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Frost Death Knight · Melee DPS

Frost Death Knight beginner guide · MoP Classic

BeginnersData-drivenMediumPatch 5.5.4
150Updated

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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 D tier on our ladder: 0.5% of the top players, average rating 1542, average item level 541.

Strengths

  • Top players stack Mastery (23.7% of their secondary stats).

Build cheat sheet

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

Builds

Frost Death Knight · Rated Battlegrounds

More damagePvP
Open build

When to use it

What the 3 top Rated Battlegrounds players we read are using. Average item level 536. Glyphs: Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell, Glyph of Path of Frost, Glyph of the Long Winter.

Rated battleground build

3 top profilesAverage item level 536

Talent trees

Level15Roiling BloodPlague Leech33%Unholy Blight67%
Level30Lichborne67%Anti-Magic Zone33%Purgatory
Level45Death's Advance33%Chilblains67%Asphyxiate
Level60Death Pact100%Death SiphonConversion
Level75Blood Tap67%Runic Empowerment33%Runic Corruption
Level90Gorefiend's Grasp33%Remorseless Winter67%Desecrated Ground

Major glyphs

  • Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell100%
  • Glyph of Icy Touch33%
  • Glyph of Dark Succor33%
  • Glyph of Enduring Infection33%

Minor glyphs

  • Glyph of Path of Frost67%
  • Glyph of the Long Winter33%
  • Glyph of Army of the Dead33%
  • Glyph of Death Gate33%

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 24%
  2. 2. Critical Strike 24%
  3. 3. PvP Power 20%
  4. 4. Haste 16%
  5. 5. Hit 9%
  6. 6. Expertise 8%

Most socketed gems

  • 333%Skillful Vermilion Onyx+80 Strength and +160 Mastery
  • 200%Perfect Tense Roguestone+80 Strength and +80 PvP Power
  • 200%Fractured Sun's Radiance+320 Mastery
  • 167%Keen Vermilion Onyx+160 Expertise and +160 Mastery
  • 133%Perfect Bold Pandarian Garnet+160 Strength
  • 100%Tense Imperial Amethyst+80 Strength and +80 PvP Power

Gear by slot

  • Main hand

    • Grievous Gladiator's Decapitatorilvl 522 · 33%
    • Xifeng, Longblade of the Titanic Guardianilvl 566 · 33%
    • Grievous Gladiator's Greatswordilvl 522 · 33%

    ✦ Rune of the Fallen Crusader (100%)

  • Off hand

      ✦ Rune of Razorice (33%)

    • Trinket

      • Head

        • Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Helmilvl 522 · 33%

      • Neck

        • Grievous Gladiator's Choker of Proficiencyilvl 522 · 33%

      • Shoulders

        • Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Shouldersilvl 522 · 33%
        • Pauldrons of Cyclopean Dreadilvl 553 · 33%

        ✦ +200 Strength and +100 Critical Strike (100%)

      • Back

        • Gong-Lu, Strength of Xuenilvl 600 · 33%
        • Grievous Gladiator's Cloak of Prowessilvl 522 · 33%

        ✦ Swordguard Embroidery (67%)

      • Chest

        • Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Chestpieceilvl 522 · 33%

        ✦ +80 All Stats (100%)

      • Wrists

        • Grievous Gladiator's Armplates of Alacrityilvl 522 · 33%

        ✦ +180 Strength (100%)

      • Hands

        • Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Gauntletsilvl 522 · 33%

        ✦ +170 Strength (100%)

      • Waist

        • Grievous Gladiator's Girdle of Prowessilvl 522 · 33%

      • Legs

        • Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Legguardsilvl 522 · 33%
        • Magmaplates of Jian Wu Xi Fengilvl 559 · 33%

        ✦ +285 Strength and +165 Critical Strike (100%)

      • Feet

        • Grievous Gladiator's Warboots of Crueltyilvl 522 · 33%

        ✦ +140 Mastery & Minor Speed Increase (100%)

      • Ring

        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

        1What you do

        Your job: 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.
        • Use your interrupts and stuns on the casters the raid leader assigns you.

        2Mistakes to avoid

        • 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

        • 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.
        • Hit rating comes first until you reach the cap for your content: missed spells and swings are wasted damage.
        • Bring weapon enhancements and buff food to every raid.

        Changelog

        1. Guide created for patch 5.5.4.

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