Post by Shane Small on Jul 30, 2009 20:15:15 GMT -5
Cookie Cutter builds as of 3.1
Unholy / Blood
talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=23050200000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000230230331003215203150213133151&glyph=000000000000&version=9767
12/0/59 - Similar to the pre 3.1 cookie cutter build this is supposedly the more effective build to start out with, and will phase out as you get Uldaur gear, however this is still up for debate so it's indisputable advantage is that you have threat reduction. Whether or not threat reduction is necessary is up for debate however.
Unholy / Frost
talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=00000000000000000000000000003200500000000000000000000000230230333003215203150213133151&glyph=000000000000&version=9767
0/10/61 - A build shown to scale with gear better than the Unholy / Blood counter part the lack of threat reduction is cause for concern.
Blood / Unholy / Frost
www.wowhead.com/?talent#jf0MZG0xZfMbI0cdgcq0csut
7/10/54 - Seems to be a decent spec I don't know that there is much information for or against it, but people are using it and it's viable enough. Also the two points in Morbidity are able to be shifted around where ever.
Personal Choice Talents
Here are some Talents that while listed as the Cookie cutter build contain a level of flexibility depending on play style and can have points taken from or emptied out of all together:
Improved Unholy Presence - Hard to calculate it's worth, and worthless on pure tank and spank fights with no movement. The DPS added is lower and more situational than most the other talents listed here; but it also adds survivability and utility on certain fights. Do not underestimate this talent there are a lot of places to use it in Ulduar and it still increases your DPS somewhat.
Morbidity - Increased damage to Death Coil is a small damage increase and Death and Decay's cooldown reduction isn't always worth it, take at your discretion but definitely not a talent that's required.
Epidemic - Taking into account the glyph of scourge strike, this provides a better chance for your diseases to be refreshed by SS instead of having to manually refresh them yourself. Also an increase in fights where there are multiple mobs and when you may have to be out of melee range for a longer period of time. You should at least have one point here, but two is just as good as any of it's alternatives (But it does suffer from diminishing returns in a sense)
Places to move said talent points
Necrosis - Necrosis yields a higher DPS per point thank Dark Conviction (Around .2% per point), so maxing it out would be the recommended place to put those points first. It's simply a % off your white hits, no longer gaining the benefits of any buffs but is still an very good talent.
Dark Conviction - Shown to provide less DPS on single boss targets would be recommended to have points put into it after Necrosis maxed.
Rotation:
Note: This rotation requires the Scourge Strike Glyph. Replace the next SS in your cycle with a PS->IT when your diseases have fallen off. If you only have 3 seconds or less at SS1 (and ONLY SS1, since it's followed by two BS) on diseases, then replace it with PS->IT. Obviously, at the start of a fight, replace the first SS show with a PS->IT. Item(s) in parenthesis are optional and typically require 4pc T7.
SS1->BS->BS->SS2
SS3->SS4->SS5
In regards to Ghoul Frenzy:
After an SS (If you do it after Blood strike x 2 you'll lose a death rune) pop blood tap and Ghoul Frenzy in order to keep yourself with your rotations while increasing your pet's haste by 25%.
When blood tap is down utilize the death runes in your rotation to cast ghoul frenzy and your strongest single rune nuke (I believe Icy Touch) this will make up for the DPS loss of a Scourge Strike.
Regarding using RP, the general consensus is that you want to dump RP and delay the next strike if it is going to push you over RP cap. Use Unholy Blight if it's not currently up, otherwise use Death Coil.
A typical AOE rotation:
PS->IT->Pestilence->D&D->UB
Recommended Glyphs:
Major:
Glyph of the Ghoul
Glyph of Scourge Strike
Glyph of Dark Death
Glyph of Unholy Blight - When there becomes a DPS increase worth breaking T7, Glyph of Unholy Blight will take precedent.
Minor:
Glyph of Pestilence
Glyph of Horn of winter
Glyph of Raise Dead
Teir 7
Unholy
Head: [Valorous Scourgeborne Helmet] ****
Amulet: [Insurmountable Fervor]
Shoulders: [Valorous Scourgeborne Shoulderplates]
Cloak: Drape of the Skyborn
Chest: [Valorous Scourgeborne Battleplate]
Wrist: Armbands of Bedlam
Hands: [Valorous Scourgeborne Gauntlets]
Waist: [Belt of the Titans] **** (in blue socket obviously)
Legs: [Plated Leggings of Ruination] **** (in blue socket, then use [Etched Monarch Topaz] in the yellow slot)
Feet: [Boots of the Underdweller]
Ring: [Sif's Promise]
Ring: [Bladebearer's Signet]
Trinket: [Darkmoon Card: Greatness]
Trinket: [Bandit's Insignia]
Weapon: [Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion] Or [Earthshaper]
Sigil: [Sigil of Awareness]
Enchants
Head: [Arcanum of Torment]
Shoulders: [Greater Inscription of the Axe]
Chest: +10 stats
Cloak: Since the buff to haste in 3.1, haste is now better than agility for all specs (?)
Wrist: +50 AP (or +15 expertise if it helps you get capped and you value that highly)
Hands: +44 AP (or +20 hit if it helps you get capped and you value that highly)
Legs: [Icescale Leg Armor]
Boots: Icewalker is probably preferable to +32AP if you can use the hit (?). A run speed enchant may also be preferable for high movement fights (assuming no IUP), certainly if your tanks have one
Weapon: Unholy & Blood use Fallen Crusader; Frost uses Razorice
Gems
Always use [Bold Scarlet Ruby] unless otherwise stated, and obviously one [Bold Stormjewel] instead if you get one
If you are not a jewelcrafter, use 2x [Sovereign Twilight Opal] in blue slots to activate the meta gem
**** denotes best placement of [Bold Dragon's Eye] and is also likely to be a good spot for the aforementioned purple gems
FAQ:
Q: What presence should I DPS in for PVE?
A: Generally speaking, blood. As unholy 2H, you have lots of free time between attacks due to the nature of the cycle; this allows you to sit in blood presence and get the most out of each. Also, you already have unholy aura (at least, you should) for the movement speed. There ARE some specs which prefer unholy presence, namely 2H frost (for extra GCDs, to get extra frost strikes in before diseases wear off), but the vast majority of PVE DPS specs prefer blood presence.
Q: When is the best time to use Gargoyle?
A: Gargoyle actually gets it haste and other stats from its owner. Recent tests suggest that the best time to use gargoyle is actually DURING (meaning cast it while you already have the buff) a bloodlust, at a point when as many of your procs/cooldowns are available. Just keep in mind in its current state that the gargoyle's 13k or so hp disappear VERY quickly in AOE fights, so you have to balance the ability to gain buffs versus it dying.
Q: Why is everyone saying the hit cap now is 8%? It was 9% in BC!
A: The rogue and hunter threads have put a lot of time into this, and have proven the current phyiscal hit cap is 8%. The spell hit cap remains at 17%. As such, make sure you shoot for about 263 hit rating instead of 295.
Q: What's the best horde/alliance race for PVE?
A: For horde, orc is best hands-down. 5 expertise to a weapon skill, a 322 AP "trinket" every 2 minutes with no MS effect anymore, and 5% more pet damage (works on ghouls, gargoyles, and DRW). Slap yourself if you're a raider, play horde, and didn't pick an orc.
For alliance, you can really choose between Human, Dwarf, and Draenei depending on your guild's needs and personal preferences. Strictly speaking in terms of ilvl points saved with a single weapon type, Dwarf is the best, due to the +5 expertise to maces instead of the human's +3 to maces/swords. Humans are more versatile however, and the Draenei hit aura has raid implications (if your raid doesn't have enough hit auras).
Q: Is there any point in picking up Ebon Plague if I already have a moonkin or warlock with imp COE in the raid?
A: An emphatic "YES"! Warlocks will flat out lose dps applying COE, and moonkin cannot typically spread the debuff to multiple targets as well as we can.
Q: Is Unholy Blight really worth getting?
A: While you wont see numbers as large, you need to keep in mind that UB has a higher base damage AND AP multiplier than DC. Sure, it can't crit, but it scales MUCH better.
Q: Why are we putting points into Desecration instead of Dark conviction
A: Now that Scourge strike procs Desecration, in a standard rotation it should nearly always be up, except for cases where you have to be out of range or when casting icy touch. Because of this it is just below a 5% DPS increase, depending on the fight itself, whereas Dark Conviction put at roughly .6-.5% DPS per point (so 3-3.5% at 5 points) is far inferior to Desecration.
Q: Is Glyph of Disease any good?
A: It's useful for AOE, but far inferior to any of the available options particularly Scourge Strike, it comes out to be a dps loss since even though it's refreshing your diseases (And if you don't refresh right after a disease tick you will LOSE damage) it's also not doing any damage.
Q: Put points into Icy Talons instead of <insert talent>
A: Doesn't stack with raid haste buffs so no, don't do it.
Unholy / Blood
talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=23050200000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000230230331003215203150213133151&glyph=000000000000&version=9767
12/0/59 - Similar to the pre 3.1 cookie cutter build this is supposedly the more effective build to start out with, and will phase out as you get Uldaur gear, however this is still up for debate so it's indisputable advantage is that you have threat reduction. Whether or not threat reduction is necessary is up for debate however.
Unholy / Frost
talent.mmo-champion.com/?deathknight=00000000000000000000000000003200500000000000000000000000230230333003215203150213133151&glyph=000000000000&version=9767
0/10/61 - A build shown to scale with gear better than the Unholy / Blood counter part the lack of threat reduction is cause for concern.
Blood / Unholy / Frost
www.wowhead.com/?talent#jf0MZG0xZfMbI0cdgcq0csut
7/10/54 - Seems to be a decent spec I don't know that there is much information for or against it, but people are using it and it's viable enough. Also the two points in Morbidity are able to be shifted around where ever.
Personal Choice Talents
Here are some Talents that while listed as the Cookie cutter build contain a level of flexibility depending on play style and can have points taken from or emptied out of all together:
Improved Unholy Presence - Hard to calculate it's worth, and worthless on pure tank and spank fights with no movement. The DPS added is lower and more situational than most the other talents listed here; but it also adds survivability and utility on certain fights. Do not underestimate this talent there are a lot of places to use it in Ulduar and it still increases your DPS somewhat.
Morbidity - Increased damage to Death Coil is a small damage increase and Death and Decay's cooldown reduction isn't always worth it, take at your discretion but definitely not a talent that's required.
Epidemic - Taking into account the glyph of scourge strike, this provides a better chance for your diseases to be refreshed by SS instead of having to manually refresh them yourself. Also an increase in fights where there are multiple mobs and when you may have to be out of melee range for a longer period of time. You should at least have one point here, but two is just as good as any of it's alternatives (But it does suffer from diminishing returns in a sense)
Places to move said talent points
Necrosis - Necrosis yields a higher DPS per point thank Dark Conviction (Around .2% per point), so maxing it out would be the recommended place to put those points first. It's simply a % off your white hits, no longer gaining the benefits of any buffs but is still an very good talent.
Dark Conviction - Shown to provide less DPS on single boss targets would be recommended to have points put into it after Necrosis maxed.
Rotation:
Note: This rotation requires the Scourge Strike Glyph. Replace the next SS in your cycle with a PS->IT when your diseases have fallen off. If you only have 3 seconds or less at SS1 (and ONLY SS1, since it's followed by two BS) on diseases, then replace it with PS->IT. Obviously, at the start of a fight, replace the first SS show with a PS->IT. Item(s) in parenthesis are optional and typically require 4pc T7.
SS1->BS->BS->SS2
SS3->SS4->SS5
In regards to Ghoul Frenzy:
After an SS (If you do it after Blood strike x 2 you'll lose a death rune) pop blood tap and Ghoul Frenzy in order to keep yourself with your rotations while increasing your pet's haste by 25%.
When blood tap is down utilize the death runes in your rotation to cast ghoul frenzy and your strongest single rune nuke (I believe Icy Touch) this will make up for the DPS loss of a Scourge Strike.
Regarding using RP, the general consensus is that you want to dump RP and delay the next strike if it is going to push you over RP cap. Use Unholy Blight if it's not currently up, otherwise use Death Coil.
A typical AOE rotation:
PS->IT->Pestilence->D&D->UB
Recommended Glyphs:
Major:
Glyph of the Ghoul
Glyph of Scourge Strike
Glyph of Dark Death
Glyph of Unholy Blight - When there becomes a DPS increase worth breaking T7, Glyph of Unholy Blight will take precedent.
Minor:
Glyph of Pestilence
Glyph of Horn of winter
Glyph of Raise Dead
Teir 7
Unholy
Head: [Valorous Scourgeborne Helmet] ****
Amulet: [Insurmountable Fervor]
Shoulders: [Valorous Scourgeborne Shoulderplates]
Cloak: Drape of the Skyborn
Chest: [Valorous Scourgeborne Battleplate]
Wrist: Armbands of Bedlam
Hands: [Valorous Scourgeborne Gauntlets]
Waist: [Belt of the Titans] **** (in blue socket obviously)
Legs: [Plated Leggings of Ruination] **** (in blue socket, then use [Etched Monarch Topaz] in the yellow slot)
Feet: [Boots of the Underdweller]
Ring: [Sif's Promise]
Ring: [Bladebearer's Signet]
Trinket: [Darkmoon Card: Greatness]
Trinket: [Bandit's Insignia]
Weapon: [Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion] Or [Earthshaper]
Sigil: [Sigil of Awareness]
Enchants
Head: [Arcanum of Torment]
Shoulders: [Greater Inscription of the Axe]
Chest: +10 stats
Cloak: Since the buff to haste in 3.1, haste is now better than agility for all specs (?)
Wrist: +50 AP (or +15 expertise if it helps you get capped and you value that highly)
Hands: +44 AP (or +20 hit if it helps you get capped and you value that highly)
Legs: [Icescale Leg Armor]
Boots: Icewalker is probably preferable to +32AP if you can use the hit (?). A run speed enchant may also be preferable for high movement fights (assuming no IUP), certainly if your tanks have one
Weapon: Unholy & Blood use Fallen Crusader; Frost uses Razorice
Gems
Always use [Bold Scarlet Ruby] unless otherwise stated, and obviously one [Bold Stormjewel] instead if you get one
If you are not a jewelcrafter, use 2x [Sovereign Twilight Opal] in blue slots to activate the meta gem
**** denotes best placement of [Bold Dragon's Eye] and is also likely to be a good spot for the aforementioned purple gems
FAQ:
Q: What presence should I DPS in for PVE?
A: Generally speaking, blood. As unholy 2H, you have lots of free time between attacks due to the nature of the cycle; this allows you to sit in blood presence and get the most out of each. Also, you already have unholy aura (at least, you should) for the movement speed. There ARE some specs which prefer unholy presence, namely 2H frost (for extra GCDs, to get extra frost strikes in before diseases wear off), but the vast majority of PVE DPS specs prefer blood presence.
Q: When is the best time to use Gargoyle?
A: Gargoyle actually gets it haste and other stats from its owner. Recent tests suggest that the best time to use gargoyle is actually DURING (meaning cast it while you already have the buff) a bloodlust, at a point when as many of your procs/cooldowns are available. Just keep in mind in its current state that the gargoyle's 13k or so hp disappear VERY quickly in AOE fights, so you have to balance the ability to gain buffs versus it dying.
Q: Why is everyone saying the hit cap now is 8%? It was 9% in BC!
A: The rogue and hunter threads have put a lot of time into this, and have proven the current phyiscal hit cap is 8%. The spell hit cap remains at 17%. As such, make sure you shoot for about 263 hit rating instead of 295.
Q: What's the best horde/alliance race for PVE?
A: For horde, orc is best hands-down. 5 expertise to a weapon skill, a 322 AP "trinket" every 2 minutes with no MS effect anymore, and 5% more pet damage (works on ghouls, gargoyles, and DRW). Slap yourself if you're a raider, play horde, and didn't pick an orc.
For alliance, you can really choose between Human, Dwarf, and Draenei depending on your guild's needs and personal preferences. Strictly speaking in terms of ilvl points saved with a single weapon type, Dwarf is the best, due to the +5 expertise to maces instead of the human's +3 to maces/swords. Humans are more versatile however, and the Draenei hit aura has raid implications (if your raid doesn't have enough hit auras).
Q: Is there any point in picking up Ebon Plague if I already have a moonkin or warlock with imp COE in the raid?
A: An emphatic "YES"! Warlocks will flat out lose dps applying COE, and moonkin cannot typically spread the debuff to multiple targets as well as we can.
Q: Is Unholy Blight really worth getting?
A: While you wont see numbers as large, you need to keep in mind that UB has a higher base damage AND AP multiplier than DC. Sure, it can't crit, but it scales MUCH better.
Q: Why are we putting points into Desecration instead of Dark conviction
A: Now that Scourge strike procs Desecration, in a standard rotation it should nearly always be up, except for cases where you have to be out of range or when casting icy touch. Because of this it is just below a 5% DPS increase, depending on the fight itself, whereas Dark Conviction put at roughly .6-.5% DPS per point (so 3-3.5% at 5 points) is far inferior to Desecration.
Q: Is Glyph of Disease any good?
A: It's useful for AOE, but far inferior to any of the available options particularly Scourge Strike, it comes out to be a dps loss since even though it's refreshing your diseases (And if you don't refresh right after a disease tick you will LOSE damage) it's also not doing any damage.
Q: Put points into Icy Talons instead of <insert talent>
A: Doesn't stack with raid haste buffs so no, don't do it.