Blood Death Knight

During combat you are constantly making decisions for what to cast next. Knowing what to do and when is critical for being effecting at tanking. This rotation guide should help give a basic understanding of what to do, what's most important, and how to prioritize Blood Death Knight abilities and cooldowns.

Single Target Tank Rotation

When tanking one target, use the following priority list:

1. Marrowrend (If need to prevent Bone Shield expiring)
2. Death Strike (If meets criteria in Note 1)
3. Blood Boil (If 2 charges or to apply Blood Plague on nearby enemies)
4. Marrowrend (If <=7 stacks of Bone Shield)
5. Heart Strike (If >= 3 runes. See Note 2)
6. Blood Boil (If Dancing Rune Weapon active)
7. Death and Decay (With Crimson Scourge procs)
8. Blood Boil

You can ignore the 3+ rune requirement for Heart Strike if you need to generate more Runic Power. Just be mindful of Bone Shield stacks and available runes to refresh using Marrowrend.

Note 1: Use Death Strike if Bone Shield is about to expire or to prevent your next ability from putting you at or over the Runic Power cap.

Note 2: If talented with Ossuary, it's important to maintain at least 5 stacks of Bone Shield. Be mindful of your rune count as you need to be able to Marrowrend as necessary to maintain 5 stacks of Bone Shield.

AoE Tank Rotation

When tanking multiple targets at once, the rotation remains the same, with one minor change: Move Death and Decay up to priority #5 -- and use it everytime it's available, regardless of Crimson Scourge procs.

Important Cooldowns

• Anti-magic Shell Carefully time to absorb magic damage or prevent debuffs.
• Dancing Rune Weapon Use before taking a high number of melee attacks.
• Icebound Fortitude Use before taking a high amount of damage.
• Dark Command Use to establish threat on targets not attacking you.
• Death Grip Use as a secondary taunt on adds and to bring them to you.
• Vampiric Blood Use when high damage is received or expected.