MoP Classic Unholy Death Knight — Guide (Phase 5)
viewsAbout the Class
Unholy Death Knight is a plate-wearing melee fighter with a two-handed weapon. Its resources are four types of runes and runic power, and its damage comes from diseases, a permanent ghoul, and spending Unholy runes on 
Scourge Strike.
A notable share of the damage runs through the pet: 
Dark Transformation turns the ghoul into a heavy combat unit for 30 seconds, while 
Summon Gargoyle is the spec's biggest cooldown. In a raid, Unholy consistently sits near the top of the meters both on single target and on AoE, plus it brings the 
Ebon Plaguebringer debuff and the external haste buff 
Unholy Frenzy.
Strengths
- Consistently one of the best melee both on single target and on AoE.
- Scales better with gear than Frost.
- Brings the raid the sought-after Ebon Plaguebringer debuff.
- Unholy Frenzy is an external haste cooldown for any ally.
- A full set of defensive and raid cooldowns:
Anti-Magic Shell and 
Anti-Magic Zone. 
Gorefiend's Grasp to gather packs and 
Raise Ally for a battle resurrection.
Weaknesses
- Very weak mobility.
- Damage ramps up slowly: you need both diseases and a living pet.
- On fights with constant movement or heavy raid damage the pet loses some of its damage or dies outright.
- Requires an understanding of pet mechanics — without it the spec falls noticeably short.
- Outside of cooldowns it is defenseless against control effects.
Stat Priority
- 1Strength
- 2Hit rating (up to 7.5%)
- 3Expertise (up to 7.5%)
- 4Critical strike rating
- 5Haste
- 6Mastery
Past both caps the secondary stats are almost equal in value, so it is easier to take the item with the higher item level: it gives more Strength, and that matters more than any secondary.
Talents
Rotation (Ability Priority)
The opener is a set sequence of abilities you use as you engage an enemy. Memorising it helps initiate your rotation in the most optimal way possible.
- 1
Horn of Winter - 2
Raise Dead - 3
Army of the Dead - 4
Potion of Mogu Power - 5
Outbreak - 6Unholy Frenzy
- 7Summon Gargoyle
- 8
Festering Strike - 9
Death and Decay - 10Scourge Strike
- 11Dark Transformation
- 12
Death Coil
Death's Advance — before the pull, make sure you are standing in it- Raise Dead — the ghoul must be alive at all times
- Unholy Frenzy — on cooldown, on an ally
- Summon Gargoyle — together with Heroism when possible
Plague Strike — applies diseases
Blood Tap — from 11 charges, if there is an inactive rune
Soul Reaper — on targets below 35% health- Dark Transformation — at 5 stacks of
Shadow Infusion - Death and Decay — spends Unholy runes and Death runes
- Scourge Strike — the main sink for Unholy runes
- Death Coil — from 40 runic power or on a
Sudden Doom proc - Outbreak — reapply diseases under a Strength or attack power proc
- Festering Strike — extends diseases
Empower Rune Weapon — when you are out of runes- Horn of Winter — when everything else is unavailable
Important Abilities
Frost Fever and 
Blood Plague by up to 6 seconds
Blood Charge into a ready Death runeBest Gear (BiS)
Best Gear (BiS)Tier 16 Set — Battlegear of Cyclopean Dread
Tier 16 Set — Battlegear of Cyclopean DreadIn the BiS build you wear 4 pieces of the set, and the legs slot is taken by
Legplates of Willful Doom.
Enchants, Gems, Consumables
Enchants
Gems
ConsumablesRaces
Best Professions
The best choice. 
Synapse Springs gives a burst of Strength under Summon Gargoyle, while Nitro Boosts solve the mobility problem.
Socket Bracer and 
Socket Gloves add two Strength gems, and Strength for Unholy is also passed to the pets.
Up to three 
Bold Serpent's Eye give more Strength than ordinary gems.
Fur Lining - Strength on the wrists is stronger than the standard enchant.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
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