Frost Death Knight DPS Stat Priority in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Frost Death Knights
  • 3. Frost Death Knight Strengths
  • 4. Frost Death Knight Weaknesses
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. Changelog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics of Frost Death Knights
  • 3. Stat Choice for Frost Death Knights
  • 4. Basic Rotations for Frost Death Knights
    • 4.1. Rotation During Breath of Sindragosa
    • 4.2. Rotation outside Breath of Sindragosa
  • 5. Cooldowns for Frost Death Knights
  • 6. Azerite Traits
  • 7. Changelog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resources of Frost Death Knights
  • 3. Frost Death Knight Basic Abilities
  • 4. Important Procs for Frost Death Knights
  • 5. Cooldowns for Frost Death Knights
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Frost Death Knight
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 56) Talents for Frost Death Knights
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 57) Talents for Frost Death Knights
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 58) Talents for Frost Death Knights
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Frost Death Knights
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Frost Death Knights
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Frost Death Knights
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Frost Death Knights
  • 9. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 9.1. Frost Death Knight War Mode Talents
      • 9.1.1. General PvP Talents
      • 9.1.2. Frost Death Knight PvP Talents
  • 10. Changelog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Choosing Azerite Gear as a Frost Death Knight
  • 2. Choosing Azerite Traits as a Frost Death Knight
    • 2.1. How to Use this List
    • 2.2. Outer Ring Traits for Frost Death Knight
    • 2.3. A Tier
      • 2.3.1. B Tier
      • 2.3.2. C Tier
    • 2.4. Middle Ring Traits for Frost Death Knight
      • 2.4.1. A Tier
      • 2.4.2. B Tier
      • 2.4.3. C Tier
  • 3. Azerite Gear for Frost Death Knight
    • 3.1. Pre-Uldir Gear
    • 3.2. Uldir Gear
  • 4. Azerite Trait Rotation Changes and Details for Frost Death Knight
  • 5. Azerite Trait Simulations for Frost Death Knights
    • 5.1. Single-Target
    • 5.2. 3 Targets (Mythic+, etc)
  • 6. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 7. Changelog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Single Target Rotation for Frost Death Knights
  • 2. Multiple Target Rotation for Frost Death Knights
  • 3. Breath of Sindragosa
    • 3.1. Opener for Breath of Sindragosa
    • 3.2. Rotation During Breath of Sindragosa
  • 4. Obliteration
    • 4.1. Rotation During Pillar of Frost
  • 5. Cooldown Usage for Frost Death Knights
  • 6. Optional Read: Mastering Your Frost Death Knight
    • 6.1. Runes and Runic Power
      • 6.1.1. Runes
      • 6.1.2. Runic Power
    • 6.2. Dual-Wielding Versus Two-Handed
    • 6.3. Mastery: Frozen Heart
    • 6.4. Procs
      • 6.4.1. Killing Machine Procs
      • 6.4.2. Rime Procs
    • 6.5. Advanced Cooldown Usage
      • 6.5.1. Pillar of Frost
      • 6.5.2. Empower Rune Weapon
      • 6.5.3. Horn of Winter
  • 7. Changelog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Frost Death Knight in Mythic+
    • 1.1. Frost Death Knight Mythic+ Rotation
    • 1.2. Frost Death Knight Utility
    • 1.3. Mythic+ Talents for Frost Death Knights
    • 1.4. Tier One Affixes
    • 1.5. Tier Two Affixes
    • 1.6. Tier Three Affixes
    • 1.7. Seasonal Affix
  • 2. Mythic+ Azerite Traits
  • 3. Changelog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Capping Runes or Runic Power
  • 2. Accidentally Cancelling Breath of Sindragosa
  • 3. Not Pooling Runes for Gathering Storm
  • 4. Low Icy Talons Uptime
  • 5. Not Pooling Resources for Breath of Sindragosa
  • 6. Using Anti-Magic Shell on Non-Magical Damage
  • 7. Changelog
• +Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions
    • 1.1. Should I Have a Lot of Downtime When Playing Breath of Sindragosa?
    • 1.2. Does the Downtime of Breath of Sindragosa Decrease with Higher Haste?
    • 1.3. Why Was Frost So Powerful in the Pre-patch Compared to Now
    • 1.4. Should You Hold Pillar of Frost for Breath of Sindragosa or the Other Way Around?
  • 2. Changelog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Introduction for Frost Death Knight Boss Advice in Uldir
    • 1.1. Talent Cheatsheet for Frost Death Knight in Uldir
  • 2. Taloc
    • 2.1. Suggested Talents for Frost Death Knight on Taloc
    • 2.2. Frost Death Knight Playstyle on Taloc
  • 3. M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 3.1. Suggested Talents for Frost Death Knight on M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 3.2. Frost Death Knight Playstyle on M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 4. Fetid Devourer
    • 4.1. Suggested Talents for Frost Death Knight on Fetid Devourer
    • 4.2. Frost Death Knight Playstyle on Fetid Devourer
  • 5. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 5.1. Suggested Talents for Frost Death Knight on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 5.2. Frost Death Knight Playstyle on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 6. Vectis
    • 6.1. Suggested Talents for Frost Death Knight on Vectis
    • 6.2. Frost Death Knight Playstyle on Vectis
  • 7. Zul, Reborn
    • 7.1. Suggested Talents for Frost Death Knight on Zul, Reborn
    • 7.2. Frost Death Knight Playstyle on Zul, Reborn
  • 8. Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 8.1. Suggested Talents for Frost Death Knight on Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 8.2. Frost Death Knight Playstyle on Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 9. G'huun
    • 9.1. Suggested Talents for Frost Death Knight on G'huun
    • 9.2. Frost Death Knight Playstyle on G'huun
  • 10. Changelog
• ×Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Frost Death Knight
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding of Frost Death Knight Stats
    • 2.1. Statistics Priority
  • 3. Changelog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Frost Death Knights
  • 2. Enchants for Frost Death Knights
  • 3. Consumables for Frost 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 Frost Death Knights
      • 1.2.1. Breath of Sindragosa Macro
      • 1.2.2. Death Grip Mouseover Macro
      • 1.2.3. Howling Blast
  • 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. Grid and GridClickSets (Optional)
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Frost Death Knights
  • 3. Changelog
• +Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. The Importance of "Simming Yourself" as a Frost Death Knight
  • 2. Azerite Gear for Frost Death Knight
  • 3. Stats
  • 4. Trinket Simulation for Frost Death Knight
  • 5. Changelog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer Page
  • 2. Frost Death Knight Racial Bonus Simulation
  • 3. Changelog

General Information

On this page, we explain what the best statistics are for Frost Death Knights in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth 8.0.1, how the class benefits from each of them.

The statistics priority is important as it influences itemisation choices (gear, enchants, and gems).

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

About Our Author

This guide has been written by Abyssalwave, a top level Death Knight player. He is a former US #2 hardcore raider who currently raids with Club Camel. You can also check out his YouTube channel.

1. The Basics of Stats for Frost Death Knight

The stat priority for a Frost Death Knight is not heavily weighted towards certain stats. In fact what you will notice when simming your character is that your stat weights will be very close together. Because of this, item level is generally considered as the most important decider in a piece of gear. It is still recommended that you sim an item to determine if it is an upgrade or not. However, here is the stat priority you will normally find when simming your character:

1. Mastery;
2. Critical Strike;
3. Versatility;
4. Haste.

Usually a higher item level piece of gear will be a bigger upgrade than a lower item level piece of gear even with better stats. We highly recommend you sim your character to find the stat weights that work best for you.

2. Getting a Better Understanding of Frost Death Knight Stats

2.1. Statistics Priority

Strength is your primary statistic. You should look for it in all of your upgrades. It provides you with Attack Power, which determines the damage your abilities do.

Haste increases your attack speed (and thus the amount of procs of Killing Machine) and your Rune regeneration rate.

Critical Strike increases your chance to critically hit with all spells and abilities.

Mastery, through Mastery: Frozen Heart, increases your Frost damage. Frost damage makes up a great part of your total damage.

Versatility increases all your damage and healing done, and decreases all damage taken.

3. Changelog

• 12 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.

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