Frost Death Knight in WoW Midnight: Playstyle, Lore & Who It Suits

How It Feels

Frost is the cold, merciless knight of Northrend. You wield two icy blades or one great two-hander and strike fast and hard. Enemies are coated in frost, icy winds sweep the battlefield, and at the right moment your frostwyrm breathes cold over every enemy in front of you.

It feels punchy and fluid. You have a few important buttons, react to a handful of procs and work toward your big burst window. That makes Frost the most approachable damage Death Knight.

How Frost Works

Like all Death Knights, Frost uses runes and Runic Power:

Spend runes: Obliterate is your main strike and spends runes. Howling Blast hits your target and nearby enemies.
Spend Runic Power: Frost Strike is a quick icy strike that spends Runic Power.
Burst window: Pillar of Frost raises your Strength for a few seconds. During that time you want to land as many strong attacks as possible.
Groups and control: Remorseless Winter damages and slows enemies around you, Frostwyrm's Fury stuns all enemies in front of you.

The key is never letting runes or Runic Power go to waste and using procs quickly.

Key Abilities

Obliterate: your brutal main strike dealing physical and Frost damage.
Frost Strike: a quick icy strike that spends Runic Power.
Howling Blast: an icy gust against your target and nearby enemies.
Pillar of Frost: your big cooldown, more Strength for a few seconds.
Remorseless Winter: Frost damage around you and slower enemies.
Frostwyrm's Fury: a frostwyrm breathes ice on all enemies in front of you and briefly stuns them.

Lore: The Lich King and Frostmourne

No image defines the Death Knight like Arthas Menethil with the runeblade Frostmourne. The prince of Lordaeron went to Northrend looking for a weapon against the Scourge and became its master, the Lich King. Frost captures exactly that fantasy: icy runeblades, the cold of Icecrown and the ruthlessness of a knight who lost his humanity.

Today Death Knights fight as the Knights of the Ebon Blade on the side of the living, but they still carry Northrend's cold within them.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

direct, easy-to-read playstyle,
self-healing through Death Strike and plate armor,
pull enemies in with Death Grip, very handy while questing,
strong burst windows with Pillar of Frost.

Weaknesses

little mobility compared to Demon Hunters or Monks,
heavily dependent on runes, which recharge slowly,
pure melee.

Who Is the Frost Death Knight For?

A good fit if you …

want a sturdy melee with a dark fantasy,
love Arthas and the ice of Northrend,
enjoy a direct playstyle with a clear burst window.

Probably not if you …

like commanding lots of minions, in which case Unholy fits better,
want a very mobile melee.

Frost, Unholy or Blood?

Unholy is the necromancer with ghouls and plagues, Blood the vampiric tank. Frost is the choice if you just want to strike ice-cold.

More about the class on the Death Knight in WoW Midnight page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Frost Death Knight good for beginners?

Yes. Frost is direct and clear: runes for Obliterate, Runic Power for Frost Strike, plus a few procs to react to. Thanks to plate armor and Death Strike you survive mistakes that lighter melee specs do not forgive.

One-handed or two-handed weapons for Frost Death Knight?

Both work. Frost can dual-wield one-handers or use a single two-hander. Abilities like Obliterate and Frost Strike then hit with both weapons or with one big one. Which option is stronger depends on talents and patch, visually it is a matter of taste.

Is Frost Death Knight good solo?

Yes. It heals itself with Death Strike, takes a lot of punishment in plate and pulls enemies in with Death Grip. Against groups, Howling Blast and Remorseless Winter help.

Frost or Unholy: what is the difference?

Frost is the fast, direct melee with icy weapons. Unholy is the necromancer with ghouls and plagues and has more to manage. If you just want to hit things, pick Frost, if you like commanding minions, Unholy.