Blood Death Knight Tank Gear and Best in Slot in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Blood Death Knights
  • 3. Blood Death Knight Strengths
  • 4. Blood Death Knight Weaknesses
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. Changelog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics of Blood Death Knights
  • 3. Talent Choice for Blood Death Knights
  • 4. Stat Choice for Blood Death Knights
  • 5. Basic Rotation for Blood Death Knights
  • 6. Active Mitigation and Cooldowns for Blood Death Knights
  • 7. Changelog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resource of Blood Death Knights
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Blood Death Knights
  • 4. Important Procs for Blood Death Knights
  • 5. Active Mitigation for Blood Death Knights
  • 6. Defensive Cooldowns for Blood Death Knights
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Blood Death Knight
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 56) Talents for Blood Death Knights
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 57) Talents for Blood Death Knights
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 58) Talents for Blood Death Knights
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Blood Death Knights
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Blood Death Knights
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Blood Death Knights
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Blood Death Knights
  • 9. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 9.1. General PvP Talents
    • 9.2. Blood Death Knight PvP Talents
  • 10. Changelog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Best Azerite Traits for Blood Death Knight
    • 1.1. Outer Ring Traits for Blood Death Knights
    • 1.2. Middle Ring Traits for Blood Death Knights
    • 1.3. Inner Ring Powers for Blood Death Knights
  • 2. Azerite Trait Rotation Changes for Blood Death Knight
  • 3. Azerite Gear for Blood Death Knight
    • 3.1. Head
    • 3.2. Shoulders
    • 3.3. Chest
  • 4. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 5. Changelog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Rotation for Blood Death Knights
    • 1.1. Opener for Blood Death Knight
    • 1.2. Standard Rotation
  • 2. Taunting
  • 3. Survival Cooldowns for Blood Death Knights
  • 4. Optional Read: Mastering Your Blood Death Knight
    • 4.1. Runes and Runic Power
      • 4.1.1. Runes
      • 4.1.2. Runic Power
    • 4.2. Detailed Cooldown Usage
      • 4.2.1. Anti-Magic Shell
      • 4.2.2. Dancing Rune Weapon
      • 4.2.3. Vampiric Blood
      • 4.2.4. Icebound Fortitude
      • 4.2.5. Tier 4 Talents
    • 4.3. Death Strike and Blood Shield
    • 4.4. Bone Shield
  • 5. Changelog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Blood Death Knight in Mythic+
  • 2. Blood Death Knight Mythic+ Rotation
  • 3. Blood Death Knight Utility
  • 4. Blood Death Knight Mythic+ Talents
    • 4.1. Tier 1 (Level 56) Talents
    • 4.2. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents
    • 4.3. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents
    • 4.4. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents
  • 5. Blood Death Knight Dungeon Tips
    • 5.1. Atal'Dazar
      • 5.1.1. Trash
      • 5.1.2. Priestess Alun'za
      • 5.1.3. Rezan
      • 5.1.4. Yazma
    • 5.2. Freehold
      • 5.2.1. Harlan Sweete
    • 5.3. King's Rest
      • 5.3.1. Trash
      • 5.3.2. Dazar, The First King
    • 5.4. Shrine of the Storm
      • 5.4.1. Trash
      • 5.4.2. Aqu'sirr
      • 5.4.3. Lord Stormsong
      • 5.4.4. Vol'zith the Whisperer
    • 5.5. Siege of Boralus
      • 5.5.1. Trash
      • 5.5.2. Sergeant Bainbridge/Chopper Redhook
    • 5.6. Temple of Sethraliss
      • 5.6.1. Trash
      • 5.6.2. Merektha
      • 5.6.3. Galvazzt
      • 5.6.4. Avatar of Sethraliss
    • 5.7. The MOTHERLODE
      • 5.7.1. Trash
    • 5.8. The Underrot
      • 5.8.1. Trash
      • 5.8.2. Sporecaller Zancha
      • 5.8.3. Unbound Abomination
    • 5.9. Tol Dagor
      • 5.9.1. Trash
      • 5.9.2. Overseer Korgus
    • 5.10. Waycrest Manor
      • 5.10.1. Raal the Gluttonous
  • 6. Changelog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Capping Runes or Runic Power
  • 2. Not Planning Defensive Cooldowns
  • 3. Not Using External Cooldowns
  • 4. Poor Death Strike Timing
  • 5. Allowing Bone Shield to Expire
  • 6. Stacking Unnecessary Defensive Tools
• +Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Frequently Asked Questions for Blood Death Knight
    • 1.1. Should I Play Defensively or Offensively?
    • 1.2. How Much of X Stat Should I Have?
    • 1.3. Can I Sim Myself? Should I?
  • 2. Changelog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Introduction for Blood Death Knight Boss Advice in Uldir
    • 1.1. Talent Cheatsheet
  • 2. Taloc
  • 3. M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 4. Fetid Devourer
  • 5. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 6. Vectis
  • 7. Zul, Reborn
  • 8. Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 9. G'huun
  • 10. Changelog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Blood Death Knight
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding of Blood Death Knight Stats
  • 3. Changelog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Blood Death Knights
  • 2. Enchants for Blood Death Knights
  • 3. Consumables for Blood Death Knights
  • 4. Changelog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Death Knights
      • 1.1.1. Raise Ally
      • 1.1.2. Mind Freeze
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Blood Death Knights
      • 1.2.1. Gorefiend's Grasp
      • 1.2.2. Death and Decay
      • 1.2.3. Blessing of Protection Cancelaura Macro
  • 2. Addons
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Death Knights
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.3. GTFO
      • 2.1.4. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.5. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.6. Recount / Skada / Details!
      • 2.1.7. mRunes
      • 2.1.8. Omen Threat Meter
      • 2.1.9. Clique
      • 2.1.10. Compact Runes
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Blood Death Knights
  • 3. Changelog
• ×Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. Best in Slot List for Blood Death Knights
  • 2. Trinket Recommendations for Blood Death Knight
  • 3. Set Bonuses for Blood Death Knights
  • 4. Legendary Items for Blood Death Knights
  • 5. Azerite Gear for Blood Death Knight
  • 6. Changelog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer: Simulations for Support Roles
  • 2. Blood Death Knight Talent Row Simulations
    • 2.1. Level 56 Talents
      • 2.1.1. Single Target
      • 2.1.2. 3 Targets
    • 2.2. Level 57 Talents
      • 2.2.1. Single Target
      • 2.2.2. 3 Targets
    • 2.3. Level 90 Talents
      • 2.3.1. Single Target
      • 2.3.2. 3 Targets
    • 2.4. Level 100 Talents
      • 2.4.1. Single Target
      • 2.4.2. 3 Targets
  • 3. Changelog

General Information

This page is a gear reference for Blood Death Knights. It lists your best items, with an emphasis on trinkets, and gives you gearing advice.

The other pages of our Blood Death Knight guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Volstatsz who raids in Eternal Kingdom. He is a Blood Death Knight theorycrafter and moderator for the Acherus Death Knight community. You can follow him on Twitter.

1. Best in Slot List for Blood Death Knights

We do not currently provide a Best in Slot list. Try to prioritize gear with Versatility and Strength, especially rings, but don't sacrifice Armor and Strength to get it. Anything 10 item levels or more is virtually guaranteed to be an upgrade regardless of itemization, excepting rings and trinkets.

2. Trinket Recommendations for Blood Death Knight

Trinkets specifically flagged for tanks in Battle for Azeroth are particularly weak and should generally be avoided. Look for trinkets with static Strength or Versatility, or that have on-use effects that boost these stats. The following trinkets are worth seeking out as a Blood Death Knight:

• Jes' Howler is the best trinket currently available for Blood Death Knights. The cooldown is good both offensively and defensively.
• Dread Gladiator's Badge and Dread Gladiator's Medallion are both excellent choices if you can do PvP content. These are some of the easiest trinkets to obtiain at a good item level thanks to Battleborn Sigil.
• Darkmoon Deck: Blockades is the only purely tanking trinket worth using. It can be used if you need more maximum health to handle a specific ability, and is relatively easy to obtain if you have the gold.
• Kraulok's Claw has an uncontrollable proc, but will still provide good throughput over the course of an encounter.

3. Set Bonuses for Blood Death Knights

While there are a handful of set bonuses available from Battle for Azeroth dungeons, none of them are of interest to Blood Death Knights.

4. Legendary Items for Blood Death Knights

The special effects on your Legion Legendary Items will be disabled at level 116. Until then, you can still get full benefit from these effects. We recommend the following legendaries for leveling in Battle for Azeroth:

1. Sephuz's Secret is your hands-down best option while leveling for the significant boost to movement speed. It is triggered by Mind Freeze, Asphyxiate, Death Grip, and War Stomp (for Tauren). Additionally, this gives you a guaranteed socket for using an Insightful Rubellite.
2. Aggramar's Stride provides a movement speed bonus that will be very effective for the first few levels. Its value will decay as you level, the rating required per percentage point of a stat rising.
3. Skullflower's Haemostasis remains our strongest throughput legendary and will provide a noticeable increase to damage and healing, especially if you are grouping large masses of enemies with each pull.
4. Rethu's Incessant Courage has a flat 15% movement speed increase out of combat, and a guaranteed socket for your Insightful Rubellite, if you are not using Sephuz's Secret.

5. Azerite Gear for Blood Death Knight

For information about what Azerite traits to choose and what the best items are, see our Azerite page.

6. Changelog

• 24 Sep. 2018: Added trinket recommendations.
• 13 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.
• 23 Jul. 2018: Updated Legendary ranking.

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