They were overpowered as hell, but that shouldn’t be what makes the class special. There was talk originally of them being based off an exisiting character, which sounded cool but I can see why they nixxed it.
The starting area was cool as well and the mount etc. Rune weapons are varied sure, but I still think that they could have been better implemented as something unique to them. Just being able to enchant any weapon from the runeforge didn’t really satisfy it for me. At least Legion gave you the artifact weapons, so that’s cool.
I might be alone on this, and that’s okay. I just felt like they could have been more iconic than they were. Remembering of course that they were implemented before transmogs and you could end up using just a generic looking weapon as soon as you left the starting area.
I think the only reason they didn’t go so deep into giving you a special runeblade was balancing issues. You’d have all the classes equip regular weapons and then there’s the dks who had special bonuses to theirs, and on top of that you’d have to manage the loot table. Plus if you gave them more bonuses on their weapons it’d mean they would be more powerful by default, and if you’d nerf their base/stats spells they’d have to use the runeweapon as a crutch.
Don’t agree that they would have needed to make the runeweapons more powerful in any way, for me it’s just a flavour thing. Having a weapon that represents your class when they are known for wielding a very specific type of weapon. They added rune weapon looking items to the game, but when warriors and paladins are using them as well it’s just a bit sad.
Definitely agree on the loot table comment though, that was almost certainly why they didn’t go with them as a unique weapon type. In a world before personal loot it would have been a nightmare.
Transmogging makes the whole thing a lot easier now, but I feel like the mechanic of a runeweapon felt a bit lackluster in the beginning. Seeing the runes trigger on the weapon would have been really cool for example when you were using your abilities.
Finding RP as a Death Knight depends pretty heavily on your focus as a Death Knight, and particularly your presentation. People will test you as a Death Knight role-player, simple as that. Many will assume that your Death Knight should not be there and that you need a very good reason to linger about in a city.
Think of a vaguely interesting and plausible hook as to why your Death Knight is spending time say, for example, in Stormwind. It doesn’t have to be anything grandiose, or unique. It will also help your cause if this hook can easily involve other people. Maybe the Dark Irons’ new addition to the Alliance has made your Death Knight want to study their runes to apply to his own runecrafting, I don’t know.
Another important aspect is personality. If you’re going to be the millionth Death Knight standing around Stormwind muttering dark things, then people are going to have a rough time engaging with you. Remember that your character’s inner thoughts are a lot more interesting to you than anyone else.
It seems as if most Death Knights are either dark and cruel or stoic and aloof. Try to give your character a personality that goes a bit beyond that. Starting with a very general set of personality tropes is fine, but remember that you can flesh out a Death Knight’s personality quite a bit. Not all Undead are deadpan edgelords, see for example the Headless Horseman.
Yo someone hit me up with a cool DK character concept. Want to make one but struggling to find inspiration. It’s not necessarily that I’m going to RP them, I don’t have enough time or headspace, but I only play characters if I find their concept cool.
I think it’s why I’ve struggled to play one before.
Race: Tauren
Memories: Intact
All around view on his undeath: Disgusted. Tries to ‘redeem’ himself by serving the Earth Mother and the Ebon Blade to once again - be accepted by his people, by the Earth Mother. (Spoiler alert: Will never happen.)
Or, you can go for a Grimtotem. Even MORE BRUTAL! Kind of the guy that will throw his enemy on the ground and stomp their face with their hooves.
Metal.
Were they part of the Scourge before Acherus? During Acherus? Were they never part of the Scourge at all? Their life will inevitably inform their death (knight) - Darion, Arthas, Thassarian as examples. Perhaps they even sought to become a DK of their own volition.
Once you’ve got that you’re gonna wanna think about how they reacted to being a DK and major affiliations (if any) - Scourge, EB, factions, independent, etc.
I suggested it as a Forsaken concept but it works for DKs too - a “man out of time”. A semi-infamous warrior who died thousands of years ago who the EB sought out and now finds their world to be totally bizarre and different, along with the changes they’re dealing with. They almost could’ve done something with Thoras for this but they didn’t bother giving him the time of day oh well.
This IMO is the most important part of creating a DK. When. Why. Why would they be raised? What happened?
The Ebon Blade/Scourge doesn’t raise anybody. They need a reason to ‘seek you out’. Or to get you into their ranks. A worthy warrior, a good commander or even…
NElf, BElf, human or troll. Potentially zandalari if they really do get added as DKs. I guess tauren too but I don’t like them so pfffttttt.
I’d actually steer away from elves too, simply because their long natural life could make it less…impactful to be raised immortal. So probably human or troll. Troll would have the added thing of potentially having lived through the peak of the troll empires which are now…not there. At all.
Even more importantly, what faction? So many questions.