Unholy Death Knight PvP Rotation and Playstyle — The War Within (11.0.5)

Last updated on Oct 21, 2024 at 21:00 by Keator 19 comments

PvP requires you to perform various actions in the course of a duel, match, or battleground: interrupting/silencing enemies, damaging them, bursting them down, defending yourself, keeping yourself alive, etc.. It is a game mode that fully utilises your kit, especially spells that are rarely used in PvE. On this page, we go through all the spells you need to use in PvP as an Unholy Death Knight, how you should use them, and we explain what your playstyle should be.

This page is part of our Unholy Death Knight PvP Guide.

1.

Playstyle for Unholy Death Knights

The Unholy Death Knight provides both powerful rot pressure in the form of diseases and pets that deal damage regardless of crowd control done to you, as well as high burst damage from the powerful cooldowns at its disposal. It also comes equipped with a great deal of utility from Death Grip Icon Death Grip, Mind Freeze Icon Mind Freeze, Leap Icon Leap, Asphyxiate Icon Asphyxiate and Gnaw Icon Gnaw. All of these tools can be very disruptive to the enemy team, specifically casters, so while they are difficult to use, mastering them will be extremely beneficial. Furthermore, once you are very familiar with the rotation and using all your tools properly, the vast amount of ways you have to deal damage will make enemy teams unable to properly deal with it.

1.1.

Before Gates Open

Make sure to communicate with your teammates the kill target and the grip target. You will be pulling one player to another in order to set up AoE burst on the two stacked targets. Generally, the grip target is the healer, but sometimes it has to be the other DPS, namely against caster cleaves.

1.2.

Using your Ghoul's Abilities

What makes Unholy Death Knights so unique is that they have access to a ghoul by using Raise Dead Icon Raise Dead (you also get a skeleton minion if you are using the All Will Serve Icon All Will Serve talent).

Your normal ghoul has the following abilities:

  • Claw Icon Claw — deals physical damage. Your ghoul should always be attacking your main target.
  • Gnaw Icon Gnaw — a 1-second stun. This is great to use on a healer or caster as a pseudo-interrupt or a way to deal with impactful casts that are not kickable.
  • Leap Icon Leap — leap behind an enemy target. This makes it faster for your pet to swap targets if you are switching your main target.
  • Huddle Icon Huddle — reduces all damage taken by 50%, but prevents all other actions for 10 seconds. This should be used when the enemy team is focusing your pet.

These are your ghoul's normal abilities. However, Unholy Death Knights have an ability called Dark Transformation Icon Dark Transformation that is normally used during their burst rotation. This empowers your ghoul's damage and abilities dramatically.

Here is what Dark Transformation Icon Dark Transformation does to your ghoul's abilities.

  • Claw Icon Claw — Deals Shadow damage to all enemies near the monstrosity. This gives you cleave damage if the enemy team is stacked.
  • Gnaw Icon Gnaw — a 2-second stun. This is great to use on a healer or caster as a pseudo-interrupt or a way to deal with impactful casts that are not kickable. The extra second makes it significantly more threatening, as you will generally use it when the enemy team is in a tough spot.
  • Leap Icon Leap — Interrupts and roots your target for 2 seconds. This will primarily be used on the enemy healer if they are in range. You should also use it to interrupt crowd control, such as Polymorph Icon Polymorph or Cyclone Icon Cyclone.
  • Huddle Icon Huddle — reduces all damage taken to your ghoul by 50% for 10 seconds. This just makes it so you can use other abilities while Putrid Bulwark Icon Putrid Bulwark is active. Putrid Bulwark is the buff that is placed on your ghoul. It is recommended that you use this ability immediately after transforming your pet to minimize the possibility of your pet dying during your burst.
2.

The Opener

The opener refers to your team's opening crowd control chain and damage done as soon as you get out of the gates. The main goal in the opener is to force your enemies to use their cooldowns and/or trinket. To do this, Unholy Death Knights will set up an AoE burst window for them and their partner with Death Grip Icon Death Grip.

This is the rotation you should use on your target at the beginning of the game if you are playing the Rider of the Apocalyse hero tree.

  1. Use Army of the Dead Icon Army of the Dead or Raise Abomination Icon Raise Abomination as you are moving to initiate.
  2. Use Chains of Ice Icon Chains of Ice to keep your primary target slowed.
  3. Use Dark Transformation Icon Dark Transformation to buff your pet and apply Virulent Plague Icon Virulent Plague.
  4. Use Summon Gargoyle Icon Summon Gargoyle to summon your main offensive pet if talented.
  5. Use Abomination Limb Icon Abomination Limb, if talented, to gain increased rune regeneration and pull in nearby enemies.
  6. Use Unholy Assault Icon Unholy Assault to set up your burst.
  7. Use Apocalypse Icon Apocalypse to burst your wounds and deal massive damage to the target.

It is important to note that there can only be 6 stacks of Festering Wound Icon Festering Wound on a target at one time. Once you are at 4-5 Wounds, you should not waste additional Runes on Festering Strike Icon Festering Strike. This will severely hamper your burst window, as you will not have the resources you need during it.

If you are playing San'layn our burst rotation changes slightly and is a bit more involved.

  1. Use Army of the Dead Icon Army of the Dead or Raise Abomination Icon Raise Abomination as you are moving to initiate.
  2. Use Chains of Ice Icon Chains of Ice to keep your primary target slowed.
  3. Use Summon Gargoyle Icon Summon Gargoyle to summon your main offensive pet if talented.
  4. Use Abomination Limb Icon Abomination Limb, if talented, to gain increased rune regeneration and pull in nearby enemies.
  5. Use Unholy Assault Icon Unholy Assault to set up your burst.
  6. Use Apocalypse Icon Apocalypse to burst your wounds and deal massive damage to the target.
  7. Use Defile Icon Defile for the damage and Cleaving Strikes Icon Cleaving Strikes.
  8. Use Dark Transformation Icon Dark Transformation to buff your pet and apply Virulent Plague Icon Virulent Plague.
  9. Use Vampiric Strike Icon Vampiric Strike until your Gift of the San'layn Icon Gift of the San'layn buff expires.

When bursting with San'layn you do NOT want to use any other abilities other than Vampiric Strike Icon Vampiric Strike as the benefit you gain from Infliction of Sorrow Icon Infliction of Sorrow and Incite Terror Icon Incite Terror overshadows the lost wounds and Sudden Doom Icon Sudden Doom procs. If you have no runes then you can use Death Coil Icon Death Coil, but this should the only circumstance you deviate from Vampiric Strike.

3.

Damage Techniques

3.1.

Burst Damage

Unholy has strong single-target burst windows that can also cleave and rot nearby enemies. Making good use of these windows both by having the enemy team in CC and also by making sure your setup globals (shown above) are active prior to this window is extremely important. This will allow you to focus your global cooldowns and your Runes on burst damage.

  1. Use Dark Transformation Icon Dark Transformation.
  2. Use Apocalypse Icon Apocalypse. This will spend 4 of your Wounds on the target.
  3. Use Scourge Strike Icon Scourge Strike or Clawing Shadows Icon Clawing Shadows to spend Wounds.
  4. Use Death Coil Icon Death Coil if you have a high amount of Runic Power or if you get a Sudden Doom Icon Sudden Doom proc with at least 3 wounds on the target.
  5. Use Festering Strike Icon Festering Strike to reapply Wounds to your target only once you have 1-2 wounds remaining on the target.
3.2.

Sustained damage

Sustained damage is damage you do when your burst cooldowns are not available.

  1. Maintain Chains of Ice Icon Chains of Ice on all targets to hinder their movement.
  2. Use Outbreak Icon Outbreak to maintain Virulent Plague Icon Virulent Plague on as many targets as possible.
  3. Use Festering Strike Icon Festering Strike to generate and refresh Festering Wound Icon Festering Wound.
  4. Use Scourge Strike Icon Scourge Strike or Clawing Shadows Icon Clawing Shadows to spend Wounds and maintain plaguebringer if talented.
  5. Use Death Coil Icon Death Coil if you have a high amount of Runic Power or if you get a Sudden Doom Icon Sudden Doom proc.
  6. Use Death Strike Icon Death Strike if you are about to cap on Runic Power and you are being attacked.
4.

Defensive Techniques

Anti-Magic Shell Icon Anti-Magic Shell is your primary defensive. This is very strong against caster classes. With a relatively short cooldown, use this if you are being focused and need to negate incoming spell damage.

Icebound Fortitude Icon Icebound Fortitude is another strong defensive. This will give you immunity to all stuns and reduce all damage to you. Use this when you are in a stun and being focused.

Lichborne Icon Lichborne allows you to use Death Coil Icon Death Coil on yourself to provide solid healing. This can be done even when you do not have a target nearby and increases in value with Strength procs, unlike Death Strike Icon Death Strike. Therefore, it has great situational uses. It also gives you 10% leech, which provides additional healing when damage is done.

Death Strike Icon Death Strike is another primary defensive. If you are the primary target for the enemy team and have Runic Power, use Death Strike to heal yourself for a percentage of the damage that was dealt to you.

Death's Advance Icon Death's Advance, although not exactly a defensive ability, should be used when you need to get to an enemy or to avoid incoming crowd control.

Wraith Walk Icon Wraith Walk, similar to Death's Advance Icon Death's Advance, is not exactly a defensive ability and should be used when you need to get to an enemy or to avoid incoming crowd control.

5.

Macros

It is advised to use Macros to use abilities on enemies or allies without having to target them. For this reason, we have a page dedicated to them.

6.

Changelog

  • 21 Oct. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
  • 09 Sep. 2024: Updated for The War Within Season 1.
  • 21 Aug. 2024: Updated for War Within Launch.
  • 23 Jul. 2024: Reviewed for War Within Prepatch.
  • 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
  • 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4.
  • 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2.0.
  • 01 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7.
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
  • 05 May 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.
  • 21 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 30 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 22 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 31 Jul. 2022: Updated for Shadowlands Season 4.
  • 31 May 2022: Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
  • 02 Mar. 2022: Reviewed for Patch 9.2.0.
  • 11 Dec. 2021: Reviewed for Patch 9.1.5.
  • 04 Jul. 2021: Updated for Patch 9.1 of Shadowlands.
  • 20 Mar. 2021: Reviewed for Patch 9.0.5.
  • 05 Dec. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands Season 1.
  • 14 Oct. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
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