I would prefer it be a 2h spec with no pet, then Blizz could make Frost the DW spec that some people scream from the rooftops it should be. Unless they want to make the disease spec DW and make Frost the 2h no pet spec. Either way, I would just like to see a 2h spec with no pet and not be tank.
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Props for the WC3 DK name.
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I agree with your ideas. Theyâre quite good.
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Your last point is what I suggest doing with Blood spec. Itâs already that in Wrath Classic, and it was that through MOST of Wrath in the beginning. I feel like it could actually be super interesting, if they leaned into the idea of them truly basing the entire spec around the concept of Blood. Damaging abilities that drain health, and others that absorb it. Iâd probably nix âRunic Powerâ for them altogether, and instead convert the bar to âBloodâ, which constantly drains but also converts to health if youâre not full. Maybe building up enough Blood, you can create a temporary Abomination that slowly loses health, and when it dies, it explodes dealing damage and also generating some Blood again.
So they would have a SUPER unusual playstyle, and I think that would be a blast. And you would have choices like âI could BURST DPS right now, but that will get my health SUPER lowâ, so you have this balancing act of dealing more damage but losing health, or dealing less damage but draining blood.
As far as Dual-wielding goes⌠Truth be told, I honestly donât think Death Knights should even have dual-wielding â itâs never really gelled with the âgothic knightâ archetype â but I think it would make more sense being tied to a Disease-focused spec. The idea being, your blades are so gross and nasty, even the slightest cut would infect and spread diseases.
Like I said in my original post though, I think the idea of âFrostâ just correlates SO strongly to Arthas and the Lich King, I think it would be more fitting and exciting as the Tank spec. Just to flesh it out a little more thematically, Iâd also have some blue-fire visuals as well, since thatâs such an important part of the Northrend aesthetic.
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Would be fine with that, Blood DPS was what I played all through Wrath and was quite sad when they made it the tank spec in Cataclysm.
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I legit quit playing death knight for a while because of that. Self healing dps rune knight was rather unique in the game.
I looked through live, classic, Hearthstone, and official promotional material and couldnât find more then 5 examples of a dual wielding DK. And thatâs assuming our character is dual wielding. Thereâs more Daemon Hunters with the staves and scythes of their cut caster spec then of Death Knights using anything but a two hander.
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I love to see a split of unholy so necromancy spec can be fledged out.
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I kind of like the way Blood is now, but Iâm probably in the minority.
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Your ideas remind me quite a bit of the Diablo 3 Necromancer take on blood magic - where oneâs own health becomes a resource, with important choices to be made about big burst at the cost of lots of health vs. smaller dps with a more sustainable health cost. I really enjoyed that about the D3 necro.
I also loved D3 Necroâs use of corpses as a resource. If Unholy were to be split into a disease-oriented spec and a necromancy/pet-oriented spec (or even a disease side of the talent tree and a necromancy side of the talent tree), I think the use of corpses as a pseudo-secondary-resource for the necromancy spec could be fun. If you had very frequent, brief summons that dealt a small amount of damage then left a corpse behind when they died, it might actually be viable to re-introduce corpse explosion as an aoe spell, or even the D3 corpse lance as a single-target variation. Or have a long-cooldown âSummon Meatwagonâ ability that calls a WC3-era Scourge meat wagon to the scene, instantly providing like 6-8 corpses that you could immediately explode for lots of burst aoe or ST damage.
I donât generally think that classes should be copy-pasted from game to game, but the D3 Necromancerâs use of blood and corpses as resources was so interesting and fun, and I think thereâs lots of room in the DK class fantasy to apply similar resource and spell mechanics.
I could see this working, but with a twist âŚ
Keep the Blood Spec as a tank, but giving more Passive Leeching Abilities to go along with the absorbs (Blood Shield, Bone Shield).
(Allow Heart Strike to cleave at least 5 enemies)
Work the Frost Spec into a literal 2 hander Melee Powerhouse dps with slows & drains, (give Obliterate a 150% damage proc that can cleave up to 3 enemies).
Convert Unholy Spec into a solid DoT & Burst ranged, minion focused (including an Abomination for a tanking pet) & disease spreading Necromancer.
As far as D&D:
Blood does health draining damage Shadow Damage & healing effects ⌠but works like consecration & only usable at the DKâs feet ⌠generates threat.
Focus stats: Strength, Versatility, Mastery, Haste
Frost does Frost Damage Damage slows & healing effects ⌠but works like consecration & only usable at the DKâs feet ⌠generates no threat.
Focus stats: Versatility, Strength, Mastery, Haste
Unholy does Shadow / Poison damage & healing effects ⌠works like normal & can be placed as per usual ⌠generates no threat.
Focus stats: Versatility, Mastery, Haste, Strength
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Well, I think weâre all down for Unholy being more that âNecromancerâ vibe. It almost makes me wonder if thereâs enough space for âBoneâ becoming its own spec, focusing on pure Necromancer, with âUnholyâ being the Poison-Shadow combination caster?
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Omg this guy gets it! Frost tank, and blood dps!
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Iâve always thought Blood should be a DPS spec. Every time I think Blood âBlood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!â comes to mind. I do think thereâs room for a blood-lusted warrior aesthetic there as well as the vampiric/SinâLayan aesthetic. Two halves of one tree - the left side focusing on the violent, brutal attacks, the right side focusing on the vampiric heals.
Frost has always seemed like the Tank spec, and I argued that back when they decided to give DKâs a dedicated tanking spec. Frost just reminds me Ice, which is hardened and numb to the pain. It invokes images of slow, unstoppable forces of nature that you. just. canât. hurt.
Unholy, I think should have two sides to its tree as well. The left side focusing on diseases that whittle away at health, corruptions that twist healing and buffs, desecrations that debuff. The right side should focus on pets, pet buffs, and ways to create a never-ending supply of minions. Imagine Death Coil being changed so that when cast, it summons a skeleton. With enough RP spent, you can have a small army. Imagine other options in the tree changing Death Coil so it costs more, but it summons a skeletal archer/mage. Imagine if Scourge Strike had a percent chance of turning the fallen corpse (if it was the killing blow) into an undead pet for 5 minutes (Only one permitted at a time). And donât put a real limit on what can be raised. There could be Guild achievements to raise Raid Bosses as undead minions during their X-Pac. With a TMOG of Frostmourne for any DK that can successfully raise the Lich King.
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Absolutely love your interpretations of the specs! Yeah, I really dig those, particularly Blood. With the Sanâlayn and Venthyr aesthetics, coupled with that âBlood for the Blood Godâ sort of vibe, I think youâd have something that feels super exciting, without stepping on anyone elseâs toes.
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Also⌠I gotta say, while I do like that Frost seems to have a little more love for Frost Wyrms, it honestly kind of surprises me that none of the DK specs actually utilize âBlue Fireâ as an aesthetic.
Also, it totally doesnât matter, but I just randomly got to thinking how boring the name âRunic Powerâ is for their secondary resource. I think a cooler name could simply be âSoulsâ. Like âThis ability costs 35 soulsâ, instead of âRPâ. Again, just a thought.
Oh⌠and give us back ACTUAL Runes for the UI itself. I hate the âlittle skullâ icons, they just seem hella cheesy, IMO.
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I always thought DW went better with UH. Lots of DOTs doing small damage over time, your pet/apocalypse/army/gargoyle all doing damage automatically, lots of small, quick attacks from the actual DK beside that. Plus, being able to pretend to be Death from Darksiders 2 would be fun.
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Arthas is every spec combined.
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The fact that the Runeforge is still a one hit wonder, weâll never see a real change to the DKs.
I mean, I remember in Legion when every class got a new HQs and we gotâŚan updated Ebon Hold. Made sense, I guess. But utter boring and lazy.
I too never understood the Duel-Wield thing, but some absolutely love it.
Great. Just have the option to âNotâ on a Frost. /shrug.
Imo
Frost should be 2H big slow juggernaut that does chonker damage when it connects.
Blood should be leech tank. Huge HP pools. Mostly fine how it is.
Unholy should be dual wield mostly magic damage and summoner. Moves fast. Wraith-esque.
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Dude. If you ever look at the symbol for Unholy Death Knight (the green skull) it actually has two swords on the forehead. Proof that Unholy was meant to be the dual-wielding spec.
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