Types of Death Knights

1st Generation: Death Knights of the Old Horde

A first generation death knight was essentially the soul, knowledge, memory, and personality of an orc warlock that was imbued into the reanimated corpse of a fallen knight of Azeroth. Unlike modern death knights of the Scourge, these ghoulish fiends were not battle hardened warriors; they were insidious necromancers who possessed superior intellect and tremendous magical power. They often favored the use of terror tactics and reanimated the corpses of enemy soldiers who fell in battle to serve them as mindless undead minions. These skeletal soldiers served to shield the death knight from enemy attacks, allowing them to unleash their deadly eldritch sorcery from range.

2nd Generation: Death Knights of the Scourge

A second generation death knight were amongst a group of fallen paladins whose souls were twisted and bound to the will of the Frozen Throne [2]. Unlike death knights of the Old Horde, modern death knights are not limited to their use of ranged spell casting abilities. These former paladins are exceptionally skilled in the arts of physical combat. They retained the ability to cast death coil, increase allied movement, as well as raise the dead. They also gained the capacity to cast Death Pact to destroy a minion in return for health. In terms of relative strengths, modern Death Knights are more versatile than their first generation predecessors due to their ability to effectively engage enemies in the physical rigors of close quarters combat. However, both generations are equally destructive and terrifying to engage in the field of battle.

The will to fight against all odds

The third generation of Death Knights were part of a collaborated effort on the part of the Lich King to bolster Acherus: The Ebon Hold's legions before marching on New Avalon. However, these Death Knights only constituted a portion of the Death Knights under the Lich King's command. Knights of the Ebon Blade had the unique opportunity to assist in the culling of the Scarlet Crusade from the Plaguelands.

In Wrath of the Lich King expansion the death knights are freed from the will of the Lich King and ally themselves with their respective, former factions. Working closely under the guiding blade of Highlord Darion Mograine and the bolstered Argent Crusade, these freed death knights have begun their march to Northrend.

Death Knights in Wrath of the Lich King are a new class mirroring their previous incarnations. While boasting powerful melee abilities, as well as plate armor, these warriors supplement their strength with dark magic. Calling upon a rune system of magic, the death knight may summon unholy, blood, and frost spells.