Ever since Frost became 'cool' again there has been a slew of questions and misinformation cluttering up many DK forum boards. I'm hoping this thread will alleviate that load by consolidating the answers to some of the more frequent questions in one thread.
Q. What should I be gemming as DW Frost?
A.
(If you are only interested in the age old question of 'should I be gemming ArP?' please read this thread: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...62867056&sid=1)
There isn't any real cut and dry answer for this. I can only give you a guideline, but you will ultimately need to use a simulator to calculate your stat weights and figure out what gemming best suits you in your gear. These are best on single target results and assume appropriate hit without gems. Recommended Ametrines can be exchanged with Etched Ametrine to get to appropriate level of hit.
Your meta will always be Relentless Earthsiege Diamond.
You will always use a Nightmare's Tear in a blue socket that give you a 6+ Strength bonus in order to activate your meta gem.
Low gear levels (mostly badge and low end raid gear from ToC10/25, ICC10 normal, Ulduar, etc):
Bold Cardinal Ruby in all red sockets.
Bold Cardinal Ruby in all blue sockets except for the one with the Nightmare's Tear.
Inscribed Ametrine in all yellow sockets that yield a 4+ Strength bonus.
Medium gear levels (mostly ilvl 251 and 264 gear):
Bold Cardinal Ruby in all red sockets.
Bold Cardinal Ruby in all blue sockets except for the one with the Nightmare's Tear.
Fierce Ametrine in all yellow sockets that yield a 4+ Strength bonus.
High gear levels (mostly ilvl 277 with some 264 - at least close to BiS):
Fractured Cardinal Ruby in all red sockets.
Fractured Cardinal Ruby in all blue sockets except for the one with the Nightmare's Tear.
Fierce Ametrine/Fractured Ruby in all yellow sockets that yield a 4+ Strength bonus (see below the Str vs ArP breakdown below).
Q. I heard DW Frost uses a priority and not a rotation - what is it?
A.
This is lingering information from the state of Frost in older patches. Although Frost doesn't have as static of a rotation as Unholy, it still does indeed have a rotation. I am going to break down the skeleton of this rotation and the priority elements involved.
The intro:
IT > PS > OB > BS > (BT/UA) > Pest > OB > OB > OB > OB > OB
Then it will move to something like this:
Pest/BS* (BT/UA**) > Pest/BS* > OB > OB > OB > OB > OB > repeat
* If diseases have >= 2 seconds left, use BS. If not, use Pest. If you used BS first, use Pest second and vice versa.
** Use if it is up.
You'll have time in between rune refreshes where you will prioritize your FS and HB in your normal rotation. Basically you want to always make sure that you are using your OB for your DD runes at around ~10 left on diseases, any later and you will almost definitely not make your refresh in time. You also want to make sure you set up your DD runes properly. If you used pest for the first blood rune make sure you use BS immediately.
With those rules in mind you will go FS(KM proc) > FS > HB as your priority for those spaces in your rotation. You'll also weave a ghoul in there when it's up.
I'd recommend practicing the skeleton of the rotation and gradually weaving in more and more FSs etc.
NOTE: the rotation listed is based on using Glyph of Disease. People opting to use Glyph of Icy Touch instead (due to latency, bad reaction time, being facerollers) should basically repeat the intro rotation minus the final OB and replace Pestilence with Blood Strike.
Q. How much hit do you need as DW Frost?
A.
The special hit cap for Frost is 5% (as displayed on your character sheet). This is due to Nerves of Cold Steel giving us a free 3% hit.
There are arguments out there for capping spell hit as well (9% as displayed on your character sheet, assuming full raid buffs). In most situations however, gearing/gemming towards spell hit is a slight DPS loss. If you suffer from bad latency or have not-so-amazing reaction time, getting spell hit will guarantee you never miss pestilence and thus never accidentally continue your rotation with diseases down.
Q. What Runeforges should I be using?
A.
Razorice = main hand.
Fallen Crusader = offhand.
This setup yields a slightly greater up-time on FC due to ToT strikes be unable to miss. This increase becomes greater if you are under expertise capped.
Q. Which sigil should I use?
A.
To be entirely certain, you will as always need to sim it. But as a general guideline:
Low ArP (<700) - use Sigil of Virulence on fights with movement/adds that might cause loss of Hanged Man stacks. On static fights, use Sigil of the Hanged Man.
Medium ArP (700-1000) - use Sigil of Awareness on fights with movement/adds that might cause loss of Hanged Man stacks. On static fights, use Sigil of the Hanged Man.
High ArP (1200-1400) - use Sigil of Awareness. This sigil has beautiful synergy with your Obliterates and far outweighs the Strength bonus of even SotHM.
DISCLAIMER:
This post is a work in progress. I expect it to grow over time and with the help of the Death Knight community. If you have a question you think would be appropriate to have answered here, please post it. Or if there is information in this post you feel is not entirely factual, feel free to correct me.