The Death Knight class is the newest class in the World of Warcraft. This class was brought to us by ‘Wrath of the Lich King’ expansion released in 2008. In the World of Warcraft, the DKs were introduced as a “Hero” class. However, this doesn’t mean that the DK class is stronger compared to any other class.

Interesting things when it comes to DKs is they attack system which is not based on mana, rage or energy but it is based on runic power. There are two runes available for all types of spells and attacks, and these runes have a cooldown which is consumed when the spell/attack is used. The Runes are divided in three sets of two Blood, Frost and Unholy Runes. The talent trees have the same names as these mentioned runes.

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Death Knights wear armor made from plate, can cast spells and are also good melee dpsers.  A Death Knight can fulfill the role of a damage dealer and tank in a group or raid. They can wield one-handed and two-handed weapons but cannot equip a shield.

You can only make a Death Knight if you have a level 70 character. A good thing about this is that you can start leveling your DK from level 55. Besides that, you will also receive a set of green gear, 5 bags and 30 Silver.

You will begin your adventure in Archerus, The Ebon Hold which is located in the Eastern Plaguelands. When you start you will be on the side of the Lich King. You will be taking direct orders from the Lich King himself during the quest chains that you should complete in the areas around the Ebon Hold. By completing the quests in this area you will receive your talent points and better gear. Because you start at level 55 you have missed out on some talent points but you can earn these back through questing.

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You will level up till about level 58 once the quest chain you are working on changes drastically. Your char will manage to escape and he/she will join the enemies of the Lich King. After this event occurs you will be able to go anywhere you like, however it is advisable to proceed to the Outlands since it will be easier for you to level up there. Your DK will have all the necessary talent points, nice gear and a nice story to tell when he/she enters the Outlands.

As any other character, a Death Knight should also choose two primary professions. You can choose any professions you feel are suitable for your char but keep in mind that some professions are better than other depending on the class you play. When it comes to most of the characters, Enchanting is a nice and useful profession to have because you will be able to enchant your rings. The ring enchants are just available to enchanters and when it comes to any spec they can be a really nice boost. Jewelcrafting, which is best combined with Mining for cheap leveling purposes, is nice because a Jewelcrafter can make better gems for own use. Later on in the game you will be able to obtain better gear which will have more sockets and this is why Jewelcrafting is nice since all of the gems you can make will be improving your char’s stats. You can also make different kinds of Jewelry with it like necklaces, rings and trinkets. Another nice option for a primary profession could be Blacksmithing because of the plate gear you can craft. With BS you can also make sockets for your wrists and gloves and a belt buckle which comes as an additional socket for your belt.

The Death Knight class is a great one to play. The only down point is that there are so many of them. The only thing that might bother you is that almost everyone has made a DK simply because you start at level 55 and it is fairly easy to level a char from there on.

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I’ll talk about the Death Knight class in this WoW Death Knight Guide. In many way Death Knights, introduced in Wrath of the Lich King, are a hybrid of magic and melee classes.

Death Knight Overview:

Death Knights can do magic but are especially talented at melee, able to deliver destruction to their enemies. It’s this melee ability combined with anti magic that can make them great tanks in a group. We’ll take a look at some of the upsides and downsides of this class.

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.
• Wield 2 Handed Weapons- Again this makes them great as Tanks.
• Anti Magic- Makes them formidable adversaries 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.
• Although their great tanks, they can’t 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 some of the Runes are used for some 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 the aspect that make Death Knights a challenge to master. If you don’t use your Runes properly you may not have any at all for 10 seconds. 10 seconds can be a life time in situations like in the middle of combat.

World of Warcraft Death Knight Guide