Here we go:
1. Having both Frost Strike and Obliterate consume Killing Machine does not work. It renders the proc meaningless because we are always hitting one or the other. What will work? Frost Strike works well because it creates fluid tension within our resource system. Howling Blast (assuming DW Frost uses Obliterate) or Soul Reaper could be paired with Frost Strike for the most optimal gameplay.
2. Unholy needing to use Icy Touch just to sync up our runes for AoE feels extremely bad. That is the only reason we would need to use IT because Plague Strike applies both FF & BP. Icy Touch is the worst kind of “button bloat” for Unholy. Instead of current Blood Boil or incoming Pestilence, Unholy could use an AoE ability that costs 1 Blood / 1 Frost so that Festering Strike is mimicked. Another option would be to change the Frost Runes into permanent Death Runes and then work things out from there.
3. Death’s Advance cannot remain in the same tier as Chilblains and Asphyxiate. This situation annoys me to no end. Having to switch back and forth for every other encounter does not make Clash a happy camper. If a tier in our talent grid were to be freed up, then a movement tier including DA would make a lot of sense. Otherwise, they should just make it baseline. Furthermore, they should also make it passive to prevent “button bloat”.
4. Runic Corruption needs to be a legitimate option for Frost. The fact that RE and BT can be gamed creates a big advantage for them over RC. The fact that Frost does not highly value Unholy Runes is the reason why we do game RE and BT in the first place. Therefore, how do we increase the value of Unholy Runes? My suggestion is to change the cost of Obliterate to either two Unholy Runes or even one single Unholy Rune. In that scenario, we would even feel good about using Obliterate in AoE because it may proc Rime. Also, the value of Mastery is increased for 2H Frost as you would use frost based abilities with your Frost Runes. Good stuff all around.
5. There is not enough difference between Blood Tap and Runic Empowerment. Most people macro BT, which then plays way too similar to RE. I don’t even know what to do about this situation. There is only so many ways to refresh runes. My gut tells me that Blood Tap should be nerfed because it gives Death Runes. It would still hold value in PvP regardless.
6. Unholy has too large of an advantage over Frost in PvP. The penalty for using Blood Presence is extremely skewed. This needs to be regulated more fairly. Also, the movement speed increase to Unholy Presence needs to be made available to all specs in some form. Our lack of mobility is a major problem. And I’m just talking about PvE there.
7. Death Siphon and Necrotic Strike should not cost the same rune type. We are designed to use Necrotic Strike to apply pressure. We are also designed to self-heal as part of our defensive capabilities. We need to be able to do both at the same time. Necrotic Strike should cost a Unholy Rune. Furthermore, I strongly believe that Death Strike should only be available to Blood spec. And Death Siphon should be baseline for Frost and Unholy as a replacement.
8. Plaguebearer should not be implemented. I’m all for easier disease application (especially for Blood spec), but Plaguebearer takes things too far. Applying diseases is an important niche for DK’s and Plaguebearer makes that too passive. Removing the cool down from Outbreak is a much, much better idea.
9. Frost spec is lacking in the pizzazz department. I would really like to see a single target frost spell added to the repertoire. I am imagining a frosty white Death Coil. Don’t get me wrong, I love Howling Blast. But I would love it more if I only needed to use it on two or more targets. I would also love Howling Blast more if it spread Blood Plague for that matter.
10. Soul Reaper should detonate after three seconds instead of five. This has been talked about forever. Three seconds would feel so much better. But if that is not something the Devs are willing to do, then I suggest taking the ability into the opposite direction. Double or triple the cooldown, detonate time and damage, and allow the detonation to activate below 50% health. I want to see things absolutely explode when my execute goes off.