Lichborne: The whys and hows of PuGs and death knights
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Dec 15th 2009 at 2:00PM
So with Patch 3.3 out and running, the biggest thing taking the WoW world by storm is definitely the Dungeon Finder tool. If you're like me, you've made pretty good use of it already, and are probably within a few more runs of your very own cute as a button pug pet in the bargain. If not, you should probably consider getting on that, seriously.
Since running random dungeons is pretty much the in-thing to do right now, I figured I should devote a column to helping you brush up on your grouping skills. It never hurts to cover the basics, and if you're grouping with 1-4 complete strangers, it helps to be on your A game so that you can work with them and be easy to work with. Before we get into the basics though, let's set some goals for all that random dungeon running.
Why use the new Dungeon Finder?
These reasons can help you find the inspiration to queue and give you a reason to keep queuing. You know, besides the fun of actually running the dungeons with new and exciting people.
- You need Emblem of Triumph gear: If you're a more casual player, or at least someone who generally plays more on the 5-man level of the game, or if you just have a Death Knight alt who want to raid with, you may have some catching up to do gear wise. This is where the random Dungeon Finder comes in. Not only does every Wrath heroic 5-man give Emblems of Triumph now, but once you've gotten the initial 2 Emblems of Frost, every subsequent random dungeon will offer an extra 2 emblems of triumph.
- You need off-spec gear: Death Knights are a hybrid class, and we can play multiple roles. If you've dual specced into two roles, now's a good chance to gather emblems for your off-spec gear, or even just grab off-spec heroic drops. You never know when dropping into full tank mode (or stepping aside to let the prot warrior tank while you strap on the DPS gear) might come in handy. You can also use this as an opportunity to farm up emblems for PvP gear. Essentially, the dungeon finder system as it stands is a free ticket to gear parity. It shouldn't take you more than a few weeks to be all geared up to have a decent shot at a 10-man ICC group, if nothing else.
- You have quests to finish: So you've had that dungeon quest sitting in your log for a couple days. It may provide a nice gear upgrade, or you may just want the experience and gold. But no-one runs normal Nexus anymore, right? That's where the dungeon finder comes in. Focus it on the dungeon you want, and there's a good chance there's 4 other people on your battle group with the same problem as you. Remember, you can complete the quests in the heroic version of the dungeon too.
- You want Emblems of Frost: Considering ICC only has 4 active bosses as of this writing, even hardcore raiders may find themselves wanting a few more Emblems of Frost. Luckily, your first successful random dungeon of the day provides 2. That's up to 14 per week. If you can combine that with the weekly raid, that's 19 per week. Keep up that pace, and you'll have all the Emblem of Frost gear before Cataclysm.
- It's not as bad as you think. Seriously. You'll find most people you group with want those badges as much as you do, and they are willing to bring at least their B game to get them. Try it, you might be surprised how cool that guy from a random server really is.
Watch Threat and Aggro
Now, admittedly threat's pretty easy to manage in Wrath, at least compared to Vanilla and BC, but all the same, you're going to be stuck in a group with a tank you don't know, or else are going to be the tank stuck with DPS you don't know. In either case, you're going to want to pay extra attention to your aggro.
As a DPS, the big issue is going to be Death and Decay. Despite the fact that Death and Decay is specifically tagged as a high threat move, it also turns out to be high damage enough to fit into just about any AE rotation. Now, when I'm in a group with a tank I trust, it's pretty simply. I open with my diseases, spread them with Pestilence, and by the time I throw down Death and Decay, I'm pretty sure my tank has aggro solid enough that I won't be in trouble. Unfortunately, it's not always that simple in a PuG group. It may be a good idea to hold off on the AE and use a single target rotation for a while while you gauge the threat abilities of the tank. Are they laying down their AE early? How good are they at wrangling in strays? Be sure your tank can handle the big guns before you pull them out. If you do get aggro, don't panic. Stay in range of the tank so they can pick it up quickly and activate Icebound Fortitude or Anti-Magic Shell to survive in the meantime if you need to.
One more thing: curb your Ghoul. You don't want it pulling an extra group when you're not ready. If you're about to jump off a ledge, make sure it won't take the long way down and gather everything in sight on the way over.
As a tank, just be sure to stay on top of your game. Of course, if your DPS outgears you or is just careless, they may still peel aggro on top of you, in which case, you should remember that you have Death Grip (also good for pulling silly caster mobs into your Death and Decay) and Dark Command to pull snap aggro. It's easy to forget you do have actual taunt abilities when you've been working with a good, solid, regular group, but a PuG might just remind you that they exist.
Use your Skills
Using your personal utility skills is another thing that can mean the difference between a smooth run and a wipe. For Death Knights, some of our best PvE utility lies in our ability to interrupt spells. Mind Freezing that healer mob may not prevent a wipe per se, but you'd be surprised how much time it'll save you when you're not essentially killing the same mob 2 or 3 times due to heals. Strangulate can shut that healer down even longer if you're trying to focus on another mob. In a pinch, you can also use Death Grip to interrupt a spell in progress due to movement, but be careful on using this one if you're DPS, as it will turn the mob on you. Use it too often, all you'll have to show for it is an angry tank.
Watch Your Buffs
Yes, we do have buffs. Not many, but we have them. Horn of Winter is the big one. If you have a few physical DPS in your group, this buff is even more useful. More strength and more agility equals more DPS equals more badges faster. If there's a Shaman in your group, see if you can work with them on which Earth totem they'll drop, as Horn of Winter does not stack with their Strength of Earth totem. Other than that, you're probably pretty much clear for basic buff watching, since most of the rest of our stuff is triggered off our basic rotations.
And More
Of course, there's a lot more general tips and tricks you can use to make the run go smoothly as possible, One of the big ones I'd recommend is working out any special loot rules with the group on the beginning: for example, I like to see if everyone agrees to roll need on off-spec items so they don't get disenchanted, and to roll need on Frozen Orbs so everyone gets a shot at it. Beyond that, I'd recommend checking out some of the other dungeon finder articles on our site, especially the most recent Arcane Brilliance, since Christian covered the topic of pugging it up as a mage and had a lot of good general advice. With all this in mind, good luck jumping into the random dungeons, and may the emblems flow.
Welcome to Lichborne, the weekly class column on the newest WoW class, the death knight, where we discuss basic defense gear and Heroic defense gear for the Death Knight tank, 5-man Crusader's Coliseum gear for tanks and DPS, and basic Death Knight statistics and mechanics. You might also want to check all the other articles in our Death Knight category.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Instances, Guides, Death Knight, (Death Knight) Lichborne
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
JM Dec 15th 2009 2:07PM
As a DK, I try and Death Grip ranged mobs that the tank didn't pick up if they are attacking the group. I will usually let the tank know before I do this to make sure they are ready for it.
Arthomis Dec 15th 2009 2:17PM
As a pally tank i love when DKs bring the mobs that my shield missed seems like the new 5 mans have there mobs spread just enough that my sheild doesnt hit them all and the damn casters sit back casting.
Radiophonic Dec 15th 2009 2:19PM
Please stop doing this. Do you have any idea how much threat Death Grip gives you?
Jabadabadana Dec 15th 2009 2:23PM
Yes, I do.
Death Grip gives you 0 threat. That's right, ZERO. It forces a mob to attack you for a few seconds, but it generates 0 threat.
This is a really common mistake of dk tanks who assume that Death Grip will cause the target to stay on them if they yank it and ignore it.
Death Grip is Not a taunt.
krohvaer Dec 15th 2009 2:28PM
Well, Death grip actually gives you no threat whatsoever on a mob that hasn't been hit by a tank. It simply forces the target to attack you for a few seconds-which is overridden by a taunt. It is far better to do this than simply allow a mob to hit the next highest threat target-your healer.
Death Grip, like any other taunt, puts your threat at the same level as the urrent highest threat level-which, on an untanked mob, is either 0, or at whichever level your healer is at.
In response to your question, do You know how much threat Death Grip gives you?
N-train Dec 15th 2009 2:41PM
Death Grip isn't a taunt, but any tank who is on top of things gets a mini heart attack when they see a mob is suddenly attacking something else, even if its only for a second. Its my job as a tank to get all mobs (yes some of the trash in the ICC 5 mans are quite spread out), I think I speak for most tanks when I say we appreciate the help but please don't.
Plus, I'd rather the general consensus be to NOT do it, rather than opening up the door for people to do it as they please, not that everyone will, but capping it at never gets rid of any judgement calls. If I'm running with guildies I know how they play and know they can make a good call if needed, but I don't know about the pugs I'm with from a different server.
Hoggersbud Dec 15th 2009 2:54PM
Similarly one might be willing to trust a tank and dps you know without a death grip to pull a mob close, but yeah, usually when I find myself choosing to death grip something, it's because I see the caster way away from everybody and I figure it's about to shoot the healer down. Choice...type something for the tank to notice, or death grip, I'm going to death grip.
And while a tank should be alert and aware, that should be balanced with recognition that it's ok for the DK to take a little damage, they have a lot of effective defensive cooldowns.
Jeff Dec 15th 2009 3:02PM
" I think I speak for most tanks"..
I really think you don't. If someone is tanking a group of mobs, and there is a stray caster that is outside the tanks AoE range, there is no reason NOT to bring it into range of the tank so it will get hit by all his AoE threat abilities. Don't worry, it doesn't mean you are incompetent at tanking if a DK brings a mob into range for you. If you don't want this to happen then be sure you have all the mobs controlled yourself.
You said tanks get a mini-heart attack if the mob is attacking someone else. Well, most of the time a caster out of the group has no reason to be attacking the tank and is likely casting at the healer, and with 5 other mobs and the healer healing himself up it can be hard to notice. So it is much better to have the mob attack a plate wearer for 3 seconds and then the tank has aggro, then to just let it keep shooting at the healer.
Now Death Gripping a mob way past the tank as he is running to aggro the pack is another thing, or not giving him a chance to wrangle it in himself.
Dere Dec 15th 2009 3:04PM
As a pally tank a DK that death grips with a reason is fantastic, once he DG just use this macro and whamm you have a solid hold on his target and hopefully the DK will stop hitting him and go back to you target, but if not u can always taunt again.
/cast [help] Righteous Defense; [help,target=targettarget] Righteous Defense
Sorry i know this isn't a Pally column but i thought i would help with some of the DG hating going on...the only time i will be pissed with a DG is when they do it on a boss which gives them my aggro table and makes me work twice as hard to get back on top.
To the columns point though the biggest thing you can do to help yourself in a group is make sure you are attacking the same target as the tank, and that you are in the correct presence at all times. Also not opening up with howling blast because it's guaranteed crit proc is going away. I could give two shakes that you dps epeen stroking is going away my avng shield has a 30sec CD and i like to be the one who pulls as the tank. :P
Mordockk Dec 15th 2009 3:18PM
Good Idea. Make sure you are moving when you do it....and macro a chains of ice cast on top of it...this will yoink them and root them in place and give you plenty of time to run away and drop threat.
Lokasenna Dec 15th 2009 3:18PM
One thing I think you guys need to keep in mind is that Death Knights are, well, pretty beefy. Death Gripping a caster that the tank couldn't get isn't going to kill us unless we're in really bad gear.
For fights like Razorscale, I make a point of going for the casters as my main target. Why? Because I can unload everything on them and not worry about the damage - Death Strike more than covers it.
Keveline Dec 15th 2009 3:33PM
@Arthomis
Agreed, I like that too as a Pally tank. Admittedly, we have it pretty easy among the tanks when it comes to grabbing threat, but sometimes a mob will peel or I'll miss an add (I suck, I know ;)), so if a good DK can yank it back in so it doesn't squish a clothie I'm certainly fine with that.
Hëx Dec 15th 2009 4:01PM
As a DK DW DPS, I use one main macro that combines Death Grip/Chains of Ice. I can usually face or camera angle back towards our ranged heals/etc and if a mob starts running towards them I can quickly use this macro to bring it back to the tank. Also, casting Death and Decay on your ranged will give them a nice zone in which any misc adds entering it will immediately run towards me instead of chomping on them. I have yet to have a single competent player complain about this, but I've had many thank me.
In the rare instances I do tank, I have another macro that combines Death Grip/Chains of Ice/Dark Command into one aggro mashing button. I used to Talent to reduce cooldown on Death and Decay, but I'm not so sure about post 3.3 DK tanking.
Undra Dec 15th 2009 4:07PM
@Radio
To get an errant caster into the tank's aoe range at the start of a fight for negligible amounts of threat and a few seconds of laughable aggro, I use the grip every applicable time as a dps. And if I'm tanking, I ask the DK to always bring the casters closer.
N-train Dec 15th 2009 4:23PM
While some fair points have been made here, I'm still sticking by my plea not to have mobs death gripped. First of all, whenever I see a spread out group of casters (aka all of the ICC 5 mans), I tell the dps to give me an extra second so I can run into the middle of the group and make sure I lay down death and decay correctly, and I find that I have never come across a pack I just simply couldn't cover completely with a properly placed death and decay. If I miss, I have my own DG that I have control over. Paladins, I can understand wanting a hand on this, but from my experience I don't want or need it. Plus when I see a mob change target, I think I missed something and start spamming aoe's to ring them back in, or quickly change target and death grip/taunt it myself.
Maybe I'm just very uptight and proper about how I tank, but really I don't want people in the pugs I'm in thinking they should be death gripping every other caster. Again, sometimes it is useful, but I don't want people who I don't regularly play with DGing if they see fit. Not to say no one knows how to do it right or that everyone makes bad calls, but I'm gonna sincerely ask my dps not to do it cause it's not only my job to have that under control but it also makes my life easier.
Kaphik Dec 15th 2009 5:29PM
Smart death knights use Death Grip to help the tank all the time. DG a stray mob into the tanks AoE range, whether that mob is going after a squishie who pulled aggro, he's a caster who doesn't want to cooperate, or one of those annying mobs in HoL who disengages from the tank. Death Grip then change targets and the tank picks it up right away.
A tank seeing the DG animation should be ready to hit it it when it lands.
jbodar Dec 15th 2009 7:01PM
It shouldn't be an issue if the tank knows about it ahead of time (not something you just want to spring on him mid-pull and say "HELPING!"). The DK should be capable of surviving without much damage, and better that than the caster turn on the healer.
curtisrutland Dec 15th 2009 7:02PM
I personally prefer to Strangulate rather than Death Grip. Unless it's a silence-immune mob (not a whole ton of those in trash) it works just as well. For the most part, silenced caster mobs will start to melee during the silence. Which means that they very likely will run to the group, right into the tank's AoE.
That way, we can pick up that pesky caster without me having to deal with the taunt.
Eddy Dec 15th 2009 2:09PM
Re: Watch Threat And Aggro
Was there a change in threat mechanics recently, or has the increase in gear for DPS just upped everyone's DPS so much that they're pulling much more threat with the same actions? I ask because I've been in a lot of pugs with threat problems recently- not just with poor tanks but even good, conscientious tanks who can't hold aggro as well as I recalled them doing just before 3.3.
Rhabella Dec 15th 2009 3:23PM
Nothing scientific, but I would guess part of the problem is postioning. The bug, which has now been fixed I think, had mobs going behind you and causing many of your abilities to miss. If a mage or lock is sending in the AoE pain and you can’t get off some of your abilities because the mob is behind you, you are likely to lose your ability to hold them. I say this as a pally because I refused to tank on my DK while the bug was live because I play blood and didn’t need AoE spam messing with me even more than it already does for those DPS who wont let me get off a BB at least before they try and kill everything at once.
One thing I think all DKs should always be conscientious of is there is still a stigma that DKs are the huntards of Wrath. Just before the patch went live I was in LFG and volunteered for a HUP run. It took about 30 seconds to get the invite. When we started the dungeon, we made it all the way to the trophy room and I put out a solid 3400 dps and then 4900 on the boss, the tank said, “you know, I don’t normally invite a DK because they all suck, I can’t believe you know how to play.” Every time you take your DK on a pug, know you are being judged not just as a player but as a representative of the class in ways the other classes aren’t