Ifyou'rejustcuriousastohowtheDeathKnightwillworkorjustwanttoseesomenewlore,itwon'treallyneedmuchpreparation,justhaveacharacterinyouraccountatlevel55andyou'reset.However,forthoseofusinterestedinprogressingwithourDeathKnightspastOutlandandintoNorthrend,we'llhavetotakeappropiatemeasurestodoso.
Inthisguide,wewillgooverjustexactlywhatweshouldcoverinordertobeginouradventureasaDeathKnightaspainlesslyaspossible,keepinginmindtherewillbemanywhowon'tbeaspreparedinanyaspect.
AstheWrathoftheLichKingexpansionapproachesnearerandnearer,youmaybedecidingwhetheryouwanttoplaythenewDeathKnightclassornot,andifyoudo,howfaryou'regoingtotakehim/her.Areyougoingtowatchtheopeningarea,areyoustickingwithituntil60,perhapstakingitacrossOutlandto70,ormakingityournewmain?
Money
GoldwillbeonekeyfactortodeterminehowyougetalonginOutlandandpossiblyevenfromthestart.Fromflyingmountcoststocraftedgearcostsandpossiblysomeprofessionspending,yourDeathKnightwillmostlikelyrequireyoutohaveagoodamountofgoldhandy.Whilemostwouldwaituntilthey'reofhighenoughlevelontheirownDeathKnightstobeginfarmingandcollecting,youmaystartdoingsorightnow.
ItwouldbeidealtohaveagoodamountofgoldforyournewDeathKnight-MessiahhaswrittenanawesomearticleonthissubjectthatwillrelatebothtoyournewDeathKnightandanyoneinparticularlookingtobereadyforWrathoftheLichKing.ItisworthyofnotethatyoudonotneedtostockuponclothforFirstAid.
DependingonyourDeathKnight'schosenprofession,youwillneedtostockuponeitherPotions,ArmororWeaponryfromotherplayers,spendingyourvaluablemoneyintheprocess.Ifyouhaveagoodbufferbeforeyouevenbegin,it'llhelpyouthatmuchmoretoeaseintoyournewcharacter.
OnelastthingyoushouldkeepinmindisthatyoushouldstockuponRuneclothifyouwanttobeingoodtermswithallofyourmajorcities'factions.Thisgetsoverlookedoftenbylevel1characterssinceyougainreputationwithallofyourcitiesandfactionsquicklyasyoulevel,butwithapre-madelevel55,youwillbefriendlyatbest.IfyouwantalloftheperkswhichincludesomediscountsandsomeachievementswhichincludebeingExaltedwithallyourcityfactions,thenyou'llwanttohaveenoughRuneclothtoturn-inyourwaytothetop.
Equipment
AnotherbigoneforyourDeathKnightwillbeequipment.Whileit'struethatyouwillbegivenitemsrivallinglevel62-63gear,eventuallyyouwillwanttoequipbetterweaponsandarmor,andasweknowthebestthingsareonesobtainedthrougheithertradeskillsordropswiththedesiredstatsonthem.
Tothisend,Irecommendfindingplategeartoequipinyourmid-60's,especiallyitemslikesomeFelIronSetitemsandsomeOutlandbluesthatprobablydon'tgoasmuchinyourserver.Alsorememberingthatyoumaywieldany1or2-handerisaniceplus,sinceyourweaponwilllikelynotlastyoupastlevel63.HavingsomeitemsinyourbankoronyourcurrentmaintosupportyourDeathKnightwillkeepyouaheadofthecurve,andsaveyousomegriefastheremaynotbemanyinstancestorunatWrath'slaunchdays.
ProfessionMaterials
Here'sthebigone.YoustartoffwithaRuneclothbandagingskillasaDeathKnight,butyouwillstillneedtopickaprofessionandlevelitfromlevel1.ThisposesamajorproblemsinceyouwillalsowantyourDeathKnighttolevelupasfastaspossibletonotgetleftbehindonalltheNorthrendfun.Tothisend,Irecommendgrabbinganyandallitemsfromyourdesiredprofessioninadvance,beitfromtheAuctionHouseorgatheringthemyourself,beforeyouevenbeginyourDeathKnight.
Itmaysuckforawhiletogathertheseingredientsup,beitoreifyouintendongoingblacksmithorjewelcrafter,herbsifinscriptionistoralchemist,oranycombinationofthemall,butconsiderthatevenifyougobacktotheoldzonesandlevelupyourgatheringprofession,youwillwon'thaveenoughitemstolevelyourcraft,sogatheringitemsisagoodidea.
Inaddition,youmaywanttostockuponsomelow-levelmeatsandcookingmaterialsifyou'reintendingoncooking,atleastuptowhereyoumaycookfishsoyoucanlevelyourfishinginaccordancetoit.Northrend'scookingseemstograntmajorbooststoplayerssohavingcookingandfishinguptoparwillmostlikelybeinyourbestinterestssoonerorlater.
DeathKnightshaveaneasytimeinOutland,withtherightgearthisshouldpersistallacrossit.
Mentality,NOWorLater?
Theverylastone,yetoneofthemostimportantones,isyourcurrentmentality.DoyouwantthisDeathKnightasyouralt,andhenceareusinghimtolevelwhileeveryonerushesthroughNorthrend,oryournewmaincharacter?
Ifyou'rethinkingaboutwaitingitoutforyourDeathKnight,beitnewmainoralt,rememberyouwillhaveanextrahelpfromyourlevel80characterassoonasyou'reabletoPvPinWintergrasp-HeirloomItems.
AsasmallintroductiontoHeirloomitems,they'rebasicallyitemsyoumayequipatanygiventimeonanycharacterthatcanwieldthem,andtheywillscaletheirbonusesappropiatelytofitthatcharacter'slevel.SoyoumaygiftyourDeathKnightwithsomeheirloomplateand2-handers,andhaveaneasiertime,morefocusingonleveling,lesstimefindingupgrades.
Asatotalsidenote,someoftheseHeirloomitemsalsoprovidea10%experiencebonusformonsterkills,soifyou'reundecidedorsimplythinktheDeathKnightstarterzonewillbefloodedbynewup%26amp;comingDeathKnights,perhapswaitingmaynotbethatanideaafterall.
Ifyou'reimpatient,however,bepreparedtocompeteformonsters,andifyou'reinaPvPserver,bepreparedtofightotherDeathKnightsassoonasyouexityourstarterzone.Whilethismaynotposemuchofaproblemtosome,itmaydetrimentyourlevelingspeedquiteabitifyoudon'thavethepatienceforthesethings.
OfQuestsandRequirements
SomeofyoumaybethinkingyoucanjustrollaDeathKnight,getsomestarterabilities,thenboltoutandfinishoffyourgrindto60inthePlaguelandsorinWinterspringtoavoidtheinevitableplayerrushintheDeathKnightstarterarea.Thisissimplyaverybadidea,anditissobecauseoftworeasons:
DeathKnightstartershaveallgottheinformationthatyoucanget1to3pointsbycompletingsomequestsinthebeginningzones.Howeveryoucan'tjustexpecttohaveall44talentpointsavailablefromtheget-go.Inoneword,youcanearntheincreasetoyourtalentsandabilitiesbycompletingthequestlinesdesignedattheeverylevelandzones.
Inadditiontothose,yougainblue-qualityitems(allofyourarmorandweapon),plustheDeathKnight'sPvP-equivalenttrinket.Inshort,you'llwantsomeoftheseitemstoeaseintotherestoftheworldfasterandnotworryaboutgear,andmoreimportantly,havingyourtalentpoints.
Goingintoamajorcitywithouthavingcompletedthemainstorylinewillhaveyouhateduntilyoudo.
Youwon'tbeacceptedintoyourownMajorcitiesbyanyNPCifyouchoosetoomityourquestlineandnotseeitthroughtotheend.YoumustknowhowitcomestopassthatDeathKnightsseverfromtheLichKingandfindtheirownplaceinWorldofWarcraft.OnlyafteryoucompleteallthequestsandseetheeventsattheendoftheDeathKnightstarterzonewillyoubesentasanemissaryoftheKnightsoftheEbonBladetoyourcapitalcity.
Ifyoudon'tcompletethis,yousimplycan'tuseyourmajorcitiesforanything,andeveryNPCisonNeutralstatuseithercoweringordistrustingyouandmoreimportantlynottalkingtoyouatall,forbeingmemberoftheScourge.
YouwillnotneedtodoanyunlockingquestsorsacrificeacharacterbeforeyoucancreateaDeathKnight.
TheDeathKnightwillstartwithawiderangeofabilities,asitisassumedthatsomeonewithalevel55characterhastheexperiencetohandlethemrightoffthebat.
Theywillstartwitha60%speedsummonedDeathChargerasalandmount,whichbeupgradableviaquestmuchlikeWarlockandPaladinmounts.
That鈥檚allforthepreparationforthedeathknight,thankforyourattention.Therefore,ifyou'reaimingtostartaDeathKnightandtakeitpasttheinitialarea,youcanfirstlystockuponmaterialsforbothyourprofessionsandyoursubsequentlevels.ItwillsaveyouaheadacheandsomeAHshoppingatpossiblyoverpricedlevelsifyouactnow.Conversely,waitingandlevelinginNorthrendforHeirloomitemsmaynotbeabadideaifyouthinkyouwillhavetimetosparebeforeyoudoyouractivitiesinNorthrend,beitendgamePvEorPvP.
Asaconclusion,Iwillshowyousomeotherdetailsandnotesaboutthestartingtobeadeathknight.
DeathKnightswillstartinafloatingcitadelsimilartoNaxxramasatlevel55,andgothroughaseriesofqueststhatwillestablishtheirstoryandbackgroundintheEasternPlaguelands.
AllIndicationsarethatBlizzardstillplanstoallowallracestobeDeathKnights,asWorldofwar.net'sreportersawTauren,Dwarf,Gnome,andOrcDeathKnights.
Youmusthaveanexistingcharacteroflevel55orhighertocreateaDeathKnight.
YoucancreateoneDeathKnightperrealmperaccount.
Tags:deathknight,wrathoftheLichKing