In short: The Death Pilgrim (DE) is a melee fighter of the Death Knight race, built around raw strength and speed. It is perfect for anyone who wants to charge in, hit hard and farm without fuss.

Picture a knight who has already died once and came back to keep fighting. The Death Pilgrim (DE) is exactly that: an undead driven by fury, who rushes the enemy without fear.

In practice, playing it is straightforward and satisfying. You run fast, close the gap in seconds and trade blow after blow. It is a class that rewards an aggressive stance — the closer you are to the enemy, the better.

Overview

Sheet
Race	Death Knight
Archetype	Melee combat
Playstyle	Aggressive and fast
Difficulty	Easy
Main weapon	Fists / blades (unarmed combat)
Position in the line	Starter

The Death Pilgrim (DE) is the starting point of the dark-elf Death Knight line: Death Pilgrim (DE) (Starter). It is the base from which you will grow, learning the foundations of the class before advancing to the stronger professions.

Strengths

Sky-high strength (STR 41, top 98%) — STR is the attribute that increases your physical damage. With one of the highest values in the game, every Death Pilgrim hit really hurts, which speeds up farming a lot.
Very fast (speed 139, top 78%) — you catch enemies trying to flee and reach farming spots quickly. Speed also helps you position and escape when a fight gets rough.
Good dexterity (DEX 34, top 76%) — DEX improves your chance to hit and to land critical strikes. That means fewer wasted attacks and more big damage spikes.
Solid base physical defense (pDef 80) — as a front-line fighter, it takes hits from melee monsters better than fragile classes, which is essential for standing still and farming.
Simple, direct kit — the class does not require complicated micromanagement. You toggle the right passives, jump into the fight and let the damage do the talking, which makes it great for beginners.

Weaknesses

Low health early on (low HP ranking) — compared to pure tanks, the Death Pilgrim has less HP. Tip: prioritize CON on your gear and keep your armor always up to date so you don't drop easily.
Limited mana (low MP) — you won't sustain many mana skills back to back. Tip: rely on basic attacks to farm and use mana potions with auto-use turned on.
Almost no magic power (INT 20, top 28%) — forget about dealing magic damage; your role is physical damage. Tip: don't invest in magic items or stats, focus everything on melee.
Very short range (unarmed combat, range 20) — you need to be glued to the enemy. Tip: use your high speed to close the gap before you take damage.

Class-defining skills

Change Armor — a toggle that adjusts the class's armor stance. Keep it active as the combat situation demands, to balance offense and defense.
Lucky — a luck passive that mainly helps in the early levels, reducing penalties when you die early. It is a safety net so you can start with peace of mind.
Shadow Sense — a passive tied to the Death Knight's shadow essence that reinforces the character's attributes. Being passive, you just learn it and it works on its own all the time.
Born To Be Dead — an undead-themed passive that strengthens the class's survival. Think of it as a permanent bonus that helps you last longer on the front line.
Undying Body — a passive that reinforces the body's resilience, matching the fantasy of someone who has already beaten death. One more automatic boost so you fall less while farming.
Appetite for Destruction — a passive that feeds the class's destructive side, improving your offensive performance. The more you hit, the more it fits the Death Pilgrim's aggressive style.

Attributes: what to prioritize

The Death Pilgrim lives off physical damage and front-line survival, so the focus is clear: hit hard and take the hits. STR and CON are your best friends, with DEX adding a sprinkle of crit and accuracy.

STR (Strength) — your number-one attribute; it directly increases the damage of your strikes.
CON (Constitution) — raises your HP and resilience, making up for the low base health.
DEX (Dexterity) — improves your chance to hit and to crit, making damage more consistent.
INT/WIT/MEN — you can ignore these; you don't use magic, so there's no point investing here.

Recommended equipment

Since the class fights in unarmed melee, the focus is gear that reinforces physical attack and defense. Use heavy armor, the most resistant type and a perfect fit for a front-line fighter.

Early on, prioritize upgrading your weapon (or gloves/items that raise your physical attack), and then your armor so you don't drop easily. Always keep both up to date as you level up — old equipment is the number-one reason for slow farming.

Step by step for beginners

Create the character — choose the Death Knight race and the Death Pilgrim (DE) class. Accept the look and enter the world; you already start with the class's basic passives.
Do the first quests of the starter area — they give XP, Adena and free equipment for a strong start. They are quick and teach you the basics of the game.
Turn on auto-hunt — this feature makes your character farm on its own, attacking monsters of your level while you just watch. It is the main way to level up in Essence.
Follow the profession order — you begin as a starter class and progress to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd profession. At each step you unlock new skills and become noticeably stronger.
Prioritize the right skills and passives — learn every passive as soon as it unlocks (they work on their own) and keep Change Armor toggled as combat demands. Full focus on physical damage.
Get Adena and L-Coin — gather Adena by farming and selling drops; L-Coin comes from missions, the Season Pass and the shop. Use these currencies to improve your weapon and armor.
Keep weapon and armor up to date — whenever possible, switch to a better tier. Updated equipment makes auto-hunt far more productive and keeps you alive.
Turn on potion auto-use — set HP and MP potions in auto-use so you can farm for hours without watching the screen.

Where to farm

Use auto-hunt on monsters of your level — start in easy starter zones, where you kill quickly and safely.
Move to harder zones as you grow — as your level and gear improve, switch to tougher areas that give more XP and better drops.
Join a party for raids and bosses — in a group you can face large enemies and earn rewards that would be impossible solo.
Make the most of the Season Pass and daily missions — they are steady sources of XP, Adena and L-Coin for little effort.

Common beginner mistakes

Trying to use magic — the Death Pilgrim has very low INT; spending points or items on magic power is a total waste.
Letting equipment age — farming with old weapon and armor stalls your progress and gets you killed for nothing.
Ignoring CON and HP — since base health is low, not reinforcing survival makes you drop in the middle of auto-hunt.
Farming in the wrong zone — monsters far above your level kill you fast; far below give too little XP. Stay in the right range.

This is for you if…

You like to jump straight into the fight and hit hard in melee, rather than staying at range.
You prefer a simple, direct class, great for learning the game without getting lost in a thousand mechanics.
You enjoy the dark fantasy of an undead warrior driven by fury and speed.

Quick summary

Attribute	Value
Archetype	Melee combat
HP at level 85	1764
MP at level 85	698
Base physical attack	4
Base magic attack	6
Attack type	FIST (unarmed)

Death Pilgrim (DE) class guide (Death Knight) — strengths, skills and step by step