Difference between revisions of "Witch Doctor skills"

Revision as of 07:08, 7 May 2012

The Witch Doctor Skill Tree as seen in Blizzcon 2009. Skill are no longer presented in this fashion. Image by Muldric.

This page lists the Witch Doctor skills, with information that was current as of August 2011. This page is a quick listing; follow the links to the individual skill pages for full discussion of every skill, including first hand reports, Blue quotes, runestone information, and numerous screenshots and other images.

All character skills have undergone considerable changes during development, with the biggest change coming before Blizzcon 2010, when skill trees and passive skills were removed from the skill listing and Traits were introduced. See the Witch Doctor skill archive for information about skill changes over time.

Useful skill links:

Skills - General skill design and mechanics.
- Active skills - Skills where effects are activated by the player.
- Passive skills - Skills where effects are activated automatically, by the computer or by special events.
- Signature skills - Skills that define characters.
Mana -- The Witch Doctor's energy resource.
Runestones - Their huge impact on changing skills can not be over-emphasized.
Witch Doctor skill archive - Removed Witch Doctor skills.
Witch Doctor traits -- Passive skills in Diablo III were called traits for a while before reverting back.

Active Skills

Click to the individual skill pages for more details about these skills including numbers, screenshots, runestone information, blue quotes, and much more.

Physical Realm

Icon	Skill	Description

Poison Dart
Physical Realm
(Level 1)

[e]

Cost: 9.8 Mana

Fires a deadly poison dart that deals 100% weapon damage as Poison and an additional 40% weapon damage per second as Poison over 2 seconds.

Plague of Toads
Physical Realm
(Level 2)

[e]

Cost: 211 Mana

Release a handful of toads that deal 155% weapon damage as Poison to enemies they come in contact with.

Zombie Charger
Physical Realm
(Level 5)

[e]

Cost: 229 Mana

Call forth a reckless, suicidal zombie that deals 150% weapon damage as Poison to all enemies in its way.

Corpse Spiders
Physical Realm
(Level 7)

[e]

Cost: 473 Mana

Summon 4 spiders to attack nearby enemies for 38% weapon damage as Physical.

Firebats
Physical Realm
(Level 9)

[e]

Cost: 352 Mana per second

A swarm of fiery bats burn enemies in front of you for 130% weapon damage per second as Fire.

Firebomb
Physical Realm
(Level 11)

[e]

Cost: 264 Mana

Lob an explosive skull that deals 130% weapon damage as Fire to all enemies within 8 yards.

Locust Swarm
Physical Realm
(Level 19)

[e]

Cost: 352 Mana

Summon a plague of locusts to assault enemies, dealing 5% weapon damage per second as Poison for 3 seconds. The locusts will jump to additional nearby targets.

Acid Cloud
Physical Realm
(Level 22)

[e]

Cost: 528 Mana

Acid falls down dealing an initial 125% weapon damage as Poison, followed by 25% weapon damage per second to enemies who remain in the area.

Wall of Zombies
Physical Realm
(Level 27)

[e]

Cost: 352 Mana

A line of zombies emerge from the ground, attacking nearby enemies for 40% weapon damage per second for 5 seconds.

Spirit Realm

Icon	Skill	Description

Haunt
Spirit Realm
(Level 4)

[e]

Cost: 106 Mana

Haunt an enemy with a spirit dealing 500% weapon damage as Arcane over 15 seconds. If the target dies, the spirit will automatically haunt another nearby enemy.

You may have up to 3 Haunt effects active at once.

Horrify
Spirit Realm
(Level 8)

[e]

Cooldown: 20 seconds

Don a spectral mask that horrifies all enemies within 12 yards, causing them to run in fear for 5 seconds.

Spirit Walk
Spirit Realm
Movement (Level 12)

[e]

Cost: 176 Mana
Cooldown: 15 seconds

Enter the spirit realm for 3 seconds. While in the spirit realm, your movement is unhindered.

Your link to the spirit realm will end if you cast any spell or your physical body sustains 50% of your maximum health in damage.

Soul Harvest
Spirit Realm
(Level 14)

[e]

Cooldown: 15 seconds

Feed on the life force of up to 5 nearby enemies within 15 yards. Gain 126 Attack for each affected enemy. This effect lasts 30 seconds.

Spirit Barrage
Spirit Realm
(Level 21)

[e]

Cost: 141 Mana

Bombard a target with a spirit bolt that deals 125% weapon damage as Physical.

Mass Confusion
Spirit Realm
(Level 24)

[e]

Cooldown: 60 seconds

Incite paranoia in enemies, causing some to fight for you for 8 seconds.

Command

Icon	Skill	Description

Summon Zombie Dogs
Command
Summon (Level 2)

[e]

Cost: 176 Mana
Cooldown: 60 seconds

Summons 3 zombie dogs from the depths to fight by your side.

Grasp of the Dead
Command
(Level 3)

[e]

Cost: 53 Mana
Cooldown: 8 seconds

Hands reach out from the ground slowing enemy movement by 50% and dealing 50% weapon damage per second as Physical for 8 seconds.

Hex
Command
Summon (Level 6)

[e]

Cost: 176 Mana
Cooldown: 10 seconds

Summon a Fetish Shaman for 8 seconds that will hex enemies into chickens. Hexed enemies are unable to perform offensive actions and take 20% additional damage.

Sacrifice
Command
(Level 16)

[e]

All of your zombie dogs explode, each dealing 200% of your weapon damage as Physical to all enemies within 12 yards.

Gargantuan
Command
Summon (Level 18)

[e]

Cost: 528 Mana
Cooldown: 120 seconds

Summon a large zombie follower to fight for you. The Gargantuan swings for 30% of your weapon damage as Physical damage with every swing.

Big Bad Voodoo
Command
Summon (Level 25)

[e]

Cooldown: 120 seconds

Summon a fetish to begin a ritual dance that increases the attack, casting and movement speeds of all allies in the area by 15% for 20 seconds.

Fetish Army
Command
Summon (Level 29)

Cooldown: 120 seconds [e]

Summon an army of Fetish creatures to fight by your side for 20 seconds. Dagger-wielding fetishes attack for 28% of your weapon damage as Physical.

Passive Skills

Passive skills replaced Traits during late game development in 2011. Many Traits were simply changed to passive skills, but some are all new. See the Witch Doctor traits page for a full list of those passives.

Skill	Unlocked	Description

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Vermin

(Level 10)

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Physical Realm spells

30

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Spirit spells

36

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40

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Death Trance

(Level 28)

Reduce damage by 60% whenever you are below 25% of your maximum Life.

Blood Spatter

(Level 29)

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 and pickup radius.

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Skill Distribution

A useful player-made chart showing when the Witch Doctor gains access to skills, passives, and rune effects.

Witch Doctor skill progression. Stats as of May 5, 2012.

Development

The Witch Doctor's skills and skill trees were first seen at BlizzCon 2008, with only a few skills enabled and many showing nothing more than vague descriptions in the skill tree. The listing was fleshed out at Blizzcon 2009, but most of his skills, especially the summoning ones, remained NYI. The current information was revealed at Blizzcon 2010, with the passive skills removed (see the Witch Doctor traits and a near-final skill listing.

A large number of the higher level WD spells have still never been shown publicly, in contrast to the skills of the Wizard and Barbarian, almost all of which have been shown off.

Removed Skills

References

Full Witch Doctor Skills
Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report -- IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
Witch Doctor Overview -- Diablo III 13th Sep 2011

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer primary

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer secondary

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer corpses

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer bloodandbone

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer reanimation

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer curses

@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 {{Witch Doctor Passive Blood Spatter}}
 {{Witch Doctor Passive Tribal Rites}}
+==Skill Distribution==
+A useful player-made chart showing when the Witch Doctor gains access to skills, passives, and rune effects.
+[[File:Char-prog-wd.png|center|frame|Witch Doctor skill progression. Stats as of May 5, 2012.]]
@@ Line 89: / Line 98: @@
 * [[Pit of Fire]]<br>
 * [[Parasite]]<br>
 ==References==

Fan-made Classes			Fan-made Skills [e]
• Alchemist • Arcane Warrior • Artisan • Aurian Mage • Bard • Channeller • Dragon Warrior	• Flagellant • Giant (U) • Hollow Man • Nomad • Onaga Manji • Phase Knight	• Ranger • Slayer (U) • Techpriest (U) • Telepath • Untainted (U) • Zealot	Dragon Warrior Skills • Bow and Throwing Skill Tree • Dragon Disciplines Skill Tree • Martial Arts Skill Tree	Untainted Skills • Divine Skill Tree	Aurian Mage Skill • Holy Power Skill Tree • Shadow Spells Skill Tree • Nature Forces Skill Tree
(U) = Unfinished				Untainted Skills • Divine Skill Tree

Difference between revisions of "Witch Doctor skills"

Revision as of 07:08, 7 May 2012

Contents

Active Skills

Physical Realm

Spirit Realm

Command

Passive Skills

Skill Distribution

Development

Removed Skills

References