PVE Unholy Death Knight DPS Guide (WotLK 3.3.5a)

Welcome to the Unholy Death Knight DPS guide for World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King 3.3.5a. In this guide, you will learn about playing an Unholy Death Knight in a raid. The guide includes Talents, Glyphs, Gems, Enchantments, Add-ons, Gameplay & Skill rotation tips.

Talent Tree

Suitable for players with low gear. “Pre-ICC” build (Icecrown Citadel).

The second build is for people with at least 2 T10 items. Dark Conviction is 2/5 because we take Reaping.

The last build is for players with BiS or close to BiS gear. We change the sub spec to Frost.

Glyphs

Major Glyphs

• Glyph of the Ghoul
• Glyph of Icy Touch
• Glyph of Dark Death

Minor Glyphs

• Glyph of Pestilence

Gems

Gems are situational and depend on the build and equipment. They are used to reach the required stat caps.

• Meta: Chaotic Skyflare Diamond
• Red: Bold Cardinal Ruby
• Yellow: Fierce Ametrine
• Blue:
  • Nightmare Tear x1
  • Sovereign Dreadstone

Enchants

• Head – Arcanum of Torment
• Shoulder – Greater Inscription of the Axe
• Cloak – Scroll of Enchant Cloak – Greater Speed or Scroll of Enchant Cloak – Major Agility
• Chest – Scroll of Enchant Chest – Powerful Stats
• Bracers – Scroll of Enchant Bracers – Greater Assault
• Gloves – Scroll of Enchant Gloves – Crusher
• Waist – Eternal Belt Buckle with Bold Cardinal Ruby
• Legs – Icescale Leg Armor
• Boots –Scroll of Enchant Boots – Tuskarr’s Vitality or Scroll of Enchant Boots – Greater Assault
• Weapon – Rune of the Fallen Crusader

Gameplay & Rotations

Don’t forget to get 8% of Hit rating.

Unholy with Blood-sub spec stat priorities:

Hit → Strength → Armor Pen. → Haste → Crit → Expertise → Attack Power → Agility

Unholy with Frost-sub spec stat priorities:

Hit → Strength → Haste → Armor Pen. → Crit → Expertise → Attack Power → Agility

Standard DPS Rotation

DPS rotation with Reaping:

Army of the Dead – Is used few seconds before the encounter, or when changing phase. Using it in while doing your combo will cause a DPS loss and a combo break. The summons copy your Hit, Attack Power, and Haste at the moment of summoning – remember that.

Summoning a Gargoyle – Is also used when you have buffs and procs on you because it copies stats. You can’t summon in instantly when the fight starts, it takes 60 Rune Power. You can start the fight in with the Unholy Presence, quickly gain the Rune Power, then summon the Gargoyle and only then go back to the Blood Presence. This is done because our gargoyle remembers the Haste from Unholy Presence, but not the damage from Blood Presence.

Don’t forget about your Pet. It does plenty of damage.