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[[Image:Wd-1.jpg|thumb|150px|Male Witch Doctor.]]The '''Witch Doctor''' is a new character type in ''Diablo III''. Hailing from the [[TorajaTorajan]]n Jungles, southwest of [[Kurast]], the Witch Doctor looks a bit like the top half of one of D2's [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Flayer_Shaman Flayer Shaman], especially when outfitted in one of his oversized, colourful tribal masks. Judging by the [[Witch Doctor Skills|skills thus far demonstrated]], the WD fights a lot like a [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necromancer], using cunning and guile, rather than direct physical attacks. Witch Doctors possess a number of mind control spells, the ability to summon and control undead servants, and a variety of direct damage elemental attacks.
==Character Design==
===Necromancer Replacement?===
The WD is clearly [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/NecromancerNecromancer]-like, in his mixture of summonings, mind control curses, and sub-mage quality magical attacks, but the D3 team [[WWI_2008:_D3_Design_Fundamentals_Panel|does not view the character as a replacement]] for the Necromancer.
:Q: Is the witch doctor a replacement or spiritual successor to the Necro? They seem to have rather similar skills.
:A: We don't view the Witch Doctor as a replacement. The Necromancer is a very cool char. We thought about him as a class and tried to see if we could improve on him, which is something we did with every class, and that led us to create the Witch Doctor. If we ever decided to make a Necromancer, the Witch Doctor wouldn't prevent us from doing so.
==Story==
The Witch Doctor class comes from the jungles of [[Torajan]], an area just southwest of [[Kurast]], where Act Three took place in [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/ Diablo II]. ([http://www.diii.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=716 D3 world map].)Their society and culture is detailed on the [http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/characters/witchdoctor.xml Blizzard WD page], from which the following excerpt was taken:
: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.
