Death knight abilities

Classes
Class races	Death Knight	Demon Hunter	Druid	Ev	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Quests	Death Knight	Demon Hunter	Druid	Evuid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Abilities	Death Knight	Demon Hunter	Druid	Evuid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Trainers	Death Knight	Demon Hunter	Druid	-	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Armor sets	Death Knight	Demon Hunter	Druid	Evuid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Useful macros	Death Knight	Demon Hunter	Druid	-	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Class Halls	Death Knight	Demon Hunter	Druid	-	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior

Death Knight abilities use either runes (as part of the rune system) or runic power and are divided into the trees of Frost, Blood and Unholy.

Starting, trained and quest abilities

Icon	Ability	Min Level	Description
	Acherus Deathcharger	55	Summons and dismisses your rideable Acherus Deathcharger. This is a very fast mount. Rewarded from  [55] Into the Realm of Shadows.
	[Blood Plague]	55	A disease dealing (0+AP*0.055) Shadow damage every 3 sec for 15 sec. Caused by Plague Strike and other abilities.
	[Blood Presence]	55	Strengthens the Death Knight with the presence of blood, increasing damage by 15% and healing the Death Knight by 4% of damage dealt. Only damage dealt to targets that grant experience or honor can trigger this heal. Only one Presence may be active at a time. Costs 1 Blood Rune.
	[Blood Strike]	55	Instantly strike the enemy, causing 50% weapon damage plus 191, and an additional 12.5% bonus damage per disease. Costs 1 Blood Rune.
	Death Coil	55	Fire a blast of unholy energy, causing (443 + 15% AP) Shadow damage to an enemy target or healing 664.5 damage from a friendly Undead target. 30 yard range. Costs 40 Runic power.
	[Death Gate]	55	Opens a gate which the Death Knight can use to return to Ebon Hold. 10 second cast, 1 minute cooldown. Costs 1 Unholy Rune.
	[Death Grip]	55	Harness the unholy energy that surrounds and binds all matter, drawing the target toward the death knight and forcing the enemy to attack the death knight for 3 sec. Instant cast. 30 yard range. 35 sec cooldown. Costs no power.
	[Forceful Deflection]	55	Increases your Parry Rating by 25% of your total Strength.
	[Icy Touch]	55	Chills the target for (227 to 245) + 10% AP Frost damage and infects them with Frost Fever, a disease that reduces melee and ranged attack speed by 14% and deals damage every 3 sec equal to 5.5% AP. The disease lasts 15 sec. Costs 1 Frost Rune.
	[Frost Fever]	55	A disease dealing X Frost damage every 3 sec and reducing the target's melee and ranged attack power by 14% for 15 sec. Caused by Icy Touch and other spells.
	[Plague Strike]	55	A vicious strike that deals 30% weapon damage plus 113.4 and infects the target with Blood Plague, a disease dealing Shadow damage equal to 5.5% AP every 3 sec for 15 sec. Instant cast. Melee range. Costs 1 Unholy Rune.
	[Runic Focus]	55	Unlike most casters, a Death Knight's spells cause double damage on critical hits.
	[Death Strike]	56	A deadly attack that deals 60% weapon damage plus 178.2 and heals the Death Knight for 5% of maximum health for each of <his/her> diseases on the target. Instant cast. Melee range. Costs 1 Unholy Rune and 1 Frost Rune.
	[Pestilence]	56	Spreads any diseases on the target to additional targets within 10 yards. Instant cast. 10 sec cooldown. Melee Range. Costs 1 Blood Rune.
File:Spell Shadow AnimateDead.png	Raise Dead	56	Raises a Ghoul to fight by your side. If no humanoid corpse that yields experience or honor is available, you must supply  [Corpse Dust] to complete the spell. You can have a maximum of one Ghoul at a time. Lasts 2 min. Instant cast. 30 yard range. 5 min cooldown. Costs no power.
	[Frost Presence]	57	The death knight takes on the presence of frost, increasing total stamina by 6%, armor contribution from items by 60%, and reducing damage taken by 8%. Increases threat generated. Only one Presence may be active at a time. Instant. Costs 1 Frost Rune.
	[Mind Freeze]	57	Smash the target's mind with cold, interrupting spellcasting and preventing any spell in that school from being cast for 4 sec. Instant cast. 10 second cooldown. Melee range. Costs 20 Runic Power.
	[Blood Boil]	58	Boils the blood of all enemies within 10 yards, dealing (89 to 107) +4% AP Shadow damage. Deals additional damage to targets infected with Blood Plague or Frost Fever. Instant cast. Costs 1 Blood rune.
	[Chains of Ice]	58	Shackles the target with frozen chains, reducing their movement to 95%. The target regains 10% of their movement each second for 10 sec. Costs 1 Frost rune.
	[Strangulate]	59	Strangulates an enemy, silencing them for 5 sec. Instant cast. 30 yard range. 2 min cooldown. Costs 1 Blood rune.
	Death and Decay	60	Corrupts the ground targeted by the Death Knight, causing (62 + 4.75% AP) Shadow damage every sec that targets remain in the area for 10 sec. This ability produces a high amount of threat. Instant. 30 yard range. 30 sec cooldown. Costs 1 Blood rune, 1 Unholy rune and 1 Frost rune.
	[Obliterate]	61	A brutal instant attack that deals 80% weapon damage plus 292, and an additional 12.5% bonus damage per disease, but consumes the diseases (Having 3 points in the Frost talent [Annihilation] gives you a 100% chance for the diseases to stay on your target). Instant. Melee range. Requires melee weapon. Costs 1 Unholy rune and 1 Frost rune.
	[Path of Frost]	61	The Death Knight's freezing aura creates ice beneath <his/her> feet, allowing <him/her> and <his/her> party or raid to walk on water for 10 min. Works while mounted. Any damage will cancel the effect. Costs 1 Frost rune.
	[Icebound Fortitude]	62	The Death Knight freezes <his/her> blood to become immune to Stun effects and reduce all damage taken by 20% and an additional ammount based on defense for 12 sec. (Does not remove existing Stun effects) Instant. 2 min cooldown. Costs 20 Runic power.
	[Blood Tap]	64	Immediately activates a Blood Rune and temporarily converts it into a Death Rune. This rune counts as a Blood, Unholy, or Frost Rune. Lasts 20 sec. Costs 6% of the Death Knight's base health. 1 Min Cooldown.
	[Dark Command]	65	Commands the target to attack you, but has no effect if the target is already attacking you. Instant cast. 20 yard range. 8 sec. cooldown.
	[Horn of Winter]	65	The Death Knight blows the Horn of Winter, which generates 10 runic power and increases total Strength and Agility of all party or raid members within 30 yards by 86 (155 at max rank, learnable at level 75). Lasts 2 min.
	[Death Pact]	66	Sacrifices an undead minion, healing the Death Knight for 40% of <his/her> maximum health. Instant cast. 30 yard range. 2 min cooldown. Costs 40 Runic power.
	[Rune Strike]	67	Strike the target for 150% weapon damage plus [1/5 AP]. Only usable after an attack is dodged or parried. Can't be dodged, blocked, or parried. Costs 20 Runic Power.
	[Anti-Magic Shell]	68	Surrounds the Death Knight in an Anti-Magic Shell, absorbing 75% of the damage dealt by harmful spells and preventing application of harmful magical effects. Damage absorbed by Anti-Magic Shell energizes the Death Knight with additional runic power. Lasts 5 sec. Costs 20 Runic power. 1 Minute Cooldown.
	[Unholy Presence]	70	Infuses the death knight with unholy fury, increasing attack speed by 15%, movement speed by 15% and reducing the global cooldown on all abilities by 0.5 sec. Only one Presence may be active at a time. Instant. Costs 1 Unholy rune.
	[Empower Rune Weapon]	75	Empower your rune weapon, immediately activating all your runes and generating 25 runic power. Instant cast. 5 min cooldown.
	[Army of the Dead]	80	Summons an entire legion of Ghouls to fight for the Death Knight. The Ghouls will swarm the area, taunting and fighting anything they can. While channelling Army of the Dead, the Death Knight takes less damage equal to <his/her> Dodge plus Parry chance. 20 min cooldown. Channeled. Costs 1 Blood rune, 1 Unholy rune and 1 Frost rune.

Talent-granted abilities

Blood

Icon	Ability	Requirements	Description
	[Rune Tap]	Blood 10	Converts 1 Blood Rune into 10% of your maximum health. 1 Minute Cooldown. Costs 1 Blood Rune.
	[Mark of Blood]	Blood 20	Place a Mark of Blood on an enemy. Whenever the marked enemy deals damage to a target, that target is healed for 4% of its maximum health. Lasts for 20 sec. Costs 1 Blood Rune. 3 Minutes Cooldown. 30 yards range.
	Hysteria	Blood 30	Induces a friendly unit into a killing frenzy for 30 sec. The target is Enraged, which increases their physical damage by 20%, but causes them to suffer damage equal to 1% of their maximum health every second. 3 minute Cooldown. 30 yards range.
	[Vampiric Blood]	Blood 35	Temporarily grants the Death Knight 15% of maximum health and increases the amount of health generated through spells and effects by 35% for 10 sec. After the effect expires, the health is lost. Costs 1 Blood Rune. 1 Minute Cooldown.
	[Heart Strike]	Blood 40	Instantly strike the target, causing 50% weapon damage plus X, and it's nearest ally for 25% weapon damage plus X/2, each target takes an additional 10% bonus damage per diseaseactive on it. Costs 1 Blood Rune
	[Dancing Rune Weapon]	Blood 50	Summons a second rune weapon that fights on its own for 12 sec. doing the same attacks as the Death Knight but for 50% damage. 30 yrd range. 1.5 minutes cooldown. 40 Runic Power.

Frost

Icon	Ability	Requirements	Description
	[Lichborne]	Frost 10	Draw upon unholy energy to become undead for 10 sec. While undead, you are immune to Charm, Fear and Sleep effects. 2 Minutes Cooldown.
	[Deathchill]	Frost 20	When activated, makes your next Icy Touch, Howling Blast, Frost Strike or Obliterate a critical hit. 2 Minutes Cooldown.
	[Howling Blast]	Frost 50	Blast the target with a frigid wind dealing 259 to 281 Frost damage to all enemies within 10 yards. Deals double damage to targets infected with Frost Fever. Costs 1 Frost and 1 Unholy Rune. 6 seconds Cooldown. 20 yards range.
	[Unbreakable Armor]	Frost 35	Increases your armor by 25%, your total Strength by 10% and your Parry chance by 5% for 20 sec. Costs 1 Frost Rune. 1 Minute Cooldown.
	[Frost Strike]	Frost 40	Instantly strike the enemy, causing 60% weapon damage plus 150 as Frost damage. Can't be dodged, blocked, or parried. Costs 40 Runic Power.
	[Hungering Cold]	Frost 30	Purges the earth around the Death Knight of all heat. Enemies within 10 yards are trapped in ice, preventing them from performing any action for 10 sec and infecting them with Frost Fever. Enemies are considered Frozen, but any damage other than diseases will break the ice. 1 Minute Cooldown. Costs 40 Runic Power.

Unholy

Icon	Ability	Requirements	Description
File:Ability Creature Disease 02.png	[Corpse Explosion]	Unholy 10	Cause a corpse to explode for 220 Shadow damage to all enemies within 20 yards. Will use a nearby corpse if the target is not a corpse. Does not affect mechanical or elemental corpses. Costs 40 Runic Power. 30 yards range.
	[Unholy Blight]	Unholy 20	A vile swarm of unholy insects surrounds the Death Knight for a 10 yard radius. Enemies caught in the area take 37 Shadow damage per sec and are considered diseased. Lasts 20 sec. Costs 40 Runic Power. Changed as of 3.2, Now a passive ability that causes the victims of your death coil be surrounded a vile swarm of unholy insects taking 20% of the damage done by the death coil over 10 sec.
	[Anti-Magic Zone]	Unholy 30 [Magic Suppression] 5	Places a large, stationary Anti-Magic Zone that reduces spell damage done to party or raid members inside it by 75%. The Anti-Magic Zone lasts for 30 sec or until it absorbs [10000 + 2 * AP] spell damage. 2 Minutes Cooldown. Costs 1 Unholy Rune.
	[Bone Shield]	Unholy 35	The Death Knight is surrounded by 4 whirling bones. While at least 1 bone remains, <he/she> takes 40% 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. 1 Minute Cooldown. Costs 1 Unholy Rune.
	[Scourge Strike]	Unholy 40	An unholy strike that deals 40% of weapon damage as Shadow damage plus 135, and an additional 10% bonus damage per disease. Costs 1 Unholy and 1 Frost Rune.
File:Ability Hunter Pet Bat.png	[Summon Gargoyle]	Unholy 50	A Gargoyle flies into the area and bombards the target with Nature damage modified by the Death Knight's attack power. Persists for 30 sec. 3 Minutes cooldown. Costs 60 Runic Power. 30 yards range.

Abilities by cost

Abilities without rune or runic power costs

Untalented	Blood	Frost
[Acherus Deathcharger]  [Dark Command]  [Death Grip]  [Empower Rune Weapon]  [Horn of Winter] Raise Dead	[Unholy Frenzy]	[Deathchill]  [Lichborne]

Single rune abilities

Rune	Blood	Frost	Unholy
Untalented	[Blood Boil]  [Blood Presence]  [Blood Strike]  [Pestilence]  [Strangulate]	[Chains of Ice]  [Frost Presence]  [Icy Touch]  [Path of Frost]	[Death Gate]  [Plague Strike]  [Unholy Presence]
Talented	[Heart Strike]  [Mark of Blood]  [Rune Tap]  [Vampiric Blood]	[Unbreakable Armor]	[Anti-Magic Zone]  [Bone Shield] File:Ability GhoulFrenzy.png [Ghoul Frenzy]

Multi-rune abilities

Cost	Frost + Unholy		Blood + Frost + Unholy
Talented	No	Yes	No
Abilities	[Death Strike]  [Obliterate]	[Howling Blast] (Frost)  [Scourge Strike] (Unholy)	[Army of the Dead] Death and Decay

Runic power abilities

Untalented	Blood	Frost	Unholy
[Anti-Magic Shell]  [Death Coil]  [Death Pact]  [Icebound Fortitude]  [Mind Freeze]  [Rune Strike]	[Dancing Rune Weapon]	[Frost Strike]  [Hungering Cold]	[Corpse Explosion]  [Summon Gargoyle]

See also

• [Runeforging] - Allows the Death Knight to emblazon their weapon with runes.

Tips

• At level 77, no other spells are trainable other than [Cold Weather Flying].
• Depending on your talent build you may also not receive any additional spell training at other levels contrary to other classes in the game.

Abilities from Previous Games

These are death knight abilities seen in previous Warcraft games. Some may not have yet appeared on the hero class, and some may appear but with a new name or different effect.

• Alabaster Skin (RPG) - the death knight’s skin hardens and grows pale, resembling marble or alabaster. (His hair also develops streaks of white, and some death knights’ hair goes completely white as they progress in power. The new skin is slightly tougher than previous flesh.
• Contagion (RPG) - the death knight gains the ability to inflict disease upon a touched target. May have similar effect as Death and Decay but on a single target.
• Dark Grace (RPG) - Death knight gets out of dangerious situations more often. Too vague, might be represented by more spesific abilities like [Lichborne]], [Icebound Fortitude] and [Unbreakable Armor]
• Death and Decay (death knight) (WC2, WC3, & Wrath) - deals area of effect damage and is channeled (WC2). Ability found on lich (WC3).
• Death Coil (Death Knight) (WC2, WC3, RPG, & Wrath) - kills target unit, damages a neighboring unit and/or heals the caster (WC2). Damage an enemy non-undead unit, or heal a friendly undead unit (WC3 and Wrath). Does damage to living and heals undead (RPG).
• [Death Pact] (WC3, RPG, & Wrath)- Kill a friendly undead unit to restore the Death Knight's health (WC3).
• Unholy Armor (WC2) - lowers target unit's HP and grants it temporary invincibility. Similar to Hysteria.
• Raise Dead (WC2 & Wrath) - raises skeletons from corpses (WC2).
• Haste (WC2) - temporarily increases movement speed of target
• Whirlwind (WC2) -summons a whirlwind that moves around randomly to deal AoE damage
• [Unholy Aura] (WC3 & RPG) - Increase the movement speed and health regeneration of nearby friendly units (passive).(WC3) a death knight may project an aura in a 10-foot radius that will heal damage to any undead controlled by the death knight and/or to those of evil alignment allied to the death knight, divided among those in the area of the aura’s effect as chosen by the death knight. The death knight can also heal himself. Those of good alignment take damage instead (RPG)... May be similar to Unholy Presence.
• Animate Dead (WC3) - Raise up to six nearby dead units to fight for the Death Knight for forty seconds. Similar to [Army of the Dead].
• True Evil (RPG) - Death knights are immune to attempts to alter their alignment magically. Holy weapons and spells that specifically target those of evil alignment (such as holy smite), however, do 1.5 times their normal damage to death knights.
• Undead Minions (RPG) - the death knight may summon the dead to fight alongside him in combat. Similar to Raise Dead and [Army of the Dead], and the RPG's animate dead or create undead. It allows the death knight to cast either animated undead or create undead.
• Crumbling Vessel (Hysteria) (RPG) - As he continues to embrace the darkness, the life force of the death knight ebbs as it is focused into strengthening and maintaining his physical form. His Constitution modifier is now added as a profane bonus to his Armor Class.
• Life Stealing (Vendetta/ [Butchery]) (RPG) - a death knight discovers how to leech the life force of those he slays in combat. For each living creature he kills, the death knight recovers energy.
• Greater Death Coil (RPG) - Greater Death Coil does more damage than regular Death Coil & heals undead for more health.
• Undying (RPG) - the death knight becomes immune to all death spells and magical death effects. This immunity does not protect the death knight from other sorts of attacks such as hit point loss, poison, petrification or other effects even if they might be lethal.