Deathknight Pvp Gems Of Elite Gamers

The first step to effective Deathknight PvP is knowing your moves. One of the most universally helpful moves to master right away is the use of Mind Freeze, which is the primary DK spell interruption attack. Most trees reduce or remove the runic power cost, making this an effective spell. There is also Strangulate, which has a fantastic range but a longer two minute cool down. Saving your interruption spells for coordinated burst can have a devastating effect on enemies. Remember, when you are trying to interrupt, make sure to shut down the opponent's primary spell line. For healers, this will be either holy spells or nature spells; for mages, it varies from talent specialization to specialization.

Deathknight are masters of controlling and restricting enemy movements. Chains of Ice is a powerful slowing spell, and classified as such for the purposes of other classes' snare resisting talents - for example, Chains of Ice doesn't activate the Arms Warriors' second wind talent. The spell can be used effectively in combination with Deathgrip to keep an enemy away from your healer almost indefinitely. Watch out for Gnomes though, who can break free of Chains of Ice with greater ease than other races. Deathgrip can also be used to position enemies in front of a stationary hidden ally to execute stealth combination attacks. Another viable tactic is to use Chains of Ice in combination with Deathgrip to keep ranged enemies within melee range, where you can overwhelm them with strike attacks.

The next group of skills to master are your survival abilities, the moves that will keep you standing when your healer is dead or bogged down. There are a number of talent line specific survival moves, but the universal saving move is probably Death Pact, which sacrifices your minion ghoul, army of undead ghoul or gargoyle for 40% of your max health, which can really turn the tide of battle; think of it as a Deathknight's version of Lay on Hands. Another baseline defensive move is Anti-Magic Shell, which before talents reduces incoming spell damage by 75% for its five second duration - the shell also charges up the Deathknight's Runic Power whenever spell damage is absorbed. As an unholy talented character you can further enhance this move, granting full immunity to magic, and unlock the potent Anti-Magic zone spell. Icebound Fortitude, with its 40% damage reduction, is also still very helpful at baseline.

Talent line specific defensive spells also offer some good options, one of the best of which is Rune Tap, from the Blood line. Fully supported with glyph and talents, this spell can heal the caster for 30% of their health every 30 seconds, and other group members for 10% each at the same time. All for just a single Blood rune! If you are going to use this tactic, then be sure to save most of your Blood runes for healing. In the Frost tree we find Unbreakable Armor, which gives an extra 25% armor and a boost to strength, which is a nice edge over melee attackers, but nothing spectacular; however, Frost also adds bonuses to Icebound Fortitude. Lastly we have Unholy, which improves Anti-Magic Shell and adds Anti-Magic Zone (a great group defensive bubble that will absorb roughly 20,000 points of incoming spells before breaking for a PvP geared Deathknight). Also, a part of Unholy is Bone Shield, which adds 20% damage reduction while charges remain, as well as a small boost to outgoing damage.

Gearing up is a fairly simple thing for Deathknights, with a stat priority which according to Arena Junkies should look like: "Hit capping (roughly 5%), spell penetration capping (approx 135 rating), strength, crit, agility/haste". Don't overlook spell penetration, because you'll have to contend with the ever present Mark of the Wild resistance bonus, as well as Shadow Protection prayers, and even the odd battleground alchemist or Mage that uses Mage Armor. Another way to boost your gear is with professions. Alchemy offers some great buffs for battlegrounds, like flasks that last though death and stones that increase the power of potions. Another favorite is engineering, with its many gadgets that offer a very well rounded set of bonuses like wrist rockets, nitro boosts, and even a parachute... which can come in handy in Arathi Basin.

While full Blood and Frost talent builds can be made to work for PvP, Unholy remains the most popular talent tree for good reason. Not only does it have great defensive and offensive powers in balance, but it also has improvements to the class defining ability to summon ghouls, allowing you to have a full time ghoul sidekick, which can be great for imposing a greater presence in battle. There is nothing quite as frustrating to a healer than to escape the Deathknight perusing them, only to be stunned by a leaping ghoul. With the Ghoul Frenzy spell, your pet not only becomes more offensively powerful but heals 60% of its health on a ten second cool-down, making it very nearly invulnerable.