Quote Originally Posted by elyken View Post
@dyrtnap

First off thank you for that awesome response, i switched around quite a few of my gems today, im not sure if you posted this before or after i did. I went for the Socket bonuses that i felt were worth getting and gemmed more pure strength.

Actually, i have never done much of any pve on my dk, was all on hunter or rogue, i have close to no exp playing uh holy but i have been pushed to re spec to it by my arena partners guildies, and friend so i do think ill give it a try. I have looked into it previously but had a very hard time getting my hands on a half decent "guide" :/ and the ones that i did find were very vague and all over the place in comparison to one another.

Seeing as you listed a spec i will read through it and try and get a feel for what it is all about, i have a basic understanding of it, just need some time with it i guess
Not a problem I never mind trying to help people that are truly asking for assistance. I'll give you just a quick run down on how to play UH. It won't be exhaustive but it's enough to get you started.

Stats:
Str>Hit(to cap)>Haste>Crit>Mastery: Expertise is kinda a toss up for me. Personally I reforge it all away and rely on my racial bonus as a Human. Even without a +Exp racial I don't recall seeing anyone not reforging all Exp into Haste.

Spec: We discussed it for the most part.

Personally I have used a 2/8/31 spec for a while but am considering switching over to the traditional 0/8/33 with 3 in RoR to be able to use SS for those moments where the healer is CC'd and a SS or 2 would have ended it before they had a chance to heal through the Necro's with a big WoG for example.

Gearing: we already discussed

Playstyle:

This is something that of course is situational and somewhat up to personal opinion. This is just my personal opinion on a UH DK playstyle. Comp also plays a big part in playstyle.

1: Opener:

Many Grip in a target while using CoI while they are in the air. I generally save DG as an interrupt or to bring a target in for HoJ or Psychic Scream, again team comp matters in playstyle. I will use Grip to open when I can pull someone into LoS of their partners or otherwise fuck up their game plan by doing something unexpected but its not my "opener" usually.

I usually start off with a CoI and will sometimes use Outbreak. I say sometimes because: With some comps we focus on one target and make swaps only when big defensive CD's are up. With other comps we will be making frequent switches and its nice to be able to make a very hard switch without having to build up diseases first. Diseases on the hard switch target isn't strictly necessary for hard switches especially if you are not using SS much but the extra damage can be the thing that scores the kill so I usually try to have them up.

2: Offensive play:

a) Offensive CD's:

Personally because of my comp we often pop our offensive CD's fairly early because we are a Meleecleave that relies on long CD burst to kill. In most comps you will use Garg "at the right time". The right time is something that takes a type of feel that you can only get from experience. Generally you want to use it during a CC chain or early when you want to take control of the pressure game.

Your main CD's are going to be Trinket>UF>Garg and ERW when you have at least 4 D Runes on CD but preferably all Runes on CD. Ideally you want your pet enraged before or shortly after you pop these.

Do not use UF on yourself if facing a Mage, Rogue or Hunter teams. Save it for your healer. It lasts 30 secs and can be a life saver due to its personal damage breaking them out of CC and essentially making them unCCable.

Popping those CD's is a feeling out process and should be used at the same time as your partner is using theirs.

I usually use BT as a fill in when I HAVE to have a rune RIGHT NOW i.e. clutch Strangulates, AMZ and a killing blow situation.

b) General Offensive Playstyle Tips:

NS: You want to use NS as much as possible. NS does wear off though in 10 secs so you can lose huge stack vs Mages or anyone on an RMP, MLS(D) or vs some Hunter teams i.e. Hunter/Rogue/X mostly.

Fes: should be used ASAP in most situations to keep those Drunes flowing.

SS: should only be used if you have specced into RoR and are needing an execute. Otherwise NS is better in all cases. Hell 1 NS > non-crit Oblit so its def > SS other than as an execute.

CoI: applies FF so obviously you take IT off your bars. Obviously you will PS to get your BP up.

Grip: has no minimum range and is usually better saved as an interrupt on the healer than it is a gap closer *unless* you can land a kill by using that Grip. This is a situational statement obviously. Setting up and using Focus Grips often on a Healer can make their life hell since they aren't usually expecting it.

Strangulate: This is a long CD and should be used wisely. Communicate well with your partners and make sure to not overlap it since its your main big CC and should be used smartly. If you play with another class with a Silence be sure to use yours first since it has such a huge CD, Silences DR and it lasts the longest especially if you can land it on cast.

MF: Healers with any brains will fake cast. Not interrupting healers can often be the best choice unless they are in a position where they MUST cast or if they are casting something that HAS to be stopped such as a Poly when someone is potentially in trouble in the case of a DPS. Healers will often fake cast themselves nearly to death. Holding onto MF can actually act as a better "interrupt" than actually using it especially because when they have faked too many times they are forced to attempt a cast and you can often land a real interrupt. Remember to practice focus MFing (range finding) in 2's. Straffing towards a healer a little in order to land a focus kick can be an amazing tactic especially as a DK due to the pets not to mention another DPS. Its worth you losing 1-2 secs of DPS to get that kick off in most cases. Healers rarely expect focus kicks until the 2200+ level so for a while they will just stand too close and not know what to do.

Gnaw: Amazing when used correctly. It is an awesome CC as well as a defensive tool. I usually use it on healers using a /focus Leap + Gnaw macro. Sadly even Gnaw on a single target requires a Macro.

/petautocastoff Claw
/cast !Gnaw

#showtooltip Gnaw
/petautocastoff Claw
/cast [@focus] !Leap
/cast [@focus] !Gnaw

I then use

/petautocaston
/cast Death Coil

to put Gnaw back on auto cast.

Leap/Charge: When your Ghoul is enraged this works as a root and an interrupt. Use it both defensively and offensively.

3: Defensive Play:

DK's are amazingly squishy vs physical damage and once AMS and Z are down they can be really squishy vs Casters as well. You have to learn how to play defensively while still being able to put out pressure. Staying alive is 99% of the time better than dying.

REMEMBER TO PILLAR. You can negate so much damage just by pillaring. Hunters especially destroy DK's so you should never venture far from a source of LoS when facing a Hunter. This applies to any other casters unless you have at least AMS up and preferrably LB too.

AMZ is awesome for yourself and your teammates. Always try to keep in mind where they are so if they are in trouble you can at least stop some of it. Other than Warriors, Rogues(I guess it would stop poison) and Ferals AMZ can really save the day.

AMS not only is it defensive it is an amazing offensive CD. You can use it to go immune to magic CC and peels while going for that kill. You can use it to get a pool of RP(AMS give RP as UH when damaged) for either self heals or stacking Ghoul up. Its most amazingly used as a Defensive CD though. Its like bubble on a 45 sec CD vs casters and should be saved for them unless you feel like you can land a kill.

Never overextend unless you healer tells you they have you and even then make sure you have CD's and a backup plan and until you are comfortable knowing the right time don't do it at all unless you are positive you can land a kill. Don't LoS your healer either.

4: Other Thoughts:

Your comp really effects how you play. You will have to learn to play that comp so don't get discouraged if things aren't peaches the first day. DK's are great healer killers and can essentially play a zerg healer comp to differing amounts of success. I personally play one of those "healer zerg comps" but we don't zerg healers. We CC them and make plenty of switches (sometimes on the healer) just like any other comp. If you have the CC to take a healer out of the picture I would suggest going that route because any non-retarded team above 2k should be able to peel you before you can kill a healer with the current state of gear and healer power. Zerging really puts strain on your healer and personally I think its more fun to actually have to outplay an opponent rather than just mindlessly pop CD's and hope to not get peeled.

DK's do counter Priests and you can often zerg one into the ground unless they have massive peels. Yes I realize that contradicts my previous statement.

UH is a much harder spec with about 80-100 keybinds when played at its fullest. Practice it and don't give up its worth it once you really learn how to play it.

Communication is key. You will face many common comps and they usually have a common playstyle. After each match win or loss talk out what you did right and wrong. Always have everyone call themselves out if they can possibly handle being that mature. If someone can't/won't you may have to or want to replace them. Also don't let anyone be the "my fault guys" person every time a loss occurs. That stops everyone from learning if they can always blame someone.

HF & GL. Hopefully you read this and it helps.