World of Warcraft: An Exclusive In-Depth Look at the Death Knight

[Cody Bye]

When it comes to upcoming expansion's for a released game, nothing in the world is bigger than World of Warcraft's Wrath of the Lich King. One of the biggest draws of the expansion is the introduction of the Death Knight, a brand new character class for players to enjoy. However, since the game's unveiling at BlizzCon 2007, little has been said about the upcoming class. The wait is finally over! Ten Ton Hammer has your exclusive in-depth look at this upcoming class, which includes details on abilities, powers, and more!

The Death Knight has a pretty good selection of abilities that are going to screw with enemy casters, at the core of which is their “Anti-Magic Shell.” According to Chilton, the Death Knight uses a rune to surround the Death Knight in an anti-magic shell, which absorbs 75% of the damage from the next spell and transfers that into runic power. In addition to that, they have a handful of other anti-magic abilities including the “Mind Freeze” ability which interrupts casting and a runic power ability called “Strangulate” which flushes all of the Death Knight’s runic power, silences an enemy for a maximum of five seconds, and causing a bit of damage.

To read more about this Wrath of the Lich King preview, click here!

[Cody Bye]

By the gods - you better be excited about this class! It looks AMAZING.

[Miralyn]

I posted on the news discussion thread as well but I just posted a thread on my guild's website about it (and a little bit of bragging about you guys ) - and I agree with you Cody I am glad I have a 10th slot on my character selection screen for it. The fact that it is just having 1 level 55 toon on your account to open it is nice....though a quest would have been cool as well.

[Twikster]

OMG! This is great! For those who think Warlocks are OP, they are gonna get PWNED by the "magic tank" Death Knight!! But at the same time, Hunters and Rogues will probably be able to take them down pretty easy.

I am very excited for this class now. The ability to raise ANOTHER PLAYER as a ghoul just made me jump up and down in my seat! This will come in very handy as a quick "rez" in a raid where you are about to wipe on a boss that you ALMOST have down.

I can't wait to see the talent builds and a more complete list of abilities.

You go, Blizz! You might actually be doing something right!

[Twikster]

Okay, I've been thinking about this more and I can't believe what the Death Knight really means. This is the class I've been waiting for since WoW came into existance. A melee combat fighter with REAL magic abilities (as opposed to a warrior or rogue with Pseudo-magic abilities or a Pally, who's only real magic comes in the healing/support area and is unwieldy in my experience {okay, I suck playing a Pally, I'll admit it}).

From how the article described the Death Knight abilities, it seems that this class will meld the two concepts, sword and sorcery in a seamless way. Using Frost magic instead of a shield to tank! Who'da thunk it! Blizz did!

I was imagining the agony of raiding in an RP realm where a guild just happens to need a Prot Pally to be MT and a Death Knight to OT the casters. Oh the tension!

"Death Knights can be from any race"

Gnome Death Knight FTW!!!

[Miralyn]

Think about it though - if the Death Knight's abilities are that "powerful" then all the other classes will have something as will the the mobs/bosses. The whole knockback/"leap to" will be just like CCs, fears, and stuns - some mobs will be affected, others will not. I have always complimented Blizzard on their expansions (Starcraft, Diablo II) because of how they change the game, not just add to it. As I have said before many companies would have said "here's the BE/Draenei, you can have the faction-specific classes, have fun, oh and that'll be $50". Blizzard really redid a lot of things with TBC (some good some bad) and I am sure what they found had issues (like the 10man/25mans, the heroics) they will fix and then of course new issues will arise.

The game will change and people will complain because it will force them to change their playstyle and they will hate it. I was not crazy about TBC until about 2 weeks before its release and now I cannot imagine playing it "pre-TBC". I get the feeling this time next year we'll be reminiscing about the old "TBC days".

[Twikster]

I'm just glad that they found a new niche for the Death Knight. I was worried when they said it would be another tanking class. Now they say its a tank that specializes in casters, something the current tanks have problems with. That in itself was the right thing to do with a new class. We surely didn't need another ranged DPS class or another normal tanking class.

And it seems, even with all the new "powerful" abilities that the DK will have, it won't be overpowered. It seems like it still has it's weaknesses that can be exploited by other classes in PVP. I know I'm really looking forward to playing it. I wasn't before this new article came out with details.

[Miralyn]

You know people complain about the three tanking classes and the fact is I like having it, and now having a fourth. It gives more flexibility and more options. In endgame raiding it it almost necessary to have all three. I prefer a warrior tank but I'll be honest if I need to tank multiple mobs then I sure as heck want a paladin. If I need a tank to soak up damage then a druid is a great choice and of course a warrior is great for mitigation. For example Shattered Halls with a paladin tank is easy mode but Shadow Labyrinth's Blackheart the Inciter will give the same paladin fits.

With certain caster bosses it will be interesting to see how a Death Knight works and I am sure they will have their strengths and weaknesses....just like everyone else.

As Twikster alluded to there will be four tanking classes and 4 healer classes.....just provides a lot of options

[Medeor]

It's taken me some time to review all of the tasty morsels you guys brought back from Irvine. I've also read some of the other accounts and listened to the interviews as well. My anxiety level is at record highs at this point.

And while I am completely jazzed about all of the new zones, dog-fights, and darn-tootin' the death knight - the major issue that kept jumping out at me is that Lich King is way way way far from done. It is May and they have one crap ton of work just to finish the basics of the expansion. And since Blizzard polishes until they can see their faces in their products, I'm seriously wondering if we'll see the expansion this year. It could happen, or from what I read/hear between the lines, it could be this time next year.... just my conspiracy theories bubbling to the surface.