World of Warcraft™

[2.1] vs. Frost -------

If you’ve ever played Frost before, which I’m sure most everyone has, you’ll know just how excruciating it can be to have vicious melees getting up in your face, or how difficult it can be at times, when a caster has the upper hand, to even the playing field and eventually tip it in your favor.

Compared to Frost, Unholy has far more survivability, which comes in the form of; A) your Ghoul, B) your talents, and C) your constant use of Necrotic Strike, among other points. Melees such as Rogues, Warriors, Ret Paladins, and even Feral Druids will be much, MUCH easier to deal with.

However, don’t think that if you simply respec Unholy, you’ll become an unstoppable killing machine. Becoming an unstoppable Unholy killing machine takes time and practice, and a thorough knowledge of your enemy.

As I’ve mentioned before, Unholy is not about big crits as Frost is. Unholy is about pressure. I can’t stress that enough. But while Burst damage can make your enemy panic for a little while, Unholy’s pressure can make your enemy panic almost the entire fight, as you shut down their defenses one by one, all the while negating or mitigating their offenses. You essentially reduce them to a quivering mass of putty in your hands. Also, as Frost you have to rely on more RNG, or luck, essentially, while as Unholy you have much more control over your overall output and contribution to a fight.

While Unholy has access to some burst damage (we’ll get to that later), it doesn’t hold a candle to Frost’s burst damage. Also, without access to Howling Blast (and the only real means of AoE damage as Unholy being Pestilence) Unholy does not have as much AoE damage output potential as Frost.

Finally with Hungering Cold on a 1.5 second cast time (which, along with the Glyph of Dark Succor nerf) it really put Unholy ahead in terms of survivability.

Conclusion, Unholy vs. Frost:

Pros (as Unholy)
- More Survivability
- More effective against overzealous melees (Rogues, Ferals, etc.)
- Constant pressure instead of sporadic pressure
Cons (as Unholy)
- Far less burst damage
- Far less AoE damage
- Requires more finesse and keybinds than Frost

In Arenas – Depends on your team, but generally Unholy is better in 2s, and can really shine in 3s as well with the right setup (due to its pressure), while Frost has a much harder time being trained. Remember, though, that being a Death Knight at all means you’re probably going to be target #1 in arenas (unless you’re Blood). The top 5 3s teams that contain Death Knights all happen to be Unholy, according to ArenaJunkies.

In Rated Battlegrounds – The general consensus is that Frost is widely more accepted in RBG’s than Unholy, simply due to their AoE damage and the higher possibility of casting Hungering Cold (which is difficult to do in Arenas at times). However, an Unholy Death Knight that puts his time into his spec and class, and who maybe has some good friends, can surely get into an RBG if s/he really wanted to.

[2.2] vs. Blood -------

Here’s the thing. Generally, you don’t want to be playing Blood outside of Random Battlegrounds (because lesser-experienced players will feed you Death Strikes).

So why am I covering it? Well, Knowledge is power, and not every player knows this stuff. I’ll skip right to the conclusion on this one:

Pros (as Unholy)
- Far more viability in Arenas
- Much less susceptibility to kiting & other CCs
- Far more survivability against Casters
- No reliance on Vengeance for damage (duh)
Cons (as Unholy)
- Naturally, less survivability against melee

In Arenas – Why are you playing Blood in arenas, you evil person?

In Rated Battlegrounds – Bloods don’t make as effective Flag Carriers as Prot Warriors, though they do have their moments in the right team.

[3.0] Talents & Specs -------

Here (http://www.wowhead.com/talent#jZG0oZfMcdcfuMRk) is a basic façade of the core talents you’ll generally choose as Unholy. This is NOT a cookie cutter build; that will come after this.

Most talents do not need much explanation, but as for the others:

- Virulence or Epidemic?
o This can usually be brought down to preference; I’ve seen players who use either. If you feel comfortable that you can Festering Strike your Diseases efficiently before Outbreak comes off of cooldown, go for Virulence. Otherwise choose Epidemic for the increased Disease duration.

- Endless Winter
o If you trust your skills enough that you’ll have enough Runic Power to use Mind Freeze when you need it, by all means ignore Endless Winter. Otherwise, EW is a very useful talent. If you are unsure, just spec into it.

- *Gargoyle
o Gargoyle is a great talent when used properly. But if you’re like me, sometimes you just don’t bother. If you know me, you know that I’m crazy. I don’t use Garg as much as I should, but generally I find that in lower arena brackets and Random BGs, Garg is a bit of a waste (60 RP on a 3min cooldown). This is just a personal preference of mine. Take note, however, that top Unholy DKs DO use Gargoyle, and they kick butt with it. Also take note that Garg plays a big part in that limited UH burst damage I mentioned earlier.

Long story short: take Gargoyle.

Talents to (generally) NEVER leave out:

Resilient Grip
Desecration
Morbidity
Runic Corruption
Unholy Frenzy
Shadow Infusion
Death’s Advance
Magic Suppression (2-3 points)
Rage of Rivendare (1-3 ponts) (Unless you have T1 weapon, then 0 points)*
Anti-Magic Zone
Unholy Blight
Improved Unholy Presence
Dark Transformation
Ebon Plaguebringer
Sudden Doom (1-3 points)
Gargoyle
Icy Reach
Runic Power Mastery
Lichborne

*Refer to Finalrequiem's quote below

Talents to never consider:

Resilient Infection. Why? Unholy Blight.
Contagion. Why? Stupid.

Here is a straight-up cookie cutter spec for the lazy man/woman…

http://www.wowhead.com/talent#jMZG0obZfMcdcfkRRk

Feel free to fiddle around with it to your liking.

If you have a suggestion for another spec setup, feel free to comment and post it.

SUBMITTED BY: LOLNECROSPAM !: A couple of things i may add are the other cookie cutter specs i have seen such as the oh so original 0/8/33 and the other 2/8/31 and ill put them in this post.

0/8/33: http://www.wowhead.com/talent#jZG0obZfMcdcfuRRk

2/8/31: http://www.wowhead.com/talent#j0bZG0obZfMcdcfzRku

ive seen a majority of unholy dks use those specs."

02/02/2012 08:49 AMPosted by Finalrequiem

why is there no mention on the benefits of dropping out Rage of Rivendare, its 100% useless for anyone using a teir 1 weapon

^ This is because you'll be using Necrotic Strike a majority of the time.

[3.1] Glyphs -------

Prime – Glyph of Death Coil, Glyph of Raise Dead, Glyph of Scourge Strike
Major – Glyph of Strangulate, Glyph of Death Grip, Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell
Minor – Glyph of Resilient Grip, Glyph of Blood Tap, Glyph of Death's Embrace

[3.2] Reforge & Stat Priorities -------

Hit to 5% (600 points) > Spell Pen to 195 > Strength > Haste > Crit > Mastery > Expertise

There seems to be some questions about Expertise. The general consensus that I've gathered is that you can more or less ignore Expertise completely; reforge out of it and put it into Hit (to cap) and Haste. Whatever you're left with is what you get. I find that reforging into Expertise at all is a waste.

[3.3] Gems & Enchants -------

Spell Pen to 195 = Stormy Ocean Sapphire x2, Vivid Dream Emerald x1, Enchant Cloak - Greater Spell Piercing (this will give you exactly 195 Spell Pen)

Meta – Reverberating Shadowspirit Diamond
Red – Bold Queen's Garnet (Jewelcrafters want Bold Chimera's Eye)
Yellow* – Mystic Lightstone or Resplendent Lava Coral
Ebonsteel Belt Buckle – Bold Queen's Garnet (Opinions?)
Blue – Stormy Ocean Sapphire (refer to Spell Pen)

* If you roll with a healer in BGs or trust your healer(s) in Arenas and RBGs, you might have some leeway to get Resplendent Lava Coral, otherwise you will want more Resilience.

If you can't afford the new gems then just buy the cheaper versions.

Weapon – Rune of the Fallen Crusader

Head – Arcanum of Vicious Strength
Shoulders – Greater Inscription of Vicious Strength
Cloak – Enchant Cloak - Greater Spell Piercing
Chest – Enchant Chest - Mighty Resilience (Opinions?)
Bracer – Major Strength (Can't seem to find the item link, but it exists)
Gloves – Formula: Enchant Gloves - Mighty Strength
Belt – Ebonsteel Belt Buckle
Legs – Dragonscale Leg Armor

[4.0] Rotation & Abilities

Please take note that there is never a set rotation for PvP, everything is situational.

Abilities you will NOT use:
Blood Strike
Obliterate
Icy Touch
Rune Strike

Here are the abilities you’ll use most often and the proper time to use them:

Necrotic Strike – against Healers and to negate healing cooldowns on others. When you use this, stack it as much as you can. Also increases cast time of enemies by 30%. Important.

Scourge Strike – Hits a bit harder than Necrotic Strike, used against DPS mostly and/or to provide a bit more oomph to help land that killing blow you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Festering Strike – Used to turn Blood Runes into Death Runes and to slightly increase the duration of your diseases on the target.

Death Strike – Use sparingly/only when you need to, you’ll want to save runes for NS/SS.

Death Coil – Another one of your primary abilities; use when Sudden Doom procs, or when you are at full Runic Power. As a rule of thumb, try not to use this past roughly 50% of your Runic Power so you will always have a trusty reservoir of RP to keep handy for other cooldowns/abilities. Otherwise, if you find you’re getting kited for a bit, using Death Coil is better than pumping out no damage at all.

Dark Transformation – 5 Death Coil stacks of Dark Infusion to proc this, activate it when it does.

Outbreak – Use this instead of Chains of Ice/Plague Strike to save runes when you need to.

Chains of Ice – This will replace Icy Touch completely. Use it to snare your enemy or to put up a cheap Frost Fever if need be.

Plague Strike – Use it only to put up a cheap Blood Plague if need be.

Pestilence – This can also convert runes to Death Runes, but you’ll really use this sparingly, and generally only when there are a lot of enemies grouped together. Otherwise use Festering Strike instead.

Death & Decay – I usually just use this to knock Rogues, Ferals, Mages and Hunters out of stealth/Camo/Invis. You can also place it on ramps/steps (especially in arenas) to keep control stealthies to a certain degree. You can also use D&D to get a little boost in Runic Power, if you are hurting for some.

Horn of Winter – Use this whenever it’s off cooldown. It gives Runic Power in addition to its primary buff.

Mind Freeze – You’ll soon learn the best times to use this ability against casters, and which spells are the best to counter. Blindly Mind Freezing every spell you see is a no-no. Try saving it for big heals, CCs, or spells that would lock out most of a caster’s arsenal (Howl of Terror, Hungering Cold, Divine Light, etc.)

Blood Tap – Use it when you need an extra Death Rune immediately. Need an extra Necrotic Strike to seal the deal, or an extra Death Strike to stay alive? Blood Tap, baby.

Cooldowns:

Strangulate – Since you’ll be glyphing this, try to only use it on targets that are casting a spell in order to up the silence duration by 2 seconds. Best used against healers when they are already against the ropes in order to ensure an easier kill.

Dark Pact – Use only when you’re on ropes and need just a little extra boost to survive. Be sure to immediately bring your ghoul back after you’ve used this, and avoid using Dark Pact if your Raise Dead is on cooldown, or at least, a long cooldown.

Empower Rune Weapon – Use this in pivotal moments when you feel a kill is coming on. You can also pop this if you need to stack a lot of Necrotic Strikes at one time or to get a few Death Strikes off.

Icebound Fortitude – Taking heavy damage? Need to get out of a Stun? Well, here you go. I will go more in depth on this spell later again in the “vs. Class” section of this guide.

Lichborne – Refer to the macro section to get the Lich-Heal macro, which you should have regardless of your spec. Using this spell without the proper macro will only hurt your performance. Use this for a big self-heal, or to break a Psychic Scream/Fear/Howl of Terror/etc., though you’ll usually just want to save it for the heal. Keep in mind that Priests and Paladins can use extra abilities to CC you while you are Undead, so having a macro to cancel the Lichborne aura is also a good idea.

Gargoyle – Use this when you want extra burst damage, and only when you have full Runic Power. It’s best to use this after you’ve popped your Strength Trinkets because that will also improve the Gargoyle’s damage output.

Unholy Frenzy – You can use this in a couple great ways: 1) on your Gargoyle or Dark Transformed Ghoul to improve their damage 2) On yourself to improve your damage, haste AND to break CCs such as Polymorph, Ring of Frist, Hungering Cold, etc. You can also cast it on your friends for the same effects.

Anti-Magic Shell – You'll learn the best situations to use this in the 'vs. Class' section.

[5.0] Your Ghoul & You -------

This will now be the official theme song portraying the relationship between the Unholy Death Knight and his/her Ghoul... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mploADKBihc)

As Unholy, your Ghoul is going to be your best friend. You ALWAYS want your Ghoul by your side, and you want to have as much control over him as possible. With this in mind, you’re going to have to add a few extra keybinds to control him and his (her?) abilities properly.

Gnaw – Use to further shut down casters, to close the cap between fleeing foes, etc.
Monstrous Blow – Same as Gnaw, but has a longer stun duration.

Treat these as you would any other Stun. I’ll go more in depth on the use of them later on in the “vs. Class” section of this guide.

Please take note that your Ghoul likes to run off occasionally and chase down enemies, so always keep an eye on him and keep your Pet Follow keybind handy so you can keep him by your side, otherwise if he gets too far away he will despawn, and force you to waste your Raise Dead cooldown.

Claw & Sweeping Claws – Make a macro to toggle these abilities auto-cast on and off. If you keep them on auto-cast all the time, your Ghoul may not have enough Energy to cast Gnaw/Monstrous Blow at the right moment. If you don’t feel like having yet another keybind, just keep it off auto-cast, though your DPS will take a bit of a hit (refer to Macro section for the aforementioned macro).

Leap – You can also macro this in order to send your Ghoul at an enemy at range, in order to Gnaw them or (if you have Dark Transformation up) to interrupt their spell casting and immobilize them for 2 seconds.

Take note that keeping your Ghoul on targets like Rogues and Ferals will keep them from running away to get back into stealth.

Refer to the Keybind Suggestions section of this guide for suggested Ghoul keybinds.

[6.0] Suggested Keybinds -------

If you are having trouble with all of your abilities and keybinds, here is a list of some extra binds you might not have thought of which are easy for your fingers to hit quickly…

(MwU = Mouse Wheel Up, MwD = Mouse Wheel Down, MwC = Mouse Wheel Click)

~
S (unbind Back from S, you’ll NEVER want to backpedal)
Shift + Space/F/R/T/S/W/G/MwU/MwD/MwC/1/2/3
Alt + MwU/MwD/MwC/1/2/3/W/S

Try to keep yourself from using 6 through = since you have to move your left hand too far from your primary keys to hit them. It’s a good idea to bind these “far away” keys to buttons on a gaming mouse, if you have one.

My suggested Ghoul control keybinds:

Alt + MwU: Pet Attack
Alt + MwD: Pet Follow
Alt + MwC: Pet Go To
Shift + S: Gnaw
Shift + 1: Monstrous Blow

[7.0] Arena Teams -------

2s –
Unholy is great for 2s, and usually is best paired with another DPS, but can certainly be deadly with a healer.

DPS/DPS – Sub Rogue, Frost Mage, Feral Druid, Ret Paladin, etc.
- Essentially any class that can assist in kiting with you and provide burst damage.

DPS/Heals – Holy Paladin, Disc Priest, Resto Shaman (in that order)
- I didn't list Resto Druids because they're not doing particularly well at the moment.

3s –
(I don’t play 3s, so I will need your help in completing this part!)

Top Ranked 3's Teams with Unholy Death Knights... (according to Arena Junkies)

Unholy/Retribution/Discipline
Unholy/Affliction/Restoration Shaman
Unholy/Subtlety/Holy Paladin
Unholy/Affliction/Discipline

- Best used with Casters due to Ebon Plaguebringer, but can also work well with a burst spec/class.

SUBMITTED BY: LOLNECROSPAM ! "PHD works very well (Pally/Hunter/DK), Unholyplay (dk/spriest/heal) is also good, just not very common and people would rather have a lock anyway. Liberty Cleave (dk/mage/priest[or any other healer may work also]) is still strong from what i hear, just not as strong as the ones you listed. Ebola cleave (dk/feral/heal) is also good."

Any extra information you might contribute is appreciated.

[8.0] Macros -------

Cancel Lichborne

/cancelaura Lichborne

Gnaw (or Monstrous Blow or Leap, replace “Gnaw” with “Monstrous Blow” or “Leap”)

#showtooltip Gnaw
/cast Gnaw

Lichborne Self-Heal

#showtooltip Lichborne
/cast !Lichborne;
/cast [target=player] Death Coil

Mouse-over & Focus Macro (best used with CoI, Strang, Dark Sim, Death Grip, etc. etc.)

#showtooltip ABILITY
/cast [mod:shift, target=focus][target=mouseover, hard, exists][nomod] ABILITY

Ghoul Claw Toggle (or Sweeping Claws, replace “Claw” with “Sweeping Claws”)

/petautocasttoggle Claw

SUBMITTED BY: ROURK
Here are some helpful macros
Also a pic of my UI, to show all the keybindings and functions they can have and use =-)
http://i.imgur.com/btkFJ.jpg

#showtooltip Dark Transformation
/cast Blood Tap
/cast Dark Transformation

#showtooltip claw
/petautocaston claw
*!*!*!*! THIS MACROS HELPS ME WITH GNAW, AND I LOVE IT*!*!*!*!

#showtooltip Death Grip
/cast [mod:shift, target=focus] Death Grip; Death Grip`

#showtooltip Strangulate
/cast [target=focus]Strangulate

#showtooltip Gnaw
/petautocastoff Claw
/cast [target=focus,exists] Leap;
/cast [target=focus] Gnaw

#showtooltip Mind Freeze
/cast [mod:shift, @focus] Mind Freeze; Mind Freeze

#showtooltip Gnaw
/petautocastoff Claw
/Cast [mod: shift, @focus] Gnaw; Gnaw

#show Unholy Frenzy
/cast Unholy frenzy
/cast Summon Gargoyle
/petfollow
/petattack

#showtooltip gnaw
/petautocastoff Claw
/petattack
/cast !Leap
/cast !Gnaw

#showtooltip Gnaw
/petautocastoff Claw
/cast Gnaw
/petautocaston Claw

#showtooltip Lichborne
/cast !Lichborne;
/cast [@rourk] Death Coil

#showtooltip Death Coil
/use [@pet] Death Coil

#showtooltip Scourge Strike
/cast [target=target,harm,nodead][] Claw
/cast Scourge Strike

#show Scourge Strike
/cast [@focus]Dark Command
/cast Scourge Strike

#showtooltip Unholy Frenzy
/cast [target=PlayerNameHere] Unholy Frenzy

here's some macros!!

#showtooltip Gnaw
/cast [no pet] Raise Dead
/cast [pet,nomodifier] [target=mouseover,exists] leap
/cast [pet,nomodifier] [target=mouseover,exists] gnaw
/cast [pet,modifier:shift,target=focus] leap
/cast [pet,modifier:shift,target=focus] gnaw

kinda a beginners leap/gnaw/summon macro
you'd have to spam for gnaw but decently reliable for starters.
based kinda on my water elemental summon/freeze

Please submit more useful macros!

[9.0] Add Ons -------

Various useful add ons…

NecroticTrack – Tracks the amount of healing you are negating by stacking Necrotic Strike
(GET THIS ADDON RIGHT NOW, YOU SLITHY TOVE).

Gladius - Essential for Arenas

Doom_CooldownPulse - Notifications for your cooldowns.

Bartender - Customize your UI.

BattlegroundTargets - Organizes enemy players in BGs in a handy, customizable window.

OmniCC - Cooldown timer, puts timer right on the ability.

SaySapped - Makes you say "Sapped" when you get Sapped.

Pitbull Unit Frames - Awesome unit frame add on.

TidyPlates - Sleek and sexy nameplates that track various debuffs you put on the target.

IceHUD - Easy way to keep track of your and your enemy's health and power bars without having to look over/down at your unit frames.

BG Defender - Very handy Random BG add on; call out incoming and more with the press of a button. Saves you a lot of time typing out "inc ST 2", and does it for you.

SUBMITTED BY: SCHNOOPY
An addon I enjoy using: http://www.curse.com/addons/wow/healers-have-to-die
Sure does help spotting those pesky healers in a crowded battle. ;)

HHTD is a great addon for beginners in PvP, and allows them to start noticing healers and their behaviors; after some practice, however, I feel that picking them out is rather easy.

[10.0] vs. Class (Strats and tips against specific classes) -------

Here are some basic strategies you can apply when fighting the following:

Unholy vs...

Death Knights
Frost - Kite them, AMS to avoid CoI snare, MF/Gnaw HC as best you can, Strang when they Raise Dead, essentially force them to start using Death Strike instead of their other abilities, & Necrotic Strike stack. IBF if you see they've popped Pillar of Frost + Strength Trinket(s). Difficulty: Easy - Fair

Blood - Now that Vengeance is non-existent, Bloods are super easy for us. Just stack NS and/or kite if need be. Difficulty: Kittens

Unholy - A bit like Frost, your goal is to force them to begin using DS instead of their other abilities. NS stack, but be aware that they will probably be doing the same to you. Basically just do your best to outplay them, using your knowledge of the class against them. More info appreciated.Difficulty: Fair - Moderate

Druids
Resto - Really easy at the moment; Wait out Tree Form and they're done. AMS Nature's Grasp, MF Cyclone. CoI Travel Form. Once their cooldowns are gone watch them melt in your hands. Difficulty: Easy - Fair

Balance - Pretty easy. Shut them down like any other caster, except you have fewer CCs to worry about. Keep them from kiting you, AMS Nature's Grasp or if they start bursting you hard, which can hurt. Difficulty: Easy - Fair

Feral - Position your Ghoul directly behind you, and Gnaw the Feral just as they start to open. Now kite your heart out, and force them to go Bear form. NS stack to eat up their Frenzied Regeneration OR if they have no Rage just kite them. Keep them from going into Caster form to HoT themselves up. If you can, use Monstrous Blow if they go into caster form, which will force a Trink or allow you to really wail on them. Also try to keep them from running away to restealth. Difficulty: Moderate - Hard

Hunters
D&D their Camo. Stay on them as best as you can, save Death Grip for when they use Disengage. Nothing too advanced here, but if they manage to get their distance with Death Grip down, it can be difficult to get the upper hand at times. You can use a quick Gnaw + CoI to close the gap if need be. Remember, you can use Death Strike even when they use Deterrence, and they will. Difficulty: Fair - Moderate

Mages
Frost - This is actually an easy fight. IBF their first Deep Freeze, get in their face. Unholy Frenzy if they use RoF or Poly, and wait out their Ice Block. Trinket their second Deep Freeze, and by this point you should have them at your mercy. Be sure to keep some distance when they use Ice Block, most Mages like to use Frost Nova out of it. Save Death Grip for the Blink and/or Dark Sim when you think they will Blink (say, when you use Gnaw/Monstrous Blow). Turn off Enemy Guardian name plates so you can easily identify and target the Mage when he uses Mirror Image. Difficulty: Easy - Fair

Fire - Those DoTs HURT! Kite them, stay in their face, keep them from casting any hard cast Fire spell, save Death Grip for Blink, pretty basic. The only CC you'll have to worry about is Dragon's Breath, you can Gnaw this if need be. AMS to keep the DoTs off of you as best as you can. Be wary of Cauterize and don't be shy about using Death Strike here. Difficulty: Fair

Arcane - Pretty easy. With AMS, MF, Strang and Gnaw you have more than enough to take down an Arcane mage. They don't have much CC to worry about. Basic Mage strat applies: save Death Grip for the Blink. Just don't let them free-cast on you. Difficulty: Easy

Paladins

Retribution - Don't Trinket Repentance unless it will land you a kill. Save Trinket for Hammer of Justice. NS stack to absorb his Word of Glory. It's best to start of by kiting him, forcing him to pop Hand of Freedom. When he pops Avenging Wrath, Strang him, when that's over use AMS, and when that's over you can kite him, since he already popped Freedom. All in all, a pretty easy fight if you play your cards right. DarkSim HoJ/Bubble/etc. Difficulty: Fair - Moderate

Holy - Damn tough if they know what they're doing. Unless they screw up and/or you get lucky and/or have NS stacked like crazy, you're going to have some trouble bringing them down. BUT you can dog them better than any other class, making them use up their cooldowns and mana. Keep stacking NS and anticipate the HoJ. Difficulty - Medium

Priests
Shadow - Sort of like a Lock or Fire Mage, those DoTs hurt! MF their Vampiric Touch if you can. If you feel Psychic Scream coming on, use AMS. Save your Trinket for their Psychic Horror so you don't have the Disarm to worry about. Try to save your LB to heal yourself. Don't let them kite you. Difficulty: Fair - Easy

Discipline - Sort of like Holy Paladin - - Tough when played correctly, though not as difficult as a Holy Paladin. AMS when you feel the Psychic Scream coming on, Strang to ensure the kill, stack NS. Pretty basic. Difficulty: Fair - Moderate

Rogues
Subtlety - If you D&D them out of Stealth, you pretty much win. Like a Feral, position your Ghoul behind you, and Gnaw them when they start to open, which will screw up their momentum. Kite them. Never trinket Sap and never trinket Gouge. Save IBF for when they pop Shadow Dance. If you keep your Ghoul on them you won't have to worry much about Blind. AMS negates Crippling Poison! Don't go too crazy with Necrotic Strike in this fight, throw in one or two every now and then. Generally you'll want to save your runes for Death Strike and Scourge Strike. Staying ahead of them in the health race is key. Most skilled Rogues won't have to try too hard to beat you, but you will have to play very smart to win. Difficulty: Moderate - Hard

Check out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCSg6DADT7g) for some more in-depth information on kiting Rogues.

Shaman
Enhancement - Once their Wolves are over, you won't have much to worry about. I haven't come up against too many difficult Enhancement Shaman, so any more information from players who have would be great. Kite them in a medium range to avoid Frost Shock root. Difficulty - Fair

Elemental - These guys hit pretty hard when they want to. AMS to full RP when they're on the offensive and then LB heal to full or close to it. Mind Freeze their Lava Burst because with Flame Shock on you it will always crit. Be mindful of their Thunderstorm and your surroundings. Difficulty: Fair - Moderate

Resto - Much easier than Disc Priests and Holy Paladins, but can potentially be a bother. CoI them when they use Ghost Wolf, try to get rid of their Earthbind Totem and/or Spirit Link Totem if you can. MF a Healing Wave and Strang to ensure the kill. NS stack obviously. Difficulty: Easy - Fair

Warlocks

Demonology - Can be tough when played correctly. When they pop Meta, Strang on cast them, followed by an AMS, followed by a Gnaw. Save Death Grip for Teleport. You can stack a few Necrotics since they'll usually have a Healthstone handy, but that's it as far as their heals go. Trinket the Death Coil. Once Meta is down it's GG. Difficulty: Moderate

Affliction - Not difficult at all. Use your cooldowns, MF, Strang and AMS in almost any order and they'll already be on the ropes. Trinket the Death Coil. Unstable Affliction is something you want to MF. Watch out if they have pocket heals though. Difficulty: Easy - Fair

Warriors
Arms - Kite them, force them to use Heroic Leap to get to you. Then kite them some more. Kite them by staying out of their melee range, but just short of their Charge range. The idea is to make them use up Bladestorm in order to break your snares. It's generally better to use IBF on the Throwdown, though if you use either that or your Trinket, you'll still be "stunned" for a fair amount of time due to the knockdown animation. Which is annoying. Alternately you can Gnaw them when they use Knockdown on you to slow them down a little. Death Grip when they use Heroic Leap (if they try to get away to Charge), or try to (usually they Leap into a Charge very quickly, but sometimes you can get lucky and deny the Charge). Stack NS to negate their Enraged Regeneration. Save Dark Pact and LB heal to get the lead in health, and then you'll have a pretty easy time finishing them off. You may end up popping ERW for some Death Strikes. You can Strang them to negate Intimidating Shout. Difficulty: Fair - Moderate

[11.0] FAQ / Misc. -------

- DW or 2H?
2H.

- What Presence do I use?
Unholy.

- What if I'm using Gurthalak, Voice of the Deeps?
Your stat priority would be Haste > Mastery > Crit, instead of Haste > Crit > Mastery. From what I've read/heard Gurthalak is worth using. More information/opinions would be great on this topic.

- Is there a point I should stop stacking Resilience?
(Fixed/reworked after a fine analysis from Ohaidere) In the end you will want as much Resilience as you can stack. However, it is my own opinion that if you have trusty healers taking care of you, that having gems with both Strength and Resilience is also an option.

- Is there ever a time to Presence swap OUT of Unholy Presence?
Actually, yes. BUT ONLY TO BLOOD PRESENCE. Frost Presence is useless... The time to swap to Blood Presence would be: to mitigate the damage of a Rogue opener, or just before being thrown down by a Warrior, or even if they manage to Bladestorm on top of you and you can't get away. Remember to only use this against Melee classes/specs, and to also switch right back to Unholy presence soon thereafter. At iLvl 394, when swapping from UH to Blood presence, the damage mitigation percentage from my armor increases from 45.96% to 57.56%, a rather helpful increase to ride out the durations of the enemy attacks I mentioned above. (Opinions?)

- Pachyderm, why don't you have a high Arena/RBG rating?
I only play 2's for points and do not take them seriously; as for RBG's, they are too robotic for my tastes and I therefore don't find them particularly fun to do. Also, my realm is total crap when it comes to organized PvP.

- Pachyderm, everybody knows that the only way you can know anything about this game at all is if you have an arena rating over 2200, so why should I listen to you?
ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) My guide is based on community knowledge that I've gathered, which includes various high rated arena players (if you get turned on by that sort of thing); otherwise I really don't give a flying !@#$ if you don't want to listen to me because I don't want to play 3's arenas for hours fighting the same team over and over just to get some weird sense of entitlement to make a guide like this.

- What is my PvP rotation as Unholy?
THERE ARE NO ROTATIONS IN PVP. Everything is situational. It's up to you to put on your big boy/girl/Oglop undies and LEARN! You're not going to get good by using a "rotation" in PvP. This isn't PvE!

- I posted a tip I wanted to submit to the guide but you ignored it/didn't post it, why?
Either: A) I missed it, or B) your tip was unorthodox/didn't make sense and/or didn't have enough backing from other players/hard data to prove it's worth to the guide. Usually if that's the case, however, you will be informed either by my self or by other helpful posters.

- Why do you say that this guide is only a basic to slightly moderate explanation of the spec?
I say this because I'm not really one to get into nitty gritty mathematics behind DPS and what not.

[12.0] Professions -------

Jewelcrafting
- Chimera Eyes

Blacksmithing
- Socket Bonus

^ If you plan on only doing Arenas, these two professions are probably the best.

Engineering (note that most Engineering Tinkers aren't usable in Arenas/RBGs, but are great for Random BGs)
- Synapse Springs (use with Strength Trinket)
- Flexweave Underlay
- Nitro Boost (has saved my butt countless times, as well as roasted it)
- Gnomish Army Knife can also be handy on occasion.

First-Aid
- Dense Embersilk Bandage can be used in Arenas, and can save your life at times. Be sure to keybind it for maximum efficiency, and avoid using them with DoTs on.

[13.0] Unholy Death Knight Informational Videos -------

Reinhart - Unholy DK in Rated BG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfVD8LFjCbc

Reinhart - Unholy Pet Management: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3dFnfQoFk0

Reinhart - Unholy in 2s, "How to score Kills": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2qax886IEE

Reinhart - Benefits of Blood Presence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN_jU9lblZc

NEW: Reinhart - Unholy Pet Management: Problem and Solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQKxSBrudCA&feature=g-u-u

[14.0] – Character Races & Unholy PvP (suggested by Tanthel !)

Curious as to what Race is "best" suited for PvP/your playstyle? Look no further. The following covers each Race in the game, and which Racials they posses that will benefit you the most as an Unholy DK in a PvP setting.

--- A L L I A N C E ---

Draenei - Gift of the Naaru = Potential life-saver, can save a few runes from DS
Heroic Presence = 1% less Hit to reforge

Human - Every Man For Himself = Extra Trinket slot, pretty damn awesome.

Dwarf - Stoneform = Gets rid of Bleeds, Poisons, & Diseases! (vs. Ferals/Rogues!)

Gnome - Escape Artist = "Mini-Trinket", only for Immobilization effects/Snares, low cooldown. Also, you're a Gnome!

Night Elf - Shadowmeld = Great for interrupting a Spell being cast on you for a few seconds, or to allow you to survive in other amazing ways. Situational, but if used properly, can really save you.
Quickness = Extra 2% dodge against melee and ranged attacks. Not too shabby.

Worgen - Darkflight = More mobility never hurt anybody! Increased movement speed by 40% for 10 seconds!

--- H O R D E ---

Blood Elf - Arcane Torrent = AoE interrupt/silence, 8 yard range, for 2 seconds. Awesome.

03/01/2012 07:58 AMPosted by Deathmancer

Just to add, blood elf arcane torrent also gives runic power

Undead - Will of the Forsaken = Extra "Lichborne", sans the Undead effect. Warlocks and Priests will hate you even more!
Cannibalize = Regenerates 7% of total health and mana every 2 sec for 10 sec. when used near a Humanoid or Undead corpse. If you can spare the time, use this with a Bandage! Great health regen!

Goblin - Rocket Jump = Use to close the gap without having to use Death Grip, or to make a quick getaway! Also +1% Haste never hurts.

Orc - Blood Fury = Increases your melee attack power by 1169 and your spell power by 584, lasts 15 sec, GREAT to use in addition to your Strength Trinket & Unholy Frenzy for even more burst potential!
Hardiness = Decreased Stun durations. Very nice.
Command = Increased pet damage by 5%! Right up our alley.

Tauren - War Stomp = Stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yds for 2 sec., even more potential to shut down enemies or to provide extra kiting/survivability potential for yourself!

Troll - Berserking = Increases your attack and casting speed by 20% for 10 sec., can't shake a stick at that.
Da Voodoo Shuffle = Reduces the duration of all movement impairing effects by 15%. More mobility!
Regeneration = Health regeneration rate increased by 10%. 10% of total Health regeneration may continue during combat; potentially less of a need to use as many Death Strikes as other Races during combat.

You: "But Pachyderm, can't you just TELL me what race to pick?"
Human as Alliance, and Tauren or Blood Elf for Horde, with Orc and Undead as close seconds.

[15.0] – Submitted by Others (Valuable Information added by other players! READ!)

Due to the lack of space in the original posts, some information submitted by others may be out of order, but located below just the same. Give them a perusing! All information is credited to the poster who submitted the info...

SUBMITTED BY SERRIAS: One thing that really helps me survive against casters is AMS + Lichborne when required. The free RP will launch you back up to full health and you've got more to spare as you spam them down. The best part is AMS even absorbs damage from some sources that you wouldn't think are magical (serpent sting) and as such can be a huge benefit.

As far as AMS goes for offense, I find it's extremely helpful for dealing with frost mages if you pop AMS right as you go in because it prevents application of the Chilled debuff and most Frost Mages use their pet's freeze and their own Frost Nova as soon as they get attacked.

[16.0] – Hot Topics (Stuff I'm not sure about, need opinions/data!)

[Empty]

[17.0] Extra Stuff -------

Here is a chart comparing Unholy to every other class/spec in terms of PvP:

http://oi43.tinypic.com/14wv9xf.jpg

I edited it myself so it is only Unholy,
but here is the full image if you'd like to see that as well:

http://oi43.tinypic.com/16h0nsp.jpg

As you can see, our only real "Counter" is a Blood DK, which isn't necessarily true anyway. All others are considered Balance (in which case, you have the opportunity to outplay them and come out on top) or we just counter/hard-counter them.

Good deal.

Unholy BG Target Priority List

Healer > Caster DPS > Range/Melee DPS

Healer Target Priority List

Resto Druid > Disc Priest > Resto Shaman > Holy Paladin
(Can shift depending on the situation, remember that RDruids are prone to hard swaps after Tree is blown (4.3.2)).

I hope this guide helps some people out.

Bump for feedback.

Nice thread, I hope we start seeing more unholy DKs, people really underestimate them.

Excellent guide, knew most of the things here but did pick up a couple macros and a sweet Necrotic Tracker. Requested Sticky =)

/bow

u should put your take on pvp races.