The Witch Doctor Picture

[JonoLith]

I don't think it's much of a secret that I am, currently, opposed to the design of the Witch Doctor in general, however, there are many on this board that seem fairly adament about the validity of the Witch Doctor, which has led me to question my own position on the class, and begin to wonder what it is, exactly, others truly see in the class. I believe I have put my finger on what my ultimate difficulty is. I don't actually have a mental picture that represents the Witch Doctor as being awesome, or at all Epic. I can conjure a picture for the barbarian and the wizard with ease. However, the Witch Doctor seems to allude me.

For the Barbarian it has always been the picture of a war torn man, cut, bruised and battered, holding a giant war-axe above his head ready to swing it down towards the gigantic dragon that he is fighting, his face filled with all the rage and battlefury of a man ready to face oblivion because he's seen so much death that his own would be only one more number in his mind.

For the Wizard it is the picture of an old man being surrounded by multiple enemies and he lays waste to them with a ring of fire around him which sears the bones off of their flesh. His eyes are burning flames which light up his face as he shouts out the words of a long dead language which fuel his arcane might.

When I picture the witch doctor... I picture a man hunched over a cauldron, stirring a brew, in the swamp, with a mongrel chewing on a bone. He is adorned with all the regalia that one would expect of the witch doctor.

This is a fine picture, and extremely atmospheric, but, in my mind, it suits an NPC more then a PC. What's lacking, to me, is the sence of the truly epic. I can easily picture the wizard and the barbarian in epic posturing, but the witch doctor, in my mind, still rests as a character which would hide under the table while the big boys did their work.

So I invite fully and openly; What do you picture when you think of the Witch Doctor doing Epic Feats?

[Grug]

Try thinking of Witch Doctor as Witch. Casting plagues upon the mortal fools lurking below. Calling all that creeps and crawls and bites to terrorizing and kill.

Imagine a Witch Doctor being charged by a gang of bandits. He pulls out his magic dust and blows, and suddenly a massive swarm of locusts are eating all of the bandits. they're running, screaming, cry and clawing at the bugs. And then the Witch Doctor uses his special brew. He tosses the hexed skull, and a massive explosion blows everyone to bits.

EDIT: Maybe you're going about this wrong. You might not be able to see the witch doctor causing chaos on the scale of the Barbarian or Wizard. But mess with him and the Witch Doctor, possibly more than any of the other classes, will **** you up. It's a creepy old man lurking in the jungle, casting horrifying spells.

[DxAxxxTyriel]

(Btw i think it would be best to refer to Classes' sex as the alpha version. (1st one to come out) So a Wizard would be a she, WD would be a he, barb would be a he, Amazon would be a she, etc etc)

I picture the witch doctor as a man who had a bad day.... and not a bad day that will be forgotten tomorrow, but a bad day that pushed him over the edge and he is barely hanging on. After taking too many blows to his life and maybe those around him, he decided to destroy the evil (Scourge as they call it). In order to do so, he utilized spells and powers that were dangerous to the caster in the 1st place......

He has learned to control Plagues, Poisonous Toads, Locusts, Mongrels, Bats and Spiders all of whom could very much kill him....

He has learned to brew vile concoctions that could go boom in his very hand, or while he is brewing them...

He has learned to dabble in the affairs of spirits, so that he could suck in the souls of his enemies, or awaken the dead to do his bidding... that doesn't mean that some vengeful spirit wont try to possess him...

Also not to mention scare the **** out of anybody...

He dislikes the things he uses and does not care about them (Sacrifice skill as an example).... He constantly lives on the edge.... he isn't some magic wielding pansy (no offense), he uses more physical magic and as i suspect will be a moderate melee fighter (as seen in artwork). He's scarred, he's pissed, and he will send his weak enemies to kill his other enemies....

He's not an old alchemist, who sits everyday hoping to perfect his art... he's Chuck-F***ing-Norris....

[Mad Mantis]

What do you picture when you think of the Witch Doctor doing Epic Feats?

Something similar to what DxAxxxTyriel sees. Simply put a nutcase. Someone who went over the edge and not towards the happy side. He is oblivious to the cruelty he inflicts upon others. Someone to be feared. His tribe had to think long and hard before actually coming to him for healing or advice. He seeks out something with his experiments and magic, but what that is might not be clear even to himself. For now he is content to just use the deadly effects of whatever skill he chooses to employ.

[DxAxxxTyriel]

But i don't think he is evil, i think he wont spill the blood of an innocent, or burn him, drain his soul.... He did go over the bad edge but hasnt fallen yet, he's hanging on it. He's not a nutcase, just doesnt care bout himself (a la Joker). And if you really want a bad-*** picture of him, imagine him throwing a skull of flame, with 2 plagued-Mongrels by his side, with toads/spiders crawling on the floor, with bats circling above his head, a massive voodoo mask above him and a wall of zombies nearby him, surrounded by an endless army of demons... and you know he will kill em all....

[Valmy]

So I invite fully and openly; What do you picture when you think of the Witch Doctor doing Epic Feats?


Hi.

When I read Witch Doctor, I imagine an old man, creepy, dark voice, with many tics, hunched... more or less the same you said.

But also, I see great powers and charisma in this picture. Strong personality. A wise man. And, over all, a picture capable enough of doing many things with creepy animals, with the power of voodoo, mind and souls control and things like that.


I agree with you in one point: he is not the picture we usually evoke for mighty or glorious heroes, legendary heroes.

But I think this character is fresh and new conceptually, he got charisma, strong personality and many qualified spells, awesome well designed.

I see him good enough, conceptually, also imagine, and also in terms of playing. I think all this things make him glorious enough, and he shall be an Epic Hero in the long term.


But only time will tell.


Also, he incarnates some of the terrific stories from jungles and voodoo, and monkey island, and caribbean pirates, and many many legends from the entire world. I think this is a fantastic idea to put him in the good side and fighting against the Prime Evils, like the Necromancer in D2, for example. Because he is not a bad man. He is just a jungle man, like tarzan (not physically, lol).





PS: Offtopic —> I think you have a problem with the WD; perhaps it's not for you. There are some characters in D2 I don't like, and some I like. Same for almost every person. It's just part of the game. I think you got terrible nightmares each day concerning the WD, hahaha. Just making a joke here, no bad intentions.

[Krugar]

I agree Valmy. Personally I couldn't ever identify myself with the Amazon and Sorceress. For some reason these two characters didn't work with me. Nothing to do with their lore or anything like that. More just an unaccountable dislike. Definitely not a gender issue either because the Assassin is one of my favorite classes.

The WD does fit very nicely into my preferences for a character concept. It's most probably the class I'll try first (depending on what they do for the missing two). Being that a lot of skills are still missing, and -- I'm hoping -- they trim the rough edges on this character, I'd say for us to wait a bit longer before attempting to over-analyze.

[Mizantrop]

I agree the WD have an image problem, he does look somewhat cartoonish and laughable. Gameplay wise it is the class I had the most fun playing at Blizzcon. To make this class perfect for me it should look like something that would fit right into this video (http://http://vodpod.com/watch/775928-sepultura-ratamahatta).

[JonoLith]

Ithink you got terrible nightmares each day concerning the WD, hahaha. Just making a joke here, no bad intentions.

Oh God my secret's out! He's the man that haunts my dreams with his ghaustly visage mocking the very inside of my soul! His form has now become digitized and he will go, from computer to computer, haunting others like me! We must stop him! Rise up and fight against the Witch Doctor or he'll ravage the world with his toothless grin!

[GoldenBird]

I find the Witch Doctor very mystical. He's insane, but it is a kind beyond our knowledge. On the inside, he is something we all don't see.

Think of it like Grug said. Instead of a wizard firing a fireball the moment he/she sees something, think of him, standing, waiting for them to approach. And then he explodes, releasing his locusts, his deadly bombs, ect.

[Wirt]

Besides using dark magic through sacrificial rites on animals and his dark brewings I think he has a creepy talent to get into the minds of his enemy. He sees right through you and uses what he finds in your head. Like bringing those nightmares mentioned above alive. You would be lucky if he was just making you run in fear. Instead of making you chew on your friends bones after he made you slaughter them...

Wirt

[Doctor Salvador]

I think one of the problems people have with the Good Doctor is that it is very difficult to picture him slaying the armies of the Burning Hells. But if you watch some of his videos, the WD is very explosive and deadly, his Skull of Flame attack causes a significant blast of loud and deadly fire, his Locusts stream out from victim to victim until their's nothing but a pile of bodies on the ground. He's way more dangerous than we think he is.

[Krugar]

Ok. Here's my opinion:

The Locust Swarm, particularly has all the potential to give the same level of satisfaction as skills like Frozen Orb when you see everything around you dropping like flies with a satisfying skill noise. I seem to think this will become a rather common skill in WD strategy across the whole game.

The Firebomb for some reason reminds me of Hattori Hanzo's (Samurai Showdown) fire attack. Maybe because of the fire trajectory. A potentially powerful skill also because of its splash damage.

Horrify looks awesome as a support skill. You can see this in the skill video as the WD uses Horrify after LS and the monsters still get affected by it. This skill is also an hint to the fact the WD may as well be a character you want off melee conditions.

Mass Confusion is, along with Horrify, a traditional support skill. Nothing much else to say here I guess. Useful for crowd control and to thin down the number of immediate threats. Another good hint the WD is definitely a caster at heart and the best is yet to come with the missing skills.

Soul Harvest seems to have the potential to kick royal arse and boost the WD in the process. It's always a cool concept and the sound effect is very cool. But there's isn't much we know about this skill yet...

The pets are in my opinion the weakest concept. Exploding pets or "poisoning" them with LS is all interesting and stuff, but WD and pets... I just can't see the connection. Neither I was particularly impressed with the choice. I'd rather see fetish-like pets, than frog-like ones.

Wall of Zombies was the skill I saw and immediately fell in love with. I love the concept, I liked the artwork and it has great strategic potential if, as I suspect will happen, it becomes more resilient to damage on later levels and lasts longer. The damage it may or may not do can be of minor importance, but I suspect Blizzard will not just make this a minor aspect of that skill and WoZ will become a very common acronym on the years to come.

...

A combination of skills seems the way to go with this character which may make for a much enjoyable experience away from more straightforward melee and caster classes. In any case I must confess my love for this character and the almost guaranteed chance it will be my first option when the game ships.

.. And we still have skills on the works. What could be better?

[Ouroboros]

I agree with Krugar. When I think of a Jungle Witchdoctor, i don't really envision zombie dogs around him. I rather see fetish-type pets. i.e. Pygmy undead with blowdarts ..running around with the WD mindcontrolling them. Even pygmy undead with knives .. much like D2, Act III dolls.

I posted my opinions on another thread why its tough to put your finger on the one thing that you intrinsically know the WD character is comprised of. One of my observations that explain that is a lack of specific lore around the character. A second is design scheme, esp. the choice of the colors purple and green. But leaving those aside, this is what i see when I try to picture the WD in an epic setting:

I imagine an individual who rather intentionally gives off an aura that causes the outside world to mistake him to be insane. That is an intentional ploy. I see him holding ancient secrets of voodoo magic. He has the ability to alter reality through voodoo to control and invoke fear in enemies. He is a rather dark character who should be given a more serious facelift (color-palatte wise), to reflect the deadly practices he engages in: wars with other tribes to collect human body parts for his rituals. There should be more blood, petrified organs, shrunken heads, limbs .. etc.

The things the witchdoctor should invoke are mystery, fear, feigned lunacy, and an enigmatic aura which normal sanctuary society finds difficult to understand. Instead now, I feel that he retains a certain goofiness and a lack of seriousness about him which is detrimental for natural character progression.

Edit: You know what else I feel fits with the WD? Trances. I imagine a WD going into violent epileptic trance-like states with his eyes rolled back, and his body convulsing. Maybe when he accesses Mwkele Mbeme (sp?) that could be implemented.

[DxAxxxTyriel]

Let me start off by saying, the WD is not a necromancer 2.0.... i wont state reasons, but they arent... Necro is more pansy based while WD is more Clint Eastwood based.

Locust Swarm: i love it, and it also has side uses (like cast on mongrel)... i think that Jay Wilson talked bout Functionality and some other stuff... he said that more buttons is not as good as adding more uses to 1 button, or something along the lines...

Skull of Flame: If u dont love this skill, you are in a Coma.

Horrify: If **** happens, this is ur best friend....

Mass Confusion: If **** happens, this is ur 2nd best friend....

Soul Harvest: Looks awesome, does awesome things, is awesome...

Pets: i want more of them, mongrel seems to be fun, I definitely want more... Mongrels seem to be fun, if im correct, they will still be usefull even on hell difficulty, cause multi-use rocks...

Wall of Zombies: need i say more?

My small suggestion that might suck or rock.... i recently saw lion king, and the monkey shaman/wd (whatever), Rafiki, had some turtle shells in his crib. Now i think the WD may find some use for these shells, i mean he found use for skulls... wont be long until WD finds a use for them. And it does fit, in the jungle there must be big turtles...

2nd small suggestion that might suck or rock..... Instead of mana, the WD gets Souls as his resource. Starts out empty, kills, collects souls, uses awesome skills, profit. Some skills wont require Soul like Skull of flame, cause its physical. But to use Horrify, Mongrels, mass confusion, he will need Soul. whatch ya think?

[Elmacro]

[For the Barbarian it has always been the picture of a war torn man, cut, bruised and battered, holding a giant war-axe above his head ready to swing it down towards the gigantic dragon that he is fighting, his face filled with all the rage and battlefury of a man ready to face oblivion because he's seen so much death that his own would be only one more number in his mind. ]

YEAH!!!! I love how you put it man!

[Elmacro]

Well i kind of see him like an old feeble man...who has incredible energies inside of him, capable of devastating huge areas with powerfull magics in one blast. Kind of like Moses, who didnt seem a great threat but would then devastate Egypt with terrible plagues, or like the leader of the undead in The Cronicles of Riddick, who could strip out your soul and crush it with his own hands. Or even like The Mummy. As you see hes like a great many characters :D

[Sleepyfoo]

I have to say for me the main problem with the witch doctor design was just the decision to use purple as his primary colour. Maybe it was purely an issue of being able to see the avatar, but I feel like a darker scheme for the doctor could give him a much more impressive feel. I like how the barbarian is centered on yellows and oranges (or gold), and the wizard is blue, but I feel the doctor should be centered mostly on dark green and brown hues.

Maybe its just a visual issue though. I don't even specifically have a problem with the colour, just its prevalence throughout the character.

[Blackwolf]

I picture the enemies seeing something like this when meeting the nice doctor

http://www.roadkillzoo.net/images/cover_RoadkillZoo06.jpg

I think of a picture like this when the Witch Doctor is doing something Epic

For me he's one that the Burning Hells will have to watch out for :)

[teh_Thrasher]

haha that pic rocks!
horrify is way superior to terrify or howl or whatever that totem skill the barbarian had (CRAP!) cause it hovers over u head and the monster kept running away and when they came back they would retreat again. quite a nice effect.

but mass confusion is what im looking forward too especially if the monsters can kill each other... cause in d2 they cant really unless theres some really strong ones vs really weak ones. DISAPPOINTING!

[jamoose]

You are right about the fact that its hard to imagine a Witch Doctor that is as epic as the Barbarian or the Wizard, but i think the reason for that is the Witch doctors that we have seen in video games / movies so far. Lets take the Witch Doctor from Warcraft 3 for an example... He is not so epic, he can barely deal with a simple orc with an axe. What im trying to say is, Diavlo 3 will introduce this epic Witch Doctor that we have never seen before, and he will rock.

[Nektu]

He might rock, but there is also the chance that we will be disapointed in him and his abilities. He will have to be able to do some pretty cool stuff from the get go for me to be impressed.

[Krugar]

He might rock, but there is also the chance that we will be disapointed in him and his abilities. He will have to be able to do some pretty cool stuff from the get go for me to be impressed.

I haven't seen the barb doing any "cool stuff" on the demo videos and no one's complaining. So, why is the Witch Doctor so special? Why are people demanding so much from this class? Can it be because it became fashionable to complain about the Witch Doctor? mm?

[JonoLith]

I haven't seen the barb doing any "cool stuff" on the demo videos and no one's complaining. So, why is the Witch Doctor so special? Why are people demanding so much from this class? Can it be because it became fashionable to complain about the Witch Doctor? mm?

Uhm... standing toe to toe with masses of enemies, while unleashing earth shaking abilities, which come only from the usage of brute strength, is pretty cool.

Pot shotting with lobbing fireballs is less so.

[Krugar]

So you don't like to play with the Witch Doctor. I personally don't like to play with the Druid in D2. Joe over there doesn't like the Sorceress much. Doesn't find her cool. And Frank doesn't really appreciate Assassins and prefers the Amazon.

I can't stand Act II. But Frank loves it and Joe doesn't really care. Joe doesn't like Act III, but it's one of Frank and I favorite...

I could go on forever. But I think you see the point.

[FlamangoHellfire]

Well, I think that the lore that inspires the witch doctor isn't very well known. The tribes and people who held the beliefs that were that inspiration know no greater evil then the spirits of the jungle etc. I'm no expert, in fact I'm making half of this up anyway, but the point is that it's unknown territory; we're not conditioned to respond to spirits and voodoo the same way we respond to dragons and demons etc. But the idea is that they are just as epic. It is, however, up to Blizzard to provide the convincing story and atmosphere and personality to really bring this character to life.

[bhugy]

I haven't seen the barb doing any "cool stuff" on the demo videos and no one's complaining. So, why is the Witch Doctor so special? Why are people demanding so much from this class? Can it be because it became fashionable to complain about the Witch Doctor? mm?

I feel like the barb is almost automatically cool because he's a huge brute with bulging muscles. He's a pretty traditional representation of ideal masculine cool. He doesn't have to do any "cool stuff" because he already aesthetically fits a definition of cool.
The same goes for the wizard, in a way. The wiz is the "big explosion from a small bomb" character, and that fits a different, but still somewhat traditional, definition of cool.

The witchdoctor fits a less traditional definition of cool. People in this thread have said that he's a maybe-insane jungle-freak who doesn't brutalize his enemies in the same way as the other chars. It's kind of like rather than killing his foes, the WD changes them from being alive to being dead (that sounds a bit dumb, but I can't think of a better way to say it right now).
The way I see it, the witchdoctor, since he doesn't fit as universal a definition of cool as the barb and wiz, and since he doesn't (as far as we've seen) decimate his foes with the same brutish ferocity, will be seen as cool by a smaller number of players. If the devs changed his avatar to a tall, well-built, deep-voiced man's man, more people would probably say he was cool.
Personally, I like that he isn't just another traditional hero-type (kind of like the necro! WD=necro!! just kidding :wink:) I like characters who skirt the line between sanity and madness, and who make up their own ways to skin cats.

[Krugar]

The witchdoctor fits a less traditional definition of cool. People in this thread have said that he's a maybe-insane jungle-freak who doesn't brutalize his enemies in the same way as the other chars. It's kind of like rather than killing his foes, the WD changes them from being alive to being dead (that sounds a bit dumb, but I can't think of a better way to say it right now).

That has to be the coolest definition for the witch doctor I've heard since it was first announced! :thumbup:

Personally, I like that he isn't just another traditional hero-type (kind of like the necro! WD=necro!! just kidding :wink:) I like characters who skirt the line between sanity and madness, and who make up their own ways to skin cats.

Hear! Hear!

[Fernandus]

The silence of the swamps is broken as shrieks and howls of terror pierce the air. Out of the brushes jump out demons and monsters, their broken visages not ones of fierce battle, but of unspeakable horror. They trip as they run, their skins alredy half eaten by acids and locusts, flames spread out through the forest, spirits rise to the call. To the side a stragler's soul is severed from his body. Burning hellhounds rise up from the swamps to end all life, and those who had the bad luck to still be alive saw the visage of death itself, death so horrible it broke their otherworldly minds and made them put daggers to eachother's throats.

That's how I envision the Witch Doctor. Epic, is something that cannot begin to describe him.

[AtomicJ]

I just like the way he babbles when he tosses fireballs. :smug:

[Chorkstain]

Maybe it's that the Witch Doctor doesn't seem powerful outside of his context, it feels like he would be out of his element elsewhere, as if he can only channel his power from his home surroundings.

Personally I don't care that much about flavour as long as it's mostly palatable and the gameplay is fun, elegant and multilayered. Of course not everyone is like me and it's all important!

[Akse]

I have a feeling that we haven't yet seen the best out of WD..

[Mad Mantis]

I certainly hope so since we have seen a pathetic 11 out of 60 skills.

[ancalagon]

It makes me sad that a lot of people always have to ***** about some aspect of this game, if its not the graphic style its the new healing system, if its not the healing system its the characters. All this after we have waited for what seemed like a century for its announcement, knowing there was a 50/50 chance of it ever happening. Instead of enjoy every little detail and effort Blizzard has put into this awesome third installment, people have to pick on something. I think the WD is just as epic as the barbarian and wizard, IF NOT MORE. And im saying that even though hes my 3rd favorite! But i say that in full confidence realising what potential a summoner / spellcaster / disease hybrid such as the WD has, and CAN be truly EPIC. And we have seen just 1/6 of his skill tree ... enough said

[Matora]

Also, out of the few spells we have seen, how many have been of a high tier? Just wondering.

[Mad Mantis]

No idea. No Tier structure was given for the WD. He is really lagging behind.

[trollslayer]

The silence of the swamps is broken as shrieks and howls of terror pierce the air. Out of the brushes jump out demons and monsters, their broken visages not ones of fierce battle, but of unspeakable horror. They trip as they run, their skins alredy half eaten by acids and locusts, flames spread out through the forest, spirits rise to the call. To the side a stragler's soul is severed from his body. Burning hellhounds rise up from the swamps to end all life, and those who had the bad luck to still be alive saw the visage of death itself, death so horrible it broke their otherworldly minds and made them put daggers to eachother's throats.

That's how I envision the Witch Doctor. Epic, is something that cannot begin to describe him.

Holy crap, I think you just made my freakin' day. I am really indecisive about which class I'll play in DIII, but witch doctor seems to be the one I keep going back to. The way he dances around in combat, cutting through his enemies with locusts and bloody illusions like a hot knife through butter, it's just unreal! That is how I picture the epicness of the witch doctor.

[Airazor]

Holy crap, I think you just made my freakin' day. I am really indecisive about which class I'll play in DIII, but witch doctor seems to be the one I keep going back to. The way he dances around in combat, cutting through his enemies with locusts and bloody illusions like a hot knife through butter, it's just unreal! That is how I picture the epicness of the witch doctor.

haha, I think it's probably to early to be deciding what class you will play, but go for your life.

WD in my mind is a bit more grim with bits of rotting flesh and general filth all over him that would be better than fruity feathers etc.

[Smash]

It makes me sad that a lot of people always have to ***** about some aspect of this game, if its not the graphic style its the new healing system, if its not the healing system its the characters. All this after we have waited for what seemed like a century for its announcement, knowing there was a 50/50 chance of it ever happening. Instead of enjoy every little detail and effort Blizzard has put into this awesome third installment, people have to pick on something. I think the WD is just as epic as the barbarian and wizard, IF NOT MORE. And im saying that even though hes my 3rd favorite! But i say that in full confidence realising what potential a summoner / spellcaster / disease hybrid such as the WD has, and CAN be truly EPIC. And we have seen just 1/6 of his skill tree ... enough said

Lol, first if people see problem they are free to speak about it on the forum and if they are in minority with they dislike/like it will be found fast.

For example look at topic "i hate the witch doctor" how big it is and now look on topic "i hate the barbarian" or "i hate the wizard", do you see the difference?

About WD being epic i agree with you, just casting dozens of frogs upon my enemies and seeing how they ran in fear will be awesome of course until they are French because then we have a problem.

Adding even more Mongrels are so freaking epic beastly looking dogs that all cats will for sure run on the trees, at least i hope so.

[trollslayer]

It's no secret that a lot of people hate the witch doctor. This is a bit of a witch hunt, don't you think? (pun absolutely intended) People who don't like him/her should study his/her skills and truly appreciate the originality that Blizzard is attempting (something they should try more of!).

I personally would be more than satisfied with the game even if they pulled the witch doctor and put the necro back in (a real BS move by them, but sure) but I am guaranteed to love this game with the "horrific" appeal that the summoner classes give off, especially the WD.

My 2 cents, please reply, different opinions will be honored.

[raveharu]

What do you picture when you think of the Witch Doctor doing Epic Feats?

The Necromancer, lying in a pool of blood, dead at his feet, apparently losing out in a duel.

:whistling:

[ThomasJ]

The Witch Doctor is awesome like it is. I mean, who can toss a firebomb and sound like he is walking on coals of fire ?

[witchdoctorjoe]

Of course all these ways of dying are gruesome, but which kind seems to be the most horrifying...?

* cut to pieces, smashed to a bloody mist, torn apart

* blasted with mystic energy, frozen, electrocuted, blown away by a tornado

* eaten alive, set on fire, liquefied by acid, hunted down by otherworldly creatures, torn apart by spirit-possessed friends/companions you've known all your life, soul ripped from body

The witch doctor seems to have more ways of killing than others and those seem to be worse as well.

[cockatiels rule]

When I picture the Witch Doctor doing epic feats, I see an extremely powerful, calculating, cunning, and cautious warrior who has quickly analyzed his party's strengths and weaknesses while unleashing unbridled powerful spells and "disposables" that rise from the depths of his Ghost Trance. I don't think a "party" will be able to easily survive end-game without him/her. He puts the good of the "all" before his own "ego", all the while knowing he's can own everything in sight if he was alone.

Looking at his picture, you can see his feet are planted firmly on the ground being not one to back down. His steady gaze shows that his mind is constantly analyzing his enemies weakness while at the same time charging up his strengths from the depths of the souls slain in his wake. He's swaying and his left hand constantly twitches because of the harnessed power coursing through his body. Yet he holds back, with what appears as an insane intensity while his powers simmer and shudder in anticipation of the next victory over his opponent. The W/D will not back down in the face of adversity. He knows that within him lies the secrets life and power over death. You had better be darned sure of yourself if you were to meet this character on screen or in real life.

I believe the witch doctor is going to rock for those who like the mental aspect of battle over the physical. I'm hoping the developers are doing a little more background research into the skills of the character they are calling "witch doctor", which could be the reason why we don't know much about the skill set. If they do the research right, this character is going to surprise a lot of people who think he's just a caster wimp. Don't let his size fool you, this guy's gonna rock cause big dangers can come from small and meek looking packages! A powerful caster/summoner/melee rolled all in one!

His epic fight? Watching him slay everything in sight with multiple skills all working at the same time with him laughing while beating the stuffing outta the enemy! Whop, Whop, Whop.

Turn off your lights and look deeply into his eyes...don't be scared...after all...he's on our side!

[lunarleif]

This is personally how I see things.

The barbarian hacks things apart, killing something before it's even ready to confront the barbarian. The barbarian has spent years analyzing foes and has fought demons before so he doesn't need to spend time analyzing his opponents. What won't be taken care of with a whirlwind? All of his skills so far look like they will continue to be useful throughout the game.

The wizards destroys everything at range with explosive magic, she's better than everyone else... Her skills range from being completely, barely, and not at all useful throughout the game. Slow time will probably continue to be useful as will teleport.

The witch doctor's skills so far have barely anything continuing permanent use. The mongrol enchant may be an example of how they tried to make them eternally useful, but that's forceful and you have to follow a certain path in order to do so. Firebomb, mongrol, locust swarm, and partially soul harvest all have little use later on in the game. Soul harvest is a stepping stone that basically builds other spells later on and modifies them, almost like a different mana perhaps? The other thing is that the witch doctor horrifies, then kills while they are confused. Technically, this isn't really fair play and is basically using any methods possible to defeat enemies:coffee: Furthermore, mongrel is awesome, but they to are stepping stones. On the other hand, all of these stepping stones allow you to build complex strategies and builds. What people don't like about the witch doctor I think, is that his appearance isn't good, that we aren't getting the beloved necro :jig: , and that the skills won't be as good since we wan't epic skills, not stepping stone ones:scratchchin: The witch doctor is also way to humble.

[sreda]

I don't think it's much of a secret that I am, currently, opposed to the design of the Witch Doctor in general, however, there are many on this board that seem fairly adament about the validity of the Witch Doctor, which has led me to question my own position on the class, and begin to wonder what it is, exactly, others truly see in the class. I believe I have put my finger on what my ultimate difficulty is. I don't actually have a mental picture that represents the Witch Doctor as being awesome, or at all Epic. I can conjure a picture for the barbarian and the wizard with ease. However, the Witch Doctor seems to allude me.

For the Barbarian it has always been the picture of a war torn man, cut, bruised and battered, holding a giant war-axe above his head ready to swing it down towards the gigantic dragon that he is fighting, his face filled with all the rage and battlefury of a man ready to face oblivion because he's seen so much death that his own would be only one more number in his mind.

For the Wizard it is the picture of an old man being surrounded by multiple enemies and he lays waste to them with a ring of fire around him which sears the bones off of their flesh. His eyes are burning flames which light up his face as he shouts out the words of a long dead language which fuel his arcane might.

When I picture the witch doctor... I picture a man hunched over a cauldron, stirring a brew, in the swamp, with a mongrel chewing on a bone. He is adorned with all the regalia that one would expect of the witch doctor.

This is a fine picture, and extremely atmospheric, but, in my mind, it suits an NPC more then a PC. What's lacking, to me, is the sence of the truly epic. I can easily picture the wizard and the barbarian in epic posturing, but the witch doctor, in my mind, still rests as a character which would hide under the table while the big boys did their work.

So I invite fully and openly; What do you picture when you think of the Witch Doctor doing Epic Feats?

That's what makes the WD so appealing. He's original, he's new. It's a brave thing Blizzard did to bring the WD into the game. Though I would have probably preferred the Necromancer, the WD is the next best thing. He looks very ghoulish, his posture is tribal, the whole parkinsons-hand-shake thing he's got going on adds to his persona.

I like the idea of a skull-clad wilted old man, that packs a punch. I'm totally playing a Witch Doctor, **** the other 2 classes.

[sreda]

I don't think it's much of a secret that I am, currently, opposed to the design of the Witch Doctor in general, however, there are many on this board that seem fairly adament about the validity of the Witch Doctor, which has led me to question my own position on the class, and begin to wonder what it is, exactly, others truly see in the class. I believe I have put my finger on what my ultimate difficulty is. I don't actually have a mental picture that represents the Witch Doctor as being awesome, or at all Epic. I can conjure a picture for the barbarian and the wizard with ease. However, the Witch Doctor seems to allude me.

For the Barbarian it has always been the picture of a war torn man, cut, bruised and battered, holding a giant war-axe above his head ready to swing it down towards the gigantic dragon that he is fighting, his face filled with all the rage and battlefury of a man ready to face oblivion because he's seen so much death that his own would be only one more number in his mind.

For the Wizard it is the picture of an old man being surrounded by multiple enemies and he lays waste to them with a ring of fire around him which sears the bones off of their flesh. His eyes are burning flames which light up his face as he shouts out the words of a long dead language which fuel his arcane might.

When I picture the witch doctor... I picture a man hunched over a cauldron, stirring a brew, in the swamp, with a mongrel chewing on a bone. He is adorned with all the regalia that one would expect of the witch doctor.

This is a fine picture, and extremely atmospheric, but, in my mind, it suits an NPC more then a PC. What's lacking, to me, is the sence of the truly epic. I can easily picture the wizard and the barbarian in epic posturing, but the witch doctor, in my mind, still rests as a character which would hide under the table while the big boys did their work.

So I invite fully and openly; What do you picture when you think of the Witch Doctor doing Epic Feats?

It's a cryptic, creepy old man, with some form of localized parkinson's in his hand, possibly due to being so filled with spells and curses and all sorts of black magic it's starting to physically effect him. I imagine he speaks in a deep, african voice, mumbling at times. The skulls of his victims he carries on his belt, and attaches to create voodoo paraphernalia. What he lacks in physique, he more than makes up for in magic lethality.

[LittleOldLady]

I'm more interested in the different way that the WD plays: yes, you get summons to keep enemies a little further away, but most of the direct damage spells seem to be short-ish range. If you want something further you go slow (Skull of Flame) or you explode your summons.

Nice trade between safety/damage...

[GuardianHadriel]

And, over all, a picture capable enough of doing many things with creepy animals, with the power of voodoo, mind and souls control and things like that.
That sounds awful...doing things with creepy animals, come on! Go see a psychiatrist...or do creepy things with naughty animals!:coffee:

[lunarleif]

Think before talking. The witch doctor does stuff like that to keep away evil spirits and heal others. If you can't stomach, don't comment.

[Risingred]

I don't see him doing anything epic. I see him focusing and reaching into himself to tear things from the unformed land, which will do epic things. ;)

I'm not terribly excited to play him but it was just a thought.

[Fackelare]

and that the skills won't be as good since we wan't epic skills, not stepping stone ones:scratchchin: The witch doctor is also way to humble.

This is something that annoys me about all the blizzard press conference, not everyone wants to be over-the-top-epic... The witch-doctor seems like a good way to give the people that do not want to "pewpew-epicpwnage", but rather a less direect way of killing, like through the horrify spell and pets.
Unfortunatly it seems that the people who want every character to be more epic than the next, are also the people who whine the loudest and the most... It is good that blizzard listens, but doesn't act on everything...

[lunarleif]

What I meant was that the Witch doctor is much more strategical in a sense than other characters so far. Instead of having mortal combat or blow them up with magic, we have a balanced character who can summon to do fighting, blow them up with spells, and turn them on each other. However, as this is more of a jack of all trades, the things he does are less epic. I personally don't care how epic it is, since after watching it 50,000 times as you destroy monsters, it doesn't really matter any more.

[lumpor]

I can imagine the witch doctor being quite epic.

Some guys go toward him. The witch doctor wears a blindfold, carrying some rattling instrument (some primitive tamburine decorated with skulls) in his hand. He begins mumbling, you can't hear what he says. He continues, and it speaks louder (in some ancient foreign language), and he starts shaking tamburine/maracas thing. It grows louder, he's chanting, as in trance, and all other noises start fading. You hear rumbling in the horison. He almost screams his final words and then.... something... big... comes... whatever, it's the tension up to that moment that is the cool thing.

I've always liked witch doctors and shamans. Their mystique, their communication with the spirits, them always keeping their cool, being wise, never being too impulsive etc.

[lunarleif]

It would get boring after a while to have to go through that each time. Lumpor. Nothing can be truly epic and interesting if it doesn't change very much or have many strategic uses. Sorcerer's burning trail was cool, until you could barely kill anything with it :( However, it was extremely useful for dealing with cows! (Those of you who have played diablo 2 will understand)
Fire wall was useful in dealing damage to anything coming through a door way, small corridor, etc, but didn't last long or do to much damage. It got nerfed to much.

[cockatiels rule]

This is something that annoys me about all the blizzard press conference, not everyone wants to be over-the-top-epic... The witch-doctor seems like a good way to give the people that do not want to "pewpew-epicpwnage", but rather a less direect way of killing, like through the horrify spell and pets.
Unfortunatly it seems that the people who want every character to be more epic than the next, are also the people who whine the loudest and the most... It is good that blizzard listens, but doesn't act on everything...

Thanks Fackelare...that's why we'll have a choice in which character we want to play. If online gameplay will be geared towards multi-party play, then I'm positive the Witch-Doctor will be a valuable member to the team. Some ppl refuse to give credit where credit is due and base premature opinions and assumptions on what they think rather than taking into consideration what is currently unknown about all of the various character skill sets, equipment, cool down periods, etc., concerning all of the characters. Which is why they can't or don't want to consider or understand the reasonings behind Blizzard's inclusion of the Witch Doctor as an intergral part of the whole. Blizzard is developing well-rounded characters to appease various types of gameplay/style for marketability purposes. As it's been said many times, in many D3 forums, if one type of character doesn't fit your fancy there's always another choice. I still believe the Witch Doctor may just be the next sleeper to arise and own the day as an epic character acknowledged by the majority of the Diablo 3 community. We'll just have to wait and see. Physical power isn't the only type of Power that's epic.