Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Witch Doctor's Distended Stomach - Page 2

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I just find it odd that although the female Barb is huge and muscular (just like the male) the female WD doesn't seem to be sharing the same characteristics as the male WD.




An easy in-game explanation would be that the female witch doctors are allowed to eat more/more nutritious food, preventing them from developing such conditions. (As opposed to the out-of-game explanation that they know the market for female WD with pot belly is smaller than the one for female WD without pot belly.)

Not saying this is the way they'd go, but it could make sense.|||^That's very true. Perhaps they made the male WD uglier and contorted just to make the female WD look more sexed up in comparison.

The Witch Doctor's Distended Stomach

So, I have no idea why they gave the Witch Doctor a pot belly. There are a few reasons he would have one though. So I did some searching on the internet and found this on Wikipedia:

1. Kwashiorkor, a type of malnutrition caused by insufficient protein intake.

Symptoms include a swollen abdomen known as a pot belly, as well as alternating bands of pale and dark hair and weight loss.

2. Liver problems

3. Full bowels (ew)

4. He just has a beer gut from drinking too much

I'm betting on Kwashiorkor. I seriously think they wanted to make the Witch Doctor look malnourished.

What's your opinion?|||It's possible Blizzard is going for what Valve did for Team Fortress 2: unique silhouettes. Valve wanted each class to have a unique shape so users could immediately identify their opponent/teammate and their role.

The Witch Doctor's hunched posture (and belly) contrast pretty sharply with the Barb and Wizard. Going even further off my tangent, if think of the character shapes as animals the WD is vaguely crab-shaped with his arms curled in front of him. The Wizard reminded me a little of a dragonfly since her robes seem to flap all over the place whenever she was firing off a spell in her gameplay video. As for Barb...well I guess my animal comparison fails there, he's just a big bowling ball of muscle.|||Maybe he's got an eating disorder, and it's merely a belly full of "Trimspa".|||Quote:








The Witch Doctor's hunched posture (and belly) contrast pretty sharply with the Barb and Wizard.




Only the male seems to have these distinguishing features. They are curiously absent from the female.|||He ate a baby! |||Quote:








Only the male seems to have these distinguishing features. They are curiously absent from the female.




I strongly disagree there. In my opinion, they are visibly different. To begin, the Wizard looks like the typical fantasy female; slim, slender and 'feminine' with an additional 'distinguishing' feature of appearing Asian. The Barbarian, on the other hand, looks taller than the Wizard as well as appearing more 'masculine', in that she has broad shoulders and thicker limbs (particularly the thighs). Finally, let's take a look at the Witch Doctor. To simply put it, she has broader hips relative to torso (compared to both, the Wizard and Barbarian) as well as what appears to be sagging breasts.|||Quote:








I strongly disagree there.




Allow me to rephrase my answer. When comparing the male WD with the female WD, it appears as though the distinguishing marks for a WD (hunched posture and belly) are only present on the male.

I agree that you can tell the various avatars apart very easily and even between male and female form, I just find it odd that although the female Barb is huge and muscular (just like the male) the female WD doesn't seem to be sharing the same characteristics as the male WD.|||The shadow concept is neat.

But it's not Kwashiorkor. This I know for sure. I hate organic chemistry, but it is helpful in this situation, so here is what the textbook says:

The body can perform all kinds of transormations on organic substances. Fats can be converted to water and carbon dioxide, and energy of course. Sugars can be turned into fat. Protiens can be built up from amino acids via peptide bonds. When the body is depleted of other energy souces, it can cleave peptide bonds (catabolizing protiens) to obtain free amino acids. Some of the amino acids can then be used to produce energy sources. This process is called kwashiorkor.

It is basically the breakdown of protien structures to obtain energy in very desperate times of prolonged malnurishment. Kwashiorkor is not what happens when someone is merely hungry or malnurished for a few days. Kwashiorkor occurs after there is no adipose (fat) storage remaining to draw energy from, and involves ireversable loss of tissues. That is, once someone loses muscle tissues from kwashiorkor, they never get it back; they remain emaciated until they die.

So if the WD had this process going on, he would not have the energy to run around let alone gain levels and improve his skills. He would be a skeletonized immobile heap on the floor like what you see in starving villages. Plus, he would never recover from kwashiorkor.

Some children you see in UNICEF commercials and such have pot bellies, but these are far more pronounced than what the WD has. These children are starving, though kwashiorkor has not started depleting their tissues much so they can still stand. The pot bellies here are from accumulation of gastric juices in the GI tract. Normally, these juices are used up to break down ingested food.

So that leaves us with the question remaining as to why the WD has a pot belly. Well, I don't notice much of a bulge there. Some people have pot bellies even though they are thin everywhere else. This can occur from long term high stress and poor exercise.

I think the reason the WD has this characteristic is to make him look more like he is from the East, to separate him further from the other classes as mentioned above. Maybe it is supposed to make him look scarier; well look how scary the barb is. I think Blizzard is "getting real" with the chrs, adding scars, grey hair, stress, posture problems and (I suppose) the pot belly to make them more realistic and human looking.

Edit: I'd like to change my answer. You can push your tummy out just as you can suck your tummy in. So I think the WD is pushing his tummy out to further add to his ridiculously terrible posture. Picture the Blizzard Boss looking at the first WD artwork and saying "No, no, make him MORE bent up and hunched over..." The artwork guy does so. The Boss says "No, make it over-the-top. Make him hunching over like a monkey." Artwork guy holds his breath and does as he's told. The Boss says, "Not there yet. We have a scale of 1-10 for noticably bad posture. Make his bad posture 12 or so. The Artwork guy rolls his eyes, swallows his pride and makes the changes. The Boss says, "Ok, make it more like a cartoon caveman. I want his head bent down there where his xiphoid is." The artwork guy sighs loudly and makes the change. The Boss says "Well, it still needs to be louder. Can you add a giant piano-key tie around his neck and show it scuffing along on the ground some 4 feet in front of his toes?" The artwork guy turns to punch out his boss. The boss throws his hands up and says, "Ok Ok!! Just give him a pot belly then. Make his mask bigger than the rest of him too."

And that is why the WD has a pot belly.|||So, so far, the reasons for the pot belly have less to do with the Witch Doctor's story and more to do with the art direction, whether it be to distinguish him from other classes or to make him look as if he is trying to intimidate others through his bad posture.|||Quote:




I'd like to change my answer. You can push your tummy out just as you can suck your tummy in. So I think the WD is pushing his tummy out to further add to his ridiculously terrible posture. Picture the Blizzard Boss looking at the first WD artwork and saying "No, no, make him MORE bent up and hunched over..." The artwork guy does so. The Boss says "No, make it over-the-top. Make him hunching over like a monkey." Artwork guy holds his breath and does as he's told. The Boss says, "Not there yet. We have a scale of 1-10 for noticably bad posture. Make his bad posture 12 or so. The Artwork guy rolls his eyes, swallows his pride and makes the changes. The Boss says, "Ok, make it more like a cartoon caveman. I want his head bent down there where his xiphoid is." The artwork guy sighs loudly and makes the change. The Boss says "Well, it still needs to be louder. Can you add a giant piano-key tie around his neck and show it scuffing along on the ground some 4 feet in front of his toes?" The artwork guy turns to punch out his boss. The boss throws his hands up and says, "Ok Ok!! Just give him a pot belly then. Make his mask bigger than the rest of him too."




Win

(tenchars)

Witch doctor energy blast skill in wwi gameplay movie - Page 2

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Just FYI, the one video with the WD acctually killing enemies with Soul Harvest, its because he had a Striking Rune inserted into the skill. Just like the Wizard's Teleport in that other video.




Are you sure? From what I heard, only the Wizard could insert runes into her skills in the Blizzcon demo.|||From what I heard, Soul Harvest ONLY gives mana (and not life!) back when you kill an enemy with it - and it doesn't deal much damage.

Witch doctor energy blast skill in wwi gameplay movie

Hello i noticed in gameplay movie WD using some sort of energy blast ability to damage near by targets,but i didnt find this skill at wiki . What is the situation about this skill now?|||Are you referring to the movies from the WWI, or did you mean BlizzCon? Could you describe the skill a bit?

There is a "Detonate Mongrel" spell that causes you to blow up the mongrels, kind of like CE. It isn't listed as separate spell, but included in the mongrel description.|||Oh,sory,looks like it was "detonate mongrel", didnt notice it before =(|||The reason it isn't listed as a different spell is probably because we don't know if it is an actual skill, or if it is caused by unsummoning the mongrels.|||I think he was referring to Soul Harvest. It's the skill that casts a blue circle around the Witch Doctor, seems to do some damage around him, and causes portions of the monsters' souls (from what it appears) to be drawn towards the Witch Doctor. Presumably the Witch Doctor benefits from a life or mana boost.|||I was noticing that in a gameplay trailer, the Witch Doctor could spam Soul Harvest, and achieve the mana/life rejuvination without killing the target.|||We have also seen (from the Witch Doctor entry on the official Diablo 3 website) that Soul Harvest can in fact kill monsters.|||I would like to see the detonation skill as a separate skill with its own passives. It could replace a basic unsummon skill and would allow for hybrid summoners like a suicidal minion WD.|||Quote:








I would like to see the detonation skill as a separate skill with its own passives. It could replace a basic unsummon skill and would allow for hybrid summoners like a suicidal minion WD.




I think that's the case already.|||Just FYI, the one video with the WD acctually killing enemies with Soul Harvest, its because he had a Striking Rune inserted into the skill. Just like the Wizard's Teleport in that other video.

Blowdarts - Page 3

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As long as he can't summon kangaroos I'm fine with that.




That's going to be the WD's mount. He climbs inside the pouch and hops away.|||Quote:








And I love the idea of using voodoo dolls somehow.




Oh wow, I also love the voodoo doll idea. It could make for a very unique skill/set of skills instead of just another throw-projectile-do-direct-damage type skill.|||Quote:








Oh wow, I also love the voodoo doll idea. It could make for a very unique skill/set of skills instead of just another throw-projectile-do-direct-damage type skill.




I'm thinking it could be a synergy to Mass Confusion. MC is cast on a group of monsters, and they attack each other randomly. Maybe Voodoo Doll could be cast on a single monster, and then you get to control that monster instead of your WD for a little bit. So you can keep your WD back, and he'll pull out a voodoo doll, and then you'll switch to controlling your targeted monster and use it to fight until it dies/time limit expires, at which point you'll snap back to your WD.

Or something like that.|||Quote:








a boomerang is a pointless weapon, like giving someone a gun with 1 bullet to fight an army. you throw the boomerang, it hits the target, and falls down. now what the hell do you do?




The same thing you do when...

- a Barb throws an axe, dagger, or spear

- an Amazon throws a javelin

- a Necro throws a dagger

- any D2 class throws a potion

... you throw until the stack size is depleted and then hit town to buy more (or stuff the item in your backpack and wait for the "replenishes quantity" affix to do its thing)|||meh blowguns are still weak. anything that requires a million summons to get the job done is thumbs down for me. ESPECIALLY if there would be multiple witch doctors in the same game. holy lagfest.

i didnt get to play the demo but from what i heard, the mongrels were doing a great job tanking giving u more time to use your spells. which is nice. i dont like chars that are just auto pilot. "oh let me just eat this sandwich while my minions do all the work"

this is another idea if u want pygmies so bad as a skill. use it something like wall of zombies. and it summons for a couple seconds a large group of pygmy blowgunners and they launch a volley at a group of enemies stunning or poisoning them for some intense dmg (psn dmg over time that is) and dissipate. followed by a nice cooldown so theres no spamming.|||My imagination of Shrunken heads in DIII would be that you can summon specific monsters with a specific head, let's say you have a...umm...ghoul head? And you can summon a ghoul with it.

As for the boomerang, ever heard that boomerangs come back

And Blowdarts would be interesting to see, not as a main weapon, but a sub-weapon of some sorts, specific darts with specific effects (poison, paralyze etc)|||Quote:








The witch doctor should be able to use a boomerang since Blizzard seems to be incorporating an Australian Aboriginal-New Guinea feel to the character.




I can see much resemblance to the Aboriginals, if anything the WD is more South African in character.|||I like the voodoo doll idea too, but I would want it to be more like .... actual voodoo dolls we hear about from stories, like in Indiana Jones.

So you maybe use the body parts of monster to make a little doll, then you stab it with pins and ALL the monsters of that type on the screen get hurt. But the damage has to be divided among all the mosnters. So for example, your doll skill says you do 100 damage. You kill a zombie and make a zombie doll. Then, 4 zombies come to attack you and each jab of the doll does 25 damage to each zombie. Or, one zombie comes over to attack you and you do 100 damage with each doll jab.

Maybe you could even stab the eyes to cause blindness, the back to cause kb, the legs to cause slowness, the brain to cause confusion, the heart for a chance for critcal hit, etc. There could be a whole skill tree just for voodoo dolls!!

Blowdarts - Page 2

Maybe it's the shrunken head of a creature with a giant head?|||Quote:








You mean like Craft(Shrunken Head)? Which could function something like Enchant?




Sure, why not.

Or maybe it could be another type of curse.|||Quote:








Yep, witch doctors should use those.

Or could be a voodoo doll summon with blowdarts like the flayers O_o.




I like the idea of a doll with blowdart summon. There could even be 2-3 different types that have unique poisons/debuffs.|||For one of the contests, I did a mock Witch Doctor skill tree, and had a few skills where you summoned Fetish that would come in and cause destruction for 20 seconds. Some used blowdarts, and some used daggers.. and you could explode them on command. Probably my favorite skills that I brainstormed for it. =]|||I think that blow darts can be used for ranged/magic hybrids. Blowdarts shouldn't be the main kille, but have like weakening and decaying poison, while you use magic to finish them off|||that thing is ridiculously huge. and very impractical. i dont see the WD using one of those. and blowdarts arent really damaging weapons... they are used to like stun/psn ur target.

even the million of those flayers firing at me (in the world stone) did no dmg to my barb on hell mode. they are mad weak. dont put this in the game.|||one of the entries in our "design a d3 skill tree' contest gave the WD summon flayer skills, which I thought was pretty clever. gets a bit necromancer's skeleton mage in style, though, if there were a lot of those type of summons.|||The witch doctor should be able to use a boomerang since Blizzard seems to be incorporating an Australian Aboriginal-New Guinea feel to the character.|||Quote:








The witch doctor should be able to use a boomerang since Blizzard seems to be incorporating an Australian Aboriginal-New Guinea feel to the character.




As long as he can't summon kangaroos I'm fine with that.|||a boomerang is a pointless weapon, like giving someone a gun with 1 bullet to fight an army. you throw the boomerang, it hits the target, and falls down. now what the hell do you do?



anyway, not a fan of the blowdart idea myself

Help Re-Name Witch Doctor Skills - Page 3

I like the idea of Delirium (yes, straight from the famous D2 item) for Mass Confusion

Help Re-Name Witch Doctor Skills - Page 2

I'm telling you, man. "Spider Totem".|||Quote:








I'm telling you, man. "Spider Totem".




The WoW haters fanclub would poop bricks. No totems.|||They could do it for the irony of it, but I like the shamanistic idea behind. It just sounds correct, even though it reminds me of WC3. This is one thing that they could take.

Fire Bats = Bat out of Hell. Seriously, we need a Meat Loaf spell.

Mass Confuse = Dementia, Delirium or Psychosis. All fit the bill and sound less lame.|||I like Delirium, especially because it reminds me of the rune word that would turn you into a flayer. Inside joke potential!|||Loving the "Dementia" name for Mass Confuse, sounds fitting.

As for Fire Bats = Plague of Flames, Burning Swarm, Winged Flames, I don't know.

And, excuse me for my ignorance, but what does Spider Statue do?|||I don't think they would use dementia....as it is a real life problem a lot of people encounter and have to live through. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, just saying I think they would shy away from that.

I like Plague of Fire.

I also like Delerium. Visions of Anarchy would be a cool name too, but may sound too much like a heavy metal band name.

As for the Meatload spell.....what about an attract style spell called "Fight Club"? Maybe call Horrify the Rocky Horrify Picture Show?|||Spider Statue: Kiss of Lloth (you can't always be orignal)

Fire Bats: I totally agree with Mad Mantis on this one. Bats Outta Hell is such an obvious choice.

Speaking of Mad Mantis. Why not rename Locust Swarm to "Mad Mantis Swarm". All those bugs looks alike anyway.|||Mass Confuse---Mass Hypnosis. It's the name of a Sepultura song.|||Quote:








i started reading the title and i was sure that this was about renaming the witch doctor. A witch doctor belongs in warcraft...

But anyway,

spider statue : stone form

fire bats. : Breathe of fire

mass conufuse : howl of terror

these names would be awesome and totally innovative!




omgomg to much wow.|||as for me..



firebats: Kindled/ Scorched Wings

(firebats are for starcraft)

mass confusion: Loa's Mirror

(since the foes intend to fight each other,

they will saw their own allies as Loa's image

that provokes them, thus initiating a battle)

spider statue: Venom Pillar

Help Re-Name Witch Doctor Skills

Some Witch Doctor skills sound awesome. "Soul Harvest." "Locust Swarm." "Skull of Flame."

Some need a little work. "Spider Statue." "Fire Bats." "Mass Conufuse."

So let's put our heads together and perhaps make a few friendly suggestions. Blizzard hasn't committed itself to these newer skills' names yet, so there may still be time to make a positive difference.

For Fire Bats, here are a couple suggestions:

1. "Ancestral Blaze": shamanistic societies frequently attached animistic qualities to their ancestors, in this case exploding bats!

2. "Elemental": a more traditional fire skill name, also referring to the pyromantic embodiment of a spirit (and this is in the Witch Doctor's spirit skill tree)

I'm leaving for work now, but "Spider Statue" is the next skill I wanna spend some time on. Have fun being creative, now.|||For Spider Statue:

"Arachnostone" - Giving the statue itself an actual name seems like a good idea. Thus putting the Arachnostone down calls its creepy, crawly minions to do your dirty work.

"Plague of Spiders" - Granted there is already a skill called Plague of Toads, but I think it would be neat to keep a theme going with all the Plague skills, ie Plague of Locusts, Plague of Death, Plague of the Firstborn, ext.|||Quote:








shamanistic societies frequently attached animistic qualities to their ancestors, in this case exploding bats!




so why not call it firebats? honestly, i like the original name better and don�t see the point in complicating things. barb skill leap fore example explains what the skill does, no need to call it anything ells, same goes for firebats|||I think it's would be hilarious if the skills names will be like Indian names. For example Firebats will be Bats from Cave or Terrify will be One Who Fears All ^^

And I like Firebats. Spider Statue is another thing however..Although just calling it Arachnids Totem is already much much better.|||"Totem" is a great word. "Spider Totem" may work.|||Firebats: Flaming Vermin

Spider Statue: Arach's Grasp

Mass Confuse: Anarchy? Vision of Chaos?

Fear: Phobia|||I started reading the title and I was sure that this was about renaming the Witch Doctor. A witch doctor belongs in warcraft...

But anyway,

Spider Statue : Stone form

Fire Bats. : Breathe of fire

Mass Conufuse : Howl of terror

These names would be awesome and totally innovative!|||Totally awesome names, yes....however howl of terror would be confused with the fear curse. Stone Form doesn't really explain quite what the spider skill does, it sounds more like stone skin, which is a wizard skill. Breath of fire doesn't include anything of the bats that are an integral part of the skill's animation, plus it's the name of a whole franchise of role playing games, which would be weird.|||Quote:








Firebats: Flaming Vermin




I like this one. They should make it the default name for the skill.|||Quote:








Fear: Phobia




That sounds AWESOME. Really. Although Horrify is good enough. I guess this is more fitting for a curse that makes a monster attack everything very fast and very hard- something like a combination of Frenzy and Mass Confusion.

Anyway, after reading the Barb's skill tree I think the Barb is the char that needs this kind of thread. The WD is good (except for Spider Statue, ofc).

Diablo 3 Witch Doctor IRL - Page 3

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See, he's not hunched over.




He is not hunched over yet. But those strings on his cod piece doesn't look so strong...|||Oh, my god, I was going to suffocate, so effing hilarious!

They should add an extra armor slot for the WD just for that kind of... equipment.|||i think i puke'd a lil in my mouth.....too funny

i am crying over here and have two throw in a couple of necro cents:

a) def. a poison and boner witch doctor

b) i would hate to get that thing stuck in between to trees while running in the woods real quick

c) std's are the gift that keeps on giving

d) he needs some MAD LOWER RESIST on that thing....it's a chin rest for peteys sake

e) looks more like boner spear then a bone spear...lol

that's just a nickels worth|||Quote:








As bad as it might be to ask this... does anyone have any Diablo jokes that are actually funny? As in, what did the Barbarian say to the skellymancer?




This might be worth a read if you're looking for some diablo jokes. Some are good.

http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/s...d.php?t=618218



P.S. why are you all laughing with that man, would you prefer that he didn't wear a thing over his penis?|||Quote:








P.S. why are you all laughing with that man, would you prefer that he didn't wear a thing over his penis?




Trousers were invented a long time ago.

Diablo 3 Witch Doctor IRL - Page 2

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No, no, it would grant a WD only skill - +1 to Summon Prison *****.




Hehe, a Bone(r) Prison! |||Do you have any idea how many bad boner threads we had after the bone skills became seriously overpowered in 1.10?|||Quote:








Do you have any idea how many bad boner threads we had after the bone skills became seriously overpowered in 1.10?




How bad were they compared to this one?|||This thread isn't *that* boner specific, so I imagine it was worse.|||Imagine a room full of drunken twelve year olds making boner jokes.|||Quote:








Imagine a room full of drunken twelve year olds making boner jokes.




Oh! Battle.net!|||No, if it was Battle.net, it would be about 4 twelve year olds running around a room of bored adults, then pretending to be someone else after getting called out for their behavior.|||As bad as it might be to ask this... does anyone have any Diablo jokes that are actually funny? As in, what did the Barbarian say to the skellymancer?|||Interesting, I like your thinking =)

No, not really =(

Should be some on the net, surely.|||Found some jokes. The only real ones are stuff like:

"Foog" You know you play Diablo too much when you hit a deer while driving and you get out to see what it dropped.

"Obfuscate"

You know you play Diablo too much when you make threads about knowing when you play to much.



Yeah, pretty weak.

Diablo 3 Witch Doctor IRL

I got this from a friend, and it's a very similar representation of the Witch Doctor, but in real life:

Remember that Witch Doctors are basically nude, so if this bothers you in the slightest, don't click the spoiler button...







(Additional breaks for people with java script off, so they don't get spoiled involuntary)









Spoiler
















The original subtitle was "Why African Women Run So Fast"...

|||What if he could use that penis armor as a weapon? |||Well, now we know why Horrify works.|||See, he's not hunched over.|||@NioTumsSpik: Ouch, I wouldn't want to get hit by that =P

@konfeta: Yep. No mask involved at all =)|||@NioTumsSpik: Ouch, I wouldn't want to get hit by that =P

hehe, it would be an awsome WD class specific item *Penis holder of Doom*|||I wonder what affixes it would have? =)|||Just a thought, looking at TQ maybe of virility or endowment.|||Quote:








I wonder what affixes it would have? =)




+5 against STD's.|||No, no, it would grant a WD only skill - +1 to Summon Prison *****.

Witch Doctor ---> Witch - Page 3

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It has nothing to do with his skin color. Please don't imply that I'm racist out of the blue, it's quite rude.

What I'm saying is that aside from a character's skills and overall combat effectiveness his persona and graphical representation play a significant part in a player's mind when they are formulating an opinion of them, subconcious or otherwise. That said I'll give an example of what I mean:

Character - Connotations (what they're persona/image brings to mind):

Barbarian - Strong, Fierce, Brutal, Weary

Wizard - Mysterious, Cunning, Arrogant

Witch Doctor - Frail, Weak, Crackpot, Guy who smoked a few too many joints.

----

I think with a few graphical tweaks/changes maybe a name change we could change the Witch Doctor to have a much more "formidible" persona.

Do you see what I'm saying?




I think I'd love the Wizard, seems a pretty cool class

Witch Doctor ---> Witch - Page 2

I am really amused that I can state my disagreement with you, Generic, on 2 different forums now. Still think that WD looks good and that changing the name to witch makes absolutely no sense.|||Yeah, witch kind of makes me think of England, black arts, evil eye, failing crops, witch burnings (not voodoo jungle man).

Anyway, the reason I don't like the WD is because he's not just a little bent over; he's almost non-human. I can hardly tell what he is at a glance. I have to look really hard at him.

Now the barb, well he looks like a barb. There's no mistaking him for a purple-green insect like you do when glancing at the WD.

For me, the problem is the WD was designed to be too visually "loud".

-He has loud colors: purple and bright green. I guess the green is Ok because of the jungle foilage, but purple...ugh.

-His movements are too loud. He is flailing about TOO MUCH.

-His hunching is just way too much. His head is covering the xiphoid of his chest.

-His mask is too loud. It's huge. You're basically looking at a giant mask with some wirey limbs kicking around under it.

-To sum up, he is overdramatized..to the extreme.

The way I described it on another thread was easier: get you mother to look at the WD and ask her what she thinks it is. Look carefully at the squnity face she makes and time how long it takes for her to answer. Then, ask her to look at the barb. I'll bet she will say "barbarian" or "warrior" really fast.|||When you're in a hole, you reach a point where you just need to stop digging. (delete ftw)|||Stillman none of those i see as a problem because the sorceress in D2 was the same way. She had lots of colors on her. The hunching isnt as bad as you make it seem and the masks are cool looking. "He is flailing around TOO MUCH." ...um what? In a an action RPG you care about a character moving too much? Who cares? Overdramatization is good every once in a while.

Oh and i took your little challenge with my mom, i told her that i had two pictures to show her. I told her that one was a Barbarian and one was a Witch Doctor but i didnt tell her which is which. It took her no more than 6 seconds to get both right and she never squinted.|||Well all I know is the witchdoctor is made by someone who worked on WoW, if it was made by d2's guys it probably would be a witch; D2 is more a medieval type game; witchdoctor would fit right into WoW though.

I expect him to say "you got a righteous grooveeee"|||Turnip, there were enemies called witchdoctors in D2, so they fit in fine, the term witch is generally gender specific, and according to people who were able to actually play the game, while the witchdoctor has an accent, it is not a comedic one.|||Quote:








Yeah, witch kind of makes me think of England, black arts, evil eye, failing crops, witch burnings (not voodoo jungle man).




...

Witch Doctor makes me think of England, people selling good-for-nothing potions, quacks selling mud to cure madness and saltwater to cure blindness.

That was before they knew colored people existed.

Jungle hobos had a name before they were named Witch Doctors -- after their english quack counterparts; Namely shaman.|||First thing that comes to mind with "Witch" is a broomstick and pointy top hat.. Wizard of Oz...

Witch doctors are suprisingly realistic compared to the other Diablo characters. I'm surprised, they are getting such harsh criticism. Naysayers seem to have cultural misgivings with the witch doctor concept, I'm not talking "in-game lore," its more the projected image is not what the conceptual character represents. If you knew a little more about world civilizations, & culture, you might actually find, a respect for the character. Witch doctors are in no way frail, these guys are powerful magic users, of which whole societies are formed, and held as one. There's been quite a few really interesting Natl. Geographic documentaries about them, maybe your opinion may change if you watch one of these programs... and realize exactly who it is you're describing.|||Quote:








First thing that comes to mind with "Witch" is a broomstick and pointy top hat.. Wizard of Oz...

Witch doctors are suprisingly realistic compared to the other Diablo characters. I'm surprised, they are getting such harsh criticism. Naysayers seem to have cultural misgivings with the witch doctor concept, I'm not talking "in-game lore," its more the projected image is not what the conceptual character represents. If you knew a little more about world civilizations, & culture, you might actually find, a respect for the character. Witch doctors are in no way frail, these guys are powerful magic users, of which whole societies are formed, and held as one. There's been quite a few really interesting Natl. Geographic documentaries about them, maybe your opinion may change if you watch one of these programs... and realize exactly who it is you're describing.




real life doesn't have magic.|||Personally I don't think its not fair to say the WD is too flashy or too whacked out looking to menacing. This is is supposed to be visually appealing remember? He's admittedly on drugs for heaven's sake! thats why he shakes! A lot of people pick their class based on their abilities, and if it doesn't match up well then why would anyone want to play it?

The gender differences is a valid argument, though. An old crazy WD and what to me looks like a awkwardly swaying model dressed like a WD for a photo shoot.

But then you would have a problem with the Barbarian, which no one seems to be mentioning. The Barb is supposed to be the same character as in D2 but has spent the las 20 freaking years honing and mastering his skills. How can a woman who must have been AT MOST 10 when D2 took place suddenly have the same abilities as an aged man, probably in his 50's?

Just something to think about

Witch Doctor ---> Witch

When you're in a hole, you reach a point where you just need to stop digging. (delete ftw)|||Why changing the class name would help? And why don't you like the Witch Doctor "graphical representation and persona"? I hope it is not because he is black. If you are talking about the way he shivers, I like it, because it is like he's in some spiritual trance. Which is ok since he contacts another dimension to channel his powers.|||It has nothing to do with his skin color. Please don't imply that I'm racist out of the blue, it's quite rude.

What I'm saying is that aside from a character's skills and overall combat effectiveness his persona and graphical representation play a significant part in a player's mind when they are formulating an opinion of them, subconcious or otherwise. That said I'll give an example of what I mean:

Character - Connotations (what they're persona/image brings to mind):

Barbarian - Strong, Fierce, Brutal, Weary

Wizard - Mysterious, Cunning, Arrogant

Witch Doctor - Frail, Weak, Crackpot, Guy who smoked a few too many joints.

----

I think with a few graphical tweaks/changes maybe a name change we could change the Witch Doctor to have a much more "formidible" persona.

Do you see what I'm saying?|||I think it's his pot belly, personally. The WD seriously needs to do some more jogging or something. |||Witch = Female Wizard

"Frail, Weak, Crackpot, Guy who smoked a few too many joints."

Thats what a Witch Doctor is supposed to be like and i think it is new and refreshing to have a character like that. Not every character has to be strong or fierce looking.|||My problem with his stance is that is looks like they simply slapped black skin on a WC3 troll and placed another head on the shoulders. You also have this huge disparity between the female WD and the male WD. Only the male looks like this goofy old fool.|||He doesnt look goofy. I dont see how leaning over a little bit makes him look anything less than cool. He specializes in the dark magic and voodoo so hes not going to be the strongest looking guy. He also lives in the jungle so hes going to be dirty or looks older.|||Maybe the "deceptively-frail-yet-awesomely-powerful" magic caster is a cliche, but it's a cliche I like.

I don't really see him as goofy. Just old and (seemingly) frail.

I do agree about the disparity between the man and woman, though.|||Well another point of contention. If this is what they are "going for" than why does the female Witch Doctor look like a super model?|||Quote:








Well another point of contention. If this is what they are "going for" than why does the female Witch Doctor look like a super model?




Good point.

Vampirism?

I think it's highly probable that the Witch Doctor would have a life-stealing equivalent to Soul Harvest.

Soul Harvest gives mana to the Witch Doctor if it does killing damage to a monster. Why not have a similar skill that does the same thing, except with hitpoints instead of mana?

Or hell, add the life-stealing ability to Soul Harvest with the addition of a rune.|||Quote:








I think it's highly probable that the Witch Doctor would have a life-stealing equivalent to Soul Harvest.

Soul Harvest gives mana to the Witch Doctor if it does killing damage to a monster. Why not have a similar skill that does the same thing, except with hitpoints instead of mana?

Or hell, add the life-stealing ability to Soul Harvest with the addition of a rune.




I agree with the idea of a rune which changes the functionality of the skill. No duplicate skills of "Soul Harvest" which drains life instead of mana or any other skills, not with the customization skill runes allow. The skill rune system sounds like it could yield some interesting combinations between skills and runes.|||The rune sounds like a sensible way of getting leech in the skills. The question is whether they want leech to be as prolific as it was in D2. That was a large part of why chars were immortal. Not the potting, the insane leech.|||I think that that tendancy would be capped by the nature of Soul Harvest, Mantis.

It's a weak skill that only gives the mana/life bonus if it does killing damage. So it's not like a weapon with life leech on it, or like the Blood Golem/Iron Maiden exploit. It's a matter of precise timing that can occur only so often.|||With Soul Harvest I agree that exploitation will be less of an issue. I was just wondering in a general sense if they are willing to give players easy access to lost of leech. Because if that is the case then the orb system can go.|||lol i wos talkin to CooFoo on msn n he said dat he was walkin home n diz guy thought he was a vampire n he jumped out of a tree n bit him in the neck isnt dat weird lol|||Mantis, I thought life leech only made players immortal when the damage started to inflate to the tens of thousands. After all, leech is a % of your physical damage. So isn't the real problem not leech, but the tinkering of the rules to allow vast damage?

It's hard to tell which is more spoiling, potions or leech, because they also added way more potion drops which lessen trips to town so you can have zero leech and still get away with never running out of health. Then again, they also made items like tals helm which has 10% life leech and so on. So many problems...

I'd be Ok with leech in the game, especially if it is just the WD who gets to use it. Letting amazons use fanat, conc, might and such is what really breaks the game. I kind of hope we still have leech but it's not a free for all.|||Quote:








Mantis, I thought life leech only made players immortal when the damage started to inflate to the tens of thousands. After all, leech is a % of your physical damage. So isn't the real problem not leech, but the tinkering of the rules to allow vast damage?




Both, really. It depends on your health. If you can avoid instant death and leech back more than half your health in a single swing you are golden. A meleemancer, with all his damage reduction and 50% leech, can easily be immortal with low damage. Barbs have more health, take more damage and get less leech so they need higher damage to become immortal.

Why was necro "nerfed"?

Im sorry to have to ask this but... whay does everyone say that the necro in d2 was nerfed? I liked him very much and he was quite powerfull. Im basing this question on my impression that "nerfed" is something negative, what does it mean by the way?|||Nerfing is when they lessen the power or effectiveness of something for balancing reasons. For example, the sorc's meteor was nerfed such that a casting delay was implemented because it was too overpowered and Blizzard wanted us to try other builds. Numerous zon skills were nerfed to prevent similar probelms of certain builds totally taking over.

I'm not sure about the exact history of the necro. I know at the beginning he was perhaps the weakest of the chrs because his skellies fell apart so easily. If anything, Blizzard immensly boosted his killing power such that now you can play in hell mode with skellies killing stuff for you.



Diablo 2 had many many problems with it's initial design which froced Blizzard to have to make changes like nerfing. Of course, this created more probelms. Perhpas they did not anticipate how many tens of thousands of players would be obsessing over the game and learning ways to exploit everything. Same case with d1. Surely, Blizzard has finally learned that many thousands of players are going to critically exampine every last feature of d3 so they must get it right on it's release.|||Yea the original summoner was weak, so they reduced the amount of skeletons but increased their dmg, hp, etc.

About nerfing, there was a glitch that necros constantly used. The Marrowwalk gives lvl 33 Bone Prison charges, and when Necros used them, as long as they didn't put any points into Bone Prison, they had a level 33 Bone Prison which acted as a synergy, with 20 extra skill points, they could put it in other synergies, like Teeth, and they did a buttload of damage.

Guided Arrow Zons were the same. Old Guided Arrow + Pierce just shot through someone in pvp and turned right around and hit over and over and over again.|||There have been a lot of patches that reduced the effectiveness of the Necro. Back when they removed scaling for CE for example. In patch 1.09 the BG + IM build was one of the few that was really viable. Necro's were considered curse *****es.

For some reason Blizz takes every opportunity to squash powerful skills of the Necro, yet leaves other classes unbalanced. Although they have been kind in patch 1.10.

I'm moving this to the Necro forum since it has little to do with the WD.|||- Lets say like all in all in the simplest language; Necro is 'nerfed' for 20% and 'strenghtened' for 80%. And all in all he is NOT nerfed but rather strenghtened, as you can see my very improvised formula Here we can take the preferances in count also....



- And as everybody can easyly notice some chars beeing obviously stronger than the others thus ower/under-powered in relations, the same could also notice that^ beeing made purpousely. From few reasons where one is that: from the thousands and thousand of different people, hundreds and hundreds different 'tastes' are coming; where one would need to have ''the strongest'' and ''the best'' character in the game in order to keep beeing interested and play the game, other one would very easyly get bored without any 'challenge' and sweat, and would like it much more and rather have fun with some 'weak' class and struggle his way throught the game...

- So you have the possibility to choose plenty of different variations from 'hard-go' to 'easy-pass' as you like and see fit. And i wouldn't say that hard-go nor easy-pass is better than the other; they are both better AND the best but only if you have fun really, as that is the main intension. |||ya the ik set was sweet back in the day. then the maul was nerfed and the barbs hit points seem to be less efficent. 8(

try a windmaul with ww and then try the ik maul with ww. it has a really spongey bite and feel to it. also maiden and thorns were degraded.

i liked the thorn builds when they did function.|||The term "nerf" comes from Nerf guns. You know, the toys that shoot foam projectiles?

A nerf gun is a weak gun... it was designed that way and it's less dangerous than a standard gun.

Put that into gaming concepts and you got a character class, weapon or ability that was purposely changed to be less effective, less dangerous.

"The necro was nerfed"; "The combination of IronMaiden and the Blood Golem is less effective than it used to be."|||I liked the old necro more.. he didn't have much power in bone spells in PVM but they were good in PVP. His skellies were weak but blood golem and revives was a good option. Iron Maiden was the main curse to get you the first kills and after you changed to AMP or LR and used CE.

Poison stuff is improved also but I don't feel like a necro as a poison..|||Yeah poison stuff was improved but the poison dagger was brought to close to the damage of the other poison spells. Previously, my old poison dagger spell would do some weird spell with blackbogs. I would use all SHORT duration poison sc's and lots of sources, and I could outright kill anything in the game in a heinous way. Few jabs killed a boss. (I built his gear up over years though, his double poison sc's and rare jewels were rediculous)

Then poison changed to a more simple system and that kinda died. I needed the synergies and I didnt have them much at level 95.

I also had a max skellie build with enormous +summons. I had like 110 skeletons. Yes, they were weak, but darn, they actually hurt. 100+ lil tikes in hell could actually kill. upper hell levels, no, didnt have them concentrated enough. However, I would kill anyone in pvp. yes I would. I would use my friend's teleport item for that at least(not game play). they would do full damage vs players and I would use just amp for pure joy. The mages actually did more damage at times so I would cast LR if it called for it.

it also would LAG the universe to a halt. I had to upgrade my cpu and ram for the build.........|||Quote:








Yeah poison stuff was improved but the poison dagger was brought to close to the damage of the other poison spells. Previously, my old poison dagger spell would do some weird spell with blackbogs. I would use all SHORT duration poison sc's and lots of sources, and I could outright kill anything in the game in a heinous way. Few jabs killed a boss. (I built his gear up over years though, his double poison sc's and rare jewels were rediculous)

Then poison changed to a more simple system and that kinda died. I needed the synergies and I didnt have them much at level 95.

I also had a max skellie build with enormous +summons. I had like 110 skeletons. Yes, they were weak, but darn, they actually hurt. 100+ lil tikes in hell could actually kill. upper hell levels, no, didnt have them concentrated enough. However, I would kill anyone in pvp. yes I would. I would use my friend's teleport item for that at least(not game play). they would do full damage vs players and I would use just amp for pure joy. The mages actually did more damage at times so I would cast LR if it called for it.

it also would LAG the universe to a halt. I had to upgrade my cpu and ram for the build.........




110? I thought you only got 1 pr. +skill, that'd then have required +90 all skills which is impossible, what level of RS was required for 110 skellies?

I've a hard time believing on the dueling part, even if you've 200 skellies doing full damage, I can't see them hitting very often against a good opponent, not to mention dealing enough damage to most others, not to mention many skills would easy seperate you from your minions and then you'd be an easy target.


Quote:








- Lets say like all in all in the simplest language; Necro is 'nerfed' for 20% and 'strenghtened' for 80%. And all in all he is NOT nerfed but rather strenghtened, as you can see my very improvised formula Here we can take the preferances in count also....




I disagree, I'd rather have a higher range of CE than strong skellies.

WD items - Page 2

Ahhhh, ok lol that makes More sense.|||Is no one else really excited to have the big Voodoo masks? Or even the bones, shrunken heads, feathers, bark, leaves . . .

I'm pumped for the WD's look and feel, and IMO Blizz should really try to show it off, especially with his masks, which would make a great Class-Specific (unless they do the whole 'every char has his own look with the same gear' thing, which is fine).

But the WD has more than that, on the WD page at blizzard.com http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/char...itchdoctor.xml , some of the Doctor's concept art shows him using a flail, a very Zulu shield, spears . . . Of course there's also what others have discussed, including boomerangs, blowdarts, etc.

Any one of these could fit as a class specific, and the weapons could be anything from Caster (like the Necro's wand, or the Sorc's staff/orb) to defensive/caster (like the Necro's totem shield), a nifty melee weapon, whatever.

The Doctor has a LOT of potential, way more to be explored than the mighty Barbarian or the wise (and rash) Wizard.

Really I'm just ranting 'cause nothin' new has been released about the Good Doctor in far too long. Doc, where's the voodoo that you do?|||One of the concept arts demonstrated what the Female Witchdoctor armor would look like from low level to high level. In each one the mask got bigger.|||Quote:








Really I'm just ranting 'cause nothin' new has been released about the Good Doctor in far too long. Doc, where's the voodoo that you do?




I have to say that it is true...and it is a disturbing trend I've noticed: The good doc isn't getting the same attention as the Wizard and the Barbarian.

This happened in WoW several times (Don't hate cuz I mentioned a highly successful game) with some classes getting more dev love than the others. With Blizz not saying anything new about this class it worries me the Doc will become the "black sheep" of the D3 family.

Look at the simple fact that the WD doesn't have a complete spell list, or nearly as complete as the Wizard and the Barb. AND IT WAS ONE OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT CLASSES! It's almost as if blizz has taken the two familiar classes and run with them...

Bring back the Voodoo of the Doctor and give us some d*mned info!|||Well, they picked the WD for announcement even though it was not the furthest along in development, because they thought a Barb, Wizard release would be to similar to D2. So the fact that he had an incomplete spell list at Blizzcon, which was about a month behind development, I don't think shows that it is a black sheep. They have said that it was easier to come up with skills for the Wizard and the Barb because they had solid archetypes to draw from, while for the WD they have to get a feel for what skills will work for the atmosphere they want.

WD items

Looking back at D1 (never played D2)...i know, shoot me, but looking back at D1, I remember the mage could pick up different cloaks, or capes, or hoods that enhanced his intelligence or abilities or skills.

Ive only seen one picture of a WD with some kind of purple-trimmed tribal outfit. Might be a stupid question, but will the WD (and wizard I suppose) all have their own unique armor and weapons? I've only seen armor and weapons drop for the barbarian in a video before, but never seen anything else that a WD could obtain and wear.|||There was some talk about class specific items from Blizzard, but I don't know if they confirmed that yet.|||I think they said they do want to include some class specific items but that they really don't want it to turn into "Wizards use this. WDs use this. End of story." It's about customizing equipment choices and forcing players to make decisions based on their builds and not necessarily just what class they are.

I'd like to see something ala Diablo II.|||yeah thats a good question because i couldnt see a WD in full shining plate armor...haha, the poor fella is already a hunch back...

I dont know if i like the idea of class specific items...like what Farmrush said. it shouldnt matter what class you, are most items should be available to every class. Maybe they can be visualy different depending on the class you are..|||^ I made a whole thread about the hunchback issue and whether or not the WD could physicaly fit into a suit of armor. Wouldn't the armor have to be molded for a hunched over figgure? What blacksmith in his right mind would make full plate for hunchbacks? And what about the WD's shakes and trembles? Will the WD straighten up to wear armor and look more like a prominent tribal wise man instead of something from Tekhen or StreetFighter 2 or w/e?

Or, worst case scenerio, will he wear leaves and beads only with magical force fileds making this fern armor the same def as godly barb armor? If this is the case, why have metal armor at all? Why wouldn't the barb just wear end game force field leaves or jewelry to not be weihged down with metal?

Then there's the issue of the fullplate picture morphing into leaves when handed over to a WD to wear.

Then there's the whole mask issue. When using that horrify skill, the spectre image or w/e hovering over the WD's head (which scares things) is wearing a mask. Does this mean all helms will transform into masks when handed over to a WD? The mask seems so crucial to the WD's persona...it takes up 50% of his image!

These are my issues with the WD and armor. I can't help but wonder if Blizzard dug themselves into a trap with the WD. My hope is that the WD will stand up straight and wear full plate or at least splint mail made out of bones or wood.|||Quote:








Or, worst case scenerio, will he wear leaves and beads only with magical force fileds making this fern armor the same def as godly barb armor?




According to the concepts for armor the WD will be wearing bark, leaves and beads for armor. Even full armor won't cover his entire body in leaves. Conveniently they only showed the female WD for these sketches since. She doesn't have that horrible hunch so they wouldn't have to deal with it.|||Quote:




Conveniently they only showed the female WD for these sketches since. She doesn't have that horrible hunch so they wouldn't have to deal with it.




I cant wait to se how this one plays out. If they go with the bushman, leaves and bark theme then i guess the witch doctor will have his own cool leaf and needle threads going on. And if thats the case whats stopping them from making all armor class dependent? Wizy with robes, barb with heavy armor and what not...|||Quote:








And if thats the case whats stopping them from making all armor class dependent? Wizy with robes, barb with heavy armor and what not...




My guess is that is how it will play out. In D2 all classes already have a unique armor look. However as you get to higher defense armor the character actually gets more armored. More metal is added to the equipment. In D3 they'll probably go for the more stylistic approach and go with more ornate robes, more leaves and more spikes and horns.|||That should add an interesting twist on the game. I mean, if armor is class dependent then what will the drops in the game be? Will all kinds of different armor be dropping, or will your classes armor drop only? what i mean is like if your playing as a Barbarian will you be seeing WD armor dropping in your game? Im guessing that would be the case because if not then the trading aspect of D3 will be different the D2. If each class can only pick up or find their own kinds of armor then barbs will only be trading with barbs, wd will only trade with wd and so on(in terms of trading armor).

its a sticky situation because if they make armor class dependent then whats to stop them from making weapons class dependent. or at least putting restrictions as to what weapons each class can use.

can anyone see a wd dragging around a claymore?|||No, I think Mantis meant that the same armor will have a different appearance per class.

So a plate armor may look heavy and metallic if worn by a Barbarian, but more covered with leaves and bones if worn by a Witch Doctor.

i want a witch doctor zombie army. - Page 2

As warcraft 3 player i have enough of witch doctors and all this voodoo shamans, skate trolls >< bring different theme there is a lot other cultures and place than jungle theme....

Like for example Egypt style (act 2 catacombs style) it still can be linked with undead army, dark theme.

i want a witch doctor zombie army.

like the skellys but zombies. think zombie wall but not.

also the option insead of having 10 or so roaming by me i can make them morph into one large one. so then me and them-him can duel from town and win like the bear duelers and i do with my valk.

i know some people hate town duelers but i have a few of them i enjoy. theyre still a build and take time to make. 8)|||I totally want a legion of undeath. Zombies, spiders, restless voodoo spirits, you name it I want to summon it.|||I'm down. I'll be happy with the WD either way, but it would be nice to have the ability to summon independent, mobile zombies. Personally, I'm just not that impressed with the zombie wall. But it is an inventive spell, I'll give Blizzard that.

While interesting and cool, I don't consider the fire bats or plague toads as summons, more like projectiles. I do think the mongrels are kinda cool, though (and I like the idea of being able to imbue them with disease or fire). Some on this forum speculate that we haven't seen all of his summons, but the WD's skill tree already seems pretty big, so I'd be surprised if Blizzard added any more spells or summons to it.|||Quote:








I'm down. I'll be happy with the WD either way, but it would be nice to have the ability to summon independent, mobile zombies. Personally, I'm just not that impressed with the zombie wall. But it is an inventive spell, I'll give Blizzard that.

While interesting and cool, I don't consider the fire bats or plague toads as summons, more like projectiles. I do think the mongrels are kinda cool, though (and I like the idea of being able to imbue them with disease or fire). Some on this forum speculate that we haven't seen all of his summons, but the WD's skill tree already seems pretty big, so I'd be surprised if Blizzard added any more spells or summons to it.




I don't really see the WD getting independent zombies, since that goes against the idea of the WD being different from the Necro, and not having his summons be the primary damage dealers. But I do have an idea that I think would be pretty nifty: Maybe one of the runes + zombie wall = the wall separating and the zombies going off for a little carnage, though they'd be weak.

As for the Doctor not having room for more summons, well, mongrels don't fill the role entirely, and, well, the WD only has 11 known skills right now, so there is plenty of room for anything. I really hope he gets something fancy, though.|||Quote:








As for the Doctor not having room for more summons, well, mongrels don't fill the role entirely, and, well, the WD only has 11 known skills right now, so there is plenty of room for anything. I really hope he gets something fancy, though.




You're right, for some reason I was thinking he already had huge skill trees like the Wiz and Barb, but I guess not. Well, that's even better! Now I'm more excited to see what other spells and skills he gets! They could really pull some cool stuff out.|||You may have noticed the thread "Let's help Blizzard brainstorm some new Witch Doctor Spells" in the Witch Doctor section. I contributed quite a few.

You have to remember that Blizz's direction for the WD is that his summons are impermanent. Easy come easy go. That's why dispatch does a lot more damage than the mongrel's bite. They don't want his pets doing a lot of the damage. More like weapons than companions.|||yah the spider thing is cool 2. i liked that 1 a lot. i was playing the other night and was fighting those cursed corpses across from the viper temple and thought they would be great for the WD. they can be imbued with pestilence like those are and they gain attack rating per skill level etc and pop out of the ground will a cool animation when summoned.

allowed max 6 zombies due to lag issues and theyre strenths.

im a big minion "to fight by youre side" player. i was really hoping for something like a true druid or element shifter and he can summon a tree friendly to fight and help out the questing party.

or be able to turn into a stone creature or something along those lines. maybe have a wind skill to decrease damage done to self like fade.

maybe alcor the act 2 hermit boozer will return to the game and he can turn into a clawviper. 0v0|||Quote:










im a big minion "to fight by youre side" player. i was really hoping for something like a true druid or element shifter and he can summon a tree friendly to fight and help out the questing party.




I hear ya there, I really do love just plain old minions, but the WD just isn't our guy. However, he will still probably get something more, and I do love my spider idea |||wait....arent zombie slow? O_o

so far i like the WD...but i wont build him for summon as is summon are just there...to be there basicly...i really wish they would had a summoner like the necro that actually deal dmg instead of only distracting monsters

and meh...im not a big fan of insect and animal summon either...id really rather have a real summoner class then put more stuff in the summon of the WD....i want to see more spell on him like locus and is fear...not original but still fun...thinking about it he as no original spell LOL O_o|||Quote:








i want to see more spell on him like locus and is fear...not original but still fun...thinking about it he as no original spell LOL O_o




There is no such thing as a purely original spell, there have been too many games to be original. But the Witch Doctor has the feel of being original . . . 'cause he's a Witch Doctor, which we have never seen in a Diablo game, at least (hell, not even in most fantasy games).

One thing I would almost call original is the Plague of Toads (Sooo maxing that on my first char . . .).

Female WD voice - Page 2

Wow. o.o

Even though it was hard to make out what exactly was said (with all the blizzcon noise in the background) I think the acting is amazing. Much better than in previous installments. I can't wait to hear the female/male wizard and female barbarian next. ^^|||I'm so glad the Jamaican accent is there, but not as thich as I thought it would be as I pictured Calypso from PotC as well before seeing this.|||One man stands out above the rest, so much so that I wish he'll make a comeback.

Alkor.

"Damnit! I wish you people would just leave me alone."|||Quote:








One man stands out above the rest, so much so that I wish he'll make a comeback.

Alkor.

"Damnit! I wish you people would just leave me alone."




Sorry, him and Lysander went Brokeback Mountain elder-style 'til they croaked... man those guys were old.|||Yes! Alkor kicked ***. I loved that guy in DII. I wished they fleshed all the characters out a bit more. Most leave you wondering what their stories are.|||Seems like the more we find out about the game the more everyone can't wait to play.|||Quote:








Seems like the more we find out about the game the more everyone can't wait to play.




Indeed ^_^.

Maybe Blizzard knows what's best for us.|||Quote:








Seems like the more we find out about the game the more everyone can't wait to play.




This is very upsetting to me, because I know the odds of my head exploding from anticipation are quite high. I really want to play DIII before my head explodes - I fear it will be quite hard to play without a head.|||It's going to be a very difficult wait for the next year or two, I fear. |||I thought that the female WD was supposed to be fairly young, but she doesn't really sound it. Don't really care either way, just hope her voice matches her age or it bugs me lol.

Female WD voice

Just found this on Youtube. Little seen video. About halfway through you can see and hear the Female WD talking to captain Rumford and Mr. Meatwagon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvbGPKt0maY

Nice voice. Sounds just like a jungle woman should.|||I agree! Very entertaining voice to listen to, reminds me of the lady in pirates of the caribbean|||Quote:








I agree! Very entertaining voice to listen to, reminds me of the lady in pirates of the caribbean




Calypso! You beat me to it! I thought maybe she was the one who actually did the voice acting. It sure sounds like her.|||What did the male Witch Doctor sound like?|||Quote:








What did the male Witch Doctor sound like?




Bob Marley....j/k

Pretty much the same way only male. All this voodoo stuff reminds me of the first Gabriel Knight game. Hopefully the voice acting for D3 would be at least as good as this oldie |||That voice was wonderful! Very in character. Based on how the male WD sounds like, this may be the disisive factor for me actualy playing a female character for once.|||Wow, that was great. The voice acting is turning out to be really amazing so far. I feel totally engulfed in the game even just watching the videos. It's nuts.|||Isn't it great? It's way above and beyond D2's voice acting. Personally, cool voice acting and sound effects really increase my enjoyment of the game. D3's are really impressive so far!|||D2 tends to get pretty cheesy *cough*Charsi*cough* when it comes to voice over, but it did have some great gems. I really liked Atma from Act 2.

I think that the female WD's accent is actually really convincing. As if they got someone from a jungle region to do her voice. Haha!|||Doesn't sound as goofy as I had feared.

So...skill tree and gameplay report? - Page 4

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I have to quote the whole post, because you have thought EXACTLY what i have about the skills. The are all skills from d2, but not only that, they are those skills which near no-one used (at least in higher levels of difficulty) walls (if you were a nec everyone would shout at you if you created some), charged bolt, inferno, nec curses (except one or 2 who were real useful)...

Nevertheless i will play as first char with the wd, because at the beginning no-one will have good items etc so we will be able to realy play for fun, and he seems the most fun of all. However later on i think he may not be used too much and be classified as a weak char




You'd think that only one or two necromancer curses are any good, but when I play Fishymancer's, I tend to use plenty of 'em. Amp for general killing, terror for clearing doorways, confuse/attract/dim vision for gloams and archers, life tap if my skellies are actually dying (Psh, like that could happen), decrepify for bosses, etc. I think the same goes for many of the poo-poo skills in D2. You still see a charged boltress hither and thither, and I had a friend who made a blaze sorc who wasn't too bad 'til Hell difficulty.

Besides that, this is D3, if they mess around with certain skills enough, they can make anything useful.

So...skill tree and gameplay report? - Page 3

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I'm pumped to play the Doctor for my first char, and he'll most likely be the first char I beat the game with. Plus every time I think about Plague of Toads I just laugh and think about the first time I'mma use that skill.




Same here, if Blizzard doesn't come up with something I find absolutely breathtaking and amazing for the 4th and 5th characters, I'm definately playing Witch Doctor first. The Plague of Toads looks to be extremely fun, my other favourites are Spider Statue and Zombie Wall.|||Well, who doesn't like zombie wall.

That's one of the things I like about D3. I could play any of the three classes and be happy. I might have to roll for it on release day. I'm serious. I normally play a caster, but I want to break the tradition.|||Quote:








Well, who doesn't like zombie wall.






oh well, they are fun but having a char cause of it? any way i always hated barbs in d2c / x and i stil dont really like it... so wizzy for me ^^

or maybe some kind of arse killer char 4/5 :O who knows

beside, he doesnt really look so good.... looks too much of warcraft 3 witch doctor...|||i probly wont play him "first" but probly my 3rd char...my 1st and 2nd char will probly be the wiz and then the barb since he went through a HUGE revamp that i absolutly love...funny cause he is the char i play the least in D2...well maybe him and the druid are even on that one but you know what i mean

the WD in my eye doesnt look original at all or fun,how he use is summon is the only new stuff ive seen so far on him,the rest is seriously just old graphicly revamped D2 skill so im no to excited about him and would love to see an actual "NEW" class,locust storm was the skill that really looked awesome(because of the skeleton killing animation) but its still a chain dmg spell which isnt that original and the wiz also still as that,the plague of toads look REALLY crappy imo it work almost exactly like charged bolt for now which is highly unoriginal,the spider statue is basicly a poison trap....sooo meh,firebat look awesome but behind that its still a damn inferno,mass confusion is just like old confusion of the old D2 class that was mostly small radius compared to this one,skull of flame=fireblast,some people said that zombie wall is like bone wall but imo its a merge of wall of fire and bone wall a bit more,look cool but still is just something other old class as done,this continue on and on for almost all skill so far

then again what we know is that is tree wasnt finish when we saw him in action...so maybe,but i really doubt il play him other then a 3rd char if he keep using these damn revamped skill

also is first summon(the mongrel) look really bad imo they could have made ghast/ghoul instead you know the fast kind of zombie in D&D

some people hate the necro(mostly for stupid reason that doesnt make sense,like sit down and do nothing...yeah right in normal maybe but in hell it was one of the most tactical class you could have unless you had over the top item) from D2 but he was seriously madly original and new to the genre and also introduced tons of new spell style in Diablo...the WD is unoriginal imo and offer only other graphic improvement of old spell thats basicly why i probly wont play him that much other then to try something different(like i play my elemental druid for example) or if he is madly OP like the hammerdin was...is

im expecting alots from the 2 last char btw and we still didint see all of is spell and also he could be revamped a bit(i hope)...but so far only the graphic stuff of zombie wall and locust swarm would make me play him,compared to the barb and wiz number of skill that i love that really bad|||Quote:








Same here, if Blizzard doesn't come up with something I find absolutely breathtaking and amazing for the 4th and 5th characters, I'm definately playing Witch Doctor first. The Plague of Toads looks to be extremely fun, my other favourites are Spider Statue and Zombie Wall.




I didn't see Spider Statue in action, but it reminds me of my favorite druid skill: Fissure. I hope it will work in similar way. If not, I will like it anyway.



I totally agree with your first sentence. If Blizzard doesn't come up with something absolutely amazing for the 4th or 5th class, I will play Witch Doctor, without any doubt. I like the new soso-wizz (I will ignore lightning-frozen skills which are the same as D2, but the other trees are just amazing) and the new baba-baba (fury looks cool for him), but I prefer at the moment the new necro-dudu

My favorite character in Diablo2 was the Hunter Druid (bow and summons). If they don't come with a character like that, I will probably play Witch Doctor first.|||Quote:








i probly wont play him "first" but probly my 3rd char...my 1st and 2nd char will probly be the wiz and then the barb since he went through a HUGE revamp that i absolutly love...funny cause he is the char i play the least in D2...well maybe him and the druid are even on that one but you know what i mean





well.... my 1st char gonna be wiz, cause i like soso's too much... my second char is gonna be wiz... cause 100% sure i will screw up my 1st char.... my 3rd char would be wiz... beacuse i would have some gear from my "mfer" wiz...

my 4th char could be wd.... but just for sake of playing all avaliable chars... oh same with barb.... hope some cool char 4/5 gonna come and lift my mood up ^_^|||If you see Doogie Howser running around, make sure to give me a shout out... assuming WD will make it to the final game.

I hope we get more info on WD soon.|||They've let us hanging for info for far too long. Even a single new skill would be welcome.|||Quote:








They've let us hanging for info for far too long. Even a single new skill would be welcome.




SOOOOOOOOOOOOO agreed. (Man, that sentence makes the grammar Nazi in me cry.)|||Quote:








i probly wont play him "first" but probly my 3rd char...my 1st and 2nd char will probly be the wiz and then the barb since he went through a HUGE revamp that i absolutly love...funny cause he is the char i play the least in D2...well maybe him and the druid are even on that one but you know what i mean

the WD in my eye doesnt look original at all or fun,how he use is summon is the only new stuff ive seen so far on him,the rest is seriously just old graphicly revamped D2 skill so im no to excited about him and would love to see an actual "NEW" class,locust storm was the skill that really looked awesome(because of the skeleton killing animation) but its still a chain dmg spell which isnt that original and the wiz also still as that,the plague of toads look REALLY crappy imo it work almost exactly like charged bolt for now which is highly unoriginal,the spider statue is basicly a poison trap....sooo meh,firebat look awesome but behind that its still a damn inferno,mass confusion is just like old confusion of the old D2 class that was mostly small radius compared to this one,skull of flame=fireblast,some people said that zombie wall is like bone wall but imo its a merge of wall of fire and bone wall a bit more,look cool but still is just something other old class as done,this continue on and on for almost all skill so far

then again what we know is that is tree wasnt finish when we saw him in action...so maybe,but i really doubt il play him other then a 3rd char if he keep using these damn revamped skill

also is first summon(the mongrel) look really bad imo they could have made ghast/ghoul instead you know the fast kind of zombie in D&D

some people hate the necro(mostly for stupid reason that doesnt make sense,like sit down and do nothing...yeah right in normal maybe but in hell it was one of the most tactical class you could have unless you had over the top item) from D2 but he was seriously madly original and new to the genre and also introduced tons of new spell style in Diablo...the WD is unoriginal imo and offer only other graphic improvement of old spell thats basicly why i probly wont play him that much other then to try something different(like i play my elemental druid for example) or if he is madly OP like the hammerdin was...is

im expecting alots from the 2 last char btw and we still didint see all of is spell and also he could be revamped a bit(i hope)...but so far only the graphic stuff of zombie wall and locust swarm would make me play him,compared to the barb and wiz number of skill that i love that really bad




I have to quote the whole post, because you have thought EXACTLY what i have about the skills. The are all skills from d2, but not only that, they are those skills which near no-one used (at least in higher levels of difficulty) walls (if you were a nec everyone would shout at you if you created some), charged bolt, inferno, nec curses (except one or 2 who were real useful)...

Nevertheless i will play as first char with the wd, because at the beginning no-one will have good items etc so we will be able to realy play for fun, and he seems the most fun of all. However later on i think he may not be used too much and be classified as a weak char

So...skill tree and gameplay report? - Page 2

The build was said to be a month behind. So all three classes probably have more done on them than what was in the demo.|||I really liked the gameplay report that Flux just posted.

Any idea when Blizzard will make those new Witch Doctor skills known? 11 to 50 is an awful skill tree disparity.|||My guess is the next Blizz event, or near the holidays. Whichever comes first.|||Well it isn't sure they want to show to much either considering there will probably be alot more changes and so on before they are even done with the skills and so on that there is really no rush for them to show them yet since so much can still change.|||I assume everyone saw it by now, but here's the link.

http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/com...meplay-report/

As for skills, I doubt we'll get a big dump of WD skills any time soon. Maybe if they have playable machines at an event in the spring or summer next year; WWI in Korea or wherever, and some fans can see the screen and write down the info. (I expect major changes to Barb and Wiz skills by then, if they do.) I don't think bliz is likely to put a bunch of skills into screenshots or interviews, especially since we've got 11 active skills now, so most of the unknown ones in the lower tiers will be passives. Those aren't real exciting to describe in an interview, or demonstrate in a screenshot or gameplay movie.|||I'm more concerned by his description of the WD as a concept that they haven't locked down yet. To me, the ever negative, it seems as though they had a cool visual in their heads and just ran with it. Now they are struggling to fill out the character. The chance to end up with a char that doesn't do anything well is pretty high.|||Im really trying to like the WD but so far of the 3 classes we've seen Im betting he's the last one I'll try . As far as Blizzard expanding the character I dont see why they dont run with the Flayer Jungle concept a bit more . I mean he appears a lot like the flayers in act 3 so they could easly make him go that way . If they wanted they could let him summon those little pigmies to do his bidding like the boss guys in act 3 flayer jungle do .

Then he would be almost like the necro with his summons tree , and expand the voodoo curse tree some more , give him a blowdart tree with range damage skills and viola ...

|||what are u guys talking about?|||any one even gonna play with wd as first = final char?|||Quote:








any one even gonna play with wd as first = final char?




I'm pumped to play the Doctor for my first char, and he'll most likely be the first char I beat the game with. Plus every time I think about Plague of Toads I just laugh and think about the first time I'mma use that skill.

So...skill tree and gameplay report?

We just saw the Barbarian's. When is the Witch Doctor's due?|||i want to see the witch doctor skills also but from what i hear they were in limited quantity at blizzcon|||Low amount of skills or not, I still want to read an extended piece about the Witch Doctor's skills, and how the character played.

We've already gotten the Barbarian and Wizard. Let's not forget the coolest, darkest character.|||I think i remember him saying "later this weekend" but i'm not quite sure when exactly that is seeing as its about 9:30pm Sunday where i am...

i second naja. I can't wait to see what his skill tree is like!

disappointing to hear from the attendees at blzzcon that there isn't another summon really, though the mongrel does sound pretty amazing to me.

-brick|||No other summon?

I remember the first gameplay video's narrater saying that the Mongrel was "the first of these summons".|||The Witch Doctor is currently the least developed character. It has like 10 skills total.|||It strikes me as odd that Blizz chose to release such an underdeveloped char. When the Barb and the WD were introduced both had few skills. Now the Barb has a lot and the WD still has precious few.

I also wonder why they didn't show the Barb, WD and Wiz with about 15-20 skills at BlizzCon. That way they could have released skills about once a month and easily gain some hype for the next year. Instead the Wiz is almost complete and the Barb isn't far behind.|||I think Blizz knew they had to have a Barb and Sorc char. They were probably the first two they worked on which is why they are further along in the development process.

I think the WD was released with the Barb so Blizz could say "look something new". He is probably still very much a work in progress.|||Quote:








I think Blizz knew they had to have a Barb and Sorc char. They were probably the first two they worked on which is why they are further along in the development process.

I think the WD was released with the Barb so Blizz could say "look something new". He is probably still very much a work in progress.






pretty much what i thought. the WD was supposed to be thier big shock for the announcement and it caused alot of anger lol. the wizard being new but like a old char would come 3rd i expect the 5th to be the biggest change of all with the archer next|||I remember reading that the WD they had at blizzcon was a month behind where they actually were, so it could be equally developed

Thoughts on WD image and reputation issues - Page 2

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Well it does seem that the witch doctor has been made to be "fun", not exactly as hero like as the others. Even his skills show off that hes to be used to have a good time, �cause i think that he�s got too many skills of the kind no one uses in hell difficulty and such: the wall of zombies (in d2 no one used walls, and if you were a nec people would shout at you if you did create some walls), the frogs (who are really like charged bolt, just worse cause in d3 charged bolt can at least stun enemies), the bat-inferno (who is graphically really cool but...no one used inferno in d2 that i can remember), or like those vodoo spirits (who used howl, or most of the necs curses?). Thus, if you look at him not as a serious hero, but as a char for casual players who just want some fun i think its better for him to be purple and green, I mean that if you want him to look more hero-like he must have skills to match, otherwise it would be incongruent.




Wow, i have to disagree. What you say could not have been done intentionally. Blizzard has stated that every character is a DPS class, and can solo the entire game, and hold their own in Hell difficulty. He could not have just been implemented into the game for casual players, and even then, every casual player I know would still prefer the ability to kill monstrs effectively and progress in the game. How you describe the WD through the framework of D2 is not how I see his skills at all. If almost every other active skill shown thus far fails at managing the games challenges, the character will be an epic failure. I just don't see that ever happening with Blizzard at the helm.|||Sorry folks, have to interrupt for a quick question. Somehow the meaning of DSP escapes me. See it everywhere but have no idea what it means. Help me out |||DPS = Damage per Second|||Quote:








Sorry folks, have to interrupt for a quick question. Somehow the meaning of DSP escapes me. See it everywhere but have no idea what it means. Help me out




DPS* means Damage Per Second and in this context refers to the characters ability to DEAL DAMAGE. Ie. Diablo has no healer, tank, buff classes unless you're trying out some wacky build.|||Okies. Gotchas. Thanks |||Quote:








Well it does seem that the witch doctor has been made to be "fun", not exactly as hero like as the others. Even his skills show off that hes to be used to have a good time, �cause i think that he�s got too many skills of the kind no one uses in hell difficulty and such: the wall of zombies (in d2 no one used walls, and if you were a nec people would shout at you if you did create some walls), the frogs (who are really like charged bolt, just worse cause in d3 charged bolt can at least stun enemies), the bat-inferno (who is graphically really cool but...no one used inferno in d2 that i can remember), or like those vodoo spirits (who used howl, or most of the necs curses?). Thus, if you look at him not as a serious hero, but as a char for casual players who just want some fun i think its better for him to be purple and green, I mean that if you want him to look more hero-like he must have skills to match, otherwise it would be incongruent.




The spells in D2 were never meant to be that way. And, curses were (are) definitely used on the nec, and I've heard inferno was somewhat before D2 got all beefed up.

Ouroboros, I think you really got down exactly what has many disappointed about the WD. I'm happy you pinpointed it, because although I am happy with the idea of the WD, I definitely have to say it wasn't such a serious seeming class.|||woa! cool down haha; i know that blizzard wouldnt make a char unable to solo hell, but hell wont be how it was in d2, it will be more evened out in difficulty they said, and with all the passives etc im sure that even the frogs will be able to kik ***. Its just that in my opinion his skills resemble too much those ones that didnt see much play in dia.

Also i didnt say that necs dont use curses, nec is my fav char and i have used curses (mainly the first curse which is great and the lower resist one), i said that MOSt curses didnt see play.

Its just that seeing how chars like the baba and the soso have nearly all the skills buffing their power in some way, the wd seems to have many active spells and little enough space left for passives (which will be the key to power in d3 i think). And the actives he has seem to be under-used ones of d2.|||Quote:








Its just that seeing how chars like the baba and the soso have nearly all the skills buffing their power in some way, the wd seems to have many active spells and little enough space left for passives (which will be the key to power in d3 i think). And the actives he has seem to be under-used ones of d2.




The Witch Doctor currently has only 11 known skills. There is a lot of room left for more passives and actives.|||To the OP:

There's no point complaining about the coloration of his gear when we don't even know what the end-game uniques, sets, etc, are going to look like. I'm willing to bet the WD is going to have some very diverse and interesting looking gear, especially in the facemask department. A fully decked out WD will probably look absolutely mind-blowing. Bottom line, don't base too many opinions on the footage and screenshots we've seen so far.

On the other hand, I do agree with you about the WD being hunched over. It's a bit unnatural. I realize they're trying to create a more creepy/sinister appearance like the undead and trolls in WoW (which were also hunched), but in the long run most people probably want to play characters that look like they're ready to take on the world by standing tall and alert. The female WD is not hunched over, so I'll probably end up playing her.

Too me, the class still seems awesome overall, and I still don't understand what all the griping is about.