PvE Frost Death Knight DPS Guide

Frost Death Knight DPS

Gems, Enchants & Consumables

Stat Priority

Best Professions

Pre-Raid Gear

Rotation & Cooldowns

Talents, Builds & Glyphs

Best in Slot (BiS)

Addons & Macros

With ice running through their veins and covered in runic armor, Frost Death Knights are harbingers of cruelty and sadism, dispatching their foes with vicious strikes that freeze the very soul. Those armored berserker-like entities are known as some of the most devastating individuals, as every hit they deliver is unfathomably deadly.

Frost Death Knights are known as one of the top Melee DPS specializations in the game, generating high consistent damage outputs in both Single-Target and AoE encounters while also having a high degree of survivability.

Frost Death Knight in Cataclysm

While other specializations have massively changed in Cataclysm, Frost Death Knights have almost the same identical yet slightly enhanced playstyle, benefiting from some minor buffs to their abilities. Their gameplay feels amazing, their damage output is great, and their new learning curve is quite easy!

The only changes to their playstyle are the additions of Outbreak, Mastery: Frozen Heart, and the change to Raise Ally. The first is a tool that can be used to instantly apply Frost Fever and Blood Plague to their target without having to use Plague Strike and Icy Touch/Howling Blast at the beginning of the fight while the second effect is a passive damage-enhancer to all Frost Damage. Lastly, Raise Ally now acts as a proper battle resurrection, offering them even more utility.

Apart from those additions and changes, the rest of their kit functions absolutely the same as it previously did in WotLk, with Obliterate, Frost Strike, and Howling Blast remaining the core abilities of their kit.

Frost Death Knight Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

• In High Demand Class/Specialization
  Frost Death Knights are one of the very popular specializations in Cataclysm that are in high demand due to their overall great damage and unique effects. Since Brittle Bones and Improved Icy Talons are still powerful effects and Raise Ally now functions as a proper Battle Ressurection spell, the specialization became even more sought after.

• Great Single-Target Damage
  Frost Death Knight has a solid Single-Target DPS output, with the specialization skyrocketing through the Damage Meters, especially since it can enter an enhanced state every minute with Pillar of Frost.

• Great AoE Damage
  Does anyone remember the meme about Howling Blast spam? Well, Frost Death Knight lives up to its legacy, having a great AoE damage output, in both Cleave and AoE encounters.

• Easy Learning Curve
  Frost Death Knights have a far easier rotation based on proc effects than their fellow Death Knight brethren. This makes their playstyle not only fun and engaging but also very easy to get accustomed to.

Weaknesses

• Gear Dependent
  Just like with the other DPS specializations, proper equipment is crucial for success. Frost Death Knight is rather weak without the appropriate gear, requiring a considerable amount of gear to showcase its true potential.

• Lacks Mobility
  Compared to other DPS specializations that have access to various mobility tools, Frost Death Knight seriously lacks in this department, making it one of the most immobile specializations.

Best Races

Horde

The horde has the better races from a PvE point of view, with most of their racial abilities providing direct damage-enhancing effects. The strongest available race for Frost Death Knight is Orc due to Blood Fury and Command followed by Troll with Berserking and Goblin with Rocket Barrage and Rocket Jump.

• Tauren: Endurance, Cultivation, Nature Resistance, War Stomp
• Troll: Berserking, Da Voodoo Shuffle, Regeneration, Beast Slaying, Bow Specialization, Throwing Specialization.
• Orc: Blood Fury, Axe Specialization, Hardiness, Command.
• Goblin: Time is Money, Rocket Barrage, Rocket Jump, Best Deals Anywhere, Better Living Through Chemistry.
• Blood Elf: Arcane Torrent, Arcane Resistance, Arcane Affinity.
• Undead: Will of the Forsaken, Cannibalize, Shadow Resistance, Underwater Breathing.

Alliance

The Alliance has stronger PvP racial effects than PvE racials, with most PvE racial effects being represented by passive effects. The best race is Worgen thanks to Viciousness followed by Human with Sword Specialization and Mace Specialization, Dwarf with Mace Specialization, and finally Draenei with Heroic Presence.

• Dwarf: Stoneform, Explorer, Mace Specialization, Gun Specialization, Frost Resistance.
• Night Elf: Elusiveness, Quickness, Shadowmeld, Wisp Spirit, Nature Resistance.
• Dwarf: Stoneform, Explorer, Mace Specialization, Gun Specialization, Frost Resistance.
• Human: Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Will to Survive, The Human Spirit, Diplomacy.
• Draenei: Gift of the Naaru, Heroic Presence, Shadow Resistance, Gemcutting.
• Worgen: Darkflight, Flayer, Viciousness, Abberation.
• Gnome: Shortblade Specialization, Engineering Specialization, Escape Artist, Expansive Mind, Arcane Resistance.

Conclusion

We hope this guide has been able to help you decide if PvE Frost Death Knight is the class/spec for you. Make sure to check out our other sections, such as talents, gear, gems, etc, to get more information on how to improve your performance as a Frost Death Knight in Cataclysm!