- This is just a repost of Consider’s guide from Elitistjerks. It’s probably the best guide that I’ve ever seen about Death Knights, it’s not just very good explained, but it also helps a lot when it comes to theorycrafting. As it’s just a repost, I’d like people to avoid running into arguments about this guide because it isn’t mine, it’s property of Consider and he deserves all credits for it, I’d appreciate some bumps though, that will make people notice this piece of art. You can find the original thread here.ABBREVIATIONMEANINGAMSAnti-Magic ShellAoEArea of EffectBABladed ArmorBBBlood BoilBCBBlood-Caked BladeBIBlack IceBiSBest in SlotBPBlood PresenceBPBone Shield or Blood StrikeCCCrusader’s ColiseumDCDeath Coil or Dark ConvictionDKDeath KnightDnDDeath and DecayDPSDamage per SecondFCRune of the Fallen CrusaderGCDGlobal CooldownGoXGlyph of XHoWHorn of WinterICCIcecrown CitadelICDInternal CooldownITIcy Touch or Icy TalonsPSPlague StrikeRPRunic PowerRSRuby SanctumSMShadowmourneSoASigil of AwarenessSotHMSigil of the Hanged ManSotVHSigil of the Vengeful HeartSoVSigil of VirulenceSSScourge StrikeTotCTrial of the Crusader (CC Normal)TotGCTrial of the Grand Crusader (CC Hard)TXTier XUBUnholy BlightUPUnholy Presence1. WHY UNHOLY FOR DPS?Why do it?Why spec Unholy when you could go Blood which currently holds superior single target sustained dps, superior single target burst, Hysteria, and Abomination’s Might to its name?Why spec Unholy when you could go Frost which now holds equivalent (if not superior) single target sustained dps, superior AoE burst, Improved Icy Talons, and a more dynamic rotation to its name?
Why?This question is vital to the understanding of anything in this thread. After all, if there were no reason to spec Unholy over the alternatives, why would this thread even exist?Fortunately, Unholy has more than its fair share of upsides, thus it’s an easy argument to make. The more notable advantages of Unholy include:- Superior Sustained AoE Dps
Unholy is, unarguably, the strongest spec in the game at this role. No one – caster or melee – can top an Unholy DK on any fight with significant AoE, not if the DK knows his stuff. The lead in this area isn’t a matter of a couple percent; it’s quite significant (varying on the exact number of mobs – the more, the larger the gap becomes). With the previous tier of content being heavily AoE-centric, this virtue came to shine and gave the spec its claim to fame. Although AoE isn’t quite as omnipresent in ICC as it was in TotC/TotGC, it’s still important on a number of fights. - Superior Raid Utility
Abomination’s Might and Improved Icy Talons, although obviously excellent, can be provided by other classes and other specs with the exact same potency. Ebon Plague, on the other hand, cannot be. Warlocks and Moonkin cannot provide their magic damage debuffs on multiple targets at the same time – not without incredible hardship and the sacrifice of their entire personal dps (or a majority thereof). What more is that Ebon Plague does something no other class or spec in the game can do: It increases disease damage by 30% – a significant amount. If your raid contains at least two DKs, one being you, it is always worth it for one to go Unholy for EP alone, even if you ignore the other strengths of the spec. Not only that, but with Devouring Plague being 10-15% of a shadow priest’s damage, it’s 3-5% more additional dps for them. EP is often underestimated and simply clumped together with CoE/EM, when it provides huge benefits which those two debuffs do not. It’s a must for almost any raid. - Superior Survivability
Bone Shield provides a near-passive 20% damage reduction. That’s 20% less damage from every single AoE, every single nuke, every single add melee hit you take – everything. It’s highly underrated, but can be the difference between life and death in a million and one situations.
Vampiric Blood and Unbreakable Armor, although excellent from a tanking point of view, don’t compare for dpsers. Both are active cooldowns which cost you dps to use. Bone Shield is essentially passive and grants you dps.
Hysteriaaside.2. SPECSGenealized specWith this latest patch and its changes to the Frost tree, there are several truly viable specs, all of which are listed below. Which one is the best option largely depends on your current gear level – they’re presented with the spec most optimal for the lowest gear level first, up to the spec most optimal for the highest gear level last. The difference between the three specs, regardless of specific gear point, is never more than a couple percent in any direction, and some may ignore a slight dps gain in favor of the various non-quantitative benefits one spec may bring over the others.[Blood Sub-spec Without Reaping]17/0/54
The most optimal single target build when poorly geared (which, in this context, is anything before 4P T9). The primary reason this spec is best at lower gear levels is due to Bladed Armor and Dark Conviction. Bladed Armor hardly scales since armor values on dps hardly scales, and thus gives a near-constant amount of AP regardless of gear level, making it a strong talent at the start, but relatively weaker as gear goes by. Dark Conviction provides a flat amount of crit, and crit gets weaker the more of it you have (i.e, 50 -> 55% crit is a smaller dps increase than 30 -> 35% crit). Once you get to 4P T9 and beyond, the two alternative specs will easily pull ahead, largely thanks to the failings of these two talents. Your auto-attack will be the highest percent of your total damage, followed by your Scourge Strike and then your Ghoul. Scourge Strike will be your hardest hitting individual ability, followed distantly by the combination of Death Coil and Unholy Blight.[Frost Sub-spec Without Reaping]0/17/54
The most optimal single target build when moderately geared (which, in this context, is anything from 4P T9 and beyond) and using a proc weapon (Bryntroll or Shadowmourne). The primary reason this spec scales better than its predecessor is due to Icy Talons and Endless Winter. Auto-attack damage has always scaled incredibly well (partially due to the fact that it benefits from every stat, and partially due to Necrosis), thus Icy Talons just improves upon that. Strength has always been our best stat, and Endless Winter just makes it even better. As well, this spec contains some benefits not directly related to single target dps: higher AoE dps (than 14/0/57 or 17/0/54), free interrupts, and greater dps while moving/at range. Your auto-attack will be the highest percent of your total damage, followed by your Scourge Strike and then your Ghoul. Scourge Strike will be your hardest hitting individual ability, followed distantly by the combination of Death Coil and Unholy Blight.[Blood Sub-spec With Reaping]14/0/57
An alternate to the above build when moderately geared (which, in this context, is anything from 2P T10 and beyond) and using a non-proc weapon (Cryptmaker or Shadow’s Edge). Generally speaking, 0/17/54 outperforms 14/0/57, even without a proc-weapon, but not always, and some prefer the threat reduction. Scourge Strike scales upward enough to make Reaping a dps gain once again, making this build the most optimal for single targets. The Frost tree is bottom-heavy (i.e, stronger talents are deeper in) while the Blood tree is top-heavy, and thus when taking Reaping you need to use a Blood sub-spec, as taking points from Dark Conviction is a much smaller loss than taking them from Endless Winter. Your Scourge Strike will be the highest percent of your total damage, followed by your auto-attack and then your Ghoul. Scourge Strike will be your hardest hitting individual ability, followed distantly by Death Coil and its subsequent Unholy Blight.Optional TalentsAlthough these specs do not have any specific free floating points to spend on whatever you choose, one can take points from Dark Conviction, the weakest single target dps talent, or from Necrosis, the weakest multi-target dps talent, at a relatively minor dps loss in favor of the utility provided by other talents:Ghoul Frenzy. This talent should only be taken if you have trouble keeping your Ghoul alive. If you do, it becomes invaluable, as a dead Ghoul is a large portion of your dps down the drain (due to 30 seconds of absolutely zero Ghoul damage, followed by your Ghoul doing reduced damage for the remainder of the fight from missing buffs). If you don’t have issues with your pet going down, then skip this talent. In nearly every case it will be a strict dps loss.Improved Unholy Presence. Unholy Presence is occasionally taken solely for the run speed increase, which some consider worth the sacrifice. How much of a dps boost the run speed increase itself is is very difficult to calculate. The value varies drastically from fight to fight. On some, it’s of inestimable value, while on others it does not a thing. The best option to determine its worth is to try it out yourself, see if you notice a difference and, if you do, decide whether or not it is worth the two talent point. There is no right and wrong answer as to whether or not one should spec into IUP.Morbidity. As readers of past versions of this thread may have noticed, I no longer bother to specifically differentiate between a single target spec and an AoE spec. Why? Because the only difference between the two, talent wise, is Morbidity. Morbidity is a strict dps loss on any single target encounter, yet invaluable on multiple-target encounters. If you don’t have the luxury of dual-speccing a dps spec with it and a dps spec without it, simply look at how many fights in the current tier of content you actually use DnD on more than every 15 seconds, and decide how much those fights matter to you.3. GLYPHSMajorSingle Target
Multiple Target / AoE
MinorThe major glyphs are set in stone for Unholy. No matter which of the optional talents you take, no matter what gear level you are currently at, no matter what tier of content you are currently progressing through, no matter what exact spec you chose, you’ll use the same three glyphs depending on if the encounter is primarily single target or multiple target.The same goes for the multi-target glyphs.It’s important to note that as of patch 3.3.2, Glyph of Disease will no longer cause Pestilence to roll the AP value present when you applied diseases. Instead, whenever you case Pestilence to refresh them, diseases will look at your current value of AP (and then use that number until you cast Pestilence again). As such, one doesn’t have to worry about lining up trinket procs at the start of the encounter. This makes GoD non-competitive for a single target, but still a must for a multiple target encounter.None of the minor glyphs will have any large impact on your dps, so which you choose is largely up to you. Glyph of Pestilence is the one exception although it won’t increase your dps on paper or in a simulator, a 50% range increases on Pestilence is generally considered a godsend for AoEing, and to go without it would be rather silly.4. GENERALIZED ROTATIONSingle targetBUILDS WITH REAPINGPSITBSBSSSDCHoWSSDCSSSSDC(DC)BUILDS WITHOUT REAPINGPSITBSSSBSDCHoWSSBSSSBSDCDC(DC)The final Death Coil of the rotation is placed in parentheses as you will not always have the RP to perform it every two rune refreshes.With Epidemic being taken once again, your rotation reverts back to the traditional Unholy one. Priority wise, it is the same as ever: Apply diseases (PS – IT), dump your RP if its capped (DC), burn your blood runes for Desolation and/or Death Runes (BS – BS), use your FU strike (SS), dump your RP (DC), use Horn if you have an extra gcd and are unable to do anything else (HoW).Multi-Target / AoEINITIALITPSPestilenceDnDDCHoW2NDSSBSBBSSDCDC3RDSSPestilenceDnDDCHoWAs its name suggests, you perform the initial segment of the rotation with your first set of runes, then alternate between the second and third order of abilities for the remainder of the fight (or until diseases fall off). Do not make the mistake of repeating the initial rotation after the third; it’s unnecessary with Glyph of Disease.Blood Striking to proc Desolation is a larger net dps gain than Blood Boiling, for those who are curious. If Desolation is already up, then Blood Boiling becomes the clear winner, of course.One common mistake players make is to Death and Decay before spreading their diseases. Doing so is a bad move (from a dps point of view. Tanking is another matter). Although it might seem like a dps gain to use Death and Decay initially so it is off cooldown sooner, it loses a lot of damage if your diseases aren’t on the target (15% from Rage of Rivendare, 13% from Ebon Plague, so on). As well, spreading your diseases sooner means more raid dps thanks to Ebon Plague.5. GEARING AND STAT WEIGHTSStat weightsBasically:
BLOOD SUBSPEC Hit > Strength > ArP > Haste >= Crit > Expertise > Agility
FROST SUBSPEC Hit > Strength > Haste > ArP > Crit > Expertise > AgilityArP has always scaled amazingly well with itself, which is part of the reason why, up until now, Unholy has been in Blood’s shadow (at least in terms of single target dps). Now that the majority of Unholy’s damage is affected by it, thanks to Scourge Strike, this scaling applies to us as well, making it a much more attractive stat.For Frost subspecs, Haste has increased moderately in value due to the fact that it’s multiplicative with Icy Talons, and thus gains almost exactly 20% in value. For Blood subspecs, they obviously do not take IT, and thus it remains the same as it has been.Aside from that, the general order of the weights are relatively unchanged. And, as such, the following are the currently theorized stat weights for Unholy DKs:Both tier 10 set bonuses are assumed. Unless otherwise stated the sub Blood numbers utilize Cryptmaker, while the sub Frost numbers use Bryntroll.StatBlood ilvl 264Blood ilvl 277Frost ilvl 264Frost ilvl 277Frost SMStrength2.942.963.113.103.11Haste2.062.132.752.872.97Armor Pen2.572.852.292.582.87Crit1.942.001.912.002.11Agility1.341.351.281.351.41Melee Hit3.593.643.553.433.70Spell Hit0.520.550.650.580.63Expertise1.581.631.491.521.97Weapon DPS7.717.756.967.047.43Weapon Speed32.8640.8528.9932.3935.14StatBlood ilvl 264Blood ilvl 277Frost ilvl 264Frost ilvl 277Frost SMAP0.70 DPS0.71 DPS0.69 DPS0.71 DPS0.74 DPSDPS1.43 AP1.41 AP1.45 AP1.41 AP1.35 APSet bonusesThese are the average weights of the set bonuses for Unholy DKs. As you can see, T10 is absolutely incredible for Unholy (and Blood/Frost, for that matter), and the sooner you can attain it, the better. Both bonuses are very strong, and worthy successors to the ridiculousness of 3.2.2 4P T9.StatBlood ilvl 264Blood ilvl 277Frost ilvl 264Frost ilvl 277Frost SM2P T7139.38139.7193.94101.47108.454P T7216.21227.94190.91211.27214.272P T894.9795.5898.48101.47102.824P T8259.09276.47210.61223.53243.662P T9120.59120.73168.18167.65164.794P T9375.76410.29381.82419.12461.972P T10336.32358.82218.82232.31232.154P T10398.45423.53386.36411.76428.17Best in SlotAt this point, all of the loot for the rest of the expansion should be know, and thus these lists should be BiS for the entire exansion.If any errors are noted, simply contact me and I will look into it.*Actual BiS has an incredibly minor amount of expertise; this is intentional. It is not worth capping exp. It just isn’t – one quick glimpse at the stat weights will tell you as much. That said, if you run with high latency or multiple resto druids (or just have OCD and insist on having it capped), variations which force it are available. Just remember; those variations aren’t actually BiS, technically.ALL ITEMSSlotAllianceHordeHeadSanctified Scourgelord HelmetSanctified Scourgelord HelmetShouldersSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesChestSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateHandsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsLegsScourge Reaver’s LegplatesScourge Reaver’s LegplatesNeckPenumbra PendantPenumbra PendantBackWinding SheetWinding SheetWristsUmbrage ArmbandsUmbrage ArmbandsWaistColdwraith LinksColdwraith LinksFeetApocalypse’s AdvanceApocalypse’s AdvanceRingMight of BlightMight of BlightRingAshen Band of Endless MightAshen Band of Endless MightTrinketSharpened Twilight ScaleSharpened Twilight ScaleTrinketDeathbringer’s WillDeathbringer’s WillWeaponShadowmourneShadowmourneALL ITEMS + FORCED EXPERTISE CAPPEDSlotAllianceHordeHeadSanctified Scourgelord HelmetSanctified Scourgelord HelmetShouldersSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesChestSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateHandsFleshrending GauntletsFleshrending GauntletsLegsSanctified Scourgelord LegplatesSanctified Scourgelord LegplatesNeckPenumbra PendantPenumbra PendantBackWinding SheetWinding SheetWristsPolar Bear Claw BracersPolar Bear Claw BracersWaistColdwraith LinksColdwraith LinksFeetApocalypse’s AdvanceApocalypse’s AdvanceRingSkeleton Lord’s CircleSkeleton Lord’s CircleRingAshen Band of Endless MightAshen Band of Endless MightTrinketSharpened Twilight ScaleSharpened Twilight ScaleTrinketDeathbringer’s WillDeathbringer’s WillWeaponShadowmourneShadowmourneALL ITEMS SANS SHADOWMOURNESlotAllianceHordeHeadSanctified Scourgelord HelmetSanctified Scourgelord HelmetShouldersSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesChestSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateHandsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsLegsScourge Reaver’s LegplatesScourge Reaver’s LegplatesNeckPenumbra PendantPenumbra PendantBackWinding SheetWinding SheetWristsUmbrage ArmbandsUmbrage ArmbandsWaistColdwraith LinksColdwraith LinksFeetApocalypse’s AdvanceApocalypse’s AdvanceRingMight of BlightMight of BlightRingAshen Band of Endless MightAshen Band of Endless MightTrinketSharpened Twilight ScaleSharpened Twilight ScaleTrinketDeathbringer’s WillDeathbringer’s WillWeaponGlorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver HandGlorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver HandALL ITEMS SANS SHADOWMOURNE + FORCED EXPERTISE CAPSlotAllianceHordeHeadSanctified Scourgelord HelmetSanctified Scourgelord HelmetShouldersSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesChestSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateHandsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsLegsScourge Reaver’s LegplatesScourge Reaver’s LegplatesNeckPenumbra PendantPenumbra PendantBackWinding SheetWinding SheetWristsUmbrage ArmbandsUmbrage ArmbandsWaistColdwraith LinksColdwraith LinksFeetApocalypse’s AdvanceApocalypse’s AdvanceRingSkeleton Lord’s CircleSkeleton Lord’s CircleRingAshen Band of Endless MightAshen Band of Endless MightTrinketSharpened Twilight ScaleSharpened Twilight ScaleTrinketDeathbringer’s WillDeathbringer’s WillWeaponGlorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver HandGlorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver HandALL NON-HEROIC-25 ITEMS SANS SHADOWMOURNE + FORCED EXPERTISE CAPSlotAllianceHordeHeadSanctified Scourgelord HelmetSanctified Scourgelord HelmetShouldersSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesChestSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateHandsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsLegsScourge Reaver’s LegplatesScourge Reaver’s LegplatesNeckPenumbra PendantPenumbra PendantBackSaronite Gargoyle CloakSaronite Gargoyle CloakWristsBracers of the HeirBracers of the HeirWaistColdwraith LinksColdwraith LinksFeetApocalypse’s AdvanceApocalypse’s AdvanceRingZarithrian’s OfferingZarithrian’s OfferingRingAshen Band of Endless MightAshen Band of Endless MightTrinketSharpened Twilight ScaleSharpened Twilight ScaleTrinketDeathbringer’s WillDeathbringer’s WillWeaponWarmace of MenethilWarmace of MenethilALL NON-HEROIC-25 ITEMS SANS SHADOWMOURNE + FORCED EXPERTISE CAPSlotAllianceHordeHeadSanctified Scourgelord HelmetSanctified Scourgelord HelmetShouldersSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesSanctified Scourgelord ShoulderplatesChestSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateSanctified Scourgelord BattleplateHandsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsSanctified Scourgelord GauntletsLegsBattle-Maiden’s LegguardsBattle-Maiden’s LegguardsNeckPenumbra PendantPenumbra PendantBackSaronite Gargoyle CloakSaronite Gargoyle CloakWristsBracers of the HeirBracers of the HeirWaistColdwraith LinksColdwraith LinksFeetApocalypse’s AdvanceApocalypse’s AdvanceRingZarithrian’s OfferingZarithrian’s OfferingRingAshen Band of Endless MightAshen Band of Endless MightTrinketSharpened Twilight ScaleSharpened Twilight ScaleTrinketDeathbringer’s WillDeathbringer’s WillWeaponGlorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver HandGlorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver HandTrinketsThere’s a common misconception that trinkets are somehow harder to evaluate than other items. They (generally) aren’t. A trinket’s value comes down to nothing more than:TRINKET VALUE(Amount of Passive Stat x Passive Stat’s Weight) + ((Amount of Proc/Use Stat x Proc/Use Stat’s Weight) x Proc/Use Uptime)Simple, no?Unfortunately, however, there is the reason I put generally in parenthesis earlier: Blizzard does not make internal cooldowns (and, thus, uptimes) visible from an item’s tooltip or datamined information, which can make trinkets difficult to eyeball in value. As such, the following table includes the handful of top trinkets ranked by their relative value (at current gear points) with the uptime of the trinket’s proc/use effect, as well as any other information of note:Proc/Use uptimes are approximate; they will vary based on specific fight mechanics, RNG, and such.RankingTrinketICDProc/Use UptimeNotesBiSSharpened Twilight Scale45s33%Mutually exclusive with Sharpened Twilight Scale.BiSDeathbringer’s Will105s28%Procs 700 Str/Crit/Haste. Equal chance per proc. Mutually exclusive with Deathbringer’s Will.2ndSharpened Twilight Scale45s33%Mutually exclusive with Sharpened Twilight Scale.3rdDeath’s Verdict45s33%Horde Version: Death’s Choice.4ndDeathbringer’s Will105s28%Procs 600 Str/Crit/Haste. Equal chance per proc. Mutually exclusive with Deathbringer’s Will.5rdHerkuml War Token0s96%Uptime based on five minutes of continuous combat. Ramp-up time of ~15 seconds.6thDeath’s Verdict45s33%Horde Version: Death’s Choice.7thWhispering Fanged Skull45s33%Mutually exclusive with Whispering Fanged Skull.8thWhispering Fanged Skull45s33%Mutually exclusive with Whispering Fanged Skull.9thMark of Supremacy120s17%Ranking assumes all hit is used.10thBlood of the Old God45s15%Ranking assumes all hit is used.11thTiny Abomination in a Jar0sN/ARanking assumes all hit is used. Mutually exclusive with Tiny Abomination in a Jar.12thPyrite Infuser45s15%Assumes all hit is used.13ndTiny Abomination in a Jar0sN/ARanking assumes all hit is used. Mutually exclusive with Tiny Abomination in a Jar.14thComet’s Trail45s20%N/A.15thDarkmoon Card: Greatness45s33%N/A.16thGrim Toll45s20%Ranking assumes all hit is of use.17thMjolnir Runestone45s20%N/A.18thDark Matter45s20%N/A.19thNeedle-Encrusted Scorpion45s15%Surpasses Dark Matter in end of TotC/beginning of ICC gear.*It’s very important to emphasize that, when it comes to these charts, hit trinkets assume that all of the hit is used. As, odds are, some of the hit will be wasted and/or you will have to swap around gear/enchants in other areas to make room for the vast amount found on these trinkets, don’t blindly adhere to this chart and do take that into account when considering their value. If you are seriously contemplating using one of those trinkets – which are rarely worthwhile unless you have no other moderately decent options – do the math on your own.SigilsThe best sigil for Unholy DKs is Sigil of the Hanged Man, at least on paper. In reality, however, Sigil of Virulence can easily be considered superior due to its lack of any real ramp up time. Which you choose is largely a matter of encounter and specific strategy. The EP difference will never be more than 10% between the two, at any point.After numerous requests, the following has been added to help decide which to use on what. It’s important to note that, as stated, your raid’s specific strategy may change things, so don’t consider this set in stone:BossSigilNotesLord MarrowgarSigil of the Hanged ManSigil of Virulence if standing out on Bladestorms.Lady DeathwhisperSigil of VirulenceSigil of the Hanged Man if assigned to the boss full time.GunshipSigil of VirulenceNone.Deathbringer SaurfangSigil of the Hanged ManSigil of Virulence if on add duty.FestergutSigil of the Hanged ManNone.RotfaceSigil of the Hanged ManNone.Professor PutricideSigil of VirulenceSigil of the Hanged Man for the hard mode.Blood PrincesSigil of VirulenceNone.Blood Queen Lana’thelSigil of the Hanged ManNone.Valithria DreamwalkerSigil of VirulenceNone.SindragosaSigil of VirulenceNone.The Lich KingSigil of VirulenceNone.If you have access to neither of those Sigil of Awareness becomes a moderate third, with Sigil of the Vengeful Heart bringing up the rear, in a rather distant fourth place.6. GEMMING AND ENCHANTINGGemmingGenerally speaking, when it comes to gemming, you want to go for strength gems [item]Bold Cardinal Ruby[/item] or [item]Fierce Ametrine[/item] in all slots. When to use which of those two is discussed below in more detail.With the exception of meta-gem requirements, also discussed below, you never want to use blue or purple gems, as socket bonuses are not large enough to make them worth one’s while.*The sole exception to this is if you are under the hit cap, in which case gemming that becomes your top priority for obvious reasons.WHEN TO GO YELLOW/ORANGEThere are, essentially, two cases in which you will want to divert from the „Gem red everywhere for strength“ mantra that otherwise holds true and go for yellow/orange.The first case is if you aren’t at the hit cap. Hit is your most valuable stat before such a point, and as such it is ideal to gem for it. In such a situation simply use Rigid King’s Amber in yellow sockets with Etched Ametrine in red sockets until you reach the melee cap.The second case is a matter of the following chart. Whenever a socket bonus requiring any number of red sockets, zero blue sockets, and then one (or more, simply multiply the number in the chart appropriately) yellow sockets, has a bonus that is equal to or higher than the number listed in the following chart utilize a Fierce Ametrine:StatBlood ilvl 264Blood ilvl 277Frost ilvl 264Frost ilvl 277Frost SMAttack Power99432Strength33211Haste54211Armor Pen42811Crit55221Agility77321Melee Hit33111Expertise66321It’s worth noting that Inscribed Ametrines are only slightly inferior to the aforementioned Fierce Ametrines, but do pull ahead on fights with multiple mobs for a large portion of the encounter, and thus may be considered worth using instead.META-GEMThere are two meta-gems of interest to an Unholy DK: Chaotic Skyflare Diamond and Relentless Earthsiege Diamond. All other options are uncompetitive. Although crit rating is superior to agility on a one-for-one basis, the latter meta-gem has laxer requirements: one red, one yellow, and one blue gem as opposed to two blue gems, and thus it all comes down to available socket bonuses as to which is most optimal to use.For either meta, you want to use a Nightmare Tear to knock out (one of, in the case of the Chaotic Skyflare Diamond) the blue gem requirement(s). You may only use one Nightmare Tear in your gear, and it will count as a red, yellow, and blue gem, all at once.So how does one decide whether using a second blue gem to activate the Chaotic Skyflare Diamond is worth it over simply using the Relentless Earthsiege Diamond, which is activated solely by the Nightmare Tear?StatBlood ilvl 264Blood ilvl 277Frost ilvl 264Frost ilvl 277Frost SMAttack Power1716181817Strength66666Haste96766Armor Pen78876Crit961098Agility1312141312Melee Hit55555Expertise111012129As long as you can get a socket bonus of one of the preceding sizes from using one blue gem, zero yellow gems, and any number of red gems, then using a Chaotic Skyflare Diamond becomes superior to using a Relentless Earthsiege Diamond. Generally speaking, you actually need two socket bonuses of the above size(s), as the first you would attain using your Nightmare Tear, regardless of which meta-gem, and thus can’t be counted towards deciding between the two.EnchantsFairly self-explanatory, as it’s simply a matter of applying the stat weights, but as some people are curious and/or lazy:SlotEnchantNotesHeadArcanum of TormentNo alternatives.CapeEnchant Cloak – Greater SpeedSuperior to agility.ShoulderGreater Inscription of the AxeMaster’s Inscription of the Axe for those with Inscription, of course.ChestEnchant Chest – Powerful StatsNo alternatives.BracersEnchant Bracers – Greater AssaultFur Lining – Attack Power for those with Leatherworking, of course.GlovesEnchant Gloves – PrecisionEnchant Gloves – Major Strength if you cannot use at least thirteen points of that hit. Hyperspeed Accelerators for those with Engineering, of course.LegsIcescale Leg ArmorNo alternatives.FeetEnchant Boots – IcewalkerEnchant Boots – Greater Assault if hit capped. Enchant Boots – Cat’s Swiftness is also an option of debatable worth, if you are so inclined. Nitro Boosts for those with Engineering, of course.RuneforgesThere is currently only one viable Runeforge for PvE DPS: Rune of the Fallen Crusader.
The alternative enchants/runes do not even come close.7. CONSUMABLES AND COOLDOWNSConsumablesFLASKFlask of Endless RagePOTIONPotion of Speed[FROST] SECONDARY POTIONPotion of Speed[BLOOD] SECONDARY POTIONIndestructible PotionFOODDragonfin FiletPET FOODSpiced Mammoth TreatsPop a Potion of Speed or an Indestructible Potion, depending on your spec, about 5 seconds prior to the actual pull for a more potent Army of the Dead or a free 97 AP for the first two minutes of the encounter, respectively. If used before combat, you will still be able to use an additional potion mid-fight.CooldownsAs an Unholy DK, you only have two cooldowns – Army of the Dead and Summon Gargoyle. Maximizing their use is essential to maximizing one’s dps.ARMY OF THE DEADArmy of the Dead went through some changes with this last patch. On the one hand, it now has a shorter cooldown „6 minutes talented (10 untalented) as opposed to 10 minutes talented (20 unalented)“ and the channeling time of the spell went from 6 seconds to 4 seconds. On the other hand, it now does less damage „50% of its previous amount“.Similar to a Blood or Frost DK’s Ghoul or your own Gargoyle, Army of the Dead will take a snapshot of your AP, haste, and hit at the time summoned. Changes in these stats after you have casted the spell will have no effect on the summoned minions, and other stats „crit, ArP, and the like“ will have no effect period. On top of this, your Army of the Dead ghouls will receive the 90% AoE damage reduction from your Night of the Dead talent that your other pets receive.The most optimal time to use Army of the Dead will vary from boss to boss, but is typically right before the beginning of an encounter. Using it mid encounter can lead to lost dps time, as the spell is channeled, and can also open the possibility of the spell getting interrupted by a fight mechanic, hurting the value of the spell. That said, if you are unable to cast it before the fight begins (or if it comes back off cooldown mid-fight) it is still worth casting mid-fight „ideally during a phase transition or similar period of down-time, but even on a Patchwerk-esqe fight it would be worth it“ simply not as large a gain as using it immediately before the pull.One note about Army of the Dead is that although the summoned ghouls will not taunt a boss, they will taunt most adds present on boss encounters. Keep this in mind as it can cause a wipe if used inappropriately, or prevent one if used intelligently.SUMMON GARGOYLESummon Gargoyle isn’t terribly complex in its use. Your Gargoyle scales with your attack power and haste based on the moment it was cast, and will retain those exact stats for its entire duration. Try to wait on using it until all of your procs coincide, however, don’t let this make you miss an opportunity to cast it. Summoning your Gargoyle three times in a fight is better than only summoning it twice, regardless of procs. As such, figure out how many times you’ll be able to use it based on the fight length. Try and use it at some point during Heroism’s duration – it needs to be popped AFTER Heroism is cast, while the buff is active on you, to benefit (unlike a Moonkin’s treants). This is also the time to pop your Potion of Speed.Also remember, your Gargoyle has horrid AI. It will not attack Yogg-saron’s brain if summoned within the brain room (but will attack the brain if you summon it before entering the brain room) and will (usually) only melee XT Deconstructor’s Heart. Get familiar with odd instances such as these; know when your Gargoyle will and will not attack, so you don’t waste 60 RP.Your Gargoyle will follow the same commands you give your Ghoul (i.e, follow, stay, attack, etc), so you can move it out of AoEs such as Shock Blast, however you are best off simply waiting until immediately after such spells to go off to summon it.8. BASIC COMBAT MECHANICSSome elementary numbers to remember when raiding.- Glancing blows (only on bosses) happen 24% of the time on auto-attacks and cannot be critical hits. A glancing blow deals 70% damage.
- You need 263 hit rating (8%) to be 2H melee white (auto) and yellow (special) attack hit capped against bosses. With a Draenei this number decreases to 231 hit rating (7%).
- The spell hit cap is 445 hit rating (17%). Assuming Virulence and Misery this number decreases to 289 hit rating (11%). With a Draenei, it goes to 262 hit rating (10%). The only dps skills that are affected by this are Death Coil, Icy Touch, Death and Decay, Pestilence and Blood Boil.
- You need 26 expertise (6.50%) to be expertise soft capped which means your attacks will no longer be dodged.
- All melee classes suffer a 4.8% crit suppression vs bosses when using melee attacks.
- All spell attacks have a 3% crit suppression vs bosses.
- Ghouls work like most permanent pets, receiving a portion of your stats and can be buffed by the raid.
- In terms of Paladin blessings, your Ghoul will receive the same blessings that the rogues are given. If no rogue is present, your Ghoul will need blessings given individually.
- Ghoul Strength (with talents + Glyph of the Ghoul) = 331+1.52*Master’sStrength.
- Ghouls receive 100% of your haste rating.
- Ghouls have AoE mitigation, 45% for each point in NotD. This is both physical and magical damage reduction.
- Ghoul hit rating rounds down. So if you have 7.99% hit rating, the ghoul will have 7% hit rating.
- Ghouls gain expertise based on your hit rating. So if you had 131 hit (4%), the pet gains 13 expertise. 263 hit (8%), the pet gains 26 expertise. The Draenei hit aura does not give expertise to the pet.
- Ghouls benefit from the 15% haste of Unholy Presence, but not the 15% damage of Blood Presence.
Blood Presence is always the superior option. In the previous patch Unholy Presence was moderately competitive at certain gear points due to the GCD reduction aspect and the fact that our rotation was GCD constrained. Considering the latter is no longer the case, thus making the former now of absolutely zero value, the comparison between the two presences simply comes down to the damage verse the haste. 15% damage is an increase of approximately 12.75% dps, when you consider that it affects all of our damage except ghoul, gargoyle, and army. 15% haste, on the other hand, is only an increase of maybe 7.5% dps, as it only affects auto-attack (and auto-attack related, such as Necrosis, BCB, and Bryntroll) damage and pets.Not just that, but Scourge Strike double dips into the 15% damage buff of Blood Presence, increasing its value and cementing it as the clear choice.Double dips? I see that mentioned a lot in regards to Scourge Strike, but never an explanation of what it means.
The short, simple answer: If a buff or talent affects the damage of Scourge Strike once, it single dips. If it affects the damage of Scourge Strike twice, thus boosting the damage by more than the stated amount, then it double dips and is of increased worth.The long answer: The new Scourge Strike is split into two actual hits; the first being physical damage and the second being shadow damage. The damage of the shadow portion is entirely dependent on the damage of the physical. What this means is that anything that increase the damage of the physical portion – be it a stat, a buff, a debuff, or a talent – will also increase the shadow portion by the same proportion. Outbreak, for example, increases the damage of the physical strike by 20% and by doing so, the shadow strike is increased by 20%, causing the Scourge Strike to do 20% more damage overall than it otherwise would, as the talent states.However, some buffs and talents will affect the physical strike (thus increasing the damage of the shadow strike) but then also affect the shadow strike directly. Blood Presence, as previously mentioned, is one such buff. It will increase the damage of the physical strike by 15% which will then increase the damage of the shadow strike by 15%. On top of that, however, it will then go and buff the damage of the shadow strike by 15% yet again, meaning while the physical portion had its damage increased by 15%, the shadow portion had its damage increased by 32.25%. Thus the amount Blood Presence increased your overall Scourge Strike damage will be greater than the stated 15%.Bone Shield, Desolation, Two-Handed Weapon Specialization, Blood Presence, Ferocious Inspiration, Sanctified Retribution, and Arcane Empowerment are all buffs and/or talents which are double dipped.Cool and all, but does that explain why the shadow portion of Scourge Strike deals more than the stated 36% of the physical portion?
Yes, it does. Double-dipping is the culprit. After you factor in all of the previously mentioned buffs and talents, you’ll find that the shadow portion will ultimately deal 53.2% for Blood builds (56.2% in Frost builds) of the physical portion (less partial resists).Speaking of Scourge Strike, mine outdamages two Blood Strikes and I don’t have 2P T10! Surely that means I should take Reaping, right?
Yes, due to the changes of the patch 3.3.2, one’s Scourge Strike is almost always going to outdamage two Blood Strikes, the reason for the almost being severely low gear points as the exceptions. However, no, that fact in and of itself does not make Reaping a worthwhile talent.Opportunity cost. You can’t simply look at what you gain by taking Reaping; you also what you lose by taking it, and that’s three points in Dark Conviction/Bladed Armor/Necrosis/Endless Winter (depending on spec specifics). Thus for Reaping to be a solid investment, your Scourge Strike needs to outdamage two Blood Strikes by enough so as to be more damage than three points in any of those aforementioned talents. Such isn’t the case until you acquire 2P T10, an ilvl 264 weapon, and have a solid amount of ICC gear.You briefly mentioned partial resists before. Can’t you just gem/enchant some spell penetration to eliminate them?
No, you cannot. Bosses will always partially resist a certain fraction of your magical damage. Such is unavoidable, regardless of spell penetration. Simply live with it.What about misses and dodges though? Hit and expertise will eliminate those two, right, so we obviously want to hit those caps, correct?
Yes, the chance to miss and the chance to be dodged can be eliminated completely by hit and expertise respectively. However, although the hit cap is worth going out of your way to reach, the expertise cap is not. It simply doesn’t affect enough of our damage to be worthwhile, and due to the fact that our rotation now contains extra GCDs, losing one occasionally because we have to repeat an ability thanks to a dodge isn’t that big of a deal.How do racials stack up?
Orc is the superior Horde dps race, without question. 5 Expertise, 5% pet damage, and Blood Fury are simply amazing racials, and perfect for an Unholy DK.Assuming your raid doesn’t already have five of them, Draenei are the best for Alliance. Although Gift of the Naaru is essentially worthless, 1% hit for yourself and four others is quite nice. If your raid does already run with enough Draenei to cover everyone with the aura, then Humans come next, with 3 Expertise (which is of debatable worth, with all the best weapons being axes) and Every Man for Himself, an excellent racial whose worth is difficult to quantify into a specific amount of damage.A patch or two ago, Unholy DW was pretty much neck and neck with Unholy 2H, yet I no longer see it listed as a viable build. What happened?
Scourge Strike. As Unholy, it all comes down to SS these days, especially as gear progresses. SS simply does not scale with a one hander as well as a two hander, for obvious reasons.What more is the fact that Unholy Blight was nerfed, which hurts Unholy DW more (proportionally) than it hurts 2H.Speaking of patches, what’s with a Frost sub-spec suddenly being optimal in 3.3.3? Black Ice didn’t change, so what’s up?
Black Ice was the primary reason we specced into Frost way back when, but not so – now it’s Icy Talons and Endless Winter.I understand Endless Winter. Strength is win. But Icy Talons? That doesn’t stack with Windfury!
As of 3.3.3, it does. The two are no longer mutually exclusive.Cool and all, but how exactly do I decide between speccing a Frost sub-spec or a Blood sub-spec? The information in the spec section is a bit vague.
That’s because the line between the two is a bit vague, and never more than ~2% dps either which way.If you have a Bryntroll (heroic or normal) or Shadowmourne, then a Frost sub-spec is the obvious choice. Not only does Black Ice benefit the potency of the proc of these weapons, Icy Talons increases the number of procs. There’s no question.If you are using another weapon, it’s a bit more difficult of a decision to make, and largely depends on your current gear. I would advise using the simulator if you wish to know which comes out on top. At any rate, if the two are basically equal dps wise, I would advise simply going a Frost sub-spec.Huh? Dps equal, why Frost over Blood?
Frost provides greater AoE damage (yes, Black Ice and Endless Winter are superior to Bladed Armor and Dark Conviction), free interrupts (not incredibly useful, but what does it hurt), and greater dps while moving or at ranged (thanks to increased Ghoul, disease, and Death Coil damage).If Blood isn’t superior from a strictly single-target perspective, it gives you nothing else except threat reduction. Although some people like to think otherwise, the fact is, threat reduction should never be an issue, at least not on single target encounters: Blood Presence already contains a negative 20% threat modifier. This is on top of the fact that about 15% of our damage comes from our Ghoul or Gargoyle, and is thus threat-free. (100 – 15) x .8 = 68% of our damage done as threat, essentially. Fury Warriors currently out-damage us, and produce 72% (70% if Imp Beserker Stance happens to be additive) of their damage as threat, and that’s not even factoring in Heroic Strike. If they can manage, than so can we.Single target equal? Go 0/17/54.Alright, so I have the gear you recommend for X spec, but Kahorie’s Simulator doesn’t seem to agree?
Either you are making an error in your use of the simulator, or your gear is simply insufficient for the specific spec(remember, there is a reason I use generalities and not specifics, as it’s a highly personalized thing, with many variables).If you believe the error lies the simulator – be it the simulator’s coding, or rather your use of the simulator – head on over to this thread to resolve it, or PM me (with as much information as possible), and I can likely point out the problem. Don’t clutter this thread with sim results, especially if they’re potentially wrong!How does X work? What about Y? Can you explain Z?
If there are any other questions which aren’t answered anywhere in this post already but you feel are asked enough and applicable to most people, and thus should be added to this section, simply drop me a PM concerning it.13. UNHOLY SPECIFIC MACROSGhoul jump to safetyCode:#showtooltip Leap /cast [target=healersname] Leap /petstayRune Strike with any abilityCode:#showtooltip WhateverAbility /cast !Rune Strike /cast WhateverAbilityCast Death Coil on your target or, if you are holding shift, cast Death Coil on your pet, healing itCode:#showtooltip Death Coil /cast [mod:shift,target=pet] Death Coil; Death CoilAn elementary Gargoyle MacroCode:#showtooltip Summon Gargoyle /use potion of speed /use trinket 13 /use trinket 14 /cast Summon GargoyleRefreshing Bone Shield without breaking your rotationCode:#showtooltip Bone Shield /cast Blood Tap /stopcasting /cast Bone Shield14. VALUABLE RESOURCESKahorie’s DK SimulatorAn amazing tool. Curious how much dps you should be doing relative to your gear level? Curious whether or not it’s time for you to transition specs? Curious what your personal stat weights are? The simulator can tell you all of that and more.Zerack’s DK Gear OptimizerThe spreadsheet ideal. Wondering whether or not you should bother getting hit/expertise capped, despite what it says here? Wondering what is Best in Slot of the items you already have or already have access to? Wondering whether it’s worth grabbing that socket bonus or not? These spreadsheets can tell you all of that and then keep calculating.Rawr – for DPS DKsAn alternative to Kahorie’s and Zerack’s. Pondering which drop to blow your dkp on? Pondering if it’s worth sacrificing an upgrade or two to keep that set bonus? Pondering if that new item, despite having purple text, is actual an upgrade? This program can tell you all of that and then keep informing. - Superior Sustained AoE Dps
Kreistänzer 