In this article, we present you with the best gems and enchants that you can get for an Unholy Death Knight in WoW MoP 5.3, including profession-specific perks. We also list the best consumables: food, flasks, and potions.

Make sure to check our Gear Optimisation Guide, which serves as a support guide for this article. The other articles of our Unholy Death Knight guide can be accessed from the table of content on the right.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Mendenbarr, a prominent theorycrafter who maintains Death Knight guides on Elitist Jerks.

1. Gems↑top

Sockets	Gems
	Reverberating Primal Diamond or Capacitive Primal Diamond (better)
	Having issues reaching the expertise cap? → Precise Primordial Ruby/ Perfect Precise Pandarian Garnet or Precise Serpent's Eye (JC) Otherwise → Bold Primordial Ruby/ Perfect Bold Pandarian Garnet or Bold Serpent's Eye (JC)
	Socket Bonus is not at least +60 Strength → Bold Primordial Ruby/ Perfect Bold Pandarian Garnet or Bold Serpent's Eye (JC) Otherwise → Fierce Vermilion Onyx/ Perfect Fierce Tiger Opal
	Having issues reaching the hit cap? → Rigid River's Heart/ Perfect Rigid Lapis Lazuli or Rigid Serpent's Eye (JC) Otherwise → Etched Imperial Amethyst/ Perfect Etched Roguestone

If you are still unsure what the optimal gemming strategy is for your character, you can Ask Mr. Robot for a personalised optimisation of your character's gear, by filling the form below.

2. Enchants↑top

Slot	Main Enchantments	Extra Enchantments
Shoulders	Greater Tiger Fang Inscription Tiger Fang Inscription (cheaper) Secret Tiger Fang Inscription (Inscription)
Back	Enchant Cloak - Superior Critical Strike Enchant Cloak - Accuracy Swordguard Embroidery (Tailoring)
Chest	Enchant Chest - Glorious Stats
Wrists	Enchant Bracer - Exceptional Strength Enchant Bracer - Mastery (cheaper) Fur Lining - Strength (Leatherworking)	Socket Bracer (Blacksmithing)
Hands	Enchant Gloves - Super Strength	Synapse Springs (Engineering) Socket Gloves (Blacksmithing)
Waist		Living Steel Belt Buckle
Legs	Angerhide Leg Armor Brutal Leg Armor Draconic Leg Reinforcements (Leatherworking)
Feet	Enchant Boots - Pandaren's Step Enchant Boots - Greater Haste (cheaper) Enchant Boots - Greater Precision (for hit cap)
Weapon	Rune of the Fallen Crusader

Note that Extra Enchantments can be applied to an item in addition to a Main Enchantment.

3. Consumables↑top

3.1. Food

You should always eat food that gives you Strength. You will be granted:

• 300 Strength by Black Pepper Ribs and Shrimp;
• 275 Strength by Eternal Blossom Fish, Banquet of the Grill, or Great Banquet of the Grill;
• 250 Strength by Charbroiled Tiger Steak or any of other banquets.

3.2. Flask

Your flask should be a Flask of Winter's Bite.

3.3. Potion

During the encounter, your best choice for a potion will be Potion of Mogu Power.

4. Summing-up Profession Perks↑top

Choosing a profession for your Unholy Death Knight can impact your raid performance. As a rule, you should shy away from gathering professions (with the exception of Herbalism), which leaves the following viable professions for raiding:

Profession	Perks
Tailoring	Provides +1000 Attack Power in average through Swordguard Embroidery, instead of +180 Critical Strike from Enchant Cloak - Superior Critical Strike and +180 Hit from Enchant Cloak - Accuracy.
Blacksmithing	Provides a 320 Strength gain through two extra sockets, Socket Bracer and Socket Gloves, in which you can fit 2 Bold Primordial Ruby.
Jewelcrafting	Provides a 320 Strength gain through the ability of using 2 Bold Serpent's Eye.
Alchemy	Provides an 320 Strength gain to your flask through Mixology.
Enchanting	Provides a 320 Strength gain through Enchant Ring - Greater Strength.
Engineering	Provides +1,920 Strength for 10 seconds every minute through Synapse Springs (the overall gain is +320 Strength). Engineering also provides a belt addon called Frag Belt, which you can use every minute (off the global cooldown) for additional damage.
Inscription	Provides a 320 Strength gain through Secret Tiger Fang Inscription.
Leatherworking	Provides an 320 Strength gain through Fur Lining - Strength. Also provides Draconic Leg Reinforcements, a much cheaper equivalent to Angerhide Leg Armor, the traditional leg enchant.
Herbalism	Provides a 480 Haste Rating gain in average through Lifeblood.

Engineering is currently the best profession for Unholy Death Knights, as it provides you with Frag Belt and Synapse Springs, which you can line up every 3 minutes with Unholy Frenzy for increased benefits. The rest of the time, use Synapse Springs on cooldown. For your second profession, any of the passive Strength gain will do.

5. Changelog↑top

• 20 May 2013: Patch 5.3 update: nothing to change.
• 24 Apr. 2013: Added legendary meta-gem.
• 03 Apr. 2013: Added Enchant Cloak - Accuracy and Brutal Leg Armor to the enchant table.
• 02 Apr. 2013: Removed green-quality gems.
• 02 Apr. 2013: Improved advice for choosing your profession.