Build 12604 – Has Some Meat
July 22, 2010 52 Comments
A decent amount to chew on for this patch. I’ll post my thoughts once I’m sure this is it.
Death Knight:
General
- Frozen Plate Specialization – Increases your Strength by 5% while wearing only Plate armor.
- Defender’s Plate Specialization – Increases your Stamina by 5% while wearing only Plate armor.
- Single rune abilities now generate 15 runic power (pre talents and presence), up from 10.
- Double rune abilities now generate 25 runic power (pre talents and presence), up from 15.
Blood
- Hand of Doom – “Reduces the cooldown of your Strangulate ability by 30/60 sec.”
- Tier 3 Blood. Two point max.
- Crimson Scourge – Reduced from a 3 point talent to a 2 point talent. Effect at max rank identical.
- Sanguine Foritude – Reduced from a 3 point talent to a 2 point talent. Effect at max rank identical. Moved to tier 3 Blood from tier 4 Blood.
- Toughness – Moved to tier 3 Blood from tier 4 Blood.
- Improved Blood Presence – Moved to tier 4 Blood from tier 5 Blood.
- Blood Parasite – Reduced from a 3 point talent to a 2 point talent. Effect at max rank increased to 10% (up from 9%).
Frost
- Festering Strike – An instant attack that deals 150% weapon damage plus 840.54 and increases the duration of your Blood Plague, Frost Fever, and Chains of Ice effects on the target by up to 6 sec.
- 1 Blood, 1 Frost cost.
- I’m not one to say I told you so, but…
- 1 Blood, 1 Frost cost.
- Chains of Ice – Reduces movement speed by 60% for 8 sec.
- Runic Empowerment – Now baseline. Effect identical as previous max rank.
- On A Pale Horse – “You become as hard to stop as death itself. The duration of movement-slowing effects used against you is reduced by 15/30%, and your mounted speed is increased by 10/20%. This does not stack with other movement speed increasing effects.”
- Tier 2 Frost. Two point max.
- Chill of the Grave – Your Chains of Ice, Howling Blast, Icy Touch, and Obliterate generate 5/10 additional runic power (up from 2.5/5).
- Possibly a bug, but Blood Boil appear to now benefit from this talent as well.
- Nerves of Cold Steel – Moved from Frost tier 2 to Frost tier 1.
- Improved Icy Touch – Increases the damage of Icy Touch by 10/20/30% (up from 5/10/15%).
Unholy
- Anti-Magic Shell – Now costs 0 Runic Power (down from 20).
- Ebon Plaguebringer – Reduced from a 3 point talent to a 2 point talent. Effect at max rank identical.
- Dirge – Your Death Strike, Plague Strike, and Scourge Strike generate 5/10 additional runic power (up from 2.5/5).
- Possibly a bug, but Blood Boil appear to now benefit from this talent as well.
- Virulence – Increases your chance to hit with your spells by 2/4/6% (up from 1/2/3%) and reduces the chance that your damage over time diseases can be cured by 10/20/30%.
- Reaping now includes Festering Strike.
Others Affecting DKs:
- (Warlock) Dark Intent – You link yourself with the targeted friendly target, increasing both of your haste by 3%. When you or the linked target gains a critical periodic damage or healing effect, the other gains an increased 3% increased periodic damage and healing lasting for 7 sec. Stacks up to 3 times. Dark Intent lasts for 30 min.
- The reason I include it is that, due to the wording, we (or, at least, those who are Unholy specced) will likely be the best recipients of the spell (short of the warlock himself, of course). That could certainly change, of course, but still.
Consider This... 
MMO-C has the full list up mate, if it helps fill in the gaps.
Yep, it has em. One of the most interesting is “Festering Strike”.
1B 1F
An instant attack that deals 150% weapon damage plus 372 and increases the duration of your Blood Plague, Frost Fever, and Chains of Ice effects on the target by up to 6 sec.
Whats bothering me is there seems to be an excess of abilities that “refresh/increase the druation of your Blood Plague, Frost Fever” Theres Pestilence, GoD, Epidemic, Resilient Infection, Nectrotic Strike.. ETC and now Festering Strike? At the very least since this is a baseline ability, it should also add the Unholy Blight effect to make this strike viable in all specs for pvp… honestly why put this strike on my bar?? Is this ‘sposed to be their solution to SS being 1rune? Still too early to judge, but already.. I dont like it
ok sorry, not Nectrotic Strike.. but still
So it does. Bah. Whatever. Already typed this up before I saw it, and besides, mmo-champ is missing some various aspects – armor specializations and the change in OaPH, for instance.
Looking at wowtal, it either has some bugs, or there’s been some other wild changes. Look at MotFW and Gargoyle, for instance. 100 RP with the former? 1U1F cost again with the latter?
Interestingly Wowhead’s talent calculator also has MotFW producing 100 RP but has Gargoyle having a cost of 60 RP rather than 1U1F.
# Festering Strike *New* – An instant attack that deals 150% weapon damage plus 840.54 and increases the duration of your Blood Plague, Frost Fever, and Chains of Ice effects on the target by up to 6 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant
Costs a Blood and a Frost rune. Interesting change for unholy!
Interesting route to go, although one which the wise amongst us (coughsuchasmyselfcough!) certainly saw as a possibility. The whole disease increasing aspect of it is a bit weak, number wise (unless it can do so with no limit, but even then), but it’s certainly cool flavor.
If it doesn’t extend the duration of EP, it’s worthless.
It’s not yet included on Reaping, it would appear, so it’s pretty obvious it’s very introductory at this point. I’m sure EP will be included.
A factor in this that seems strange to me is the fact its going to be a baseline ability at the moment.
I’m not too sure having it baseline is a good idea when its seems clearly aimed at only one outta the three specs. Just feels abit weird imo, would of thought unholy’s frost rune solution would of come from something unholy specific.
Don’t get me wrong though sounds a interesting solution 😀
It being baseline or not doesn’t really matter. Frost and Blood would literally never want to use it in PvE, and I can only imagine the rare need for it in PvP (to extend CoI instead of just recasting it… maybe?).
I think i must be looking at it as a traditional(FU) two-rune strike way. I always found it neat to be able to swap in a deathstrike over a oblit or scourge in low health situations, though that is obviously just incompatible with this new 2 rune ability.
MMO-C seems to need to update their class page regarding Reaping i noticed since it says::
“Whenever you hit with Blood Strike or Pestilence there is a 100% chance that the Blood Rune becomes a Death Rune when it activates. Death Runes count as a Blood, Frost, or Unholy Rune.”
Whereas their database says:
“Whenever you hit with Blood Strike, Pestilence, or Festering Strike, the Runes spent will become Death Runes when they activate. Death Runes count as a Blood, Frost or Unholy Rune.”
Already sounds like a much better unholy rotation with a phase of putting up 4 death runes to then spam scourge 6 times.
nice
Festering Strike is on Reaping as well, just in case that wasn’t obvious (it wasn’t to me!). This should be interesting…
Why isnt Virulence passive for all DKs yet???
Such a stupid talent that needs to be rolled into Runic Focus.
You crazy? Then what are Tanks supposed to sub-spec into to get to Morbidity, Epidemic? Sucks. Scarlet Fever only lasts 30 seconds.
All DKs have Runic Focus baseline.
And how is tanks having longer diseases a problem? Im sure tanks would much rather have longer diseases than hit chance.
It would be a total waste of 3 points since those 15 extra seconds on Diseases would barely ever be used unless we get some sort of Air Phase style Encounter.
15 seconds on diseases is somehow worse than getting 6% spell hit on a baseline ability? That argument makes no sense.
Would be better if Morbidity was made a teir one talent, then tanks wouldn’t have to waste points on useless prereqs.
I’m saying it would be better if it stays unless they can give us a decent replacement. Wasting 3 points on 15 more seconds of Diseases that will probably never get used unless we get another Air Phase Style Encounter is worse than not having 6% Spell Hit Baseline, it would just make Unholy Tier 1 suck even more really.
Exactly Raaj. Roll Virulence into Runic Focus and then move Morbidity up to Tier 1. That gives tanks an even better option.
Insolence, no offense, but arguing that making an ability becoming baseline is worse really makes no sense bud. No matter the circumstances or alternative choices.
If what we get to fill in that gap in Tier 1 Unholy is worse than Virulence I don’t care what you say I’ll keep Virulence any day.
Yea……
More time on diseases is not worse. Sorry. Not when Virulence would be made baseline. Which you dont seem to be grasping.
You don’t understand that those extra 15 seconds would be worthless, we’ll never let diseases run that long because Scarlet Fever only lasts 30 seconds, so those 3 points would essentially be wasted in Epidemic, how many times do I have to say this? Unless Virulence’s Substitute would be better I’d rather keep it.
I might be missing something but what has the length of time Scarlet Fever lasts for got to do with disease uptime?
If we take Epidemic then we’ll have to re-fresh Scarlet Fever with Blood Boil at odd times, it’ll get confusing and the easiest way to even it out would be if we pressed BB twice, once to re-fresh after 30 seconds and once to re-fresh after IT – PS which is dumb since its a waste of a Blood Rune. The extra 15 seconds on Diseases would only provide us with about 1 more Death Strike every 90 seconds anyway, almost 100% worthless, it’s one of the last Talents to get.
Scarlet Fever isnt a disease. Its a physical debuff like Demo Shout. It has no interaction at all with Epidemic.
http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=81132
“School: Physical”
So with the new build, http://www.wowtal.com/#k=75J25MJi_.9q4.deathknight looks pretty good if scarlet fever counts as a disease or not.
hmm, would the new improved ghoul frenzy be worth more dps than the third point in BCB?
yeah, foregot they changed it
Fairly certain that Scarlet Fever is a physical debuff rather than a disease and is probably going to remain that way. Not sure there’s any point or reason to waste 2 points in it for any dps spec.
Im wondering if Unholy Frenzy would stack with (warlock) Dark Intent, if so that would make for some interesting numbers.
When you say that Unholy DKs will be the best recipients of Dark Intent (aside from the warlock himself) are you implying that the buff would be superior on us than a Shadow Priests as well?
It’s very early to say, of course, but as it currently stands – yes. Emphasis on very early, though. If they change our mastery (which, hopefully, they do) or what have you, the balance could easily shift.
HUmmm interesting build things seem to be moving in the right direction for Unholy. Dont like that Garg cost though hope that is a error or some such.
What is the point of Hand of Doom being that deep in Blood? The placement seems very strange.
I imagine it’s simply because they want to keep a 1min Strangulate as a tank only option. Would imagine pvp considerations came into having it just out of reach for frost and unholy as well.
DKs have Mind Freeze and AMS (which no costs 0 runic power). Is a 1 min Strangulate necessary?
It looks to me like the 1 minute Strangulate talent is meant as a tanking quality of life issue.
I remember back in TBC the issues that warriors used to have in pulling caster mobs into melee, i mean sure they could use line of sight but often range would just open up nuking and it would all go to hell.
So having a ranged silence available on pretty much every pull helps that issue loads.
Is it really necessary though? Even Consider remarked that a shortened cooldown on Strangulate for Blood only really doesnt fit the tree at all. Blood already has:
Life Shield
Mind Freeze
AMS (0 runic power cost)
Is a 1 min Strangulate really that valuable to the Blood tree only?
Dont forget Bone Shield as well.
And Rune Tap!
All that list of survivability cooldowns and melee interrupts doesn’t change the fact that tanks have a great use of ranged interrupts for setting up pulls.
If a ranged caster doesn’t get interrupted it’ll stand there all day casting and not getting in your melee range to get threat from ya. Its not a survivability issue its a moving the mobs around issue. Sometimes ya might to be able to reach a caster for fear of pulling adds or something else like that. It doesn’t seem realised these days that sometimes the mobs have to go to where the tank is standing not the other way around.
We also have Death Grip.
Have you faced Wizard Cleaves in 3’s? having a 1 min cooldown on Strangulate (should be merged with Endless Winter IMO)
Im not a prophit or a seer but I dont see Wizard Cleaves dieing come Cataclysm, esp since boomkins and ele shammys picked up game altering talents in their trees.
The main issue with casters is the ridiculous levels of haste they (purportedly) won’t be able to reach.
Frankly I’d prefer the -50% disarm that’s been bandied about as a possiblity for Endless Winter, but Arms (and Ret? haven’t looked) lost theirs so I doubt Blizz will be adding it. EW definitely needs something, though. Right now it’s nigh-essential in PVP and little more than a quality of life thing in PVE. Under the new trees Frost is kind of pegged into taking it because however little DPS it adds is still more than OaPH.
Don’t DKs already have a -50% disarm duration through Runeforging?
I don’t know what to think of Chains of Ice. The ability that had some twist to it as a form if ranged root on top of it being a slow is being made into a standard slow. Sucks to be honest. I thought halving our rune regen was enough of a nerf to it, why change a skill that had good class flavor?
Also wondering since Reaping includes the new strike. Will Blood of the North also include it? This strike will see uses for frost PVP as well as unholy PVE in the fact that you’ll use Necrotic strike+this instead of Obliterates, and if it also made your blood runes into death runes, it’d make the frost arsenal that much stronger, since you could launch out more Obliterates/COIs when they came out of cooldown.