World of Warcraft Death Knight Guide
In this WoW Death Knight guide we’ll take a look at the Death Knight class. Death Knights combine both magic and melee into one hybrid class that was introduced in the Wrath of the Lich King.
Death Knight Overview:
Death Knights can do magic but are especially talented at melee, able to deliver destruction to their enemies. This quality along with anti magic abilities makes them absolutely fantastic tanks. I’ll talk about some of their pros and cons.
You’ll need to have leveled your character to at least 55 before you can unlock the Death Knight. However, any race and faction can unlock the Death Knight class. Here are some good races for each faction.
Read more about Death Knight strategies in the WoW Death Knight Guide
Alliance Faction:
- Night Elves- Great for PvP
- Gnomes
- Dwarves- Stone forms are really good for Tanks
Horde Faction:
- Tauren’s War Stomp- Great for both PvP and PvE
- Forsaken’s will of the Forsaken- Their also really good at PvP and PvE
But as I mentioned you can choose any race.
Death Knight Guide the Upside and Downside
Upside:
- Heavy Plate Armor- This makes them great for combat and melee.
- Uncommon & Rare Gear- You get these right from the start.
- Uses Runic Power and Runes- You’ll get some unique playing benefits compare to other power sources.
- Two Hand Weapons- Great for Tanking.
- Anti-Magic- This makes them really dangerous to magic users.
- Can use Blood Magic for healing.
Downside:
- As mentioned you’ll need a level 55 character before you can unlock this class.
- Death Knight cannot tank with a shield.
- Because of their abilities they can take some time to master
Runic Power:
Death Knights don’t use energy, mana or rage but instead use Runes and Runic Power. You start with 6 runes; once they get used up they’ll regenerate every 10 seconds
There are 3 Runes you can use. They’re the Blood, Unholy and Frost Runes.
Here’s how the Runes are used for the various Death Knight abilities.
- Death Strike: Uses 1 Unholy & 1 Frost Rune; this is an instant cast and doesn’t require a cool down.
- Icy Touch: Uses 1 Frost Rune
- Blood Boil: Uses 1 Blood Rune
You can use these abilities in combination with one another. This is what makes them challenging to play. You may find yourself completely out of Runes if you don’t manage them properly. 10 seconds is a long time to wait if you need your power right away, like in combat.
World of Warcraft Death Knight Guide