Lichborne: Gear upgrades for Death Knights in the starting zones Part III
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Nov 23rd 2008 at 12:00PM
Back to Part II
Bracers
If you're the Horde, you'll want to grab an Utgarde Keep group to get your best possible bracers. The Vambraces of the Vengeance Bringer are gained from the Horde-only quest A Score To Settle, and are tailor made for a plate DPSer. Both sides can also get the Shaleground Bracers by clearing out the Vykrul settlement of Skorn via Westguard Keep or Camp Winterhoof.
Once again, you'll find the better non-dungeon option in Borean Tundra. The Freed Shackles are from the Tuskarr quest Leading the Ancestors Home, and provide a very nice chunk of strength and some hit rating.
Gloves
Early quest glove upgrades in Northrend for a Death Knight DPSer seem to be sparser than other slots for some reason, but there's still a few options. In Borean Tundra, you'll be able to get the Bogstrok Plate Gloves by helping a guy in a Murloc suit, which provide a good chunk of strength and some expertise. Less desirable but still a solid upgrade over Outland gear are the Onyx Grips from Howling Fjord, obtained by Stopping the Ascension of the Thane at Skorn.
If you're tanking on your Death Knight, you'll once again want to consider some dungeon diving in The Nexus. The quest Postponing the Inevitable will get you the Gauntlets of the Disturbed Giant, a clear upgrade over the cobalt gauntlets, making up what they lack in strength with hit rating -- and as everyone knows, you can't gain threat if you can't hit your target.
Belt
Belts are actually about as sparse as gloves, and for once, the Howling Fjord option might slightly edge out the Borean Tundra option. The Gold-Plated Coldsteel Girdle offers a sizable amount of critical strike rating, with some strength and hit rating to sweeten the deal, making it a solid DPS choice. You get it by getting the quest to slay Necrolord Mehzen at Westguard Keep or Camp Winterhoof.
In Borean Tundra, consider grabbing the Girdle of Ripped Space from Monitoring the Rift: Winterfin Cavern. It doesn't have any hit rating, and it has less strength and critical strike rating that the coldsteel girdle, but it does have 58 Stamina, at the least making it decent for tanking if you decided not to spring for some Cobalt.
Leggings
For leggings, Howling Fjord once again probably wins out for pure DPS. You'll actually get the Antique Reinforced Legguards rather soon after you get off the boat or zeppelin, either from the Anguish of Nifflevar for Alliance or The New Plague for Horde. They have the most strength of the plate leg quest rewards.
In the Borean Tundra Also in Howling Fjord, look for the Cold-Forged Bronze Legplates, which make up for having less than half the strength of the Antique Reinforced Legguards with a whopping 53 critical strike rating and 45 stamina. You can get them from Hasty Preparations for the Horde or Down to the Wire for the Alliance.
Boots
Howling Fjord completes its dominance of lower body DPS options with the Master Artilleryman's Boots, which provide a very sizable amount of critical strike rating and strength, and are probably the best of the normal quest rewards for DK DPS. Horde get them from Brains! Brains! Brains!, while the Alliance gets them from Preying on the Weak.
You do still have a few options in Borean Tundra. The Chilled Greaves have a small amount of strength and critical strike rating, but no stamina and some haste rating. Still, they're a solid choice for DPS. The Moral Sabatons gained from helping the DHETA are good in their own right as well, but they have raw attack power, which means you won't get the usual parry benefits from them. Still, 76 attack power is nothing to sneeze at, and it comes with stamina and critical strike rating as well.
Once again, Tanks are going to want to get a Nexus group. The quest Quickening gives the reward of the Boots of the Unbowed Protector, which provide a bunch of defense, dodge rating, and stamina, a clear upgrade over Cobalt Boots for tanking.
Gearing up and Rolling out
As you might have guessed by now, Borean Tundra is probably a slightly better choice for a Death Knight to begin their Northrend career in terms of quest gear, but Howling Fjord has some strong choices, and you probably won't go wrong leveling through either zone. Myself, I'm still leveling in Howling Fjord for now because I enjoy the lore, the scenery, and the music more than Borean Tundra, but even even I'm nipping over there to grab that axe.
Either way you choose, welcome to Northrend, Death Knight. Now's when the real fun begins. We'll see you in Icecrown Glacier.
Welcome to Lichborne, the new class column on the new WoW class, the Death Knight, where we discuss Burning Crusade leveling factions, speccing for solo DPS, and Death Knight Tanking. You might also want to check all the other articles in our Death Knight category.
If you're the Horde, you'll want to grab an Utgarde Keep group to get your best possible bracers. The Vambraces of the Vengeance Bringer are gained from the Horde-only quest A Score To Settle, and are tailor made for a plate DPSer. Both sides can also get the Shaleground Bracers by clearing out the Vykrul settlement of Skorn via Westguard Keep or Camp Winterhoof.
Once again, you'll find the better non-dungeon option in Borean Tundra. The Freed Shackles are from the Tuskarr quest Leading the Ancestors Home, and provide a very nice chunk of strength and some hit rating.
Gloves
Early quest glove upgrades in Northrend for a Death Knight DPSer seem to be sparser than other slots for some reason, but there's still a few options. In Borean Tundra, you'll be able to get the Bogstrok Plate Gloves by helping a guy in a Murloc suit, which provide a good chunk of strength and some expertise. Less desirable but still a solid upgrade over Outland gear are the Onyx Grips from Howling Fjord, obtained by Stopping the Ascension of the Thane at Skorn.
If you're tanking on your Death Knight, you'll once again want to consider some dungeon diving in The Nexus. The quest Postponing the Inevitable will get you the Gauntlets of the Disturbed Giant, a clear upgrade over the cobalt gauntlets, making up what they lack in strength with hit rating -- and as everyone knows, you can't gain threat if you can't hit your target.
Belt
Belts are actually about as sparse as gloves, and for once, the Howling Fjord option might slightly edge out the Borean Tundra option. The Gold-Plated Coldsteel Girdle offers a sizable amount of critical strike rating, with some strength and hit rating to sweeten the deal, making it a solid DPS choice. You get it by getting the quest to slay Necrolord Mehzen at Westguard Keep or Camp Winterhoof.
In Borean Tundra, consider grabbing the Girdle of Ripped Space from Monitoring the Rift: Winterfin Cavern. It doesn't have any hit rating, and it has less strength and critical strike rating that the coldsteel girdle, but it does have 58 Stamina, at the least making it decent for tanking if you decided not to spring for some Cobalt.
Leggings
For leggings, Howling Fjord once again probably wins out for pure DPS. You'll actually get the Antique Reinforced Legguards rather soon after you get off the boat or zeppelin, either from the Anguish of Nifflevar for Alliance or The New Plague for Horde. They have the most strength of the plate leg quest rewards.
Boots
Howling Fjord completes its dominance of lower body DPS options with the Master Artilleryman's Boots, which provide a very sizable amount of critical strike rating and strength, and are probably the best of the normal quest rewards for DK DPS. Horde get them from Brains! Brains! Brains!, while the Alliance gets them from Preying on the Weak.
You do still have a few options in Borean Tundra. The Chilled Greaves have a small amount of strength and critical strike rating, but no stamina and some haste rating. Still, they're a solid choice for DPS. The Moral Sabatons gained from helping the DHETA are good in their own right as well, but they have raw attack power, which means you won't get the usual parry benefits from them. Still, 76 attack power is nothing to sneeze at, and it comes with stamina and critical strike rating as well.
Once again, Tanks are going to want to get a Nexus group. The quest Quickening gives the reward of the Boots of the Unbowed Protector, which provide a bunch of defense, dodge rating, and stamina, a clear upgrade over Cobalt Boots for tanking.
Gearing up and Rolling out
As you might have guessed by now, Borean Tundra is probably a slightly better choice for a Death Knight to begin their Northrend career in terms of quest gear, but Howling Fjord has some strong choices, and you probably won't go wrong leveling through either zone. Myself, I'm still leveling in Howling Fjord for now because I enjoy the lore, the scenery, and the music more than Borean Tundra, but even even I'm nipping over there to grab that axe.
Either way you choose, welcome to Northrend, Death Knight. Now's when the real fun begins. We'll see you in Icecrown Glacier.
Welcome to Lichborne, the new class column on the new WoW class, the Death Knight, where we discuss Burning Crusade leveling factions, speccing for solo DPS, and Death Knight Tanking. You might also want to check all the other articles in our Death Knight category.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Quests, Leveling, Death Knight, Wrath of the Lich King, (Death Knight) Lichborne
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
T Nov 23rd 2008 3:45PM
Thanks so much for researching that. As a 72 DK, the sheer amount of plate pieces that are available in Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord are staggering. While everything listed is a good start, for anyone that continues to quest in either area, be prepared for an onslaught of plate pieces. I think I have obtained, on average, 4 variations on every plate piece available.
If it seems like you can't find something that is just right, rest assured, Blizzard has included practically every stat imaginable for DKs on various pieces.
Also, the clown wear look of Outland appears to be gone, at least on the greens I'm seeing through 72. The downside to this is that Dragonblight greens are starting to replace some of my gear, and so far, the chest and legs appear identical in look to the earlier items. I appreciate Blizzard not going with the clown gear of before, but then again, it'd be nice to have something slightly different when upgrading.
Aaron Nov 24th 2008 6:49AM
I personally like the Spiked colbalt gear as it becomes available since I do so much of my damage from crits. Plus the blue black-smithing axe is pretty darn good.
Naix Nov 24th 2008 10:21AM
Awesome post. That Axe is really really good for leveling too. Speaking of leveling I have tried every spec out there. Blood is by far the fastest way to level. Zero down time. I have not had to eat once after specing blood.
I have even soloed group quests like it was nothing.
Plaguefist Nov 24th 2008 1:21PM
Unholy is also a pretty good build for leveling. Although it has some lesser downtime, it's AoE capabilities make it all worth it.
Thus, who doesn't love blowing up his ghoul when things get ugly?!
Shibui Nov 24th 2008 5:20PM
In part II you mentioned something about a weapon from howling Fjord that has a ton of stam and ~45 str, While the stats are amazing for DK's I think what was overlooked was that the weapon was a mace and thusly useless for death knights.
Although I will have to keep it in mind for my warrior/pally
Daniel Whitcomb Nov 24th 2008 5:24PM
It's not useless. You can train maces as a Death Knight. You'll just have to start from 1 mace skill, which is admittedly a chore, but you can always do it while leveling a low level gathering skill or doing newbie quests for the Loremaster achievement.
Shibui Nov 24th 2008 6:03PM
Well that's what I get for taking the word of people when they told me "nope, maces are useless for DK's" the misnomers, they burn so badly.
Awesome post! sorry for the mix up.
Foo Nov 24th 2008 7:36PM
Both of the quest reward Leggings you mentioned actually come from the Howling Fjord.
eenersumbrella Nov 25th 2008 12:11PM
I actually leveled blacksmithing/mining on my death knight, and with a little bit of help from my husband, she's wielding a Lionheart Executioner.
Plus, the gears (after 300, if you choose to get professions up before heading to level) you make are great upgrades, but thats only if you dont' mind looking more like a rainbow knight when you step foot in northrend, and I didn't because stats > looks.
Naix Dec 1st 2008 3:55PM
"...but even even I'm nipping..."
Can we get some kind of proof reading here?
/facepalm
Arc Dec 9th 2008 12:35AM
I have to thoroughly disagree on the note of haste for unholy spec. That's because with the already lowered GCD, you can bring it to almost nothing, giving you a maximum punishment ina quarter the time it takes other classes to dish out. That's why I can death grip, anti-magic zone, and chains of ice easily in the time most people only have 2 down tops. And for 2H sporting, you get the weapon dmg still for your strikes, but the haste allows you to quickly pound in faces. I have found +hit and +haste to be my biggest friends when coupled with crit. And I have nearly 0 down time between ripping heads off. And btw, last time I ran UK, I majorly beat our 2 blood dk's in dps, so yeah, proof of concept that stacked haste + unholy presence = pwnage.
noggin Dec 30th 2008 7:26PM
@Arc
Unholy presence only affects melee attacks, so if you're only attacking a single target it's the way to go. However, if you're doing much AOE at all, and you should be, Blood Presence is much more effective since it increases all damage (melee and spells) by 15%. I quite often group with DK's of all specs who insist they'll decimate and end up embarrassed. The key to unholy is stacking strength and agility (and +hit, obviously) with the biggest, slowest two-hander you can find and keeping diseases up. This is especially true if there is any opportunity for hitting multiple targets. Blood Presence and Pestilence will outdo any DPS you can pump out on a single target by a large margin.
I can't speak to Blood or Frost spec, as I've had no reason to question my unholy spec since I've consistently done 40-50% or more of the total damage of every group I've ever been in with my DK, regardless of class and spec makeup (including AOEing places like Auchindoun with multiple mages and locks and while tanking in Frost Presence), with that number increasing significantly anytime an opportunity to AoE presents itself.
Yzerman Feb 18th 2009 5:34AM
I am suprised that this article did not mention trinkets, so for those of you still looking, here are a few tips of my own. These are DPS trinkets as I am Unholy and spec'd for DPS.
There are 2 trinkets I think a DPS DK should get:
The Death Knights Anguish: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=38212
Serrah's Star: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37559
These trinkets pair very nicely with one another. When both of these items proc at the same time; which happens often enough to warrant mentioning it; they add 337 points to your crit rating, which is an increase of about 19.5%. For a decently geared DK that means about a 32% crit chance. On a large boss fight, this may happen 10-15 times depending on how much HP the boss has.
For Death Knights this item is great because ANY melee damage, including spell damage, can cause the Oozing Wound effect. For instance if this trinket procs as you are fighting 5-6 enemies, and you use pestilence, each enemy it hits causes the Oozing Wounds to activate. What I normally do when I notice this proc is use Pestilence than follow that with Blood Boil or if I am in cool down, Unholy Blight. That instantly maxes out the Oozing wounds effect and than I follow it up with a death strike, which normally crit's, giving me a 2-5k heal depending on the size of the mob I am fighting. When you only have 13-16k health, getting 2 of those Death Strikes off during these trinket procs can equal almost a 10k heal in a very short amount of time, which any Death Knight can tell you who solo's a lot, is huge.