The following compares the current state of Frost 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
Unholy Death Knight
+1.65%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Unholy Death Knights averaged 1.65% more DPS than Frost Mages (+26K DPS).
Frost Mage
+7.76%
When simulating AoE DPS, Frost Mages averaged 7.76% more DPS than Unholy Death Knights (+79K DPS).
Unholy Death Knight
+52.75%
Unholy Death Knights have higher spike damage potential, achieving +3.1M more DPS than Frost Mages.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Frost Mage
+2.44%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Frost Mage DPS improved the most, +2.44% more than Unholy Death Knight. In total, Frost Mages DPS increased by 67.41% and Unholy Death Knights by 64.97%.
Unholy Death Knight
+9.13%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 6.15% for Unholy Death Knights.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 15.28% for Frost Mages.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Unholy Death Knights performed better, as Frost Mages suffered a +9.13% DPS loss.
Frost Mage
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Frost Mages had fewer damaging abilities in total, indicating a potentially less complex rotation.
The comparisons above highlight some of the key differences between Frost Mage and Unholy Death Knight in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Unholy Death Knight
Frost Mage