The Gaming Lizard

Of all the classes undergoing changes in the newest expansion, the Deathknight class is the only one who has received the most "cataclysmic" changes of all, to both talent trees and Rune System. I shall not discuss talents as Blizz has stated that all talents trees will be undergoing yet another revamp, which is wonderful news. But back to the topic, let's take a look at what's new for DKs.

Runic System

When the new runic system change was announced months ago, many had expressed confusion as to how it works. Is it like a Rogue's energy system or something different totally. Having test drive Zeevon on the Ebon Hold dummy, I can say that this new system is a totally different beast and feels alien to use.

The primary idea behind the change is to allow us to have more Rune-free time for RP attacks or some other unspecific fun stuff (according to GC) Does it work? As Unholy, my runes regenerate faster and thus, felt like I am pushing more Rune abilities than Death Coil. And since the current rune system in Beta is bugged, it is difficult to test out an actual rotation.

So how does RS.2 work? When you use 2 similar runes side by side, one rune will start ticking down while the 2nd rune is stored and will only start regenerating when the CD on the first rune is done. As seen in the SS above, my rotation is IT-PS-IT-SS (yes, SS uses 1 Unholy rune now). If you're still confused, notice how the 1st Frost Rune is ready while the 2nd FR is still "stored"

Basically, our rotations will be similar to this: 6 Runes > RP > 3 Runes > RP > 3 Runes > RP
Do note that you can indeed wait out for the 2nd Rune to be ready before using an ability. For example, I use only Frost and Blood runes while keeping the Death runes so I can wait for the next "3 Runes" phase and spam Obliterate X2. Something like (Using a Frost DK rotation, each bracket denotes a new phase):

[IT-PS-Oblit-BS-BS]-[FS-FS]-[Oblit]-[FS-FS-FS]-[Oblit-Oblit]-[FS-FS]

Presences

With a talent revamp, our Presences are getting a makeover as well. Each Presence type now compliments the playstyle of their respective tree with Blood becoming the Tank presence, Frost being used for Frost dps and Unholy....you get the idea. Improved Presences talents in each tree will further augment the powers of the new presences.

Blood: Stam ^8%, Armor ^60%, Damage Reduc ^8%, Threat Generation increases

Frost: Damage ^10%, RP regen ^10%

Unholy: Attack speed ^10%, Rune regen ^10%, Move Speed ^15%

Spells & Skills

In addition to the 3 announced spells, we are getting some nifty abilities from our talents as well.

Unholy Frenzy: What's this? A mini Heroism?!?!? REJOICE! No longer are we victims of errant shammies who are too stupid to realise where their Heroism/Bloodlust spells are. To make the deal sweeter, it can be obtain by investing 11 points into Unholy tree, making it VERY accessible to all DPS specs. Hysteria's (which is getting removed) HP reducing effect is baked into it as well.

Pillar of Frost: This 21st talent in the Frost tree takes the place of Unbreakable Armor, PoF is an extremely potent skill that can be upkept for 33% of the entire fight. On top of the 20% STR increase, you become immune to knockback as well. Orgasmic!

Conclusion

Deathknight is really shaping up to be a really fun class to play in Cataclysm, with talents getting revamped and cool new tricks in our bag. While the only downside is the buggy Rune System, no doubt Blizzard will ease the kinks out before they roll out the new expansion. Stay tuned as future beta builds get pushed out featuring an all new talent trees and glyphs! Let's hope the new middle glyphs turn our ghoul into an abomination or even a skeleton warrior like Thassarian.