Why is Unholy so unpopular & Legion dk preview thoughts

[deathgrinder]

From what I have gathered after playing/leveling numerous DKs to 100 and having played since WotLK I would say this.....

Frost has been the easier spec to play and do good damage, though unholy is only slightly more complicated and in previous expansions it was under performing for certain periods, which is fun to others and a hassle to some I suppose.

Thematically unholy is actually more appealing to me personally. Color, name, pet, abilities.

[Ascius]

I hate DW on a DK and I hate pets, that's all and oh guess what they got rid of only solution to those two problems back in cata... the fucking blood dps.

[Alanar]

A lot of players also don't want to deal with the Ghoul.

Pet.

Yes, many don't have the fantasy of having a permanent pet to deal with.
Which sucks for the people who like using 2 hand or have that type of fantasy.

If blood dps was an option for dk's in legion throught pvp talents for example would be golden!

[darkstar0306]

Unholy is the spec which I find most appealing, especially with the changes being made! Necromancy AND plagues?! *cackles* Oh! Yes plz! Cant wait for Legion! Can has 2 Timmys!! Yay!

Seriously though, I think these changes to Unholy are a long time coming. I just hope they don't change too much from what we saw in the previews, and that the Artifacts and Talents help us customize our play styles as much as they say. In my opinion WoW has lacked a real customizable tool kit for players of all specs. Talent changes in MoP were supposed to do this and I feel they only accomplished half of what it could have been. I believe THIS is what they wanted to do when they announced Path of the Titans, if anyone remembers that. Artifacts are an improved version of that system.

[Ald]

I'd love a petless version of Unholy to fall more in line with the archetype taken from EQ/EQ2. I really strong dot/disease based plate class known for tremendous AoE.

I'm fine with how it currently plays and am more excited for Legion due to the changes. It looks to be an improvement on paper.

[Deleted]

Only one reason : Arthas. What sword does he wield ? Frostmourne so he must be a Frost DK.

He uses necrotic plague though, he is above "specs".

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Unholy is the spec which I find most appealing, especially with the changes being made! Necromancy AND plagues?! *cackles* Oh! Yes plz! Cant wait for Legion! Can has 2 Timmys!! Yay!

Seriously though, I think these changes to Unholy are a long time coming. I just hope they don't change too much from what we saw in the previews, and that the Artifacts and Talents help us customize our play styles as much as they say. In my opinion WoW has lacked a real customizable tool kit for players of all specs. Talent changes in MoP were supposed to do this and I feel they only accomplished half of what it could have been. I believe THIS is what they wanted to do when they announced Path of the Titans, if anyone remembers that. Artifacts are an improved version of that system.

I share in your love for Unholy! I also hope we get individual desired gameplay through talents, pet, two pets, no pets (somehow).

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HOW OFFENSIVE, WE SHALL BE PLAGUING OUR ENEMIES WITH DISEASE, LETTING THEM FESTER AND GROW TO BECOME CANCEROUS PUS-FILLED CYSTS THE SIZE OF FOOTBALLS AND MAKING THEM EXPLODE AND GUSH ONTO THEIR NEIGHBORS AND INTO THEIR BLOODSTREAMS

WE ARE THE BUBONIC PLAGUE

Can you tell I'm excited?


OT: The blood changes are pretty significant, and it's actually something I look forward to playing as an off-spec for sure. Frost received the changes it needed for a long time since they've shed the dead weight of 2H (Although it would have been the same if 2H stayed and they lost DW, it was balancing issue). It didn't need too much to be honest but obviously this is a subjective matter. I have quite liked playing DW frost for a change away from Unholy, I won't lie.

Unholy however, from personal experience of the realms I've been on and the DK's I've spoken to in-game, isn't too popular nor interesting, and I don't blame them for thinking that. It's a dot-class with a pet from the outside world, not to mention there's more preparation that goes into dpsing compared to frost.
I love Unholy and the way it plays, but a change is a breath of fresh air to say the least. Lore wise, circulating around diseases that, in their words, "burst", is pretty cool and gross. Really appeals to the morbidly curious person that I am.

I admire your passion! Unholy changes are truly a breath of frescchh-PLAGEFESTERING AIR OF DEATH AND DECAY! All hail unholy DK's! Please tell me you're from Europe so we can chat more about it ingame! I'm SO DAMN excited for new unholy regardless of how nasty it sounds!

[Deleted]

Simply put, more effort(or "fun" as I see it...) for less DPS. Unless you have a decently high ilvl.

[Slagge]

A lot of players also don't want to deal with the Ghoul.

There you have my reason, I really dont want a ghoul by my side doing parts of my damage for me (even though mange it is not hard at all)
When I used to raid seriously I played the spec required but I have always liked frost more.

For the fist time since WOTLK its time for a new main. I havent decided yet but paladin or hunter looks interesting.

[Felixon]

There you have my reason, I really dont want a ghoul by my side doing parts of my damage for me (even though mange it is not hard at all)
When I used to raid seriously I played the spec required but I have always liked frost more.

For the fist time since WOTLK its time for a new main. I havent decided yet but paladin or hunter looks interesting.

Have you tried a minor glyph,which replaces a ghoul with a skeleton?

[Slagge]

Have you tried a minor glyph,which replaces a ghoul with a skeleton?

Haha, I meant the pet as a whole. Dont like them at all as melee.

[GMBigKev]

I picked Unholy for my DK. I think it's a lot of fun, but yes the pet can be an issue because unfortunately the reality of a pet class is their damage is tied to the pet.

Maybe Unholy needs a Lone Wolf talent?

[Felixon]

Answering the topic,maybe it will sound silly,but probably one of the reasons is the fact,that "unholy" DK are considered to most evil class in WoW....You know,spreading diseases,raising dead and empowering them,to fight alongside you...dont think that a paladin or a priest in your group would be too happy of what you do. From the gameplay point,maybe not too many people like the idea of a dotting and fast striking melee,that uses a magic damage against his enemies+has the walking dead as their pet,which has to be boosted pernamently to increase their damage.Personally,I play mostly as blood only because it seems fun to pull huge packs of mobs,survive their attacks by lifestealing and aoe them down.

[Deleted]

Unholy has always been my favorite spec. I did play hard ArP capped during last year-ish of WOTLK, whilst the single target DPS was good, it was awful to play. 2H Frost was strong in Ulduar once you got the Sigil from XT.

The specs, for me, felt like they didn’t have an identity back then as there wasn’t an “official” tank spec and DPS specs. Presences were all mixed up too, Blood Presence was actually the DPS one, Frost was the tank one, Unholy generally used for PvP – they didn’t actually match up with the specs sharing the same name. Sure we had more to choose from but it felt totally disorganized… choice is great but it can also be a problem.

The class has come a long way in terms of alignment and identity and I’ve played Unholy since the start until I rerolled mid MoP. I still remember the good ol’ days of Shadow of Death, raid wide Unholy aura, and when Bone Shield was actually an UH talent that increased damage dealt as well as reducing damage received… and lest we forget the king of AoE Wandering Plague.

To summarize, I’ll be returning for Legion and yes I will be Unholy <3

(offtopic: anyone remember the brainless monkey “Diseaseless Blood” spec lol)

[Gestopft]

Not really a fan of the pet, or wielding a 2-hander with strong DoTs, but the UH preview sounded pretty cool to me, rotationally. I may switch if I decide I like it more than being forced to dual-wield Frost.

[Fenrkyr]

I don't play unholy because I don't like the ghoul following me around all the time (temporary summons, like the old raise dead for frost/blood are fine) and the lack of burst damage, though I could tolerate the latter if the ghoul became optional.

[Khain]

It doesn't fulfill my fantasy of what a DK is. Unholy is more closely related to the old Horde DKs and not Arthas' DKs. Blood and Frost both play into how I view DKs. I view DKs as basically an indomitable undead juggernaut that utilizes spells to gain the upper hand on their opponents and then cleave them in half. I mean Obliterate is our class icon, and I think the name sums up how I feel a DK should be. I don't like pet classes, I don't like lots of small numbers, and I love large numbers. Nothing to do with complexity because both of our DPS specs are easy. Just flavor, honestly.

Arthas abilities on WC3: Death Coil, Unholy Aura, Death Pact and Animate Dead. Nothing frost here.

[KevinLee487]

To anyone else who would like the OPTION of Unholy being able to play with no pet, then I'd suggest you Tweet to WarcraftDevs and Celestalon on Twitter. I've been doing it since the DK preview went up but have yet to get a response.

[Sunnydee]

A lot of players also don't want to deal with the Ghoul.

well to be fair. i for one dont like unholy due to the pet.
I would however most likely love the living shit out of it if the pet had more use, rather than being a third leg that just follows you around. let me control it more, do more. make me feel like a try commander of my minion.

[Stormcall]

don't like Unholy cause I don't like pet classes.

[KevinLee487]

well to be fair. i for one dont like unholy due to the pet.
I would however most likely love the living shit out of it if the pet had more use, rather than being a third leg that just follows you around. let me control it more, do more. make me feel like a try commander of my minion.

I agree and I don't at the same time. The Ghoul is stupidly boring because we do NOTHING with it. Its interaction stops at "Press buff every 40 seconds". We don't even have to do anything differently to get the buff since it comes from our natural rotation. Adding in some kind of interaction would be cool from a gameplay perspective.

From a thematics and class feel perspective though, having permanent undead just isn't right. It makes it seem like the ghoul has some sort of actual significance to the DK which isn't the case. Its just some random corpse we raised from wherever we happened to be fighting. Keeping it around and empowering it doesn't feel right. Raise Dead should be sort of a mini army of the dead. The "All Will Serve" talent is a step in the right direction, but its still not quite far enough of a step.