FROST DK ADVANCED TIPS

PILLAR OF FROST

In the next segments of our course, we are going to be meticulously dissecting each of your key offensive cooldowns, giving you a comprehensive breakdown on how they work and the rules behind using them, and starting off with one of the most iconic abilities available to Frost Death Knight, Pillar of Frost.

The primary benefit of Pillar is that it grants you Obliteration, which activates Killing Machine immediately after Frost Strike and Howling Blast. It even gives you a chance to refund some runes.

And of course, after Pillar ends, you gain Enduring Strength. This has been nerfed several times now, only providing an 8% Strength bonus after Pillar ends.

We also have the Frozen Dominion talent, which automatically triggers Remorseless Winter when you pop Pillar. Now on top of that, you get a Mastery bonus for every target it hits.

If you take the Death's Cold Embrace talent, Remorseless Winter becomes the primary source of damage during your Pillar windows. Now while it greatly amplifies Remorseless Winter's damage during Pillar of Frost, there is a major downside to watch out for here.

When Pillar is active, it slows your movement speed to almost a walk, meaning if a target moves out of range, your go is instantly going to be over. This can be a huge drawback if you don't have a grip or a way to get back to your target.

It's going to be a good idea to set up a Cancel Aura macro for your Pillar of Frost. That way, if no one is around and you have no way to reconnect, you can cancel it and move back into range of a target.

Using Cancel Aura on your Pillar of Frost, should be an absolute last resort though. The rule for when we should be using Pillar of Frost is pretty simple.

You want to activate it during a go, and that's true whenever you're playing dual-wheeled or two-handed Frost. This means you have at least two targets stunned, and ideally the healer or off-target is cross-CC'd.

And if you have Death's Cold Embrace, then you need to ensure multiple targets are in melee range. Otherwise, we'll severely limit the value of this cooldown.

Our second goal is to pair your cooldowns with Pillar of Frost. Any major cooldown, like Frost Wyrm's Fury, Reaper's Mark, Breath of Cindergosa, or Unused Trinket should be used in conjunction with Pillar.

Now, since Pillar is our kill window, it's crucial to maximize its value by not using your cooldowns without Pillar. In fact, Reaper's Mark from the Deathbringer tree pairs perfectly with Pillar of Frost.

When you reach 40 stacks, it triggers a massive hit. This really amplifies your damage during Pillar windows, and it's really required to go Deathbringer and pick up Reaper's Mark if you're playing two-handed Frost.

This is because you'll only be able to deal damage during your Pillar windows as two-handed Frost, so we want to do everything we can to amplify our damage in those windows. During Pillar of Frost, the goal is to maximize the number of Obliterates that you land.

Enduring Strength has a baseline duration of 6 seconds, but for each Obliterate you get off, it adds an extra 2 seconds. Ideally, you want to land at least 5 Obliterates during Pillar, which would extend the duration of Enduring Strength to 16 seconds.

This can vary significantly depending on how much the enemy team CCs you, but you should always aim for 5.

BREATH OF SINDRAGOSA

Welcome back to another installment in our Frost Death Knight damage course. In this video, we're going to be continuing to break down our offensive cooldowns with Breath of Cendragosa, providing you with a comprehensive breakdown on how this ability works and the rules behind using it.

Now, Breath of Cendragosa might sound like an odd ability to bring up here, but it's actually a great addition after the rework and works well for both dual-wield and two-handed Frost. It's on a one and a half minute cooldown and basically functions like a dot.

When paired with Reaper's Mark, it lets you pop the mark almost instantly, leading to some huge bursts. Breath also has a nice bonus effect of giving you a charge of Empower Rune Weapon when you cast it and refunds two runes when it ends.

If you take Breath, you'll always want to light it up with your big one and a half minute go. That means pairing it with Frostworm's Fury and Pillar of Frost to squeeze the most value out of it.

The downside is that you're stacking everything together though, which makes it easier for the enemy to trade cooldowns and survive. But on top of that, Breath is easy to kite.

If you can't stay on target, the damage just stops. You need to make sure the target is locked down so you actually get value out of this talent.

FROSTWYRM’S FURY

Welcome back to yet another installment in our Frost Death Knight damage course. In this video we are going to be continuing to break down our offensive cooldowns with Frost Wyrm's Fury, providing you with a comprehensive breakdown on how the ability works and the rules behind using it.

Frost Wyrm's Fury is an ability that every Death Knight should know and love. After all, it sends a massive dragon's sword across the dang battlefield, stunning everything in its path.

What's not to love about it? With just a one and a half minute cooldown it's a powerful tool, but how you use it can change drastically depending on the build that you're running.

If you're playing as a dual wield Frost Death Knight, then that means you're running Riders of the Apocalypse. Frost Wyrm's Fury summons your riders, so it's important to use it right at the start of your go.

This is because we want to capitalize on Feast of Souls, which boosts Frost Strike damage by 20% and Mograine's Death and Decay Aura. Because of this, you want to cast Frost Wyrm's Fury before using Pillar.

Doing this ensures you're maximizing your burst potential and getting the most out of your cooldowns. If you're playing two handed Frost, you're going to have a bit more flexibility in how you use Frost Wyrm's Fury.

Since it's not essential for initiating your go, you can use it in a few different ways here. You can use it either as a stun to set up your burst, as a DR stun to secure a kill, or even defensively between goes.

However, the most important rule when using Frost Wyrm's Fury is to never put your enemy on stun DRs right before your go. Frost Wyrm's Fury is a very powerful skill, and it's a very powerful skill to use.

It's a very powerful skill to use, and it's a very powerful skill to use. Doing so can delay your burst and make it significantly harder to secure a win.

STOP USING ANTI-MAGIC SHELL

So you might have seen the title and wondered, why would you ever not use your most powerful defensive ability against casters? Well, to put it simply, you need to stop using Anti-Magic Shell on yourself.

With the Spellwarden talent, there are countless opportunities to completely outplay the enemy team, but you can only take advantage of them if you stop treating Anti-Magic Shell purely as a defensive tool. Far too many death knights end up wasting their Anti-Magic Shell.

It's easy to think, it's only a 30 second cooldown with the Spellwarden, so why not just use it whenever it's available? Well, sure, it might help you avoid some crowd control or mitigate damage, but this ability is far more valuable than you might realize.

Imagine a scenario where a hunter stuns your healer. You already know what's about to come next, Freezing Trap.

But if you use Anti-Magic Shell on your healer instead of yourself, the hunter's trap won't land. And just like that, you have turned a simple defensive cooldown into a game-changing skill.

Anti-Magic Shell is not just for yourself, it's an incredible tool for saving your teammates. If a Warlock uses Mortal Coil, you can throw Shell on your teammate to completely shut down the incoming damage.

It's also great for preventing crowd control from other classes. For example, if you see a Paladin charging toward your healer, ready to land a Hammer of Justice on him, a well-timed Shell can deny the stun.

This doesn't mean you should never use Anti-Magic Shell on yourself, but before you instinctively press it off cooldown, you should. Ask yourself, does the enemy have an important go coming up that you need to shut down?

Would using Shell on yourself provide more value than saving a teammate or stopping a go? Weighing these factors should always be your priority before using this ability, no matter how short that cooldown may seem.

A well-timed Shell can make all the difference between surviving a go or wasting a powerful defensive option.

IMMUNE CC WITH THIS TRICK

Ah, Lichborn. We've had it since Wrath of the Lich King, and honestly, it feels like it's barely changed over the years.

Surprisingly, Lichborn has a few hidden uses that really aren't immediately obvious but can make a really big difference in the right situations. There's more to this ability than meets the eye.

If you take a quick look at the tooltip here, nothing necessarily jumps out as unusual. It breaks you out of fears, charms, and sleeps while making you immune to them.

Pretty straightforward, right? But there's something hidden in plain sight here that you might have overlooked.

The first line about turning undead is exactly what you're missing in this. When you activate Lichborn, you're not just freeing yourself from crowd control.

You're actually transforming into an undead from a humanoid. And with that transformation comes some interesting benefits, but also a few potential drawbacks that you might not be aware of.

Turning undead with Lichborn comes with a significant amount of power and a lot of power that you can't really use. But if you're looking for a significant perk, you become completely immune to all incapacitate effects.

That means no more sap, no more polymorph, no more hex, or even a demon hunter's imprison. This adds another layer of utility to Lichborn, especially if there isn't a fear effect on the enemy team to worry about.

It's particularly useful against setup comps, where you can preemptively use Lichborn to avoid crowd control and shut down the enemy's go. The only exception to this rule is a Paladin's Repentance, which uniquely affects undead targets.

Becoming undead with Lichborn does come with a downside. You become vulnerable to certain forms of crowd control that wouldn't normally affect you.

This means you're going to need to be cautious when using it. Against Paladins, Wake of Ashes is now going to stun you, and they can also run Turn Evil to fear you.

Priest, on the other hand, can talent into Shackle Undead to banish you. Since Paladins have instant undead crowd control, it's going to be a good idea to cancel Lichborn immediately after using it.

With Priest, you can easily cancel Lichborn immediately after using it. With Priest, you do have a bit more time to just keep an eye out for their cast and cancel it.

WAIT BEFORE SUMMONING YOUR RIDERS

Your riders, while they are powerful, are vulnerable to most forms of crowd control, meaning a well-timed route, slow, or stun can completely shut down your burst. And that's why it's going to be crucial to be mindful of when you summon them to ensure you get the most value out of your burst.

While getting an early go is definitely important, you need to think about who can peel it and ultimately shut down your riders. So let's take a look at this clip here.

The Death Knight is ready to go with Frost Worm's Fury, but there's a problem here. With a simple cast of Mass Entanglement, they can root all the riders, completely stopping them from doing damage.

To counter this, the Death Knight grips the Druid in and blinds them, preventing the root and setting up a go that's much harder to peel. You might have noticed that sometimes your riders will unexpectedly charge off and hit a random target.

While you can't directly control this, you can take steps to prevent it. Your riders won't target anything that is blinded, or incapacitated.

This means if you cast Frost Worm's Fury while your kill target is still blinded, the riders might aggro onto something else instead. To avoid this, make sure to break the blind just before using Frost Worm's Fury, or time it perfectly at the end of the blind duration.

This ensures your riders pick the intended target.

MASTERING THE ART OF COUNTER-GOES

The counter-go. Surely there's some wisdom from Sun Tzu on this.

So let me grab that old book here, thumb through it. Oh, yeah, this page right here.

Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive. Oh, that's perfect, because when we execute a counter-go in WoW, it's all about responding to the enemy's cooldowns.

Now, the key to this, as Sun Tzu would say, is knowing your enemy. Understanding the enemy's abilities, when they're likely to burst, and which tools they're going to be using, will give you the upper hand in setting up a successful counter-go.

The concept of a counter-go, though, it really isn't too complicated. Instead of rushing in and doing your go right away, you wait for the enemy to use their cooldowns and then hit them with your own burst.

For a Frost Death Knight, this is particularly effective, as you have overwhelming bursts that most classes really just can't keep up with. DPS may even shrink it offensively to try to get off their damage.

If you apply pressure on their cooldowns to the point that they have to play defensively, they won't get much value out of them. We can see this in action right here.

The Feral Druid just popped in Karn while the Death Knight has Frostworm's Fury ready to go. Meanwhile, the Shadow Priest has used Dark Ascension, putting them into Void form.

With both major offensive cooldowns committed by the Feral Druid, the enemy team, the Death Knight quickly moves in to blind both the Priest and the Feral. As soon as the blind lands, the Death Knight follows up with Frostworm's Fury, which forces both DPS to shrink it.

This wastes valuable time off their cooldowns and, in turn, gives the Warlock just enough time to kite away. You're not limited to using your go only for counter-gos, but you should definitely be on the lookout for these opportunities, especially when the enemy team's cooldowns are coming back soon.

By timing your burst in response to the enemy's cooldowns, you can catch them off guard and often force a trinket as they want to get value from their cooldowns. This lets you get the most out of your go and create openings that would otherwise be difficult to find.

2 HAND VS DUAL WIELD

Ah, the age-old question. Should I play dual wield or two-handed frost?

It's a tough one to answer because over the years both options have proven to be pretty dang viable. Even now you're going to see death knights running with either choice.

So what's the deal? How do you know which one is truly the best for you?

Well there's a short answer to this and um well there's also a long answer to this. The short answer is it depends on your playstyle and what you want to achieve in the current meta.

The long answer? Dual wield and two-handed frost death knight offer distinct playstyles, strengths, and weaknesses that cater to different situations and preferences.

So let's dive into what this really means. Dual wield is all about sustained damage rather than high burst.

Without might of the frozen waste which boosts obliterate damage by 30%, dual wield sacrifices those big hits in favor of consistent pressure over the game. For comps like Fury TSG or maximizing overpowering damage, dual wield is a great way to deal with the high burst.

Overall DPS is definitely going to be the goal, dual wield is the way to go. It ensures you're applying relentless pressure keeping your opponents on the defensive.

Two-handed frost offers almost no sustained pressure but it comes with burst damage and it's absolutely insane. With the right setup you can instantly take down anyone without a trinket.

The downside however is that outside of those big bursts there's not a whole lot you can do. Without a setup the damage just isn't enough to make a real impact on the game.

This playstyle shines in comps that rely on one-shots like Windwalker DK or DK-Dev where landing that massive burst at the right moment can secure victory.

ICEBOUND FORTITUDE TIPS AS FROST

In this course, we're going to dive deep into defensive play and cooldown management. Surviving is just as important as dealing damage.

Rotating defensives properly means more uptime, more pressure, and more chances to secure the win. Icebound Fortitude, or IBF, is the iconic Death Knight ability that removes stuns, grants stun immunity, and provides a 30% damage reduction.

But let's be real here. 30% damage reduction isn't what it used to be.

Because of that, IBF isn't really used as a wall like other defensives. Instead, it's often used more offensively, though it does still have some solid defensive uses.

But before diving into how to use Icebound Fortitude, it's important to understand that IBF isn't a proactive defensive. You might hear other classes talk about pre-walling to survive incoming damage, but IBF doesn't work that same way.

Its real strength comes from breaking out of stuns. If you try to preemptively IBF something like a Rogue's Kidney Shot, they're just going to simply wait it out and then delete you on the next go.

Now, that doesn't mean you should always wait until you're stunned to use IBF, but it does mean you shouldn't waste it by trying to prevent stuns that might never come. Icebound Fortitude is almost always used in response to, well, no surprise, stuns.

If you get caught in one and the enemy starts popping cooldowns, that is your cue to trade IBF. Not only does it help keep you alive, but it also lets you stay on the offensive.

Death Knights thrive on counter pressure, so using IBF to keep fighting, rather than just surviving, gives you way more value. Outside of stuns, Icebound Fortitude can definitely be a lifesaver when the enemy team pops their cooldowns and your healer is struggling to keep up.

Using it while you're still at high health helps reduce incoming damage and increases your chances of survival. Pairing it with Anti-Magic Shell can make a huge difference too, since Death Knights can be used to kill enemies. and increases your chances of survival.

Pairing it with Anti-Magic Shell can make a huge difference too, and increases your chances of survival. Pairing it with Anti-Magic Shell can make a huge difference too, which means it can usually sustain themselves outside of Big Burst with death strikes.

Now, with that said, this is more of a last resort, but, sometimes, you really don't have a choice. If everything else is on cooldown, IBF can buy you those crucial seconds you need until your healer can top you back up.

Now, one of the biggest mistakes Death Knights often make is realizing they need to use Icebound Fortitude well, too late, or assuming it's only useful when they're stunned.

If you wait until you're already at 10, 20, or even 30% health if you wait until you're already at 10, 20, or even 30% health before using IBF, you're probably not gonna make it. Just because you're not stunned, doesn't mean you shouldn't pop a defensive.

Using IBF early can also let you keep Death Striking without having to use your Trinket or sit in a stun, giving you way more control over the fight.

ANTI-MAGIC SHELL TIPS AS FROST

Welcome back to another installment in our Death Knight course. In this video we're going to be continuing to break down our defensive cooldowns with Anti-Magic Shell, providing you with a comprehensive breakdown on how this ability works and the rules behind using it.

Anti-Magic Shell does exactly what it always has. It prevents all magic effects while active and grants you an Absorb Shield.

If you're running the Spellwarden talent, it gets even better though. The cooldown drops from 40 seconds to 30 seconds and you can even use it on your teammates, making it a powerful tool for both defense and support.

Now with its short cooldown, Anti-Magic Shell can be used pretty freely depending on your matchup. See some Chaos Bolts fly in your way?

Toss out a shell. Did the Warlock just pop a Havoc?

Use Shell to stop the Coil. You can even pop it to prevent Magic-based CC on yourself, letting you land those crucial kicks on cast like Polymorph to help survive the go.

You definitely do... You do not want to just use Anti-Magic Shell off cooldown though.

The key is to use it when the enemy pops their big cooldowns, like Incarnation, or for big hits like Chaos Bolt. This way you're blocking real damage and not just random dots or pad.

You can even use Anti-Magic Shell preemptively before a stun to help survive a go. This is especially effective into comps like Rogue Mage, where a well-timed pre-shell can completely shut down their go.

Against Hunters, it's best to use Anti-Magic Shell on your healer whenever they get stunned or CC'd, especially when the Hunter is setting up for a freezing trap. This is a great defensive play because it prevents the trap from even landing.

But don't be too fast though. If you use it too early, the Hunter can just hold their trap and wait out the shell.

The key is timing it midway through the stun or CC. That way you stop the trap and your healer can reposition away from the Hunter.

This strategy isn't just limited to Hunters though. If you notice your healer is about to take any form of magical CC, you can use Anti-Magic Shell to prevent it.

This is especially useful against those casters. But there is a trade-off to consider though.

While it's sometimes worth it to prevent that critical CC, be cautious. Anti-Magic Shell is your most reliable defensive, and using it to block CC could leave you without it for future goes.

If you use it too early, the enemy may just follow up with another CC on your healer right after, leaving you in a vulnerable spot. Always weigh the situation.

You might be wondering if Anti-Magic Shell has any use into melee though. And that would be, well, yes.

With the Osmosis talent, Anti-Magic Shell increases your healing received by 15%. This means you can use Anti-Magic Shell when the enemy team pops their cooldowns to make it a little easier on your healer.

This also is a slight buff to your Death Strike.

ANTI-MAGIC ZONE TIPS AS FROST

Welcome back to yet another video in our Death Knight course. Today we're going to be taking a closer look at Anti-Magic Zone.

We're going to walk you through how Anti-Magic Zone works, when to use it, and the strategies to ensure you're getting the most out of it. Anti-Magic Zone, well, it's a bit disappointing from what you might remember.

It only reduces magic damage by 30% for anyone standing inside the zone. Now the baseline cooldown is 4 minutes, but with the Assimilation talent, you can bring that down to 3 minutes.

Assimilation also increases the duration by 2 seconds, which is pretty nice, but it's not enough to pick up. Anti-Magic Zone should be traded when your team needs just a little extra help surviving magic-based cooldowns.

Now when you notice the enemy team pop in a magic-based cooldown like Incarnation, maybe Icy Veins or Wings, that is going to be your cue to drop the zone. Because zone is now only 30%, you may need to use other defensives, so don't trust the zone by itself.

Now one important thing to keep in mind is that you're going to need to stay within that zone for it to work, so be mindful of positioning here. If you're worried about knockbacks or being moved out of that zone, you can use Death Charge to keep yourself from getting knocked away.

Unlike Anti-Magic Shell, Anti-Magic Zone is really tailored to dealing with magical damage. There aren't any hidden benefits like extra healing or damage reduction for melee hits, so it's utility outside of magic-heavy comps is honestly limited.

When you're up against fully physical damage, physical teams like Jungle, Anti-Magic Zone becomes almost useless. In fact, you might even consider speccing out of it altogether if you're fighting a comp that doesn't rely on magic damage.

Now while it can still be used as a last resort, its value truly shines when you're facing off against casters or magic-heavy teams.