
Newly created death knights begin with a larger set of spells and abilities than new characters of other classes. Death knights wear plate armor and wield weapons with rune engravings (permanent weapon enhancements), which are achieved through the death knight profession called runeforging by utilizing the runeforge in Acherus. Unholy specialization focuses on poisoning your opponent and sending the player's permanent, controllable pet ghoul to attack the enemy. Frost specializes in control, counters and combination strikes using frost related abilities. The blood specialization focuses on the manipulation of blood, using an enemy's blood against them while using the death knights' blood to benefit themselves. The three death knight specializations are blood, frost and unholy. They are able to fill the tank and damage dealer roles. ĭeath knights are fallen heroes of the Alliance and the Horde, raised by the Lich King to serve as champions of the undead Scourge. Originally, a death knight could only be created if the player previously had a level 55 on that realm but that requirement was removed in late 2014. Hero classes are those that start the game at a higher level than the regular level 1. The death knight is the first "hero class" introduced in World of Warcraft, and would be the only one available until the introduction of the demon hunter in Legion. The first expansion pack, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, raised the maximum level from 60 to 70 and the Wrath of the Lich King raised the level cap from 70 to 80.

Main article: Gameplay of World of Warcraft Level increase
