Diablo III Kore

Summary

The Witch Doctor seems loosely based on the real-world Voodoo practitioners. The males are depicted as frail old men having a hunched back and always shaking their head due to their physical weakness.

However, they possess great spiritual and manipulative powers as seen in the gameplay video. They can be seen easily controlling the minds of their enemies, raising the dead without the use of corpses and lobbing alchemical projectiles at unwary victims.

The female Witch Doctor seems much younger, capable of walking without a hunch. It may be noted that both the male and female Witch Doctors have a distinctly purple color-scheme in their equipment. Although this may be just to show them off during the gameplay video.

Most believe the fearsome witch doctor of the umbaru race a legend, but I have seen one in battle with my own eyes. And it was difficult to believe, even then. He dispatched his opponent with terrifying precision, assaulting his victim's mind and body with elixirs and powders that evoked fires, explosions, and poisonous spirits. As if these assaults were not enough, the witch doctor also had at his command the ability to summon undead creatures from the netherworld to rend the flesh from his enemy's body.

I came upon this rare display as I ventured deep into the interior of the dense Torajan jungles that cover the southern tip of the great eastern continent, in the vast area known as the Teganze, with the goal of seeking out the tribes that reside there. This area is extremely secluded, and heretofore unseen by foreign eyes. I was fortunate to befriend the witch doctor I saw in battle, and, through him, his tribe: the Tribe of the Five Hills.

The culture of the umbaru of the lower Teganze is fascinating and perplexing to those hailing from more civilized walks of life. For instance, the Tribe of the Five Hills frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the Clan of the Seven Stones and the Tribe of the Clouded Valley, but these are matters of ritual and not of conquest. I had heard tales that these wars are waged in order that the victors may replenish their supply of raw materials for the human sacrifices that their civilization revolves around, and when I timidly asked my hosts more about this topic, I must admit their laughter made me fear for my safety. However, through stumbled attempts at communication of such complex topics as what constitutes heroism and honor in their society, I gathered that only those taken in battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice, much to my relief.

Upon further discussions with my hosts, I discovered that these tribes define themselves by their belief in the Mbwiru Eikura, which roughly translates to "The Unformed Land" (this is an imprecise translation, as this concept is completely foreign to our culture and language). This belief holds that the true, sacred reality is veiled behind the physical one we normally experience. Their vitally important public ceremonies are centered upon sacrifices to the life force that flows from their gods, who inhabit the Unformed Land, into this lesser physical realm.

The witch doctors are finely attuned to this Unformed Land and are able to train their minds to perceive this reality through a combination of rituals and the use of selected roots and herbs found in the jungles. They call the state in which they interact with this other world the Ghost Trance.

Alongside the primacy of the belief in the life force and the Unformed Land, the second most sacred belief of the tribes is their philosophy of self-sacrifice and non-individuality, of suppressing one's self-interest for the good of the tribe. This idea, so foreign to our culture, struck me as something I wished to delve into much more deeply.

Unfortunately, there was intense social upheaval among the tribes due to an incident involving their most current war (inasmuch as I could discern in the ensuing bedlam), and the charged atmosphere warranted my quick departure before I could ask anything further of my hosts.

- Abd al-Hazir

Starting Attributes

• Strength:
• Dexterity:
• Vitality:
• Willpower:
• Life: 20
• Mana: 80

• Strength:
• Dexterity:
• Vitality:
• Willpower:

• +1 point in Strength gives +1% Melee and Ranged Physical Damage Bonus, +1% Armor Bonus & +1% Block Amount
• +1 point in Dexterity gives +x% Critical Strike Chance and +x% Dodge Chance. Higher Dexterity lowers chance you will be interrupted by getting hit.
• +1 point in Vitality gives +2 Life and Mana Regeneration of +x per second
• +1 point in Willpower gives +x% Spell Damage Bonus and +x% Health Globe Bonus

All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills boost or change the behavior of the active skills.

Voodoo Skill Tree

Horrify (Active)

Wall of Zombies (Active)

Summon Mongrel (Active)

Sacrifice (Active)

Though the name is identical to a Diablo 2 Paladin skill, this skill is more closely linked with Corpse Explosion. What it does is very simple; it blows up a selected summoned creature to deal a lot of damage to nearby enemies.

Mana Cost: ? - Initial Damage: ?

Spirit Skill Tree

Skull of Flame (Active)

Soul Harvest (Active)

Firebats (Active)

Mass Confusion (Active)

The Witch Doctor summons a blue ghost which confuses enemies causing them to hurt each other and run around aimlessly. They may still attack the Witch Doctor, but it becomes an entirely random event.

Mana Cost: ? - Initial Damage: ?

Plague Skill Tree

Locust Swarm (Active)

Plague of Toads (Active)

Spider Statue (Active)

The Witch Doctor is a fascinating character... They have quite a story with them, but I'll get right to their skills.

The seemingly most famous Witch Doctor skill so far is the "Locust Swarm."

This attack lets out a swarm of locusts on multiple enemies, and as the enemies die off, the locusts move onto other nearby enemies, thus increasing the range of damage. I’m sure you can see how this can be useful.

Another amazing skill is "Soul Harvest."

This attack drains nearby enemies (up to five) of energy and absorbs their souls.

Now, if you don't have enough time to initiate one of these attacks, either call on one of your Wizard pals or use "Horrify," which calls of a spirit or illusion that floats above your head, scaring nearby enemies into running away in fear.

Witch Doctor using the Fire Bomb skill to launch flames that's so hot, that hell's demons will need sweaters.

Witch Doctor using the Mass Confusion skill causing hysteria among a group of skeletons.

Witch Doctor using the Soul Harvest skill gathering souls for his own personal collection.

Witch Doctor using the Horrify skill to strike fear in the undead, causing them to flea during combat.

Witch Doctor using the Locust Swarm skill....