We continue our examination of DK glyphs this week by dissecting all the major glyphs at our disposal. Remember, I have used a highly scientific measuring system, by which I mean I picked my favorites and gave them all correspondingly good letter grades (A, B, or C; no pluses or minuses) based on their application in PvE DPS, PvP, and PvE Tanking.
Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell
PvE DPS Grade: C; PvP Grade: A; PvE Tank Grade: A
An extra 2 seconds on one of the DK's chief resistance abilities is a solid addition to your glyph page, if you anticipate taking a lot of magical damage. Thus, tanks and arena fighters will probably find it very useful, while support DPS will probably want to skip this one.
Glyph of Blood Boil
PvE DPS Grade: A; PvP Grade: A in BGs, B in Arena; Tank Grade: B
For those DKs who love facing off against large collections of trash mobs in dungeons, or running BGs with groups of opponents, this glyph is outstanding, adding more versatility to your basic AoE attack. Its usefulness is in direct correlation to how many mobs you'll be fighting however; arena players will want to think twice before taking this one on, though tanks may find it gives them an extra method of keeping unruly mobs in line.
Glyph of Blood Strike (Highly contingent on above glyph)
See above.
This glyph should really only be taken if you invest in Glyph of Blood Boil (unless you run dungeons with a troop of Frost mages). Bottom line: if you want to slow your targets, this glyph will help you bring them down all the faster.
Glyph of Bone Shield (Unholy Tree Only)
PvE DPS Grade: C; PvP Grade: A; PvE Tank Grade: A
This glyph is all about survivability. And the two areas where DKs need it most are arenas and when tanking. In both cases, this glyph is one an Unholy DK should strongly consider.
Glyph of Chains of Ice
PvE DPS Grade: B; PvP Grade: A; PvE Tank Grade: B
It never hurts to deal some damage when you slow those pesky escaping enemies. But in the current game where level 80 toons can only have 3 major glyphs, anyone who is not heavily into PvP may find this glyph too limited for everyday use.
Glyph of Dark Command
PvE Tank Grade: B
Only a tank should bother with this glyph. And most often, a MT won't need to rely on Dark Command to keep enemies in line. Taking this glyph does help to ensure that if a mob escapes you can get them back to you all the faster, but maybe it's a better choice for OTs instead.
Glyph of Death and Decay
PvP Grade: B; PvE Tank Grade: A
DKs tank by doing DPS, and the more damage they put out the better they are at holding aggro. This glyph makes it all the easier to keep mobs where they should be. And the occasional black sheep PvPer may like it as a means of more effectively routing grouped enemies.
Glyph of Death Grip
PvP Grade: A; PvE Tank Grade: A
Take this glyph any time you anticipate a need to pull mobs/enemy players quickly and efficiently. Players in WSG or AV will most likely get the most out of this glyph, but any PvPer can put it to good use. Tanks may also find it helpful in timed instance runs, like Heroic Culling of Stratholme.
Glyph of Death Strike
Grade for all instances: A
Any time you need to heal yourself, this glyph will help out. It will help even more when used as a "panic button" in high-damage or lengthy fights, and is a great way to keep healers from having to focus on non-tanking DKs.
Glyph of Frost Strike (Frost Tree Only)
Grade for all instances: B
This glyph is a time-saver, allowing you to put out more damage while expending less runic power (always a plus if you're saving up for a big cooldown ability). Simple as.
Glyph of the Ghoul (Unholy-friendly)
Grade in all instances: A
A major complaint of Unholy DKs is how easily our ghouls perish when caught in the crossfire. This glyph significantly buffs ghoul longevity, which everyone can appreciate.
Glyph of Icebound Fortitude
PvE DPS Grade: B; PvP Grade: A; PvE Tank Grade: A
Waiting to get enough runic power for Icebound Fortitude to activate has caused many a DK to take unnecessary damage. On the flip side, some may argue that 20 runic power isn't a lot to spend.
Glyph of Icy Touch
PvE DPS Grade: B; PvP Grade: B; PvE Tank Grade: A
Everyone uses Icy Touch, and this glyph sets you up with a healthy dose of runic power right off the bat. Highly useful for tanks who prefer pulling with Icy Touch.
Glyph of Plague Strike
Grade in all instances: B
This glyph isn't fancy, but Plague Strike is part of pretty much every DK's rotation, adding some decent damage to each fight. A solid, if unimaginative choice.
Glyph of Obliterate (Frost-friendly)
Grade in all instances: B
While not Frost exclusive, Obliterate is less friendly to those DKs without Annihiliation. Still, this glyph poses a good damage buff for those able to compensate for it.
Glyph of Rune Strike
PvP Grade: B; PvE Tank Grade: B
The damage increase is good, but the fact remains that Rune Strike is a situational ability; filling a slot with this glyph may not suit everyone. And PvE DPSers should stay away because of the ability's high threat generation.
Glyph of Rune Tap (Blood Tree Only)
PvE DPS Grade: A; PvP Grade: B; PvE Tank Grade: A
Dungeons and raids are where this glyph really shines - a group heal effect is never frowned upon, especially among single-target healers like paladins.
Glyph of Scourge Strike (Unholy Tree Only)
Grade in all instances: A
Perhaps more than any other tree, Unholy relies on diseases to get the job done ("the job" being, of course, reducing your enemies to a puddle of bones and goo at your feet). This glyph helps to ensure that your diseases are always up, and can cut down on rotation time also.
Glyph of Strangulate
PvE DPS Grade: B; PvP Grade: A; PvE Tank Grade: C
This glyph looks tailor-made for arena fights against casters. Most mana-based classes have abilities which allow for melee kiting, and this ability is a nice counter-attack to Blink, Fear, or Disengage. It application in PvE is weaker however, and tanks especially shouldn't waste time with this one.
Glyph of Unbreakable Armor (Frost Tree Only)
PvE DPS Grade: C; PvP Grade: A; PvE Tank Grade: A
An increase in armor is critical for hard-hitting bosses and melee fighters, and this glyph is a good one to take in both situations. Since the goal of DPS support in PvE is not to be hit all that often, this one is probably not all that useful.
Glyph of Vampiric Blood (Blood Tree Only)
PvE DPS Grade: B; PvP Grade: A; PvE Tank grade: A
In situations where healing over time is a must, this glyph is a good friend to Blood DKs. Again, not as useful to DPS support classes, but this glyph may be worthwhile anyway for its utility, at least until dual specs come out.
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