Grasp of the Dead

Grasp of the Dead is a Witch Doctor skill unlocked at level 2. This skill is a curse; it inflicts victims with much slower foot speed and deals damage as well. It's highly useful in the Arena PvP.

Background

Diablo III Active Skill [e]
Grasp of the Dead
Used by:	Witch Doctor
Enabled at:	Clvl 2
Skill Description
Cursed hands reach out, slowing enemies and dealing damage over time.
Type:	Debuff/DoT
Resource Use:	Costs Mana
Skill Rune Effects
Alabaster rune:	Unknown
Crimson rune:	Unknown
Golden rune:	Unknown
Indigo rune:	Unknown
Obsidian rune:	Unknown

A powerful debuff. This curses the target with much reduced movement speed and deals damage as well.

Skill Design

Runed Grasp of the Dead on a Wizard.

This skill is powerful, but has a very small radius of effect. Possibly this can be increased with a runestone. As it is, GotD requires precise aim and timing to hit a moving target.

Skill Rank Table

• Rank 1: Hands reach out from the ground attacking all enemies within 8 yards of the targeted location. Cost: 12 mana.
• Rank 2: Hands reach out from the ground attacking all enemies within 8 yards of the targeted location. Cost: 12 mana. (A)
• Rank 3: Hands reach out from the ground attacking all enemies within 8 yards of the targeted location. Cost: 12 mana. (A)
• Rank 4: Hands reach out from the ground attacking all enemies within 8 yards of the targeted location. Cost: 12 mana. (A)
• Rank 5: Hands reach out from the ground attacking all enemies within 8 yards of the targeted location. Cost: 12 mana. (A)

(A) = Assumed

Synergies

• No synergies with any of the passive skills are yet known.

Skill Rune Effects

• No rune effects for Grasp of the Dead are known.

Development

Grasp of the Dead was first listed in the BlizzCon 2009 gameplay demo at Tier III in the Zombie Skill Tree, but it had not yet been implemented.

This skill was present on the pre-made Witch Doctor in the Blizzcon 2010 Arena as a Tier 3 skill, and was quite effective. Skill tiers were removed for the July 2011 Press Event, and Grasp of the Dead became a level 2 skill.

Media

Grasp of the Dead can be seen in action on video here:

• Gameplay: Blizzcon 2010 (in the Arena)
• Video: Blizzcon 2010 Arena

You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:

• Diablo III screenshots and pictures
• Grasp of the Dead specific gallery contents

References

• BlizzCon 2009 Full Witch Doctor Skill Trees and Stats
• BlizzCon 2010 PvP Hands-on Report
• JudgeHype.com July 2011 Press Event Coverage - The Barbarian (Translated by Zediono)