Wiki / Classes / Death Knight

Melee · Frost

Death Knight

Plague and grips

Health 510SpreadSustainedControl
OverviewAction barAbilitiesTalents

Overview

Keep Frost Fever on everyone with Chains of Ice and Frost Strike. Death Grip a caster in, then Asphyxiate to spread the plague.

How to play

  • Never let Frost Fever drop.
  • Grip, then Asphyxiate.
  • Your damage ramps, so stay on them.

Key passives

  • Virulence

    Frost Fever (72 over 8 sec) stacks every 2 sec it stays up: +10% ticks each, max 4. Resets if it drops.

  • Fever Refresh

    Frost Strike on a Fevered target extends Fever by 2 sec, up to 8 sec remaining.

  • Epidemic

    Asphyxiate hits 30% harder within 4.2 sec of Death Grip. On Fever it surges ticks 28% for 2.2 sec and spreads Fever nearby.

Action bar

Hover or tap a spell for its in-game tooltip. Default keybinds.

Frost

Frost Strike1
Chains of Ice2
Death Grip3
Howling BlastE
Asphyxiate4
Pillar of FrostQ
Icebound Fortitude5
Death's AdvanceSpace
Mind Freeze6
Gladiator's MedallionV

Unholy Unholy Presence talent · Keystone row

Scourge Strike1
Chains of Ice2
Death Grip3
Death CoilE
Asphyxiate4
Unholy FrenzyQ
Icebound Fortitude5
Death's AdvanceSpace
Mind Freeze6
Gladiator's MedallionV

Abilities

1

Frost Strike

Frost

Melee rangeInstant2.3 sec cooldown

Deals 39 Frost damage and reduces healing received by 12% for 3.6 sec.

Extends Frost Fever on the target.

2

Chains of Ice

Frost

24 yd rangeInstant4.5 sec cooldown

Deals 13 Frost damage, reduces movement speed by 38% for 2.4 sec and applies Frost Fever, 72 damage over 8 sec.

Frost Fever gains Virulence stacks the longer it stays up.

3

Death Grip

Physical

25 yd rangeInstant16.5 sec cooldown

Pulls the enemy to you and roots it for 1.4 sec.

Empowers your next Asphyxiate.

E

Howling Blast

Frost

24 yd rangeInstant6 sec cooldown

Deals 19 Frost damage, 20% more to targets with Frost Fever plus 12% per Virulence stack. Enemies within 7 yd take 60% of the damage.

4

Asphyxiate

Shadow

Melee rangeInstant15 sec cooldown

Deals 35 Shadow damage and stuns the target for 2.6 sec.

Spreads Frost Fever and its Virulence to nearby enemies.

Q

Pillar of Frost

Instant60 sec cooldown

For 8 sec Frost Strike deals 30% more damage and recharges 60% faster.

Off the global cooldown.

5

Icebound Fortitude

Instant42 sec cooldown

Reduces damage taken by 30% for 5 sec and grants immunity to crowd control.

Breaks stuns.

Space

Death's Advance

Instant14 sec cooldown

Increases movement speed by 22% for 3.6 sec. You cannot be slowed below normal speed.

6

Mind Freeze

Physical

18 yd rangeInstant11 sec cooldown

Interrupts spellcasting and prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 2 sec.

V

Gladiator's Medallion

Instant50 sec cooldown

Removes all stuns, roots, slows, Polymorph, Fear, Blind, Gouge and Cyclone effects. Only usable while crowd-controlled.

Talents

One pick per row, or leave a row on the stock kit.

1Keystone

Gorefiend's Grasp

Death Grip also pulls everyone near your target.

Death Grip also pulls in every enemy standing near your target.

The root after the pull lasts 0.7 sec (was 1.4).

Grip a stacked team into your partner's damage, or both away from their healer.

Anti-Magic Zone

Icebound Fortitude becomes a zone that protects your team from spells.

Place a zone anywhere in range for 5 sec. Allies inside take 40% less spell damage, and interrupts don't lock out their spells.

You lose Icebound's personal damage reduction, stun break and crowd-control immunity.

Drop it on your healer when their caster starts bursting.

Unholy Presence

Become an Unholy Death Knight.

Scourge Strike builds Runic Power and Death Coil spends it, leaving Necrotic that eats their healing.

No Howling Blast and no Pillar of Frost. Wasted Runic Power is lost damage.

Take it when you'd rather drain their healer than burst.

2Tactics

Frozen Chains

Chains of Ice roots a target that already has Frost Fever.

Chains of Ice on a target that already has your Frost Fever roots it for 1 sec (root diminishing returns apply).

Frost Fever deals 58 damage (was 72).

The first Chains applies Fever, the next one pins the kiter.

Strangulate

Asphyxiate reaches a target at range.

Asphyxiate can be used on a target up to 300 range (needs line of sight).

Stun lasts 1.8 sec (was 2.6).

Stun their healer from range without leaving your kill target.

Wraith Walk

Death's Advance is much faster but comes back slower.

Death's Advance raises your speed by 40% (was 22%).

Death's Advance cooldown 16 sec (was 14).

Close the gap on a kiting caster in one go.

3Style

Frozen Heart

Frost Strike, or Scourge Strike as Unholy, hits harder.

Frost Strike (Unholy: Scourge Strike) deals 12% more damage.

6% less maximum health.

Best inside Pillar of Frost or Unholy Frenzy, when every strike counts.

Blood Draw

The first time you get low, you heal.

The first time you drop below 35% health, heal 20% of your maximum health. Once per life; dampening and healing reduction shrink it.

Pillar of Frost / Unholy Frenzy cooldown +15 sec.

Buys the second you need for Icebound Fortitude or to reach your healer.

Runic Haste

Death's Advance also breaks roots and clears slows on you.

Death's Advance removes your roots and slows.

Death's Advance cooldown 9 sec (was 7).

Advance out of a root and stay on target.