Witch Doctor

Classes: Barbarian •  Crusader •  Demon Hunter •  Monk •  Necromancer •  Witch Doctor •  Wizard

"He dispatched his opponent with terrifying precision, assaulting his victim's mind and body with elixirs and powders that evoked fires, explosions, and poisonous spirits. As if these assaults were not enough, the witch doctor also had at his command the ability to summon undead creatures from the netherworld to rend the flesh from his enemy's body."- Abd al-Hazir

The Witch Doctor is a ritualistic voodoo fighter. Hailing from the deep jungles of Sanctuary, the Witch Doctor practices his dark arts. Meditating to access the "Unformed Land" he calls upon the spirits of the past to strike fear and horror in his adversaries. He is even able to reanimate the dead in both human and inhuman bodies to command. Time in the jungle has also allowed this tribalistic warrior to use powders and elixirs in the form of fire and poison to unleash upon the demons. While never doing much of the actual fighting themselves, the Witch Doctor is a formidable foe against the demons that have invaded his home with the spiritual aid of others.

Active Skills

(Based on a level 60 character)

Active Skills
	Poison Dart	Requires Level 1	Costs 10	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Shoot a deadly Poison Dart that deals 100% weapon damage as Poison and an additional 40% weapon damage as Poison over 2 seconds.
	Grasp of the Dead	Requires Level 2	Costs 123	Cooldown: 8 seconds
			Ghoulish hands reach out from the ground, slowing enemy movement by 60% and dealing 20% weapon damage as Physical for 8 seconds.
	Corpse Spiders	Requires Level 3	Costs 5	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Throw a jar with 4 spiders that attack nearby enemies for 16% weapon damage as Physical before dying.
	Summon Zombie Dogs	Requires Level 4	Costs 49	Cooldown: 60 seconds
			Summon 3 Zombie Dogs from the depths to fight by your side. Each dog deals 9% of your weapon damage as Physical per hit.
	Firebats	Requires Level 5	Costs 123	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Call forth a swarm of fiery bats to burn enemies in front of you for 150% weapon damage as Fire.
	Horrify	Requires Level 8	Costs 37	Cooldown: 20 seconds
			Don a spectral mask that horrifies all enemies within 12 yards, causing them to run in Fear for 4 seconds.
	Soul Harvest	Requires Level 9	Costs 59	Cooldown: 15 seconds
			Feed on the life force of up to 5 enemies within 16 yards. Gain 130 Intelligence for each affected enemy. This effect lasts 30 seconds.
	Plague of Toads	Requires Level 11	Costs 34	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Release a handful of toads that deal 130% weapon damage as Poison to enemies they come in contact with.
	Haunt	Requires Level 12	Costs 98	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Haunt an enemy with a spirit, dealing 575% weapon damage as Arcane over 12 seconds. If the target dies, the spirit will haunt another nearby enemy.
	Sacrifice	Requires Level 13		Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Banish your Zombie Dogs and cause them to explode, each dealing 275% of your weapon damage as Physical to all enemies within 12 yards.
	Zombie Charger	Requires Level 14	Costs 140	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Call forth a reckless, suicidal zombie that deals 205% weapon damage as Poison to all enemies in its path before decomposing.
	Spirit Walk	Requires Level 16	Costs 49	Cooldown: 60 seconds
			Leave your physical body and enter the spirit realm for 2 seconds. While in the spirit realm, your movement is unhindered. Your link to the spirit realm will end if your physical body sustains 50% of your maximum Life in damage.
	Spirit Barrage	Requires Level 17	Costs 108	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Bombard a target with a spirit blast that deals 190% weapon damage as Physical.
	Gargantuan	Requires Level 19	Costs 147	Cooldown: 60 seconds seconds
			Summon a Gargantuan zombie to fight for you. The Gargantuan attacks for 25% of your weapon damage as Physical.
	Firebomb	Requires Level 21	Costs 10	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Lob an explosive skull that deals 85% weapon damage as Fire to all enemies within 8 yards.
	Locust Swarm	Requires Level 21	Costs 196	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Unleash a plague of locusts that swarms an enemy, dealing 360% weapon damage as Poison over 8 seconds. The locusts will jump to additional nearby enemies.
	Acid Cloud	Requires Level 22	Costs 172	Cooldown: 0 seconds
			Cause acid to rain down, dealing an initial 100% weapon damage as Poison, followed by 75% weapon damage as Poison over 3 seconds to enemies who remain in the area.
	Hex	Requires Level 22	Costs 49	Cooldown: 15 seconds
			Summon a Fetish Shaman for 12 seconds that will hex enemies into chickens. Hexed enemies are unable to perform offensive actions and take 10% additional damage.
	Mass Confusion	Requires Level 22	Costs 74	Cooldown: 60 seconds
			Incite paranoia in enemies, confusing them and causing some to fight for you for 12 seconds.
	Big Bad Voodoo	Requires Level 25		Cooldown: 120 seconds
			Conjure a Fetish that begins a ritual dance that increases the attack speed and movement speed of all nearby allies by 20% for 20 seconds.
	Wall of Zombies	Requires Level 28	Costs 103	Cooldown: 25 seconds
			Raise a line of zombies from the ground that attacks nearby enemies for 80% weapon damage as Physical for 5 seconds.
	Fetish Army	Requires Level 30		Cooldown: 120 seconds
			Summon an army of dagger-wielding Fetishes to fight by your side for 20 seconds. The Fetishes attack for 20% of your weapon damage as Physical.

Passive Skills

Passive Skills
	Circle of Life	Requires Level 10		Whenever an enemy dies within 12 yards, there is a 5% chance that a Zombie Dog will automatically emerge. The range of this effect is increased by items that increase your gold pickup radius.
Whenever an enemy dies within 12 yards, there is a 5% chance that a Zombie Dog will automatically emerge. The range of this effect is increased by items that increase your gold pickup radius.
	Jungle Fortitude	Requires Level 10		Reduces all damage taken by you and your pets by 20%.
Reduces all damage taken by you and your pets by 20%.
	Spiritual Attunement	Requires Level 13		Maximum Mana is increased by 20%. Regenerate 1% of your maximum Mana per second. Mana is the fuel you use to cast offensive and defensive skills.
Maximum Mana is increased by 20%. Regenerate 1% of your maximum Mana per second. Mana is the fuel you use to cast offensive and defensive skills.
	Gruesome Feast	Requires Level 16		Whenever you are healed by a health globe, you gain 10% of your maximum Mana and 10% Intelligence for 10 seconds. The Intelligence bonus can stack up to 5 times.
Whenever you are healed by a health globe, you gain 10% of your maximum Mana and 10% Intelligence for 10 seconds. The Intelligence bonus can stack up to 5 times.
	Bad Medicine	Requires Level 20		Whenever you deal Poison damage to an enemy, their damage is reduced by 20% for 3 seconds.
Whenever you deal Poison damage to an enemy, their damage is reduced by 20% for 3 seconds.
	Blood Ritual	Requires Level 20		15% of Mana costs are paid with Life. In addition, you regenerate 1% of your maximum Life per second.
15% of Mana costs are paid with Life. In addition, you regenerate 1% of your maximum Life per second.
	Zombie Handler	Requires Level 24		You can have 4 Zombie Dogs summoned at one time. The health of your Zombie Dogs and Gargantuan is increased by 20%.
You can have 4 Zombie Dogs summoned at one time. The health of your Zombie Dogs and Gargantuan is increased by 20%.
	Pierce the Veil	Requires Level 27		All of your damage is increased by 20%, but your Mana costs are increased by 30%.
All of your damage is increased by 20%, but your Mana costs are increased by 30%.
	Fetish Sycophants	Requires Level 30		Whenever you cast a physical realm spell, you have a 3% chance to summon a dagger-wielding Fetish to fight by your side for 60 seconds. Physical realm spells are: Poison Dart Plague of Toads Zombie Charger Corpse Spiders Firebats Firebomb Locust Swarm Acid Cloud Wall of Zombies
Whenever you cast a physical realm spell, you have a 3% chance to summon a dagger-wielding Fetish to fight by your side for 60 seconds. Physical realm spells are: Poison Dart Plague of Toads Zombie Charger Corpse Spiders Firebats Firebomb Locust Swarm Acid Cloud Wall of Zombies
	Spirit Vessel	Requires Level 30		Reduces the cooldown of your Horrify, Spirit Walk, and Soul Harvest spells by 2 seconds. In addition, the next time you receive fatal damage, you automatically enter the spirit realm for 3 seconds and heal to 10% of your maximum Life. This effect cannot occur more than once every 90 seconds.
Reduces the cooldown of your Horrify, Spirit Walk, and Soul Harvest spells by 2 seconds. In addition, the next time you receive fatal damage, you automatically enter the spirit realm for 3 seconds and heal to 10% of your maximum Life. This effect cannot occur more than once every 90 seconds.
	Rush of Essence	Requires Level 36		Spirit spells return 30% of their Mana cost over 10 seconds. Spirit spells are: Haunt Horrify Mass Confusion Soul Harvest Spirit Barrage Spirit Walk
Spirit spells return 30% of their Mana cost over 10 seconds. Spirit spells are: Haunt Horrify Mass Confusion Soul Harvest Spirit Barrage Spirit Walk
	Vision Quest	Requires Level 40		Any time you have 4 or more skills on cooldown, your Mana regeneration is increased by 300%.
Any time you have 4 or more skills on cooldown, your Mana regeneration is increased by 300%.
	Fierce Loyalty	Requires Level 45		All your pets get 100% of the benefit of your Thorns and Life regeneration items.
All your pets get 100% of the benefit of your Thorns and Life regeneration items.
	Grave Injustice	Requires Level 50		Whenever an enemy dies within 8 yards, regain 1% of your maximum Life and Mana and the cooldown on all of your abilities is reduced by 1 second. This range is extended by items that increase your gold pickup radius.
Whenever an enemy dies within 8 yards, regain 1% of your maximum Life and Mana and the cooldown on all of your abilities is reduced by 1 second. This range is extended by items that increase your gold pickup radius.
	Tribal Rites	Requires Level 55		The cooldowns of your Fetish Army, Big Bad Voodoo, and Hex abilities are reduced by 25%.
The cooldowns of your Fetish Army, Big Bad Voodoo, and Hex abilities are reduced by 25%.

Resource System

Mana: The Witch Doctor is the only class in Diablo III that uses Mana. Mana in Diablo III functions very similar to Mana in Diablo II, though it regenerates at a vastly accelerated pace and does not rely on potions to be replenished.

Lore

The Witch Doctor belongs to the Tribe of the Five Hills within the Teganze jungles. Many inhabitants of Sanctuary deny their existence, be it form the the tribes reclusiveness or the mere fact that people do not want to believe in these ritualistic inhabitants that will raise the dead from their graves. Through ritualistic and sacrificial ceremonies, the Witch Doctor enters the Mbwiru Eikura where they access their Gods in this unformed land. Believing that this alternate reality is the true nature of Sanctuary, the Witch Doctor draws their strength from this place.

"I came upon this rare display as I ventured deep into the interior of the dense Torajan jungles that cover the southern tip of the great eastern continent, in the vast area known as the Teganze, with the goal of seeking out the tribes that reside there. This area is extremely secluded, and heretofore unseen by foreign eyes. I was fortunate to befriend the witch doctor I saw in battle, and, through him, his tribe: the Tribe of the Five Hills.

The culture of the umbaru of the lower Teganze is fascinating and perplexing to those hailing from more civilized walks of life. For instance, the Tribe of the Five Hills frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the Clan of the Seven Stones and the Tribe of the Clouded Valley, but these are matters of ritual and not of conquest. I had heard tales that these wars are waged in order that the victors may replenish their supply of raw materials for the human sacrifices that their civilization revolves around, and when I timidly asked my hosts more about this topic, I must admit their laughter made me fear for my safety. However, through stumbled attempts at communication of such complex topics as what constitutes heroism and honor in their society, I gathered that only those taken in battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice, much to my relief.

Upon further discussions with my hosts, I discovered that these tribes define themselves by their belief in the Mbwiru Eikura, which roughly translates to "The Unformed Land" (this is an imprecise translation, as this concept is completely foreign to our culture and language). This belief holds that the true, sacred reality is veiled behind the physical one we normally experience. Their vitally important public ceremonies are centered upon sacrifices to the life force that flows from their gods, who inhabit the Unformed Land, into this lesser physical realm.

The witch doctors are finely attuned to this Unformed Land and are able to train their minds to perceive this reality through a combination of rituals and the use of selected roots and herbs found in the jungles. They call the state in which they interact with this other world the Ghost Trance.

Alongside the primacy of the belief in the life force and the Unformed Land, the second most sacred belief of the tribes is their philosophy of self-sacrifice and non-individuality, of suppressing one's self-interest for the good of the tribe. This idea, so foreign to our culture, struck me as something I wished to delve into much more deeply.

Unfortunately, there was intense social upheaval among the tribes due to an incident involving their most current war (inasmuch as I could discern in the ensuing bedlam), and the charged atmosphere warranted my quick departure before I could ask anything further of my hosts." - Abd al-Hazir

Trivia

The female Witch Doctor is voiced by Erica Luttrell.

Development

The Witch Doctor was one of the two first classes to be unveiled with the announcement of Diablo III at the 2008 WWI. Along with the iconic Barbarian, the Witch Doctor was shown to showcase the diversity of the classes. Despite the Wizard being further in development, the Witch Doctor was shown to have a skills ranging from summoning the undead to casting pure horror in his victims. Soon after, many commented on the many similarities of this class's mechanics to the Necromancer of Diablo II. Blizzard responded by stating that the classes will definitely play differently and possibly leave room for the return of the Necromancer if they wanted to.

Although the Witch Doctor was one of the first classes shown, many of his skills were still going through a lot of change. Not only the looks of the skills but major mechanics were still being worked out. One original concepts for the class was that the Zombie Dog (then named mongrel) skill could have the summons be imbued with a poison or fire skill. However, through testing, they found this mechanic to not have much control and players rarely got the effect they wanted. They changed the system with the involvement of skill runes.

• Only the female Witch Doctor's voice was heard, and although it was not confirmed yet, it seems that she is voiced by Lani Minella, who voiced Adria the Witch and Wirt the Peglegged Boy in Diablo, and Blood Raven, The Countess, Andariel, Malah and the Ancients in Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Her voice is also very reminiscent of that of Eve Brent, who voiced Akara in Diablo II.

• The Witch Doctor may be partially based off its Warcraft counterpart. Blizzard Entertainment has indeed admitted that they like to steal from themselves.

Media

Concept Art

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  The Ghost Trance

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  A well-equipped Witch Doctor

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  Tapping into the Mbwiru Eikura

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  The female Witch Doctor

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  A female Witch Doctor

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  Early concept art of the Witch Doctor

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  Different models for the female Witch Doctor

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  First preview of Witch Doctor Set

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  Second preview of Witch Doctor Set

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  Concept Art for Firebomb Skill

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  Larger Image for Witch Doctor

Fan Art

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  Witch Doctor by Umpa

Screenshots

Act 1 Exterior

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Act 1 Interior

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Act 2 Exterior

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Links

• Witch Doctor: The Mbwiru Eikura - Witch Doctor forums at DiabloFans
• Witch Doctor Skill Calculator