Death Knight Racial Guide

The new death knight hero class is the only class which can be created with any race. This will lend itself to a wide range of variablity in the class, particularly based upon your unique racial abilities and traits. So what is the best knight death race? Well, it’s a very difficult question. There are many factors must go into answering this question based upon what you want to do with your death knight.

Do you want to focus on PvE and raiding? PvP and Arena? or a combination of the two? Knowing what you want to do with your DK will help you make the most informed decision for your death knight’s race. Let’s start with the horde races.

Best Race for Death Knight?

note: non-combat abilities such as +profession skills, underwater breathing, etc. were not considered for this analysis. Also, make sure you check out the alliance and horde racial abilities and traits guide for the updated list of racials.

Best Horde Death Knight Race

Orc Racials:

1. Blood Fury - Excellent ability for both PvP and PvE death knights.
2. Hardiness - A solid ability for PvP, fairly useless in PvE. Not quite as good as it once was, but still worth the mention.
3. Command - Another bonus for the class, which benefits from it’s undead summoning. Will have great value in both PvP and most PvE encounters.
4. Axe Specialization - Great if you’re using axes, so long as there are high end 2 handed axes available this will be another bonus to the class.

All in all orc receives solid bonuses which help augment the death knight’s natural abilities. A very solid choice for PvP and PvE.

Tauren Racials:

1. War Stomp - A very nice ability, personally I think this is more for healers than death knights though. That said, it’s still a solid ability and will be beneficial for both PvP and PvE.
2. Endurance - It’s yet to be determined exactly how this will be scaling, but on what I’ve seen and read it will be a nice HP boost, but not as crucial as it once was.
3. Cultivation - Fairly pointless, no real application in both PvP or PvE. Don’t choose your death knight because of cultivation.
4. Nature Resistance - Solid 2% nature resist, good for both PvP and PvE.

Overall just not that impressive. Hardcore tank death knights may opt for Tauren anyway as endurance does have the potential be significant. We won’t really know for sure until we see how it scales at level 80. The other racials are decent at best.

Troll Racials:

1. Berserking - Will be a huge benefit for PvE death knights, particularly those who are tanking. Since you’ll always have life spiking up and down you can get a full 30% attack speed increase.
2. Regeneration - Since death knight’s won’t have much health regeneration to begin with this racial is fairly useless.
3. Beast Slaying - Is amazing for dungeons that have lots of beasts, namely bosses that are beasts. Also nice for PvP vs. hunter pets and druids in animal forms. This talent is very underestimated.
4. Throwing Specialization - Pointless as death knights cannot wield throwing weapons.
5. Bow Specialization - Pointless as death knights cannot wield bows.
6. The VooDoo Shuffle - Great for PvP due to the importance of snare application and breaking, also should be beneficial to some degree in PvE. Will be dependent on the encounter.

I really like the idea of the berserking as a tank death knight, and of course it’s going to be great in PvP. Certainly in the running for best PvE tank. When you add beast slaying, berserking, voodoo shuffle on top of amazingly good hair cuts it’s not hard not to choose them!

Undead Racials:

1. Will of the Forsaken - Always crucial for PvP, not so much in PvE.
2. Cannibalize - A very solid ability, but more of a grinding / utility type of racial as opposed to an actual combat racial. Once again, more of a PvP ability.
3. Undeadwater Breathing - No real combat application, don’t choose your death knight based on this.
4. Shadow Resistance - A nice addition, but very minor, especially as it’s only 1% compared to the other resistances which are all 2%.

Overall I feel undead will be better suited to PvP players who are very concerned about being fear. Traditionally, undead racials have been the end all be all for PvP, but after the wotf nerf in addition to the other “meh” racial abilities, I don’t think undead are all that great.

Blood Elf Racials:

1. Mana Tap - Solid PvP talent, minimal PvE application.
2. Arcane Torrent - Great racial ability for both PvP and PvE.
3. Arcane Affinity - Non-combat talent, don’t choose your death knight based on +10 enchanting skill. It’s just not worth it.
4. Magic Resistance - 2% for all spells is pretty big, certainly makes up for arcane affinity.

Overall pretty solid here as well, a nice mix of PvP and PvE utility.

Best Death Knight Race for Horde Conclusions

• PvP Pick: Orc / Undead
• PvE Pick: Troll / Tauren (tank)
• All Around Pick: Orc
• My Preference: Troll

Perhaps I’m a little biased since I play a troll, but just based on the talent changes…well, trolls are looking pretty damn amazing. If we just compare troll / orc to the other races there’s not really much to mention. All tauren really have is the war stomp, as endurance is quite negligable after the change.

If we look at undead all we’re really considering is will of the forsaken, which is still great for PvP, but the other racials just don’t cut it for me. Blood elves are in a similar boat. Overall I feel orc is the best overall package. All 4 racials are work to directly increase damage / survivability, where as the other racials are mixed / indirrect / non-combat at best.

Personally I’d still opt for the troll, due to my natural affinity for the race in addition to their recent racial improvements and multi-faceted PvP and PvE application.

Best Alliance Death Knight Race

Dwarf Racials:

1. Stoneform - More of a PvP talent, but also very nice during raids and other PvE encounters.
2. Gun Specialization - irrelevant, death knights cannot use guns.
3. Frost Resistance - A nice 2% resistance, solid for both PvP and PvE.
4. Find Treasure - pretty pointless as it’s a non-combat talent, do not choose your death knight based on this.
5. Mace Specialization - like any specialization, it’s great if you’re using the weapons for which you have bonus expertise for. Solid for both PvP and PvE purposes.

Quite frankly not all that great. If you have a 2h mace and do nothing but PvP against frost mages you might could make a case, but I’m not impressed by the racials here.

Gnome Racials:

1. Escape Artist - amazing for PvP, especially now that it can no longer be resisted. Solid for many PvE encounters as well.
2. Expansive Mind - pointless as death knights gain nothing from intellect
3. Arcane Resistance - Like any of the resistances, this will be a solid trait for both PvP and PvE.
4. Engineering Specialist - non-combat trait, don’t choose your race based on this.

Much like dwarves, pretty bad. With the exception of escape artist every racial ability is either “meh” or not used at all.

Human Racials:

1. Perception - Some PvP application, not nearly as good as the old perception.
2. The Human Spirit - death knight’s have no real spirit application.
3. Diplomacy - non-combat, do not base your racial choice on this ability.
4. Sword Specialization - Great if you are using swords, worthless if not.
5. Mace Specialization - Great if you are using maces, worthless if not.
6. Every man for himself - Awesome for PvP as it allows you to use another trinket, also solid for many PvE encounters.

So far the best of any alliance race. Having the double weapon specialization at least gives you some leeway as to your weapon selection. Once again nothing all that stellar though.

Night Elf Racials:

1. Shadowmeld - Not crucial, very minor PvP application for death knights. Some PvE application for DPS death knights.
2. Quickness - Solid for PvP and PvE.
3. Wisp Spirit - Pointless, do not choose your race based on this.
4. Nature Resistance - Solid for PvP and PvE.

No useable racials, quite frankly pretty bad. Quickness and Nature resistance are nice additions, but considering they are really more situational uses at best…these are pretty bad.

Draenei Racials:

1. Gift of the Naaru - Excellent ability for PvP and solid for PvE as well, especially now that it scales with AP / spell power.
2. Heroic Presence - Solid 1%, nothing major but certainly a nice addition.
3. Gemcutting - non-combat, do not choose your race based on this.
4. Shadow Resistance - Of all the resistances shadow is the one to have, especially since it’s a 2% compared to the undead’s 1%.

Overall, draenie is pretty solid. The gift of the naaru is pretty huge in my opinion, you toss some nice passive resistance and +hit on top of that you’ve got a pretty solid package.

Best Death Knight Race for Alliance Conclusions

• PvP Pick: Human
• PvE Pick: Human / Draenei
• All Around Pick: Human
• My Preference: Human

Looking at the alliance racials for the death knight…well quite frankly they all just suck. Besides escape artist, stoneform, and gift of the naaru there really isn’t much worth mentioning. The other racial abilities are cenetered around passive or non-combat traits which aren’t going to really make or break your character. I strongly feel humans will make the best all around death knight.

You’ve got weapon specialization on both maces and swords, the novelty of diplomacy, perception…and to top it all off you’ve got the real clencher for me, every man for himself. This is huge, particuarlly for PvP. For PvE it’s not as big of a deal, hence why I’ve listed draenei as another option. Heroic pressence and gift are very nice, but when compared to the human’s weapon specs and free trinket I think the 2 races come up pretty even.

Horde and Alliance Racial Abilities and Traits

Please note, the following list of racial abilities and traits are updated based upon new WotLK Racial Changes. Priest players may also want to check out the recent priest racial changes.

Horde Racial Abilities

Orc Racials:

• Blood Fury: Activate to increase attack power and spell damage/healing by an amount based on level/class for 15 seconds, decreasing healing done to the user by 50% for the duration. 2 minute cooldown.
• Hardiness: Reduces duration of stun effects by 15%.
• Command: Damage done by Death Knight, Hunter and Warlock pets increased by 5%.
• Axe Specialization: Expertise with One- and Two-handed Axes increased by 5.

Tauren Racials

• War Stomp: Activate to stun opponents - Stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds. 2 minute cooldown.
• Endurance: Hitpoints increased by 5%. (now scales based on base health, to be tuned to approximately a 5% heath increase if the player were wearing green quality gear)
• Cultivation: 15 point skill bonus to Herbalism (note, this also raises the cap by 15 at each level of herbalism).
• Nature Resistance: Reduces the chance to be hit by Nature spells by 2%

Troll Racials

• Berserking: Activate to increase attack and casting speed for 10 seconds. Speed is raised by 10% at full health, increasing as health is lost to a maximum bonus of 30%. 3 minute cooldown. No longer requires energy, mana, runes, rage, etc.
• Regeneration: Increase health regeneration bonus by 10%. Also allows 10% of normal health regen during combat.
• Beast Slaying: 5% damage bonus when fighting against Beasts.
• Throwing Specialization: Increases chance to critically hit with Throwing Weapon by 1%.
• Bow Specialization: Increase Bow critical strike chance by 1%.
• The Voodoo Shuffle: Reduces the duration of all movement impairing effects by 15%. Trolls be flippin’ out mon! (passive)

Undead Racials

• Will of the Forsaken: Removes any fear, sleep, or charm effect (no longer has a lasting immunity).
• Cannibalize: When activated, regenerates 7% of total health every 2 seconds for 10 seconds. Only works on Humanoid or Undead corpses within 5 yards. Any movement, action, or damage taken while Cannibalizing will cancel the effect.
• Underwater Breathing: Underwater breath increased by 300%.
• Shadow Resistance: Reduces the chance to be hit by Shadow spells by 1% (yes, this is lower than the other resistance racials)

Blood Elf

• Mana Tap: Activate to reduce target’s mana by (50 + Level) and charge you with arcane energy for 10 min. This effect stacks up to 3 times. 30 yd range - Instant - 30 sec cooldown.
• Arcane Torrent: Activate to silence all enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds. In addition, you gain 10 Energy, 10 Runic Power or (5 + Level) Mana for each charge of Mana Tap currently affecting you. 2 min. cooldown.
• Arcane Affinity: 10 point skill bonus to Enchanting (note, this also raises the cap by 10 at each level of enchanting).
• Magic Resistance: Reduces the chance to be hit by spells by 2%

Alliance Racial Abilities

Dwarf Racials

• Stoneform: Activate to gain immunity to poison, disease, and bleed (will also remove these types of debuffs); +10% Armor; Lasts 8 seconds. 3 minute cooldown.
• Gun Specialization: increases chance to critically hit with Guns by 1% as of Patch 2.3 (was increase Gun Skill by 5).
• Frost Resistance: Reduces the chance to be hit by Frost spells by 2%
• Find Treasure: Activate to see treasure chests on mini map - lasts until canceled - no cooldown.
• Mace Specialization: Expertise with Maces and Two-Handed Maces increased by 5.

Gnome Racials

• Escape Artist: Escape the effects of any immobilization or movement speed reduction effect. Instant cast. 1 min, 45 sec cooldown, cannot be resisted.
• Expansive Mind: Increase Intellect by 5%.
• Arcane Resistance: Reduces the chance to be hit by Arcane spells by 2%
• Engineering Specialist: 15 point skill bonus to Engineering (note, this also raises the cap by 15 at each level of Engineering).

Human Racials

• Perception: Changed to a passive, now grants one character level of passive stealth detection
• The Human Spirit: Increase spirit by 5%.
• Diplomacy: 10% bonus to faction point gain.
• Sword Specialization: Increases expertise with swords, and two-handed swords by 5.
• Mace Specialization: Increases expertise with maces, two-handed maces by 5.
• Human Supremacy: The dominance of Humanity is evidenced by having one more racial bonus than normal. Actually, make that two counting this one. (just a tooltip, no actual functionality)
• Every man for Himself: Removes all movement impairing efefcts and all effects which cause loss of control of your character. This effect shares a cooldown with other similar effects.

Night Elf Racials

• Shadowmeld: Activate to slip into the shadows, reducing the chance for enemies to detect your presence. Lasts until cancelled or upon moving. Any threat is restored versus enemies still in combat upon cancellation of this effect.
  Passively boosts stealth mode of rogues and druids.
• Quickness: Reduces the chance to be hit by melee or ranged attacks by 2%
• Wisp Spirit: Become a wisp when dead with 50% movement speed increase.
• Nature Resistance: Reduces the chance to be hit by Nature spells by 3%

Draenei Racials

• Gift of the Naaru : Activate to heal your target for 35 + 15 per Level over 15 sec - 40 yd range - 1.5 sec cast - 3 min cooldown. (now scales based on the higher of either the caster’s Attack Power or Spell Power)
• Heroic Presence : Increases chance to hit by 1% for you and all party members within 30 yards. (Warriors, Paladins, and Hunters)
• Inspiring Presence : Increases chance to hit with spells by 1% for you and all party members within 30 yards. (Priests, Mages, and Shaman)
• Gemcutting : 5 point skill bonus to Jewelcrafting (note, this also raises the cap by 5 at each level of jewelcrafting).
• Shadow Resistance : Reduces the chance to be hit by Shadow spells by 2%

Rogue / Warlock vs. Priest / Rogue 2v2 Arena Strategy

Rogue / Warlock vs. Priest / Rogue 2v2 is a very difficult match up for you to win simply due to the nature of the priest’s spells. As a rogue / warlock 2v2 team you have a few main objectives you must achieve in order to win the match.

• Crowd control and lock down (both on healers and DPS)
• Minimize damage taken (this is usually no problem if you achieve point number 1)
• Force the other team into situations where misusing a trinket will cost them the game

Achieving these goals is no easy task, especially if the priest / rogue team have undead players on there team. Ideally you want to sap the rogue and immediately open on the priest. This allows you maximum time to apply all DoTs and have strong damage before the fight has even begun.

If the rogue trinkets the sap you should immediately blind him and stay on the priest. Following the blind you can hit him with a back to back fears followed by the vanish sap. Of course this is an absolute ideal scenario, as with any double DPS team things can quickly go wrong. But, if you’re able to pull off this type of well timed CC you have virtually assured yourself the win.

If you are unable to sap the rogue you have a few options.

1. Wait for stealth buffs to come up and force them to engage your warlock. This gives your rogue maximum time to find and sap the opposing rogue, allowing for the best possible opener.
2. If your rogue is unable to find the rogue / if the opposing rogue jumps the warlock you’ll have no choice but to open up on the rogue yourself. At this point the rogue’s gear choices will really come into effect.

If the rogue is wearing a large amount of tier 6 you should remain on his. Especially if you’ve already successfully secured the opener. The warlock should do what he can to position himself away from the rogue (out of LoS of Shadowstep if at all possible). At this point it really comes down to your crowd control. Keep the rogue locked down as much as possible and start the fear train on the priest.

If you’ve got enough pressure on the rogue at this point you’re in great shape. The priest will likely blow his trinket, at which point we can blind / vanish / sap combo the priest and finish off the rogue. In the event the rogue isn’t dead by the end of this CC train your fear will be off diminishing returns so you can simply start the fear combo up again and repeat the process.

I really view this matchup with 2 basic opening goals.

1. You sap the rogue and bomb the priest
2. You force the rogue to open on your lock and bomb the rogue

However, I would like to remind everyone there is no absolute strategy here that must be followed. If the rogue just isn’t dropping don’t be afraid pull a switch on the priest. Sometimes the sudden change in target can be enough to through the priest off his game and put him in a position where your team can gain the upper hand. Your crowd control and rotations are going to be more or less the same regardless of your actual target selection. It’s far more important to react quickly to the changing game.

Can’t get enough warlock / rogue 2v2 strategy? Check out the complete guide here! Rogue / Warlock 2v2 Arena Strategy.

Death Knight Runeforging

Earlier today a new ability was uncovered for the Death Knight, runeforging. Being some of the very first beta testers, the guys over at worldofraids.com were of the first to test out all the new changes to the beta client. Including this intesting change that allows the Death Knight to exchange the runes in his weapon, so long as he’s within Ebon Hold.

Runeforging Mechanic

• Rune of Lichbane - Affixes your rune weapon with a rune that has a chance to strike undead for extra Fire damage and stun them for 5 sec. Modifying your rune weapon requires a Rune Forge in Ebon Hold.
• Rune of the Fallen Crusader - Affixes your rune weapon with a rune that has a chance to heal you for 3% and increase total Strength by 30% for 15 sec. Modifying your rune weapon requires a Rune Forge in Ebon Hold.
• Rune of Spellbreaking - Affixes your two-handed rune weapon with a rune that deflects 5% of all spell damage. Modifying your rune weapon requires a Rune Forge in Ebon Hold.
• Rune of Frostfever - Affixes your rune weapon with a rune that has a chance to inflict a disease that causes Frost damage and lowers attack power by 10% for 20 sec. Modifying your rune weapon requires a Rune Forge in Ebon Hold.
• Rune of Cinderglacier - Affixes your rune weapon with a rune that has a chance to increase your Frost and Shadow spell damage by 10% for 15 sec. Modifying your rune weapon requires a Rune Forge in Ebon Hold.
• Rune of Swordbreaking - Affixes your two-handed rune weapon with a rune that increases Parry chance by 3%. Modifying your rune weapon requires a Rune Forge in Ebon Hold.