New DK looking for tips and tricks

[mirix]

I'm considering making my DK my main. I've been playing my warrior mostly since Cata. I know that managing runes is really important. I'm looking at playing Unholy at 100. Leveling up I can pretty much 3 shot anything so I haven't really had a chance to "manage" anything. Are there any tips or addons seasoned DKs can give me? Any DK guide I've found doesn't really talk much about managing runes, I realize it's something you learn as you play more. Any advice you may have is helpful. Thanks.

[Rocketpower]

Ive been playing a dk as my Main for the last two expansions, I love it, i switched from a warrior to dk and havent looked back since. I dont have any great advice or addons to suggest but i guess the advice I can give you as that in my opinion, learning your rotation, priorities and when to use your cooldowns is critical. The rest all kind of falls into place. I don't have any great achievements to prove it but I consider myself a top tier player and fairly good at my dk. I'd be happy to answer any questions and help you in any way that i can! Good luck and always remember to enjoy what you play.

[Comp]

DDR (Docs Debug Runes) is the best rune addon imo.

Other than that use weak auras to track important things like DOTS, CDs, Trinks, Defile, etc.

[Deleted]

I agree DDR was a good addon, but it's last update was more than 2 years ago. I recommend a rewrite of DDR called Compact Runes. It's a good addon out of the box aswell as being customizable in how it displays runes. You can also enable it to track your diseases, remind you of plague leech use, track blood charges,... I recommend you explore it more.

Other things, do not forget about empower runic weapon, especially when heavy burst is required and you find yourself strapped for runes. Do not forget about AMS.

[Zethras]

The only advice I can give is: Practice, practice, practice. Even if you have to go beat up a raid dummy for hours. Rune add ons DO help, but getting used to a completely unique resource system takes some getting used to, and when you think about it, if you take Blood Tap as your rune regen talent, you're managing 3 resources, not 2.

Like me for example, i've mained my Death Knight since wrath dropped, before that, my main was warrior. The rune system initially made very little sense to me, but I just kept practicing, and now, come warlords, I find any other class boring, simply because i'm used to having to micromanage 3 different resources and always hitting a button. All the other tanking classes feel slow, having to wait around for seconds at a time for the next ability to come off cool down, which inadvertently causes me to feel like i'm playing sub-optimally.

[Deleted]

I second Zethras on Practice, practice, practice.

Yes, get a rune addon or something where you can better visibly see your runes and the diseases on your target(s) but it just takes some practice to understand what you moves you will use in what situations.

For the love of god do not get a rotation addon like CLC DK, or Ovale. All you will do is learn to smash buttons as they light up without any real knowledge of why you're doing it, and then when the addon isn't updated you're screwed ^_^

other bits I've learned... glyph your death grip so it doesn't taunt, 5 man tanks (and healers) will thank you for that. Learn what you "SHOULD" stand in. Don't stand in the fire!

[Maxweii]

Learn what you "SHOULD" stand in. Don't stand in the fire!

A better way to word that would be learn when to stand in the fire. (Ab)using AMS, while it's not as strong as it once was, can still give a little bit of a boost to your runic and essentially makes AMS a dps CD as well as defensive CD.