Frost Death Knight Talent Build & Glyphs
The 15/56/0 Frost Death Knight build for WotLK 3.3.5a, point by point. It is already loaded in the calculator below, so you can change a talent, try another build or copy a link to share it.
- 15/56/0 main build
- 4 builds
- Glyphs included
- Free · no login
Class Armory
3.3.5a · LEVEL 80
Save, share & build options
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Major Glyphs
Minor Glyphs
Glyph recommendations aren't compiled yet for this build — the talent split above is still fully real and verified against actual WotLK 3.3.5a game data.
Build snapshot
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About the Frost Death Knight build
Frost Death Knight is a 15/56/0 build in our calculator, with variants for an Unholy subspec, a tank build and a double-buff tank build. The talents that define the spec are Howling Blast, Frost Strike, Threat of Thassarian, Unbreakable Armor, Rime and Improved Icy Talons, and the fifteen Blood points are what make the recommended build a Blood subspec. The three other builds change the last third of the talents, so the list below shows exactly which points move.
- 15/56/0main build
- 4builds to compare
- 6glyphs
- 71points at level 80
Frost Death Knight builds compared
The calculator above has 4 builds for this spec. Pick one from the Build menu to load it. Every build totals 71 points, and the last column shows what it changes compared with the main build.
| Build | Split | Use it when | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood Subspec main build | 15/56/0 | Our recommended build: Frost damage with a Blood subspec, and the one to load first. | the reference |
| Unholy Subspec | 1/52/18 | Frost damage with an Unholy subspec (1/52/18). It moves points from Blood and some Frost talents into Necrosis, Virulence and Epidemic. | Bladed Armor 5 → 0 Dark Conviction 5 → 0 Necrosis 0 → 5 Black Ice 5 → 2 Blood-Caked Blade 0 → 3 Ravenous Dead 0 → 3 and 6 smaller changes |
| Tank | 14/52/5 | A Frost tank build. It drops the deepest damage talents for Blade Barrier, Toughness, Death Rune Mastery and Anticipation. | Anticipation 0 → 5 Blade Barrier 0 → 5 Dark Conviction 5 → 0 Killing Machine 5 → 0 Toughness 0 → 5 Annihilation 3 → 0 and 10 smaller changes Glyphs: Glyph of Dark Command, Glyph of Icy Touch |
| Double Buff Tank | 27/39/5 | A Frost tank that also carries additional raid buffs, such as Abomination's Might and Veteran of the Third War. | Anticipation 0 → 5 Blade Barrier 0 → 5 Killing Machine 5 → 0 Toughness 0 → 5 Tundra Stalker 5 → 0 Annihilation 3 → 0 and 17 smaller changes Glyphs: Glyph of Dark Command, Glyph of Icy Touch |
Every talent in the main Frost Death Knight build
This is the 15/56/0 build, talent by talent, with what each one does at the rank the build takes. Talents are listed from the top of each tree to the bottom. The Unholy tree gets no points in this build.
Blood15 points
| Talent | Rank | What it does at this rank |
|---|---|---|
| Butchery | 2/2 | Whenever you kill an enemy that grants experience or honor, you generate up to 20 runic power. In addition, you generate 2 runic power per 5 sec. while in combat. |
| Subversion | 3/3 | Increases the critical strike chance of Blood Strike, Scourge Strike, Heart Strike and Obliterate by 9%, and reduces threat generated while in Blood or Unholy Presence by 25%. |
| Bladed Armor | 5/5 | Increases your attack power by 5 for every 180 armor value you have. |
| Dark Conviction | 5/5 | Increases your chance to critically hit with weapons, spells and abilities by 5%. |
Frost56 points
| Talent | Rank | What it does at this rank |
|---|---|---|
| Improved Icy Touch | 3/3 | Your Icy Touch does an additional 15% damage and your Frost Fever reduces melee and ranged attack speed by an additional 6%. |
| Runic Power Mastery | 2/2 | Increases your maximum Runic Power by 30. |
| Black Ice | 5/5 | Increases your Frost and Shadow damage by 10%. |
| Nerves of Cold Steel | 3/3 | Increases your chance to hit with a one-handed melee weapon by 3% and increases the damage done by your offhand weapon by 25%. |
| Icy Talons | 5/5 | You leech heat from victims of your Frost Fever, so that when their melee speed is reduced, yours increases by 20% for for the next 20 sec. |
| Annihilation | 3/3 | Increases the critical strike chance of your melee special abilities by 3%. In addition, there is a 100% chance that your Obliterate will do its damage without consuming diseases. |
| Killing Machine | 5/5 | Your melee attacks have a chance to make your next Icy Touch, Howling Blast or Frost Strike a critical strike. Effect occurs more often than Killing Machine (Rank 4). |
| Chill of the Grave | 2/2 | Your Chains of Ice, Howling Blast, Icy Touch and Obliterate generate 5 additional runic power. |
| Endless Winter | 2/2 | Your Strength is increased by 4% and your Mind Freeze no longer costs runic power. |
| Glacier Rot | 3/3 | Diseased enemies take 20% more damage from your Icy Touch, Howling Blast and Frost Strike. |
| Improved Icy Talons | 1/1 | Increases the melee haste of all party and raid members within 100 yds by 20% and your haste by an additional 5%. |
| Merciless Combat | 2/2 | Your Icy Touch, Howling Blast, Obliterate and Frost Strike do an additional 12% damage when striking targets with less than 35% health. |
| Rime | 3/3 | Increases the critical strike chance of your Icy Touch and Obliterate by 15% and casting Icy Touch has a 15% chance to cause your next Howling Blast to consume no runes. |
| Threat of Thassarian | 3/3 | When dual-wielding, your Death Strikes, Obliterates, Plague Strikes, Rune Strikes, Blood Strikes and Frost Strikes have a 100% chance to also deal damage with your offhand weapon. |
| Blood of the North | 3/3 | Increases Blood Strike and Frost Strike damage by 10%. In addition, whenever you hit with Blood Strike or Pestilence there is a 100% chance that the Blood Rune will become a Death Rune when it activates. Death Runes count as a Blood, Frost or Unholy Rune. |
| Unbreakable Armor | 1/1 | 1 Frost · Instant · 1 min cooldownReinforces your armor with a thick coat of ice, increasing your armor by 25% and increasing your Strength by 20% for 20 sec. |
| Frost Strike | 1/1 | 40 Runic Power · Melee Range · Instant · Requires Melee WeaponInstantly strike the enemy, causing 55% weapon damage plus 48 as Frost damage. |
| Guile of Gorefiend | 3/3 | Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Blood Strike, Frost Strike, Howling Blast and Obliterate abilities by 45%, and increases the duration of your Icebound Fortitude by 6 sec. |
| Tundra Stalker | 5/5 | Your spells and abilities deal 15% more damage to targets infected with Frost Fever. Also increases your expertise by 5. |
| Howling Blast | 1/1 | 1 Unholy 1 Frost · 20 yd range · Instant · 8 sec cooldownBlast the target with a frigid wind dealing 198 - 214 Frost damage to all enemies within 10 yards. |
Frost Death Knight glyphs
Major glyphs
Glyph of DiseaseYour Pestilence ability now refreshes disease durations and secondary effects of diseases on your primary target back to their maximum duration.
Glyph of ObliterateIncreases the damage of your Obliterate ability by 25%.
Glyph of Frost StrikeReduces the cost of your Frost Strike by 8 Runic Power.
Other major options: Glyph of Icy Touch, Glyph of Howling Blast.
Minor glyphs
Glyph of Horn of WinterIncreases the duration of your Horn of Winter ability by 1 min.
Glyph of Blood TapYour Blood Tap no longer causes damage to you.
Glyph of Raise DeadYour Raise Dead spell no longer requires a reagent.
Frost Death Knight talents FAQ
QWhat is the best Frost Death Knight talent build in WotLK 3.3.5a?
Our main build is 15/56/0: 15 points in Blood, 56 in Frost and 0 in Unholy. The deepest talents it takes are Howling Blast, Tundra Stalker, Frost Strike and Guile of Gorefiend. The calculator on this page loads it, and you can change any point to see what it costs.
QWhich glyphs should a Frost Death Knight use?
The main build uses Glyph of Disease, Glyph of Obliterate and Glyph of Frost Strike as major glyphs and Glyph of Horn of Winter, Glyph of Blood Tap and Glyph of Raise Dead as minor glyphs. Options for a different fight or gearing are Glyph of Icy Touch and Glyph of Howling Blast.
QHow should a Frost Death Knight split talent points?
Level 80 gives 71 talent points. The main build spends them as 15/56/0 across Blood, Frost and Unholy. The other 3 builds (Unholy Subspec 1/52/18, Tank 14/52/5, Double Buff Tank 27/39/5) move some of the points, and the table above shows which ones.
QWhich Frost Death Knight build should I pick?
Blood Subspec (15/56/0): Our recommended build: Frost damage with a Blood subspec, and the one to load first. Unholy Subspec (1/52/18): Frost damage with an Unholy subspec (1/52/18). It moves points from Blood and some Frost talents into Necrosis, Virulence and Epidemic. Tank (14/52/5): A Frost tank build. It drops the deepest damage talents for Blade Barrier, Toughness, Death Rune Mastery and Anticipation. Double Buff Tank (27/39/5): A Frost tank that also carries additional raid buffs, such as Abomination's Might and Veteran of the Third War.