How To Improve As Frost Death Knight — The War Within (11.2)
On this page, you will find out how you can improve at playing Frost Death Knight in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.2). We list the common mistakes that you should try to avoid and the small details that can greatly improve your performance.
Not Capping Runes or Runic Power
Because you can have 3 Runes recharging at the same time, any time you are holding 4 or more Runes, you are effectively capped on Runes and wasting potential Rune regeneration. There is never a point in your play where it would be valuable to not cast anything or where you need more than 3 Runes saved up; always keep 3 Runes on cooldown.
Similarly, every point of Runic Power you generate when already at maximum
Runic Power is a fraction of a lost Frost Strike or
Glacial Advance.
You will sometimes overcap Runic Power as you prioritise other things but
you should in general avoid overcapping!
Not Managing Your GCDs in Your Obliteration Window
When playing the Obliteration talent, your damage is highly
dependent on how many powerful GCDs you can fit into your
Pillar of Frost windows.
If you mess these up ever so slightly, it will have a significant impact on your DPS.
Practice the weaving rotation a lot and try and anticipate ahead of time what
you are pressing next during the window.
It is also important that you use your first GCD as soon as possible within the
window. For Deathbringer, macro
Reaper's Mark with
Pillar of Frost.
For
Rider of the Apocalypse, create one macro for each one of
Howling Blast,
Frost Strike and
Glacial Advance. Keep in mind that your GCD must
be "free", wait for the previous one to finish before pressing the macro!
Pooling Resources for Pillar of Frost
Pillar of Frost amps up your damage significantly, making it really
important to prepare yourself properly for the window. Make sure to save up
some Runes and Runic Power before the ability comes off cooldown, so you
do not end up starving in the middle of it!
Changelog
- 04 Aug. 2025: Updated for Patch 11.2.
- 15 Jun. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.1.7.
- 21 Apr. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.1.5.
- 24 Feb. 2025: Reviewed and updated for Patch 11.1.
- 15 Dec. 2024: Reviewed and update for Patch 11.0.7.
- 21 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within.
- 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 10 Jul. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 01 Jun. 2023: Updated talents and reworded Mythic+ rotation text.
- 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Death Knight Guides
Guides from Other Classes

This guide has been written by Bicepspump, a semi-hardcore player raiding with Pixelbased Lifeforms on Kazzak. He is heavily involved in the DK DPS theorycrafting community, testing hyoptheses and investigating the correct priority to use. He produces guide content on YouTube and frequently streams on Twitch.
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