Aether Blitz Death Knight

The core dash attack, doubling as mobility. Once converted, it is the main aether burn tool.

Fills the gap between Blitz casts; the third hit of the combo carries most of the damage.

An exclusive toggle available with a shield or a two-handed weapon (this build uses a shield). The survivability core of the build — building around this skill is the entire premise of the archetype.

Raises health and OA, and its retaliation reduces nearby physical/aether resistance on being hit — the Necromancer side's debuff contribution.

A stopgap attack before Blitz unlocks around level 12, while playing as a plain Soldier. Stop investing once Blitz comes online.

• ▸Start as a plain Soldier with a two-hander and Forcewave, switching to Blitz around level 12. A cheap Putrid Den shield is fine early on.
• ▸Prioritize offense/defense on gear while leveling; layer in Devil's Crossing and Rovers faction gear once available around level 35.
• ▸Around level 50, repair the Devil's Crossing bridge to reveal a fallen statue holding a shield in each hand; get the hidden legendary Totally Normal Arbiter from the breakable object next to it, and buy Colossal Bulwark (a rare shield with 50%+ physical-to-aether conversion) from Hyram in Steelcap District. Craft two Wrathstones for another 20% physical-to-aether conversion. This is the point to flip to the aether build and rebuild the devotion map.
• ▸Necromancers cannot ally with Kymon's Chosen, so pick Vigil. Stay friendly with Outcast (augments required) and Barrowholm (needed to fight Ravager). Solael cult rings/amulet augments and the Charging Bull medal augment are useful.

• ▸The endgame core is Krieg's Armament: boots from Terrnox in the Burning Cellar (4.8% at level 94+), shoulders and gloves from Valaxteria in Crown Hill (3.5% each), and the mask and chestguard from Fleshweaver Krieg in the Fleshworks, Act 6 (4% each). All drop at the same rate on Elite as on Ultimate, so Ultimate is not required.
• ▸Keep Colossal Bulwark as the off-hand and either Totally Normal Arbiter or a Warden Krieg mace as the weapon. Keep both Wrathstone augments even after upgrading gear.
• ▸The budget version leans on green MIs for resistances; a tighter build balances the Krieg set bonuses against its conversion. The set itself runs low on resistances, so top up with rings, amulet, medal, and relic.

• ▸A 3-button loop: Blitz in and burn, Cadence to fill the cooldown. Simple to execute, and Blitz doubles as mobility.
• ▸Keep Menhir's Bulwark toggled on at all times; it works with a shield or a two-handed weapon.
• ▸Widow's Arcane Bomb is bound to Blitz and fires on a 25% chance to hit; Spectral Wrath triggers automatically on taking damage. Between the two, resistance reduction lands naturally without extra input — just stand and trade hits.
• ▸Play pure physical until the level-50 gear transition, then switch to aether once Colossal Bulwark and both Wrathstones are in place. Expect to rebuild the devotion map around that transition.

Cap main resistances at 80% before Ultimate. Physical resistance tends to fall short from the Krieg set alone, so top it up with rings, amulet, and medal. Reflect damage can one-shot the early physical build, so pick up Owl (15% reflected damage reduction) as a temporary early-leveling devotion.

Early game is purely physical with no aether identity until around level 50, when the dedicated conversion gear (Colossal Bulwark, Totally Normal Arbiter, two Wrathstones) comes together. Vulnerable to physical reflect before the transition. The Krieg set favors offense over resistances, so jewelry must fill the gap.

Farm Krieg's Armament from Terrnox (boots), Valaxteria (shoulders/gloves), and Fleshweaver Krieg (mask/chestguard) — all drop at the same rate from Elite onward, so there's no need to wait for Ultimate. Even the budget setup handles dungeons, totems, nemesis hunts, and a comfortable Shattered Realm 26-27 as steady farming ground.