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Frost Death Knight · Melee DPS

Frost Death Knight guide · MoP Classic

Complete guideData-drivenMediumPatch 5.5.4
4KUpdated

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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.

Overview

Frost Death Knight is a melee DPS specialization of the Death Knight in Mists of Pandaria Classic. It is C tier on our ladder: 0.6% of the top players, average rating 1603, average item level 535.

Strengths

  • Top players stack Mastery (25.6% of their secondary stats).

Weaknesses

  • Rare at the top: only 0.6% of the 821 top players we read play it.

Build cheat sheet

Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.

Builds

Frost Death Knight · 5v5 Arena

More damagePvP
Open build

When to use it

What the 2 top 5v5 Arena players we read are using. Average item level 523. Glyphs: Glyph of Tranquil Grip, Glyph of Resilient Grip, Glyph of Chains of Ice.

5v5 arena build

2 top profilesAverage item level 523

Talent trees

Level15Roiling BloodPlague Leech50%Unholy Blight50%
Level30Lichborne100%Anti-Magic ZonePurgatory
Level45Death's Advance100%ChilblainsAsphyxiate
Level60Death Pact50%Death SiphonConversion50%
Level75Blood Tap50%Runic Empowerment50%Runic Corruption
Level90Gorefiend's GraspRemorseless Winter100%Desecrated Ground

Major glyphs

  • Glyph of Chains of Ice100%
  • Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell50%
  • Glyph of Festering Blood50%
  • Glyph of Outbreak50%

Minor glyphs

  • Glyph of Resilient Grip100%
  • Glyph of Tranquil Grip100%
  • Glyph of Corpse Explosion50%
  • Glyph of Foul Menagerie50%

Gold, what most of the top players take (with its rank); the rest shows the share of players who take it.

Secondary stat split

  1. 1. Mastery 26%
  2. 2. Haste 22%
  3. 3. Critical Strike 19%
  4. 4. PvP Power 14%
  5. 5. Hit 13%
  6. 6. Expertise 6%

Most socketed gems

  • 350%Vivid Wild Jade+80 PvP Power and +80 PvP Resilience
  • 300%Skillful Vermilion Onyx+80 Strength and +160 Mastery
  • 200%Perfect Skillful Tiger Opal+80 Strength and +160 Mastery
  • 150%Tense Imperial Amethyst+80 Strength and +80 PvP Power
  • 100%Fractured Sun's Radiance+320 Mastery
  • 100%Perfect Fractured Sunstone+320 Mastery

Gear by slot

  • Main hand

    • Grievous Gladiator's Decapitatorilvl 522 · 50%

    ✦ Rune of the Fallen Crusader (100%)

  • Trinket

    • Grievous Gladiator's Badge of Victoryilvl 522 · 50%

  • Head

    • Neck

      • Malkorok's Tainted Dog Tagsilvl 528 · 50%

    • Shoulders

        ✦ +300 Stamina and +100 Dodge (50%)

      • Back

        • Gong-Lu, Strength of Xuenilvl 600 · 50%

        ✦ Swordguard Embroidery (50%)

      • Chest

        • Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Chestpieceilvl 522 · 50%
        • Breastplate of Cyclopean Dreadilvl 553 · 50%

        ✦ +80 All Stats (50%)

      • Wrists

        • Grievous Gladiator's Armplates of Alacrityilvl 522 · 50%

        ✦ +180 Strength (50%)

      • Hands

          ✦ +170 Mastery (100%)

        • Waist

          • Grievous Gladiator's Girdle of Accuracyilvl 522 · 50%
          • Greatbelt of the Crendorilvl 559 · 50%

        • Legs

          • Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Legguardsilvl 522 · 50%
          • Partik's Purified Legplatesilvl 559 · 50%

          ✦ +285 Strength and +165 Critical Strike (50%)

        • Feet

          • Grievous Gladiator's Warboots of Alacrityilvl 522 · 50%
          • Wolf-Rider Spursilvl 553 · 50%

          ✦ +140 Mastery & Minor Speed Increase (50%)

        • Ring

          • Bloodclaw Bandilvl 528 · 50%

        Abilities

        • Gorefiend's GraspShadowy tendrils coil around all enemies within 20 yards of a target (hostile or friendly), pulling them to the target's location.Key talent of the specialization.
        • Remorseless WinterSurrounds the Death Knight with a swirling tempest of frigid air for 8 sec, chilling enemies within 8 yards every 1 sec. Each pulse reduces targets' movement speed by 15% for 3 sec, stacking up to 5 times. Upon receiving a fifth application, an enemy will be stunned for 6 sec.Key talent of the specialization.
        • Desecrated GroundCorrupts the ground in a 8 yard radius beneath the Death Knight for 10 sec. While standing in this corruption, the Death Knight is immune to effects that cause loss of control. This ability instantly removes such effects when activated.Key talent of the specialization.

        Strategy

        1Your job in the group

        As a melee dps, your job is to deal damage from behind the target while watching your threat and staying out of the cleave.

        • Wait for the tank's threat before attacking: in Classic, pulling aggro early is the most common melee death.
        • Keep your resource from capping and stay on the target: melee damage is lost every time you walk away.
        • Use your cooldowns and potions on the execute phase of the boss.

        2Talents

        The talents the top players pick most:

        • Death's Advance (rank 1) — 100%
        • Lichborne (rank 1) — 100%
        • Remorseless Winter (rank 1) — 100%
        • Runic Empowerment (rank 1) — 50%
        • Death Pact (rank 1) — 50%
        • Unholy Blight (rank 1) — 50%
        • Blood Tap (rank 1) — 50%
        • Plague Leech (rank 1) — 50%

        3Glyphs

        The glyphs the top players use most:

        • Glyph of Tranquil Grip (minor) — 100%
        • Glyph of Resilient Grip (minor) — 100%
        • Glyph of Chains of Ice (major) — 100%
        • Glyph of Festering Blood (major) — 50%
        • Glyph of Corpse Explosion (minor) — 50%
        • Glyph of Outbreak (major) — 50%
        • Glyph of Foul Menagerie (minor) — 50%
        • Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell (major) — 50%

        4Stats and gear

        Secondary stat split of the top players: Mastery 25.6% > Haste 21.9% > Critical Strike 19.4% > PvP Power 14% > Hit 12.7%.

        • Main hand: Grievous Gladiator's Decapitator (50%) · Rune of the Fallen Crusader
        • Trinket: Grievous Gladiator's Badge of Victory (50%)
        • Head: Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Helm (50%)
        • Neck: Grievous Gladiator's Choker of Proficiency (50%)
        • Shoulders: Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Shoulders (50%) · +300 Stamina and +100 Dodge
        • Back: Wrap of Unity (50%) · Swordguard Embroidery

        5Common mistakes

        • Tunnelling the boss while ignoring the adds that must die first.
        • Pulling threat off the tank: in Classic, threat is slow to build and a dead damage dealer deals no damage.
        • Running out of consumables: potions, flasks and food are part of the build in Classic raids.
        • Ignoring crowd control assignments: sheep, sap and fear the packs you are asked to, and don't break them.

        Tips

        • Bring weapon enhancements and buff food to every raid.
        • Reach the hit cap for your content before stacking other stats.
        • Spend your talent points in the order of this guide and only change the rows the content asks for.

        Changelog

        1. Guide created for patch 5.5.4.

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