Unholy Death Knight DPS 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 Unholy Death Knights
  • 3. Unholy Death Knight Strengths
  • 4. Unholy Death Knight Weaknesses
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. Changelog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics of Unholy Death Knights
  • 3. Talent Choice for Unholy Death Knights
  • 4. Stat Choice for Unholy Death Knights
  • 5. Basic Rotation for Unholy Death Knights
  • 6. Multi-Target Rotation for Unholy Death Knight
  • 7. Cooldowns for Unholy Death Knights
  • 8. Azerite Traits
  • 9. Changelog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resources of Unholy Death Knights
  • 3. Unholy Death Knight Basic Abilities
  • 4. Important Procs for Unholy Death Knights
  • 5. Cooldowns for Unholy Death Knights
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Unholy Death Knight
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 56) Talents for Unholy Death Knights
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 57) Talents for Unholy Death Knights
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 58) Talents for Unholy Death Knights
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Unholy Death Knights
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Unholy Death Knights
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Unholy Death Knights
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Unholy Death Knights
  • 9. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 9.1. Unholy Death Knight War Mode Talents
      • 9.1.1. General PvP Talents
      • 9.1.2. Unholy Death Knight PvP Talents
  • 10. Changelog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Choosing Azerite Gear as an Unholy Death Knight
  • 2. Choosing Azerite Traits as an Unholy Death Knight
    • 2.1. How to Use this List
    • 2.2. Outer Ring Traits for Unholy Death Knight
    • 2.3. A Tier
      • 2.3.1. B Tier
      • 2.3.2. C Tier
    • 2.4. Middle Ring Traits for Unholy Death Knight
      • 2.4.1. A Tier
      • 2.4.2. B Tier
      • 2.4.3. C Tier
  • 3. Azerite Gear for Unholy Death Knight
    • 3.1. Pre-Uldir Gear
    • 3.2. Uldir Gear
  • 4. Azerite Trait Rotation Changes and Details for Unholy Death Knight
  • 5. Azerite Trait Simulations for Unholy 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 Unholy Death Knights
  • 2. Multiple Target Rotation for Unholy Death Knights
  • 3. Cooldown Usage for Unholy Death Knights
    • 3.1. Apocalypse
    • 3.2. Army of the Dead
    • 3.3. Dark Transformation
  • 4. Optional Read: Mastering Your Unholy Death Knight
    • 4.1. Runes and Runic Power
      • 4.1.1. Runes
      • 4.1.2. Runic Power
    • 4.2. Virulent Plague
    • 4.3. Festering Wounds
    • 4.4. Anti-Magic Shell Usage
    • 4.5. Abilities and Cooldowns from Talents
      • 4.5.1. Tier 4 Talents
      • 4.5.2. Tier 6 Talents
      • 4.5.3. Tier 7 Talents
  • 5. Changelog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Unholy Death Knight in Mythic+
    • 1.1. Unholy Death Knight Mythic+ Rotation
    • 1.2. Unholy Death Knight Utility
    • 1.3. Mythic+ Talents for Unholy 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. Casting Death and Decay with Low Festering Wound Stacks
  • 3. Casting Soul Reaper with 2 or more Runes
  • 4. Make Sure your Ghoul is Casting Abilities
  • 5. Refresh Virulent Plague close to the Expiration
  • 6. Using Anti-Magic Shell on Non-Magical Damage
• +Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions
    • 1.1. Is There Any Way to Play Around the Random Application of Festering Strike?
    • 1.2. When Should I Cast Army of the Dead Before the Pull?
    • 1.3. How Much of X Stat Should I Have?
    • 1.4. Why is Summon Gargoyle Not the Best Talent When Dark Arbiter Was the Best in Legion?
  • 2. Changelog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Introduction for Unholy Death Knight Boss Advice in Uldir
    • 1.1. Talent Cheatsheet for Unholy Death Knight in Uldir
  • 2. Taloc
    • 2.1. Suggested Talents for Unholy Death Knight on Taloc
    • 2.2. Unholy Death Knight Playstyle on Taloc
  • 3. M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 3.1. Suggested Talents for Unholy Death Knight on M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 3.2. Unholy Death Knight Playstyle on M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 4. Fetid Devourer
    • 4.1. Suggested Talents for Unholy Death Knight on Fetid Devourer
    • 4.2. Unholy Death Knight Playstyle on Fetid Devourer
  • 5. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 5.1. Suggested Talents for Unholy Death Knight on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 5.2. Unholy Death Knight Playstyle on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 6. Vectis
    • 6.1. Suggested Talents for Unholy Death Knight on Vectis
    • 6.2. Unholy Death Knight Playstyle on Vectis
  • 7. Zul, Reborn
    • 7.1. Suggested Talents for Unholy Death Knight on Zul, Reborn
    • 7.2. Unholy Death Knight Playstyle on Zul, Reborn
  • 8. Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 8.1. Suggested Talents for Unholy Death Knight on Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 8.2. Unholy Death Knight Playstyle on Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 9. G'huun
    • 9.1. Suggested Talents for Unholy Death Knight on G'huun
    • 9.2. Unholy Death Knight Playstyle on G'huun
  • 10. Changelog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Unholy Death Knight
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding of Unholy Death Knight Stats
    • 2.1. Statistics Priority
  • 3. Changelog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Unholy Death Knights
  • 2. Enchants for Unholy Death Knights
  • 3. Consumables for Unholy 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 Unholy Death Knights
      • 1.2.1. Outbreak Mouseover Macro
      • 1.2.2. Dismissing Pet
    • 1.3. Generic Addons for Death Knights
      • 1.3.1. ElvUI
      • 1.3.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 1.3.3. GTFO
      • 1.3.4. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.3.5. Weak Auras
      • 1.3.6. Recount / Skada / Details!
      • 1.3.7. mRunes
      • 1.3.8. Omen Threat Meter
      • 1.3.9. TellMeWhen
      • 1.3.10. Grid and GridClickSets (Optional)
    • 1.4. Specific Addons for Unholy Death Knights
  • 2. Changelog
• ×Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. The Importance of "Simming Yourself" as a Unholy Death Knight
  • 2. Azerite Gear for Unholy Death Knight
  • 3. Stats
  • 4. Trinket Simulation for Unholy Death Knight
  • 5. Changelog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer Page
  • 2. Unholy Death Knight Racial Bonus Simulation
  • 3. Changelog

General Information

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

The other pages of our Unholy 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 Importance of "Simming Yourself" as a Unholy Death Knight

At this stage in the game, there are so many variables and so many layers of optimization that you can apply to your character, that there is no way for a guide or anything else to tell you exactly what gear you should wear. This is why we always recommend simulating your own character using Raidbots. The website can help you choose set bonuses, Azerite traits, trinkets and combinations thereof in a way that is tailored completely to your specific character. Learning to use this tool is essential to maximizing your potential, as there is simply no other way to take all the variables into account.

2. Azerite Gear for Unholy Death Knight

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

3. Stats

With the changes in Battle for Azeroth your primary stat is going to be your best stat. Even though this is the case, a higher item level peice of gear does contain more secondary stats which usually makes it an upgrade. When you are looking for gear upgrades you will usually find them in a higher item level piece of gear.

4. Trinket Simulation for Unholy Death Knight

5. Changelog

• 29 Aug. 2018: Added a hectic add cleave trinket chart.
• 12 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.
• 06 Aug. 2018: Updated the legendary list and tier 21 description to fix some mistakes.
• 30 Jul. 2018: Updated the legendary list to better reflect the current meta.

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