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The latest patch 4.3 newsDeath Knights will use sigils
by Eliah Hecht 
Jul 27th 2008 at 8:00PM
Exactly what weapons Death Knights will be able to wield has been the subject of some controversy. Originally, it was speculated by Blizzard that one- and two-handed swords and axes would be the extent of it. Currently in the beta, polearms and one- and two-handed swords, axes, and maces are usable. Daggers, fist weapons, staves, wands, and ranged weapons are not (updated with verified information).
But not many people have talked about what's going to go in that ranged slot. A moment's thought reminds us that every other class that can't use ranged weapons or wands (Druids, Shamans, and Paladins) have Relics in those slots. If you're not familiar, Relics are class-specific items that typically provide a boost to particular spells; they come in different flavors for the different classes. Druids get Idols, Shamans get Totems (confusing, yes), and Paladins get Librams.
Wrath will add one more to the list: Sigils, for Death Knights. So far only one has been implemented in the beta – Sigil of the Dark Rider, one of the first quest rewards in the DK's starting chain. Blood Strike, as far as I can tell, is meant to be a staple skill for many DKs, like Heroic Strike for Warriors, so this should come in handy. And unlike Paladins, DKs have plenty of ranged spells, so pulling shouldn't be problematic – they even have a spell that brings the enemy straight to them, Scorpion-style. Get over here!
Filed under: Death Knight, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
xzor Jul 27th 2008 8:05PM
staves not included?
Jack Spicer Jul 27th 2008 8:07PM
Oh great! More loot to automatically DE when running an instance.
/cheer
Jack Spicer Jul 27th 2008 8:09PM
Adding super specialized loot like this seems to go against the whole idea of loot normalization I thought Blizzard was trying to push in this patch.
Maybe they'll wise up and leave these things as quest rewards and on rep vendors.
PimpyMicPimp Jul 27th 2008 8:20PM
Shards need to come from somewhere.
SaintStryfe Jul 27th 2008 8:47PM
What I'd have liked better is if they could unify the effects of the drops - a "Relic of XXYY" could drop, and it's effects are visible to the classes who can use it. When a Shaman sees it, one effect is displayerd, but different then a Druid. A healing one may give benefits to the Resto, Holy and Undead trees, for instance. And a Non-Relic players would just see the Relic and "Classes: Shaman, Druid, Paladin, Death Knight".
me 1 you 0 Jul 27th 2008 9:12PM
that is quest gear...
Corazu Jul 27th 2008 9:25PM
@SaintStryfe
That; or extend the class tokening and just have a Relic drop - a token that can be redeemed for the applicable item (Idol, Libram, Totem, Sigil) from a token vendor.
Badger Jul 28th 2008 9:46AM
"that is quest gear..."
Bingo. The Sigil of the Dark Rider is not only Quest Gear, it's directly related, name-wise and lore-wise, to the Quest from which it is available - that is, the same quest in which Death Knights earn their (ridonkulously awesome) Mount.
If it's any consolation to anyone, though: How is this any different from the massive variety of gear available that boosts Rage generation, buffs ability usage in Bear / Cat form, etc. ?
theghost Jul 27th 2008 8:19PM
i love this i can wait to play a dk even more i hope i get opted in
pudds Jul 27th 2008 10:48PM
My resto shaman wants a wand, please and thank-you.
Green Armadillo Jul 27th 2008 11:09PM
As an amusing side note, Sigils appear to think they're ranged weapons, as your character will attempt to draw them if you push the sheath weapon button twice. (Sigils do not, in fact, do ranged damage, but DK's have class skills that do.)
Wolftech Jul 27th 2008 11:21PM
ok.. planning the annoying macro for every time I use death grip
/cast Death Grip
/say Get Over Here
/castsequence reset=target Blood Strike, Blood Strike, Blood Strike
/say Finish Him
Draelar Jul 28th 2008 7:29AM
That was my first thought too when I saw the animation and the effect of Death Grip. I love it :D.
Sanaje Jul 28th 2008 9:12AM
Tripple bloodstrike won't get you far, given you've got your bloodrunes on cooldown after 2 and the damage it deals is fairly low if you haven't any other diseases applied ;)
Plaguestrike-Denegration-Bloodstrike would be a better bet.
Badger Jul 28th 2008 9:47AM
Fair warning: A few thousand people have already beaten you to this Macro
Hufke Jul 28th 2008 1:08AM
/y fatality
SkwidSpawn Jul 28th 2008 2:56AM
Heroic Strike is only a 'staple' of warriors until they reach 40 and get MS, or the fury equivalent. Warrior tanks use this ability only to dump rage. It's rarely used at level 70 as white damage is good, and that rage is better used on an instant damage ability.
Draelar Jul 28th 2008 7:29AM
LOL, rarely used? HS is my main threat tool when tanking bosses on progression level (currently end of SSC/TK, start of MH). About 30% of my attacks on bosses are Heroic Strike attacks. As long as you have "infinite" rage, HS is a staple skill for a tank.
SkwidSpawn Jul 28th 2008 7:35AM
There's always one...
If you are using HS as 30% of your attacks you are playing the game wrong. That would mean that practically all you swings are HS, which is an incredible waste of rage. You may want to try using higher threat abilities like shield slam. If that is always on cooldown then you need more mitigation, either through talents or through gear.
Badger Jul 28th 2008 9:48AM
"If you are using HS as 30% of your attacks you are playing the game wrong."
If you're telling people there is a "wrong" way to play the game, you're posting wrong.
UR DOIN IT RONG