Unholy is a dark themed melee DPS that turns diseases and undead into big damage. You build Festering Wounds, burst them with Scourge Strike, and flood the field with pets during cooldowns. You can pressure single targets and packs, bring a raid magic barrier, and control mobs with grips. This Unholy Death Knight Guide explains talents, stats, rotation, and practical tips for raids and Mythic Plus.
All guidance in this Unholy Death Knight Guide is paraphrased from public sources and live patch notes. Details can change with tuning. When in doubt, check the latest notes and sim your character.
Spec At A Glance
- Strong burst windows with Army of the Dead, Apocalypse, and Dark Transformation.
- Good cleave through Death and Decay plus Scourge Strike and disease spread.
- Useful utility for groups including grips, slows, a stun, and Anti Magic Zone.
- Target swapping requires setup. You want wounds on the new target before you pop.
- Pets do a lot of your damage. Pet uptime and positioning matter.
- Mobility is limited. Plan movement during cooldowns and DoT refreshes.
- Mistimed runic power dumps or wasted wounds cost a lot of DPS.
Unholy Death Knight Guide How The Spec Works
You use two resources. Runes power Festering Strike and Scourge Strike. Runes recharge over time. Spending runes builds runic power. You spend runic power on Death Coil for single target and Epidemic for AoE.
Virulent Plague is your disease. Keep it up with Outbreak. Festering Strike applies Festering Wounds to your target. Scourge Strike bursts those wounds for extra shadow damage. In AoE, Death and Decay makes Scourge Strike cleave. That is the core loop.
Procs add spice. Sudden Doom gives a free Death Coil. Press it quickly so you do not overcap. Some talents make Rime like effects for Unholy Blight style disease boosts or add extra wound explosions. Read tooltips and decide how you want your damage to flow.
The simple idea is this. Maintain your disease. Apply wounds. Pop them. Spend runic power without capping. Line up your cooldowns with wound bursting and disease ticks for large windows.
Unholy Death Knight Guide Talents And Hero Talents
Builds move with tuning, but two archetypes cover most content. Start here, then swap a few nodes as fights demand.
Single Target Raid Build
Goal: long boss damage with large cooldown windows.
- Take talent paths that boost Apocalypse and Dark Transformation, plus disease and pet damage during those windows.
- Pick Unholy Blight style nodes to layer more shadow damage and disease synergy.
- Consider Summon Gargoyle or similar burst talent if current tuning supports it. These talents often reward pooling resources first.
- Add utility like Anti Magic Zone without dropping core damage nodes.
Why it works. Unholy can stack many effects. You want wounds ready, pets empowered, and resources pooled. When your window opens, everything hits together and ramps quickly.
Mythic Plus And Cleave Build
Goal: consistent cleave and control.
- Take Bursting Sores style nodes that make wound explosions splash.
- Grab Death and Decay and Scourge Strike cleave support.
- Invest in Epidemic for a strong runic power dump on packs.
- Keep your core cooldown package. Apocalypse and Dark Transformation still do heavy lifting on bosses and long pulls.
Why it works. Packs die fast in keys. This setup brings steady cleave without waiting forever. You still have enough boss power for tyrannical weeks.
Hero Talents
Hero trees add a theme on top of Unholy. Exact picks can shift each patch. Use these simple rules.
- For single target bosses, take nodes that improve pet damage, extend windows, or pump Death Coil during cooldowns.
- For keys, take nodes that add cleave, extra wound explosions, or stronger Death and Decay value.
- If a fight has dangerous magic, favor nodes that help your Anti Magic Shell or group barrier.
Recheck after tuning passes. A small change to a pet or window node can reshuffle priorities.
Unholy Death Knight Guide Stat Priority And Benchmarks
Item level brings strength and stamina. Strength is your main damage stat. Do not skip big item level upgrades unless they ruin several key secondaries at once.
A safe, general order for most Unholy builds:
- Item level for strength when it does not gut your secondaries.
- Mastery for stronger shadow damage from wounds, diseases, and pets.
- Haste for faster rune recharge and more globals inside cooldowns.
- Critical strike and versatility come next. Versatility adds a bit of defense which helps in keys.
The exact order can change with talents and trinkets. Breath heavy Frost style rules do not apply here. Sim your character for a precise view, and check both single target and five target profiles.
Gear Enchants Gems And Consumables
This Unholy Death Knight Guide avoids a fixed best in slot list. Drops and tuning change. Use these safe picks.
Runeforge:
- Fallen Crusader on your weapon is the default. If a future patch favors a different runeforge, follow the current season guide.
- If dual wielding ever becomes the play, keep Fallen Crusader on at least one weapon and follow updated advice for the off hand.
Enchants:
- Rings: mastery or haste to match your build.
- Chest and cloak: the season appropriate primary or defensive enchants.
- Boots: movement if available. Gloves and bracers use the current DPS enchants.
Gems:
- Mastery and haste are safe. If your haste is very low, add a haste gem or two to smooth your flow.
Consumables:
- Flask: primary stat flask used by DPS this season.
- Food: mastery food by default. Use feasts in raids.
- Potions: a primary stat potion for windows. Carry health potions for safety.
Trinkets:
- On use stat or damage trinkets that line up with your windows are strong. Passive trinkets that buff pets or shadow damage can also shine. Test options on a dummy and with sims.
Unholy Death Knight Guide Rotation And Ability Priority
Unholy is a priority system with clear steps.
Single target priority:
- Keep Virulent Plague up via Outbreak.
- Build Festering Wounds with Festering Strike. Avoid overcapping wounds on your target.
- Pop wounds with Scourge Strike or Clawing Shadows if you talent it.
- Spend runic power on Death Coil, especially when Sudden Doom procs.
- Use Death and Decay only if a talent window asks for it or when the boss has adds you can cleave.
- Keep your ghoul attacking and in range.
Simple single target opener:
- Pre pull signs allow it, cast Army of the Dead early to finish its cast before the pull.
- Outbreak to apply your disease.
- Festering Strike to apply wounds.
- Dark Transformation to empower the ghoul.
- Unholy Blight if you have it, to layer disease power.
- Apocalypse when you have enough wounds on the boss.
- Dump Death Coils while keeping wounds cycling with Scourge Strike.
- Use any on use trinket or Summon Gargoyle in this window if you run those talents.
AoE and Mythic Plus:
- Outbreak to spread Virulent Plague to all targets.
- Drop Death and Decay and stand in it.
- Build wounds on priority targets with Festering Strike.
- Cleave with Scourge Strike to burst wounds and splash damage.
- Spend runic power on Epidemic when you have multiple targets. Dump it often to avoid capping.
- Keep Dark Transformation and Apocalypse for larger pulls or mini bosses.
Resource flow tips:
- Do not cap runic power. Spend with Death Coil or Epidemic.
- Do not let wounds sit forever. Pop them to keep the engine running.
- Avoid spamming Festering Strike if your target already has many wounds and no window soon.
- Keep your pet on Assist so it swaps with you and keeps uptime.
Unholy Death Knight Guide Cooldowns And Defensive Planning
Your damage windows come from stacking cooldowns. Plan them before the pull.
- Army of the Dead is your longest cooldown. It has a short cast time. Use it before the pull on bosses when allowed, or during a planned low movement moment.
- Dark Transformation empowers your ghoul. Pair it with Unholy Blight or other disease and pet boosts.
- Apocalypse bursts wounds and summons temporary minions. Use it when you have enough wounds on your target. Save a few globals to keep wounds rolling after you press it.
- Summon Gargoyle or similar talents often want you to pool runic power first. Dump Death Coils into the window for best value.
- Vile Contagion or similar AoE cooldowns should be used when many wounds are on the pack.
- Anti Magic Shell and Icebound Fortitude keep you alive and upright so you do not drop your window.
- Anti Magic Zone is your raid tool. Use it when assigned for large magic hits.
Stack or stagger. In farm raids or low keys, stack everything for a massive hit. In progress fights, hold one major button for the second add wave or the second shield. Tell your tank when you are ready so they can pull for your window.
Utility Toolkit
You bring real control.
- Death Grip moves a target to you. Great for casters or loose mobs.
- Gorefiends Grasp pulls many enemies into a target. Combine with stuns for clean packs.
- Mind Freeze is your interrupt. Step in to land it.
- Asphyxiate is a ranged stun if you talent into it.
- Chains of Ice is a powerful slow to peel for your healer or stop a runaway.
- Raise Ally brings teammates back. Announce your res so you do not overlap with another res.
You also bring Anti Magic Zone for raid wide magic hits. Plan its placement with your raid lead.
Mythic Plus Route For Beginners
Start keys at a low level to learn routes. Unholy is comfortable once you plan your pulls.
- Tag packs with Outbreak and spread disease. This makes your Epidemic dumps great value.
- Drop Death and Decay when the pack will live long enough for you to cleave with Scourge Strike.
- Save Apocalypse and Dark Transformation for large pulls, lieutenants, or the next boss.
- Use grips to stack casters on the tank. Ask before you grab a distant mob.
- Use Anti Magic Shell to ignore short magic bursts and keep uptime.
- Communicate. Tell your tank when Vile Contagion or similar AoE CDs are ready.
Climb by timing a few keys each week. Bump one level when you feel smooth in your current range. Record runs and check whether you wasted Sudden Doom or capped runic power.
Raid Role And Preparation
Raid leaders want you to bring big windows at the right time and to help with add control.
- Place Army, Dark Transformation, and Apocalypse on priority windows. Avoid pressing them right before long movement.
- Control add waves with grips and a stun if you took it.
- Drop Anti Magic Zone when assigned. Do not waste it on minor damage.
- Keep disease on every important target and swap cleanly with Outbreak.
Weekly prep checklist:
- Enchant and gem every slot.
- Carry potions, health potions, food, and drums if your raid needs them.
- Set Weak Auras for disease tracking, wounds, Sudden Doom, pet empowerment, and your cooldown timers.
- Notes for which bosses want pre pull Army and which want delayed windows.
Leveling And Fresh 70 Setup
Leveling as Unholy is relaxed and fast.
- Pull several mobs, Outbreak to spread your disease, and cleave with Death and Decay and Scourge Strike.
- Keep your ghoul active and use Death Coil to spend runic power.
- Use defensive tools during big pulls and keep moving between packs.
Fresh 70 two hour plan:
Finish the current patch intro and unlock vendors and world content.
Get baseline enchants and cheap gems. They pay off.
Upgrade your weapon if it is weak. Weapon damage drives a lot of your output.
Run a few dungeons to tune your opener and resource flow.
Step into low Mythic Plus keys and practice your plan in real pulls.
Weak Auras UI And Addons
Good UI makes Unholy easier.
- Track Virulent Plague uptime on your main target.
- Show Festering Wounds count clearly, with a glow when near your target count for Apocalypse.
- Track Sudden Doom. Use a sound so you do not miss free Death Coils.
- Place rune and runic power bars near your character. Glow when near cap.
- Add cooldown timers for Army, Dark Transformation, Unholy Blight or Vile Contagion, and Apocalypse.
- Nameplate addon for interruptible casts and threat in keys. Boss mods and a log uploader round out the set.
Useful addons include a rotation helper if you are brand new, a nameplate package for threat, a weak aura pack for Unholy DK, a boss mod, and a combat log uploader you can download from CurseForge
Common Mistakes And Easy Fixes
- Overcapping runic power. Fix: spend Death Coil or Epidemic earlier, even if you want to hold a bit for a window.
- Letting Virulent Plague drop. Fix: Outbreak on a short timer or use a weak aura for refresh.
- Overcapping wounds. Fix: swap to Scourge Strike and pop them before you add more.
- Using Apocalypse with too few wounds. Fix: build to a safe number first.
- Forgetting Death and Decay for cleave. Fix: drop it early on packs that live at least a few seconds.
- Pet idle time. Fix: keep the ghoul on Assist and move with the group to avoid leashing.
Advanced Notes For Veterans
Windows live or die on pooling. Before a big boss window, pool runic power near cap and ensure several wounds are on the target. If you use Summon Gargoyle or an ability that scales with your spending, start with your pet empowered and then dump Death Coils to feed it.
Apocalypse timing is key. Use it with enough wounds to maximize the burst and the pet summons. Keep a few runes behind to rebuild wounds as soon as you press it so you do not stall.
Death and Decay cleave is a huge lever in keys. If the pack will live, drop it early and commit to standing in it. Scourge Strike cleave plus Epidemic drains packs fast. If forced to move, refresh the ground and drag the pack across it rather than leaving it behind.
Snapshotting can matter for pets in some seasons. If a patch notes mentions pet snapshot behavior, align on use buffs with Dark Transformation and window openers so pets catch those buffs at spawn.
Quick Reference Tables
Table 1 Stat Priority
Priority Notes
- 1 Item level for strength when it does not gut secondaries
- 2 Mastery for shadow damage from wounds, diseases, and pets
- 3 Haste for rune flow and more globals in windows
- 4 Crit and versatility as supporting stats
Table 2 Single Target Priority
Step Action
- 1 Keep Virulent Plague up with Outbreak
- 2 Apply Festering Wounds with Festering Strike
- 3 Burst wounds with Scourge Strike or Clawing Shadows
- 4 Spend runic power on Death Coil, use Sudden Doom quickly
Table 3 Mythic Plus Pull Plan
Situation What To Do
Big pack Outbreak, drop Death and Decay, build wounds, Scourge Strike cleave, Epidemic dump
Magic damage Use Anti Magic Shell, keep uptime, drop AMZ on raid calls
Dangerous burst Press Icebound Fortitude or health potion, keep damage rolling
Conclusion
Unholy pays you for planning. Keep your disease up, build and burst wounds, and line up cooldowns for huge windows. Spend runic power without capping and keep your pet working. Use grips and Anti Magic Zone to carry keys and help your raid. Review logs to find wasted Sudden Doom, capped runic power, and weak Apocalypse timing. This Unholy Death Knight Guide will be updated as patches land.
