I’ve compiled a list of ideas, rotation frustration, and thematic issues with the Unholy and San’layn trees. I’m not a game designer. With that said, a lot of this stems from a fantasy standpoint, which I believe the spec is seriously lacking. Thanks ahead of time for indulging.
Core Changes:
Festering Strike/Festering Wounds have been removed.
To replace Festering Strike/Wounds, I propose Death Runes as a central component of the Unholy Death Knight’s resource system. This change is designed to provide a more intuitive and engaging experience.
- Withering Strike: This new ability consumes Unholy Runes to deal damage and generates Death Runes. [Requires 2 Unholy Runes]
- Scourge Strike (Runeburst) : Now consumes Death Runes to unleash an additional single-target Shadow damage attack. Additionally, Scourge Strike has a chance to trigger an area-of-effect Shadow damage. [Requires 1 Death Runes]
Withering Strike stacks up to 3 times. Each successful application increases the damage of all damage over time effects by X% per stack. Necrotic Wounds has been baked into Withering Strike’s debuff stacks (6% per stack). Group/Raid utility addition.
Clawing Shadows has been removed and baked into Scourge Strike. Scourge Strike now has a 15-yard range and deals both Plague and Physical damage to the target.
Dreadblade (Mastery) has been updated to increase the chance of Scourge Strike’s AoE damage to trigger (Runeburst).
Defile, Morbific Plague, Death Coil, and Scourge Strike have been updated to deal Plague damage.
Virulent Outbreak has been updated and renamed to Necrotic Touch.
- Sacrifice X% of your total health to afflict the target with Decrepify, an Unholy aging disease that deals Shadow damage over time equal to the health sacrificed. This disease spreads to all other enemies within a 10-yard radius of the initial target. Deals X Shadow damage in an area if the target dies or is dispelled.
Apocalypse and Dark Transformation have been combined into Army of the Damned. Balance accordingly via fewer ghouls, less overall output, etc.
Old Army of the Damned has been removed, resulting in Raise Abomination being the default single choice for the cooldown.
Ruptured Viscera has been added to the old Army of the Damned talent slot.
NEW - Engraved in Ichor has been added to Ruptured Viscera’s talent slot.
- Your runeforge engravings coat your weapon in ichor, dealing additional Plague damage on all melee attacks.
Unholy Pact has been redesigned and renamed to Eye of Acherus.
- Dark Transformation turns your raised dead minion into an Eye of Acherus. It channels Shadow damage into the target; the longer it casts, the more damage it deals. Targets that get in front of the beam become the new target of the channel. ~30 yard range. This ability reveals stealth on the target it’s channeling.
All Will Serve has been modified and renamed to Shadowfrost Sigil.
- Your raise dead spell now also summons a permanent Magus of the Dead. This talent does not benefit from Menacing Magus talent.
Capstone Flavor Overhaul
Superstrain has been redesigned and renamed to Morbific Plague.
- When Runeburst deals damage to a target, there is a 30% chance to also afflict them with Morbific Plague, a powerful disease that deals Plague damage over time. Can stack up to 3 times, with each stack refreshing the duration.
- Sudden Doom procs trigger an immediate tick of Morbific Plague damage. This effect does not refresh Morbific Plague’s duration.
Commander of the Dead has been redesigned and renamed to Corpse Commander.
- Your minions have 10% increased health. Your minions that die leave behind a corpse pile. Using Death Runes have a chance to reanimate a corpse pile for X seconds. You may only have X corpse piles at one time. Your minions’ auto-attacks now deal Plague damage.
Unholy Assault has been modified with a new effect to replace Festering Wounds.
- Summon 2-3 Spiked Ghouls that slowly walk to your primary target. If the Spiked Ghouls reach the target, they explode for 10% of your total health as Plague damage to your primary target, dealing half the damage to X targets in the effect radius.
Talent Refreshes, Additions & Updates
Vile Contagion has been removed. Decomposition has been placed in that talent slot. Decomposition has been updated.
- Decrepify has a chance to erupt for X Shadow damage as if it were dispelled/target died. This effect has a higher chance of procing while the target(s) are in Death and Decay/Defile.
NEW - Geist Caller. New talent choice taking the talent spot of where Decomposition was.
- Death Coil has an X% chance to call down a Geist that leaps in the area 1-3 times dealing Shadow damage in an area, then jumping away (despawning). Sudden Doom procs have a higher chance for the effect to occur.
Defile has been updated to deal Plague damage and increase your Plague damage done by 5%.
Festering Scythe has been redesigned and renamed to Empowered Death Runes.
- Your Death Runes have a chance to become Empowered, acting as if 2 Death Runes were spent for the cost of 1.
Pestilence has been redesigned and renamed to Death Assured.
- Death and Decay/Defile deals X% increased damage to your primary target.
Improved Festering Strike has been redesigned and renamed to Improved Withering Strike.
- When striking a target with this ability, trigger a random DoT applied by the player Death Knight on the target to tick an additional time. Increase Withering Strike’s damage by X%.
Infected Claws has been redesigned.
- Your main minion’s auto-attacks inflict Crypt Fever that deals Shadow damage over time that deals X% of your raise dead minion’s total health. Crypt Fever heals your pet over time. Applies to Eye of Acherus.
Summon Gargoyle has been redesigned.
- Summon a Stoneskin Gargoyle that you become linked with by Unholy design. 20% of the damage you receive is shared by the Stoneskin Gargoyle. The more damage the Gargoyle takes the more damage it deals. Lasts for ~10 seconds.
Bursting Sores has been redesigned and renamed to Runeburster.
- Increase the damage done by Runeburst by X%.
PvP Talent Refresh & Ideas
Crypt Fever and Rot and Wither have been removed and replaced by Blight Upon the Land.
- Army of the Dead casts a free Death and Decay/Defile on the ground, empowering your summoned Ghouls with Unholy Blight, allowing Unholy Blight to stack to 20.
NEW - Armies of Acherus: You have a chance to summon a Ghoul when rooted or lose control of your character.
Doomburst has been redesigned and renamed to Death’s Recoil.
- Your Sudden Doom procs have a chance to return back to you, healing X% of the damage dealt, and firing again at halved damage.
Necrotic Wounds has been baked into Withering Strike basline.
NEW - Black Knight’s Resolve: Become a spectral entity of yourself, hovering above your body after you die. You cannot attack or move, but can be healed for 3 seconds. Return back to life with X% of the amount healed. 5-minute internal cooldown.
San’layn Talent Refresh for Thematic Buff Needs
Vampiric Strike has been redesigned and renamed to Sanguine Arts.
- Blood Death Knights keep Vampiric Strike.
- Unholy gains Sanguine Coil that overtakes Sudden Doom procs. Gift of the San’layn allows your normal Death Coils to be Sanguine Coils, but doubles the runic power cost. Sanguine Coil has an updated crimson visual effect.
- Sanguine Coil increases your leech by 2% for 5 seconds and deals additional Shadow damage.
Bloody Fortitude has been removed.
Vampiric Aura has been redesigned.
- All raid/party members gain X% Leech and X% Movement Speed. Additionally, half of all leech healing done by the Death Knight is stored every 20 seconds. The next auto-attack unleashes the healing done as Shadow damage.
The Blood is Life has been removed. NEW - Blood From Stone has been added.
- After casting Vampiric Strike/Sanguine Coil, gain a 10 second buff that accumulates X% of Vampiric Strike/Sanguine Coil damage dealt. Once expired, cast an empowered Blood Boil, applying Blood Plague.
Pact of the San’layn has been removed. NEW - Summon Nightlings has been added.
- Vampiric Strike/Sanguine Coil has a chance to summon an Undead Nightling to attack your target for X seconds, healing you for X% of the damage they deal.
- (Nightlings look like Nightborne Withered models but with crimson glowing effects in place of the purple.)
Sanguine Scent has been removed. NEW - Crimson Waltz has been added.
- Passive
- Your successful melee attacks grant you a stack of Crimson Waltz, increasing your movement speed by 2% and Dodge chance by 1% per stack. This effect stacks up to 5 times and lasts for 10 seconds.
- Upon reaching 5 stacks, your next melee attack consumes all stacks to perform a Crimson Strike, dealing additional Shadow damage and healing you for 50% of the damage dealt.