Locust Swarm

Locust Swarm is a Witch Doctor skill unlocked at level 16, which sends forth a torrent of locusts which swarm over and devour anything they meet. The Locusts can chain from target to target, potentially consuming or damaging numerous targets in close proximity.

Background

Diablo III Active Skill [e]
Locust Swarm
Used by:	Witch Doctor
Enabled at:	Clvl 16
Skill Description
A plague of locusts assault enemies dealing X damage per second over X seconds. The locusts will jump to additional nearby targets.
Type:	DoT/AoE
Resource Use:	Costs Mana
Skill Rune Effects
Alabaster rune:	Unknown
Crimson rune:	Unknown
Golden rune:	Unknown
Indigo rune:	Jumps to multiple targets
Obsidian rune:	Unknown

The Witch Doctor sends a locust swarm to literally devour the flesh of his enemies.

Skill Design

A really nice skill against packs of monsters, working like a disease that affects one monster and then the rest of the group. It can spread quite fast, so casting this spell just once is enough, and by the time it is done, you would have used a few other skills. Enemies who are killed by Locust Swarm leave behind a skeleton, a most pleasant visual effect.

Locust Swarm Video

A video of Locus Swarm in use can be seen below, courtesy of the DiabloInc You Tube channel.

Skill Rank Table

• Rank 1: Assault nearby foes with a plague of locusts that deals 4.0 damage per second over 2.0 seconds. Cost: 15 mana.
• Rank 2: Assault nearby foes with a plague of locusts that deals 4.5 damage per second over 2.5 seconds. Cost: 15 mana. (A)
• Rank 3: Assault nearby foes with a plague of locusts that deals 5.0 damage per second over 3.0 seconds. Cost: 15 mana. (A)
• Rank 4: Assault nearby foes with a plague of locusts that deals 5.5 damage per second over 3.5 seconds. Cost: 15 mana. (A)
• Rank 5: Assault nearby foes with a plague of locusts that deals 6.0 damage per second over 4.0 seconds. Cost: 15 mana. (A)

(A) = Assumed

ACHOOO! Uh, I don't feel so good.

Synergies

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

Skill Rune Effects

The known rune effects for Locust Swarm are:

• Unknown rune: Rank 2 Mana Regeneration Rune
  • Description: Your Locust Swarm regenerates 50% of the damage it deals as mana to you.
  • Effect: Turns the swarm blue and channels a tremendous amount of mana back to the Witch Doctor.

• Indigo rune: Rank 2 Multi-target Rune
  • Description: Locust Swarm now jumps to two targets upon creature death.
  • Effect: Splits the swarm, sending two out to enemies after each death. With high level Locust Swarm damage this could essentially clear an entire screen of monsters with a single cast.

Development

Locust Swarm premiered with Diablo III in the WWI 2008 gameplay video as a Tier II skill in the Plague Skill Tree (later renamed the Zombie Skill Tree). The first version of this skill could be cast on Mongrels, enhancing them with poison damage.

By BlizzCon 2009, Locust Swarm had been moved to Tier III in the Voodoo Skill Tree and could no longer be cast on Mongrels (renamed to Zombie Dogs). Flux discussed its utility:[1]

The skill isn’t that damaging, but the way the locusts can spread from target to target makes it fairly amusing to use in large crowds. This one might have long term viability, even if the damage is negligible in the end game, simply as a sort of poisonous AoE attack.

At BlizzCon 2010, Locust Swarm was still in the game (moved down to Tier 4), but wasn't one of the Witch Doctor's starting skills. Skill tiers were removed for the July 2011 Press Event, and Locust Swarm became a level 16 skill.

Previous Versions

See the Witch Doctor skill archive for more details on previous versions of Locust Swarm and other Witch Doctor skills.

Media

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

• Diablo III screenshots and pictures
• Locust Swarm specific gallery contents

References

• BlizzCon 2008 Witch Doctor Gameplay Report
• BlizzCon 2009 Full Witch Doctor Skill Trees and Stats
• JudgeHype.com July 2011 Press Event Coverage - The Witch Doctor (Translated by Zediono)