Hey everyone reading this, I will be updating this guide for MoP after progression is over with Duality, so probably sometime before Christmas. Thanks for all the support people, I really appriciate it.
If you have any additional questions not covered feel free to send me a PM. I am also able to be contacted on Real ID, send me a PM if you'd like to chat in-game.
My armory can be found here.
Recommended All-Purpose Spec
There is a little room for adjustment depending on the fight. You can drop 1 point in AMZ and Magic Suppression and put them into Improved Blood Tap on fights like Morchok and Hagara where you don't really need/use AMZ.
Required Glyphs
For AoE, you will want to swap Scourge Strike glyph for Death and Decay, and swap Death Coil for Icy Touch.
Stat Priority
In general the Unholy stat priority is as follows.
Strength>Hit to 8%>Haste>Crit>Mastery>Expertise (Without Gurthulak)
Strength>Hit to 8%>Haste>Mastery>Crit>Expertise (With Gurthulak)
Crit VS. Mastery
This discussion is endless and is the first thing I want to get into in this section. There are suggestions that mastery overtakes crit with Gurthulak. The reasoning behind this is the fact that the Gurthulak tentacle scales with mastery, increasing the value of mastery.
Crit is still a very strong stat on fights where you cannot rely on your tentacles being up at the correct time, such as Spine H for Tendon burns (not much of an issue anymore, since you should play Frost for progression anyways).
The general consensus is that until you get a Gurthulak, crit>mastery. When you get one, mastery>crit.
See following post for fight by fight tips and tricks section.
Play and Priority System
Presence - Unholy
Runeforge - Fallen Crusader
Single Target Priority
- Diseases
- 1. Dark Transformation
- 2. Death and Decay/Scourge Strike (Both Unholy Runes or Death Runes are up)
- 3. Festering Strike (Both Blood and Both Frost Runes are up)
- 4. Death Coil (High RP or Sudden Doom Procs)
- 5. Death and Decay/Scourge Strike
- 6. Festering Strike
- 7. Death Coil (Throttle Usage Around Dark Transformation)
- 8. Horn of Winter
Diseases
Use Outbreak to apply diseases. If Outbreak is unavailable, use Icy Touch and Plague Strike. It is crucial that your diseases have as close to a 100% uptime as possible.
Dark Transformation
Your Death Coils will apply a buff to your Ghoul called Shadow Infusion which stacks up to 5 times. You'll want to Transform your Ghoul as soon as possible.
Death and Decay/Scourge Strike
Even though Death and Decay is an AoE, it provies more single target damage for an Unholy Rune than Scourge Strike would. Scourge Strike should be used if you have both Unholy Runes up and DnD is on cooldown.
Festering Strike
Festering Strike is used to extend the duration of your diseases and uses Blood and Frost runes. Should be used at this point in the priority system when you have 2 of each Blood and Frost runes up.
Death Coil
Use this when you're about to cap RP, have Sudden Doom procs, or have no runes available. The T13 2 piece set bonus gives a chance to Double proc Sudden Doom. During Dark Transformation, you'll want to throttle your Death Coil usage to ensure you're near capping Runic Power when Dark Transformation falls off.
Horn of Winter
If you have no Runes or Runic Power, Horn of Winter instantly generates 10 RP and is a great filler.
How I Play my DK
Managing Runic Power
I tend to throttle my Runic Power usage and increasing waiting time about 3-5 seconds before DT ends, depending on how many resources I currently have available. In general I try to be above 80 RP when DT ends, regardless of whether or I not I decide to use this RP right away. When I have Sudden Doom procs I tend to use them as soon as possible if I am close to RP cap but will throttle them if I have 4+ runes available. I try and avoid hitting RP cap at all times. If I have 6 Unholy Runes, I'll try to use at least 2 runes before using any Death Coils and then weave any following Death Coils to avoid hitting Runic Power Cap.
Managing Your Ghoul
Pet management is fairly simple as Unholy, but there a few things you can do to ensure you get the most out of your Ghoul. Have a macro or a modifier on Death Coil to heal your pet. A macro can be found in the macro section. Also have a pet follow macro. If your guild is doing farm content and pulls the boss within under 2 minutes of killing trash, it's possible to leave your Ghoul at 5 stacks of Shadow Infusion and a capped RP bar. Just Death Coil your pet as the stacks are about to fall off, and drop DnD and use Horn of Winter to keep your RP up. If you have no RP left, are pulling within 30 seconds and your stacks are about to fall off, transform your ghoul. 5-10 seconds of uptime is better than starting untransformed. (You won't even be using Death Coil for the first 5-10 seconds of the fight anyways).
Cooldown Management
I have my Engineering Gloves and Blood Fury bound into Scourge Strike so they are used on cooldown. I tend to use Empower Rune Weapon during my 2nd Pot (which I usually pop 15 seconds before my 2nd Gargoyle to ensure my gargoyle still gets it). Always Army 7-10 seconds before the pull. This ensures the runes you use on Army will be back up right as you pull. Blood Tap is a useful CD if you ever run into a point with waiting time. (No Runes, Runic Power, HoW on CD) however with ~2k+ haste this shouldn't an issue. Blood Tap is still a good CD.
BIS GEAR
Helm - Necrotic Boneplate Helm - Warmaster Blackhorn
Neck - Necklace of Black Dragon's Teeth - Valor Vendor
Shoulders - Backbreaker Spaulders - Spine of Deathwing
Cloak - Dreamcrusher Drape - Valor Vendor
Chest - Necrotic Boneplate Breastplate - Ultraxion
Bracers - Rockhide Bracers - Morchok
Gloves - Necrotic Boneplate Gauntlets - Zon'ozz
Belt - Runescriven Demon Collar - Hagara
Legs - Necrotic Boneplate Greaves - Yor'sahj
Boots - Treads of Crushed Flesh - Zon'ozz
Ring - Curled Twilight Claw - Ultraxion
Ring - Breathstealer Band - Random Boss Drop
Trinket - Eye of Unmaking - Spine of Deathwing
Trinket - Bone Link Fetish - Random Boss Drop
Weapon - Gurthulak, Voice of the Deeps - Madness of Deathwing
General Tips and Tricks
- Make liberal use of AMS. If you are taking Magic damage, pop it when you need to quickly transform your ghoul or are low on RP.
- Always combine Unholy Frenzy and Gargoyle unless you are Bloodlusting at the beginning of a fight. It doesn't matter a whole lot if you're above ~1600 haste as your Gargoyle is GCD capped with a 1.5 second cast, pop it anyways to ensure no wasted DPS.
- Never Unholy Frenzy during a lust. Take extra care to know when your raid group will be lusting.
- Anti-Magic Shell and Anti-Magic Zone DO NOT STACK. AMS will override AMZ until AMS falls off, at which point you will gain the AMZ buff.
I'm sure I'll think of more. Feel free to PM me suggestions.
Dragon Soul Boss Tips and Tricks
Morchok
Pop AMS when you have 2 stacks of Black Blood of the Earth and you should be able to sit in for the entire Black Blood Phase. If possible, snag a disc priest bubble or Riptide from a Shaman. Other than that this fight doesn't have too many interesting mechanics.
Yor'sahj
You must have a pet follow macro or keybind for this fight, or your ghoul can despawn when you switch off to the ooze. My macro is simply "/petfollow", and I spam that when the oozes come out.
Don't drop DnD on the ooze when it spawns. It's better used dropped on the boss before you leave to go DPS the Ooze. Save outbreak for use on the boss, apply your diseases via Icy Touch and Plague Strike to the ooze. For Black phases, don't Pestilence more than once. Save a Blood rune for when the last 2-3 adds are running into your stack pile, spread your diseases and drop DnD. During double Black, you'll want to drop DnD after about half the first set of adds is stacked up so you can use it again on the second set of adds.
Use AMS liberally during Yellow Phases. You can stand slightly outside the hitbox during Red with AMS up for a full RP bar. Don't stand out for more than 1 tick or your healers will hate you. AMS will fully absorb the first tick. During Green Phase, I suggest dropping AMZ on the raid before the first splash hits to ensure the melee will remain safe (in case there is a healer or ranged stacked in melee).
Zon'ozz
This fight you will also need a pet follow macro. During Black Phase, you can Dark Simulacrum the Flails, which gives you a 200 yard range Ooze Spit which hits for about 70k and scales with mastery. During Black Phase, apply diseases via Icy Touch and Plague Strike to the Eyes. When they crunch down, they have an invisible cast which can me inturrupt with Mind Freeze and Strangulate. Use both spells liberally to reduce raid damage significantly.
AMZ timing is crucial. The best time to AMZ is either before debuffs go out or after debuffs fade. If there are still debuffs out when you drop AMZ, it has a high chance of being eaten by debuffs. With out strategy we go 9-7-7 burn. The best AMZs are on the final melee bounce in the first set and the 4th bounce in the last set. (AMZ won't be up for the second set of bounces). You'll have to adjust this according your your guild's strategy.
Hagara
Hagara is another fight where ghoul placement is essential. During the Lightning Phase, your ghoul will chain the lightning which is uneeded raid damage, and he'll die. Right before the Lightning add dies, move your pet to the center of the room, right underneath Hagara. If you're part of the chain, make sure your pet is in Death Coil range. Pop AMS and fire 5 quick Death Coils at your Ghoul to prepare for the burn phase. The same preparation can be made during the Frost phase. About 5 seconds before the last crystal dies, pop AMS and run into the middle. You won't be slowed and your RP bar will cap. Fire Death Coils at your ghoul to get to 5 stacks, then transform him.
When Hagara is casting Shattered Ice, put Dark Simulacrum on her. Make sure it's on before the spell is about halfway cast or Dark Sim won't catch the shattered ice. The stolen spell will hit for about 100-150k and can crit.
Ultraxion
Your guild will probably be lusting off the bat, so save Unholy Frenzy and use it after the first Hour of Twilight. Death and Decay does no damage on this fight so don't bother dropping it. You can cast Outbreak while out of the Twilight Realm, so if you're going up for a Fading Light or Hour of Twilight that's the best time to refresh your diseases.
Note: AMS and AMZ do NOT stack. If you cast them both at the same time, you will have the AMS buff until it fades, and then you'll gain the AMZ buff. For this reason, only soak RP with AMS from the constant damage tick and only use AMZ on the Hours.
Code:
/cast Icebound Fortitude
/cast Anti-Magic Zone
None of these are on the GCD.
Warmaster Blackhorn
Unsure you pop Frenzy and Gargoyle right off the bat, this way they will both be back up for Goriona. Pestilence once when both adds come down and start working the Dreadblade. After both the adds are stack on the edge and the drake has landed, drop DnD and transform your ghoul. Stand to the side of the mobs rather than behind to prevent taking charge damage.
Your AMZ should be used for Twilight Onslaught #1 and #5. AMS can be used on every second Onslaught, IBF should be used liberally. During Phase 2, you can pop AMS and dip into the Shadow AoE for a full RP bar, however be very careful not to do this right before a Disrupting Shout or Shockwave.
Spine of Deathwing
This fight is pretty awful for Unholy, so I'd suggest playing Frost unless your guild is having no issues with killing the tendon.
DO NOT PESTILENCE UNNECESSARILY. It may look nice on the meters, but you can spread cooties and rip aggro off the tank that is kiting. This will get you killed in the long run. It can also spread diseases to the Corruption, causing it to die too early and ruin breaking. You will see logs of DKs pulling close to 100k on this fight. That's entirely unnecessary and a hazard to your raid and yourself. Focus on single targeting the amalgamation.
For tendon burst, ensure your ghoul is at 5 stacks of Shadow Infusion, your DnD is off CD, and your Outbreak is available as well. You'll also want 6 Unholy Runes up and a fairly full RP bar. Rotate between Unholy Frenzy+Gargoyle and Empower Rune Weapon on each tendon phase. Your opener will look something like this.
- DnD about a second before the plate opens
- Frenzy and Gargoyle in the same GCD as soon as the Tendon is targetable
- Outbreak
- Continue Regular rotation
Note - I suggest weaving Death Coils during your Scourge Strike spam to proc Runic Corruption, however ensure you're not overly prioritizing Death Coils.
When the third tendon (6th burn) is about 10 seconds from becoming active, pop Army. This will alleviate some pressure from healers and tanks.
Madness of Deathwing
My favorite fight this tier thus far. Really a fun fight for Unholy.
Always try and have a decent amount of Runic Power when you're swapping off the Arm Tentacle onto the Mutated Corruption so you can keep dpsing on the way there. If you're assigned to swap off and kill the Corrupting Parasite, save DnD for whenever you swap. Only put diseases on if it's a 15 second corruption.
When the Regenerative Bloods Spawn, spread diseases off the Corruption. Do not re-drop DnD or Blood Boil. The Corruption should die right as the Corrupting Parasite comes out. When the tank drags the Bloods to the Parasite, drop DnD on the Parasite and Bloods, Pestilence off one of the Bloods, and Blood Boil every Death/Blood Rune. Make liberal use of Blood Tap.
If your raid group is having difficulties killing the Wing/Arm Tentacles before Cataclysm, save Frenzy and Gargoyle for this time. If you're not going to be padding, use them to kill the Mutated Corruption more quickly.
When single targeting the Blistering Tentacles, Death Coil and Festering Strike are the best spells to use. Try and dump Scourges in before 70% and 40% to ensure you'll have capped RP and Festerings ready to go. Save AMS for about halfway through the Blisterings to soak RP and spam Deathcoil on them.
On the final platform, don't Outbreak the boss or drop DnD immediately after you arrive. Save these for when the Elementium Fragments Spawn. Drop DnD and spread diseases, spam Blood Boil with all remaining Blood and Death runes. ALWAYS use Dream when you're targeted, regardless of if the Fragment targeting you dies. Just play it safe. You'll have a couple seconds of DPS time on the boss until the Terrors spawn. Do not drop DnD on these terrors, but spread diseases.
When the boss hits 15%, Congealing Bloods will spawn from one of three points on the platform. You need to get there as soon as possible and drop DnD, Outbreak the first Blood, and Pestilence as soon as all the Bloods have spawned. Spam Blood Boil will all remaining Death and Blood Runes, once again use Blood Tap liberally.
Get back on the boss, but save DnD for the Congealing Bloods at 10%. They should spawn with a set of Fragments as well. These are the easiest to kill as there can be additional Spellweave bouncing off the Fragements, however your rotation is the same on every set of Bloods. Always save DnD if you're not sure it'll be up in time.
The final set of Bloods spawns when the Terrors are still up. At this point you'll be ignoring Terrors entirely and DPSing the boss, so you still have to swap to the Bloods ASAP. This set is the best for using Empower Rune Weapon.
I'll be testing more during farm content so this will most likely get updated at some point.
Important Macros
Pet Follow Macro for fights like Hagara and Yor'sahj
Healing your Pet
Code:
/cast [@pet] Death Coil
For Warmaster Blackhorn
Code:
/cleartarget
/tar Twilight Sapper
/cast Death Grip
/cast Chains of Ice
Spine of Deathwing
Code:
/cleartarget
/tar Burning Tendon
/petattack
/cast Outbreak
/startattack
Boss Mechanic Power Auras
Disrupting Shadows
Code:
Version:4.23; anim1:4; icon:Spell_Shadow_Shadowfury; buffname:Disrupting Shadows; x:266; bufftype:2; alpha:1; owntex:true; y:93
Frostflake
Code:
Version:4.23; icon:Spell_Frost_FrostNova; buffname:Frostflake; x:68; customname:109325; bufftype:2; alpha:0.7; customtex:true; size:0.36; y:189; texmode:2
Fading Light
Code:
Version:4.23; icon:Ability_Druid_TwilightsWrath; buffname:Fading Light; x:-313; bufftype:2; aurastext:FADING LIGHT ON YOU FAGGOT; sound:23; stacksOperator:>; textaura:true; size:4.27; y:93; texmode:2; timer.h:2.19; timer.enabled:true; timer.y:43; timer.x:-332
Corrupting Parasite
Code:
Version:4.23; icon:ability_rhyolith_magmaflow_wave; buffname:Corrupting Parasite; x:-22; bufftype:2; alpha:1; owntex:true; sound:25; size:1.2; y:257
I use TellMeWhen to track all of my debuffs, buffs, Shadow Infusion stacks and Dark Transformation
Here are some of the TellMeWhen bars I use.
Diseases
Code:
^1^T^SPoint^T ^Sy^F4627717247611271 ^f-46^Sx ^F-6841406196830637^f-47 ^Spoint^SBOTTOM ^SrelativePoint^SBOTTOM ^t^SEnabled^B ^SColumns^N3 ^STree1^b ^SIcons^T ^N1^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SUnit^Starget ^SOnlyMine^B ^SType^Sbuff ^SName^SFrost~`Fever ^SEnabled^B ^SBuffOrDebuff^SHARMFUL ^t^N2^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SUnit^Starget ^SOnlyMine^B ^SType^Sbuff ^SName^SBlood~`Plague ^SEnabled^B ^SBuffOrDebuff^SHARMFUL ^t^N3^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SConditions^T ^N1^T ^SType^SCOMBAT ^t^Sn^N1 ^t^SName^SFind~`Weakness ^t^t^t^N48301^S~`~| ^Sgroup^N2 ^^
Strength Procs (Fallen Crusader, Pot, Blood Fury)
Code:
^1^T^SPoint^T ^Sy^F7115046739120057 ^f-46^Sx ^F-6870680173231221^f-47 ^Spoint^SBOTTOM ^SrelativePoint^SBOTTOM ^t^SOnlyInCombat^B ^SEnabled^B ^SColumns^N3 ^SIcons^T ^N1^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Sbuff ^SName^SUnholy~`Strength ^SEnabled^B ^t^N2^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Sbuff ^SName^SGolem's~`Strength ^SEnabled^B ^t^N3^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Sbuff ^SName^SBlood~`Fury ^SEnabled^B ^t^t^t^N48301^S~`~| ^Sgroup^N3 ^^
Rune Bar
Code:
^1^T^SPoint^T ^Sy^F-8729783718796942 ^f-46^Sx ^F4937060835146243^f-50 ^t^SScale^F5523315594625025 ^f-52^SEnabled ^B^SColumns ^N6^SIcons ^T^N1^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Srunes ^SShowWhen^Salways ^STotemSlots^N4 ^SEnabled^B ^t^N2^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Srunes ^SShowWhen^Salways ^STotemSlots^N8 ^SEnabled^B ^t^N3^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Srunes ^SShowWhen^Salways ^STotemSlots^N1 ^SEnabled^B ^t^N4^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Srunes ^SShowWhen^Salways ^STotemSlots^N2 ^SEnabled^B ^t^N5^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Srunes ^SShowWhen^Salways ^STotemSlots^N16 ^SEnabled^B ^t^N6^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Srunes ^SShowWhen^Salways ^STotemSlots^N32 ^SEnabled^B ^t^t^t^N48301^S~`~| ^Sgroup^N5 ^^
Dark Transformation, Shadow Infusion and Runic Corruption
Code:
^1^T^SPoint^T ^Sy^F4666823766343019 ^f-46^Sx ^F7769901064297590^f-47 ^Spoint^SBOTTOM ^SrelativePoint^SBOTTOM ^t^SEnabled^B ^SColumns^N3 ^STree1^b ^SIcons^T ^N1^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SUnit^Spet ^SType^Sbuff ^SName^SDark~`Transformation ^SEnabled^B ^t^N2^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SType^Sbuff ^SName^SRunic~`Corruption ^SEnabled^B ^t^N3^T ^SShowTimer^B ^SUnit^Spet ^SEvents^T ^SOnFinish^T ^SOnlyShown^B ^SSound^SDie! ^SSoundData^SSound\Creature\GruulTheDragonkiller\GRULLAIR_Gruul_Slay03.wav ^t^t^SConditions^T ^N1^T ^SType^SBUFFSTACKS ^SUnit^Spet ^SOperator^S<= ^SName^SShadow~`Infusion ^SLevel^N5 ^t^Sn^N1 ^t^SType^Sbuff ^SName^SShadow~`Infusion ^SEnabled^B ^t^t^t^N48301^S~`~| ^Sgroup^N1 ^^
My UI
ElvUI is the Basic Skin
TellMeWhen
TellMeWhen Custom Made Rune Tracker
MSBT (Mik's Scrolling Battle Text) Damage Done and Taken
Direct Link - http://i.imgur.com/TTYJE.jpg