I use my Death Knight primarly as a gold farmer for another character, a holy priest. Lately though I have become fond of him and have started to gear him up a bit. I haven't gone through many instances with him, really none since about 68 or so. I think I want to get serious about level 80 dungeons and raiding down the road so I have come here to ask the regular Death Knight experts for your advice.
Right now I feel like I want to concentrate on DPS, with tanking a long term project down the road.
Here is my current setup.
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Perenolde&cn=Krystov&gn=The+Honored+Few
So where do I stand? I read another thread here tonight that talked about using unholy presence for a speed boost while traveling instead of going into the unholy tree for Pale Horse. If that is a good idea where should I move my points around to maximize my output?
Right now, geared as I am, I am doing around 1500-1600 DPS with standard rotations in Blood Presence. This is NOT on a dummy though, just what recount is reporting while farming. Is this a valid number or should I get my self to a dummy and check it out?
Gear. I have tried to get myself geared up, but I am not sure what I am ready for. I have experience with my priest in most 70-80 instances, but it's easy to get a group as a healer and gear doesn't seem to me as big of an issue as long as I kept the tank alive. Am I ready to step into heroics, or is that a bad idea? I think I will try the non heroics first, but I wonder if my gear is good enough to skip a few instances that may not yield gear that is a upgrade.
I've been farming with this guy for a few weeks now and I think I want to go forward with him, please take a look at his armory and let me know what you think.
Thanks in advance.
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Advice and a gear checkFollow
Alrighty then. Let's see here.... Main points bolded for the tl;dr crowd.
Stop with the Defense gear, it's useless for DPS. Yes, even for soloing. The helm, legs, belt, gloves and chest need to be replaced immediately. The cloak is mediocre for DPS but can be gotten away with until the badge one is available. Wyrmrest has great legs, Ebon Blade has a chest (don't fear mail or leather), etc etc.
Your basic stat priorities until hit/exp capped (263/26 respectively) are:
Hit > Expertise > Strength > Crit > ArPen > else
Gem for Strength when you're hit/exp capped.
Know why. Start reading, like yesterday. Understanding how the class works will make all the rest much, much easier. Elitist Jerks has excellent threads for getting more into the whys and wherefores, but the DPS DK FAQ that's at the top of this forum, even though it's a bit outdated, still it has solid basic info. The builds have changed a bit and some of the info needs an update but the raw basic stuff will give you a decent start.
Spec matters, focus on what's important. Vendetta (self heal on mob death) is a waste when you don't have Hysteria (major DPS boost) for example. Here's my personal preferred Blood build.
And before anyone asks: Imp Blood Presence over Blood Worms because the >1% damage is worth less than the higher Blood Gorged up-time with Imp BP. Also, MoB over Tap as I find it more useful, especially for Vesax.
There's more to DPS than gear. L2omen. Position yourself behind mobs whenever possible. Learn to prioritize up-time on target. I can't tell you how often I've out-DPS'd better geared people just because I stay on target and alive. Your job is to pump out the highest amount of damage that the tanks threat allows. Dying, getting distracted, tabbing out before/during a pull, chatting with friends..... all these are not DPS. Stay on target. Come prepared with proper str. food (Dragonfin FTW) maybe even a flask if you don't mind the expense for 5-toon instances (always bring them to raid).
You might want to start getting into some regular runs just to get the practice in. DPS and healing are two very different games. Seeing instances as a healer helps, but nothing teaches like the real deal.
Um.... think I've gone on too long as it is. But hope that helps. Best of luck!
Stop with the Defense gear, it's useless for DPS. Yes, even for soloing. The helm, legs, belt, gloves and chest need to be replaced immediately. The cloak is mediocre for DPS but can be gotten away with until the badge one is available. Wyrmrest has great legs, Ebon Blade has a chest (don't fear mail or leather), etc etc.
Your basic stat priorities until hit/exp capped (263/26 respectively) are:
Hit > Expertise > Strength > Crit > ArPen > else
Gem for Strength when you're hit/exp capped.
Know why. Start reading, like yesterday. Understanding how the class works will make all the rest much, much easier. Elitist Jerks has excellent threads for getting more into the whys and wherefores, but the DPS DK FAQ that's at the top of this forum, even though it's a bit outdated, still it has solid basic info. The builds have changed a bit and some of the info needs an update but the raw basic stuff will give you a decent start.
Spec matters, focus on what's important. Vendetta (self heal on mob death) is a waste when you don't have Hysteria (major DPS boost) for example. Here's my personal preferred Blood build.
And before anyone asks: Imp Blood Presence over Blood Worms because the >1% damage is worth less than the higher Blood Gorged up-time with Imp BP. Also, MoB over Tap as I find it more useful, especially for Vesax.
There's more to DPS than gear. L2omen. Position yourself behind mobs whenever possible. Learn to prioritize up-time on target. I can't tell you how often I've out-DPS'd better geared people just because I stay on target and alive. Your job is to pump out the highest amount of damage that the tanks threat allows. Dying, getting distracted, tabbing out before/during a pull, chatting with friends..... all these are not DPS. Stay on target. Come prepared with proper str. food (Dragonfin FTW) maybe even a flask if you don't mind the expense for 5-toon instances (always bring them to raid).
You might want to start getting into some regular runs just to get the practice in. DPS and healing are two very different games. Seeing instances as a healer helps, but nothing teaches like the real deal.
Um.... think I've gone on too long as it is. But hope that helps. Best of luck!
What Therion said.
One thing I DO want to stress about your build (Therion's is basically the default spec, I just want to make sure you notice and change this).
Your Unholy points are NOT optimally placed. Outbreak is a VERY small DpS increase. You will only use PS once every 20 seconds, if you even do it that much. What you want is: Morbidity, Ravenous Dead Necrosis and Blood Caked Blade. The last point (not counting the obvious first four for DpS choices) goes in Epidemic to extend your disease life long enough to fit in all your HSs.
And, let me confirm something. You are doing that DpS on non-instance mobs? That is VERY low.
What rotation are you using? You just put "standard" in your post.
Also, you HAVE to change your glyphs. The ONLY correct major glyph is Dark Death. Grab DS and DRW (I THINK it is the highest DpS third option, followed by Disease).
One thing I DO want to stress about your build (Therion's is basically the default spec, I just want to make sure you notice and change this).
Your Unholy points are NOT optimally placed. Outbreak is a VERY small DpS increase. You will only use PS once every 20 seconds, if you even do it that much. What you want is: Morbidity, Ravenous Dead Necrosis and Blood Caked Blade. The last point (not counting the obvious first four for DpS choices) goes in Epidemic to extend your disease life long enough to fit in all your HSs.
And, let me confirm something. You are doing that DpS on non-instance mobs? That is VERY low.
What rotation are you using? You just put "standard" in your post.
Also, you HAVE to change your glyphs. The ONLY correct major glyph is Dark Death. Grab DS and DRW (I THINK it is the highest DpS third option, followed by Disease).
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
Scholar
39 posts
Therion,
Thanks for the help and direction. Most of the gear I have is just "what was laying around" in the AH or what I could have crafted by fellow guild mates. I will research upgraded gear and do my best to get rid of the defense gear.
The EJ link is good stuff, I see a few areas of improvement I can work on. A bit different then my healer for sure. I guess I was just ignoring the fact that Death Knights have a better way to do things then what I was doing. I know that sounds simply stupid, but I was getting along just fine farming. Now that I am stepping away from that I will use the advice from you and others to do better.
Idiggory,
Thanks to you as well. I will fix my spec tonight as advised.
My rotation is: IT - PS - HS x 2 - DS - DC - DC, then by the seat of my pants. This is single target, with DD,Pes, and BB worked in on multiple mobs. Usually with 80 level non instance mobs I have them (single target) dead by the second HS or on DS. Very rarely do I need a single or double DC. I seem to crit a bunch, but that may not be to true as I don't have much to compare it to. I wonder if the fact that the mobs drop so quickly will have an affect on the DPS number as I don't get to use all of my burst damage capabilities. Correct me if this is not true.
I felt that my DPS was low, but I just wasn't sure. You see people throwing around HUGE numbers and I wonder how the hell they do it. A while back I saw a post where a person responded about someones DPS issue and they said "I do 2800 DPS in fresh 80 Blues". How? I will get on a few different dummies to see what I can sustain over a longer period of time.
The glyphs were purely for farming and will be taken care of as well.
Thanks again, and please feel free to expand upon anything mentioned. The only way I can learn is by the teaching of others who have it figured out.
Thanks for the help and direction. Most of the gear I have is just "what was laying around" in the AH or what I could have crafted by fellow guild mates. I will research upgraded gear and do my best to get rid of the defense gear.
The EJ link is good stuff, I see a few areas of improvement I can work on. A bit different then my healer for sure. I guess I was just ignoring the fact that Death Knights have a better way to do things then what I was doing. I know that sounds simply stupid, but I was getting along just fine farming. Now that I am stepping away from that I will use the advice from you and others to do better.
Idiggory,
Thanks to you as well. I will fix my spec tonight as advised.
My rotation is: IT - PS - HS x 2 - DS - DC - DC, then by the seat of my pants. This is single target, with DD,Pes, and BB worked in on multiple mobs. Usually with 80 level non instance mobs I have them (single target) dead by the second HS or on DS. Very rarely do I need a single or double DC. I seem to crit a bunch, but that may not be to true as I don't have much to compare it to. I wonder if the fact that the mobs drop so quickly will have an affect on the DPS number as I don't get to use all of my burst damage capabilities. Correct me if this is not true.
I felt that my DPS was low, but I just wasn't sure. You see people throwing around HUGE numbers and I wonder how the hell they do it. A while back I saw a post where a person responded about someones DPS issue and they said "I do 2800 DPS in fresh 80 Blues". How? I will get on a few different dummies to see what I can sustain over a longer period of time.
The glyphs were purely for farming and will be taken care of as well.
Thanks again, and please feel free to expand upon anything mentioned. The only way I can learn is by the teaching of others who have it figured out.
Quote:
I felt that my DPS was low, but I just wasn't sure. You see people throwing around HUGE numbers and I wonder how the hell they do it. A while back I saw a post where a person responded about someones DPS issue and they said "I do 2800 DPS in fresh 80 Blues". How? I will get on a few different dummies to see what I can sustain over a longer period of time.
There are three things you need to consider when people say this. Well, four, if you count the whole "take it with a grain of salt" thing.
1. DpS in AoE situations can sky rocket, depending on the spec and number of mobs. Since your DpS isn't just your main target. Consider:
Let's say, for sake of argument, that with X spec your diseases are about 150 DpS (together). Now, on a boss, that is just what it is--150 DpS. But, in AoE situations, that is 150 DpS per mob. If you have 6 targets, your diseases alone are giving you 900 DpS. So, when someone says "I can do 5K DpS," they may not be lying. They may just be choosing to refer to AoE DpS to make themselves look better.
2. Raid buffs are HUGE. When you are in a 25 man, you'll likely have just about every buff there is. +10% AP, Crit buffs, +20% haste, MotW, BoM, BoK, etc. This adds up to a HELL OF A LOT.
3. Different bosses are more favorable. In some Ulduar encounters, DpS will average 7K. In others, it'll be 5K. That's a pretty huge difference. So, someone who is giving their DpS for immobile encounters may appear to be doing way better.
That said, 2.8K DpS in starting blues isn't that uncommon. It may be a LITTLE high, but you'll be amazed at how much your DpS goes up when you increase your hit/expertise and change out those tank pieces/gem properly.
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
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