WoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comen-usCopyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/WoW Insider ShowEvery week, the WoW Insider Show brings you news and views from the World of Warcraft and the site that covers it all, WoW Insider. We introduce a panel of rotating guests, including bloggers from WoW Insider and other WoW blogs, and many popular personalities from around the WoW community. From the live listener chat and polls during the show, to the emails direct from listeners (reach us at theshow@wow.com), right on to the "meat" of the show -- in-depth discussion of the most popular news and posts on WoW Insider -- the WoW Insider Show is a terrific source of news and entertainment about what's going on with Blizzard and their World of Warcraft. Listen live every Saturday at 3:30 pm Eastern on our Ustream page (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wow-insider-show) or subscribe to the feed and let us know what you think by reviewing the show right here in iTunes.Lichborne: Addressing ability bloat in death knight skillshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/11/lichborne-addressing-ability-bloat-in-death-knight-skills/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/11/lichborne-addressing-ability-bloat-in-death-knight-skills/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/11/lichborne-addressing-ability-bloat-in-death-knight-skills/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Addressing ability bloat in death knight skills
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Recently on Twitter, Lead systems designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street was asked what issues he'd fix if he could immediately wave a wand and make it better. One of the ones he mentioned was ability bloat. Ability bloat is the term used to describe a class needing to press too many buttons simply to perform the basic tasks expected of them in group PvE and PvP content.

Ability bloat is certainly something that's been on my mind as well, so this week we'll consider the possibility of ability bloat in death knights and figure out various ways to address it. Much like how talents were pared down for Mists, I wouldn't be surprised to see abilities pared down in major ways for the next expansion, and we might as well start anticipating it.

Continue reading Lichborne: Addressing ability bloat in death knight skills

WoW InsiderLichborne: Addressing ability bloat in death knight skills originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>ability-bloatarmy-of-the-deadblood-death-knight-lichbornedark-simulacrumdeath-knight-abilitiesdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-diseasesdeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-skillsdeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichborneghostcrawlerguide-to-death-knightsmerciless-combatoutbreakpatch-6.0plague-strikesoul-reaperunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 11 Jun 2013 15:00:00 ESTLichborne: DPS stats for tanking death knightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/04/lichborne-dps-stats-for-tanking-death-knights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/04/lichborne-dps-stats-for-tanking-death-knights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/04/lichborne-dps-stats-for-tanking-death-knights/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne DPS stats for tanking death knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

So Rossi bought this up in his last column, and I feel like it is a valid question. If haste is a valid gearing strategy for Paladins, why shouldn't it be for the other tanks? The idea of haste and critical strike as being valid, even desirable stats for a tank seems almost anathema, but as of Mists, especially, it's worth a look. Paladins even have a gearing strategy built around haste. Are they the only ones? Should death knights be considering haste and critical strike rating? Should Blizzard be looking at ways to make haste and critical strike rating more desirable for tanks? We'll consider those questions this week.

Continue reading Lichborne: DPS stats for tanking death knights

WoW InsiderLichborne: DPS stats for tanking death knights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blood-death-knight-lichborneblood-shieldcritical-strikedeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-tank-statsdeath-knight-tankingdeath-strikedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsdk-tankdk-tank-gearingdodgeexpertisefeaturedguide-to-death-knightshastehitmasterypaladin-tank-hasteparrysanctity-of-battlescent-of-bloodtank-statstanking-geartanking-statswow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 04 Jun 2013 15:00:00 ESTLichborne: Reviewing death knight talents for patch 5.4http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/28/lichborne-reviewing-death-knight-talents-for-patch-5-4-tues/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/28/lichborne-reviewing-death-knight-talents-for-patch-5-4-tues/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/28/lichborne-reviewing-death-knight-talents-for-patch-5-4-tues/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Reviewing death knight talents for the patch 54 revamp
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street has indicated that Blizzard is pretty happy with the new Mists of Pandaria talent design, and I have to agree with him. While it does suck to wait 15 levels between new talent choices while leveling a new alt, otherwise the new talent system allows real flexibility and interesting, meaningful choices, arguably more than we had under the 51 or 31 point talent systems, where almost every tier had a clear best choice for whatever role you were playing.

That said, there's always room for improvement, and the devs have mentioned they plan to use patch 5.4 as another opportunity to go over talent trees and bolster talents that see less use or otherwise feel underpowered. With that in mind, this week we'll look at the death knight tree and pick out some candidates for a patch 5.4 redesign.

Continue reading Lichborne: Reviewing death knight talents for patch 5.4

WoW InsiderLichborne: Reviewing death knight talents for patch 5.4 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 28 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>anti-magic-zoneasphyxiateblood-death-knight-lichborneblood-tapchilblainsconversiondeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedeath-pactdeath-siphondeaths-advancedesecrated-grounddk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornegorefiends-graspguide-to-death-knightslichbornemists-of-pandaria-talentspatch-5.4plague-leechpurgatoryremorseless-winterroiling-bloodrunic-corruptionrunic-empowermenttalent-revamptalent-systemtalentsunholy-blightunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 28 May 2013 12:00:00 ESTDeath Knight one-per-realm restriction liftedhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/24/death-knight-one-per-realm-restriction-lifted/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/24/death-knight-one-per-realm-restriction-lifted/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/24/death-knight-one-per-realm-restriction-lifted/#commentsFiled under:

Death Knight one per realm restriction lifted
WoW Insider received an email this morning about a small change that has us all a'fluster. Saruya sent us a notification that the restriction preventing players from having more than one death knight per realm has been lifted. We immediately logged into WoW to check this out, and as the eagle eyed among you will be able to see, this is definitely the case. I was able to make six death knights on Argent Dawn, with no issues whatsoever, and many more on other realms.

What's got us a little confused, though, is that we're not entirely sure when the restriction was lifted. Nethaera posted on the official US forums on April 14th, after the release of patch 5.2, that there was no update on when it would be lifted. This implies to us that it's a recent change, but it is conspicuously absent from the patch notes! Funny enough, when you assume there is not the possibility to create more than one DK per realm, you don't often try. So, we thought we'd post this here to clarify: you can now have all the DKs your cold, frostbitten heart desires.

WoW InsiderDeath Knight one-per-realm restriction lifted originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 24 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>breakingdeath-knightDKone-death-knight-per-realmone-dk-per-serverOlivia GraceFri, 24 May 2013 16:00:00 ESTLichborne: Final notes on patch 5.3 and a legendary shortcuthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/21/lichborne-final-notes-on-patch-5-3-and-a-legendary-shortcut/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/21/lichborne-final-notes-on-patch-5-3-and-a-legendary-shortcut/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/21/lichborne-final-notes-on-patch-5-3-and-a-legendary-shortcut/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Final patch 53 notes and a legendary shortcut
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

By the time you read this, patch 5.3 should be on live servers. We've already written a couple columns on what patch 5.3 will mean for death knights, but as always, things change on the PTR. With that in mind, this week we'll take a final look at patch 5.3 for death knights and what you can expect and do once the servers are back up (if they aren't already). I also have a couple notes on completing Wrathion's legendary quest line for death knights.

Continue reading Lichborne: Final notes on patch 5.3 and a legendary shortcut

WoW InsiderLichborne: Final notes on patch 5.3 and a legendary shortcut originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>3army-of-the-deadblood--presenceblood-death-knight-lichborneblood-plaguebone-shielddeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-unholy-lichbornediseasesfesterblightfrost-death-knight-lichbornefrost-feverheroic-scenariosinsubordinationlatent-korkron-armorlegendary-questlegendary-questlinenalaknalak-the-storm-lordpatch-5raise-deadrune-tapspirit-of-the-storm-lordtricks-of-the-tradeunholy-death-knight-lichbornevalor-point-upgradesvalor-pointsvalor-upgradevalor-upgradeswrathionDaniel WhitcombTue, 21 May 2013 13:00:00 ESTGhostcrawler on Vengeance and patch 5.4http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/17/ghostcrawler-on-vengeance-and-patch-5-4/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/17/ghostcrawler-on-vengeance-and-patch-5-4/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/17/ghostcrawler-on-vengeance-and-patch-5-4/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Ghostcrawler on Vengeance and patch 54
Yes, patch 5.3 isn't even out yet, and we're already looking towards patch 5.4. Thanks to Ghostcrawler, we have this to think about for the future, namely that Vengeance is getting capped at a significantly lower threshold in raids in the future. If you remember back at August of last year, Vengeance saw some significant changes that increased how fast it could ramp up in raids and also gave it a far larger maximum potential. It's been adjusted over time, but in general what GC said back last August has held true -- tank DPS in raiding really did go up. To the point where on some pulls it's not unusual to see tanks leading the DPS, sometimes by extremely large numbers.

Since this is a big change that will drastically lower tank damage output (25-man tanks with their 600,000 or more health buffed will lose roughly 300,000 AP on fights where Vengeance was capping at 100% of their health) I'm not surprise it won't be coming in 5.3 -- I am a little surprised it's happening at all, because we all knew Vengeance and tank damage would do exactly what it has done when it was changed. Still, I wait to observe if it has much practical difference since aside from AoE tanking where a multitude of hits can roll in a short window of time (that 20 second ramp up period) and the tanks can make effective use of all that AP I'm not sure it will matter. 5-mans and scenarios were not mentioned, so for now I'm assuming this is only for the raids mentioned.

WoW InsiderGhostcrawler on Vengeance and patch 5.4 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>10-man-raiding25-man-raidingDeath-KnightdruidGhostcrawlerMonkpaladinpatch-5.4raidingraidstankingVengeancewarriorMatthew RossiFri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 ESTLichborne: Patch 5.3 and the death of festerblighthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/14/lichborne-patch-5-3-and-the-death-of-festerblight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/14/lichborne-patch-5-3-and-the-death-of-festerblight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/14/lichborne-patch-5-3-and-the-death-of-festerblight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Patch 53 and the death of festerblight
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

In a recent update on the patch 5.3 PTR, Blizzard applied an update that applied some unexpected changes to the death knight unholy tree, most of them nerfs.
Blizzard
Death Knight

Unholy

This has, unsurprisingly, left many death knights at a loss. After patch 5.2 seemed to cure unholy's woes and allow it to at least be a viable and fun alternative to frost, these nerfs came as a surprise. Frost is so far still the more damaging death knight DPS spec in patch 5.2, so the idea that unholy is the one that got nerfs was somewhat discouraging.

That said, it might not be as bad as you think. It's worth noting that in the long run, the Scourge Strike buff should cancel out the nerfs to Festering Strike and Unholy Might, at least in theory. This brings to mind one question as to what this shifting of damage toward Scourge Strike is actually meant to accomplish. Essentially, the main purpose here appears to be a nerf to festerblight.

Continue reading Lichborne: Patch 5.3 and the death of festerblight

WoW InsiderLichborne: Patch 5.3 and the death of festerblight originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 14 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blood-furydeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-nerfsdeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfabled-feather-of-ji-kunfeaturedfesterblightfrost-death-knight-lichborneguide-to-death-knightsmasterfrostmight-of-the-frozen-wastesobliterateoutbreakpatch-5.3patch-5.3-ptrpotion-of-mogu-powerrune-of-the-fallen-crusadersynapse-springsthreat-of-thassariantricks-of-the-tradeunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 14 May 2013 12:00:00 ESTLichborne: Death knight wish list for a new expansionhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/30/lichborne-death-knight-wish-list-for-a-new-expansion/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/30/lichborne-death-knight-wish-list-for-a-new-expansion/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/30/lichborne-death-knight-wish-list-for-a-new-expansion/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Death knight wish list for a new expansion TUESDAY
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

With BlizzCon officially announced, the question on everyone's lips is whether or not we'll get a new expansion announcement. Myself, I'm pretty sure it's a done deal, which makes this a perfect time to speculate and daydream about the inevitable changes that will come with patch 6.0. Today, we'll dream a bit about what could be coming for death knights.

Swelling the armies

It's been more or less traditional that we do get a new ability every time the level caps get raised. Whether this tradition will continue or not is admittedly hard to say. A lot of classes are already suffering from "button bloat," and Blizzard may want to shy away from adding new buttons. In addition, not adding new buttons may give them more leeway to adjust other buttons, as well as ensure classes don't get too powerful or infringe on other class' territory.

Continue reading Lichborne: Death knight wish list for a new expansion

WoW InsiderLichborne: Death knight wish list for a new expansion originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blood-death-knight-lichbornedeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichborneguide-to-death-knightspatch-6.0unholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 30 Apr 2013 13:00:00 ESTLichborne: Patch 5.3 and other news for death knightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/lichborne-patch-5-3-and-other-news-for-death-knights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/lichborne-patch-5-3-and-other-news-for-death-knights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/lichborne-patch-5-3-and-other-news-for-death-knights/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Patch 53 and other news for death knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

With patch 5.2 having, if not solved, at least soothed most of our balance problems, patch 5.3 seems like a relatively quiet patch for death knights. Our class changes are a handful of relatively small fixes.

That said, there's still a good amount of content coming. Today, we'll look at patch 5.3 content and what it offers for the death knight. Note that what we're discussing today is primarily PTR content, and thus may not make it live, or will make it live in a slightly different format.

Continue reading Lichborne: Patch 5.3 and other news for death knights

WoW InsiderLichborne: Patch 5.3 and other news for death knights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blood-death-knight-lichbornedeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichborneguide-to-death-knightsheroic-scenariosinsubordinationlatent-korkron-armorpatch-5.3radical-mojoruneforgingunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 23 Apr 2013 13:00:00 ESTLichborne: 3 silly little death knight problemshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/15/lichborne-3-silly-little-death-knight-problems/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/15/lichborne-3-silly-little-death-knight-problems/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/15/lichborne-3-silly-little-death-knight-problems/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Silly little death knight problems
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

A few weeks back, I wrote a column singing the praises of the patch 5.2 death knight. I definitely stand by that column. Death knights remain a solid, fun class to play this patch. That said, there's always problems. Some of them probably won't ever be solved by patch changes. Today, we're going to look at some of the sillier death knight problems I've been dealing with lately, and see if there's any chance of relief for them.

My weapon won't drop

This is a problem I've had for ages. It seems like ever since Wrath, my death knight has had to wait a little longer for the weapon I actually want to wield because either it never drops or because someone else generally wins the roll or pays more DKP than me.

I, of course, do my best to do a little bit of every spec every patch because I want to be able to report on DK issues first hand, but my first death knight love and my main spec will always be some form of two-handed DPS.

Continue reading Lichborne: 3 silly little death knight problems

WoW InsiderLichborne: 3 silly little death knight problems originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blood-death-knight-lichborneblood-dpsdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedeath-knight-weaponsdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichborneguide-to-death-knightspolearmsunholy-death-knight-lichborneweaponswow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombMon, 15 Apr 2013 20:00:00 ESTLichborne: The trouble with hit rating and expertisehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/lichborne-the-trouble-with-hit-rating-and-expertise/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/lichborne-the-trouble-with-hit-rating-and-expertise/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/lichborne-the-trouble-with-hit-rating-and-expertise/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne The trouble with hit rating and expertise
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Hit rating and expertise are the life blood of the max level PvE death knight. DPS death knights need exactly 7.5% hit rating and 7.5% expertise to avoid missing raid bosses or having their attacks dodged outright. Even tanks, while a miss is less of a big deal for them, may find hit and expertise helps them keep threat and prevent key debuffs from falling off the mob. They're so powerful that if you aren't near those caps, your DPS will suffer horribly, and in most cases, the one thing you do to increase raid DPS is to hit those caps if you aren't at them already.

Now, this is what we have reforging and regemming for though, right? Sometimes it's just not that simple. Today, we'll take a look at the problems with hit gear and suggest some solutions.

The big problem is that once hit and expertise do their job of letting you hit the mob, they are almost literally useless. Dual wielders get a little bit of extra help for their normal weapon hits, but 2 handed wielders get literally nothing else out of them at all. They're dead stats. Arguably, it's bad even if you are at the 7.5% caps, because that means you have a bit of hit and expertise. and expertise rating that's not needed for daily questing or dungeon runs, or even for most raid trash.

Continue reading Lichborne: The trouble with hit rating and expertise

WoW InsiderLichborne: The trouble with hit rating and expertise originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>ask-mr-robotdeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsexpertiseexpertise-ratingfeaturedguide-to-death-knightshithit-ratingreforgingresiliencethunderforgedthunderforged-gearwow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombMon, 08 Apr 2013 17:00:00 ESTLichborne: Survivability for the DPS death knighthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/02/lichborne-survivability-for-the-dps-death-knight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/02/lichborne-survivability-for-the-dps-death-knight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/02/lichborne-survivability-for-the-dps-death-knight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Survivability for the DPS death knight
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Death knights have long been notorious for their insane survivability since they were first introduced. Over the years, a lot of it has been nerfed, but a lot remains. While blood knight survivability feels somewhat obvious, it's a little harder to see what unholy and frost death knights have going for them. Today, we're going to examine how DPS death knights can use their skills to stay alive when the heat is on.

Anti-Magic Shell

Anti-Magic Shell remains one of the most versatile and underrated tools in our arsenal. By absorbing most of the magical damage from a massive magical attack, it allows us to stay in position longer than other classes, and save ourselves from own mistakes in some cases.

Continue reading Lichborne: Survivability for the DPS death knight

WoW InsiderLichborne: Survivability for the DPS death knight originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>anti-magic-shellanti-magic-zonearmy-of-the-deadblood-presenceconversiondeath-knight-dps-survivabilitydeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-survivabilitydeath-knight-survivaldeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedeath-pactdeath-runesdeath-siphondeath-strikedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsdps-survivabilityfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichborneglyph-of-army-of-the-deadglyph-of-dark-succorguide-to-death-knightsicebound-fortitudelichbornepurgatoryraise-deadunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 02 Apr 2013 13:00:00 ESTLichborne: Stupid death knight tricks on the Isle of Thunderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/26/lichborne-stupid-death-knight-tricks-on-the-isle-of-thunder/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/26/lichborne-stupid-death-knight-tricks-on-the-isle-of-thunder/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/26/lichborne-stupid-death-knight-tricks-on-the-isle-of-thunder/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Stupid death knight tricks on the Isle of Thunder
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

With patch 5.2 well underway, by now you've probably spent a good amount of time on the Isle of Thunder. There's lots of fun stuff to dig into there. For the most part, non-raid content seems designed so that most classes can deal with it with a minimum of fuss. Still, some classes will have an advantage, and this time, death knights are among them. Today we'll look at a few ways in which you can use your death knight specific skills to make your time on the Isle of Thunder more profitable.

Continue reading Lichborne: Stupid death knight tricks on the Isle of Thunder

WoW InsiderLichborne: Stupid death knight tricks on the Isle of Thunder originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>anti-magic-shelldeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeaths-advancedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedguide-to-death-knightsicebound-fortitudeisle-of-thunderpatch-5.2solo-instancetroves-of-the-thunder-kingtroves-of-the-thunder-king-guidewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 26 Mar 2013 19:00:00 ESTLichborne: The hidden skills of of the tankhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/19/lichborne-the-hidden-skills-of-of-the-tank/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/19/lichborne-the-hidden-skills-of-of-the-tank/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/19/lichborne-the-hidden-skills-of-of-the-tank/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

DPS guides are usually pretty straightforward. You have your damage rotation, your stat priorities for gear, and maybe an extra section with some tips on using some of your more esoteric abilities. Tank guides get a little bit more slippery, though. Sure, you can cover some of the same stuff you cover in a DPS guide, included stat priorities and tips and tricks for using specific abilities, but a tank will operate on a different level. They need to know when to use their defensive cool downs. They need to know when specific boss fights may require them to switch up gear. In some cases, they need to know certain intangible things about a boss and about raiding or grouping that it doesn't seem like DPS quite need to deal with. These aren't things that will ever really involve using Death Strike, but they may be just as important to being a successful tank as Death Strike ever will be.

This week, we'll take a look at some of these intangible things and discuss ways to make sure you're on top of them. Most of this will apply primarily to pickup groups, since at the raiding level, it's easier (or at least necessary) to make sure even healers and DPS know this stuff. But if you're in Raid Finder, boy howdy will you want to keep this advice in mind.

Continue reading Lichborne: The hidden skills of of the tank

WoW InsiderLichborne: The hidden skills of of the tank originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blood-death-knight-lichbornechilblainsdeath-and-decaydeath-gripdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-tankdeath-knight-tank-guidedeath-knight-tankingdeath-knight-tanking-guidedeath-strikedeaths-advancedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedgorefiends-graspguide-to-death-knightsmob-positioningpositioningstrangulatetank-guidetank-leadershiptankingtanking-guidewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 19 Mar 2013 15:00:00 ESTLichborne: Why patch 5.2 is a great time to be a death knighthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/12/lichborne-why-patch-5-2-is-a-great-time-to-be-a-death-knight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/12/lichborne-why-patch-5-2-is-a-great-time-to-be-a-death-knight/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/12/lichborne-why-patch-5-2-is-a-great-time-to-be-a-death-knight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Why patch 52 is a great time to be a death knight
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

With patch 5.2 in full swing, we've had time to take stock of the changes, not just in terms of new content, but in terms of the buffs and nerfs our classes received. I'm just going to come out and say it. As a class, death knights feel about the best they've been since the Wrath era. There's a lot of great stuff to be excited about, so let's go down the list.

Unholy is fun again

Unholy has, as a spec, been sort of on the outside since Cataclysm. Blizzard's revamp, which put unholy on a different rune spending scheme from the other specs and pulled it even further away from weapon damage and toward special ability damage, created a unique melee spec, but the complications and weaknesses that came with that spec were a bit much for many people, and with frost generally beating it in both DPS and simplicity, the spec gained a reputation for being played only by the most hard headed diehards.

Patch 5.2 came along and bought with it a much needed unholy revamp. The addition of Frost Fever to Plague Strike alone has helped make unholy's rotation smoother and more intuitive, as well as made target switching feel at least a little less punishing. AoE is still a little more awkward, but with Icy Touch on Reaping, you can at least get through that first setup and get to the main AoE rotation a lot more smoothly.

Continue reading Lichborne: Why patch 5.2 is a great time to be a death knight

WoW InsiderLichborne: Why patch 5.2 is a great time to be a death knight originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blood-presenceconversiondeath-coildeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornedeath-pactdeath-siphondk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornefrost-feverguide-to-death-knightshowling-blasticy-talonsicy-touchmight-of-the-frozen-wastespatch-5.2plague-strikereapingstrangulatesummon-gargoyleunholy-buffunholy-buffsunholy-death-knight-lichborneunholy-revampwow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 12 Mar 2013 13:00:00 ESTGhostcrawler and Daxxarri talk classes in patch 5.2http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/08/ghostcrawler-and-daxxarri-talk-classes-in-patch-5-2/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/08/ghostcrawler-and-daxxarri-talk-classes-in-patch-5-2/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/08/ghostcrawler-and-daxxarri-talk-classes-in-patch-5-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

mage talents screenshot
With the advent of patch 5.2, World of Warcraft Lead Systems Designer Greg Street "Ghostcrawler" and Community Manager Daxxarri have been posting a series of class overviews and changes. Part one went up on Tuesday, covering death knights, druids, and hunters. Part two was posted Wednesday evening and covers mages, paladins, and priests. Part three, on rogues, shaman, and warlocks, went up yesterday evening, and part four, covering warriors and monks, was posted earlier today. For many classes, most of the changes involve PvP balancing as well as trying to improve a number of talents in some way to make them more useful and thus more attractive to players, at least situationally. If you're curious about either the philosophy of class balance design or just want to know what happened to your class this patch, make sure to check it out.

What I love about these posts is that little glimpse of insight they provide into the thought process that goes into balancing the class mechanics in a game like World of Warcraft. I'll be honest, I'm glad I'm not one of the people involved in that job. To me it seems like an endless headache to try and make sure all classes are different enough to feel unique, but similar enough such that a raid or dungeon group isn't punished for lacking one indispensable class, and I wouldn't have the patience for it. But I certainly admire and respect those who do!

WoW InsiderGhostcrawler and Daxxarri talk classes in patch 5.2 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>class-balanceclass-changeClass-changesdaxxarrideath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdruid-infodruid-talentsGhostcrawlerhunter-infohunter-talentsmage-infomage-talentsmonk-infomonk-talentspaladin-infopaladin-talentspriest-infopriest-talentsrogue-inforogue-talentsshaman-infoshaman-talentswarlock-infowarlock-talentswarrior-infoWarrior-talentsSarah PineFri, 08 Mar 2013 13:00:00 ESTLichborne: Patch 5.2 loot for death knights, part 3http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lichborne-patch-5-2-loot-for-death-knights-part-3/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lichborne-patch-5-2-loot-for-death-knights-part-3/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lichborne-patch-5-2-loot-for-death-knights-part-3/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Patch 52 loot for death knights, Part 3
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

This week, we'll face down the final few bosses of Throne of Thunder to see what loot they have. After that, we'll take a look at our valor point offerings and the world bosses of patch 5.2 for their loot. This will round out our look at patch 5.2's loot, and as with the last 2 weeks, the same disclaimers apply. Since this is based on PTR information, drops can change. In addition, this preview focuses on normal gear, so your gearing priorities may change if you get thunderforged gear or heroic gear.

Continue reading Lichborne: Patch 5.2 loot for death knights, part 3

WoW InsiderLichborne: Patch 5.2 loot for death knights, part 3 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>-Harbinger-of-TerrorAchillobator-RingBand-of-the-Shado-Pan-AssaultBelt-of-the-TyrannotitanBreastplate-of-the-IguanocolossusBrutal-Talisman-of-the-Shado-Pan-AssaultCarnotaur-Battleglovesdeath-knight-geardeath-knight-gear-guidedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsDoomed-Crowd-of-Lei-ShinFaceguard-of-the-All-Consuming-MawfeaturedGaze-of-the-Twinsguide-to-death-knightsHelmet-of-the-All-Consuming-MawIron-QonLegplates-of-Whipping-IonizationLei-ShenLoop-of-the-Shado-Pan-AssaultLootraptors-AmuletMoonjade-NecklaceOondastaOvercompensating-Chain-of-the-Alpha-Malepatch-5.2Pauldrons-of-the-All-Consuming-MawQons-Flaming-ScimitarRein-Binders-FistsRing-of-King-KangromShado-Pan-AssaultShoulderguards-of-the-All-Consuming-MawSoul-Barrierthrone-of-thunderTidal-Force-TreadsTwin-ConsortsTyrant-King-BattleplateUroeVoolars-Bloodied-BeltVulcanodon-Gauntletswow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombWed, 06 Mar 2013 12:00:00 ESTGhostcrawler and Daxxari present Patch 5.2 Class Reviewshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/05/ghostcrawler-and-daxxari-present-patch-5-2-class-reviews/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/05/ghostcrawler-and-daxxari-present-patch-5-2-class-reviews/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/05/ghostcrawler-and-daxxari-present-patch-5-2-class-reviews/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

If you're wondering how your class has changed in patch 5.2, Blizzard's Ghostcrawler and Daxxari have joined forces to give you details on exactly that. This installment covers Death Knights, Druids and Hunters, so it's working alphabetically in case you're wondering where your class is.

While the patch notes serve to give you the details on the changes, this series of posts exists to give you the motivation and reasoning behind the changes to the classes. Why did they buff this or nerf that? The motivations towards each change are explained in detail, letting you get a sense of just what's going on for you in patch 5.2.

Ghostcrawler and Daxxari - Patch 5.2 Class Review Part 1
In terms of talent adjustments, while we're still happy overall with the Mists of Pandaria talent overhaul, we do recognize that there were some talents that weren't tuned as well as they could be or just weren't attractive. That's not to say that all talents should be all things to all players all the time; some talents are situationally quite attractive, and we're happy with those. On the other hand, others just never see much use and we would rather provide players real options for each talent tier.


Part one is up now, so keep an eye peeled to the official site for more.

WoW InsiderGhostcrawler and Daxxari present Patch 5.2 Class Reviews originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>breakingClass-BalanceClass-ReviewDaxxariGhostcrawlerLegion-of-Super0Heroespatch-5.2Matthew RossiTue, 05 Mar 2013 16:00:00 ESTLichborne: More death knight loot from patch 5.2's Throne of Thunderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/26/lichborne-more-death-knight-loot-from-patch-5-2s-throne-of/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/26/lichborne-more-death-knight-loot-from-patch-5-2s-throne-of/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/26/lichborne-more-death-knight-loot-from-patch-5-2s-throne-of/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne More death knight loot from patch 52's Throne of Thunder
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

We continue our loot preview this week by delving into the Forgotten Depths and Halls of Flesh-Shaping in the Throne of Thunder. The same disclaimers apply as did last week. Since this is based on PTR information, drops can change. In addition, this preview focuses on normal gear, so your gearing priorities may change if you get Thunderforged gear or heroic gear.

With that in mind, lets dig in and see what the next six bosses of Patch 5.2's Throne of Thunder raid have to offer.

Continue reading Lichborne: More death knight loot from patch 5.2's Throne of Thunder

WoW InsiderLichborne: More death knight loot from patch 5.2's Throne of Thunder originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>Amulet-of-the-Primal-TurtleArtery-RippersBand-of-the-Scaled-TyrantBlack-Blood-Legplatesblood-death-knight-lichborneBracers-of-Constant-ImplosionBreastplate-of-the-All-Consuming-MawCaustic-Spike-BracersChestguard-of-the-All-Consuming-MawCrown-of-the-Golden-GolemDark-Animusdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-geardeath-knight-gear-guidedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichborneDelicate-Vial-of-the-Sanguinairedk-guidedk-infodk-talentsDurumu-the-ForgottenEgg-Shard-GripsFabled-Feather-of-Ji-Kunfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornegear-guideGreaves-of-the-All-Consuming-Mawguide-to-death-knightsHydra-Scale-BloodcloakHydrascale-ChokerJi-KunJi-Kuns-Rising-WindsLegguards-of-the-All-Consuming-MawLegplates-of-the-Dark-ParasiteMegaeraMetabolically-Boosted-Shoulderplatespatch-5.2Pathogenic-GauntletsPlated-Toothbreaker-GirdlePrimordiusPrimordius-Talisman-of-RageReinforced-Mirror-Sheen-CloakRot-Proof-GreatplateShell-Coated-WristplateShellsplitter-GreataxeShoulderguards-of-Centripetal-DestructionSpinescale-SealTalonrender-Chestplatethrone-of-thunderTortosTreads-of-the-Blind-Eyeunholy-death-knight-lichbornewow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 26 Feb 2013 13:00:00 ESTLichborne: Patch 5.2 Last Stand of the Zandalari loot preview for death knightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/18/lichborne-patch-5-2-last-stand-of-the-zandalari-loot-preview-fo/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/18/lichborne-patch-5-2-last-stand-of-the-zandalari-loot-preview-fo/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/18/lichborne-patch-5-2-last-stand-of-the-zandalari-loot-preview-fo/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lichborne Patch 52 Last Stand of the Zandalari loot preview for death knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

With the PTR getting closer to release, it's about time to start looking forward to that most cherished of patch rituals, the changing of the gear. Today, we will look at the first few bosses of Throne of Thunder and see what they have in store for death knights.

There are a few words of warning to offer here. First, this is based off PTR Info, which means they may or may not decide to adjust, remove, or add loot before it goes live. Second, this information is based off normal mode raid loot. You may find monkey wrenches thrown into the gearing process courtesy of both heroic gear and Thunderforged gear, which can be 6 ilvls higher than usual for the item. You will have to make your own judgement calls in cases where you have access to that gear. Adding to the complication is the fact that tier gear won't be Thunderforged, meaning you may have to give up some Thunderforged gear despite the higher ilvl in order to keep set bonuses.

We'll first look at the bosses in the The Last Stand of the Zandalari, the first section of the Throne of Thunder.

Continue reading Lichborne: Patch 5.2 Last Stand of the Zandalari loot preview for death knights

WoW InsiderLichborne: Patch 5.2 Last Stand of the Zandalari loot preview for death knights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>Bloodlords-Bloodsoaked-LegplatesBo-Ris-Horror-in-the-NightBracers-of-Constant-ImplosionChestplate-of-Violent-DetonationCloudbreaker-Greatbeltcouncil-of-eldersdeath-knight-geardeath-knight-gear-guidedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedFortitude-of-the-ZandalariFrozen-Warlords-BracersGauntlets-of-the-All-Consuming-MawGreatsword-of-the-Frozen-Hellsguide-to-death-knightsHandguards-of-the-All-Consuming-MawHorn-Rimmed-Doomcloakhorridonjinrokhjinrokh-the-breakerJinRokhs-Soulcrystallast-stand-of-the-zandalariOverloaded-Bladebreakers-Carapacepatch-5.2Puncture-Proof-GreathelmSpark-of-ZandalarTalisman-of-Angry-SpiritsWorldbreakers-Stormscythewow-death-knightwow-dkZerat-Malakks-Soulburning-GreatswordDaniel WhitcombMon, 18 Feb 2013 16:00:00 EST