http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/05/09/death-knight-info/



[QUOTE=Via Gamespy and Worldofwar.net] We finally have a good idea of what rolling a Death Knight will be like. A lot of the rumors seem to have panned out, but others have not. All I know is that at this point, I am full speed ahead to make a Death Knight my new main come WoTLK. There's a lot of meaty info to dig into, so let's get to it after the break.

Creation and initial play:

* Death Knights will start in a floating citadel similar to Naxxramas at level 55, and go through a series of quests that will establish their story and background in the Eastern Plaguelands.
* All Indications are that Blizzard still plans to allow all races to be Death Knights, as Worldofwar.net's reporter saw Tauren, Dwarf, Gnome, and Orc Death Knights.
* You must have an existing level 55 character to create a Death Knight.
* You can create one Death Knight per realm per account. You must have a level 55 character on a realm in order to create a Death Knight on it.
* You will not need to do any unlocking quests or sacrifice a character before you can create a Death Knight.
* The Death Knight will start with a wide range of abilities, as it is assumed that someone with a level 55 character has the experience to handle them right off the bat.
* They will start with a 60% speed summoned Death Charger as a land mount, which be upgradable via quest much like Warlock and Paladin mounts.

The Rune system:

* The Death Knights' Rune meter will appear below the Health Bar.
* You will be able to place up to 6 runes in any combination of Unholy, Blood, and Frost on the meter.
* The Runes will be consumed by use of abilities, but will refresh like a Rogue's energy Meter.
* There will be a secondary bar called Runic Power, which will be filled on the use of Runic abilities, but will decay over time much like Warrior rage.
* Runic Power will be used with moves that drain all Runic power and have powers and effects that are stronger depending on how much Runic Power was used. In this way it will be much like the Warrior's Execute ability or the Rogue's finishing moves.
* According to Gamespy, Blood runes will mostly cover the tank abilities (which clashes with previous information saying Blood runes were DPS, as well as with the function of the Blood Presence blow), while Frost will deal with Crowd Control.

Death Knight Abilities:

*
Presences: Much like Paladin Auras or Warrior stances, Presences will be powerful one-at-a-time self-buffs that will probably determine whether the Death Knight is taking on a Tank or DPS role in the group. Worldofwar.net reported on 3 presences, as follows:
*
Blood Presence will increase the Death Knight's DPS and provide a small healing effect when the Death Knight is hit.
*
Frost Presence will increase the Armor and Threat of the Death Knight.
*
Unholy Presence will provide increased attack speed and decreased global cooldown, and is being billed as the PvP presence.
*
Death Coil: It will not fear like the Warlock version, but will act like the WC3 version also used by Death Knights in that game, damaging enemies or healing friendly undead targets.
*
Army of the Dead: This ability will temporarily summon a small army of Undead that will fight for you. It will apparently be channeled, which makes me think it will be closer to an AE attack like a Druid's Hurricane than an actual pet ability.
*
Raise Dead: This will raise an actual nearby corpse, including one of a fallen ally (even in Arenas) to fight for you as a Ghoul. An ally so resurrected will have the option to control their character as a Ghoul. Ghouls will get abilities to cause diseases, stun, and fear among other things, but it seems like they will be temporary pets all the same - at least, I assume PCs will eventually be allowed to resurrect rather than stay slaves of the Death Knight.
*
Grip of Death: Pulls the enemy toward you and forces it to attack you (Probably a taunt effect, though It'd be great if the pulling effect works in PvP).
*
Blade Strike: Attacks the target and applies a disease.
*
Blood Strike: Deals Damage based on how many diseases are on the target.
*
Chains of Ice: Roots a target, then applies a snare that lifts gradually until the target regains full mobility

Death Knight Role:

As expected, Death Knights will be DPS/Tank Hybrids. As previously known, they will not use shields, but will rely on a high parry rating and the proper presence (likely the Frost one from worldofwar.net's report) to mitigate damage. As DPS, they will not do as much damage as a pure DPS class, but will bring extra flavor and utility to the table in the form of some minor crowd control, ghoul pets, and the use of diseases to deal extra damage and cause debuffs. Worldofwar.net also mentions that Tom Chilton, in his Death Knight presentation, told them that they are leaning toward letting all tank types do more DPS while tanking.

Final Thoughts:

For the most part, we got most of what we expected out of the DKs, plus a lot more clarification and a look into some intriguing new aspects of their abilities and mechanics such as Runic Power and Ghoul summoning. I did notice that some old leaked abilities such as the Unholy Aura spell didn't receive any play, but if that's because they were scrapped, fake, or just not mentioned, we probably can't say for sure until the Beta drops. All I know for sure is that I am hooked, and am more dedicated than ever to having a new main when WoTLK hits.

fricken sweet!

fricken sweet!

Sigh here comes another alt!

I haven't really followed the whole Death Knight thing because it always seemed so far off, but now it's getting closer and I guess I should pay more attention. One question for those of you who have been following this -- and I assume the question is "no" -- does it matter what class your character is before you turn him/her into a DK?

I am pre-emptively begging everyone in the guild, don't put "Death" or "Deth" or something in your new toon's name. Don't be that guy.

Don't be that guy.

You don't turn a toon into a DK, the DK is a brand new character.

And apparently you can make a DK in any race. So prepare for an onslaught of Gnome DKs.

You don't turn a toon into a DK, the DK is a brand new character.

And apparently you can make a DK in any race. So prepare for an onslaught of Gnome DKs.

Can the gnome DK's have pink hair? I sure hope so.

It doesn't seem like one of your guys actually turns into a Death Knight. As long as you have a character at lvl 55 or above you can "get" one. Not really sure how it works. It will be interesting though.

OR

"You can create one Death Knight per realm per account. You must have a level 55 character on a realm in order to create a Death Knight on it."
Does this mean we have to get a guy to lvl 55 and leave him there until it is released. If this is true time to lvl my lvl 40 pally or lvl 41 priest.

55 or higher. Requiring a character to be *exactly* level 55 would be absurd in the extreme.

55 or higher. Requiring a character to be *exactly* level 55 would be absurd in the extreme.

As absurd as putting Arena point requirements on normal pvp items. But yea you are right it is way to crazy to demand that. It will be interesting to see how everything turns out.

All I can think is that the toon in the picture looks like he REALLY REALLY has to poop and all the restaurants with public bathrooms keep telling him they don't serve death knights.

All I can think is that the toon in the picture looks like he REALLY REALLY has to poop and all the restaurants with public bathrooms keep telling him they don't serve death knights.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

All I can think of is, "So this is why warlocks don't just wear plate." Blizzard is hogging all the unholy plate sweetness for Arthas fanboys. ._.

All I can think is that the toon in the picture looks like he REALLY REALLY has to poop and all the restaurants with public bathrooms keep telling him they don't serve death knights.

HAHAHA Bravo! that was awesome.

OH man... I can haz?


What is the latest rumor on the release date?

I've read the earliest would be October, and holidays or even early next year are far more likely.

My question is will you have to level professions all the way up from 1 or will they start at 300.

http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/05/14/vivendi-earning-statement-hints-wotlk-to-be-released-in-second-h/

Vivendi earning statements announced today hint that Wrath of the Lich King is expected to be released the second half of 2008. This would also fit into dates that we've seen on sites like Amazon and Gamestop.

This is also significant in that it's the first time an official confirmation of a release time frame has come out. And being that this is the data sent to Vivendi investors, it comes with a good bit of clout.

My question is will you have to level professions all the way up from 1 or will they start at 300.

I would think they start at 1, same as any other toon. Gives somewhat of an unfair advantage if you can start, say, engineering and enchanting at 300 each.

And I bet they raise the maximum levels of the professions, too, so you'll have to go higher than 375.

And I bet they raise the maximum levels of the professions, too, so you'll have to go higher than 375.

:(

Yeah... I would guess professions will get raised to 425 or 450. Probably 450.

Its going to be funny to see a bunch of level 55+ death knights running around Goldshire looking for copper...

There better be screenshots of this.

Only this could possibly rival the Best Thing I Have Ever Seen In WoW, which was this one time that one warlock got a bunch of friends together, turned them into bats with the Halloween wand, and flew en masse on Goldshire yelling that he was the Vampyr Lord.

Seriously, it was awesome.