 Release < It’s all about the trends Apr 30 2009 / 12am:

[...] any situation. These are intended for top end content, meaning Ulduar raiding and Arena PvP. click for more var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : [...]
death knight update | icelovejyc Jun 24 2009 / 8pm:

[...] So I finally had a chance to spend my talent points for my DK last night after the raid and I took a quick peek at a nice post made my SkeletonJack: http://www.skeletonjack.com/2009/04/14/death-knight-specs-for-31-release/ [...]
Patch Day 3.1 – Death Knight links « Awakening in Progress Jul 20 2009 / 4am:

[...] Death Knight Specs for 3.1 Release and Hit and Expertice Revisited at Skeleton Jack [...]

Skeleton Jack

Death Knight Specs for 3.1 Release

PvE DPS

Blood

ST Rotation:

AoE Rotation – 5+ mobs:

AoE Rotation – 2 to 4 mobs:

Frost

ST Rotation

AoE Rotation

AoE Rotation (no Blood Tap)

Unholy

ST Rotation:

AoE Rotation:

Which one is the best?

Runeforging, Presences, and that other stuff…

PvE Tank

Blood

Frost

Unholy

Which one is the best?

PvP

Blood

Frost

Unholy

Frost Ghoul

Which one is the best?

Fin

Notes, Questions, Answers, and Explanations

180 comments so far

10 Trackbacks/Pings

Leave a reply

Skeleton Jack

Categories

Addons /Approved by SJ!!

Sites /Approved by SJ!!

Skeleton Jack's Home