Unholy vs Frost - Ease of Play/Fun

[Aoyi]

When I decide to go DPS on my DK, I go unholy. I find it more fun than frost and also closer to what a DK should feel like to me. To me, raising undead, spreading plagues, and having an army of ghouls at your side just screams DK to me more than frost. I don't know which actually does more dps at the moment and I don't really care (its my tank alt anyway). I just found UH to be more fun personally.

[Unseth]

Soz for bad eng, but some stuff from my point of view;
I've been playin' DK since start; I hundert percent sure, ppl who achieve 100% logs (I've done several 100% both specs, last one Immonar myth as unholy) can't call Frost (or unholy - doesn't matter) easier than other.
Most ppl play frost pressing highlighting buttons and deal moderate deeps. Most ppl can't itemize their unholy properly and do not switch trinkets, depending on encounters, move phases, burst phases etc. Atm I'm 78 unh/79 frost ~966 equipped. Specs are tuned fine. And each of them has its niche. Try frost with Shattering Strikes with 40% baseline haste. That's far from brainless button spam with lowest GCD of most classes.

[Indil]

Frost is easier but less rewarding in my opinion, Uh is a a little bit hard to master

[Deleted]

Frost is easier but less rewarding in my opinion, Uh is a a little bit hard to master

I tried explaining my opener to a guildy

"What do you mean *if* you have 6 wounds up?"

[hellhamster]

I tried explaining my opener to a guildy

"What do you mean *if* you have 6 wounds up?"

Come on, frost also has decent rng with runic empowerment and rime procs.

[Lemondish]

I tried explaining my opener to a guildy

"What do you mean *if* you have 6 wounds up?"

Explain it here!

[Deleted]

Explain it here!

i mostly open with 2 x FeS. if i get 6 or more i appoc, if less i can make a choice to FeS again, Outbreak, pop appoc or wait for runes

obviously, not all those options are wise (appoc on less than 6 in particularly)

[Nayami]

OP, all classes/specs are easy after you get used to them. Just try out both specs and see which you like best. If you enjoy the spec, then you can start getting better at it via advanced guides and tracking addons like weakauras to help you maintain maximum uptime on your spells.

[Marx]

With 4pc t21 you can army at 7-8sec prior to pull then you have the ability to fes x 3, then apoc and outbreak.

[msdos]

Unholy has a lot going on and I do like that. Blood used to be higher up on the complexity side and they really toned that down in Legion, which I was welcome to. Simplicity is welcome when you've been playing this game a long time and your try-hard days are over.

Anyway I've got my simple Blood/Frost and then I've got my engaging Unholy.
What's interesting about Unholy is how many options you have in solo content, I don't even use most of it and 3 people could all be Unholy and tackle questing differently:
1. One guy goes Epidemic and Defile
2. One guy lays down D&D and just CSes
3. One guy can festering, pop wounds, transform Abom

Then you also have DA, SR, and Apoc which I don't even use. I fall into #3 because I run the talent ring.

[NoahWeaver]

Frost has it easier with Rimes procs, they never have to worry about applying the frost fever (aka frost plague if you will). They just need to track PoF and RW's CD.

Unholy has a travelling disease = wandering plague, used in conjunction with outb. & epid. & pan. that UH doesn't have to worry about applications much either or losing runic power or runes, is enough time for wandering plague to hit multiple players or mobs over the course of the battle that combined with defile and clawing shadows... there is nothing that can touch this high damage expect maybe an affliction warlock. However, frost's ease of use does make it a better pvp spec as a melee ninja.

Frost is very straight forward. The movement is bad but time away from the boss is not that bad as your runes need to recharge anyway... so you are really just missing some auto attacks unless you are away from the boss for a really long time.

Frost is also easiest in mythic+

Nope. Unholy is pretty easy in mythic+ also as long as you are with a competent group which applies to any race, class, spec. Even mythics unholy doesn't have to worry about disengagement from boss or mob... unholy can easily be standoffish and consistently apply ranged plagues on mob & adds and then move in on the boss and apply Melee attacks. By the time any UH player is doing mythics they have already mastered this especially with haste score or they won't last long in a mythic. In pvp it's not as useful, frosts easy use, high haste and rune regen spell spectrum accels in pvp but unholy excels in mythics, for sure because they don't need high rune regen to apply consistent mass damage or single damage. If you only want to be a damage DK it makes sense to learn both unholy and frost and use frost as pvp destroyer and unholy as a raid and dungeon destroyer. Becoming proficient with both spec.'s is best. Neither spec is best rather, more convenient for different aspects of the game. Some ToS bosses might be easier with a frost like Goroth or Maiden but the 3 phases bosses always have adds and unholy excels at killing adds and that's lots of extra mass damage to accumulate.

[Ange]

Frost vs Unholy

Frost in mythic+ with Frostscythe and Sindragosa's Fury is the easiest DPS spec in game for a melee class to play with.

Frost current RA/Obliteration, short cooldowns without GCD... spending 2 ressources without any fixed order...let me think for a second...


Frost fits better to all the other legion class/specs while Unholy got wound=old-combo-point mechanics even rogues/ferals got rid of, slow ramp-up for an allready slow DoT-centric spec with cooldowns need to be managed while running to even net a DPS gain. If we discuss how easy or hard Unholy is, we should not compare it to Frost but to all other specs in game, because Unholy is clearly an outlier spec with game mechanics from the past.

[Adlian]

Frost vs Unholy

Frost in mythic+ with Frostscythe and Sindragosa's Fury is the easiest DPS spec in game for a melee class to play with.

Frost current RA/Obliteration, short cooldowns without GCD... spending 2 ressources without any fixed order...let me think for a second...


Frost fits better to all the other legion class/specs while Unholy got wound=old-combo-point mechanics even rogues/ferals got rid of, slow ramp-up for an allready slow DoT-centric spec with cooldowns need to be managed while running to even net a DPS gain. If we discuss how easy or hard Unholy is, we should not compare it to Frost but to all other specs in game, because Unholy is clearly an outlier spec with game mechanics from the past.

Agree completely, i dont get why they removed the old combo point system from rogue/ferals and put it on Unholy DKs. Unholy wounds should stack on the player as a buff. That will help a lot with target switching, also festering strike should apply a static amount of wounds.

[Ozzyorcborne]

Ive done Mythic+s as both Unholy and Frost and prefer one over the other depending on the affixes. If i go unholy its a straight up DA build, if i go frost its Fsc with Soul/wrists.
Theyre both very VERY viable.

[Lady Velvet]

Um... I have a question.
I only have 3 legendaries and I am getting my 4th one soon since it has been ages since I had one.
I wanna try Frost but I don't know what the BiS legendaries are... My legendaries are the cloak, Death March and The Unbeautiful ring.
I only do heroic so I am sure it doesn't matter, I just wanted to know...
Thanks...

[garciadomain]

Wounds debuffed on the mobs they've been applied to makes a lot more sense thematically compared to them buffing the DK, that should be obvious. Practically speaking, dealing with it can be challenging for weak/new players but it just simply requires slight forethought to not just smash festering wounds on a mod thatll die quickly and wasting runes/gcds. Unholy wounds aren't about banking large amounts of wounds for a big damage dealer (aside from a 1.5m dmg CD that deals immediate damage and persists after mob death) but a balance of runes runic power and wounds to max GCD and Unholy Frenzy. Legion's Unholy is a fantastic iteration of the spec that will persist for expansions to come.

Frost is less legendary reliant, easier to itemize and especially after acquisition of tier 21 4piece, definitely outshines unholy in damage. Playstyle-wise they are very similar but frost has no wound mechanic other than Shattering Strikes. Generally I prefer playing unholy because Dark Arbiter damage maximizing is fun compared to a dull smash 2 buttons for meh damage Obliteration and a less-than-optimal Breath of Sindragosa. All things being said, I'll play frost because it does more damage.

- - - Updated - - -

Um... I have a question.
I only have 3 legendaries and I am getting my 4th one soon since it has been ages since I had one.
I wanna try Frost but I don't know what the BiS legendaries are... My legendaries are the cloak, Death March and The Unbeautiful ring.
I only do heroic so I am sure it doesn't matter, I just wanted to know...
Thanks...

Frost bis are chest wrists until you get your tier 21 4 piece, and then it becomes wrist belt. Even with the legendaries that you have, i imagine frost will do more (maybe not) and will definitely do more when you get 4 piece.

[hellhamster]

Um... I have a question.
I only have 3 legendaries and I am getting my 4th one soon since it has been ages since I had one.
I wanna try Frost but I don't know what the BiS legendaries are... My legendaries are the cloak, Death March and The Unbeautiful ring.
I only do heroic so I am sure it doesn't matter, I just wanted to know...
Thanks...

Chest and shoulders are bis for single target, chest and ring (SotD) are bis for heavy cleave. Death March and ring (SotD) are bis for heavy defile aoe. Sephuz is also extremely good if you can interrupt every 30 seconds.

[Farabee]

I played UH for the start of Mythic EN. Once they buffed Frost I started dumping AP into it and got Toravon's by accident. Switched and never looked back.

Screw Festering Wounds and screw the devs who thought that RNG DPS was a good idea.

I wanna try Frost but I don't know what the BiS legendaries are

Toravons bracers are a must-have, Koltira belt is considered second-best but really only when you get 4pc T21. Sephuz is king for M+ since you can always proc off Winter is Coming and Death Grip.

If you don't have those, you'll be fine rolling any leggo in the 2nd slot...even the freebie from Argus kill.

if i go frost its Fsc with Soul/wrists

Soul is nice but the insane haste from Sephuz I find just rips through trash and also helps with mobility to dodge mechanics. That said I can see Soul being better for bosses on Tyrannical week, but you might as well just be running raid spec with belt/bracers in that case.

[Lady Velvet]

Chest and shoulders are bis for single target, chest and ring (SotD) are bis for heavy cleave. Death March and ring (SotD) are bis for heavy defile aoe. Sephuz is also extremely good if you can interrupt every 30 seconds.

Um... what about Frost's bis ones?

[Vassago]

Um... what about Frost's bis ones?

Yeah, I was gonna react to this as well
Anyway I'd say BiS leggos for Frost are:

wrist for everything
chest / waist for ST
waist for cleave (?)
head for AoE

Open to any counter-opinion as I switched to frost about 3 days ago

And to topic frost vs UH. For me personally I enjoyed UH in WoD with 1sec GCD and faster run and leggo ring and stuff. In Legion I played UH just because it was better dps spec. I mainly play blood, switch to dps just for some m+ dungs. And I really hate the ramp-up phase for wounds / waiting for D&D & runes to do some decent AoE dmg.
So far I really enjoy the frost rotation and the feeling "I still have something to press", just like blood. Sure, there are some downtimes, but not so huge as with UH.