Pandaria [Guide] Frost PvE 5.4

[Kemii]

Welcome to Mists of Pandaria Death Knights.

Hello, I'm Jyx of Frostwolf . And on retail you can find me as Kemii of Tarren Mill EU | Kemii of Ravencrest EU I’m an current retail mythic raider, always challenging myself to being the best I can be.

Word of warning.... I was very lazy with this, I'm ill. I've done as much as I can be bothered atm, and I will be updating it regularly as things get fixed, so be warned. If you have any questions please feel free to ask them in the thread.

Now the issue with Frost is that there are two ways to play, and both have their advantages and disadvantages, and because this is Warmane and things are still to be fixed and we’re getting things done gradually this guide will be worked on as and when things get updated.

2h Frost and DW Frost share similar DPS in T16, however we are only starting T15 atm, and of which 2h Frost is the strongest DPS out of every class, or at least it should be but this isn’t retail. If you want a face smashing high DPS class, sorry but DK isnt for you, I would suggest you roll a Fury Warrior or an Arcane Mage.

So through T15 you want to be going 2h Frost, and once T16 is released you can happily switch to DW.

Things to get used to is swapping your glyphs out as and pre needed. Some are baseline and some are down to your personal playstyle. The DPS margins between them are tiny and its best to just play how you feel with the optional talents.

You can keep track of current DK bugs by visiting our Bugtracker section: Here.

Talents



Bolded Choices are the most optimal DPS increase per tier.

Tier 1: Disease Control - Personal Choice.
Rolling Blood - Blood Boil now doubles as pestilence.
Plague Leech - Removes diseases from a target and refunds the runes (F/U)
Unholy Blight - AoE DOT + Mass Outbreak.

Tier 2: Survivability/Utility - Situational.
Lichborne - Same as it is in Cata... Useless in PvE.
AMZ - Raid CD, good on heavy raid magic damage fights.
Purgatory - Makes you unkillable upon taking a killing blow, required whenever you don't use AMZ.

Tier 3: Crowd Control - Personal Choice.
Deaths Advance - Hand of Freedom, also passive and active speed boost Good for movement fights.
Chilblains - Useless for Tanks, this is a frost talent.
Asphyxiate - Great for fights where you need to stun/cc adds.

Tier 4: Rune Management - Personal Choice.
Blood Tap - Converts spent 75 Runic Power into a Death Rune. Controllable rune management.
Runic Empowerment - RNG proc to convert a random rune.
Runic Corruption - RNG proc to increase rune regen by 100%.

Tier 5: Healing - Death Pact, always.
Death Pact - Strong free heal, 2min CD.

Tier 6: Crowd Control - Situational.
Gorefiend's Grasp - Good for controlling adds which need to be picked up ASAP.
Remorseless Winter - AOE CC Stun for Adds which need to be controlled more than aggro'd.
Desecrated Ground - PvP Trinket.

2H Frost

Stat Priority:
Things change here a bit, nothing major but still changes.
Hit 7.5% > Expertise 7.5% > Strength > Crit > Mastery > Haste
Strength over everything, gems, enchants, everything to be strength. Then out main secondary stat is Crit due to bosses not giving enough uptime to make Haste as viable as we would like. Crit gives us better DPS increase based on a light/medium movement fight.

Gear:
Gems:
When gemming ignore socket bonus unless they are strength, just gem pure strength.
Red: [Bold Primordial Ruby]
Yellow: [Fierce Vermilion Onyx]
Blue: [Etched Imperial Amethyst]

Enchants:
Shoulder: Greater Tiger Fang Inscription
Chest: 80 Stats
Cloak: 180 Crit Strike
Bracers: 180 Strength
Gloves: 170 Strength
Legs: Strength + Crit
Boots: Pandaren Step
Weapon: Rune of Fallen Crusader

Presences:
Frost Presence, for the reduced Frost Strike cost and Runic Power 20% increase.

Priority System:
With all your runes you are going to be using Obliterate, however there is a priority system, for which runes you use, what on and when.
Soul Reaper used below 35%
Diseased should be maintained at all times.
Howling Blast with Rime to refresh Frost Fever
Obliterate with Killing Machine.
Frost Strike with 0 Frost Runes or to dump RP. Never let your RP cap out!
Obliterate with 2 Death, Frost, or Unholy Runes.
When you FS Dump watch out for Runic Recovery, spend your Blood Tap stacks if you have any.
If you have downtime, all runes on CD and lacking RP, use Horn of Winter. Gives runic power and also refreshed your AP buff.

2H Frost is an incredibly easy priority system, and should you mess up there is always a rune to do something, whether it be to refresh Blood Plague with Plague Strike, or to Howling Blast, if you have a spare UH Rune and you just refreshed your diseases you can even throw down a D&D.


Dual Wield

Stat Priority:
Hit 7.5% > Expertise 7.5% > Strength = Mastery > Haste > Crit

Strength comes as standard on gear, but for Gems, reforges and enchants we're going Mastery over everything. We are taking Haste atm until T16 comes out and then gear has enough haste on it to make it an obsolete stat.

Gear:
Gems:
You have the freedom here to pick up most socket bonus, those to ignore are Crit/Haste. In those gem pure Mastery.
Red: [Skillful Vermilion Onyx]
Yellow: [Fractured Sun’s Radiance]
Blue: [Sensei's Wild Jade]

Enchants:
Shoulder: Greater Tiger Fang Inscription
Chest: 80 Stats
Cloak: 180 Crit Strike
Bracers: 180 Strength
Gloves: 170 Strength
Legs: Strength + Crit
Boots: Pandaren Step
Weapon: Rune of Fallen Crusader

Presences:
Frost Presence

Priority System:
As DW you ONLY use Oblit to remove an UH rune so you can proc Runic Empowerment/Blood Tap.
Rotation (AKA Dummies' guide to them colourful circle thingies)
Frost Strike if Killing Machine is proc’ed, or if RP is 90 or higher
Howling Blast with both frost or both death off cooldown
Plague Strike if one Unholy Rune is off cooldown and blood plague is down/nearly down
Howling Blast if Rime proc’ed
Frost Strike if RP is 70 or higher
Death and Decay off cooldown with an UH Rune.
Obliterate when 1 or more Unholy Runes are off cooldown and killing machine is down
Howling Blast
Horn of Winter

If you are playing with Blood Tap - NEVER let your stacks cap out, put Blood Tap on a mashable keybind or your mouse wheel. You will be using this a lot.

So Typically.
Starting with FFUUDD

Use 1U on Plague Strike > FFU-DD + 24 RP
Use 1F on Howling Blast > F-U-DD + 48 RP
Use 1 FU on Obliterate > ---DD + 72 RP
Use 2D on 2x Howling > ------ + 96 RP
Flush Runic with Frost Strike to proc Runic Empowerment/Corruption or to trigger BT stacks.

If you are left with a U rune and there is a long wait on a Frost rune for Oblit and your Blood Plague is far from falling off, use Death and Decay OR Blood Tap and then use Oblit. Remember Death and Decay earns you 10 Runic, as well as Horn of Winter
Rinse and repeat.
Soul Reaper used below 35%.

If you are rune starved you are not doing it correctly and doing one of the following wrong...
Using DEATH runes on an Oblit, not waiting for your UH Rune to come off CD and wasting a precious Death Rune.
or
Not understanding that Runic Empowerment only procs FULLY depleted runes. Therefore you want to keep your runes on CD as much as possible. In Order to get the most out of your random rune proc.
Not correctly using Blood Tap in order to pace your rotation should you need.



BIS Lists:

Tier 15 - Throne of Thunder
2 Handed
Helm: Crown of the Golden Golem
Neck: Talisman of Angry Spirits
Shoulders: Pauldrons of the All-Consuming Maw
Back: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96769
Chest: Breastplate of the All-Consuming Maw
Wrist: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96848
Hands: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96570
Waist: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96745
Legs: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96572
Feet: http://mop.openwow.com/item=95012
Ring 1: http://mop.openwow.com/item=95022
Ring 2: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96872
Trinkets: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96842 and http://mop.openwow.com/item=96873
Weapon: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96925

Dual Wield
Helm: Crown of the Golden Golem
Neck: Talisman of Angry Spirits
Shoulders: Pauldrons of the All-Consuming Maw
Back: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96769
Chest: Breastplate of the All-Consuming Maw
Wrist: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96848
Hands: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96570
Waist: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96745
Legs: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96572
Feet: http://mop.openwow.com/item=95012
Ring 1: http://mop.openwow.com/item=95022
Ring 2: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96872
Trinkets: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96842 and http://mop.openwow.com/item=96770
Weapons: http://mop.openwow.com/item=96906 x2

Tier 16 - Siege of Orgrimmar

2 Handed
Helm: http://mop.openwow.com/item=99337
Neck: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105566
Shoulders: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105642
Back: http://mop.openwow.com/item=102249/g...rength-of-xuen
Chest: http://mop.openwow.com/item=99335
Wrist: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105456/b...f-blind-hatred
Hands: http://mop.openwow.com/item=99336/ga...yclopean-dread
Waist: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105533/ashen-wall-girdle
Legs: http://mop.openwow.com/item=99338/gr...yclopean-dread
Feet: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105478/g...me-superiority
Ring 1: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105611/devilfang-band
Ring 2: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105589/s...orgotten-kings
Trinkets: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105491/evil-eye-of-galakras and http://mop.openwow.com/item=105609/thoks-tail-tip
Weapons: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105644/x...ge-of-gorehowl

Dual Wield
Helm: http://mop.openwow.com/item=99337
Neck: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105566
Shoulders: http://mop.openwow.com/item=99339/pa...yclopean-dread
Back: http://mop.openwow.com/item=102249/g...rength-of-xuen
Chest: http://mop.openwow.com/item=99335
Wrist: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105456/b...f-blind-hatred
Hands: http://mop.openwow.com/item=99336/ga...yclopean-dread
Waist: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105509/d...einforced-belt
Legs: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105565/l...f-willful-doom
Feet: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105563/m...giant-stompers
Ring 1: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105611/devilfang-band
Ring 2: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105534/bloodclaw-band
Trinkets: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105491/evil-eye-of-galakras and http://mop.openwow.com/item=105609/thoks-tail-tip
Weapons: http://mop.openwow.com/item=105460/x...tanic-guardian x2

Spoiler: Show

My other guides
Cataclysm:
Frost DK PvP 4.3
Frost DK PvE 4.3
Enhancement Shaman PvE 4.3

MOP:
Frost DK PvE 5.4
Unholy DK PvP 5.4

[minijesus12]

Nice guide, thank you!

[GetUrFnShinebox]

Nice guide, good work.

[Kuula]

I was just passing by and i saw this guide, its pretty good but:

2H Frost

Stat Priority:
Things change here a bit, nothing major but still changes.
Hit 7.5% > Expertise 7.5% > Strength > Mastery > Haste > Crit
Strength over everything, gems, enchants, everything to be strength. Then out main secondary stat is Mastery, for the nice damage from Howling Blast and Frost Strikes. This is different to what it is meant to be on retail, however this takes into account Frost Strike is benefitting from the DW Talent Threat of Thassarian.

You will do more dps as 2H on single target where atm we dont have mucho aoe encounters with priority
crit>mastery.
Imo due to #warmanethings u dont need to be exactly expertise capped with 7.5 %.
+ this BiS items, dont rly look at it ppl atm since some trinkets aint even working (f.e Spark of Zandalar)

Rotation (well more like priority) is good.

Also since Blood tap is bugged u will do same dps with Runic Empowerment :)

Just some 'temporary' (lets hope) things.

Ahh and going Dual wield in this tier aint good idea. Try it when u will have T16 and SoO or on 'aoe encounters'

[Kemii]

You will do more dps as 2H on single target where atm we dont have mucho aoe encounters with priority
crit>mastery.

It's Mastery > Crit atm, until they fix Might of the Frozen Wastes, which is increasing Frost Strike damage by 50% even as 2h, this is more effective to work off out main damage output being Oblit and Frost Strike, hence why we are taking Mastery as our main secondary stat.

[Kuula]

Well recounts say its different ;P check it :P

[Rosenov]

so from crit>mastery to mastery>crit? Ok. Can you just write the names of the bis items for 2h because the link not working

[Kemii]

They was working until Edifice changed the forum design and now they are broken.
My 2H list is the same items as DW Frost however with a different weapon and a trinket. For obvious reasons.
All Mastery aimed.

[Rosenov]

well i reforged my self to master>haste>crit but i didnt see difference

[Rosenov]

but i need the names of the item please ^^

[Kemii]

Becuase Im lazy.. just changed the openwow to wowhead.. Ignore the stats, you just wanted the names right.

Tier 15 - Throne of Thunder
2 Handed
Helm: Crown of the Golden Golem
Neck: Talisman of Angry Spirits
Shoulders: Pauldrons of the All-Consuming Maw
Back: http://wowhead.com/item=96769
Chest: Breastplate of the All-Consuming Maw
Wrist: http://wowhead.com/item=96848
Hands: http://wowhead.com/item=96570
Waist: http://wowhead.com/item=96745
Legs: http://wowhead.com/item=96572
Feet: http://wowhead.com/item=95012
Ring 1: http://wowhead.com/item=95022
Ring 2: http://wowhead.com/item=96872
Trinkets: http://wowhead.com/item=96842 and http://wowhead.com/item=96873
Weapon: http://wowhead.com/item=96925

[Rosenov]

Thank you so much Kemii <3

[Rosenov]

ohh and what glyphs do you prefer

[Evonux]

Thanks for the guide, very helpful :)

[Kuula]

The only Glyph you rly get benefit of DPS increase is Regenerative Magic which is not obtainable atm.

#edit i will check your priority again, but at single target i highly doubt it your idea will work, + haste aint affecting rune regeneration.