Now we come to the tanking build those of you with dreams of usurping your guild’s main tank want to see. Our attacks ignore armor while looking good and giving the raid buffs, what do you got Mr. Protection Warrior? Oh, you have years of experience to our weeks of experience and massive defensive stats with your shield slot. Hmm… we may have to rethink our cunning plan of world domination.
Frost Tank (with Imp Icy Talons) – 7/54/10
Frost Tank (w/o Imp Icy Talons) – 7/53/11
First off, what’s the difference in the two builds? Improved Icy Talons is used to give your raid a melee haste buff. Frost death knights who are focused on DPS will automatically have this buff. Shaman can also drop Windfury Totem for a similar, non-stacking buff. However it is usually enhancement shaman who drop the totem without much sacrifise. If you raid with either regularly you can skip the talent. If you do not then take it, it is worth the increase in raid DPS.
Frost is going to be the popular main tank build for death knights. It has the best mitigation talents, is heavily spell based (so threat generation is consistent from caster boss to heavily armored boss), frontal AoE (and as any good tank will tell you, never have a mob to your back), caster protection, and critical dependency on only one disease, Frost Fever.
Some points can be shifted around if you prefer. I included Icy Reach to have a good, non-restrictive pulling mechanic, but obviously that isn’t needed as much in larger raids. Frost Aura is debatable in value. Its description is confusing, with two points it gives the raid 80 (or equal to the death knight’s level) resistance in all schools of magic. However it likely won’t stack with other raid wide resistances. The question becomes is it better for the death knight to have the aura, freeing up other classes to use other abilities, or vice versa. We also haven’t seen much in the way of end game resistance gear out there, so there is a question as to how much, if any, resistance is really needed for raiding. Don’t worry about Hungering Cold. Even if a situation came up where you needed to stop multiple mobs from beating on you anyone in the raid could easily accidently break the freeze. It just isn’t worth the talent point or runic power outside of PvP.
Rotation
PS -> IT -> BS -> OB -> FS*
BS -> OB -> OB -> FS*
Open with DD at or right after the pull, then fall into your rotation. Repeating DD is only valid in AoE situations.
In AoE situations replace the first BS with Pestilence. You will get fewer OB out but do more damage and threat overall. Also replace OB with HB when you can.
Use HB over OB only in AoE situations or when Rime procs. HB does more damage than OB, but it has a 6 second cool down so OB does more damage with double strikes.
*Continue to cast FS until you can’t.
Glyphs
[Glyph of Dark Command]
[Glyph of Icebound Fortitude]
[Glyph of Icy Touch] or [Glyph of Obliterate] (higher level your weapon, more you’ll want Obliterate over Icy Touch)
[Glyph of Pestilence]
[Glyph of Horn of Winter]
[Glyph of Raise Dead]
Rotation Short Names
PS = Plague Strike
IT = Icy Touch
BS = Blood Strike
DD = Death and Decay
SS = Scourge Strike
DC = Death Coil
UB = Unholy Blight
OB = Obliterate
HB = Howling Blast
FS = Frost Strike
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