Update #3 – Lots of the questions asked here are answered on these two posts:
3.2 Questions and Answers by SJ, Part 1
3.2 Questions and Answers by SJ, Part 2
I will be revamping the specs soon, and making a page for them as well.
Live 3.2 Death Knight Specs: DK DPS, Tank, and PvP
Heya guys!! So it looks like it’s time for 3.2 release. Tons of nerfs, buffs, interesting changes, and new toys to play with. Don’t worry, you are getting a free respec for all of your DK talent trees.
“But what are the new specs?”
Don’t worry, it’s all here for you!! 
Blood 3.2 PvE DPS
Blood PvE is pretty much the same as it was in 3.1 release. The only major difference is that the old 50/0/21 variant build has gone the way of the Dodo.
2H Blood Build - 51/0/20
Rotations
PS – IT - HS – HS - DS - RP // DS – HS – HS – HS – HS - RP
Priority System: Unlike most specs, there is not really a priority system because there are no spare GCD’s in this rotation. It has been proven Blood does best in BP (not UP) even though it uses all available GCD’s.
You must keep your rotation perfect. If you have a terrible ms/lag, this spec/rotation may prove difficult for you.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW between GCD’s when possible.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Sigil: Sigil of the Vengeful Heart
Weapon Speeds: Slow
Presence: Blood
Note: I am not a fan of Blood Worms as it will eat up AoE healing in a raid. In essence, it can and will lead to raid deaths or unnecessary pressure on healers. Because of that, I spend the typical 3 points in BW into defensive/utility talents since there are 0 available dps talents available at that point.
2H Blood RP Build – 51/2/18
Rotations
PS – IT - HS – HS - DS - RP // DS – HS – HS – HS – HS - RP
Priority System: Unlike most specs, there is not really a priority system because there are no spare GCD’s in this rotation. It has been proven Blood does best in BP (not UP) even though it uses all available GCD’s.
You must keep your rotation perfect. If you have a terrible ms/lag, this spec/rotation may prove difficult for you.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW between GCD’s when possible.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Sigil: Sigil of the Vengeful Heart
Weapon Speeds: Slow
Presence: Blood
Note: I am not a fan of Blood Worms as it will eat up AoE healing in a raid. In essence, it can and will lead to raid deaths or unnecessary pressure on healers. Because of that, I spend the typical 3 points in BW into defensive/utility talents since there are 0 available dps talents available at that point.
This RP build is not superior to the standard 51/0/20 spec. However it gives more RP leeway with the DS Glyph and preventing RP capping, making it 100% viable. You give up 2 points in your ghoul for more leeway room.
Dual Wield (Frost) 3.2 PvE DPS
The clear leader for 3.2 appears to be Frost DW, but Unholy DW is not dead. In fact it’s better than it was before. However Unholy DW is still the loser, ranging from as much as a 10% dps loss to as little as a 3-5% dps loss, leaving it a viable option.
Unholy DW will suffer significantly however in any encounter that you cannot keep at least a 70% uptime on your ghoul. There is no longer a viable 2H Frost DPS build as the DW build outscales it by such a significant margin as to make it a “dead spec”.
The Frost Tree is officially the “Dual Wield Tree” as of 3.2 for PvE DPS.
DW Frost Oblit/Pest Build – 0/53/18
Rotations
IT – PS – BS - Pest – OB – RP // OB – OB – OB – RP (Set up rotation)
OB - BS - Pest – OB – RP // OB – OB – OB – RP (Future rotations once diseases are applied)
Priority System: Diseases (FF > BP // or Pest) > KM Rime > MaxRP-Dump > OB > BS > FS. It is important to understand that Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities. The one exception to Rune > RP is if you will go over your RP cap (thereby losing potential RP), then immediately fire off a RP ability.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off FS/HB Rime procs and HoW between GCD’s when possible. Don’t just RP dump at the end of a rotation.
Howling Blast/Rime Procs: Attempt to use these with KM procs whenever possible due to HB having a lower crit % chance than FS. Do not push back a rotation however to do this. If you have spare GCD’s then it is ok to delay a Rime proc. Otherwise use KM on FS’s.
This rotation/spec will not proc IIT due to Pest refreshing the diseases. If you need to be buffing the raid you can take a personal DPS loss (but a raid DPS increase) by ignoring Pest, and subbing in a new glyph.
If you have to provide IIT to the raid you follow the “Set up rotation” only: IT – PS – BS - BS – OB – RP // OB – OB – OB – RP
The secondary glyph choice (instead of GoD) is relatively unimportant, so you could leave it the same or take something like Glyph of Blood Strike if someone actually provided the snare debuff for you. It won’t impact your dps much by swapping this glyph honestly unless someone is providing the snare debuff.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader / Rune of the Fallen Crusader *or* Rune of the Fallen Crusader / Rune of Razorice
Sigil: Sigil of Awareness
Weapon Speeds: Slow/Slow
Presence: Blood
Notes: FC/RI is a far superior Runeforge setup for dps in any encounter where you’re basically sitting on one target for over a full minute. However when you get into constantly swapping targets, FC/FC becomes superior for it’s lack of needing to stack debuffs on a target. Basically this comes down to the type of encounters you will be facing.
DW Unholy Oblit Build – 0/18/53
Rotations
PS – IT – BS – BS – OB – RP // OB – OB – OB – RP
Priority System: Diseases (BP > FF) > MaxRP-Dump > OB > BS > DC. It is important to understand that Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities. The one exception to Rune > RP is if you will go over your RP cap (thereby losing potential RP), then immediately fire off a RP ability.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW between GCD’s when possible. Don’t just RP dump at the end of a rotation.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader / Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Sigil: Sigil of Awareness
Weapon Speeds: Slow/Slow
Presence: Blood
Notes: FC/RI is a far superior Runeforge setup for dps in any encounter where you’re basically sitting on one target for over a full minute. However when you get into constantly swapping targets, FC/FC becomes superior for it’s lack of needing to stack debuffs on a target. Basically this comes down to the type of encounters you will be facing.
Unholy 3.2 PvE DPS
Unholy has gone under some significant changes, mostly due to the nerfs to Scourge Strike and the Unholy Blight changes. You should fully expect to see further changes to Unholy in the 3.2.1 patch simply because 3.2 Unholy breaks the “design goal” by Blizzard for Unholy spec.
Blizzard’s “design goal” for DK’s is that there should be one major F/U strike for every tree’s rotation. Blood has Death Strike, Frost has Obliterate, and Unholy has Scourge Strike. However Unholy will scale best with OB once you have T7/T8+ itemization, though 18%+ Armor Penetration makes it ideal. SS will soon no longer even be used by Unholy specs unless Blizz changes something.
2H Unholy SS Build - 0/10/61
Rotations
PS – IT - BS - BS - SS - RP // SS - SS - SS – RP
Priority System: Diseases (BP > FF) > MaxRP-Dump > SS > BS > DC. It is important to understand that Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities. The one exception to Rune > RP is if you will go over your RP cap (thereby losing potential RP), then immediately fire off a RP ability.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW between GCD’s when possible. Don’t just RP dump at the end of a rotation.
Anytime your diseases are not refreshed by SS Glyph, make sure you refresh them yourself. So long as your diseases have 2+ seconds on their duration firing off SS’s is fine. Just be aware of your Rune CD’s and the duration left on your diseases at all times.
BP and FF diseases take priority over all other attacks. Otherwise you can spam SS and BS, ignoring IT and PS as long as the SS Glyph is proc’ing.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Sigil: Sigil of Awareness / Sigil of the Vengeful Heart
Weapon Speeds: Slow
Presence: Blood
Notes: Substandard to 2H OB Unholy if you have T7+ gear. SotVH becomes the better Sigil once your AP/Spell Damage scales enough with gear to outpace the SoA benefits. This is an itemization threshold that will be breached somewhere when you are ilvl 232+. If you have not yet reached 20% Apr, this is the superior spec.
2H Unholy Oblit Build – 0/17/54
Rotations
PS – IT – BS – BS – OB – RP // OB – OB – OB – RP
Priority System: Diseases (BP > FF) > MaxRP-Dump > OB > BS > DC. It is important to understand that Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities. The one exception to Rune > RP is if you will go over your RP cap (thereby losing potential RP), then immediately fire off a RP ability.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW between GCD’s when possible. Don’t just RP dump at the end of a rotation.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Sigil: Sigil of the Vengeful Heart
Weapon Speeds: Slow
Presence: Blood
Notes: Don’t expect this spec to last as it breaks the design goal stated by Blizzard. You can shift one point from Necrosis into IUP if you don’t have a speed enchant on your boots yet. Ignoring AoE, I’m not sure if Morbidity is a better buy than Necrosis yet.
Blood 3.2 Tanking
Just like PvE DPS, Blood Tanking is pretty much the same thing as it was before.
2H Blood Tank - 52/5/14
Rotations
PS – IT - HS – HS - DS - RS/RP // DS - DS – HS – HS - RS/RP
Priority System: Diseases (BP + FF) > MaxRP-Dump > DS > BS > RS > DC. Unlike a standard dps rotation, you actually want to fire off one more Death Strike in the 2nd rotation instead of two extra HS’s. The healing generated from DS contributes towards your TPS.
It is important to understand that Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities. The one exception to Rune > RP is if you will go over your RP cap (thereby losing potential RP), then immediately fire off a RP ability.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW between GCD’s when possible.
Also, Rune Strike is more of a TPS gain than DC is, so make sure that you give RS priority on RP expenditures.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader (TPS) / Rune of Swordshattering (Avoidance) / Rune of the Stoneskin Gargoyle (If below Def cap)
Sigil: Sigil of the Vengeful Heart (TPS) / Sigil of Deflection (Avoidance) / Sigil of the Unfaltering Knight (if below Def cap)
Weapon Speeds: Slow
Presence: Frost
Note: As with all tanking specs, your raid environment will usually force you into changing your spec no matter what a cookie cutter spec says. You may be the AoE tank, the MT, the OT, etc… Depending on the role you need to fulfill (including debuffer/buffer) you may find moving a few talent points around beneficial.
Talents such as Improved Icy Touch, Glyphs such as Glyph of Death and Decay, and more can cause a great deal of talent point changes. Don’t be afraid to totally change around a tanking spec if it will suit your raid needs more.
Frost 3.2 Tanking
Totally unlike Frost DW PvE DPS, you actually want to stick to a 2H build for tanking. DW’ing causes more Boss parries, which in turn gives the boss “parry haste” meaning he will hit you more frequently. Aka. you take more damage more frequently making it much more difficult to keep you alive.
Also all tank 1H weapons tend towards Fast, and the new DW Frost builds only favor Slow weapons. You’d take not only more damage as a DW tank, but your TPS would suffer as well. All in all, DW Tanks are just not viable.
2H Frost Tank - 13/51/7
Rotations
IT – PS - BS – BS - OB - RS/RP // OB - OB - OB - RS/RP
Priority System: Diseases (FF > BP) > KM Rime > MaxRP-Dump > OB > BS > RS > FS. It is important to understand that Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities. The one exception to Rune > RP is if you will go over your RP cap (thereby losing potential RP), then immediately fire off a RP ability.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off FS/HB Rime procs and HoW between GCD’s when possible. Don’t just RP dump at the end of a rotation.
Also, Rune Strike is more of a TPS gain than FS is (unless it is a KM FS), so make sure that you give RS priority on RP expenditures.
Howling Blast/Rime Procs: Attempt to use these with KM procs whenever possible due to HB having a lower crit % chance than FS. Do not push back a rotation however to do this. If you have spare GCD’s then it is ok to delay a Rime proc. Otherwise use KM on FS’s.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader (TPS) / Rune of Swordshattering (Avoidance) / Rune of the Stoneskin Gargoyle (If below Def cap)
Sigil: Sigil of Awareness (TPS) / Sigil of Deflection (Avoidance) / Sigil of the Unfaltering Knight (if below Def cap)
Weapon Speeds: Slow
Presence: Frost
Note: As with all tanking specs, your raid environment will usually force you into changing your spec no matter what a cookie cutter spec says. You may be the AoE tank, the MT, the OT, etc… Depending on the role you need to fulfill (including debuffer/buffer) you may find moving a few talent points around beneficial.
Talents such as Improved Icy Touch, Glyphs such as Glyph of Death and Decay, and more can cause a great deal of talent point changes. Don’t be afraid to totally change around a tanking spec if it will suit your raid needs more.
Unholy 3.2 Tanking
Unholy tanking will stay within the realm of SS no matter what simply because you will not be seeing 20%+ Armor Penetration on a tank set of gear. Overall it plays pretty similar to current Unholy tanking.
2H Unholy Tank - 10/5/56
Rotations
IT – PS - BS – BS - SS - RS/RP // SS - SS - SS - RS/RP
Priority System: Diseases (BP > FF) > MaxRP-Dump > SS > BS > RS > DC. It is important to understand that Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities. The one exception to Rune > RP is if you will go over your RP cap (thereby losing potential RP), then immediately fire off a RP ability.
Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW between GCD’s when possible. Don’t just RP dump at the end of a rotation.
Also, Rune Strike is more of a TPS gain than DC is, so make sure that you give RS priority on RP expenditures.
Anytime your diseases are not refreshed by SS Glyph, make sure you refresh them yourself. So long as your diseases have 2+ seconds on their duration firing off SS’s is fine. Just be aware of your Rune CD’s and the duration left on your diseases at all times.
BP and FF diseases take priority over all other attacks. Otherwise you can spam SS and BS, ignoring IT and PS as long as the SS Glyph is proc’ing.
Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader (TPS) / Rune of Swordshattering (Avoidance) / Rune of the Stoneskin Gargoyle (If below Def cap)
Sigil: Sigil of Awareness (TPS) / Sigil of Deflection (Avoidance) / Sigil of the Unfaltering Knight (if below Def cap)
Weapon Speeds: Slow
Presence: Frost
Note: As with all tanking specs, your raid environment will usually force you into changing your spec no matter what a cookie cutter spec says. You may be the AoE tank, the MT, the OT, etc… Depending on the role you need to fulfill (including debuffer/buffer) you may find moving a few talent points around beneficial.
Talents such as Improved Icy Touch, Glyphs such as Glyph of Death and Decay, and more can cause a great deal of talent point changes. Don’t be afraid to totally change around a tanking spec if it will suit your raid needs more.
3.2 PvP Specs
Sadly this is going to have to wait until some time later this afternoon at earliest. Since I have been out of the PvP loop for so long it was my intention to simply look up the top ranked Arena teams in WoW and then relate to you guys what those specs are. However one of the sites I like to refer to is buggin out, and on top of that the WoW Armory is currently down as well.
So I am left at a road block. I promise I will have these up within 24 hours as long as WoW Armory comes back online. If not, I can’t make any promises.
Keep in mind that because all DK specs have been reset (Armory is back up) – I am going to be a lil behind still on this one. I totally did not think ahead enough to realize that all specs would be reset. Sorry again.
Posts you should read
Best in Slot Items – This page has listings for all T7 and T8 itemization currently. It breaks the gear down into 6 different categories depending on your current hit and expertise ratings. Highly useful for picking your gear out from instances..
The Two Second Rule, 2SR – This page explains the mechanics behind the 2SR. As a DK it is paramount that you understand how this mechanic works to take advantage of all of the tools you have available.
Hit and Expertise Revisted – Most people don’t actually understand how Hit and Expertise come into play for a DK. Or even what the caps are, or what they mean to you. Here is your post. Caps, ratings, etc. It’s all here.
Blood Tap – Most DK’s never use this ability, but it’s actually key to many specs. If you have any 1 Rune special abilties in your spec such as Vampiric Blood, Ghoul Frenzy, Bone Shield, and Unbreakable Armor then you need to read this post to see how you can use BT once a minute to fire these off without messing your rotations up ever.
Death Knight Macros – I need to go back and revamp this page. Make better headings, better names, categories, etc… But if you don’t mind pilfering through it, it’s still got some decent macros in there to use.
Donations
Why donate? Good question if you ask me. Personally, it’s entirely up to you guys. No pressure. But as to the “Why?”
I quit WoW a lil while back when the site was peaking at 10-12k individual hits a day (not page views, individual people). I was burnt out. Then I came back and changed some things. My guild, how I played, what I did with my time, etc. And I also decided to try my hand at treating WoW like a business. Tons of people make money off of the gaming industry. Why not me?
The weird part? Now that I view WoW more like a business, I’ve been having fun playing again.
So I’ve been working on developing the site, completing Best in Slot Items rankings, covering important game mechanics, etc. Generally speaking I spend about 15-20 hours a week on the website alone. Peak times like patch releases can push that upwards of 20 hours a week easily. Which makes this a lot like a part time job.
While I enjoy writing, and will continue to do so, donations are more along the lines of an incentive for me to keep pouring myself into the site and developing more resources to put into the hands of my readers. Adding in more pages, website development, specs pages, macro pages, forums, more BISI upgrades, etc…
So if you want to support my spending time into this kind of work, that would be why you might want to donate. Donations go to me and will also help contribute to any website development I may need to pay for in the future.
-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters.
Heya guys!! So it’s time for a new spec update from 3.2!! And well, Unholy is looking weird atm so I do expect to see even further changes coming. Some people tend to think that 3.2 will go live on Tuesday because they don’t intend for the current Arena season to end yet. Blizzard gives 2 weeks notice before an Arena season ends for those who did know.
