Witch Doctor
From Diablo Wiki
Abilities: Barbarian Abilities • Witch Doctor Abilities • Wizard Abilities • Monk Abilities • Unannounced Class Abilities
The Witch Doctor is one of five playable character classes for the upcoming game Diablo III. Able to summon minions from beneath the ground, spread poisonous diseases, and conjure voodoo-like magic, the Witch Doctor is a conflagration of fear and pestilence. Although weak in close quarters combat, the Witch Doctor commands the dead to slay his enemies while remaining safe behind a wall of undead.
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. - Abd al-Hazir
Overview
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 (or perhaps, this 'frailty' is merely a side-effect brought on by the ingestion of the many roots and herbs necessary in order to achieve the state of mind loosely translated as 'Ghost Trance' in the Umbaru tongue).
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.
The male Witch Doctor is also the first character shown using the new elemental damage type, Arcane. In keeping with his purple color scheme, he is shown holding a sword imbued with Arcane damage glowing in a purplish hue.
It is also notable that both of them have been shown wearing stereotypical Voodoo masks. It is unknown whether normal helms look like that when equipped on them or if they are class-specific items.
Abilities
The Witch Doctor's three skill types are Plague, Spirit, and Voodoo. They are:
Beta skill calculator here.
Lore
"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
Trivia
- Only the female Witch Doctor's voice was heard, and although it was not confirmed yet, it seems that she is voiced by Lani Minella, who voiced Adria the Witch and Wirt the Peglegged Boy in Diablo, and Blood Raven, The Countess, Andariel, Malah and the Ancients in Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Her voice is also very reminiscent of that of Eve Brent, who voiced Akara in Diablo II.
- The Witch Doctor may be partially based off its Warcraft counterpart. Blizzard Entertainment has indeed admitted that they like to steal from themselves.
Concept art
 The Ghost Trance |
 A well-equipped Witch Doctor |
Tapping into the Mbwiru Eikura |
 The female Witch Doctor |
 Early concept art of the Witch Doctor |
 Different models for the female Witch Doctor |
