I was aboard the DK train during WotLK up through MoP, then picked DK back up during BfA, so I experienced both versions of DW Frost and 2h Frost throughout the times.
Now, just personal opinion, I kind of disliked the 2h Frost incarnation as DPS in WotLK, but that's not the point of this thread.
What is the appeal of 2h Frost currently? I understand people have been wanting 2h Frost to make a come back for a while, but at least since WoD what is this mass resurgence?
Would it not play exactly as an Arms warrior currently?
- Obliterate and Mortal Strike: heavy hitter ability, both have cooldowns to wait for (runes regenerating or just static cooldown on MS)
- Frost Strike and Slam: filler until ready to use Obliterate/Mortal Strike
- Howling Blast and Rend: to put your DoT's up... although Howling Blast functions as spammable AoE, but you Arms has Whirlwind for that.
- Death Grip and Charge: distance closer, just functioning differently.
- Both specs can talent into additional damage cooldowns, AoE abilities, or even defensive abilities when the situation calls for it (PvE and PvP).
I suppose I'm missing something, but it comes off to me the appeal of 2h Frost is that of an Arms Warrior... without being an Arms Warrior.
Also, I'd like to note that I currently main Frost for BfA, if that is of any relevance to this piece.