http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/world-of-warcraft-wrath-of-the-lich-king/872730p1.htmlInteresting read. Notable that they mention that the Death Knight's tanking niche will be dealing with caster damage.
Some abilities -
Death Coil -- Depletes all Runic Power, dealing 600 damage to a non-Undead target, or healing 900 damage on a friendly target.
Death Grip -- This is the Death Knight's "taunt" ability. It also pulls the target to the Death Knight, forcing them to attack the Death Knight for a short amount of time. Yes, I said pulls the target; Blizzard is going to allow players to move mobs in the expansion both with Death Grip, and other knockback/pull abilities. This works on players too, so PvP balance ahoy!
Chains of Ice -- Roots the target in place. When the spell fades, it places a snare on the target that reduces in potency as the duration runs out.
Raise Dead -- Raises a nearby corpse to fight for the Death Knight for 2 minutes. If used on a player corpse, the player has the option to play as the ghoul for the duration -- gaining access to the ghoul's abilities.
- The ghoul has the ability to do the following:
-- Leap to the target
-- Rend for decent damage-over-time
-- Stun target, and of course more
Death Pact -- Sacrifices the raised ghouls to heal the Death Knight.
Death and Decay -- Targeted, AoE Damage-over-time which pulses similar to the Paladin spell Consecration. Anyone affected by Death and Decay has a chance to be feared.
Frost Presence -- Increases Armor by 45% and allows the Death Knight to generate 25% more threat. Only one presence can be active at any time.
Unholy Presence -- Increases Attack Speed and Movement speed by 15%. Only one presence can be active at any time. This was described by Tom Chilton as the "PvP" presence.
Anti-magic Shield -- Reduces the damage of the next magical spell cast on the Death Knight by 75%. It also converts the damage reduced into Runic Power.
Strangulate -- Depletes all Runic Power, dealing minor damage and silencing the target for up to 5 seconds.
Summon Deathcharger -- Allows the Death Knight to summon a Deathcharger mount. This mount is acquired through quests, similar to the Paladin and Warlock land mounts.
A quick recap of the information they were told about the Death Knight:
Death knights will be available to all players with level 55 characters
Players can create one death knight per realm, per account
Death knights can be any of the races
Once created, death knights can undertake a series of quests to introduce the player to the new class and its associated lore
Death knights utilize a rune system as their resource mechanic
- Three different rune types are available: Unholy, Frost, and Blood
- These runes allow death knights to cast spells and abilities; spells can cost any combination of these runes
- Spent runes automatically refresh after a set period of time, similar to a rogues energy bar
- The death knight will have the ability to customize which array of six runes is currently available
As rune abilities are used, the death knight also generates another resource called Runic Power
- The death knight will have several abilities that cost all available Runic Power, with varying levels of effectiveness based on total Runic Power spent
- Runic Power decays over time if its not spent, similar to a warriors rage bar
The death knight has three different presences to use: Blood, Frost, and Unholy; each presence grants the death knight a unique buff that will allow him or her to fulfill different roles in combat
The death knight can serve either as a tank or as a melee-based damage-dealing class
Death knights are designed to be highly viable tanking, magic-using characters
Death knights will have the ability to summon undead guardians to fight by their side
Death knights will have the ability to summon a Deathcharger mount.
