I’ve played Death Knight since the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, and mained it ever since. Out of all the additions since its inception, Abomination Limb stands out as the most fun, flavorful, and thematically fitting ability the class has ever received, becoming an iconic part of the kit. Its removal in 11.2 is deeply disappointing and a significant loss in terms of both gameplay and class identity.
Gameplay-wise, Blood still remains clearly superior in grip utility over Frost and Unholy, which, for whatever reason, have longer cooldowns on Death Grip and don’t have access to Gorefiend’s Grasp. If an encounter requires grips, once again, Blood will be preferred even in single-target grip scenarios, let alone if/when there’s an encounter where AoE grips are required. Also, Vengeance DH still retains Sigil of Chains on a short cooldown, so either Frost and Unholy will be your third choice, or AoE grips won’t be needed anywhere - in which case, why remove Abom Limb at all?
If balance was the issue, a rework staying faithful to the original version, or a tuning pass, such as target capping, limiting the number of pulls per target, shorter duration, making it work like Gorefiend’s Grasp with a damage component, etc., would have been a preferable solution. Instead, we are losing a capstone-level ability with no meaningful replacement, which leaves a gaping hole both functionally and thematically.
While I do appreciate that the animation and spell effects are being preserved in Legion of Souls, as they are definitely worth saving, it is an Unholy-only, likely niche talent with a completely different purpose and gameplay identity. It does not replicate what made Abomination Limb special. In fact, it feels like it actively cannibalizes its design space, making it unlikely that the original ability will be revisited in the future.
I strongly urge the dev team to reconsider. Even a rework of Abomination Limb that keeps true to its original flavor would be strongly preferable to a full removal. The ability is worth preserving, not just for its gameplay purpose, but for what it meant to class identity.