Cataclysm Classic Unholy Death Knight Pre-Raid Gear

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Last updated on Feb 13, 2025 at 12:00 by Sellin

On this page, you will find the best pre-raid gear for Unholy Death Knight in Cataclysm Classic.

Pages in this Guide

1 Introduction 2 Builds, Talents, Glyphs 3 Rotation and Cooldowns 4 Spell Summary 5 Stat Priority 6 Enchants, Consumables 7 Gear and Best in Slot 8 Leveling 9 Pre-Raid Gear

TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE

1. Unholy Death Knight Pre-Raid Gear Set

2. Pre-raid Best in Slot

Unholy Death Knight Pre-Raid Gear Set

The gear listed on this page is considered to be the best gear you are able to obtain before entering a raid instance. The items highlighted on this page will mostly follow the stat priority of the Unholy Unholy Death Knight spec, which is as follows:

Strength
Hit Rating (8%)
Haste Rating
Critical Strike Rating
Mastery Rating
Expertise Rating (6.5%)

For more information on the best available gems and enchants, check out our Enchants and Gems Guide.

Pre-raid Best in Slot

Phase Four Phase Three Phase Two Phase One

Slot	Item	Reforge	Source
Helm	Reinforced Bio-Optic Killshades	–	Engineering
Neck	Gift of Nadun	–	Exalted Ramkahen
Shoulder	Raz's Pauldrons	Mastery → Haste	Ascendant Lord Obsidius (H)Blackrock Caverns
Cloak	Drape of Inimitable Fate	–	World BoE drop
Chest	Elementium Deathplate	Mastery → Haste	Blacksmithing
Bracer	Alpha Bracers	Mastery → Haste	Anraphet (H)Halls of Origination
Gloves	Magma Plated Gauntlets	Mastery → Critical Strike	1650 Valor Points
Belt	Elementium Girdle of Pain	–	Blacksmithing
Legs	Corefire Legplates	–	World BoE drop
Boots	Woe Breeder's Boots	–	1650 Valor Points
Ring 1	Blauvelt's Family Crest	Mastery → Critical Strike	World BoE Drop
Ring 2	Gorsik's Band of Shattering	–	Revered Therazane
Trinket 1	License to Slay	–	1650 Valor Points
Trinket 2	Impatience of Youth	Mastery → Haste	Exalted Baradin's Wardens / Hellscream's Reach
Weapon	Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds	Hit → Haste	Archaeology
Sigil	Relic of Aggramar	Expertise → Hit	700 Valor Points

Slot	Item	Reforge	Source
Helm	Reinforced Bio-Optic Killshades	–	Engineering
Neck	Gift of Nadun	–	Exalted Ramkahen
Shoulder	Raz's Pauldrons	Mastery → Haste	Ascendant Lord Obsidius (H)Blackrock Caverns
Cloak	Drape of Inimitable Fate	–	World BoE drop
Chest	Magma Plated Battleplate	–	2200 Valor Points
Bracer	Alpha Bracers	Mastery → Haste	Anraphet (H)Halls of Origination
Gloves	Magma Plated Gauntlets	Mastery → Critical Strike	1650 Valor Points
Belt	Elementium Girdle of Pain	–	Blacksmithing
Legs	Corefire Legplates	–	World BoE drop
Boots	Woe Breeder's Boots	–	1650 Valor Points
Ring 1	Blauvelt's Family Crest	Mastery → Critical Strike	World BoE Drop
Ring 2	Gorsik's Band of Shattering	–	Revered Therazane
Trinket 1	License to Slay	–	1650 Valor Points
Trinket 2	Impatience of Youth	Mastery → Haste	Exalted Baradin's Wardens / Hellscream's Reach
Weapon	Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds	Hit → Haste	Archaeology
Sigil	Relic of Aggramar	Expertise → Hit	700 Valor Points

Slot	Item		Source
Helm	Magma Plated Helmet	Expertise → Critical Strike	32 Fissure Stone Fragment
Neck	Cloudburst Necklaceof the Earthfall	Critical Strike → Hit	12 Fissure Stone Fragment
Shoulder	Magma Plated Pauldrons	–	32 Fissure Stone Fragment
Cloak	Cloudburst Cloakof the Earthfall	Critical Strike → Hit	12 Fissure Stone Fragment
Chest	Elementium Deathplate Breastplate	Mastery → Haste	2200 Valor Points
Bracer	Bracers of the Mat'redor	–	80 Fissure Stone Fragment
Gloves	Fists of Fury	–	Blacksmithing
Belt	Sky Strider Beltof the Earthfall	–	12 Fissure Stone Fragment
Legs	Elementium Deathplate Greaves	Expertise → Critical Strike	2200 Valor Points
Boots	Warboots of Mighty Lords	Critical Strike → Haste	Blacksmithing
Ring 1	Serrated Brimstone Signet	–	1250 Valor Points
Ring 2	Dargonax's Signet	Mastery → Haste	80 Fissure Stone Fragment
Trinket 1	Heart of Rage	Expertise → Mastery	50 Fissure Stone Fragment
Trinket 2	Heart of Solace	–	Augh Lost City of the Tol'vir
Weapon	Reclaimed Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood	Critical Strike → Mastery	30 Fissure Stone Fragment
Sigil	Relic of the Elemental Lords	–	700 Valor Points

2.1.

Phase 4 Best in Slot

Slot	Item	Reforge	Source
Helm	Necrotic Boneplate Helmet	Expertise → Critical Strike	Warmaster Blackhorn (H) Dragon Soul;
Neck	Necklace of Black Dragon's Teeth	Critical Strike → Haste	1250 Valor Points
Shoulder	Necrotic Boneplate Pauldrons	–	Hagara the Stormbinder (H) Dragon Soul
Cloak	Dreamcrusher Drape	Critical Strike → Haste	1250 Valor Points
Chest	Necrotic Boneplate Breastplate	Hit → Critical Strike	Ultraxion (H) Dragon Soul
Bracer	Heartcrusher Wristplates	–	1250 Valor Points
Gloves	Necrotic Boneplate Gauntlets	Mastery → Haste	Warlord Zonozz (H) Dragon Soul
Belt	Demonbone Waistguard	Mastery → Hit	1650 Valor Points
Legs	Unstoppable Destroyer's Legplates	Mastery → Hit	Blacksmithing
Boots	Kneebreaker Boots	–	1650 Valor Points
Ring 1	Ring of Torn Flesh	Mastery → Haste	1250 Valor Points
Ring 2	Breathstealer Band	Mastery → Critical Strike	Multiple Bosses in (H) Dragon Soul
Trinket 1	Eye of Unmaking	–	Spine of Deathwing (H) Dragon Soul
Trinket 2	Rotting Skull	Critical Strike → Haste	1650 Valor Points
Weapon	Gurthalak, Voice of the Deeps	–	Madness of Deathwing (H) Dragon Soul;
Sigil	Gutripper Shard	Mastery → Hit	700 Valor Points

Changelog

13 Feb. 2025: Updated for Dragonsoul.
02 Nov. 2024: Updated for Firelands.
17 Sep. 2024: Reviewed for Phase 3.
27 Jul. 2024: Reviewed and Updated for ZG/ZA release.

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Pages in this Guide

1 Introduction 2 Builds, Talents, Glyphs 3 Rotation and Cooldowns 4 Spell Summary 5 Stat Priority 6 Enchants, Consumables 7 Gear and Best in Slot 8 Leveling 9 Pre-Raid Gear

More Cataclysm Death Knight Guides

Unholy Death Knight Guide

Frost Death Knight Guide

Blood Death Knight Guide

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This guide has been written by Sellin, a former top 10 US raider and current season and several time Gladiator, long time WoW Player and passionate about all things Warcraft and Theorycrafting. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him on Twitch.

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