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==Class Design==
{|cellpadding="2" width="250px" align="right" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; background: #2D0606; clear:left; margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 10px; line-height: 10px; font-size: 10px;"!colspan="2" style="text-align: center; line-height: 12px; font-size: 14px;"|'''[[Diablo III Class]]'''
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|colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"|[[File:Witch_Doctors.jpg|200px]]
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!colspan="2" style="text-align: center; line-height: 14px; font-size: 16px;"| The Witch Doctor
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| [[Skills]]:
One question that arose in early conversation about the Witch Doctor, after players got to try out the class at [[Blizzcon]] 2008 and 2009, was how varied his potential builds would be. Jay Wilson addressed this issue in an October 2009 interview.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/ Jay Wilson Interview] - IncGamers.com, October 2009</ref>
::'''''Diii.net: '''The Witch Doctor build seems fairly narrow in concept. He’ll always have mongrels for tanking, some mini-mage support, and some minion attacks and a bit of mind control. Looking at his skill tree now, there doesn’t seem to be that many potential Witch Doctor builds, which isn’t true of the [[Wizard]] or [[Barbarian]]. Can you comment on that? Is it just that we don’t know enough about the Witch Doctor yet? ''
::'''Jay Wilson: '''The Witch Doctor is less developed than the Wizard and the Barbarian. His skills are on what we call a second round, a second revision, while the Barbarian and Wizard are firmly in their third, maybe even their fourth revision. So as every time we revisit the systems we expand the abilities. It’s based on playing them. We discover basically the same things, and we’ll say something like, “Oh, this class seems a little bit more focused than we wanted. We can’t make this kind of build the way we wanted to.” So we end up expanding them over time.
Might there be some AI upgrades for his pets, though? A way to tell them to attack more eagerly, or to stay back in a defensive position? Apparently not. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-on-pet-ai/ @Diablo tweet] - IncGamers.com, November 15, 2010</ref>
::''Are there any plans to let you choose targets for your pets? Or will they just attack whatever they please? --OdAnarchy''
::They attempt to attack and distract enemies in an intelligent way to help you, but no there’s no pet controls. --Diablo
Mana is also regained when the Witch Doctor uses [[health orbs]]; an issue [[Jay Wilson]] addressed while answering a question about the [[Wizard]] during an October 2009 interview. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/ Jay Wilson interview] - IncGamers.com, October 2010</ref>
::'''''Diii.net: '''Do you envision the health globes will boost [non-mana resources] in the way that the Wizard and Witch Doctor gained mana from them at Blizzcon?''
::'''Jay Wilson: '''Um, maybe? *sounding intrigued* Usually in the third or fourth skill revision on classes we look at that kind of thing. For the [[Witch Doctor]] we figured that a lot of the mana things we had on the Wizard would work better on the Witch Doctor. We were having trouble maintaining enough mana while play testing the Witch Doctor. Especially if players didn’t take a specific mana recovery skill. So we focused on spreading that out across a lot more of the class so he can pull mana back more easily. When we get to other classes I’m sure we’ll look for more of that.
::But the key is that we don’t necessarily want to... we don’t want to cannibalize an existing gameplay mechanic. So when you take health globes that are already important, and you make them even more important, then that doesn’t really create gameplay. For the WD, the health globes weren’t that important a lot of times, since he very rarely took damage with his pets, so for him by enhancing his desire for health globes, we’re really putting gameplay where it wasn’t. So whatever we’re designing a class that’s what we look at.
As previously noted in this entry, the similarities between the Necromancer and the Witch Doctor, while not legion, are certainly not few. The off-hand Mojos certainly add a necromantic flavor to the class, high reminiscent of the Shrunken Heads that the Necromancer had available in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. In addition, the Witch Doctor will carry his Ceremonial Knives (and also daggers) in the same highly-stylised, distinct manner that the Necromancer did in Diablo II, which should be welcome to most fans. Especially those with a Poison Dagger build in D2.
The masks are not part of any specific tier of item sets, but are their own models/textures and are individual like the mojos and daggers. There are only a few masks at present but they are very distinctive in appearance.
===NPC Reactions===
The Witch Doctors are seen as alien, strange, and untrustworthy by the NPCs in the game. This isn't surprising, as the Witch Doctors look very odd in their gear, and are far from traditionally-armored warriors. [[Captain Rumford]]'s greeting to the Witch Doctor, newly arrived in [[Tristram]] in Act One at the very start of the game, illustrates this clearly. You can see it delivered in the game in this YouTube video; jump to the 3:31 mark. <youtube>DvbGPKt0maY</youtube>
::'''Captain Rumford''' - I almost killed you walking round here looking like that. I don't have time for this insanity. Were you expecting me to beg for your help? I can tell you think you're some sort of adventurer even without proper clothing.
::'''Witch Doctor''' - It is a small being that dismisses things simply because they are different. No matter. I am here to storm the dark scourge brought by the fire from the sky.
::'''Captain Rumford''' - Well it landed in the old Tristram cathedral up the road so don't let me keep you. The only thing you'll be finding there is your death. Have fun.
===Official Character Lore===
As related in the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|13th entry in the writings]] of [[Abd al-Hazir]].
<blockquote>''Most believe the fearsome [[witch doctor]] of the [[umbaru]] race a legend, but I have seen one in battle with my own eyes. And it was difficult to believe, even then. 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.''
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''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]].''
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''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.''
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''Upon further discussions with my hosts, I discovered that these tribes define themselves by their belief in the [[Mbwiru Eikura]], which roughly translates to "[[Unformed Land|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.''
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''The [[witch doctor]]s 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 (Wizard)|Ghost Trance]].''
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''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.''
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* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=witch&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=563&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=563 Witch Doctor Concept Art].
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=witch&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=550&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=550 Witch Doctor Wallpapers].
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==References==
<font size="-3"><references/></font>
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013: The Witch Doctor]]
* [[Media Coverage|Diablo III Media Coverage Archive]] for all interviews, previews, pictures and more.
