Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Guide

This page contains all relevant information needed for Unholy 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! Unholy Death Knight is an incredibly powerful melee DPS that provides the critical Ebon Plaguebringer magic vulnerability debuff while also being able to battle res with Raise Ally. On top of the powerful utility Unholy brings, it will consistently place near the top of all melee DPS, as well as fill many niche encounter-specific roles thanks to abilities like Death Grip and Chains of Ice.

Strengths

• Commands two powerful minions that are greatly empowered by talents like Dark Transformation.
• Brings the Ebon Plaguebringer debuff, especially strong for 10-man raids.
• Powerful personal and situationally useful group defensive cooldowns.
• Death Grip allows for easy repositioning of mobs, especially casters.

Weaknesses

• Extremely immobile and vulnerable to slows or stuns after cooldowns are expended.
• Pets can at times be vulnerable to raid-wide damage mechanics.
• Death and Decay which is a large source of our damage relies on the enemy being almost entirely stationary.

As Horde, the default choice will be Orc due to the strength of their racial abilities Blood Fury. This greatly increases the Attack Power for your Summon Gargoyle window and offers a ton of extra pet damage through Command.

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.

1. Engineering — Engineering remains king largely due to Synapse Springs which synergizes incredibly with any kind of damage increase like Summon Gargoyle. 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.