Unholy Death Knight Frequently Asked Questions — Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.1

1. Is There Any Way to Play Around the Random Application of Festering Strike?

Yes. Festering Strike should only be cast when there are 0 Festering Wounds on your target. If there are any Festering Wounds on your target, you should be casting Scourge Strike or Clawing Shadows instead. This way, you never have to worry about overcapping your Festering Wounds. The only time when you should cast Festering Strike when you already have Festering Wounds on the target is when you are trying to generate at least 4 Festering Wounds for Apocalypse.

2. When Should I Cast Army of the Dead Before the Pull?

We have determined that around 5 seconds is the ideal time to cast Army of the Dead, as it will allow your Runes time to regenerate. Any variance close to 5 seconds should work very well, however.

3. How Much of X Stat Should I Have?

There are no currently stat caps for Unholy that you need to hit. Instead, we recommend that you sim your character in order to find your own stat weights that work best for you. While we have found that some stats are indeed better than others, item level will usually be the best decider when it comes to gear upgrades.

4. Why is Summon Gargoyle Not the Best Talent When Dark Arbiter Was the Best in Legion?

The rework of Dark Arbiter to Summon Gargoyle also changed how the ability works. It now has a 3-minute cooldown where Dark Arbiter had a 2-minute cooldown. Also 1 Runic Power increased Dark Arbiter's damage by 1%, where Summon Gargoyle takes 2 Runic Power to increase its damage by 1%, which is a huge hit even if the duration was raised to 30 seconds.

5. How Much Haste Should Unholy Death Knights Have? / Is There a Haste Cap for Unholy Death Knights?

There is no soft cap or hard cap for Haste, or any other secondary stats, that you currently want to aim for. Instead, we recommend that you sim your character in order to find your own stat weights that work best for you. While we have found that some stats are indeed better than others, item level will usually be the best decider when it comes to gear upgrades.

6. Which Race is Best for Unholy Death Knights?

Currently for damage, Orc is the strongest Horde race and Gnome is the strongest Alliance race. If you are looking for more utility from your race, then it is recommended that you look at Goblin for their Rocket Jump, Blood Elf for Arcane Torrent which provides a mass dispel and Runic Power gain, and Dwarf for Stoneform which is a nice defensive.

7. How good is Unholy Death Knight in BfA Patch 8.1?

Currently in Uldir, Unholy Death Knights are middle of the pack. In Mythic+ Unholy Death Knights excel at all forms of AoE especially bursting down large packs of mobs.

8. Changelog