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Frost Death Knight

Damage specialisation · Tier C in Mythic+, 1.7% of the sample

PvE GuideRaid logs, Mythic+ players and PvE buildsACTIVEPvP GuideRated ladder talents, gear stats and builds

Opener

The order abilities first landed across 4 top-parsing pulls, with the median time into the fight. The percentage is how many of those parses used the ability at all — a step at 100% is the opener, one at 60% is a choice some players make.

  1. 1Empower Rune Weapon+0.6s100%
  2. 2Obliterate+1.4s100%
  3. 3Raise Dead+2.2s100%
  4. 4
Reaper's Mark
+2.2s
100%
  • 5Breath of Sindragosa+2.6s100%
  • 6Voracious Heart of Ula'tek+2.6s50%
  • 7Pillar of Frost+2.6s100%
  • 8Frostwyrm's Fury+3.5s100%
  • 9Exterminate+3.9s50%
  • What follows what

    What was pressed next, counted over every observed pair. This is the closest a log gets to a priority list — but it describes behaviour, not a rule: a player casting Execute because it lit up looks the same here as one following a plan.

    • Obliterate72 casts→Frost Strike49%Howling Blast21%Exterminate11%
    • Frost Strike52 casts→Obliterate49%Howling Blast24%Empower Rune Weapon8%
    • Howling Blast30 casts→Obliterate57%Frost Strike23%Anti-Magic Shell7%
    • Empower Rune Weapon18 casts→Obliterate67%Exterminate11%Frost Strike11%
    • Exterminate12 casts→Exterminate58%Obliterate17%Empower Rune Weapon8%
    • Exterminate12 casts→Obliterate42%Frost Strike17%Frostwyrm's Fury17%

    Ability usage

    Casts per minute across 20 top-parsing kills in The Venomous Abyss. Per minute rather than totals, so a long fight does not read as a heavily used ability.

    Single target

    5 fights where almost all damage went to the boss

    1. 1Frost Strike13.9per min
    2. 2Obliterate13.5per min
    3. 3Howling Blast10.4per min
    4. 4Frostscythe6.5per min
    5. 5Empower Rune Weapon4.8per min
    6. 6Exterminate2.4per min

    Multi-target

    10 fights with substantial add damage

    1. 1Obliterate14.9per min
    2. 2Frost Strike13.0per min
    3. 3Howling Blast10.1per min
    4. 4Empower Rune Weapon

    Fights are sorted by how much damage landed on boss units rather than by a hand-kept list of which encounter is the AoE one, so the split stays right after a retune. Fights in between are left out of both columns.

    Updated 31/08/2026. These are observed casts, not a recommended priority — the order reflects how often an ability came up, which is not the same as when to press it.

    Secondary stats

    Secondary stat split across the 50 best-geared synced characters. Averaged per player, so one heavily geared character cannot define the answer for everyone.

    • Versatility45.9%982 avg
    • Mastery35.5%785 avg
    • Haste11.8%259 avg
    • Critical Strike6.8%172 avg

    What PvE players are playing

    Talent choices across 50 synced characters playing this specialisation. These are observed picks, not recommendations — they say what the ladder is doing, not what you should do.

    Where builds differ

    Taken by between 15% and 90% of players. This is where the real decisions are.

    • Icy Talons90%

      44 players · Class

    • Osmosis90%

      44 players · Class

    • Blood Draw88%

      43 players · Class

    • Death Pact88%

      43 players · Class

    • Proliferating Chill88%

      43 players · Class

    • Arctic Assault86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Bonegrinder86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Chosen of Frostbrood86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Empower Rune Weapon86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Enduring Strength86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Frost Strike86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Frostbound Will86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Frostwyrm's Fury86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Frozen Dominion86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Howling Blast86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Icebreaker86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Killing Machine86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Killing Streak86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Obliterate86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Obliteration86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Pillar of Frost86%

      42 players · Specialization

    • Bind in Darkness84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Coldthirst84%

      41 players · Class

    • Dark Talons84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Death's Messenger84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Deathly Blows84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Echoing Fury84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Exterminate84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Frigid Resolve84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Grim Reaper84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Hyperpyrexia84%

      41 players · Specialization

    • Pact of the Deathbringer84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Rage of the Frozen Champion84%

      41 players · Specialization

    • Reaper's Mark84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Soul Rupture84%

      41 players · Hero

    • Swift and Painful84%

      41 players · Hero

    Near-universal picks (22)taken by 90%+ — effectively baseline
    • Anti-Magic Barrier100%

      49 players · Class

    • Asphyxiate100%

      49 players · Class

    • Blinding Sleet100%

      49 players · Class

    Rarely taken (41)under 15% — situational or out of favour
    • Army of the Dead14%

      7 players · Specialization

    • Blightburst14%

      7 players · Specialization

    Import a real build

    Loadouts from the highest-rated synced players of this specialisation. Paste straight into the game.

    • Aaeonaxx

      blackrock · EU3,672

    • Gamba

      burning-blade · US3,240

    • Razíèl

      eredar · EU2,509

    • Duavious

      illidan · US2,503

    • Arrogancê

      area-52 · US2,462

    Learn the spec

    This page measures what players do. For rotation, stat priority and matchup play, these are the references.

    • WowheadpveRotation, stat priority, gear and consumables. The most complete free PvE reference.
    • Icy VeinspveRotation walkthroughs and talent reasoning, written for players learning a spec.
    • Raider.IOpveMythic+ routes, affix planning and dungeon-by-dungeon breakdowns.

    Other Death Knight specs

    • Blood
    • Unholy
    4.6per min
  • 5Frostscythe3.9per min
  • 6Exterminate1.9per min
  • Death Strike100%

    49 players · Class

  • Death's Echo100%

    49 players · Class

  • Gloom Ward100%

    49 players · Class

  • Icebound Fortitude100%

    49 players · Class

  • Improved Death Strike100%

    49 players · Class

  • March of Darkness100%

    49 players · Class

  • Mind Freeze100%

    49 players · Class

  • Null Magic100%

    49 players · Class

  • Rune Mastery100%

    49 players · Class

  • Runic Attenuation100%

    49 players · Class

  • Unholy Bond100%

    49 players · Class

  • Unholy Momentum100%

    49 players · Class

  • Veteran of the Third War100%

    49 players · Class

  • Clawing Shadows
    14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Commander of the Dead14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Dark Transformation14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Doomed Bidding14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Festering Scythe14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Forbidden Knowledge14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Foul Infections14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Ghoulish Frenzy14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Harbinger of Doom14%

    7 players · Specialization

  • Lord of the Dead14%

    7 players · Specialization