wow Death Knight Changes in Dragonflight Alpha Build 45232

[Stan 5,029]

Check out the latest Death Knight changes and new talents that went live on the Dragonflight Alpha this week.

Death Knight

Baseline

• Death Coil now costs 30 Runic Power (was 40).

Blood

• Will of the Necropolis - Damage taken below 30% Health is reduced by 30% 20%.

Frost

• Icy Talons - Your Runic Power spending abilities increase your melee attack speed by 2% 3% for 6 sec, stacking up to 3 times.

Unholy

• Summon Gargoyle - The Gargoyle gains 1% increased damage for every 2 1 Runic Power you spend.
• Epidemic - Causes each of your Virulent Plagues to flare up, dealing [ 20% 24% of Attack Power ] Shadow damage to the infected enemy, and an additional [ 8% 9.6% of Attack Power ] Shadow damage to all other enemies near them.
• Unholy Command - Damage Dealt by Death Coil reduces the The cooldown of Dark Transformation is reduced by 0.5 8 sec.
• Clawing Shadows - Deals [ 46% 55.2% of Attack Power ] Shadow damage and causes 1 Festering Wound to burst.
• Army of the Damned - 
• Apocalypse's cooldown is reduced by 45 sec. Additionally, Death Coil and Epidemic reduce the cooldown of Apocalypse by 1 sec and Army of the Dead by 5 sec. Apocalypse and Army of the Dead also summon a Magus of the Dead who hurls Frostbolts and Shadow Bolts at your foes.

New Talents

Death Knights received the following new talents in Build #45232.

• Clenching Grasp - Death Grip slows enemy movement speed by 50% for 6 sec.
• Unholy Endurance - Increases Lichborne duration by 2 sec and while active damage taken is reduced by 15%.
• Plaguebringer - Scourge Strike causes your disease damage to occur 150% more quickly for 5 sec.
• Runic Mastery - Increases your maximum Runic Power by 10.
• Feasting Strikes - Festering Strike and Scourge Strike have a 15% chance to generate 1 Rune.
• Magus of the Dead - Apocalypse and Army of the Dead also summon a Magus of the Dead who hurls Frostbolts and Shadow Bolts at your foes.
• Ruptured Viscera - When your ghouls expire, they explode in viscera dealing [ 24% of Attack Power ] Shadow damage to nearby enemies.
• Commander of the Dead - Dark Transformation also empowers your Gargoyle and Army of the Dead for 30 sec, increasing their damage by 40%.
• Eternal Agony - Death Coil increases the duration of Dark Transformation by 1 sec.
• Coil of Devastation - Death Coil causes the target to take an additional 35% of the direct damage dealt over 4 sec.
• Rotten Touch - Sudden Doom causes your next Death Coil to also increase your Scourge Strike damage against the target by 30% for 6 sec.
• [NYI] Plaguebearer - Inflict disease upon your enemies spreading Festering Wounds equal to the amount currently active on your target to 8 nearby enemies. (Instant, Costs 30 Runic Power, 30 yd range, 45 sec cooldown)
• Superstrain - Your Virulent Plague also applies Frost Fever and Blood Plague.

[Q 140]

I don't know why they thought superstrain was something worth bringing back. I can't recall a single time anyone ever wanted it in SL.

[Teufel 331]

On 8/26/2022 at 12:20 AM, Q said:

I don't know why they thought superstrain was something worth bringing back. I can't recall a single time anyone ever wanted it in SL.

Tbh I do miss Unholy having a multitude of diseases to spread, rather than being dubbed 'masters or pestilence' and having only two at best to work with.

[Q 140]

8 hours ago, Teufel said:

Tbh I do miss Unholy having a multitude of diseases to spread, rather than being dubbed 'masters or pestilence' and having only two at best to work with.

If there has to be a disease based talent then I feel they should just bring back necrotic plague, keep it as it was back in WoD but add the properties of blood plague and frost fever to it on top of the effect of virulent plague. Personally I'd prefer Unholy work like a demo lock, bursting wounds summons an army of the dead ghoul that would explode upon death or expiration or possibly even grant runic corruption upon death instead to create a neverending army of ghouls. Would be the closest thing to a necromancer we'd ever get.

[Teufel 331]

1 hour ago, Q said:

If there has to be a disease based talent then I feel they should just bring back necrotic plague, keep it as it was back in WoD but add the properties of blood plague and frost fever to it on top of the effect of virulent plague. Personally I'd prefer Unholy work like a demo lock, bursting wounds summons an army of the dead ghoul that would explode upon death or expiration or possibly even grant runic corruption upon death instead to create a neverending army of ghouls. Would be the closest thing to a necromancer we'd ever get.

Issue with NP is you had to center your gameplay around it, and doesn't bode well with today's toolkit, which simply wouldn't work even if you'd just latch "extends active diseases" to FeS like it was back in the day, ruining the Festering Wound part of the kit.

Having more diseases and creating more interactions via talents such as Plaguebringer they added, or maybe Epidemic triggering additional effects for each disease it flares up, and so on, seems like a more seamless way of bringing back the vibe of "master of pestilence" without disrupting the familiar flow of the spec.

It is a Death Knight, after all, not a Necromancer, so I'd rather have them remember about wearing plate and having a twohander to use, so a healthy mix of weapon strikes, disease and undead would fit a DK, rather than just dragging a zoo around.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Teufel