Unholy Death Knight in WoW Classic Cataclysm has proven itself as a sustained damage dealer, who spreads diseases across multiple targets. In this guide, we will cover key aspects that will help you hone your skills: from talent builds to rotations and gearing. Maximize your Unholy Death Knight performance with our tips, and also check Cata Top Addons to enhance your gameplay.
4.9Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Overview
In Cataclysm Classic, the Unholy Death Knight is seen as a strong and versatile class, that is suitable for both PvE and PvP scenarios. Death Knights’ spell variety includes not only damaging abilities but also summons such as Summon Gargoyle for burst damage, and Dark Transformation enhancing their Ghoul and allowing them to deal consistent damage.
From the gameplay on Cata Unholy Death Knight, you should expect vigorous battles with enemies, requiring Rune management and Runic Power usage, spreading Diseases for continuous damage, and utilizing battlefield control spells.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| ✅ Impressive amounts of damage from AoE abilities and disease-spreading abilities | ⛔️ Compared to some other DPS classes, Unholy DKs may struggle with burst damage in short encounters |
| ✅ Death Strike and Anti-Magic Shell provide strong self-healing and magic suppression capabilities | ⛔️ Balancing Runes and Runic Power can be challenging and requires practice to master |
| ✅ Summon Gargoyle provides additional pet damage and utility, including the ability to stun targets | ⛔️ Limited mobility due to melee attack range may be challenging and inconvenient for some players |
| ✅ A lot of utility spells, e.g. Unholy Frenzy | — |
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Class Mechanics
The distinctive feature of Death Knights is their system of resources — Runes and Runic Power. There are three types of Runes: Blood, Frost, and Unholy, with 2 of each type.
The runes are used to cast Death Knight’s abilities, fueled with Runic Power. They are often referred to as “builders”. Additionally, as noted, DKs generate Runic Power through their abilities, which can be spent on some key spells. Therefore, we usually call them “spenders”.
| Runic Power Builders | Runic Power Spenders | |
|---|---|---|
| Scourge Strike | Death Coil | |
| Festering Strike | — | |
| Death and Decay | — | |
Besides, you have one special talent, which is also bound to this mechanic. Reaping — is a passive ability that converts our runes into Death Runes after the cast of your Rune-consuming spells, e.g. Blood Boil. To clarify, Death Runes can be used as any base Rune in 30 seconds.
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Changes
Major changes in Cataclysm Classic affected primarily the system of Unholy DK Runes. Now, the regeneration of Runes goes in groups of three. Consequently, if you use two Runes of the same type one after the other, the second one will start regenerating once the first is fully ready.
Stat and Attribute Changes
The changes affected some of our primary stats:
| Stat | Changes |
|---|---|
| Strength | We rely on the Strength rate more, as it is currently empowered by our Unholy bonus, Unholy Might, and Plate Specialization. |
| Haste Rating | Now it directly affects the Runes regenerating rates, which is essential due to the abovementioned changes. |
| Critical Strike Rating | In Cataclysm Classic, diseases spread by Unholy Death Knights crit by default, thus positively affecting our overpowered pet from Summon Gargoyle. |
Changes to Existing Abilities & Talents
- Ebon Plaguebringer — the spell now increases Magic Damage Taken by 8%.
- Unholy Frenzy — now increases Melee Haste by 20% for 30 seconds.
- Sudden Doom — now gives a chance to cast a Runic-Power-free Death Coil instead of casting it automatically.
- Frost Fever and Blood Plague — affects our diseases which can now crit without the need of set bonuses and increases AoE damage output.
- Raise Ally — resurrects an ally with 20% of HP and mana.
- Unholy Presence — infuses us with unholy fury and increases Rune regeneration. Due to its usefulness and damage boost, it is now considered our most preferable presence.
New Abilities & Talents
The list of the New Abilities that Unholy Death Knight received in Cataclysm Classic might initially seem a bit overwhelming. Still, you will find its usage surprisingly easy and intuitive while playing. Here’s the full list of the newest spells:
- Dark Transformation — transforms your Ghoul into an Abomination for 30 seconds upon reaching five stacks of Shadow Infusion, significantly increasing its damage and turning its Claw ability into a cleave.
- Festering Strike — a hard-hitting melee ability that consumes one Blood Rune and one Frost Rune. Its crucial function is extending the duration of the diseases you inflict by 6 sec.
- Outbreak — instantly applies both Blood Plague and Frost Fever to your target using only a Global Cooldown. This ability is good for applying diseases to distant targets that can not be reached by Pestilence.
- Dark Simulacrum — allows you to copy an enemy’s spell. This ability should be considered mostly PvP-oriented.
- Necrotic Strike — an ability that consumes healing received by the target. It would be fun to use in PvP against an opposing healer.
- Dreadblade — increases Shadow damage depending on your Mastery points.
- Runic Focus — a passive ability from the class trainer that provides a substantial critical strike damage modifier for spells and an additional 9% spell hit, allowing focus on the 8% hit cap for melee abilities
- Runic Empowerment — another passive ability modified by the Runic Corruption, which increases the Rune regeneration rate when Death Coils are used.
Unholy Death Knight Best Gear in Cataclysm Classic
As an Unholy Death Knight in Cataclysm Classic, you’ll have various gear options that help push your stats to the max. One is a Pre-raid BiS gear, the best items available from dungeons and crafted sources before you start raiding. Another is Overall BiS gear, which includes the top items from all content and raids. This one is your ultimate setup for peak performance. In any case, getting a PvE BiS set is easy with the help of our professional players.
In our Unholy Death Knight Guide for Cataclysm Classic, we included all the best and easy-to-reach gear options.
Pre-Raid BiS Gear
Overall BiS Gear
Unholy Death Knight Phase 3 Gear Set
As shown above, BiS Gear for Unholy Death Knights includes the Tier 12 Elementium Deathplate Battlegear Raid Set. The set, in addition to being excellent for transmogrification, provides the following buffs:
Chest | Elementium Deathplate Breastplate |
|---|---|
Hands | Elementium Deathplate Gauntlets |
Head | Elementium Deathplate Helmet |
Legs | Elementium Deathplate Greaves |
Shoulder | Elementium Deathplate Pauldrons |
- 2 pieces: Your Horn of Winter ability also grants you 3 runic power every 5 sec for 2 min.
- 4 pieces: Your Obliterate and Scourge Strike abilities instantly deal 6% additional damage as Fire damage.
Raiding is such a thrilling part of the content in WoW Cataclysm Classic, which also allows you to get the best gear, though it is time-consuming. With the Tier Set Boost you can obtain the Raid Set for the current addon effortlessly, and you don’t have to worry about managing your free time.
Unholy Death Knight Weapons
The best weapons for an Unholy DK can vary, but your main goal is to find items that provide the highest Hit Rating, as well as Critical Strike Rating.
Weapons
Sigils
| Rank | Item | Source | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best | Relic of the Elemental Lords | 700 Valor Points | Jamus’Vaz (Horde) Faldren Tillsdale (Alliance) |
| Best | Relic of Aggramar | 700 Valor Points | Jamus’Vaz (Horde) Faldren Tillsdale (Alliance) |
| Optional | Conch of Thundering Waves | Mindbender Ghur’sha | Throne of the Tides |
| Optional | Record of the Brotherhood’s End | Vanessa VanCleef | The Deadmines |
| Optional | Notched Jawbone | BoE craftable from Inscription | Azeroth |
As Unholy Death Knight, you can become the owner of the mighty legendary weapon — Shadowmourne. Our professional team will help you to gain dominion and impress enemies with this unique axe.
Unholy Death Knight Jewelry
The key feature of jewelry for an Unholy DK is that, by following the best options, you can mix and match items in any order you prefer, depending on what you currently possess. What you should prioritize, though, is an overall iLvl and the key stats for the class.
Necks for Unholy Death Knight
| Rank | Item | Source | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best | Gift of Nadun | Ramkahen Exalted | Blacksmith Abasi in Uldum |
| Optional | Seedling Pod | Ammunae | Halls of Origination |
| Optional | Baroness Silverlaine’s Locket | Baron Silverlaine | Shadowfang Keep |
Rings for Unholy Death Knight
| Rank | Item | Source | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best | Blauvelt’s Family Crest | BoE World Drop | Azeroth |
| Best | Band of Bees | 1250 Valor Points | Jamus’Vaz (Horde) Faldren Tillsdale (Alliance) |
| Optional | Gorsik’s Band of Shattering | Therazane Revered | D’lom the Collector in Deepholm |
| Optional | Signet of Transformation | Corla, Herald of Twilight | Blackrock Caverns |
| Optional | Circle of Bone | Erudax | Grim Batol |
| Optional | Nova Band | Isiset | Halls of Origination |
Trinkets for Unholy Death Knight
| Rank | Item | Source | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best | License to Slay | 1650 Valor Points | Jamus’Vaz (Horde) Faldren Tillsdale (Alliance) |
| Best | Heart of Solace | Lockmaw & Augh | Lost City of the Tol’vir |
| Best | Impatience of Youth | Hellscream’s Reach Exalted / Baradin’s Wardens Exalted | Tol Barad |
| Optional | Right Eye of Rajh | Rajh | Halls of Origination |
| Optional | Magnetite Mirror | High Priestess Azil | The Stonecore |
All the required gear, weapons, and jewelry can be obtained from various sources. Some of the variants require spending your gold supplies on crafting items or easing the progress. Thus, feel free to get Gold from our best suppliers and play in the current addon without limitations.
Unholy Death Knight Leveling in Cataclysm Classic
In Cataclysm Classic, you start your Unholy DK journey at level 55, making the leveling process fast and time-saving. As you progress toward level 85, you can choose between leveling through questing, dungeons, or a combination of both. Your Diseases and Summon Gargoyle will be helpful either way.
Unholy Death Knight Best Leveling Build
This Unholy Death Knight Leveling Build 7/1/33 is proven to be optimal. Your main objective though is to get a ghoul pet from Summon Gargoyle ASAP.
Unholy Death Knight Leveling Glyphs
Tips for Leveling Up
We already mentioned that the Unholy Death Knight starts at level 55, and since there aren’t many steps left until you reach the highest level, it must be easy.
Here is a list of the most useful tips:
- Combination of Dungeons and Quests: This is especially effective if you have a higher-level group or use the LFR option.
- Efficient Spell Usage: Use Death and Decay on cooldown; it now requires only 1 Unholy Rune and deals significant damage even for half its duration.
- Mobility with Death Grip: Use Death Grip to pull mobs to you, compensating for the lack of mobility.
- Sustain with Death Strike: Use Death Strike on CD to maintain high HP while pulling monsters.
- Learn to use Your Ghoul: Your pet can pull distant mobs and stun tougher enemies.
And remember: Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. Reach out to our boosters to get Power Leveling service and level up in the blink of an eye to enjoy the benefits of playing the current addon in WoW Classic.
Unholy Death Knight Best Leveling Rotation
During the leveling phase, your key Unholy Death Knight Diseases would be Frost Fever and Blood Plague, spread via Pestilence spell, as these significantly boost your damage output.
Leveling Rotation
- Pull with Icy Touch to apply Frost Fever.
- Apply Plague Strike to apply Blood Plague.
- Use Pestilence to spread diseases to nearby enemies.
- Cast Death and Decay for AoE damage.
- Use Scourge Strike on single targets when Diseases are active.
- Use Blood Boil when fighting multiple targets.
Single Target Situations: If the target doesn’t live for half the duration of Death and Decay, use Scourge Strike instead.
AoE Situations: If the target will live for half the duration or longer, Death and Decay is more effective. For questing, where enemies often die quickly, leverage your powerful AoE damage by engaging multiple enemies simultaneously to speed up leveling.
Unholy Death Knight Best Leveling Gear
In their starting Cataclysm Classic zone, Unholy Death Knights are granted an initial Rare Quality gear set, which is already good. Yet, if it suits you better, invest in alternative items from the Auction House, Dungeons, or Quests.
Easy-to-get items list
Unholy Death Knight Best Leveling Professions
Engineering and Gathering professions such as Skinning, Mining, and Herbalism in Cataclysm Classic offer distinct advantages for leveling an Unholy Death Knight.
- Engineering provides useful gadgets and boosts, which are truly beneficial during leveling. Additionally, the profession offers crafted gear and unique trinkets that can give an edge in combat.
- Gathering professions are often used to ensure constant currency supply (considering that you actually farm resources). Thanks to this, you can afford essential gear upgrades and consumables by selling crafting reagents. Mining and Herbalism are generally considered a source of valuable experience points, allowing you to level up Unholy DK even faster.
Leveling can be easier with a higher level of your chosen profession. In order not to miss the progress in the current addon, get Professions Kits, skip countless grinding hours, and enjoy your game.
Unholy Death Knight Best Leveling Consumables
Consumables during leveling can not only help keep your Unholy Death Knight in fighting form but also make the leveling process easier.
- Healing: in WoW Cataclysm Classic, use Super Healing Potion, available from level 55. It helps replenish HP quickly right on the battlefield. A later option, the Mythical Healing Potion, available from level 80, will be even more useful.
- Combat boosts: whether farming or in dungeons, you’ll need the Elixir of Major Strength, available from level 50, which is suitable for our Unholy DK starting at level 55. Its enhanced counterpart from level 80, the Flask of Titanic Strength, will also be a great addition.
- Food buffs: Roasted Clefthoof, available from level 55, gives a bonus to Strength and Spirit when eaten while seated. From level 70, you can switch to Dragonfin Filet.
To sum up, with the tips above leveling an Unholy Death Knight in Cataclysm Classic should be a piece of cake. If you are seeking a more guided experience or simply not sure whether you are proficient enough in the new addon, consider our Hourly Drive service, where you can play alongside a professional to maximize your leveling speed and expertise.
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Talent Builds
Fortunately for us, WoW Classic Cataclysm Unholy Death Knight Build is pretty consistent and does not change from the leveling stage. All you need to do is continue choosing the talents following the chart until you reach level 85.
Unholy Death Knight Build 7/1/33 for best Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight DPS performance.
Our most wanted Unholy Death Knights talents lay in the Unholy tree. A vast majority of these talents are used to increase disease duration and damage, ensuring continuous high DPS, e.g. Rage of Rivendare, other talents, such as Morbidity, enhance AoE potential.
The only appreciated talent from the Frost tree for now is Runic Power Mastery, as we want to maximize our Runic power.
Unholy Tree Talents
| Purpose | Talent | Overview |
|---|---|---|
| Pet Summon | Master of Ghouls | Summon a permanent ghoul to fight by your side, providing additional damage and utility. |
| Summon Gargoyle | Summon a gargoyle to bombard your target with Nature damage for 30 seconds, a crucial cooldown for burst damage. | |
| Shadow Infusion | Empower your ghoul with each Death Coil you cast, leading to the powerful Dark Transformation ability. | |
| Dark Transformation | Transform your ghoul into a more powerful version for a short duration, greatly increasing its damage and utility. | |
| Diseases Boost | Unholy Blight | Causes your Death Coil to afflict the target with a disease that deals damage over time, enhancing your disease management. |
| Virulence | Increases the damage of your diseases and reduces the chance that your spells will be resisted, improving overall damage output. | |
| Epidemic | Increases the duration of Blood Plague and Frost Fever, allowing for more consistent disease uptime and less frequent reapplication. | |
| Ebon Plaguebringer | Increases your disease damage and causes your diseases to apply the Ebon Plague debuff, increasing magic damage taken by the target. | |
| Rage of Rivendare | Increases your damage dealt to targets afflicted by Blood Plague, boosting your overall damage output. | |
| Rune Mechanic | Runic Corruption | Gives your Death Coil a chance to increase your rune regeneration rate, making your abilities available more frequently. |
| DPS Boost | Morbidity | Increases the damage and reduces the cooldown of Death and Decay, enhancing your AoE damage capabilities. |
| Unholy Frenzy | Increases the attack speed of a friendly target, providing a significant DPS boost for a short duration. |
In some particular situations, you may choose to change this loadout in favor of the talent that fits the situation. E.g. Anti-Magic Zone may be of use in encounters where you expect massive spell damage and need magic suppression, whether it’s some specific raid, battleground, or PvP Arena.
In this case, you will need to realign the talents from other trees considering this chart to get to the desired talent:
| Blood Tree | Frost Tree | Unholy Tree |
|---|---|---|
| Improved Blood Tap → -1 point | Runic Power Mastery → –1 point | Finish Magic Suppression branch (2nd column) |
Unholy Death Knight Glyphs
Like talents, glyphs also remain unchanged in the end-game phase. All in all, the choice of the suggested glyphs is a step towards summoned pet buffing, disease empowerment, and advanced Runic Power generation.
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Stats
The stat priority for Unholy Death Knight may slightly vary. Generally, it goes as follows:
Strength > Hit Rating >= Haste Rating >= Critical Strike Rating > Mastery > Expertise Rating
Strength is our overall top-1 stat which directly increases the power of your abilities and attacks. It’s the most important stat for maximizing the damage output.
Attributes for Unholy Death Knight
What we need to remember about Attributes efficiency for Unholy Death Knight, is their cap. It slightly differs from level 80 to 85, but hitting the cap in any attribute maximizes its profit for our performance in battles.
Unholy Death Knight Attributes
- Strength: is vital for Death Knights, equivalent to Attack Power for increasing melee damage. At level 85, 1 Strength equals 2 Attack Power before modifiers. With modifiers like Unholy Might and Rune of the Fallen Crusader, 1 Strength can be valued at 3 Attack Power, making it three times as valuable as Attack Power.
- Agility: is less beneficial for Death Knights as it does not provide direct Attack Power. It offers minor Critical Strike chance, armor, and dodge, but is not worth focusing on due to minimal benefits from talents like Bladed Armor.
- Stamina: while it doesn’t increase damage output, Stamina boosts health. It will help you to survive most boss encounters.
- Intellect: offers no combat benefits to Death Knights and is undesirable.
- Spirit: Like Intellect, Spirit provides no combat benefits and there’s no need to focus on it.
Secondary Stats for Unholy Death Knight DPS
Our secondary stats, as follows from the priority list, may vary in their order. The reason why the top stats of the Unholy Death Knight are replaceable is due to the effect they have on the damage output and your in-game needs.
Unholy Death Knight Secondary Stats
- Hit Rating: ensures that your abilities don’t miss, requiring 8% hit and excess should be reforged into Haste or Crit. With Hit Rating capped, you rely on a constant flow of damage from precise attacks.
- Haste Rating: increases the auto-attack frequency and Rune regeneration, essential for Summon Gargoyle snapshots. Prioritizing this stat, you will be able to fit as many attacks as possible in a particular period, increasing your DPS.
- Critical Strike Rating: boosts Critical Hit chance for attacks and spells, scaling with all abilities. Allows you to hit the enemy with several bone-crashing attacks, dealing a ton of damage.
- Expertise Rating: is similar to Hit and ensures that your attacks are not dodged or parried by the target. Since Hit Rating is by any means our top priority, we wouldn’t focus on that Expertise much; excess should be reforged.
- Mastery: improves the effectiveness of your diseases and Shadow damage abilities.
- Attack Power: increases damage from auto attacks and abilities, with Strength being the primary source.
Gearing Advice for Unholy Death Knight
The best strategy for gearing in Cataclysm Classic is to reforge your stats. This allows you to adjust items that might seem less useful due to missing specific stats, tailoring them to better meet your needs. All of our secondary stats are reforgable, which means that Unholy Death Knights gear can be improved at reforgers — Thaumaturge Altha for Horde, and Thaumaturge Rafir for Alliance.
Tips to Gear Up Fast and Easy:
- Choose the best available weapons, even those with slower attack speeds, for higher damage per hit, particularly beneficial for abilities like Scourge Strike.
- Remember to balance your stats through reforging; convert any excess Hit and Expertise into Haste or Crit.
- Aim to complete gear sets for additional benefits, as each piece of gear with set bonuses offers powerful boosts and significant advantages to your Unholy Death Knight.
- Finally, acquire Gear Boost from the professional team and save time.
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Best Race
In World of Warcraft Cataclysm, Unholy Death Knights can be of any race, adding that two more suitable races were presented: Worgens and Goblins. You can play whatever race is up to your choice. Still, we offer to look at the top-tier suggestions to make your Unholy Death Knight Cataclysm Classic gameplay as enjoyable and performative as possible with the help of the best racial effects.
Alliance
- Worgen — the top choice for an Alliance Unholy Death Knight. The newest race is rightfully considered the best due to the Crit Rate boost via Viciousness and the additional movement speed buff from Darkflight.
- Human — is an overall good race due to their expertise-boosting racial abilities: Sword Specialization and Mace Specialization. An excellent ability Will to Survive is also helpful for any situation, as it removes all the movement-impairing effects.
- Draenei — is the third-best choice for players who appreciate additional healing options. Their racial ability Gift of the Naaru will support you or your ally on your way.
Horde
- Orc — this race stands out as exceptionally strong due to its damage-boosting abilities. Blood Fury provides an impressive damage buff. There’s also Command spell, which grants our pet from Summon Gargoyle a 5% damage increase. Last but not least, Hardiness provides a significant advantage to Unholy Death Knight, reducing any stun effect.
- Troll — is a strong choice due to Berserking, which provides a substantial Haste bonus that pairs well with Summon Gargoyle. However, as you gain more Haste from gear in Cataclysm, this bonus becomes less impactful due to the GCD-capped Gargoyle.
- Tauren — is a generally good choice, especially for the leveling stage due to War Stomp and Endurance, allowing you to farm bigger stacks of mobs.
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Gems & Enchants
In this WoW Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Guide, we carefully chose the right enhancements, so that you will be able to empower your damage output and overall gameplay experience significantly.
Best Gems for Unholy Death Knight
Presented Unholy Death Knights gems suggestions are overall the best choices. Mind that you can add extra sockets to your gear to reach peak performance in the WoW Cataclysm Classic addon.
- Meta Gem: Reverberating Shadowspirit Diamond > Chaotic Shadowspirit Diamond — the first offers a Strength increase with additional Critical Effect, and the second boosts Critical Strike. The first option is highly recommended as it increases our primary stat, so the second one is only advised if you are for any reason unable to get Reverberating Shadowspirit Diamond.
- Red: Bold Inferno Ruby — the only possible option that you are obliged to choose. Jewelcrafters will also have access to Bold Chimera’s Eye — a stronger version that increases Strength even more.
- Yellow: Fierce Ember Topaz > Inscribed Ember Topaz — these two gems for Yellow Socket provide variability and adjust your Unholy Death Knight to your playstyle in alignment with the secondary stats. The first gem buffs Haste Rating, and the second one — Critical Strike Rating.
- Blue: Etched Demonseye > Sovereign Demonseye — purple gems are rarely used, but they can be beneficial for achieving socket bonuses equal to Bold Inferno Ruby’s strength, providing extra stamina from Sovereign Demonseye, or helping reach the perfect Hit-cap with Etched Demonseye, allowing to reforge the excess into better stats.
Best Enchants for Unholy Death Knight
As for Enchants, some slots in Unholy Death Knight’s gear have more than one option, depending on your profession (if any) and crafting capability.
Unholy Death Knight Enchants
| Slot | Enchant |
|---|---|
| Head | Arcanum of the Dragonmaw (Horde) Arcanum of the Wildhammer (Alliance) |
| Shoulder | Lionsmane Inscription (for players with Inscription) Greater Inscription of Jagged Stone |
| Cloak | Swordguard Embroidery (for players with Tailoring) Enchant Cloak – Greater Critical Strike |
| Chest | Enchant Chest – Peerless Stats |
| Bracer | Draconic Embossment – Strength (for players with Leatherworking) Enchant Bracer – Major Strength |
| Gloves | Enchant Gloves – Mighty Strength Enchant Gloves – Exceptional Strength |
| Legs | Dragonscale Leg Armor Scorched Leg Armor |
| Boots | Enchant Boots – Haste |
| Weapon | Rune of the Fallen Crusader |
| Ring | Enchant Ring – Strength |
4.9Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Consumables & Buffs
Cataclysm endgame is full of activities for the Unholy Death Knight, that involve farming mobs, battling elites, raiding, and dungeon exploring, and you can get an advantage in any of them if you always carry consumables or plan buffs in advance.
By the way, you can save a coin or two if you learn how to craft potions with the Alchemy. But keep in mind that every addon has different profession leveling paths. Currently, in MoP Classic you will need to learn the Alchemy Profession from skratch, and we can make it much easier.
Best Consumables for Unholy Death Knight
Flasks and Elixirs
- Flask of Titanic Strength — +300 Strengh, an ultimate choice for any type of content.
- Elixir of Mighty Strength — +50 Strength, second possible variant.
- Elixir of Mighty Fortitude — +350 Max Health.
- Elixir of Major Strength — +35 Strength, much weaker than all previous options, but still provides a minor Strength bonus.
Food
- Seafood Magnifique Feast — +90 Stamina, +90 Useful stat.
- Beer-Basted Crocolisk — +90 Strength, +90 Stamina.
- Fortune Cookie — +90 Stamina, +90 Useful stat.
- Broiled Dragon Feast — +60 Stamina, +60 Useful stat
- Hearty Seafood Soup — +60 Strength, +60 Stamina.
Potions
- Golemblood Potion — +1200 Strength for 25 sec.
- Potion of Ogre Rage — +600 Strength for 20 sec.
Raid Buffs
Your Pre-raid preparation should include choosing the right ally for the group. Make sure that you have at least one of the needed class representatives in your party to ensure smooth raiding and easy boss takedowns.
| Buff | Source | Class |
|---|---|---|
| +5% Stats | Blessing of Kings Mark of the Wild Embrace of the Shale Spider | Paladin Druid Hunter |
| +549 Strength and Agility | Horn of Winter Battle Shout Strength of Earth Totem Roar of Courage | Death Knight Warrior Shaman Hunter |
| +20% Attack Power | Abomination’s Might Unleashed Rage Blessing of Might Trueshot Aura | Death Knight (Blood) Shaman (Enhancement) Paladin Hunter (Marksmanship) |
| +10% Attack Speed | Windfury Totem Improved Icy Talons Hunting Party | Shaman Death Knight (Frost) Hunter (Survival) |
| Heroism Buff +30% Casting Speed | Heroism Bloodlust Time Warp Primal Rage | Shaman Mage Hunter |
| +3% Damage | Arcane Tactics Ferocious Inspiration Communion | Mage (Arcane) Hunter (Beast Mastery) Paladin (Retribution) |
| +5% Critical Strike Chance | Leader of the Pack Terrifying Roar / Furious Howl Honor Among Thieves Elemental Oath Rampage | Druid (Feral) Hunter Rogue (Subtlety) Shaman (Elemental) Warrior (Fury) |
| +584 Stamina | Power Word: Fortitude Qiraji Fortitude Blood Pact Commanding Shout | Priest Hunter Warlock (Imp buff) Warrior |
Enemy Debuffs
Facing Cataclywm Classic enemies is no easy task, thus you should be ready to apply as many debuffs as possible on your target, especially a raid or dungeon boss.
| Debuff | Source | Class |
|---|---|---|
| +4% Physical Damage | Savage Combat Brittle Bones Blood Frenzy Acid Spit / Ravage | Rogue (Combat) Death Knight (Frost) Warrior (Arms) Hunter |
| +5% Spell Critical Strike Chance | Critical Mass Shadow and Flame | Mage (Fire) Warlock (Destruction) |
| +8% Spell Damage | Master Poisoner Curse of the Elements Ebon Plaguebringer Earth and Moon Fire Breath / Lightning Breath | Rogue (Assassination) Warlock Death Knight (Unholy) Druid (Balance) Hunter |
| -12% Armor | Sunder Armor Faerie Fire Expose Armor Corrosive Spit / Tear Armor | Warrior Druid Rogue Hunter |
| -20% Attack Speed | Thunder Clap Frost Fever Judgements of the Just Infected Wounds Dust Cloud | Warrior Death Knight Paladin (Protection) Druid (Feral) Hunter |
| -10% Physical Damage | Demoralizing Shout Demoralizing Roar Vindication Scarlet Fever | Warrior Druid Paladin (Protection) Death Knight (Blood) |
| -25% Healing | Mortal Strike / Furious Attacks Wound Poison Widow Venom | Warrior (Arms/Fury) Rogue Hunter |
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Best Professions
While leveling, professions are good for resource and gold management, the best professions list suggests options that are useful in the long run.
- Engineering grants us Synapse Springs — an extremely beneficial buff for gloves, which increases our primary stat when activated.
- Blacksmithing becomes increasingly powerful with the introduction of epic gems in T13, you definitely will like an additional socket to enhance your primary stats.
- Jewelcrafting offers gem options that can further optimize your gear’s stat allocation. It’s simply a good option if you do not like any of the profs above.
- Enchanting allows you to add valuable enhancements to your rings for a fair price.
If the standard choices seem boring and you want to enjoy the benefits of the unusual profession in the current expansion, choose Archaeology, and we will help you to succeed.
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Rotation
Proper Rune and Runic Power management is crucial for an Unholy Death Knight Regular Rotation. With the disease-spreading power of Pestilence, you can handle multi-target situations effectively. You can achieve high burst damage by rotating your spells as outlined below and consistently buffing your damaging abilities.
So, the task is to buff yourself up with Presence, head straight into the fight, and spread Diseases to lay waste to your enemies. The damage portions of Death and Decay ticks coupled with the burst damage phase of Death Coil are devastating. Scourge Strike is your second damage-intensive ability, and due to its CD will be used more than Death and Decay.
Single Target Rotation
On pull
- Army of the Dead before pull, but be careful not to taunt too many mobs at once, as your companion pets (ghouls) are going to fight everyone on their way.
- Use Rune of the Fallen Crusader.
- Cast Unholy Presence — you gotta maintain this exact Presence, as it increases the damage and Rune regeneration rate, grants move speed increase, as well as reduces GCD.
- Cast Horn of Winter and keep yourself buffed.
Then
- Blood Tap to gain a Death Rune. It gives you more functionality in a battle.
- Unholy Frenzy (does not stack with Bloodlust / Heroism buffs).
- Summon Gargoyle.
- If all Runes are on CD, use Empower Rune Weapon.
Priority
- Frost Fever + Blood Plague simultaneously with Outbreak or Icy Touch and Plague Strike if it’s on cooldown. Use Festering Strike on CD to increase the duration of the aforementioned spells.
- Cast Death Coil that grants 5 stacks of Shadow Infusion → cast Dark Transformation.
- Death and Decay (or Scourge Strike if it’s on cooldown when you have Unholy or Death Runes).
- Festering Strike when Frost Runes + Blood Runes are ready.
- When Sudden Doom procs, cast Death Coil as a Runic Power spender.
- Death and Decay (or Scourge Strike if it’s on CD).
- Festering Strike.
- Horn of Winter.
AoE Rotation
For large pulls
- Cast Frost Presence.
- Outbreak to apply Blood Plague + Frost Fever or Icy Touch + Plague Strike if it’s on cooldown. These spell combos apply a minor DoT effect on the target.
- Pestilence to spread your diseases to the rest of the mob pack.
- Dark Transformation at 5 stacks of Shadow Infusion. You should be close to the Runic Power cap when it ends.
- Death and Decay (or Scourge Strike if it’s on cooldown when you have Unholy or Death Runes).
- Blood Boil — increases damage to the enemies, infected with Blood Plague + Frost Fever.
- When Sudden Doom procs, cast Death Coil (or to spend excess Runic Power).
- Icy Touch for additional DoT and attack speed.
Otherwise
Perform the single target rotation, but use Pestilence to spread diseases.
Unholy Death Knight Cooldowns
When speaking about Cooldowns of the Cata Unholy DK, we should understand that the main aim is to control the CD of the spells, which allows for the optimization of the damaging abilities and Rune-based spells. But, Unholy Death Knights also have nice utility cooldowns, which make them desired party members.
| Spell | Overview |
|---|---|
| Blood Tap (1 min) | Converts a Blood Rune into a Death Rune for increased flexibility. |
| Dark Simulacrum (1 min) | Copies the next enemy spell cast, allowing you to use it against them. |
| Strangulate (2 min) | Silences the target for 5 seconds, preventing the use of spells and abilities. |
| Unholy Frenzy (3 min) | Increases haste for a target, boosting attack speed significantly. |
| Summon Gargoyle (3 min) | Summons a gargoyle that attacks the enemy from a distance, dealing substantial damage. |
| Icebound Fortitude (3 min) | Grants damage reduction and immunity to stuns, increasing survivability. |
| Empower Rune Weapon (5 min) | Instantly refreshes all runes and grants 25 runic power, enabling a surge of abilities for high burst damage. |
| Army of the Dead (10 min) | Summons a group of ghouls to fight for you, providing substantial additional damage and distraction. |
| Raise Ally (10 min) | Revives a fallen party or raid member as a ghoul, providing temporary combat support. |
Abilities for Unholy Death Knight in Cataclysm
Aside from Cooldowns, Unholy Death Knights possess a bunch of utility abilities.
| Spell | Overview |
|---|---|
| Anti-Magic Shell | Absorbs magic damage and effects for a short period, converting absorbed damage into Runic Power. |
| Anti-Magic Zone | Requires a talent from the Unholy tree; drastically reduces magic damage in situations where magic suppression is required. |
| Mind Freeze | Primary cast interrupt; untalented, it requires Runic Power but is essential for stopping enemy spells. |
| Death Pact | Sacrifices a Ghoul or Gargoyle for a large, instant heal, though it results in a significant DPS loss. |
| Death Grip | Grabs an enemy and pulls them towards you, forcing them to attack you for 3 seconds; useful for certain boss mechanics or saving allies. |
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight PvP
If you enjoy Player-versus-Player encounters, entertaining and breathtaking battles, and the taste of victory, Unholy Death Knight is definitely your choice.
In Cataclysm PvP, the Unholy Death Knight presents a mix of powerful offensive and defensive abilities:
- With spells like Summon Gargoyle for high burst damage and Dark Transformation to enhance their Ghoul’s strength, you can dominate in both battlegrounds and arenas.
- Defensively, abilities such as Icebound Fortitude and Anti-Magic Shell provide magic suppression and resilience against stuns.
- Death Grip and Strangulate offer control and utility, allowing Unholy DKs to disrupt and control enemy players effectively.
- Not to mention Anti-Magic Zone — an overpowered or even imbalanced spell with massive AoE damage reduction, especially useful on battlegrounds.
PvP Talent Build for Unholy Death Knight
For an Unholy Death Knight PvP Build 3/7/31 we would spend more talent points in the Frost Tree to unlock the Undead form with impressive buffs, additionally targeting DoT and AoE spells in the Unholy Tree.
PvP Glyphs for Unholy Death Knight
2v2 Arena Teams for Unholy Death Knight
- Death Knight / Hunter
- Death Knight / Paladin
Arena Teams for Unholy Death Knight in Cataclysm
- Death Knight / Hunter / Paladin
- Death Knight / Hunter / Shaman
Due to all these peculiarities, Unholy Death Knights can be considered perfectly viable BG and Arena fighters, and with the right build and gear, you can dominate the Cata PvP area. Would you like to stand amongst the best PvP players on the server and show off your rank? Pair with our professional Carry and dominate Arena 2v2 easily.
Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Macros
Unholy Death Knights in Cataclysm Classic in fact do not have spell-cast intensive gameplay. Thus it’s quite an easy class to enjoy, especially for new players. In this scenario, macros usage can make Unholy DK gameplay half as easy by optimizing casts.
Unholy Death Knight Macros
- Start Auto Attack — makes you automatically start auto-attacking while using Scourge Strike, which is crucial since there are few situations where a Death Knight wouldn’t want to be auto-attacking in combat. It’s helpful to incorporate this into your abilities for consistent damage output.
Start Auto Attack
/cast Scourge Strike
- Focus Mind Freeze — casts Mind Freeze on your focus target instead of your primary target, allowing you to interrupt secondary targets without changing your main target. This can be adapted for other abilities like Chains of Ice or Death Grip.
#showtooltip Mind Freeze
/cast [@focus] Mind Freeze
- Disease Application — casts Icy Touch and Plague Strike in sequence, and also uses Outbreak. It’s mainly useful at the beginning of a fight to apply diseases, with Outbreak being ideal for snapshotting more powerful diseases after trinket procs.
#showtooltip
/castsequence [mod:alt] reset=5 Icy Touch, Plague Strike
/cast Outbreak
- Pet Attack — commands your Ghoul to follow and attack your current target. It’s particularly useful for Unholy Death Knights, ensuring your Ghoul contributes significantly to your damage by always targeting the right enemy.
/petfollow
/petattack
- Death Coil Pet Heal — This macro heals your Ghoul with Death Coil and then switches back to your previous target, maintaining your attack flow. Replace “ghoul name” with the actual name of your summoned Ghoul.
/target ghoul name
/cast Death Coil
/targetlasttarget
- Mouseover Death and Decay — This macro instantly casts Death and Decay at your cursor’s location, saving you from pressing the button twice and reducing the risk of misplacing the ability, which can cost you a GCD.
#showtooltip Death and Decay
/cast [@cursor] Death and Decay
4.9Now that you’ve learned the essentials of gameplay from our handy WoW Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Guide, feel free to master your skills in the game. Hopefully, by following our advice on gearing and leveling, your Unholy Death Knight will confidently wander the lands of Azeroth with a pack full of the best consumables. And the Overgear team is always ready to help you in your adventurous way.
