The Unholy Commandments

Taking a leaf from one of the best melee DPS guides I’ve found out in the blogosphere, I’ve put together my own list of dungeon and raid commandments for DPS DKs. Enjoy!

1. Don't die. Or, alternatively, Heal Thyself! You have more healing abilities than the average non-mana fighter, so use them to the best of your ability. Death Strike when you can, pop consumables, sacrifice your ghoul, bandage, pray, use Icebound Fortitude or Lichborne, do whatever you can to keep your health above that red zone, and keep healers from worrying about you. And if you die, you better come back as a ghoul.
2. Don't cause your friends to die, whether from wanton use of Death Grip, berserking ghouls, or plain stupidity. Learn boss fights in advance, and know what that debuff that just got cast on you does. We are a new class, yes. But that's no excuse for ignorance.
3. Don't pull aggro from the tank. All it takes is a mis-cast Death Grip or Dark Command to cause mayhem throughout your entire party. To this end, always keep an eye on your Presences too.
4. Know your role, and use your special abilities well and often. DKs are the leaders in melee anti-magic classes. We have interrupts, silences, taunts, and shields, all of which revolve around making us both resistant to magical damage and capable of dealing out damage better to magical classes. Let the warriors and druids handle the big sweaty hitters, and the paladins manage the trash mobs. Our prey is mana-users, and we hunt them better than anybody else.
5. Always maintain your diseases on your targets. There is absolutely no excuse for not doing this, as it's how we DKs do our best damage. Use Pestilence and Blood Boil whenever applicable, for in the current state of the game, AoE is our friend. But, remember also to...
6. Pay attention to CC. Do not indiscriminately DoT magely sheep or cancel priestly shackles. When you AoE, do it intelligently.
7. Keep monsters away from your squishy friends. It's often easy to forget that despite all our damage, DKs can also be a support class. We can shield our friends from magical damage, call more minions into battle to turn the tide, and act as off-tanks in a pinch to keep aggro where it belongs. It is never noble to ignore pleas of help from the mages and priests you've sworn to protect just to get a higher ranking on that damage meter.
8. Love your ghoul. It can increase your damage, interrupt spellcasting, heal you, and act as interference when your squishy friends get targeted. That said, always use your ghoul well, and don't distract other players by misuse.
9. Help your party buff. Horn of Winter may be all we have in our spellbook, but that's no reason to sit idle while the raid prepares its assault. Max out your cooking and share food with your friends. If a mage or warlock is casting a table or stone, help them out. Be responsive and active, for in the buff department, DKs get more than we give.
   
10. Do not abandon your post. The tank is there for keeping the attention of the boss, the healers are there to keep the party up, and you are there, though thick and thin, to see that the boss goes down. When the @#$% hits the fan, use everything at your disposal to see that you do your job, regardless of repair costs, personal safety, or used consumables.