Classes
Death Knight
Wrath of the Lich King
Death Knight is a former instrument of the Lich King learning to direct its power independently. Runes, Runic Power and a separate opening campaign set this hero class apart.
Playable since Wrath of the Lich King
At a glance
- Base resource
- Runic Power and runes
- Roles
- Tank · Melee damage
Background
The opening story begins under the command of the Scourge and leads toward freedom with the Knights of the Ebon Blade. A character’s earlier race remains visible, but this new allegiance changes the meaning of its return to the world.
Talent trees
BloodTalents in this tree: 28 
FrostTalents in this tree: 29 
UnholyTalents in this tree: 31 
Combat style
Abilities spend runes and generate Runic Power for other attacks. Diseases, presences and weapon choices shape how that resource cycle becomes damage, control or protection.
Roles and trees
Blood, Frost and Unholy are historical talent trees, not the later fixed division of modern roles. In this patch, tanking and damage builds can draw from different trees depending on their talents, gear and purpose.
Playing this patch
Use the actual ranks and requirements in the calculator. Selecting Blood does not automatically certify a tank build, and selecting another tree does not remove the need to understand its defensive tools.
Sources and context
First playable: Wrath of the Lich King
-
Blizzard: class background
Class fantasy. Current resources, races and talent systems are not used as historical mechanics.
-
Blizzard: Become a Death Knight in Wrath of the Lich King Classic
Historical introduction and resources. Classic account restrictions are not copied into the original-client ruleset.
- Client 12340 directory and read-only local game data
Data imported · Data revision fc4e5d495f46baa342dd4a53714695ad7b026c3a5a7225a22dd5e3661a1f19cd
Equipment proficiencies
These are skills the class can learn, rather than starting equipment. Levels are minimum training requirements and do not mean the skill is learned automatically.
Armor and shields
- Plate Mail
- Leather
- Cloth
Weapons
- One-Handed Swords
- One-Handed Axes
- One-Handed Maces
- Two-Handed Swords
- Two-Handed Maces
- Two-Handed Axes
- Polearms
Version availability
| Edition | Patch | Version availability |
|---|---|---|
| Battle for Azeroth | - | Unverified |
| Burning Crusade Classic | - | Unverified |
| Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary Edition | - | Unverified |
| Cataclysm | - | Unverified |
| Cataclysm Classic | - | Unverified |
| Dragonflight | - | Unverified |
| Legion | - | Unverified |
| Midnight | - | Unverified |
| Midnight | - | Unverified |
| Mists of Pandaria | - | Unverified |
| Mists of Pandaria Classic | - | Unverified |
| Season of Discovery | - | Unverified |
| Season of Mastery | - | Unverified |
| Shadowlands | - | Unverified |
| The Burning Crusade | - | Unverified |
| The Last Titan | - | Unverified |
| The War Within | - | Unverified |
| Titan Reforged | - | Unverified |
| Warlords of Draenor | - | Unverified |
| WoW Classic 20th Anniversary | - | Unverified |
| WoW Classic Era | - | Unverified |
| WoW Classic Hardcore | - | Unverified |
| WoW Classic Hardcore Anniversary | - | Unverified |
| WoW Vanilla | - | Unverified |
| World of Warcraft: Forever | - | Unverified |
| Wrath of the Lich King | 3.3.5a · 12340 | Confirmed in this source |
| Wrath of the Lich King Classic | - | Unverified |
Each row follows its own published source context. An announcement does not confirm final client mechanics.