World of Warcraft: The War Within has so fully embraced the Death Knight class fantasy that I think I might finally be cured of my alt obsession

GamesMMOWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft: The War WithinWorld of Warcraft: The War Within has so fully embraced the Death Knight class fantasy that I think I might finally be cured of my alt obsessionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Death Knight

Nobody could ever accuse me of being focused when it comes to World of Warcraft. It’s a game with a mountain of distractions, and I’ve got a stable full of alts that I can’t stop playing. Sure, sometimes I just use them to run legacy raids after my main has been locked out (gotta get those transmogs), but there are so many appealing classes and specs that I’ve never been able to settle on one. The War Within may have just changed that.

Hero talents are Blizzard’s latest attempt to spice up the extra 10 levels added with an expansion. Instead of just expanding each spec’s existing talent tree, Blizz has introduced more discrete—and smaller—trees with talents that you can really build a character around. One of the common threads within these trees is the emphasis on the class fantasy, and that is no more apparent than with the edgelord Death Knight.

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Death Knight

While both of the DK hero talent trees offer tantalising treats, the moment it was unveiled I knew I’d be hitching my horse to the Rider of the Apocalypse. And the moment I unlocked my first talent, I was smitten. The start of a new expansion is always a heady time, but never before have I had so much funlevelling up a character.

The headline attraction here is the equine focus. This is the spec for horse girls and boys. One of the first talents you can pick is On a Paler Horse, which lets you mount your Archeus Deathcharger in combat, as long as you’re outdoors. Until now, only Paladins have been able to enjoy the thrill of summoning a horse mid-battle, and even then only briefly—a mere 3 seconds. With On a Paler Horse, though, you can stay mounted for as long as you want, blessing you with exceptional mobility. And you just look ridiculously cool, towering over foes and hacking them up with your scythe (or your weapon of choice, but c’mon, why are you not using a scythe?).

While on your Deathcharger, you can also loot and harvest, removing all the downtime you normally rack up when you’re switching from being on-foot to mounted. It’s exclusively a ground mount, but I’ve not found that to be much of an obstacle: I fly to an area where I’ve got some quests, then immediately switch to my horse until I’m ready to leave.

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Death Knight

The Deathcharger has also received a welcome glow up. It’s a striking change, upgrading the now very old model for that of the sexy Mawsworn Charger—a spectral steed previously only obtainable through Shadowlands' infinite Torghast dungeon. I bounced off Shadowlands pretty early and haven’t spent much time in the dungeon, and now I feel vindicated. For those who worked hard for their horsie: I respect your dedication, but my laziness has once again been vindicated.

On a Paler Horse shares its talent slot with Death Charge, which has a less wide-ranging impact but is definitely a better pick for when you’re indoors. It summons your Deathcharger for 10 seconds, during which you’re immune to movement effects and knockbacks, as well as getting a 100% movement speed buff.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Summoning the squad

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Death Knight

Thanks to my pals, my Unholy DK properly feels like a battlefield commander. I don’t just have pets, I have a whole squad of badasses. The rotting cherry on top is Apocalypse Now—the final talent in the tree. This allows you to summon all four horsemen at once when you use Army of the Dead/Raise Abomination or Frostwyrm’s Fury. Between them and your undead pets, you’ve got a veritable army at your disposal.

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Death Knight

With Apocalypse Now, you haveincredible90-second burst damage. Every three minutes you just become an absolute beast. The utility and damage potential is immense, but the class fantasy side of things is just as important. I’ve never felt more like a Death Knight, and riding off with my crew after another victory in a V formation brings me so much joy. I feel terrifying and unstoppable—an undead monstrosity only ever a few minutes from unleashing a WMD, always sitting astride my trusty Deathcharger.

Thanks to Mists of Pandaria Remix’s speedy levelling experience, I have more alts now than I’ve ever had before—a warband that covers every class and nearly every spec—but I’m barely thinking about them at all. Sure, there are quite a few very fancy hero talent trees that I will inevitably want to dig into, eventually, but for now I’m a Rider of the Apocalypse, spreading plagues with my wonderful BFFs.

TOPICSActivision Blizzard

TOPICS

More about world of warcraftDragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga runWoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to standLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

More about world of warcraft

Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga runWoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to stand

World of Warcraft The War Within screenshots

Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga run

World of Warcraft

WoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to stand

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

Wordle answers

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Summoning the squad#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Summoning the squad