Darkrenown

They could bring back the devastate using both weapons when DWing change they had on the 2.1 PTR. They just need to fix it so the OH hit is added at the end instead of being multiplied so tanks aren't doing >1kDPS.

 

Emeraude

Euro Post from the Almighty Blues.

This post is a summary of recently given information about the Death Knight:

There are a lot of things still being worked out with the Death Knight class such as specific spell abilities. Unlike a traditional caster type however, a Death Knight's spell power comes from runes that are etched into their blade. Think Warcraft III when you think about the possibilities of abilities for the Death Knight. I say possibilities because things are still in process for the development of the class and there will be (of course) a lot of testing for balance done. Given that this is our first Hero class we're unveiling, you can be sure we're going for the coolest of the cool for this class.

Runes and Mana pool

Q u o t e:
Is the Death Knight going to have a mana pool? The pictures from BlizzCon show spells using mana.


The runes they inscribe on their weapons are their mana pool (of a sort). As they use their abilities, the runes will be exhausted. After a period of time the runes will refresh. So, they don't have a traditional type of mana pool. You'll most likely see some screenshots of it, but the Death Knight (at current) has three different types of runes that they can inscribe on their weapon: Blood, Frost, and Unholy. Runes can only be inscribed out of combat ( all of this is subject to change as development continues.)

The rune types don't dictate a new damage type, they're simply a resource that spells and abilities will use when you activate them. The spells and abilities won't necessarily be "blood, unholy, or frost" damage.

Imagine it being three different energy pools which you can change the size of before you get into combat.

About weapons
There's no final decision or announcement on how multiple weapons would be etched, or how weapon switching may affect the etched runes. What has been discussed to some degree is that the main-hand weapon would be etched and that's it, but it's too early to say what would be allowed in the final game.

Which level?
Also, we haven't decided on what level you will start as your Death Knight, but it seems that it should be easy enough for someone who has leveled a character to level 80 and done the quest to be able to adapt to a Death Knight fairly well. It's not quite the same as handing it over to someone who is still learning the game. There are lots of opportunities for someone to solo and group to learn how to play the class.

Which race?
It's true that the current plan has been heavily discussed to go ahead with all races, but no final decision has been made. After talking to Chris he wasn't totally sold on the idea. Both are technically correct in that the current plan of some of the developers is to go ahead with all races, there's been no final decision made and no real work has progressed to force a decision just yet. The FAQ is more accurate at this time, in my opinion.

Lore-wise there's really no reason why a specific race couldn't become a Death Knight.

All races can be challenged mentally and physically, their will dulled, and be cast down into madness ... and darkness. Their souls drawn into the runeblade they wield.

Compared to other classes
They are not planned to be more powerful, them being a hero class simply means they're introduced at a higher level, and in general will reference the more powerful hero types of Warcraft history.

It's out intention to integrate them into the current classes, balance them appropriately, and have them provide an additional - but equal - role in groups and raids as compared to other classes.

Will there be other hero classes?
Yeah, well that kind figures in to the new definition of what a hero class is. It allows us to add new classes that start at higher levels, keeping players relatively kept up as we continue to release expansions and raise the level cap, and ultimately it really fits to use the heroes from past Warcraft games as inspiration. Some other hero classes could definitely be things like Demon Hunter, Blademaster, etc.

 

dukes

I like the definition of a hero class - at least they seem to be trying to integrate it instead of making it overpowered or separating it from the rest of the game somehow.

The mana system certainly looks cool. I'm just wondering if the three pools will work with the three talent trees, and someone who talents heavily in one will gain the most from just dumping all of their "mana" in that one pool with a tiny bit in the others for the occaisional ability, similar to how many other classes that specialise heavily in one tree can virtually ignore their other skill trees than the one they specced in.

Also going to be interesting to see how they develop as they progress with the expansion details. Looks to be quite a way off yet, which is a good thing imo (I'd prefer them to release it "late" and be completely finished, than on time and lacking polish).

 

Jebraltar

Didn't they state that a Deathknight with, say, nothing but Unholy runes would be a bad character choice?

 

Malan

Not really, they said they would "hope" that people wouldn't do that since they would only be able to use a limited set of abilities if they did. In the end the system will be min/maxed and people will figure out the optimal set of runes needed for tanking, and the set needed for DPS, and the abilities that do not produce maximum TPS/DPS with minimal rune usage will be ignored.

Shitting up every single thread on EJ since '06

 

Daenerys

I wonder if they will come up with new consumables to support the runes...you have mana pots and thistle tea, what's next? =P

 

tedv

An easy way to ensure that all three rune types get used is to give the class three long cooldown abilities, one per rune type, that could conceivably be used either in tanking or DPS. Kind of like Shield Wall, Retaliation, and Recklessness but a little less powerful and a lot more flexible. The cooldowns alone are strong enough that you want all three kinds of runes, so what do you use your minor amount of frost runes for when your uber-frost move is on 30 minute cooldown? A few other frost spells.

 

Malan

Blizzard mentioned the possibility of abilities that would restore runes and be on long cooldowns, sort of like bloodrage or evocation I guess.

Shitting up every single thread on EJ since '06

 

Blackpatch

The comparison of Death Knight mechanics to Magic mana mechanics seems apt. Rogue and Cat could be (semi-tongue-in-cheek) described as Death Knights with a single rune type. On the other hand, abilities that refresh or empower runes based on damage and death inflicted seem obvious, interesting and in keeping with the flavor of Death Knight. If these abilities do end up being part of the Death Knight class, then Death Knight play should also feel a bit like Warriors with their Rage feedback loop.

I'm really looking forward to reading about Death Knight theorycraft. There will be 28 different possible rune arrangements (if I counted right) with a vast number of possible rune cycles and feedback into those cycles. It should be pretty fascinating math.

CONSERVE YOUR RAGE AND LUST

 

Earthhoof

That actually leads into some interesting possibilities - for instance, a spell costing, say, one Unholy rune that will, if it kills the target, restore one Blood rune. Or a Blood spell that leeches some life and restores a Frost rune. There are some neat interactions possible, above and beyond the "Three Blood, Two Unholy, One Frost is the best DPS rune set" kind of analysis.

 

Malan

Shouldn't it be 18 possible combinations? 6 rune slots, 3 possible runes in each slot, order does not matter.

Shitting up every single thread on EJ since '06

 

Blackpatch

Let me write out the math, let me know if I'm wrong... (I thought it was 18 at first myself.)

I ought to know how to formalize this but I don't.

CONSERVE YOUR RAGE AND LUST

 

Scath1

Rune Juice?


Is there any information available as regards to what sort of prevelance there's expected to be of Death Knights? That is, will encounters be designed on the basis that a raid will have 1 or 2 DK, or will they be so rare as to be nothing more than a novelty item in raids?

 

Copernicus

Combinatorics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

n is the number of options, r is the slots to be filled.
(n+r-1)!/r!(n-1)! = (3 + 6 -1)!/6!(3-1)! = 8!/(6! * 2) = 8*7/2 = 28

 

Blackpatch

Aha! Thanks. I looked at the binomial coefficient article (I've been spending a lot of time on it for some NMR theory I've been working on) but I missed the combination with repetition bit.

CONSERVE YOUR RAGE AND LUST

 

Malan

Ha. Yah I was looking at the wiki on combinatorics but was looking at the non-repition formula trying to figure out why it didn't work. Been out of school and in a profession that doesn't need much math for way too long.

Shitting up every single thread on EJ since '06

 

Natural

I'm not sure if this has been answered already, but I'll answer your question.

Some changes were made to the retribution trees. These are the rough details:

- Sancitified crusader was moved to a tier 2 talent
- The previous spot of sanctified crusader was filled with a +3 hit/+3 crit talent that also says "Reduces the chance your sanctified seals" (incomplete sentence, no idea what Sanctified seals are. Perhaps a new retribution mechanic?
-Crusader strike is back to a 6 second cooldown
-Vengeance lasts 30 seconds
-No threat reduction at this time.

 

Opioid

Do we know that order doesn't matter?

 

Schnigges

Something comes to mind when thinking about the Sunwell. Since Kael'thas is supposed to be still alive after defeating him, what's the likleyhood of seeing him on the Sunwell plateau?

 

Malan

I can't seem them implementing a rune system where the order mattered, the intricacies of that would blow people's minds.

Shitting up every single thread on EJ since '06

 

Blackpatch

A guildmate linked the following 'ordered rune' game to me: Spellcaster

CONSERVE YOUR RAGE AND LUST

 

Crowl

Well they did seem to keep making the point about the class being intended for advanced players so why not go the whole hog, a more complex system would be the ideal way to avoid seeing too many deathknights as well.

 

dukes

I was thinking the same thing yesterday, it would certainly be an interesting line to go down.

 

Malan

The Verdant Sphere quest describes him as being alive "inside the sphere" which you hand over to A'dal, so that seems unlikely, his body is definitely "dead".

Shitting up every single thread on EJ since '06

 

Douglas

I'm hoping that rage-restorers work on Blood runes, energy restorers work on Unholy runes, and mana restorers work on Frost runes.