WoW: Death Knight Class Guide

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WoW: Death Knight Class Guide

Posted August 14th, 2007 by Xerin

This guide is ARCHIVED.
Click here to view our new Death Knight 2.0 Guide

Death Knight Guide: Basics - Runes & Runic Power - ~~Runeforging~~ - ~~Weapons~~ - ~~Armor~~ - ~~Skills & Abilities~~ - ~~Talents~~ - ~~Lore~~ - ~~Macros~~ - Death Knight Starting Area - ~~Quests~~ - Ebon Hold - Submissions - Death Knight Forums & Community

The Death Knight is a hero class introduced in Wrath of the Lich King. A Death Knight is a hybrid class that mixes together both magic and melee to bring a devastating force to both the armies of the Horde and Alliance. Death Knights are effective tanks, damage dealers, and can devastate most magic users with their anti-magic abilities. Not to mention their ability to reanimate the dead! These former knights of the undead are a formidable force to be reckoned with.

This guide will walk you through the various aspects of the Death Knight class from the novice to experienced user. The guide is broken into several different parts and organized so that you can get to what you need when you need it. This is the starting point of the guide. You can move through the guide using the links below. If you need something else then feel free to return to this page.

Death Knights are part of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. They require the expansion and a level 55 character. For more information about the requirements to unlock a Death Knight, how many you can have on each server, and more information see our basics section.

All non-working links (~~denoted with a line through them~~) will be coming soon. However, this guide will contain every resource we have for Death Knights including the previews from the beta.

Death Knight
Quick Facts

Races: All
Armor: Plate
Weapons: Axes, Polearms,
Swords, and Maces
Starting Area: Ebon Hold

Death Knight Overview

Magic/Melee hybrid with emphasis on melee.
Uses runic power and runes instead rage, mana, or energy.
Wields two-handed axes, maces, and swords along with the ability to dual wield.
Uses a stance like system called "presences" which switches the Death Knight from a primary damage dealer, to magic user, and finally to a tank.

Death Knight Strengths

Starts at level 55 with a full set of gear. Can get to level 57/58 through a lengthy but easy quest chain.
Gets a free normal mount.
Excellent anti-magic tank.
Can easily heal self with blood magic.
One minute cooldown on self-teleport to Ebon Hold for training, resupply, and quick teleporation to Azeroth (Eastern Kingdoms).
Mixes magic with melee to create both a good brawler and magic user combo with lots of various skills and abilities to use.

Death Knight Weaknesses

Can not tank with a shield.
Depends on runic power generation and rune cooldowns in order to deal damage, tank, and stay alive.
Depends on active abilities to stay alive instead of passive defense.
Can be complicated to play.

Death Knight Guide Table of Contents
Death Knight Starting Area Guide	A guide that goes into detail about the starting quests for Death Knights.
Death Knight Basics	All of the basics on Death Knights. What race to pick? What profession? What are Runes? These questions and more are answered here. If you're new to the class then this is a great place to start!
Runes & Runic Power	A detailed guide on the Runes and Runic Power explaining what they are and how to use them.