Unholy Death Knight Talent Build & Glyphs
The 0/17/54 Unholy 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.
- 0/17/54 main build
- 4 builds
- Glyphs included
- Free · no login
Class Armory
3.3.5a · LEVEL 80
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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 Unholy Death Knight build
Unholy Death Knight is a 0/17/54 build in the calculator: fifty-four points in Unholy and seventeen in Frost, with none in Blood. The talents that define the spec are Summon Gargoyle, Ebon Plaguebringer, Wandering Plague, Scourge Strike, Bone Shield and Rage of Rivendare. The four builds cover the choices that matter, which are two-handed or dual wield, Scourge Strike play, and AoE. The differences are small, mostly a few points in Outbreak, Morbidity and Nerves of Cold Steel, and the list below shows them.
- 0/17/54main build
- 4builds to compare
- 6glyphs
- 71points at level 80
Unholy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two Hand main build | 0/17/54 | Our recommended build for a two-handed weapon and the one to load first. | the reference |
| Dual Wield | 0/19/52 | For dual wield. It adds Nerves of Cold Steel and Morbidity, and drops Outbreak and some Epidemic. | Morbidity 0 → 3 Nerves of Cold Steel 0 → 3 Outbreak 3 → 0 Epidemic 2 → 0 Black Ice 5 → 4 Dirge 1 → 2 and 1 smaller changes |
| Dual Wield Scourge Strike | 0/18/53 | A dual-wield version that keeps more of the Scourge Strike rotation in mind. | Morbidity 0 → 3 Nerves of Cold Steel 0 → 3 Outbreak 3 → 0 Black Ice 5 → 3 Epidemic 2 → 1 |
| AoE | 0/17/54 | The same points as the two-handed build with Morbidity instead of Outbreak, for fights with many targets. | Morbidity 0 → 3 Outbreak 3 → 0 Dirge 1 → 2 Unholy Blight 1 → 0 |
Every talent in the main Unholy Death Knight build
This is the 0/17/54 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 Blood tree gets no points in this build.
Frost17 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%. |
| 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. |
| Endless Winter | 2/2 | Your Strength is increased by 4% and your Mind Freeze no longer costs runic power. |
Unholy54 points
| Talent | Rank | What it does at this rank |
|---|---|---|
| Vicious Strikes | 2/2 | Increases the critical strike chance by 6% and critical strike damage bonus by 30% of your Plague Strike and Scourge Strike. |
| Virulence | 3/3 | Increases your chance to hit with your spells by 3% and reduces the chance that your damage over time diseases can be cured by 30%. |
| Epidemic | 2/2 | Increases the duration of Blood Plague and Frost Fever by 6 sec. |
| Ravenous Dead | 3/3 | Increases the total Strength 3% and the contribution your Ghouls get from your Strength and Stamina by 60%. |
| Outbreak | 3/3 | Increases the damage of Plague Strike by 30% and Scourge Strike by 20%. |
| Necrosis | 5/5 | Your auto attacks deal an additional 20% Shadow damage. |
| Blood-Caked Blade | 3/3 | Your auto attacks have a 30% chance to cause a Blood-Caked Strike, which hits for 25% weapon damage plus 12.5% for each of your diseases on the target. |
| Night of the Dead | 2/2 | Reduces the cooldown on Raise Dead by 90 sec and the cooldown on Army of the Dead by 4 min. Also reduces the damage your pet takes from creature area of effect attacks by 90%. |
| Unholy Blight | 1/1 | Causes the victims of your Death Coil to be surrounded by a vile swarm of unholy insects, taking 10% of the damage done by the Death Coil over 10 sec, and preventing any diseases on the victim from being dispelled. |
| Impurity | 5/5 | The attack power bonus of your spells is increased by 20%. |
| Dirge | 1/2 | Your Death Strike, Plague Strike and Scourge Strike generate 2.5 additional runic power. |
| Master of Ghouls | 1/1 | Reduces the cooldown on Raise Dead by 60 sec, and the Ghoul summoned by your Raise Dead spell is considered a pet under your control. Unlike normal Death Knight Ghouls, your pet does not have a limited duration. |
| Desolation | 5/5 | Your Blood Strikes cause you to deal 5% additional damage with all attacks for the next 20 sec. |
| Ghoul Frenzy | 1/1 | Grants your pet 25% haste for 30 sec and heals it for 60% of its health over the duration. |
| Crypt Fever | 3/3 | Your diseases also cause Crypt Fever, which increases disease damage taken by the target by 30%. |
| Bone Shield | 1/1 | 1 Unholy · Instant · 1 min cooldownThe Death Knight is surrounded by 3 whirling bones. While at least 1 bone remains, he takes 20% less damage from all sources and deals 2% more damage with all attacks, spells and abilities. Each damaging attack that lands consumes 1 bone. Lasts 5 min. |
| Wandering Plague | 3/3 | When your diseases damage an enemy, there is a chance equal to your melee critical strike chance that they will cause 100% additional damage to the target and all enemies within 8 yards. Ignores any target under the effect of a spell that is cancelled by taking damage. |
| Ebon Plaguebringer | 3/3 | Your Crypt Fever morphs into Ebon Plague, which increases magic damage taken by 13% in addition to increasing disease damage taken. Improves your critical strike chance with weapons and spells by 3% at all times. |
| Scourge Strike | 1/1 | 1 Unholy 1 Frost · Melee range · Instant · Requires Melee WeaponAn unholy strike that deals 70% of weapon damage as Physical damage plus 238. In addition, for each of your diseases on your target, you deal an additional 12% of the Physical damage done as Shadow damage. |
| Rage of Rivendare | 5/5 | Your spells and abilities deal 10% more damage to targets infected with Blood Plague. Also increases your expertise by 5. |
| Summon Gargoyle | 1/1 | 60 Runic Power · 30 yd range · Instant · 3 min cooldownA Gargoyle flies into the area and bombards the target with Nature damage modified by the Death Knight's attack power. Persists for 30 sec. |
Unholy Death Knight glyphs
Major glyphs
Glyph of Dark DeathIncreases the damage or healing done by Death Coil by 15%.
Glyph of Icy TouchYour Frost Fever disease deals 20% additional damage.
Glyph of the GhoulYour Ghoul receives an additional 40% of your Strength and 40% of your Stamina.
Other major options: Glyph of Disease.
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 Dead
Your Raise Dead spell no longer requires a reagent.
Unholy Death Knight talents FAQ
QWhat is the best Unholy Death Knight talent build in WotLK 3.3.5a?
Our main build is 0/17/54: 0 points in Blood, 17 in Frost and 54 in Unholy. The deepest talents it takes are Summon Gargoyle, Rage of Rivendare, Wandering Plague and Ebon Plaguebringer. The calculator on this page loads it, and you can change any point to see what it costs.
QWhich glyphs should a Unholy Death Knight use?
The main build uses Glyph of Dark Death, Glyph of Icy Touch and Glyph of the Ghoul 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 Disease.
QHow should a Unholy Death Knight split talent points?
Level 80 gives 71 talent points. The main build spends them as 0/17/54 across Blood, Frost and Unholy. The other 3 builds (Dual Wield 0/19/52, Dual Wield Scourge Strike 0/18/53, AoE 0/17/54) move some of the points, and the table above shows which ones.
QWhich Unholy Death Knight build should I pick?
Two Hand (0/17/54): Our recommended build for a two-handed weapon and the one to load first. Dual Wield (0/19/52): For dual wield. It adds Nerves of Cold Steel and Morbidity, and drops Outbreak and some Epidemic. Dual Wield Scourge Strike (0/18/53): A dual-wield version that keeps more of the Scourge Strike rotation in mind. AoE (0/17/54): The same points as the two-handed build with Morbidity instead of Outbreak, for fights with many targets.