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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsDeath Knight's Death Grip as crowd control
by Mike Schramm 
Dec 17th 2008 at 1:30PM
I haven't played a Death Knight on the live realms yet (I leveled one through the starting experience during the beta, and am only 79 so far on my main), but I have grouped with quite a few of them now, and the ability that real stands out to me and others seems to be Death Grip. A lot of the other Death Knight abilities are just new versions of other classes' spells, but Death Grip is a pretty new mechanic -- instead of charging or jumping away from a mob, you're bringing the mob to you. And with all new mechanics, players have found new ways to play with them. As you can see in the video above, Death Grip, when chained by a few Death Knights, can even be used as crowd control.
I've seen it used in a few other wild ways, too -- it works great as an interrupt, and when combined with a Hunter trap, it's finally a reliable way to trap ranged attackers and casters. And most of the Death Knights I've seen use it for pulling -- they suck the caster in from a group, and the rest of the mobs come with, and group right up for AoE. And I haven't even been to any PvP matches with Death Knights yet -- I imagine the uses there are even more hilarious, not to mention that I'd be yelling "Get over here!" every time I hit it. Very fun mechanic for the new Hero class.
Thanks, Michael!
Filed under: Fan stuff, PvP, Humor, Raiding, Classes, Buffs, Death Knight, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
John Dec 17th 2008 1:51PM
I can't believe it never occurred to me to use death grip to pull a caster into a trap! Pure genius.
Pull to trap...move out of AOE range of trap, drop death and decay. Kill kill kill.
nice
Chesticles Dec 18th 2008 5:33PM
As a mage there is nothing I hate more than being chain Death Gripped. Try to run away Death Grip, try cast Death Grip, try to eat and drink Death Grip, try to cry in a corner cuz i keep getting pwned by DKs Death Grip.
Although the worst I have seen was what they did to my tankadin friend Death Gripping him in circles around the group of 5 of them, and stunning him. I couldn't help but laugh until it came to be my turn...
realityworx Dec 17th 2008 1:57PM
It also works well to pull with a pull if the DK pulls the caster or ranged into the AOE of the tank so they will start to get hit. No more casters simply hanging by the wayside and pelting people to death.
Cyanea Dec 17th 2008 2:02PM
I absolutely love Death Knights who know what they're doing. Ran with a DK tank through regular Ahn'kahet. Had a pull go bad (patrol we didn't see). Two mobs ran straight for the healer. Hunter dropped a trap at the healer's feet, but the healer ran away from it trying to get away from the mobs. DK Death gripped one into the trap, and the hunter Growled the other off the priest until the DK could pick it back up again.
A hunter who knew what he was doing, and a DK who knew what he was doing...
If I wasn't a participant, I would have never believed that a PuG could be that well oiled. We ran Heroic VH afterwards and finished it in 20 minutes flat with no deaths and the Defenseless Achievement.
Lyncis Dec 17th 2008 2:32PM
Has anyone tried to use this just after someone uses one of the new knockback abilities to kick you off a high place? I suppose you'd have to be pretty quick on the draw...but hey, might as well take that mage out with you for knocking you off the EotS flag platform or the boat to Mo'Aki, right?
darian Dec 17th 2008 6:20PM
The only problem is that it can't be used while moving, which includes being thrown through the air.
jop Dec 17th 2008 2:09PM
For those of us on PvP servers and are regularly bored, here's a good way to "alleviate" some of that boredom with Death Grip.
1. Get to Booty Bay.
2. Get on the boat with anyone of the opposite faction (preferably Paladin for epic lulz.)
3. Once boat is in deep sea, strafe backwards off the boat, and time your Death Grip perfectly so other player comes flying off with you. (Note: Death Grip does not normally work in midair, but with proper timing, you can use Death Grip right as you are falling off the boat.)
4. ???
5. Profit!
*Note: Paladin bubbles do NOT provide immunity to Death Grip. Use this in arena, BG, world PvP, what have you. This is the most hilarious way though, imo. Mess with them a little until they bubble and think they're in the clear, then pull them off the boat. :D
Ardwyad Dec 17th 2008 2:50PM
Funny! Myself and a few others here at the office who all play have been calling it the "Get over here" spell since the release.
Mainly because we couldn't remember the darn name!
BigB Dec 17th 2008 2:25PM
haha, The first time i used Death Grip, I yelled "get over here!" it still runs through my head every time I use it.
Quickshiv Dec 17th 2008 2:28PM
I had a DK Death Grip me in world PVP. It was nice I didn't have to close the distance before I killed him. Death Griping a Rogue = Bad Day.
Starstrike Dec 17th 2008 5:04PM
It was my understanding that alot of people already realized the many uses for Death grip. My bro went from tanking as a prot warrior to trying out as a unholy DK and uses it for all kinds of things already.
Truthfully, the whole know how to use DG thing is not difficult and since it does not have a range restiction, it really has a hundred and one uses in terms of tanking. In fact, if youve ever tanked as a warrior it is easy to think of DG as a mocking blow that also pulls the target toward you if he is not in melee range.
And yes, both me and a friend of mine have our death grip macro'd to say "get over here" but with the extension "....ASSHOLE!" (a bit of an inside joke, its funnier to us than it would be to anyone who doesnt know the story behind it lol).
It is a shame my bro thinks it is too stupid to put the same thing on his DG though, but then again he plays his death knight much more often and around other people so i guess that would be embarassing
Dixonij Dec 17th 2008 2:31PM
As a tank, I always ask the death knights in the group to let my pull first with Avengers shield then pull any casters to me with Death Grip so I don't get picked off at range. Such a useful skill for instancing and a tank's best friend against caster mobs if used properly.
xin Dec 17th 2008 2:37PM
hunters can shoot traps to the range attacker, please do some research
Eternal Overlord Dec 17th 2008 2:43PM
They get shoot one of their traps at level 80, that's it.
l2correctpeople
cranberryzero Dec 17th 2008 2:38PM
on my rogue, i love death grip in world pvp... if you're fighting something and most other classes start ganking you, it takes you a few seconds to realize you're being ganked, by which time it's usually too late. with death grip, i instantly know the dk is out to get a piece and i can vanish as soon as i land and get the fight started my way.
MikeMaximus Dec 17th 2008 3:18PM
I play a DK on a pvp server and as a rule I don't use Death Grip to announce that i'm out for blood, especially on a rogue, unless of course it's to pull you away from ganking someone else.
I find Death Grip is best saved till the target starts to run, then you Death Grip and immediately use Chains of Ice if possible. I also love using that combo on casters AV that like to stand off in a corner casting AoEs. It seems to completely baffle most casters and i pwn their face before they can even get their bearings.
Thyago Dec 17th 2008 2:52PM
Death Grip requires slightly more "cautiousness" from the party though, given the other mobs that run towards the DK have only the proximity aggro, so AoE will most likely set the mobs loose (this was already discussed in some WoW Insider article).
Maybe Death and Decay helps with this issue?
DeathPaladin Dec 17th 2008 2:53PM
You can only get long chains like that in the lower level instances where you can have 4-5 Death Knights faceroll the whole thing. Not so much in Northrend when you need to bring others.
That being said, I got one of those unintentionally. It was with my guild's Death Knight tank, so I think it was Ahn'kahet. Mob charged the healer, I death gripped it, then the tank death gripped it.
Riley Dec 17th 2008 2:56PM
yeah, the whole "get over here" thing gets old really quick, i think i got sick of it after the first av i ran that had death knights in it, i think 4 or 5 of them were constantly doing it
eroch Dec 17th 2008 3:02PM
If anyone on my server were any fun I wanted to start a deathknight line from thrallmar to honor hold and chain pull allies into thrallmar to get wtfpwned by guards.