Which you prefer: Necromancer or Witch Doctor? [Archive]

rolandd

11-08-2008, 10:28

Diablo 3 is introducing a new character, the Witch Doctor which has certain similarities to the Necromancer we have gotten used to in Diablo 2. Although they have similar abilities, they look different and are offered as different classes of characters.

If it was up to you, which would you prefer to see on Diablo 3, The Witch Doctor or Necromancer? You can find a poll directly for this burning question and make your opinion heard here: http://www.pollsb.com/polls/poll/2036078/which-character-would-you-prefer

BarbaQ

11-08-2008, 10:40

Been all over this back and fourth, but anyways maybe a change is for the good. But actually once i got into the linked site, i noticed after voting in that there are people like "Lady_boy" from Thailand voting for Witch Doctor and it scared the crap out of me :X

Witch Doctor fans = ladyboys ? :crazy:

Grawner

11-08-2008, 12:03

it's because of his costume ;)

slickr

11-08-2008, 13:05

I've actually played the necromancer for a brief while, it sucked and i started again with the paladin.

So based on my experience I say witch doctor, because we need new stuff to make the game feel fresh!

factotum

11-08-2008, 13:36

Apocalypse

11-08-2008, 13:50

blankblank

11-08-2008, 14:55

i would prefer witch doctor because it is something new, and necro in D2 sucked, at least for me. he was the class i was looking for when D2 was new, but then relying too much on pets and curses is no fun at all, and bone spear simply didnt have enough damage while bone spirit was too mana intensive. He simply is no fun to play with

stillman

11-08-2008, 15:11

How can anyone possibly answer this question? Has anyone (outside Blizzard's offices, anyway) sat down and played the Witch Doctor? I'm guessing the answer to that is no. Since there isn't any way to make a fair comparison between a character people have been playing for the last eight years and one who people have only seen for less than 20 minutes in a scripted gameplay video, I think this poll is somewhat pointless.

Then all polls are pointless, and all threads are pointless.

This idea can be used to shoot down any thread. You could say "How can anyone possibly answer this question?" and tack this on to EVERY thread on these d3 forums. According to this idea, we havent played the game, so we are all biased and we should all say nothing, we should not ask any questions or take any polls or ask anyone for any opinions on anything d3 because we haven't played yet.

We shouldn't talk about d3 armor because we haven't seen much of it yet.

We shouldn't ask about the chr classes because we haven't played them yet.

We shouldn't debate over the health globes because we haven't used them yet.

We shouldn't complain about the new inventory system because we don't know how it will work when the game comes out.

We shoudn't discuss d3 items because we've only seen a few.

And so on and so on....

The thread is asking "Which do YOU prefer". I think this a perfectly good question. It's just an opinion poll. We can see from the gameplay video what the WD looks like, his general playing style, a few skills, etc. Sure, we're biased by playing the necro for 8 years, but we're also biased about every facet fo d2. That's Ok. We just have to use the information we have.

sicilian

11-08-2008, 15:27

Depends on what you mean. As for which class I would prefer to see in D3, I would say Witch Doctor, because I like the idea of having all new classes. Even if they are somewhat rehashes of previous classes (which let's face it, most fantasy based characters are), it's still refreshing to see something new to experience. I was a little disappointed to see the Barbarian back, but he looks to be different enough to make him interesting.

As for which class I'm going to end up liking more? Can't say until I play, but it's going to be really tough to beat the Necro for me. He was my first Patriarch.

Gamekk

11-08-2008, 15:43

I really don't see why anyone would vote for the necromancer.... I've been playing along with it for what... nearly 10 years?

And I know this poll is "what WOULD you prefer" as in we can't really expect what's going to be in the final game and how the Witch Doctor be like. But then I guess this poll is biased, and should be something like : are you looking forward to new stuff or you want to keep it the way it was, because it was fine this way, and just send me better graphics and toss a couple of new abilities and call it DIII...

People are scared of change...

Sein Schatten

11-08-2008, 15:49

We shouldn't talk about d3 armor because we haven't seen much of it yet.

We shouldn't ask about the chr classes because we haven't played them yet.

We shouldn't debate over the health globes because we haven't used them yet.

We shouldn't complain about the new inventory system because we don't know how it will work when the game comes out.

We shoudn't discuss d3 items because we've only seen a few.

We can talk about the armor we have seen so far.

Correct. But we can talk about the looks, about the mechanics partly.

We can talk about it to some extent. Inventory space etc..

See where I am going? ;)

Starving_Poet

11-08-2008, 17:46

Then all polls are pointless

ding ding ding, we have a winner!

Wussenbol

11-08-2008, 17:54

Let's wait until the game comes out.

factotum

11-08-2008, 18:11

ding ding ding, we have a winner!

Agreed! (10 char min)

Paalt

11-08-2008, 19:13

Witch Doctor vs Necromancer. Hmmm...
1. Witch Doctor fits more into "Hero". Necromancer is usually beef(monster) in other RPGS, say Oblivion. They are evil, deal with death, and turn to Liches. They should be on Diablo's side. Witch Doctor is the local Tribal Priest. He cures diseases, calls for rain and so on.

2. To me, Witch Doctor = Necromancer 2.0. From the gameplayvideo, we saw curses, summons, zombie wall etc. Same concept, but yet different mechanics.

Witch Doctor would get my vote because, I've seen and played the Necro. I'm bored of him. It would be something different if they did not put him in D2. Yet they did, so I hope I never see him in D3!

Stalin

11-08-2008, 19:35

It may be useless to point out, but from a subjective viewpoint, I believe the Necromancer is a better "idea" for a character than the witch doctor. I wouldn't mind seeing him back. You can either have the insane man from the jungle, or the guy who spent all his time in the monastery studying books. I would go with the book man any day.

Apocalypse

11-08-2008, 19:49

saying the witchdoctor is more hero or a better fit than necro seems wrong to me. since when have you heard of witchdoctors running off to save the world in any story? imo they would defend thier village to the death but not go anywhere else to help anyone.

now the necro is often used to be evil in most games, but thats just cause of his magic type, not his actual beliefs. usually when you deal with the dead the "good guys" dont want ya around, moral issues you know?

anyway wd or necro, does not really matter. if the necro was back he would be different anyway, just would have the same name and a different back ground. now i do hope to see them get into the necros background in d3, as i want them to dig into all 7 character backgrounds

Paalt

11-08-2008, 20:11

saying the witchdoctor is more hero or a better fit than necro seems wrong to me. since when have you heard of witchdoctors running off to save the world in any story?

And since when did you hear a necro run off to save the world? Oh wait, thats right, in D2 he did.

Let me rephrase my statement then. From a moral point of view the WD seem more fit to be a hero than the Necro, but who gives a fly about moral in Diablo anyway:whistling:

Funkopotamus

11-08-2008, 21:21

I guess Necros are more about balance in the Diablo world, or so everyone says.

Inexhaustible

11-08-2008, 21:39

I think they need an old man to stay in the game.

Starving_Poet

11-08-2008, 22:15

Is morality really a valid argument? In a world where you fight both the agents of heaven and hell, is good versus evil relevant?

Stalin

11-08-2008, 22:17

I think they need an old man to stay in the game.

Cain is already too much old man in DIII, without more old folks running around. Geriatrics have to go some time.

Apocalypse

11-08-2008, 23:43

I think they need an old man to stay in the game.

taken a look at the barb yet?

MooCQ

12-08-2008, 00:06

What the hell is with such hysteria... Necromancers and Witch doctors, these two are basically the same deal. Ok, the main difference, being is their obvious, origins, the Necro from D2 originates from a cooler northern territory (ie Nithilawk (Harrogoth) - or the wooded forests of Act I - Tristram) versus, Witch doctor - he's from the Jungles of Kurast, a hot humid place.. Big stinking woopty doo, they are the same! Merely cousins! It's just a name change and the cultural/regional differences. The freaking character hasnt changed all that much and yet we have such huge hysterics, what the hell.. The change is so puny weak and yet so many people are nearly to tears about it..

I view them both as the same thing, there is hardly a difference between the two, other than physical appearance.. (and if that is the sole reason for all this whining, its just pathetic)

phool

12-08-2008, 00:24

Then all polls are pointless, and all threads are pointless.

This idea can be used to shoot down any thread. You could say "How can anyone possibly answer this question?" and tack this on to EVERY thread on these d3 forums. According to this idea, we havent played the game, so we are all biased and we should all say nothing, we should not ask any questions or take any polls or ask anyone for any opinions on anything d3 because we haven't played yet.

We shouldn't talk about d3 armor because we haven't seen much of it yet.

We shouldn't ask about the chr classes because we haven't played them yet.

We shouldn't debate over the health globes because we haven't used them yet.

We shouldn't complain about the new inventory system because we don't know how it will work when the game comes out.

We shoudn't discuss d3 items because we've only seen a few.

And so on and so on....

The thread is asking "Which do YOU prefer". I think this a perfectly good question. It's just an opinion poll. We can see from the gameplay video what the WD looks like, his general playing style, a few skills, etc. Sure, we're biased by playing the necro for 8 years, but we're also biased about every facet fo d2. That's Ok. We just have to use the information we have.

Terrible strawman.

No-one's saying don't talk about the witch doctor. Let your imaginations run riot and air all your banal musings. A poll on whether the witch doctor would be better with green or purple hair, whether you'd prefer a witch or rogue or whether you'd prefer a paladin or amazon in D3... these aren't unreasonable. But a comparison of something we know almost nothing about and a something we've tons about for years is another matter entirely.

akaimpc

12-08-2008, 03:31

i personally don't like neither. BARBARIAN ALL THE WAY ARGHHHH!!!!!

CaptainDingo

12-08-2008, 15:17

We shouldn't debate over the health globes because we haven't used them yet.

Your analogy isn't quite correct. We know of, what, 4 skills the Witch Doctor has? So we don't even really know what he does. So yes, if we had no idea what a health globe did, if we just saw a red orb sitting on the ground and they never said what it was, no, we'd have no real logical say in ranting about whether or not this "red mystery orb" is better than a potion.

Likewise, we don't know what the Witch Doctor does.

So the only way to even up this entire poll is this...

Do you like the Witch Doctor better, or the Necromancer if the only skills he had were Raise Skeleton, Bone Wall, Poison Dagger and Bone Spirit?

Sounds more fair to me... :P

Anyways, I'm with Gamekk here. People are scared stupid of anything they liked changing. Not that change is always good, but if we didn't accept change, we'd only be able to be a Warrior, Rogue, or Sorceror in Diablo 2.

The arguments against the Witch Doctor's looks are totally hypocritical. The Necromancer looked like a 60 year-old emo who's never worked out a day in his life, so really, any arguments against the Witch Doctor's appearance aren't going to sway me. I actually happen to think freaky voodoo guys with huge wooden masks are far more imposing, but whatever (let's not forget the utter terror of coming across a Fetish Shaman...).

Frostraven

14-08-2008, 13:56

Do you like the Witch Doctor better, or the Necromancer if the only skills he had were Raise Skeleton, Bone Wall, Poison Dagger and Bone Spirit?

Would we want witch doctor with the skills we've seen and a lot more -- or a necromancer with raise skeleton, bone wall, poison dagger, bone spirit and a slew of new skills?

Necromancer.

Necro mancer.

Someone studying death.

Witch doctor.

Someone who made a deal with a devil for wicked poweres and... mix potions for illnesses?

Jedouard

15-08-2008, 10:51

Dude, I don't really like the Witch Doctor because he's got cerebral palsy. Look at the way he shakes! It's like fighting Diablo with Katherine Hepburn! No, seriously, though, all I care about is being able to summon an army. In D2, I got a 63 minions and a merc; would love to have that again. If the witch doctor can do a third of that--and I hope he can--then I am cool with him, especially because I liked the way his fire and poison skills stack with his summons. (You all saw the fire imbued mongrels as well.) In D2, I would never split necro skill tree up like that: with the exception of amp damage, anything out of the summon tree just meant less damage at high skill levels. It will be nice to have some more variation in viable character builds, numbers and power possibly not being one and same now as you could have fewer but more powerful fire, poison and who knows what else minions. Also, given Blizzard's work to try to make the game more strategy intensive, I wouldn't mind forgoing a large army to one that was more interesting to manage and more versatile. He does look kind of dorky, but we don't know what the all equipment will look like, not to mention, the female version seemed a bit more traditional looking and less shaky for all you Katherine Hepburn haters.

balkan

15-08-2008, 12:01

Witch doctor seems like a mix between the druid and the necromancer which is cool with me given as these are my two favorite classes to play (i friggin' love minions!).
He's got curses and summons along with various magic attacks; doesn't seem too shabby.
While i much prefer the darker image and style of the necromancer in the world of Diablo (skeletons, reviving dead, bone spells and the large variety of cool curses, i think that whole black magic thing just fits so well in a horror game), something different is fine with me. As long as i can raise a friggin nasty army with one of the characters and perhaps explode some corpses.

So due to his more dark nature i prefer the necromancer, but other than that it seems like the witch doctor is a great alternative. I do hope they make some other sinister, black magic weilding character for the game though.

korialstraz

15-08-2008, 16:30

And since when did you hear a necro run off to save the world? Oh wait, thats right, in D2 he did.

Let me rephrase my statement then. From a moral point of view the WD seem more fit to be a hero than the Necro, but who gives a fly about moral in Diablo anyway:whistling:

You should really read the Diablo books. It'll will most likely give you a completely different view of Necromancers. Necromancers are the followers of Rathma (Rathma being the creature who is shielding Sanctuary from the view of angels and demons which seek to destroy or claim the Nephalem (humans) as their slaves)), and Necromancers fight to uphold the balance between good and evil. IIRC there was written something in the book along the lines of "to understand death, one must also understand life). So while the D2 Necromancers deal in death, they also deal in life, and probably understand it better than any other character in D2 :nod:

Or at least Rathma did shield Sanctuary from the angels and demons view, though the Angarak council (leaders of the angels) made a pact with Mephisto about leaving humans alone.