Skeleton Jack » Specs

Live 3.3 Death Knight Specs: DK DPS

Skeleton Jack — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:03:06 +0000

Live 3.3 Death Knight Specs: DK DPS

Heya guys!! So it looks like it’s time for 3.3 release. Tons of new toys to play with? Or just the same old thing?

Let’s just dive in…

Blood 3.3 PvE DPS

Blood PvE is pretty much the same as it was in 3.2 release, except that “rolling diseases” with GoD is no longer possible.

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. RP is when you dump your Runic Power.

Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader

Sigil: Sigil of the Virulence

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. YMMV.

You may also find that you wish to move some of the points around in the Unholy tree, which is fine. Just keep Necrosis at 4/5 minimum and BCB at 3/3 minimum.

Frost 3.3 (Dual Wield) PvE DPS

The clear leader for 3.3 is still Frost DW (read DW Frost beats DW Unholy for those who have issues with understanding text). And while Unholy DW is not dead, it is not good enough to really bear investigation at this point. I may look into it later for the diehards, but for now we’re letting it slide. The Pestilence spec is still viable (and fun IMHO) so I included it still. But most likely a standard rotation with the new Glyph of Icy Touch will win out.

DW Frost Oblit Build – 0/53/18

Rotations

IT – PS – BS – BS – OB – RP // OB – OB – OB – RP

Priority System: Diseases (FF > BP) > KM Rime > MaxRP-Dump > OB > BS > FS > Rime. 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. RP is when you dump your Runic Power.

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 / Rune of Razorice (ST Focus) *or* Rune of the Fallen Crusader / Rune of Cinderglacier (AoE Focus)

Sigil: Sigil of the Virulence

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. FC/CG becomes superior when combined with Howling Blast for massive AoE damage. Basically this comes down to the type of encounters you will be facing.

Moving points with this spec is fine. The major points here for some are Unbreakable Armor and Subversion. If you’re stealing too much threat try losing BCB for Subversion. As to UA, drop a point somewhere and take it if it’s important to you.

DW Frost Oblit/Pest Build – 0/51/20

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 > Rime. 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.

This rotation/spec will not proc IIT due to Pest refreshing the diseases and spec variations.

Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader / Rune of Razorice (ST Focus) *or* Rune of the Fallen Crusader / Rune of Cinderglacier (AoE Focus)

Sigil: Sigil of the Virulence

Weapon Speeds: Slow/Slow

Presence: Blood

Moving points out of Unholy and into Frost is ok so long as you keep Necrosis at 5/5 minimum and BCB at 3/3 minimum.

Unholy 3.3 PvE DPS

Unholy has gone under some significant changes since the inception of Death Knights. It’s mostly due to issues with Scourge Strike and Unholy Blight because it lead to OP awesomeness in PvP and AoE situations.

But it honestly looks like Blizzard might *finally* be happy with where Unholy is.

2H Unholy SS Build – 12/0/55

Wait…there’s 4 points left over… I know. We’ll get to that.

Rotations

PS – IT - BS - BS - SS - RP // SS - SS - SS – RP

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 Virulence

Weapon Speeds: Slow

Presence: Blood

Notes: You have 4 points left over to spend still. Why? Because I think depending on your playstyle these 4 points can vary a *lot*. The options you should be looking at are: Dark Conviction, Necrosis, Improved Unholy Presence, Ghoul Frenzy, and Corpse Explosion. The top DPS choice is likely DC. But a strong argument can be made for IUP for movement fights.

GF is only if you can’t keep your ghoul alive, but with the new changes I can’t see how that’s possible. CE is for that extra AoE love, and pure fun factor.

Caveat

I put this together on the fly today while trying to respec, do the new heroics, and prep for my 10man raid into the new content. So there might be a few mistakes. If you find them, leave a comment and I’ll fix it. I hope to have more specs for Tanks and PvP soon.

3.2 PvE Blood Sims for DPS

Skeleton Jack — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:35:18 +0000

Heya guys!! Here’s the result for Blood DPS.

Ability	Total	%	Landed	Hit%	Crit%	Miss%	Average
Death Strike	1554214374	6	203437	51	48	0	7639
Plague Strike	540061420	2	175850	51	48	0	3071
Icy Touch	361044571	1	176196	65	34	0	2049
Heart Strike	6731330197	28	1059159	49	50	0	6355
Death Coil	2997360275	12	571176	65	34	0	5247
Frost Fever	864537516	3	1108314	100	0	0	780
Blood Plague	868929805	3	1113620	100	0	0	780
Necrosis	1007071925	4	1319862	100	0	0	763
Blood Caked Blade	686573044	2	396282	100	0	0	1732
Main Hand	6295007790	26	1319862	58	41	0	4769
Ghoul	623082593	2	791060	86	13	0	787
Dancing Rune Weapon	1249152658	5	646332	71	28	0	1932
DPS 6605
Total Damage 23778366168 in 1000 h
Threat Per Second 3678
Generated in 823s
Template :3.2 Blood 2H 51-00-20.txt(C:\Documents and Settings\EverWatch\My Documents\Kahorie’s DK Simulator2\Kahorie’s DK Simulator\Templates\3.2 Blood 2H 51-00-20.txt)
Priority :3.2 Blood.xml(C:\Documents and Settings\EverWatch\My Documents\Kahorie’s DK Simulator2\Kahorie’s DK Simulator\Priority\3.2 Blood.xml)
Presence :Blood
Sigil of :VengefulHeart
RuneForge :FallenCrusader
Pet Calculation :True

Total is total damage done.
% is the % of your damage done by that attack.
Landed is the total times that attack was used.
Average is the average damage done by the attack.

3.2 Unholy DPS Sims results

Skeleton Jack — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:35:04 +0000

Heya guys!! Simulator results for Unholy OB build.

Ability	Total	%	Landed	Hit%	Crit%	Miss%	Average
Obliterate	4319139543	17	647311	57	42	0	6672
Plague Strike	406389053	1	161979	50	49	0	2508
Icy Touch	463339067	1	162091	67	32	0	2858
Blood Strike	933378766	3	323692	57	42	0	2883
Death Coil	3421639897	13	623215	67	32	0	5490
UB	684304961	2	623215	100	0	0	1098
Frost Fever	1510979418	6	1118591	100	0	0	1350
Blood Plague	1515728336	6	1119179	100	0	0	1354
Necrosis	605098986	2	1319862	100	0	0	458
Blood Caked Blade	730902682	2	395436	100	0	0	1848
Wandering Plague	1284971851	5	950054	100	0	0	1352
Main Hand	5042855598	20	1319862	57	42	0	3820
Ghoul	3162460561	12	3273583	86	13	0	966
Gargoyle	1095440918	4	294497	86	13	0	3719
DPS 6994
Total Damage 25176629637 in 1000 h
Threat Per Second 4685
Generated in 1698s
Template :3.2 Unholy 2H OB 00-17-54.txt(C:\Documents and Settings\EverWatch\My Documents\Kahorie’s DK Simulator2\Kahorie’s DK Simulator\Templates\3.2 Unholy 2H OB 00-17-54.txt)
Priority :3.2 Unholy Oblit.xml(C:\Documents and Settings\EverWatch\My Documents\Kahorie’s DK Simulator2\Kahorie’s DK Simulator\Priority\3.2 Unholy Oblit.xml)
Presence :Blood
Sigil of :Virulence
RuneForge :FallenCrusader
Pet Calculation :True

Total is total damage done.
% is the % of your damage done by that attack.
Landed is the total times that attack was used.
Average is the average damage done by the attack.

3.2 DW Frost DPS/Spec Sim

Skeleton Jack — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:29:54 +0000

Heya guys!! I’m gonna do a more in depth post with the sim results, links to where you can find the sim, templates, etc… But for now, here’s some pretty numbers.

Ability	Total	%	Landed	Hit%	Crit%	Miss%	Average
Obliterate	7884238097	29	731332	36	63	0	10780
Plague Strike	361106561	1	129782	53	46	0	2782
Icy Touch	483416747	1	132152	43	56	0	3658
Frost Strike	5668517838	21	707282	47	52	0	8014
Howling Blast	1687508743	6	161783	13	86	0	10430
Blood Strike	1170740387	4	289311	51	48	0	4046
Frost Fever	956291533	3	1093365	100	0	0	874
Blood Plague	869192453	3	1091627	100	0	0	796
Necrosis	1135735920	4	3116375	100	0	0	364
Blood Caked Blade	458064588	1	622470	100	0	0	735
Main Hand	3603281230	13	1558138	45	39	14	2312
Off Hand	2075219088	7	1558237	45	39	14	1331
Ghoul	492397933	1	671688	86	13	0	733
Raz	15582370	0	1558237	100	0	0	10
DPS 7461
Total Damage 26861293488 in 1000 h
Threat Per Second 4426
Generated in 1313s
Template :3.2 Frost DW-00-51-17.txt(C:\Documents and Settings\EverWatch\My Documents\Kahorie’s DK Simulator2\Kahorie’s DK Simulator\Templates\3.2 Frost DW-00-51-17.txt)
Priority :3.2 Frost.xml(C:\Documents and Settings\EverWatch\My Documents\Kahorie’s DK Simulator2\Kahorie’s DK Simulator\Priority\3.2 Frost.xml)
Presence :Blood
Sigil of :Awareness
RuneForge :FallenCrusader / Razorice
Pet Calculation :True

Summation?

For the spec details see my post: 3.2 DK Spec Updates for PvE DPS

7461 DPS using T9 itemization with 196.5 2.6spd weapons in a sim that ran for 1000 hours. Enjoy!

T9 BISI – what’s up!?

Skeleton Jack — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:06:04 +0000

Heya guys!! One of my primary sources for APE values is the EJ Forums. That said…short of one poster, Methods, I don’t trust everything spouted at EJ. If you actually read between the lines sometimes, you find that alternative answers/numbers contradict popular beliefs, yet don’t get noticed.

So, what’s that mean?

You have to really, really be aware of all of the facts. And since I have not seen Methods post in a long time, I’m on my own. The stat weights honestly are not that hard to come to. The only hard part is figuring out the value of Expertise and Hit for DW Frost. Short of that, everything else just takes a lil bit of time and work.

So why no stats yet?

Well, nothings final yet guys. 1-2 weeks will not determine the future of DK specs for the 3.2 release. I’m still trying to figure out whether a spec will have an intro and final spec (like Unholy had 17/0/54 and then 0/10/61 for 3.1) for starters. Plus I’m still convinced Unholy’s OB spec will be nerfed still.

Huh?

Summarized, too much is still in the air to determine a real answer on BISI because the APE values could, and will most likely change to some degree. And I’m not a fan of doing the work, and then a few weeks later finding it was all pointless due to some changes.

But, but, but…WE WANT STATS!!!

That said, I plan to come up with a preliminary Pawn set value for people to use in game. This will allow you to look at any item in game and see how it ranks for APE.

What are you doing about it then…

I’m running sims as we speak. I’ve got the DW PvE DPS sim running currently. It’s not gonna be 100% correct simply because I can’t get it to model a Pestilence rotation properly. But that just means it’ll do more dps than the sim shows really. And for those who have to buff the raid, this will be pretty much spot on.

So you can look forward to some pretty numbers soon, and my set ups for the Kahorie sim. Don’t worry for those who feel abused when numbers are mentioned. I’ll bold the DPS potential!!

3.2 DK Spec Updates for PvE DPS

Skeleton Jack — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:03:52 +0000

Heya guys!! The tallies have been finally coming in, so lets look at the top performing DK DPS specs available eh?

2H Unholy Obliterate – 0/17/54

Unholy has three possible builds. There is DW Unholy, SS Unholy, and OB Unholy. Now while OB Unholy is the clear winner, it does not make DW Unholy or SS Unholy no longer viable. You can still use those specs in a raiding environment and do well. Just not as well as OB Unholy will.

Rotations

PS -> IT -> BS -> BS -> OB -> DC -> DC (10.5 sec)

OB -> OB -> OB -> HoW -> DC -> DC (9 sec)

Priority System: Diseases (BP > FF) > MaxRP-Dump > OB > BS > DC

As you run into any fight you should have tried to build up some RP before hand (you only need 5RP to start) through DnD, HoW, and other available means. If you do not, you will not have enough RP to fire off the last DC in the first 10 second rotation.

MaxRP-Dump means that if you will hit your RP cap (and therefor lose RP), then you should fire off a DC immediately instead of a Rune attack. Outside of that, Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities.

Always keep the 2SR in mind as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW at odd times when your rotation gets messed up. Summon Gargoyle, movement, and boss abilities can throw a rotation off quickly. Intelligent use of the 2SR will allow you to overcome that.

What comes first, the rotation or the priority system? While ideally it’s easier to follow a rotation, a priority system will in the end lead to more dps. Sometimes rotations just get messed up.

Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader

Sigil: Sigil of Virulence

Weapon Speeds: Slow

Presence: Blood Presence

DW Frost - 0/53/18 & 3/51/17

Frost has evolved into the DW (dual wield) tree for Death Knights mainly due to the talent Threat of Thassarian. While there is a viable DW Unholy build, Frost DW is the clear winner for 3.2 release. While you could do a 2H build for Frost, it will not compare to a DW Frost build.

3/51/17 is the best DPS spec, however if you find that you need to provide IIT to the raid then 0/53/18 is the next best option.

0/53/18 Rotations

IT -> PS -> BS -> BS -> OB -> FS -> FS (10.5 sec)

OB -> OB -> OB -> HoW -> FS -> FS (9 sec)

3/51/17 Start Rotations

IT -> PS -> BS -> Pest -> OB -> FS -> FS (10.5 sec)

OB -> OB -> OB -> HoW -> FS -> FS (9 sec)

3/51/17 Rotation once diseases are on the target

OB -> BS -> Pest -> OB -> FS -> FS (9 sec)

OB -> OB -> OB -> HoW -> FS -> FS (9 sec)

Priority System: Diseases (FF > BP, or Pest) > KM Rime > MaxRP-Dump > OB > BS > FS

KM Rime is when you have both a KM and a Rime buff on you at the same time. At that point you should fire off a HB before you do anything else.

MaxRP-Dump means that if you will hit your RP cap (and therefor lose RP), then you should fire off a FS immediately instead of a Rune attack. Outside of that, Rune abilities always take priority over RP abilities.

Always keep the 2SR in mind as you will want to fire off FS’s and HoW at odd times when your rotation gets messed up. Movement and boss abilities can throw a rotation off quickly. Intelligent use of the 2SR will allow you to overcome that. Always remember that if you are forced to stay at range from a boss, firing off a DC can still be a good thing.

What comes first, the rotation or the priority system? While ideally it’s easier to follow a rotation, a priority system will in the end lead to more dps. Sometimes rotations just get messed up.

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 Presence

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.

2H Blood - 51/0/20

If you played 3.1 Blood, then you’ve played 3.2 Blood. It’s basically the same beast.

Rotations

IT -> PS -> HS -> HS -> DS -> DC -> HoW (10.5 sec)

DS -> HS -> HS -> HS -> HS -> DC -> DC (10.5 sec)

Priority System: Diseases (BP + FF) > MaxRP-Dump > HS > DS > DC

Always keep the 2SR in mind as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW at odd times when your rotation gets messed up. Dancing Rune Weapon, movement, and boss abilities can throw a rotation off quickly. Intelligent use of the 2SR will allow you to overcome that.

What comes first, the rotation or the priority system? While ideally it’s easier to follow a rotation, a priority system will in the end lead to more dps. Sometimes rotations just get messed up.

Runeforge: Rune of the Fallen Crusader

Sigil: Sigil of the Vengeful Heart

Weapon Speeds: Slow

Presence: Blood Presence

Note: I am not a fan of Blood Worms as it will eat up AoE healing in a raid. It can 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. YMMV.

Other Useful Info

If you’re looking for other specs, or older spec info see: Live 3.2 Death Knight Specs: DK DPS, Tank, and PvP

If you’re looking for answers to popular questions about specs see: 3.2 Questions and Answers by SJ, Part 1 & 3.2 Questions and Answers by SJ, Part 2

If you just want solid DK resource information:

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.

2H Unholy OB Build

Skeleton Jack — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:44:43 +0000

Heya guys!! So last night I got to test out the 2H Unholy OB build a lil bit. Basically Razorscale and like 2 attempts on Ignis. The server lag was so bad that when Ignis would shoot people in air, nothing happened. Then like 20 seconds later people would randomly shoot skyward while Ignis did the crazy lag dance running through fire while ignoring the tank… >.<

Needless to say our officers called the raid, but I did get these 2 SS’s over my overall dmg for Razorscale, 2 trash mobs, and 2 attempts on Ignis before the lag defeated us. The spec I ran with for the evening was: 0/17/54 The main reason I dropped 1 point into IUP is because I didn’t want to re-enchant my boots. That would normally be an inefficient point expenditure.

Part 1

Part 2

So as you can see here Death Coil was the number one source of my overall damage at 21.5%. While OB was 17.7% and White Melee 17.3%. And as a side note UB did 2.8% of my overall damage.

DC dmg: 1015182
UB dmg: 133509
20% of DC dmg: 203036

So UB did roughly 65% of the dmg it should have done. So a lot of the ticks were lost on trash mobs is all that I can assume unless there is a part of the formula for determining UB dmg we don’t know about yet. I’ll look into it.

Overall the spec was pretty damn fun honestly. It’s much tighter on GCD’s than Unholy is with SS, but the RP generation is insane. Non-stop DC’s, plus seeing some of them crit for 11k dmg is just plain crazy!!! It won’t last, but it’s fun to play with for now!

Live 3.2 Death Knight Specs: DK DPS, Tank, and PvP

Skeleton Jack — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:38:59 +0000

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.

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

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

2H Blood RP Build – 51/2/18

Rotations

PS – IT - HS – HS - DS - RP // DS – HS – HS – HS – HS - RP

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

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.

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

DW Unholy Oblit Build – 0/18/53

Rotations

PS – IT – BS – BS – OB – RP // OB – OB – OB – RP

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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PTR 3.2 Blood DK Specs

Skeleton Jack — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:13:05 +0000

Heya guys!! So it’s time for another new spec update for 3.2 DK’s!! So Blood is looking pretty damn normal. Out of all of the specs, Blood is coming through 3.2 unscathed for the most part. *shrug* It happens eventually when Blizzard looks at something and goes, “I think we’re done…”

Again there is no telling whether or not there will be a 3.2 release tomorrow on Tuesday. As I said before every sign (excluding the Arena stuff) does point to an early release, but at the same time there has not been the standard 2 week Arena notice. And with the new Arena stuff on 3.2…it’s impossible to tell atm.

There is no reason why Blizz couldn’t push back Arena in a 3.2.1 patch.

Blood 3.2 Builds

As I said before, Blood 3.2 is pretty much what you should be used to by now. The one major point however is that most 50/0/21 builds are dead now however. DRW did get some pretty decent buffs, and UB did get some pretty decent nerfs. So don’t be taken in by that spec.

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), and it uses a ton of GCD’s. So you must keep your rotation perfect. If you have a terrible ms, this spec 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: FC

Weapon Speeds: Slow

Presence: Blood

2H Blood RP Build – 51/2/18

Rotations

PS – IT - HS – HS - DS - RP // DS – HS – HS – HS – HS - RP

Always keep the 2SR in mind however, as you will want to fire off DC’s and HoW between GCD’s when possible.

Runeforge: FC

Weapon Speeds: Slow

Presence: Blood

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 BCB for more leeway room.

PTR 3.2 Unholy DK Specs

Skeleton Jack — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:21:51 +0000

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.

But the other line of thinking is that it is going live this Tuesday, and that the Arena season is just being extended. Which has happened in BC before. The main counter to that however is the new Arena gear for the next season and all of the updates on Arena changes.

Unholy 3.2 Builds

The big reason to expect upcoming changes to Unholy is because Blizzard’s “design goal” for DK’s is that there should be one major strike for every tree’s rotation. Blood has Death Strike, Frost has Obliterate, and Unholy has Scourge Strike. However Unholy will be scaling the best with OB over SS in the current 3.2 PTR version. Which leads me to believe that we should expect some kind of a change to come.

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, 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: FC

Weapon Speeds: Slow

Presence: Blood

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, 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: FC

Weapon Speeds: Slow

Presence: Blood

Notes: This spec requires 20%+ Armor Penetration in order for it to outscale a SS Unholy build.