WoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comen-usCopyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/WoW Insider ShowEvery week, the WoW Insider Show brings you news and views from the World of Warcraft and the site that covers it all, WoW Insider. We introduce a panel of rotating guests, including bloggers from WoW Insider and other WoW blogs, and many popular personalities from around the WoW community. From the live listener chat and polls during the show, to the emails direct from listeners (reach us at theshow@wow.com), right on to the "meat" of the show -- in-depth discussion of the most popular news and posts on WoW Insider -- the WoW Insider Show is a terrific source of news and entertainment about what's going on with Blizzard and their World of Warcraft. Listen live every Saturday at 3:30 pm Eastern on our Ustream page (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wow-insider-show) or subscribe to the feed and let us know what you think by reviewing the show right here in iTunes.Lichborne: Death knights remain in holding pattern in Mists of Pandaria betahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/lichborne-death-knights-remain-in-holding-pattern-in-mists-of-p/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/lichborne-death-knights-remain-in-holding-pattern-in-mists-of-p/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/lichborne-death-knights-remain-in-holding-pattern-in-mists-of-p/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Image
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

When one takes a two-week vacation, one generally looks forward to things having changed, even slightly, when one returns. This is especially sure when speaking of the Mists of Pandaria beta test. Strangely, that hasn't been exactly the case for death knights. There have been changes, certainly, but not as drastic as we might have hoped -- and not as well-explained, either.

Today, we'll take a look at a few of the more important changes and what they imply for our class. In addition, we'll see what Ghostcrawler did and didn't say about death knights in a recent post.

Plague Leech and disease issues

There've been a few changes to death knights, but the most interesting one comes with Plague Leech. This first-tier talent, which replaces Vile Spew, will allow you to generate a death rune by canceling the diseases from your target.

The nice thing about this skill is that it gives us another much-needed Blood Tap replacement now that Blood Tap itself has been turned into a somewhat more restricted talent. The bad thing about this skill is that it's probably going to become mandatory for min-maxing DPS death knights. If your diseases are about to expire anyway and you can eat them for an extra death rune, it's hard to see how that won't become a DPS increase. Once we all reach level 90 and the math has been sufficiently mathed, it seems relatively obvious that Plague Leech will be considered mandatory by the hardcore PvE community, for better or for worse.

Continue reading Lichborne: Death knights remain in holding pattern in Mists of Pandaria beta

WoW InsiderLichborne: Death knights remain in holding pattern in Mists of Pandaria beta originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 15 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>blood-death-knight-lichborneblood-presencedeath-coildeath-knight-beta-newsdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-diseasesdeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornediseasesdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornefrost-presencefrost-strikefrost-striokeghostcrawlerglyph-of-outbreakguide-to-death-knightsmists-of-pandaria-betanot-diablooutbreakplague-leechunholy-death-knight-lichborneunholy-presencevile-spewwow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 15 May 2012 14:00:00 ESTGuildOx player analysis highlights the warlock declinehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/guildox-player-analysis-highlights-the-warlock-decline/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/guildox-player-analysis-highlights-the-warlock-decline/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/guildox-player-analysis-highlights-the-warlock-decline/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Image
The folks at GuildOx have gone through their database and done some simple filtering that reveals some fascinating things about who is raiding heroic Dragon Soul. GuildOx started with level 85 characters, filtered for characters with ilevel 400 gear, and then filtered out anyone with PvP gear. What you see in the chart above is the result of that work -- a representative sample of who out of the over 13 million level 85 characters in the GuildOx database is raiding heroic Dragon Soul.

If you remember the post about the complexity of systems and player retention that I made a couple of weeks back, you'll remember that I mentioned Cynwise's excellent posts about the warlock decline. Well, here it is again reflected in GuildOx's data. Warlocks are the least played class in heroic raiding.

Warriors aren't doing much better, really. Most other classes seem fairly healthy, with classes that have healing specs doing fairly well and rogues absolutely ruling heroic raiding despite being one of the least-played classes in the game overall. It gets even more interesting once we get to look at the GuildOx spec-by-spec breakdown.

Continue reading GuildOx player analysis highlights the warlock decline

WoW InsiderGuildOx player analysis highlights the warlock decline originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>ClassClass-RepresentationClassesDeath-KnightDragon-SoulDruidGuildoxHeroic-Dragon-SoulHunterMagePaladinPriestRaidingRogueShamanWarlockWarriorMatthew RossiFri, 27 Apr 2012 12:00:00 ESTLichborne: Unholy first impressions in the Mists of Pandaria betahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/24/lichborne-unholy-first-impressions-in-the-mists-of-pandaria-bet/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/24/lichborne-unholy-first-impressions-in-the-mists-of-pandaria-bet/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/24/lichborne-unholy-first-impressions-in-the-mists-of-pandaria-bet/#commentsFiled under: ,

Image
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

The strange thing about talking about the unholy tree since Cataclysm is that nothing ever seems to change. Don't get me wrong, unholy's been on a roller coaster of nerfs and balances, it's true, but the basic gameplay stays the same -- and more importantly, the basic problems never really get fixed.

So as we come into Mists of Pandaria, where are we with unholy? It still has a relatively unique playstyle, with a pet and less difficulty keeping diseases up (but more difficulty applying them because of the rune spending issue), but this same playstyle gives it a lot of trouble, as weapon damage scales horribly and strength becomes more important -- some would say too important. This is how it continues to go with unholy.

Today, we'll take a look at the upsides and downsides of unholy as it currently exists in the Mists of Pandaria beta and maybe make some suggestions for things Blizzard could focus on fixing once the death knights' turn for class balancing comes around.

Continue reading Lichborne: Unholy first impressions in the Mists of Pandaria beta

WoW InsiderLichborne: Unholy first impressions in the Mists of Pandaria beta originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>dark-transformationdeath coildeath-and-decaydeath-coildeath-knight-betadeath-knight-beta-unholy-dpsdeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichborneDeathCoildesecrated-grounddk-guidedk-infodk-talentsdreadbladefeaturedfestering-strikeguide-to-death-knightsmists-of-pandaria-unholy-levelingscourge-strikeshadow-infusionunholy-death-knight-lichborneunholy-dpswow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 24 Apr 2012 13:00:00 ESTThe alt deficiencyhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/18/the-alt-deficiency/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/18/the-alt-deficiency/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/18/the-alt-deficiency/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Image
Do alts even count as alts when half of them are the same class as your main and the other half are rarely played?

I have a troubling relationship with the concept of playing an alt. First off, I don't really get alts. I know people who have four or six or even eight level 85 characters, geared and kitted out for raiding or Arena/RBG play. One woman I know has completely filled up two servers with level 85 characters (full character window, a server she plays Horde on and a server she plays Alliance on) that can at least run a random Hour of Twilight heroic. I accept that this exists, but I can't imagine doing it.

See, I'm middling at best about my achievements in game, but there are things I've done that you can't do anymore. I mean, every time I ran the 5-man Zul'Gurub, I kept thinking about how I'm a hero of the Zandalar tribe. Shouldn't they at least try and talk me out of killing them? Shouldn't I at least have the option to say, "Hey, guys, it's me, can we chill out on this?" and then we could express our sorrow at having to come to blows?

I can't do that on an alt. Well, OK, I can do it on the other two warriors who are also heroes of the Zandalar tribe, but you get my point. An alt's not going to have all those titles I barely realized I was earning, or my Mimiron's Head, or a Sulfuras in the bank laughing at me every time I got to the trasmogrification ethereal and get a hit of sweet, sweet gear changery.

Continue reading The alt deficiency

WoW InsiderThe alt deficiency originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>achievementsAltschangeslevelingmainTransmogMatthew RossiWed, 18 Apr 2012 20:00:00 ESTLichborne: The latest Mists of Pandaria beta updates for death knightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/17/lichborne-the-latest-mists-of-pandaria-beta-updates-for-death-k/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/17/lichborne-the-latest-mists-of-pandaria-beta-updates-for-death-k/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/17/lichborne-the-latest-mists-of-pandaria-beta-updates-for-death-k/#commentsFiled under: ,

Image
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Since the last time we talked, we have seen a couple of new updates to the Mists of Pandaria beta. There haven't been many earth-shattering changes for death knights, but some of the changes have been significant enough that it's worth talking about both what they mean for the class and what they may imply about future updates.

It's difficult to say where Blizzard is going with our class in Mists, if only because they haven't said much. They've started talking on the beta forums, but they haven't directed anything at the death knight class yet. This isn't completely surprising. Our class is not in a horrible place right now, and the beta's young. Chances are we'll get our turn eventually.

That said, having developer feedback is useful for figuring out how to mold your own feedback. Knowing what a developer intends with a certain change can help us test that change with a better understanding of how it fits in to a larger vision. In absence of that, however, we can still look at the implications of these changes to see what we come up with.

Continue reading Lichborne: The latest Mists of Pandaria beta updates for death knights

WoW InsiderLichborne: The latest Mists of Pandaria beta updates for death knights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>blood-death-knight-lichborneblood-tapconversiondeath-knight-beta-changesdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-changesdeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-glyph-changesdeath-knight-glyphsdeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedeath-pactdeath-siphondk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornegeistgeist-petglyph-of-dancing-rune-weaponglyph-of-horn-of-winterglyph-of-shifting-presencesglyph-of-the-geistguide-to-death-knightsmists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-betamists-of-pandaria-death-knight-changesrunic-corruptionrunic-empowermentunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 17 Apr 2012 15:00:00 ESTBreakfast Topic: Back to Hellfirehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/15/breakfast-topic-back-to-hellfire/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/15/breakfast-topic-back-to-hellfire/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/15/breakfast-topic-back-to-hellfire/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Image
So I'm back on Outland, leveling up a blood DK on Hellfire Peninsula. Why? Well, partially because that's how I learn how classes work. I haven't played blood this expansion, and it's easier for me to grasp how the spec has changed by leveling up with it rather than just picking up one of my other DKs and starting at 80 or 85. I even deleted a DK to roll this one.

But another reason is because I really like Hellfire Peninsula, now that I can fly around on it. I enjoy the Hellfire Citadel instances (tanked two today), and I go without heirlooms just so I can actually get upgrades from them. I even like seeking out and finding little quest hubs here and there, scattered about the zone.

Now, I didn't like Hellfire when I first went there in 2007. And I didn't like taking alts there during Wrath of the Lich King. But time has mellowed me on the zone. For one thing, it's some of the oldest questing content left in the game, and nostalgia has painted it with a rosy patina. I like catching up with Arator or seeing what Nazgrel is up to. And also, there's a touch of revenge in there now that I can easily solo Overlord. (I did actually manage to solo Arazzius on a level 63 DK when Wrath first came out, but now it's easy.) Plus, with transmog, you can't tell what a clown suit I'm wearing in that picture. It's awesome, really.

So how about you? Any zone you like against the consensus of the playerbase and perhaps all common sense?
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.

WoW InsiderBreakfast Topic: Back to Hellfire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 15 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionHellfireHellfire-PeninsulaLevelLevelingworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topicsMatthew RossiSun, 15 Apr 2012 08:00:00 ESTLichborne: The DPS presence issue in Mists of Pandariahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/10/lichborne-the-dps-presence-issue-in-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/10/lichborne-the-dps-presence-issue-in-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/10/lichborne-the-dps-presence-issue-in-mists-of-pandaria/#commentsFiled under: ,

Image
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

In Cataclysm, there were many hot-button death knight balance issues, but one of the biggest was Unholy Presence vs. Frost Presence. Frost Presence fell out of vogue very quickly in Cataclysm, since all DPSers found themselves running into a global cooldown wall pretty quickly. We were producing resources so fast, we needed the 1-second GCD provided by Unholy Presence to have any hope of spending them all.

This issue has come to the forefront even more in Mists of Pandaria beta testing. This is because a loss of runic power generating talents have put the dual wielding frost style at a disadvantage, enough that it needs the extra runic power regeneration from Frost Presence. Unfortunately, when it loses the 1-second GCD of Unholy Presence, it starts to stutter, with many testers using the dread descriptor "clunky" to describe the resulting rotation. Part of this could be trying to adjust going from Unholy Presence to Frost Presence, admittedly, but it feels like a problem.

If you want to see a comparison, switching to two-handed frost provides it. Thanks to the improved runic power generation on Might of the Frozen Wastes, two-handed frost can use Unholy Presence with ease, and its rotation plays nice and smoothly, very close to what it is on live.

Continue reading Lichborne: The DPS presence issue in Mists of Pandaria

WoW InsiderLichborne: The DPS presence issue in Mists of Pandaria originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>2-handed-frost2-handed-frost-DPSdeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsdual-wield-frostdual-wield-frost-DPSfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornefrost-presencegcdglobal-cool-downglobal-cooldownglobal-cooldown-reductionguide-to-death-knightsunholy-death-knight-lichborneunholy-presencewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 10 Apr 2012 13:00:00 ESTLichborne: Mists of Pandaria beta first impressions for death knightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/03/lichborne-mists-of-pandaria-beta-first-impressions-for-death-kn/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/03/lichborne-mists-of-pandaria-beta-first-impressions-for-death-kn/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/03/lichborne-mists-of-pandaria-beta-first-impressions-for-death-kn/#commentsFiled under: , ,

A Death Knight in the Jade Forest
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Having finally had a chance to play the Mists of Pandaria beta, I'll be looking this week at the basics of the experience for a level 85 death knight coming into Jade Forest, the first zone in the leveling experience.

The setup

Upon logging in to Mists of Pandaria for the first time, you will, of course, have to choose new talents. With the talent system being so radically changed, there's really no around it. Luckily, it's a relatively painless process. Having played around a bit with most of the choices, I'm not sure if many of the choices are that dynamic, but your mileage may vary.

On tier 1, you may see some blood death knights going for Unholy Blight to have a nice bit of runic power AoE, but other than that, the three choices are pretty clearly split between the three specs. That said, it's not a horrible tree, either. You can pick some cool stuff that'll help with your desired role and keep on playing, and I like that. It's just not going to be a free choice, per se. At the moment, it just appears that there's almost always a clear winner for most situations on any given tier based on your preferred spec, role, and playstyle.

Continue reading Lichborne: Mists of Pandaria beta first impressions for death knights

WoW InsiderLichborne: Mists of Pandaria beta first impressions for death knights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>betaconversiondeath-knight-betadeath-knight-beta-changesdeath-knight-beta-talentsdeath-knight-beta-testingdeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-mists-of-pandaria-beta-testdeath-knight-talentsdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedguide-to-death-knightskilling-machinemists-of-pandariarimeunholy-blightwow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 03 Apr 2012 20:00:00 ESTLichborne: Testing notes and goals for death knights in the Mists of Pandaria betahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/27/lichborne-testing-notes-and-goals-for-death-knights-in-the-mist/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/27/lichborne-testing-notes-and-goals-for-death-knights-in-the-mist/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/27/lichborne-testing-notes-and-goals-for-death-knights-in-the-mist/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

With the Mists of Pandaria beta test under way, I'm reminded of an interesting discussion I've seen going around the death knight community. Coming out of Wrath, we were most definitely seen as overpowered, and starting a few patches later, we started off on a balance roller coaster we've never quite disembarked from, getting nerfs, de-nerfs, tweaks, and even the removal or redesign of entire spells and systems.

Some argue that we could have avoided this by being more thorough and honest while beta testing in Wrath. By not only advocating for what we needed but being honest that some stuff (such as, say, the stun effect on Death and Decay) was overpowered, we might have avoided a lot of heartache down the road.

Whether you believe this is true or not, it does highlight the importance of beta testing. Blizzard certainly has its own internal numbers and testing methods, but for those of us lucky enough to get hands on in the beta, this is our chance to help make sure our class gets through this great period of balancing. This week, let's look at a few things we'll need to focus on when we finally get those invites and get to beta test our death knights.

Continue reading Lichborne: Testing notes and goals for death knights in the Mists of Pandaria beta

WoW InsiderLichborne: Testing notes and goals for death knights in the Mists of Pandaria beta originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>beta-testsblood-death-knight- lichborneBlood-death-knight-Lichbornechill-of-the-gravedeath-and-decaydeath-coildeath-knight-betadeath-knight-beta-testingdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-glyphsdeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-mop-beta-testingdeath-knight-mop-glyphsdeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornegcdglyph-of-tranquil-gripguide-to-death-knightsmists-of-pandaria-betamists-of-pandaria-beta-testingmists-of-pandaria-glyphsmop-betapandaria-betarune-tetrisrunic-corruptionscourge-strikeunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 27 Mar 2012 19:00:00 ESTLichborne: Death knight group utility in Mists of Pandariahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/20/lichborne-death-knight-group-utility-in-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/20/lichborne-death-knight-group-utility-in-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/20/lichborne-death-knight-group-utility-in-mists-of-pandaria/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

So Mists of Pandaria just got a pretty huge info dump, and while there weren't large amounts of class information in there, who am I to buck the trend and talk about something else? Luckily, there's plenty of gold still be mined from what we do know about death knights. This week, we'll be looking at a couple of the skills, talents, and mechanics coming our way and how you can use them to add a little extra utility and fun to your group experience, outside the normal tanking or DPSing.

Control Undead

Control Undead is honestly something I'm pretty excited for. Coming to us as a new level 69 skill, it allows us to take temporary control of almost any basic (or, I assume, elite) undead mob. Sure, it could be seen as mostly fluff, but it's awesome fluff, and I expect it to have some unexpected benefits.

Continue reading Lichborne: Death knight group utility in Mists of Pandaria

WoW InsiderLichborne: Death knight group utility in Mists of Pandaria originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>control-undeaddeath-and-decaudeath-and-decaydeath-knight-group-utilitydeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-fevergroup-utilityguide-to-death-knightsicy-touchmists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-death-knight-guidemists-of-pandaria-death-knight-talentsmists-of-pandaria-talentsoutbreakplague-strikeremorseless-winterwow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 20 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST10 death knights kill heroic Ragnaroshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/13/10-death-knights-kill-heroic-ragnaros/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/13/10-death-knights-kill-heroic-ragnaros/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/13/10-death-knights-kill-heroic-ragnaros/#commentsFiled under: , ,

You knew death knights were overpowered, right?

Death knight gurus Raegwyn and Valacar took a team of 10 death knights and defeated the heroic version of 10-man Ragnaros. No healers, no casters with epics, just 10 amazingly badass death knights showing off their skills.

Their raid composition was as follows:
  • 1 frost DK
  • 6 DPS blood DKs
  • 3 tank blood DKs
Raegwyn notes that the kill took six hours of wiping, but that's a small price to pay for this epic achievement. Take a look at some other accomplishments of his teams, including an all-death-knight clear of 10-man and 25-man Firelands, plus this interview we did with him back in February 2010.

Meanwhile, 10 warlocks announced today that they were able to take down a bunny in Elwynn Forest.

Grats all around!

WoW Insider10 death knights kill heroic Ragnaros originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>breakingdeath-knightsdeath-knights-clear-heroic-ragnarosdeath-knights-heroic-ragnarosdeath-knights-raidfirelandsheroic-firelandsheroic-ragnarosraegwynvalacarAdam HoliskyTue, 13 Mar 2012 19:00:00 ESTLichborne: Why I play a death knighthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/13/lichborne-why-i-play-a-death-knight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/13/lichborne-why-i-play-a-death-knight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/13/lichborne-why-i-play-a-death-knight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

You know, starting at level 55 and not being a vanilla WoW class, you arguably have to go through a unique process to decide to play this class. It's true that you make a conscious choice to play what class you play, but somehow, starting from level 1, it's as much a dabbling as anything, a solid start point that could branch off. With a death knight, you're already in the game. You make a solid choice to leap from one class to another. It's probably more true of those of us who started at the beginning of Wrath, deliberately choosing to leave our mains to start anew, but on some level I think it can apply to just about anyone who plays a main death knight.

With this in mind, I thought it might fun this week to establish why we play our class, focusing on my own reasons for playing it and sticking with it.

A storied history

I will admit, I tend to be sort of a sap when it comes to stories. I like stories that are clashes between good and evil, with defined boundaries. I like my knights in shining armor fighting the forces of darkness. Some people find that too simple and tidy, but if I want shades of gray, I can find plenty of that in real life. Sometimes, I just want to kick some evil ass.

Continue reading Lichborne: Why I play a death knight

WoW InsiderLichborne: Why I play a death knight originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>blood-death-knight-lichborneclass-choiceclass-choicesdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornefrost-strikeguide-to-death-knightsobliterateoutbreakPlayStationunholy-death-knight-lichbornewhy-we-playwow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 13 Mar 2012 14:00:00 ESTLichborne: The effect of the new stat changes on death knightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/06/lichborne-the-effect-of-the-new-stat-changes-on-death-knights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/06/lichborne-the-effect-of-the-new-stat-changes-on-death-knights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/06/lichborne-the-effect-of-the-new-stat-changes-on-death-knights/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

We're still a couple of weeks away from the dam burst that is the Mists of Pandaria press event, but in the meantime, Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street has posted a new Dev Watercooler. He listed some stat changes coming in Mists that, while ostensibly not as complicated as those in Wrath, still hold some interesting and possibly major implications for class balance in the coming expansion. Let's dive right in and see what they mean for death knights.

Blocking takes a week

While it doesn't directly affect us, the blocking changes will certainly shake up the tanking hierarchy that we're a part of, so it's worth pointing out that the usual single roll combat table for dodging, parrying, or blocking a hit is gone. Instead, the chance to block will be calculated only after the dodge and parry chance is calculated. This essentially means that being unhittable is gone. You can't just stack to 102.4%. Of course, death knights and druids have never been able to do this, but they will now be joined by the shield tanks.

Continue reading Lichborne: The effect of the new stat changes on death knights

WoW InsiderLichborne: The effect of the new stat changes on death knights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>avoidanceblockblockingblood-death-knight-lichbornecritical-strikedeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsdodgeexpertisefeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichborneghostcrawlerguide-to-death-knightshitmistsmists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-changesmists-of-pandaria-death-knight-changesmists-of-pandaria-speculationmists-of-pandaria-stat-changesparrypvp-defensepvp-powerresiliencerunic-focusstat-changesunhittableunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 06 Mar 2012 19:00:00 ESTLichborne: Further reflections on death knights in Pandariahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/28/lichborne-further-reflections-on-death-knights-in-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/28/lichborne-further-reflections-on-death-knights-in-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/28/lichborne-further-reflections-on-death-knights-in-pandaria/#commentsFiled under: ,

Bridge in Pandaren Temple
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Now that we've all had a couple of weeks to absorb the latest updates to the Mists of Pandaria talent calculator, it's worth going back and taking a second to look to see if we can dredge up anything else. I've been keeping track of various errata, as well as discussions among the death knight community, and I feel it's worth taking another week to take a second look at a few skills and talents and see where we lie as we wait for a new update, the Mists beta, or both.

Those annoying rune costs

You remember that Death Siphon and Soul Reaper have no rune cost in the current calculator, right? Alas, it's not that simple, and I must make a mea culpa here for not noticing this sooner: Blue posts have clarified that those two skills do cost a single death rune each.

This, of course, throws their proper use into a little more question. Is it worth it to use Soul Reaper when you could be spending that rune on a Scourge Strike or half of an Obliterate? Is the healing of Death Siphon worth giving up the extra damage from one of those weapon strikes? This is, again, where we'll need solid numbers to make that choice. At the least, though, I'd say it makes Death Pact an even more tempting choice for unholy death knights on the level 60 talent tier. As beta progresses, we'll definitely want to keep a close eye on these type of talents and try to answer that question. Are they worth the rune they're spending? If not, how do we fix them?

Continue reading Lichborne: Further reflections on death knights in Pandaria

WoW InsiderLichborne: Further reflections on death knights in Pandaria originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>death-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsguide-to-death-knightswow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 28 Feb 2012 09:00:00 ESTLichborne: New Mists of Pandaria talent updates for death knightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/21/lichborne-new-mists-of-pandaria-talent-updates-for-death-knight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/21/lichborne-new-mists-of-pandaria-talent-updates-for-death-knight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/21/lichborne-new-mists-of-pandaria-talent-updates-for-death-knight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

As I'm sure you've heard by now, Blizzard treated us to a nice new chunk of news this past week with an update to the Mists of Pandaria talent calculator. Death knights received some new talents and new skills as well as adjustments to old ones that definitely deserve some analysis. We'll start by looking at the talent tiers, then move on to some of the new modified skills we're seeing in this build.

Level 15 begins our journey with a couple pieces of very welcome news. Outbreak is back to a general class skill, once again taking its place at level 81 for all three specs. In its place for tier 1 talents is the old-school Unholy Blight, in all its AoE glory. That's right, you can once again have that awesome semi-permanent damage aura. Alas, this welcome change is accompanied by the similar removal of Corpse Explosion in favor of Vile Spew, an ability that will explode an undead minion for AoE damage and disease infection.

Continue reading Lichborne: New Mists of Pandaria talent updates for death knights

WoW InsiderLichborne: New Mists of Pandaria talent updates for death knights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>anti-magic-zoneblood-death-knight-lichbornebone-shieldclass-helpcontrol-undeadcorpse-explosiondeath-coildeath-gripdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedeath-pactdeath-siphonDesecrated-Grounddk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornefrost-presenceguideguide-to-death-knightsicy-griplichbornemists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-talent-calculatormists-of-pandaria-talent-changesmists-of-pandaria-talentsmopoutbreakpandariaRemorseless-Winterrunic-corruptionSanguine-fortitudesoul-reapertalenttalent-calculatortalentsunholy-blightunholy-death-knight-lichbornevampiric-bloodvile-spewworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-death-knightwow-dkwow-guidewow-talent-guideDaniel WhitcombTue, 21 Feb 2012 09:00:00 ESTLichborne: Divining the direction of death knight lore in Pandariahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/14/lichborne-divining-the-direction-of-death-knight-lore-in-pandar/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/14/lichborne-divining-the-direction-of-death-knight-lore-in-pandar/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/14/lichborne-divining-the-direction-of-death-knight-lore-in-pandar/#commentsFiled under: ,

Forsaken Death Knight in Ebon Hold
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Let's face it: We had it pretty good in Wrath. Since that expansion was our grand debut, we were everywhere. We had an opening experience where we connected with our origin and found out that our own factions, for obvious reasons, barely trusted us. We were instrumental to the battle in Northrend, doing things other factions wouldn't do, with a clear goal of destroying those who wronged us. We were perfect tragic figures with some robust story and great characters in the form of Thassarian, Crok Scourgebane, and Darion Mograine, among others.

In Cataclysm, things have been, to say the least, a little bit sparser. With Arthas dead, do death knights have a purpose in lore anymore, or are we just around because it'd be sort of silly to remove the class and have everyone reroll? I tend to think death knights are still a pretty interesting and dynamic class, story-wise, and this week, we'll look at where we are at the end of Cataclysm and where our story might go in Mists of Pandaria.

Continue reading Lichborne: Divining the direction of death knight lore in Pandaria

WoW InsiderLichborne: Divining the direction of death knight lore in Pandaria originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>andorhalblood-death-knight-lichbornebolvarbreakingclass-helpcrok-scourgebanedarion-mograinedeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-loredeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichborneguideguide-to-death-knightsguide-to-loreknights-of-the-ebon-bladekoltiralich-kinglich-queenlorelore-guidemists-of-pandaria-talent-changesmoviespandaria-pvprole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideshasylvanas-windrunnertalenttalentsthassarianthe-shaunholy-death-knight-lichborneworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guideworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-death-knightwow-dkwow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingwow-talent-guideDaniel WhitcombTue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:00 ESTBreakfast Topic: I love Ashkandihttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/13/breakfast-topic-i-love-ashkandi/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/13/breakfast-topic-i-love-ashkandi/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/13/breakfast-topic-i-love-ashkandi/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Pretty much no weapon model in the history of World of Warcraft has affected me like Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood has. To me, it's emblematic of all that I love about Warcraft's model design -- excessive, bold, imaginative and evocative.

From the moment my guild first started running Blackwing Lair, I wanted one. I ended up getting a Sulfuras instead, which is certainly a fine weapon in its own right, but as much as I liked Sulfuras, I always knew I was making the logical decision (take the one that drops first) over the one my heart wanted (wait for Ashkandi). Years passed. We moved out of BWL and into AQ, then Naxx, and then The Burning Crusade launched. No model could replace Ashkandi in my heart. The Gladiator sword, Despair, Cataclysm's Edge, Apolyon, The Lionheart Executioner -- all fine models, all solid weapons. None could take its place.

Continue reading Breakfast Topic: I love Ashkandi

WoW InsiderBreakfast Topic: I love Ashkandi originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>ashkandiashkandi-greatsword-of-the-brotherhoodfacebookfeedgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topicsMatthew RossiMon, 13 Feb 2012 08:00:00 ESTLichborne: Useful consumables your death knight should stockhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/07/lichborne-useful-consumables-your-death-knight-should-stock/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/07/lichborne-useful-consumables-your-death-knight-should-stock/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/07/lichborne-useful-consumables-your-death-knight-should-stock/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

So you've geared out. You've memorized your rotations. You've practiced them at the testing dummy. What's the next step? What do you do now to get your game to the next level and get some good habits going that will set you apart from the pack? One of the easiest ways to do that is to pay attention to your consumables.

Consumables are one-time use items that can heal you or give you a stat boost of varying lengths of time. The downside is that they do cost money or time to acquire. The upside is that they can have a significant boost on your DPS or survivability. Any player who's trying to play at the top level or even the middling level can and should use them. Today, we'll take a look at some of the most basic consumables death knights should be using and discuss how to get them and when to use them.

Continue reading Lichborne: Useful consumables your death knight should stock

WoW InsiderLichborne: Useful consumables your death knight should stock originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>beer-basted-crocoliskblackbelly-mudfishblackbelly-sushiblood-death-knight-lichborneclass-helpcrocolisk-taildeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-consumablesdeath-knight-flasksdeath-knight-fooddeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-potionsdeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedense-embersilk-bandagedk-consumablesdk-flasksdk-fooddk-guidedk-infodk-potionsdk-talentsearthen-potionfeaturedflask-of-steelskinflask-of-titanic-strengthfortune-cookiefrost-death-knight-lichbornegolemblood-potionguideguide-to-death-knightsinvisibilityliving-action-potionmushroom-sauce-mudfishseafood-magnifiqueswiftnesstalenttalentsunholy-death-knight-lichborneworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-death-knightwow-dkwow-guidewow-talent-guideDaniel WhitcombTue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:00 ESTLichborne: 5 common death knight mistakeshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/31/lichborne-five-common-death-knight-mistakes/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/31/lichborne-five-common-death-knight-mistakes/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/31/lichborne-five-common-death-knight-mistakes/#commentsFiled under: ,

A blood elf death knight outside molten core
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

A guide that tells you how to play is pretty helpful, don't get me wrong. But just reading that and following along often isn't enough. Sometimes, we make mistakes anyway. If it were simple as reading a guide, we'd all be in heroic raid groups never doing any less than 40,000 DPS on Madness of Deathwing and/or never dying due to our constant chain of Blood Shields while tanking. But human error will always enter into things.

Of course, realizing what mistakes you're making and getting them fixed is easier said than done, especially when they're being yelled at you by an irate guild leader or that especially grumpy member of your Raid Finder group. This week, we'll look at some of the most common mistakes death knights make and offer some short and sweet commonsense tips to avoiding them.

Continue reading Lichborne: 5 common death knight mistakes

WoW InsiderLichborne: 5 common death knight mistakes originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>anti-magic-shellarmy-of-the-deadblood-death-knight-lichborneclass-helpdeath-gripdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichborneguideguide-to-death-knightsicebound-fortitudepillar-of-frostraise-deadsummon-gargoyletalenttalentsunholy-death-knight-lichbornevampiric-bloodworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-death-knightwow-dkwow-guidewow-talent-guideDaniel WhitcombTue, 31 Jan 2012 18:00:00 ESTRaegwyn and friends claim first all-death-knight Firelandshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/raegwyn-and-friends-claim-first-all-death-knight-firelands/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/raegwyn-and-friends-claim-first-all-death-knight-firelands/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/raegwyn-and-friends-claim-first-all-death-knight-firelands/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Raegwyn, one of WoW Insider's favorite blood death knights (sorry, Daniel!), is at it again. The blood elf death knight of Onyxia (EU) holds a stunning array of previous solo kill achievements including The Lich King, Kael'thas Sunstrider (at level 80!), and two of the four bosses in heroic Stonecore. Now he's released a new video highlighting the ridiculously cool self-healing power of blood death knights -- except this time, rather than riding solo, Raegwyn brought along nine other blood death knight friends for an epic romp in Firelands. No healers, no DPS ... just 10 tanks.

Part 1 of their adventure has the band of blooders facing off against heroic mode Rhyolith, Alysrazor, and Baleroc. My favorite moment of the video is at 7:30, when all 10 players simultaneously pop their Army of the Dead right before the pull. Part 2 includes normal Beth'tilac, heroic Shannox, normal Majordomo Staghelm, and the fiesty firelord himself. Some of the fun moments here are watching the sole surviving death knight tank Shannox for his last few hundred thousand hit points, and marveling at the talent of these 10 players on the incredibly high-magic-damage fight that is Ragnaros.

As an enhancement shaman whose preferred form of making money is soloing old raids like Caverns of Time: Mt. Hyjal, Raegwyn's videos constantly both amaze and humble me. I get excited when I can manage to down Karazhan's chess encounter weekly, but Raegwyn is a player who constantly manages to push the boundaries of traditional playing, and I'm always excited to see what he has in store for us next. If you'd like to read more about Raegwyn's approach to soloing and what he considers to be the hardest aspects, check out Lisa Poisso's interview with him.
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!

WoW InsiderRaegwyn and friends claim first all-death-knight Firelands originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>all-death-knight-firelandsbloodblood-death-knightdeath-knightdeath-knight-tankingextreme-soloingfirelandsheroic-firelandsoverpowered-death-knightsRaegwynraegwyn-firelandssoloingJosh MyersWed, 25 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST