The following compares the current state of Arcane Mages to Unholy Death Knights using the latest SimulationCraft data for end-game PvE in World of Warcraft The War Within patch 11.0.2.
Comparison
Category
Winner
Arcane Mage
+3.5%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Arcane Mages averaged 3.5% more DPS than Unholy Death Knights (+56K DPS).
Unholy Death Knight
+18.03%
When simulating AoE DPS, Unholy Death Knights averaged 18.03% more DPS than Arcane Mages (+170K DPS).
Arcane Mage
+39.46%
Arcane Mages have higher spike damage potential, achieving +3.8M more DPS than Unholy Death Knights.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Arcane Mage
+2.79%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Arcane Mage DPS improved the most, +2.79% more than Unholy Death Knight. In total, Arcane Mages DPS increased by 67.76% and Unholy Death Knights by 64.97%.
Unholy Death Knight
+23.64%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 6.15% for Unholy Death Knights.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 29.78% for Arcane Mages.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Unholy Death Knights performed better, as Arcane Mages suffered a +23.64% DPS loss.
Arcane Mage
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Arcane Mages had fewer damaging abilities in total, indicating a potentially less complex rotation.
The comparisons above highlight some of the key differences between Arcane Mage and Unholy Death Knight in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Arcane Mage
Unholy Death Knight