Death Knight
Death Knights were once virtuous defenders of Humanity. However, once the Paladin ranks were disbanded by the failing Alliance, many of these holy warriors traveled to the quarantined lands to ease the suffering of those left within the plague-ridden colonies. Though the Paladins were immune to disease of any kind, they were persecuted by the general populace who believed that they had been infected by the foul plague. A small band of Paladins, embittered by society's cruelty, traveled north to find the plague's source. These renegade Paladins succumbed to bitter hatred over the course of their grueling quest. When they finally reached Ner'zhul's icy fortress in Northrend they had become dark and brooding. The Lich King offered them untold power in exchange for their services and loyalty. The weary, vengeful warriors accepted his dark pact, and although they retained their humanity, their twisted souls were bound to his evil will for all time. Bestowed with black, vampiric Runeblades and shadowy steeds, Death Knights serve as the Scourge's mightiest generals.
Some jokingly refer to him as the healing Knight because 3 of his abilities (Death Coil, Death Pact, Unholy Aura) can be used to heal damage. The Death Knight's Death Coil ability makes him useful for healing units and for attacking other Heroes. His Unholy Aura ability makes him helpful in large allied games where his aura can help a lot of units.
Although the Death Knight is a melee guy it's best to watch him very closely and remove him from battle if attacked. He can be easily killed.
For skill point spending strategies most players research either Unholy Aura or Death Coil first and maximize those.
Spells and Abilities[edit]
Death Coil |
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A coil of death that can damage an enemy living unit or heal a friendly Undead unit. |
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Notes:
- The Death Knight's Death Coil ability is a great healer for Undead units and even for the Neutral Heroes Dark Ranger and Pit lord. Death Coil can also be used to heal allied Heroes and your own second Hero. Advanced players often use a Death Knight for this purpose.
- Death Coil is also good against early rushes where the enemy targets your workers. You can use a Death Coil to heal your Acolytes that are under attack or combat units.
- Death Coil is especially useful to finish off running enemy Heroes that are near death.
- Death Coil is one of the key spells for the Undead race.
Death Pact |
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Kills a target friendly Undead unit, giving a percentage of its hit points to the Death Knight. |
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Notes:
- The more powerful a unit you consume, the more healing you receive. Few players understand or use this ability. Often enemy units focus their attacks on your Hero. This spell can make them pay when they do that. As they are attacking your Hero simply use Death Pact to regain his hit points. This ability is best used on Skeletons or Carrion Beetles.
- Death Pact can be used on invulnerable units.
- Pick this spell at level 4, if the enemy is focusing the Death Knight
Unholy Aura |
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Increases the movement speed and life regeneration rate of nearby friendly units. |
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Animate Dead |
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Raises 6 dead units in an area to fight for the Death Knight. Animated units have disease cloud. |
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Notes:
- It is important to pick the right time to cast Animate Dead. The best time to use it is when there are at least 6 dead units that are very powerful such as Knights, Tauren, Abominations, Huntresses, or Bears. Another possible option is to collect powerful Creeps in a Meat Wagon then unload them in a battle and cast Animate Dead.
- Up to 6 units can be resurrected. The spell will choose the most powerful corpses to resurrect if there are more than 6.
- Animate Dead will raise dead enemy units or neutral units as well as your own.
- Units raised by Animate Dead are invulnerable to dispels.
- Units raised by Animate Dead do not keep their special abilities (Crypt Fiends raised in this way will not be able to cast Web, Priests will not Heal, etc.)
- Units raised by Animate Dead have disease cloud if it is researched.
- See further: corpse.
Version History[edit]
Balance Patch History | ||
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Version | Release | Balance Changes |
1.35.0 | 2023-01-19 |
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1.32.6 | 2020-06-02 |
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1.17 | 2004-09-20 |
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1.15 | 2004-05-10 |
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1.04 | 2002-11-04 |
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1.03 | 2002-10-09 |
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1.10 |
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Games[edit]
External links[edit]
References[edit]
http://classic.battle.net/war3/undead/units/deathknight.shtml