Starting a death knight In order to be able to start a death knight character , you must have a level 55 or higher character on any server ( it has to be on the same " World of Warcraft " account : having it on the same Battle . net account is not sufficient ) . When the character is first created , you must do a series of quests . By doing these quests , you will learn how to bend the power of the Death Knight to your own will , and after you have mastered that , you are then capable of going to any other area . Unlocking the Death Knight . As of December 2014 , creating a Death Knight no longer requires an existing 55 + character . Previously , for any players to unlock the first hero class , the Death Knight , a character of level 55 or above on any server was required . Previous information also says that death knights could not be created on newly formed realms until incoming character transfers were allowed to that realm , unless the account has a character which has leveled up to 55 on that particular realm ( and it also must be on the same World of Warcraft account , not just on the same Battle . net account ) . Creating the Death Knight . Almost every race is available for the death knight , the exception being the Pandaren . When created , the death knight begins at level 55 with item level 60 gear , , as well as a few spells and abilities already learned . Death Knights start without any talent points , and gain their missing 25 talent points through the quest chain . As any other class starting out , there is a beginning series of quests that bring the character into the game . Their first sword is the , awarded for completing the second quest in the In Service Of The Lich King quest chain . Death knights have the ability to use Axe s , Polearm s , Sword s , Two - Handed Axes , Two - Handed Swords , Mace s and Two - Handed Maces . Unlike other classes , Death knights start without a Hearthstone ( you will have a Hearthstone set for the instanced introductory quest line , but it will disappear after you end it by traveling to Stormwind ) . However simply setting any inn to be your home will add a Hearthstone to your inventory . Death knights will spawn in a necropolis in the Eastern Plaguelands , in a new starting area called , which will include a dedicated questing area and class trainers . For the actual quest chain , visit Death knight quests . At the conclusion of the quest chain , death knights wind up with the item level 70 gear seen in the paper doll frame below . There are options for the cape : And options for the weapon : Choices to Make for Your Death Knight . Race . Many players like to choose the race with the ' best ' traits and abilities for their class . Here is a brief overview of how the racials look from a death knight ' s perspective . Night Elves and Draenei bring the best abilities for PvE solo play and leveling , because they allow you to escape or heal , respectively . Nature and especially Shadow damage are both common , making those resistances quite useful . The increased dodge or hit rating are both useful in end game play . In PvP , all races have useful abilities , especially those who can escape snares and the like . Horde race traits are very balanced throughout the bank . Trolls are arguably the weakest , because you can heal quite well on your own already , and beasts are not that common an enemy ( and often not as annoying as humanoids , who are often casters or have silencing abilities ) . In the end , race is a rather minor consideration . If you ' re min - maxing , Orcs are the strongest Horde race for DPS and Tauren the strongest for tanking . For the alliance , Night Elves are the best tanks and Humans the best DPS . But go with whatever race you feel like , whether for its racials , its looks , its personality and flavor , or any other reason you can think of . Professions . Death knights start with their professions at one point and it can be tedious to build them up . However , if you are willing to do so you can reap the benefits of whatever professions you choose . Blizzard regarding the death knight creation . Bornakk , a CM on the US forums , wrote : The idea seems to be a bit differed , as the Death Knight doesn ' t just realize on his / her own that he / she doesn ' t want to go through the evil acts , but is fighting for the Scourge unwillingly and the Lich King reveals that their life is meaningless , and during the time , most of the Death Knights ( except for Orbaz Bloodbane , who flees ) regain their will from their life .