Strike the target for 200% weapon damage plus X. Only usable after the death knight dodged or parries an attack. Can't be dodged, blocked, or parried. This attack causes a high amount of threat.
Strike the target for 200% weapon damage plus X. Only usable after the death knight dodged or parries an attack. Can't be dodged, blocked, or parried. This attack causes a high amount of threat.
Rune Strike is a Death knight ability, taught at level 67 for 6 70 , that modifies the next melee swing to deal 200% of weapon damage plus 20% of your attack power, and makes it impossible to dodge, block or parry. The damage done causes considerable bonus threat. It can only be used after you dodge or parry an attack, making it primarily a tanking tool.
As of patch 4.0.1, Rune Strike is no longer an "on next swing" ability; the entire next swing mechanic was removed. Instead, it is an instant strike with a global cooldown. Though it presently requires a dodge or parry to activate under all circumstances, Ghostcrawler has stated that Rune Strike will not require a dodge or parry to activate as long as the Death Knight is in Blood Presence in Cataclysm, removing the need for avoidance to activate it, and making it an on-demand threat ability. The Runic Power cost and global cooldown remain unchanged.[1]
When tanking a group of mobs, make sure to switch target frequently so that not all of your Rune Strikes hit the same target. Switching to a new target after landing a Rune Strike will help you build more threat on all of the mobs.
Rune Strike causes more threat (and outright damage) per point of runic power than Death Coil, so care should be taken when using that ability to make sure that you have enough runic power left to use Rune Strike. That said, don't wait for Rune Strike to become active when at very high Runic Power - it is a net loss for threat if you don't use Death Coil at full runic power while Rune Strike is not active.
70
, that modifies the next melee swing to deal 200% of weapon damage plus 20% of your attack power, and makes it impossible to dodge, block or parry. The damage done causes considerable bonus threat. It can only be used after you dodge or parry an attack, making it primarily a tanking tool.
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55
Patch 3.3.0 (2009-12-08): Threat generated by this ability increased by approximately 17%. 
