Death Knight – a new class in Wotlk, which at one time was called the most unbalanced because of the playability of each branch, variability of builds, the ability to quickly swing, to be a successful tank, successful DPS, successfully win in the arena, as well as the class has the ability to put a legendary axe in Wotlk – Shadowmourne.
DK starts his game at level 55, however, this does not mean that you will finish pumping faster than other classes, as even such a resource must be able to manage and this is where we look at DK Leveling – in particular Bloody Build, which is ideal for quick and efficient pumping your DK, as this build allows deal a lot of damage, heal in combat and regenerate health quickly – everything you need for quick leveling. Let’s talk closer in our WotLK Classic Death Knight Leveling Guide.
WotLK Classic Death Knight Leveling
After creating a character, you have to go through a quest chain, we won’t dwell on that now. It requires a separate topic and we will discuss it later.
After passing the quest chain, combine solo progression, using the basic leveling tricks from our guide. In the case of Blood DK, you need to combine solo quests and try to work it solo, because the group will lich exp and take your time, you can probably handle any quests, also with the elite:
- Usually, 9 out of 10 times if you take a quest to elite mobs in a group below 2+ level than you – you will cope alone.
- In addition, be a regular member of the quest dungeons – tanks are always in demand, especially DK.
- The main thing to look at is the quests that are given in the dungeons – this will get to 1 dunge +100% experience, which significantly speeds up your passage.
- Do not recommend going to the same inst for stuff \ experience, until you reach level 77+ it makes no sense – the equipment will grow in proportion to the level, and the experience you will get more mastering new dungeons with active quests.
Also, do not forget that Wotlk has its own arena in Zul’Drak, which also gives +1-1,5 levels.
Northrend Leveling
Your Death Knight leveling in Northrend for Blood DK would look like this:
- At first, Borei Tundra or Howling Fjord is your choice. Our recommendation is Howling Fjord because it is less competitive (Borean Tundra is more popular – hence more PVP skirmishes, fewer resources – from 69 to 72 you conquer these locations, skipping elite quests to do them later. As well as collecting quests for the first dungeons;
- (72-75) Dragonblight. We recommend at level 72 to close all the dungeons of level 68+, as well as elite quests to level 70, for you are likely to be an easy walk before the new location. Also learn the professions, as this location already has other resources. We recommend passing this location in tandem with Grizzly Hills, as in these locations “seasonally” there are competitors for pumping, and as the levels of locations are similar, it is better to swing to a quieter place. Ideally, also pumped up to level 75, closing all elite quests to 73, there are some quests in which you need for convenience Hiller or DPS, in this case, it is better to gain a group, the more tank is always easier to do. Also, if you can not get a solo killing elite mobs, do not be squeamish and recruit a group for easy kills, extra exp will not be worth the time you spend to master the killing of a particular mob. Also, recommend closing all quests dungeons up to and including 73-74 level;
- (73-75) Grizzly Hills is mostly an “additional location” to gain level 75 in the case of Dragonblight, optimal to close the main quest chain (they are about 5), and also do PvP dailies – easy and fast quests that give a good experience gain even at levels above. Get to level 75 and go to the next location;
- (74-76) Zul’drak – the location already completely reduces you to the inevitable clash with the Alliance, but there are a lot of quest zones in this area, so you can always try to find a free location. Here it’s important to pass the Northern Vanguard chain, also there are some more chains with killing elitists, also in this location there is a new dungeon – take quests and do it + if possible pass the arena at level 75! + at this moment you can pass quest the Magical Kingdom of Dalaran (you can teleport to Dalaran – take quests, take return stone, increase professions, etc. + this simplifies the logistics of pumping in the future);
- (76-78) Sholazar Basin is the final stages of pumping. Pass the reputation with Oracles/ Wolves and will be +2 level, also do not forget about dungeons and the closure of elitists in other locations;
- (77-80) Crystalsong Forest, The Storm Peaks, Icecrown. We recommend choosing Icecrown. The Forest doesn’t have as many quests and the pumping is quite slow, The Storm Peaks is difficult in terms of terrain if you don’t have a flying mount. Icecrown is optimal – there is an opportunity to do quests with a silver vanguard that gives a significant increase in experience, also you can at this stage just keep going to 77+ dungeons and complete quests on top of items (below in this guide).
After that, it’s done. You 80 DK, you can consider our other guides and choose your branch. In the blad branch, you will be the in-demand tank, which will allow you to quickly gain equipment and as soon as possible start raiding, for example in Naxxramas.
Useful tips:
- If you can find consistent and stable groups playing dungeons, it will be worth breaking them out as there will be a lot of competition for quests in the time leading up to the repair and WOTLK;
- Be sure to wear protective gear when you are attracting large mobs. You don’t want to get into a situation where you die and potentially lose valuable time running back to your body;
- Epic Flying is expensive, but it will greatly reduce your travel time between different areas or tasks. Remember that Cold Weather Flying is not available until 77. Although not useful at first, it will become noticeable once you are in areas such as Icecrown and Storm Peak.
It is important to plan your route for level-up in advance. Spend less time looking in guidebooks or searching for quest locations online to make the most of your level-up time.

The profitability of leveling up Blood Death Knight tanks in Wrath of the Lich King
It may not be the fastest way to level up, but you can complete almost all quests on your own, even the elite quests that are several levels above you. You can also mass AOE and slaughter a ton of mobs without even noticing your health moves. Since you’re a tank spec, you can easily weave your way into dungeons to gain extra experience. Blood is a good choice for leveling up if you’re not interested in playing Unholy.
With abilities like Death Grip, Dark Command, and Icy Touch, you can continuously lure mobs from afar, reducing your downtime. While grabbing mobs, you can easily spread your diseases (Frost Fever, Blood Plague) with Pestilence. Then drop Death and Decay and steal as much Blood Boil as you can to slaughter everything. With clean AOE pulls, you’ll be ahead of those who don’t, so it’s essential to just kill everything in sight if you can, as long as it’s a requirement for the job. Bloodthirsty Death Knights aren’t known for being particularly good at targeting a single target; if you end up pulling off just one mob at a time, you’ll definitely slow down the whole process for yourself.
WotLK Death Knight Leveling Talents and Glyphs
In most cases, the best leveling build is Bloody DK [47/13/11].
Start filling up your talent points with the Blood branch, after the rest.
This talent is very similar to the one you’ll see for balanced raid tanking. The only major differences are the addition of Corpse Explosion and Heart Strike. Corpse Explosion adds an AOE ability that grants rune energy that you can use when your runes are depleted. Heart Strike is a neat Dps talent that should help take down single mobs and duos faster. Just because it’s more AOE-focused doesn’t mean it’ll make the worst ST, it’ll still make a decent single target.
For glyphs, we’ll take Death Grip Major, which will refresh the skill every time you get a kill hit on a mob that gives experience or honor. Glyph of Death and Decay to add Morbidity; the reduced hold time and increased damage make it a force to be reckoned with in trash packs. The third glyph is the Glyph of Disease, which transfers your diseases to any nearby target and renews them to their full duration if they already have diseases on them.
WotLK Death Knight Leveling Stats
During the pumping, the most important thing is to choose the lats that give Stamina and Strength. All other things within leveling are not needed, if you together with leveling will collect equipment for a full-fledged particular build, we recommend looking at our guide – there is a detailed description of what stats and things you need.
WotLK Death Knight Leveling Best Race
You can learn more about the races for Death Knights on our Wotlk Death Knight Guide.
WotLK Death Knight Leveling Consumables, Chants & Gems
Most of the tools that are offered are based on the need for healing. Knights of Blood Death don’t need to worry about that. Thanks to our constant self-preservation, you should be able to keep yourself in good condition at all times if you just use your skills. It wouldn’t hurt to have some bottles and food from TBC if they aren’t too expensive. You can also stock up on Nott’s special drink in the Death Knight starting area. You can only take 20 of them, so you’ll have to empty and refill the stacks every 3 days. They are free, but it will take some time to get enough of them to complete the entire level.
WotLK Death Knight Leveling Best Professions
We don’t recommend doing BiS professions while leveling up, as this could be the time to earn some gold while questing in the open world. If you take up Leather tanning and Mining, you can earn some gold or save up materials for when you reach level 80 and are ready to level up your professions. It also helps that mining gives you a 60 Stamina bonus, and Leatherworking gives you a Critical Hit rating.
WotLK Death Knight Leveling Rotation
Blood Death Knights’ AOE single target | Blood Death Knights’ AOE rotation |
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Your AOE turn is actually quite similar to your single target turn.
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WotLK Death Knight Leveling Best in Slot Lists
If you searching for the best leveling weapons and equipment for Blood Death Knight tanks in Wrath of the Lich King, you should know several points.
The armor itself appears and disappears, you will find it everywhere when questing or doing dungeons. A big emphasis should be placed on getting a weapon that will last a long time through the levels to maximize your damage.
Best Addons for Leveling DK
Questie
Questie has become an essential part of WoW Classic. It shows every quest, mob, and item on the map. It also has a few extra features, such as letting the group know when a quest has been completed, which is very useful when leveling up with other people.
RestedXP
Without a doubt, this is the best supplement for leveling up right now. This is a complete guide for all classes and both factions. Now it also includes 1-80 for Wrath Classic.
Just having an addon in the game to follow while leveling is already very useful, but having one that includes a fully tested and optimized route is of another level.
What makes RestedXP the best is that it was created by the fastest speed levelers in WoW Classic. These guys do speed levels on Twitch for fun. They regularly pass levels in record time on new servers while only following the in-game guide. The proof is in the pudding.
However, this is a paid guide. Whether it’s worth your money is up to you.
Blood Death Knights has some of the easiest leveling experiences this game has to offer. Ideally, you’ll be pulling down mobs en masse while doing quests, and then trying to merge into dungeons when you have a group or quests for a specific dungeon. It’s already time to break into the Lich King and get an unforgettable gaming experience in a popular and playable class that can bring a lot of fun to the game.
Good luck, and don’t forget to rate our guide if this article was helpful to you.