Frost Death Knight in Shadowlands - DPS Strengths, Best Covenants, Soulbinds and Legendaries

由 Bicepspump 发表于 2020/11/17，15:43

article

I'm Bicepspump, a semi-hardcore player currently playing on Kazzak. You can often find me on the Death Knight discord discussing rotations and builds, on my stream (B1cepspump), running some juicy Mythic +, or on my youtube channel where I've started doing video guides. Big shoutout to everyone on the Acherus discord that have given me valuable insight through numerous discussions. I take part in writing and optimizing the action priority list for SimulationCraft and continuously test different hypotheses using the SimulationCraft program. Furthermore, I work with the WoWAnalyzer website where I develop modules for the Death Knight specs. Please feel free to contact me on Discord as Bicepspump#6318, I'm always happy to have a healthy discussion! Outside of playing WoW, I work as a data scientist and enjoy playing other games such as Dota 2!

Check out all our Shadowlands Launch Opinion articles by our Class Writers and members of the community! Click on any of the colored specs below to see what articles we've released so far.
These guides were meant to give you a preview of what's to come in the expansion, but don't worry -- our full Shadowlands Class Guides will be updated soon!

Vengeance Demon Hunter

Demonology Warlock

Restoration Druid

Class Changes and TalentsNotable Changes in Beta Cycle

- Instead of gaining the strength based off the ability doing damage, it's now from your hitting enemies. Duration of the buff was also nerfed. However, the ability also got a huge buff through an cleave effect. hits one additional target when you're standing in your .

- Was changed from spreading on its own (small probability) to an active spread with rune-consuming abilities. The spell is decent in AoE where we can effectively spread it on multiple targets.

Covenant Abilities and Conduits Impact on Talent Choices

- Specific synergy with in AoE scenarios. You pop your , follow up with and then weave in multiple s buffed with for massive damage. We get both the cleave and the strength gain!

- Great synergy with . The Runic Power generation is massive for increasing the duration of your , specifically when we can leverage multiple mobs for more RP.

and - These conduits have anti-synergy with due to being less emphasised. This means that they are less of an upgrade when speccing into this talent. They still increase your damage, but less so compared to other builds.

- Strong synergy with since they both buff .

Level-Up Abilities

(level 52) - 20% to is significant to builds that rely heavily on your overall damage output from . This buff helps builds and thefore also the viability of 2H builds.

(level 54) - A completely new ability that enables us to explode the ghoul we summon through . This is both AoE damage as well as a useful heal. For pure single target, we want to use this ability just before the ghoul dies on its own (it doesn't matter too much if you do this, not using the ability is pretty much neutral dps). You can use it earlier if you need to heal to stay alive! For AoE, again use it at the end of the duration as default, or trigger it early if you can hit more enemies doing so!

(level 56) - A rather odd rank 2 since it just desyncs with everything in our kit. Both and come off CD every 2 minutes. You'd definitely hold for and probably for as well. I'd ideally like to see the haste portion be buffed instead.

(level 58) - Now this is a huge rank 2 ability. Making your s do frost damage when they consume procs of significantly increases their potential. We bypass the ~30% reduction on physical attacks due to armour, as well as gaining ~50%+ damage due to our mastery . The result is roughly a 200% increase on the crit coming from compared to a regular crit. This is a significant buff to since the value of procs is so much higher. It's also great for 2H since it makes the build viable.

DW is within 1% of DW on pure single target.

2H is within 4% of DW on pure single target.

Impact of Azerite Traits and Essences losstremendous

- Losing Lucid minor is most significant for since it was pumping up its duration.

and - The majority of the power of comes from gaining more value off these two Azerite traits. Losing them is a huge nerf to , essentially removing its competitiveness completely in Shadowlands.

Raid BuildCovenant AbilitiesKyrian

(Class ability) - A hasted DoT that lasts for 14 seconds. Using direct abilities that cost runes on the target with the DoT has a chance (50%) to spread the DoT with its remaining duration to another target (it's a bit weird atm and isn't exactly remaining duration, close enough though). Can't jump to targets that already have the DoT. The ability works best in single target but also scales well in AoE. In AoE scenarios, your and can proc the spread on targets that aren't your main targets. However, the spread mechanic has an internal GCD of 1 second. This means that only a single spread can happen each GCD. The probability of spreading increases with the number of targets you hit with the DoT though.

1 Target -> 50%

2 Targets -> 75%

3 Targets -> 87.5%

4 Targets -> 93.75%

(Conduit) - Increases damage by 20% and duration with 3 seconds. Solid conduit that provides a longer duration to spread the DoT in AoE.

Necrolord

(Class ability) - A 2-minute AoE cooldown. Hits a total of 13 times (direct initial hit) and is hard-capped at 5 targets. The targets that are pulled also receive a damage tick. First time hooking a target provides a proc of . It's currently unclear how the proc gain works as it doesn't seem like the hook needs to be successful. The grip-portion isn't that powerful in PvE sadly. We'd pick this ability for AoE scenarios, ideally when there are adds or bick packs that show up every 2 minutes and where there aren't more than 5 mobs turning up to the party.

(Conduit) - Flat damage increase. Solid dps gain in AoE.

Night Fae

(Class ability) - Replaces your , effectively adding an effect that causes targets damaged by your to deal 1% less damage to you, stacking up to 8 times. You also gain 1% strength per target hit, also stacking up to 8 times (the buff lasts for 12 seconds). Your s also cleave to one additional target when you're standing in your . This cleave is really powerful in cleave and specifically works really well with . You pop your , follow up with and then weave in multiple s buffed with for massive damage.

(Conduit) - Extra damage to doesn't look too appealing honestly. Possibly a solid choice for AoE scenarios.

Venthyr

(Class ability) - An AoE with both a small increase in survivability as well as runic power generation. The spell ticks a total of 9 times (there's an instant initial tick). Every tick itself can generate a maximum of 15 runic power, making 135 the maximum generation possible. For a single target, you would generate 27 runic power. This is mainly an AoE ability that generates a ridiculous amount of runic power, as well as dealing heavy damage in big AoE. It synergises extremely well with due to the Runic Power generation. It's okay for single target (37 total Runic Power for a single rune) but truly shines in AoE. When we can leverage the increased Runic Power gain from multiple target we'll be able to significantly extend our window.

(Conduit) - A small increase in dodge chance as well as a buff to the ability itself. Looks like a solid conduit since the ability already does good damage.

Covenant ChoiceKyrianNight FaeKyrianVenthyrHereConduits

- The best potency conduit by a large margin. It's best on both AoE and single target, essentially making it the go-to pick for any build. Also synergises really well with , making us more likely to pick up this talent as well.

- Second best conduit for all builds. The important aspect of it comes through the haste increase. The cooldown reduction just makes us hold it for longer before we line it up with our cooldowns... Works well in single and AoE which is a good benefit!

- Third slot for all builds. Doesn't synergise that well with but neither does . Mostly a single target conduit but can be useful in AoE in the few scenarios you press .

- Least amount of single target damage and no scaling in AoE, this potency is lackluster in all areas.

- Only non-potency conduit that provides a dps increase. Really nice to have a reward for successful interrupting.

- Best defensive endurance option. Really nice to attach an extra damage reduction to , transforming the spell into a proper extra defensive cooldown.

- Bigger and longer can be very useful in a raid setting!

death knight conduit pageSoulbindsPelagosNadjiaLegendariesLegendary PowersPicking a Legendary

- A purely defensive legendary which makes much more potent. Can see potential niche use when there are magic abilities that must be soaked, and a normal can't get the job done. It has a tiny offensive perk since it can allow for a greater amount of Runic Power generation.

- Providing a small utility increase through the decreased cooldown and an extra subsequent grip. This legendary will probably not see use in any end-game PVE situation for us. If you want lots of grips, you bring a Blood DK.

- A significant damage increase connected to your makes the ability worthwhile to use in single target. A good legendary to pick up if you want something that works on all the DK specs.

- This legendary provides us with both and , both giving some damage (the extra DoTs are nerfed compared to their vanilla version) as a perk through . It heals you for all the damage it deals! Small note, the part of the explodes on death is actually not nerfed in damage. It's therefore a bit more powerful that it probably should be. Generally a solid AoE legendary that also works well across specs!

- An old Legion legendary has returned. A 50% cooldown reduction on can play into very specific fights where it allows you to harvest the insane AoE burst of the ability. If a fight has adds showing up every 90 seconds, with very high priority, this legendary might be the play. The stun is a nice addition which has value mostly in M+.

- Inspired from with a % damage gain instead of a flat one, this legendary has a lot of potential in AoE. The free has great potential since it sends off your burst with high damage and free DoT application. I think this will be the go-to legendary for Mythic + due to the big AoE gain.

- Another legendary power based off an old Legion legendary. It has great synergy with builds based off of . Both because it increases damage, but also because it generates lots of runes throughout a fight, resulting in more s. It also synergises really well with . You generally use lots in your windows. The extra runes here will significantly increase the duration of ! This legendary is the best single target legendary for all builds at the moment.

- This Legendary is essentially the T19 set-bonus of Nighthold baked into one. If you remember the durations of from those days, you should already know what this legendary synergises with. It's a significant boost to your duration of ! This legendary is a strong contender to when it comes to breath duration increase. However, it falls a bit short of . It's still a great pick though!

Playstyle Issues2H vs DW balancing Desync

- 15 seconds off the cooldown makes it 1 minute 45 seconds. Really doesn't give any power at all since you most likely hold it to gain the haste and Runic Power. Mostly the haste in 's case.

- 10% off the cooldown, making the ability 1 minut 34.5 seconds. Again, we'd most likely hold this for our cooldown windows, making the cooldown reduction insignificant. There is a possibility of using it on cooldown for builds that don't run . It still feels bad to not sync it with anything though.

The Withering of Conclusion

[Sign In to Post a Comment] 12 条评论

评论来自 BarbdreamsGreat article summary of your super in depth videos. I really would prefer to 2H but now looking at the dual wield as I'll be doing BoS venthyr.评论来自 ekidnaI leveled as 2H on the Beta, and, once you get the KM Rank 2 trait, Obliteration feels really good. It is a bit like Ret by feeding into cooldowns, but with a shorter cycle. I wish that Frostscythe (as mentioned) was better for 2H, and also a Glacial Advance buff would would be nice. Glacial Advance would give 2H a way to apply Razorice in AoE, which would help a bit...maybe... Or at least feel like you are funneling a bit more.评论来自 PaulnutzBiceppumps dulcet tones could coax the panties off anyone who listened to it评论来自 AnjackRemoved remember how they said you'd choose your covenant based on story and looks? Psh.评论来自 IceWolfDKHrm. Had contemplated a DK, but i had wished to commit to 2h, instead of feeling forced to go 1h x2 later on. So if its not competitive in the long run, yeah, no go.评论来自 CyfaerasGod, I'm going to miss icecap. I love playing frost and just spamming out dragons, but doing the breath myself just seems so weird so I avoid that talent. Icecap has been an amazing time, hopefully blizz will work in the Frostwhelp. If not, obliteration is... fine.评论来自 JorgesIt's sad for me that BoS sims higher on everything. It feels so weird and so un-death knight imo (spitting frozen mist makes me feel more like a spore than the avatar of death). I really hope that DW Obliteration catches up in AoE in the long run (1% behind BoS ST is OK imo. BoS is risky anyway). Even better if 2h gets better AoE, but you can't have everything in this game.评论来自 RenolutionVery well written article! Defs makes me look forward to playing more Frost DK in SL.评论来自 NekoEyesAww yea! Waited so long for this article! Thank you Bicepspump!评论来自 spid3rs1God i hope i get to see the death of the BoS build during this lifetime...i really hope they will add a conduit with frostwhelp indignation and Icy Citadel in future patches,until then Obliteration it is.评论来自 DurlotSo in all this guide the new rune weapon enchants are forgotten? Or are they just so meh that you still go Razorice/Fallen Crus?评论来自 FulgrimEUSo in all this guide the new rune weapon enchants are forgotten? Or are they just so meh that you still go Razorice/Fallen Crus?

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Frost Death Knight in Shadowlands - DPS Strengths, Best Covenants, Soulbinds and Legendaries

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