What role will the death knight play in groups and raids? How is the death knight Hero class different from other tanking classes?
We’re designing the death knight to be able to fill either a tanking or DPS role in groups. When deciding which type of class we would add to World of Warcraft, we took a very careful look at the current state of the game. Tanks play a critical role in any group, and adding another class capable of filling that role makes it easier for players to form viable groups for dungeons and raids. Our goal is to make the death knight a viable, fun tank that coexists with the current tanking classes without replacing them. One interesting difference between the death knight and other tanks is that death knights don’t use shields. We’re aiming to make all tank classes equally good at tanking in general so that players can use whatever tank they wish for dungeon and raid encounters.
