Blood

As is the case with the final tier of every expansion, we find ourselves in the midst of a lull.

When I first began writing this week’s column I seriously contemplated going with my original idea about gearing in Hellfire Citadel for DKs.

Before I begin today’s column: A sincere apology to all readers who have been patiently waiting for another installment in the Plaguebearer series.

With the recent end of arena season announcement, and the fact that the latest PTR build is marked as a release candidate, it’s pretty clear that Patch 6.2 is largely done with development and will go live shortly. As such, it’s time to turn our attention to the Tier 18 Death Knight set bonuses that will be obtainable from the Hellfire Citadel raid.

The term "Chains of Sindragosa" refers to a Blood DK playstyle that, as the name might suggest, involves the Breath of Sindragosa talent. Utilizing a combination of our Multistrike attunement and the Icy Runes glyph (specifically the large amounts of Runic Power that both generate), this playstyle aims to enable a Blood DK to maintain Breath of Sindragosa indefinitely during raid encounters.

With the Patch 6.2 PTR in full swing and new class changes coming to light with each new build, it’s time to begin coverage of what Tier 18 has in store for us.

Depending on how closely you’ve been following coverage of the patch 6.2 PTR, it may come as a surprise that my column today doesn’t focus on Death Knight changes, tier sets, and other goodies such as trinkets and legendary rings. This isn’t because I’ve been neglecting my own investigations into the patch - far from it!

When wrapping up my previous entry in Plaguebearer, I noted that I planned for a future post to address the reasons behind my belief that the Rune Regeneration tier of talents feels lackluster and unsuitable for Death Knights, particularly in light of the way our resource system is structured. Over the past week, I’ve come to the realization that properly making my cause requires tackling multiple issues- far more than a single article could hope to handle.

If you’ve been paying attention to community news over the past week, you’ve likely borne witness to the hullabaloo that accompanied the hotfix to Death Rune generation for Death Knights.

Ever since their introduction, I’ve found the implication of challenge modes in relation to class balance to be a fascinating topic.