Cataclysm Classic Frost Death Knight Guide

This page contains all relevant information needed for Frost Death Knight before the release of Cataclysm Classic. Be sure to check back as we get closer to the release date, as this page will be updated with the latest information as it becomes available.

Yes! Frost Death Knight has one of the most interactive rotations of any Melee DPS with a constantly updating priority system. Mastering this will lead to some of the highest DPS of any Melee DPS in Cataclysm. Frost Death Knight also provides important buffs and debuffs in the form of Improved Icy Talons, Brittle Bones and even the ability to instantly resurrect a fallen ally in combat with the Raise Ally ability.

Strengths

• Some of the highest two-target cleave damage in the entire game thanks to Howling Blast.
• Provides the Improved Icy Talons and Brittle Bones raid buff and debuff, making them incredibly useful in a 10-man raid.
• Powerful personal defensive cooldowns.
• Best multi-target kiting in the game thanks to Chilblains.
• Death Grip allows for easy repositioning of mobs, especially casters.

Weaknesses

• Extremely immobile and vulnerable to slows/stuns after cooldowns are expended.
• Heavily dependent on generation of Runic Power.
• Very gear dependent, falls behind other classes when fully equipped.

As Horde, the default choice will be Orc; due to the strength of their racial abilities Blood Fury which greatly increases your Attack Power. Frost puts a massive emphasis on doing large sums of damage during short windows due procs like Killing Machine so any additional Attack Power that can be stacked ontop of these buffs is quite powerful.

As Alliance, the default choice will be Worgen; Death Knights can struggle with mobility so the Darkflight ability can provide some incredibly useful movement speed as well as gaining a small bit of Critical Strike rating from Viciousness.

Cataclysm does a much better job of balancing professions leading to each profession to give an average increase of about 80 stats. With that in mind there are still some decisions to be made when it comes to which Profession to choose as there are still options that may be better for your class.

1. Engineering — Engineering remains king largely due to Synapse Springs which synergizes incredibly with any kind of damage increase like Pillar of Frost. Grounded Plasma Shield adds another solid defensive cooldown to help you mitigate incoming damage and allows you to use your Anti-Magic Shell to focus on maximizing the Runic Power generation portion of it. Nitro Boosts also grants a ton of movement speed which is incredibly important as a Death Knight with otherwise limited mobility options.
2. Blacksmithing — Lets you add an extra socket to both your Gloves and Bracers thanks to Socket Gloves and Socket Bracer. As a Death Knight Strength is incredibly valuable compared to secondary stats and these bonus sockets only become more valuable as the expansion progresses onward and Epic Gems are introduced.

Addons and Macros can greatly improve your quality of life during Cataclysm. Listed below are some of our recommendations on Addons and Macros to help get the most out of your time playing the game.