UNHOLY DK ADVANCED TIPS

FESTERING WOUNDS

Now, you may think you know all the resources of Unholy Death Knights, and it's obvious runes and runic power, right? However, there is one resource that you may not be considering here, and that's Festering Wounds.

Now, Festering Wounds, when popped, makes up a huge amount of our burst damage, especially because of bursting sores making them deal more damage, which makes it a vital part of our kit and something we should be looking to do all the time throughout our games.

And it doesn't just deal huge damage when bursted, as it's also going to give us a stacking strength buff from Festermite when they pop, so applying them and bursting them frequently will give us more damage on all of our other abilities too.

And if all of that wasn't enough, thanks to our PvP talent of Necrotic Wounds that's been a hard lock-in for years at this point, bursting Festering Wounds will also act as a healing absorb, allowing us to absorb up to 18% of all healing at a time.

Now, if you're a newbie, you might be wondering, how do I get to the next level? Well, there's a lot of ways to get to the next level, and I'll show you how to do that in this video.

Now, to obtain Festering Wounds, we can get them in several different ways, the first being from the Infected Claws talent, which gives our Ghoul's Claw a 30% chance to apply a Festering Wound when they're used.

Now, we can't always rely on this because of its low chance, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind. Claw is only really a potent applicator when in the Dark Transformation window, as this will make Claw AoE, therefore having a chance to put wounds on multiple targets at the same time.

Now, if you're a newbie, you might be wondering, how do I get to the next level? Well, there's a lot of ways to get to the next level, and I'll show you how to do that in this video.

More reliably, we have Festering Strike, which will apply 2-3 Festering Wounds at once, so we're going to want to be using this whenever we have our Dots and Plaguebringer on our target and less than 3 wounds available, as it's going to make our Sudden Dooms have their full effect without us having to ramp up to more wounds beforehand.

Other than these two methods, we're also going to be gaining 4 Festering Wounds from Unholy Assault, which as we well know by now, we'll be consuming with the rest of the game.

As well as one for every melee swing that our Abomination uses, allowing us to fully ramp up 6 wounds during its 30 second window if it gets enough uptime, meaning we can focus more on other important abilities like Death Coil.

DESECERATE VS DEATH AND DECAY

Move over, Defile. There is a new talent in town.

This one completely changes Death and Decay. It's not just about making it look cooler or adding a little bit more damage like Defile did.

Let's talk about how to use this. Desecrate reduces the cooldown of Death and Decay by 10 seconds and it doubles its damage.

But that's not all. It also lets you cast Death and Decay again while it's still active.

Now when you cast it the second time, it instantly deals the remaining damage, applies or burst wounds depending on the target status, and grants you an aura that lets you cleave as if you were standing inside Death and Decay.

This new talent really shines against melee cleaves or any comp where you can stay glued to your target because it essentially lets you cleave with every single clawing shadows. The value you get from this is insane and it's easily a default pick when you know you're fighting cleaves.

And to everything, you can stick with the regular Death and Decay. Defile honestly just is not worth it anymore now that the mastery bonus is gone.

It just feels pretty underwhelming. Death and Decay is still going to let you cleave without Desecrate, but you won't get that juicy aura effect.

DEATH COIL TIPS

Welcome to the Unholy Death Knight Damage Course! In this section we're going to be covering our most important and hard-hitting rotational ability, Death Coil.

Death Coil has probably the most modifiers of any spell in the game at this point, getting buffs from our Hero Tree, buffs from our Specialization Tree, and buffs from our PvP talents. Now because of all of these buffs, Death Coil deals a significant portion of our damage.

It acts as a pseudo-execute on targets that are below 35% and can burst two Festering Wounds at a time when Sudden Doom procs.

Now if you're wondering when it's best to Death Coil to benefit from all of these perks, we're basically just going to be using it as a filler after we've got our Diseases and Plague Bringer up, allowing our passive Doth to do a ton of work while we don't overcap on Runic Power.

It's important however that we don't use Death Coil to zero Runic Power though, as due to the changes to Sudden Doom reducing Death Coil's cost rather than the cost of the Death Coil.

So we're going to be using it to do a ton of work, but rather than making it free, we still need Runic in the tank to make these procs function. Now for this reason, it's always good to hold onto at least 20 Runic Power so you're ready to smash that proc as soon as it comes up.

Although saying that it can often be an excellent idea to get Wounds up on the target if they don't have them already before sending out the Sudden Doom proc, as this is going to instantly burst two and deal significantly more burst.

To take this step even further though, you can even go as far as to buy a Proc to use as a base for your Doth. So if you're looking to burst up to 2 different wounds on 2 different players if you angle your character right, as due to improved Death Coil, it's going to hit 2 players if you aim it correctly.

Now as for the Sudden Doom procs themselves, we're going to be getting them from melee attacking and often get them about every 8 seconds if we have full uptime, making getting those melee swings on anything really matter.

The procs also stack twice, which is great as it refreshes the buff duration if you're really up to date with your character's moves. However, if you're really up to date with your character's moves, you can get them from melee attacking and often get them from melee attacking and often get them from melee attacking.

However, if you're really up to date with your character's moves, you can get them from melee attacking and often get them from melee attacking. Due to being hit by crowd control or are just busy doing your maintenance.

Outside of the damage aspect, Death Coil can also be used to heal our pet, which with its 30 second cooldown is pretty niche, however can have its place if your pet's dying in Dark Transformation.

And finally Death Coil can be used to heal ourselves while we're in Lichborn, as you can see our Death Knight do here to sustain himself through the enemy's burst.

MANAGING MOBILITY AS UNHOLY

In this segment, we're going to be covering how we should be managing our mobility as an unholy Death Knight. As with poor usage, you're going to find yourself dealing far less damage than you should.

Now, as a Death Knight, we don't exactly have the best mobility compared to other melees, as it seems like almost everyone else has some sort of gap closer, and we just have our Death's Advance sprint, which allows us to waddle a bit faster to our target.

Now, fortunately for us though, our Death's Advance gets a massive buff when we play the Riders of the Apocalypse tree, however, which supercharges it to a 100% sprint with two charges instead, as it turns it into Death's Charge.

Now, when using Death's Charge, we're often going to use it in the opener to connect to our target, as other than the sprint element, it also makes us immune to snares.

You can see Party Waffles using it right off the bat here, as if he didn't, the enemy Rogue would just snare him, allowing the Evoker to simply hover away. This also allows Party to reduce pressure, as the Rogue isn't able to connect to him throughout his opener.

Now, outside of the opener, Death's Charge becomes even stronger, however, as we can and should use it to counter enemy mobility tools.

Party Waffles demonstrates this perfectly by using Death's Charge as soon as the Hunter disengages, and then applies Chains of Ice on him, preventing them from escaping him or his teammate. Now, other than making us immune to snares and increasing our movement speed, Death's Charge also makes us immune to... knockbacks.

Because of this, you can use it proactively if you know you're going to score a kill on a class with a bump effect.

A great example of this is here, where the enemy Mage has no mobility tools left, and because of this, Party knows that he'll probably look to use Blast Wave to get distance, so he presses Death's Charge, making him an unstoppable juggernaut, and allowing himself to score the kill on the Mage.

Now, finally, we can also use Death's Charge to break out of roots, therefore, saving a charge, and then using it to counter enemy mobility tools. Now, finally, we can also use Death's Charge to break out of roots, saving a charge, and then using it to counter enemy mobility tools.

Now, finally, we can also use Death's Charge to break out of roots, saving a charge, and then using it to counter enemy mobility tools. Now, finally, we can also use Death's Charge to break out of roots, with long cooldowns on their roots, can definitely be a great idea.

However, since Death's Charge is such an integral part of our uptime, picking Wraithwalk into classes with multiple roots can be even better for our uptime, as it just gives us another breaker to use, although remember that doing any damage in this effect will stop it from working.

Now, all of this really won't matter though if you don't have snares on your target, however, so make sure that you're always keeping Chains of Ice or Defile up as much as possible, as otherwise your targets are just going to escape you once you reconnect.

As you can see in this clip here, Party always has a slow on his target if they even get a slight bit of distance from him. Lastly, let's talk about the elephant in the room here.

Deathgrip. The iconic two-charge ability that pulls in our enemies, allowing us to hit them.

And although Deathgrip isn't exactly mobility in itself, it can deny mobility from the other team if you use it correctly. So first things first, our initial Deathgrip in a game should generally be for that all-important Blinding Sleek go, allowing us to stack up the enemy team and cleave them down with our partners.

We're not exactly trading mobility here, but this will allow us to force trinkets and most likely grab a movement tool from the enemy at the same time.

And we're not always going to do this, mind you, as if you're facing a class with an abundance of mobility like a mage, holding our grips for our shimmers can also be just as effective.

And with the same line of thinking here is how we should use all of our subsequent Deathgrips throughout the match, simply as an anti-mobility tool when facing classes with a ton of buttons to escape, or to enable us to set up swaps with or without Blinding Sleek, like here where Party enables his warrior by gripping in the Druid into a stun silence combo, which forces tranquility.

Deathgrip is extremely diverse, so make sure you're always using it in the right way. Use it with a purpose.

MANAGING RESOURCES AS UNHOLY

In this video we're going to be going over the resources of Death Knights, allowing you to deal your rotation without worrying you're going to run out of Globals to press.

Now as a Death Knight we have three resources with Runes, Runic Power and as mentioned in a previous video, Festering Wounds with each being equally as important at dealing damage as the other so finding a balance between them all is a must to perform optimally.

Runes will be used for basically all of our abilities and when used will generate us 10 Runic Power each which we can then use on Death Coils when we reach 40 Runic Power.

Now this isn't something that you're really going to be tracking all that often but all you need to know is that you never want to be over capping on Runic Power as it's simply just a waste of damage so always Death Coil before this happens.

In the same line of thinking you also don't want to be sitting on max Runes at any point as once again this is also a waste of damage so make sure you're not over capping on Runic Power.

So make sure you're not over capping on Runic Power as it's simply just a waste of damage so make sure you're not over capping on Runic Power as it's simply just a waste of damage so make sure you're always weaving them between your Death Coils and your other spells. Now as for our final resource of Festering Wounds.

If you watched our Festering Wounds video you're going to know that we get this from a bunch of places. However just remember here that you always want to pop them before they get too high stacks and that each wound will also give you Runic Power although three per stack really isn't enough to change your rotation.

So if you want to see more of our Festering Wounds videos be sure to check out our other videos and subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one.

ICEBOUND FORTITUDE TIPS AS UNHOLY

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, you'll end up with a wall that's not as strong as your 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 survive.

So if you're playing IBF, you're going to need to 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 usually sustain themselves outside of big bursts 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, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. So if you're going to use Death Strikes before using IBF, you're probably not going to 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 UNHOLY

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 flying 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 casts like Polymorph to help survive the go.

You definitely do not want to use it on your teammates, so you can use it on your teammates 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.

If you're a Hunter, you can use Anti-Magic Shell on your healer to stop the trap from even landing. 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 carefully.

You might be wondering if Anti-Magic Shell is a good way to prevent a CC from being used. Well, it's not.

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 Deathstrike.

ANTI-MAGIC ZONE TIPS AS UNHOLY

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 remember 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 to honestly limit it.

When you're up against fully 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.