Diablo Wiki - User contributions [en]

Wizard skills

2010-11-10T18:41:57Z

MiniMonk: /* Energy Shield */

[[Image:Skill-tree-blizzcon09-wiz-muldric.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The skill tree, circa 2009. Skills no longer appear in anything like this format. Image by [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=739038 Muldric].]]
This page lists all known '''[[Wizard]] skills''', sorted by skill tree. Follow the links to the individual skill pages for full discussion of every skill, including first hand reports and screenshots.

'''Wizard skill information:'''
* [[Skill]]s - General skill design and mechanics.
* [[Wizard traits]] -- The new passive skills system in Diablo III.
* [[Wizard skill archive]] - Removed Wizard skills.
* [[Runestones]] - The huge skill customization and improvement system.
* [[Signature skill]]s - Skills that define characters.
* [[Active skill]]s - Skills where effects are activated by the player.
* [[Passive skill]]s - Skills where effects are activated automatically, by the computer or by special events.

==Tier One Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 2. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Magic Missile===

[[Magic Missile]] 
Magic Missiles are purple projectiles that deal arcane damage.
* '''Description:''' Fires a missile of energy causing X-X arcane damage.

===Charged Bolt===

[[Charged Bolt]] 
Snaking bolts of electricity cover the ground with lightning damage for all enemies. Best cast in great numbers, or not at all.
* '''Description:''' Launches a volley of X electric bolts that deal X-X lightning damage per bolt.

===Spectral Blade===

[[Spectral Blade]] 
A melee ranged magical attack, this hits nearby enemies for considerable physical damage.
* '''Description:''' Summons a spectral blade that strikes enemies in front of the Wizard X times causing X-X physical damage with each hit.

==Tier Two Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 3. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Ice Armor===
[[Ice Armor]] 
* '''Description:''' Surrounds the Wizard in a barrier of ice that increases armor by X%, freezes attackers for X seconds, and causes X-X cold damage. Cold damage chills enemies, slowing their movement and attack speed. You can only be affected by one armor spell at a time.

===Explosive Blast===

[[Explosive Blast]] 
A physical damage attack that turns the Wizard into a time bomb. Click to arm the spell, run into a pack of enemies, and blow up amidst them.
* '''Description:''' Builds up energy around the Wizard that explodes after X seconds, causing X-X physical damage in a small radius.

===Mirror Image===

[[Mirror Image]] 
The Wizard creates multiple images of himself. These duplicates move and attack enemies in convincing fashion.
* '''Description:''' Creates an illusionary duplicate of the Wizard that lasts for X seconds and has X% of the caster's health.

===Wave of Force===

[[Wave of Force]] 
A defensive skill that pushes back enemies and enemy projectiles. Works well when combined with [[Slow Time]].
* '''Description:''' Causes a wave of pure force that causes a knockback to nearby enemies, repels projectiles and deals X-X physical damage.

==Tier Three Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 6. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Frost Nova===

[[Frost Nova]] 
This defensive skill freezes all enemies in a ring around the player, stopping normal monsters and slowing [[bosses]].
* '''Description:''' An explosion of ice freezes nearby enemies for X seconds and causes X-X cold damage. Cold damage chills enemies, slowing their movement and attack speed. Damage will break the freeze effect, but not the chill effect.

===Electrocute===

[[Electrocute]] 
A beam weapon, the bolt of lightning locks onto an enemy and deals steadily draining damage, as well as stunning and slowing the target. An excellent skill for hitting moving targets that might dodge projectiles.
* '''Description:''' Lightning arcs from the Wizard's fingertips towards an enemy dealing X-X lightning damage.

==Tier Four Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 10. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Arcane Orb===

[[Arcane Orb]] 
A projectile that moves slower than most such magical attacks, but that deals considerable arcane [[AoE]] damage upon impact and explosion.
* '''Description:''' An orb of pure energy that explodes on contact with enemies dealing X-X arcane damage to all enemies in the blast area.

===Diamond Skin===

[[Diamond Skin]] 
A powerful defensive skill, this absorbs considerable points from all types of damage for a short duration.
* '''Description:''' Turns the Wizard's skin to diamond for X seconds absorbing up to X damage from incoming attacks.

===Energy Twister===

[[Energy Twister]] 
Cast tornadoes of arcane damage that deal substantial damage to all they come into contact with. The tornadoes move semi-randomly, making this better against crowds than individuals.
* '''Description:''' Summon an energy twister that deals X arcane damage per second to everything in its path.

===Hydra===

[[Hydra]] 
Summons a fiery, three-headed dragon that appears from the ground and assails enemies with bolts of flame. [[Runestone]] bonuses give great flexibility to this spell.
* '''Description:''' Creates a multi-headed hydra that attacks your enemies with bolts of fire, dealing X-X fire damage per attack for X seconds.

==Tier Five Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 14. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Disintegrate===

[[Disintegrate]] 
A laser beam of doom, this instantly-hitting, long range attack deals considerable damage to everything in its path.
* '''Description:''' Emanate a beam of pure energy dealing X arcane damage per second and disintegrating enemies it kills.

===Energy Shield===

[[Energy Shield]] 
The classic protective skill returns, now trading Arcane Power for damage reduction.
* '''Description:''' A protective barrier that absorbs damage, draining arcane power in its place. Absorbs X% of all damage dealt to the Wizard.

===Ray of Frost===

[[Ray of Frost]] 
A laser beam of cold damage, this one chills enemies, slowing them while dealing damage.
* '''Description:''' Project a beam of cold that deals X cold damage per second. Cold damage chills enemies, slowing their movement and attack speed.

===Slow Time===

[[Slow Time]] 
Slow time creates a bubble of protection around the location its cast in, slowing all enemy projectiles and the enemies themselves.
* '''Description:''' Warps space and time, slowing nearby monsters and projectiles for X seconds.

==Tier Six Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 20. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Arcane Torrent===

[[Arcane Torrent]] 
An arcane style of Meteor Storm, this spell hurls flaming rocks at the targeted spot, dealing AoE damage to anything in the vicinity.
* '''Description:''' Arcane meteorites pelt the targeted region dealing X-X arcane damage per second.

===Blizzard===

[[Blizzard]] 
Another powerful AoE spell, this one drops damaging ice on a large section of the screen, chilling and injuring anything in the area.
* '''Description:''' Call down shards of ice to pelt an area dealing X-X cold damage per second for X seconds. Cold damage chills enemies, slowing their movement and attack speed.

===Magic Weapon===

[[Magic Weapon]] 
A spell for the battle mage, this one imbues huge magical damage into the wizard's weapon.
* '''Description:''' Imbues the Wizard's weapon with magical energy, granting X-X increased damage.

===Meteor===

[[Meteor]] 
The biggest damage of the death from above skills, this one lands a flaming stone on the targeted location, dealing huge fire damage and leaving a dangerous field of fire in the location for some time.
* '''Description:''' Summons a massive meteor from the sky that causes X-X fire damage to all enemies in the affected area. Also leaves a pool of fire that does X fire damage every second for X seconds.

===Storm Armor===

[[Storm Armor]] 
A fire and forget skill, this one shocks enemies with electrical bolts for the duration of effect, without requiring the Wizard to aim or target them.
* '''Description:''' Surround yourself in electrical energy. Electric bolts are automatically fired at attackers for X-X lightning damage.
** The Wizard may only use one of the "armor" spells at a time.

==Tier Seven Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 26. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Familiar===

[[Familiar]] 
An assisting creature that boosts the Wizard's damage, without serving as a "[[tank]]" to distract their attacks.
* '''Description:''' Creates a companion that accompanies the Wizard, attacking enemies for X-X damage. This companion cannot be targeted or damaged by enemies.

===Teleport===

[[Teleport]] 
Bamf instantly from one location to another. This skill carries a considerable cool down time in Diablo III, making it something best saved for emergency escapes.
* '''Description:''' Teleport instantly to the selected location.

==References==
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-wizard-skill-trees/ Full Wizard Skill Trees]

{{Skill navbox}}
{{Skill navbox Wizard}}
[[Category:Wizard skills]]
[[Category:Skills]]
[[Category:Wizard]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Wizard skills

2010-11-10T18:41:34Z

MiniMonk: /* Energy Shield */

[[Image:Skill-tree-blizzcon09-wiz-muldric.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The skill tree, circa 2009. Skills no longer appear in anything like this format. Image by [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=739038 Muldric].]]
This page lists all known '''[[Wizard]] skills''', sorted by skill tree. Follow the links to the individual skill pages for full discussion of every skill, including first hand reports and screenshots.

'''Wizard skill information:'''
* [[Skill]]s - General skill design and mechanics.
* [[Wizard traits]] -- The new passive skills system in Diablo III.
* [[Wizard skill archive]] - Removed Wizard skills.
* [[Runestones]] - The huge skill customization and improvement system.
* [[Signature skill]]s - Skills that define characters.
* [[Active skill]]s - Skills where effects are activated by the player.
* [[Passive skill]]s - Skills where effects are activated automatically, by the computer or by special events.

==Tier One Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 2. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Magic Missile===

[[Magic Missile]] 
Magic Missiles are purple projectiles that deal arcane damage.
* '''Description:''' Fires a missile of energy causing X-X arcane damage.

===Charged Bolt===

[[Charged Bolt]] 
Snaking bolts of electricity cover the ground with lightning damage for all enemies. Best cast in great numbers, or not at all.
* '''Description:''' Launches a volley of X electric bolts that deal X-X lightning damage per bolt.

===Spectral Blade===

[[Spectral Blade]] 
A melee ranged magical attack, this hits nearby enemies for considerable physical damage.
* '''Description:''' Summons a spectral blade that strikes enemies in front of the Wizard X times causing X-X physical damage with each hit.

==Tier Two Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 3. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Ice Armor===
[[Ice Armor]] 
* '''Description:''' Surrounds the Wizard in a barrier of ice that increases armor by X%, freezes attackers for X seconds, and causes X-X cold damage. Cold damage chills enemies, slowing their movement and attack speed. You can only be affected by one armor spell at a time.

===Explosive Blast===

[[Explosive Blast]] 
A physical damage attack that turns the Wizard into a time bomb. Click to arm the spell, run into a pack of enemies, and blow up amidst them.
* '''Description:''' Builds up energy around the Wizard that explodes after X seconds, causing X-X physical damage in a small radius.

===Mirror Image===

[[Mirror Image]] 
The Wizard creates multiple images of himself. These duplicates move and attack enemies in convincing fashion.
* '''Description:''' Creates an illusionary duplicate of the Wizard that lasts for X seconds and has X% of the caster's health.

===Wave of Force===

[[Wave of Force]] 
A defensive skill that pushes back enemies and enemy projectiles. Works well when combined with [[Slow Time]].
* '''Description:''' Causes a wave of pure force that causes a knockback to nearby enemies, repels projectiles and deals X-X physical damage.

==Tier Three Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 6. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Frost Nova===

[[Frost Nova]] 
This defensive skill freezes all enemies in a ring around the player, stopping normal monsters and slowing [[bosses]].
* '''Description:''' An explosion of ice freezes nearby enemies for X seconds and causes X-X cold damage. Cold damage chills enemies, slowing their movement and attack speed. Damage will break the freeze effect, but not the chill effect.

===Electrocute===

[[Electrocute]] 
A beam weapon, the bolt of lightning locks onto an enemy and deals steadily draining damage, as well as stunning and slowing the target. An excellent skill for hitting moving targets that might dodge projectiles.
* '''Description:''' Lightning arcs from the Wizard's fingertips towards an enemy dealing X-X lightning damage.

==Tier Four Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 10. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Arcane Orb===

[[Arcane Orb]] 
A projectile that moves slower than most such magical attacks, but that deals considerable arcane [[AoE]] damage upon impact and explosion.
* '''Description:''' An orb of pure energy that explodes on contact with enemies dealing X-X arcane damage to all enemies in the blast area.

===Diamond Skin===

[[Diamond Skin]] 
A powerful defensive skill, this absorbs considerable points from all types of damage for a short duration.
* '''Description:''' Turns the Wizard's skin to diamond for X seconds absorbing up to X damage from incoming attacks.

===Energy Twister===

[[Energy Twister]] 
Cast tornadoes of arcane damage that deal substantial damage to all they come into contact with. The tornadoes move semi-randomly, making this better against crowds than individuals.
* '''Description:''' Summon an energy twister that deals X arcane damage per second to everything in its path.

===Hydra===

[[Hydra]] 
Summons a fiery, three-headed dragon that appears from the ground and assails enemies with bolts of flame. [[Runestone]] bonuses give great flexibility to this spell.
* '''Description:''' Creates a multi-headed hydra that attacks your enemies with bolts of fire, dealing X-X fire damage per attack for X seconds.

==Tier Five Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 14. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Disintegrate===

[[Disintegrate]] 
A laser beam of doom, this instantly-hitting, long range attack deals considerable damage to everything in its path.
* '''Description:''' Emanate a beam of pure energy dealing X arcane damage per second and disintegrating enemies it kills.

===Energy Shield===

[[[Energy Shield]]] 
The classic protective skill returns, now trading Arcane Power for damage reduction.
* '''Description:''' A protective barrier that absorbs damage, draining arcane power in its place. Absorbs X% of all damage dealt to the Wizard.

===Ray of Frost===

[[Ray of Frost]] 
A laser beam of cold damage, this one chills enemies, slowing them while dealing damage.
* '''Description:''' Project a beam of cold that deals X cold damage per second. Cold damage chills enemies, slowing their movement and attack speed.

===Slow Time===

[[Slow Time]] 
Slow time creates a bubble of protection around the location its cast in, slowing all enemy projectiles and the enemies themselves.
* '''Description:''' Warps space and time, slowing nearby monsters and projectiles for X seconds.

==Tier Six Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 20. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Arcane Torrent===

[[Arcane Torrent]] 
An arcane style of Meteor Storm, this spell hurls flaming rocks at the targeted spot, dealing AoE damage to anything in the vicinity.
* '''Description:''' Arcane meteorites pelt the targeted region dealing X-X arcane damage per second.

===Blizzard===

[[Blizzard]] 
Another powerful AoE spell, this one drops damaging ice on a large section of the screen, chilling and injuring anything in the area.
* '''Description:''' Call down shards of ice to pelt an area dealing X-X cold damage per second for X seconds. Cold damage chills enemies, slowing their movement and attack speed.

===Magic Weapon===

[[Magic Weapon]] 
A spell for the battle mage, this one imbues huge magical damage into the wizard's weapon.
* '''Description:''' Imbues the Wizard's weapon with magical energy, granting X-X increased damage.

===Meteor===

[[Meteor]] 
The biggest damage of the death from above skills, this one lands a flaming stone on the targeted location, dealing huge fire damage and leaving a dangerous field of fire in the location for some time.
* '''Description:''' Summons a massive meteor from the sky that causes X-X fire damage to all enemies in the affected area. Also leaves a pool of fire that does X fire damage every second for X seconds.

===Storm Armor===

[[Storm Armor]] 
A fire and forget skill, this one shocks enemies with electrical bolts for the duration of effect, without requiring the Wizard to aim or target them.
* '''Description:''' Surround yourself in electrical energy. Electric bolts are automatically fired at attackers for X-X lightning damage.
** The Wizard may only use one of the "armor" spells at a time.

==Tier Seven Skills==

All abilities in this tier are unlocked at Clvl 26. Click to the individual skill pages for more details and screenshots of these skills.

===Familiar===

[[Familiar]] 
An assisting creature that boosts the Wizard's damage, without serving as a "[[tank]]" to distract their attacks.
* '''Description:''' Creates a companion that accompanies the Wizard, attacking enemies for X-X damage. This companion cannot be targeted or damaged by enemies.

===Teleport===

[[Teleport]] 
Bamf instantly from one location to another. This skill carries a considerable cool down time in Diablo III, making it something best saved for emergency escapes.
* '''Description:''' Teleport instantly to the selected location.

==References==
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-wizard-skill-trees/ Full Wizard Skill Trees]

{{Skill navbox}}
{{Skill navbox Wizard}}
[[Category:Wizard skills]]
[[Category:Skills]]
[[Category:Wizard]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Socket

2010-11-09T22:59:35Z

MiniMonk: Shield was listed twice and MiniMonk changed the order slightly.

[[File:Artisan-icon-socket.jpg|right|thumb|65px]]
Various items in Diablo III will often appear with sockets. Sockets are holes in an item that can be fitted with [[gems]] (and only gems), which add a wide-variety of bonuses to the item. There are 14 levels of gems, allowing the bonuses to grow quite large.

Sockets can be added to items by the [[Blacksmith]], and gems placed into sockets can be removed, undamaged, by the [[Jeweler]].

==Item Sockets==
[[Image:Socketing.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Sockets for gold]]
There are item sockets in Diablo III. [[Runewords]] are not returning, but gem sockets can be added to a variety of items regardless of quality of item so a rare or legendary weapon could have sockets added to it. Items types such as Helm, Bracers, Belts and Pants have been confirmed.

No {{iw|jewels jewels}} have been seen, and [[runes]] in Diablo III are for socketing into [[skill]]s, not items. Jay Wilson referred to sockets and "gem sockets" in the Gamescom [[Artisan Presentation]] video in August 2010 so perhaps that signals a definitive decision made as to what can be put into sockets.

A gem provides different stats based into which item it is socketed, for example, an emerald socketed into a shield will provide some Dexterity, whilst an emerald socketed to a helm will provide Damage Return.

===Items with Sockets===

Nothing is yet known about the scarcity of sockets; items may spawn with sockets commonly, or not. It depends on how the [[D3 Team]] balances them out. It is possible to spend gold to have the [[blacksmith]] add sockets to any of the item types that will allow them, so most of a character's gear will likely have sockets, as soon as a player is high enough level to afford it.

The full list of items that can have sockets isn't yet known, but Jay Wilson has said there will be about half a dozen, and we know six right now. (Which might be all of them.)

* [[Belts]]
* [[Body Armor]]
* [[Boots]]
* [[Helms]]
* [[Shields]]
* [[Weapons]]

Other item types may be added, but these are all the Diablo 3 team has yet confirmed.

==Socketing==

Sockets spawn naturally in items; magical, rare, set, and even unique items can drop with one (or more) sockets in them. The property is said to be much more common in Diablo III than it was in Diablo II; the team has said sockets are treated much like another [[affix]], rather than being something preset into items by the developers [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-interview-indiablo.de-part-two/]

::'''''in.Diablo.d3: '''Can we socket everything in D3?
::'''Jay Wilson: '''Not every single slot, but any item the [[blacksmith]] can add sockets to, about 6 different ones, he can do. It doesn’t matter the quality of the item. If you have legendary boots without a socket, he can add one.

::Also, sockets can appear on any type of items. On Diablo 2 they only appeared on white items. In Diablo 3 a legendary, rare, anything, can have them. Sockets are treated like another affix.

Adding sockets to items without them is a fairly simple process, one that merely requires gold. The [[blacksmith]] offers socketing on his NPC interface, and for a price he'll add a socket to any valid item.

The only demonstration of this yet seen was in the Gamescom 2010 Artistan movie, when he punched a socket into a pain [[buckler]] for an exorbitant (according to Jay Wilson) price of 24424 gold pieces. Presumably, based on Jay's comment, the prices are way higher, during this testing period, than they will be in the final game.

==Socketing Bonuses==

[[File:Gem-emerald-l3.jpg|frame|L3 Emerald bonuses.]]
The only confirmed socketing bonuses are from an "emerald" as seen in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNP8QiNbFmU Gamescom 2010 Artisan video]. The gem hover, as seen to the right, granted:
* Weapon: +4% Casting Speed.
* Helms: Attackers take 7 damage.
* Belt/Boots/Body Armor/Shields: +7 dexterity

It's thought that this was a low level Emerald, probably level 2 or 3, though that's not confirmed. If so, it's tempting to imagine how high the bonuses might rise on their way to the maximum gem level of 14. As long as it would take to create such a high level gem (more than 19,600 L5 gems are required to upgrade to a single L14), players expect to be impressed by the end result.

==Further Reading==

* [[Item]]s - The main article.
* [[Gem]]s - To be socketed.
* [[Artisans]] -- All NPC item functions are handled by these guys.
** [[Blacksmith]] -- The socketeer.
** [[Jeweler]] -- Removes gems from sockets. For a fee.
* [[Rune]]s - No longer used with item sockets.
* [[Known Items Listing]] - Known items.

[[Category:Items]]
[[category:sockets]]

Witch Doctor

2010-11-09T16:40:16Z

MiniMonk: fixing a list.

The '''Witch Doctor''', abbreviated '''WD''', is a pure [[caster|spellcaster]], dealing with elemental magic, nature magic, necromancy and alchemy. The class has taken some inspiration from the [[Necromancer]] of [[Diablo II]].

==Class Design==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Witch_Doctors.jpgf
|portrait-width= 205px
|name= Witch Doctor
|classtype= official
|role= [[Caster]], [[Summoner]]
|attrib= [[Willpower]] [[Mana]]

|skilltree1= [[Zombie Skill Tree]]
|skilltree2= [[Spirit Skill Tree]]
|skilltree3= [[Voodoo Skill Tree]]

|origin= [[Teganze]], [[Torajan|Torajan jungles]]
|affiliation= [[Tribe of the Five Hills]] 
|friends= None Known
|foes= [[Clan of the Seven Stones]], [[Tribe of the Clouded Valley]]
}}
The Witch Doctor looks a bit like the top half of one of [[Diablo II]]'s {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Flayer_Shaman Flayer Shaman]}}, especially when outfitted in one of his oversized, colourful tribal masks. There is even a Flayer Shaman called {{iw|Witch_Doctor_Endugu Witch Doctor Endugu}}. Judging by the [[Witch Doctor skills|skills thus far demonstrated]], the WD fights a lot like a {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necromancer]}}, using cunning and guile, rather than direct physical attacks. Witch Doctors possess a number of mind control spells, the ability to summon and control [[undead]] servants, and a variety of direct damage [[elemental]] attacks.

The [[D3 Team]] has described the Witch Doctor as old, grizzled and fanatical. His magic is not clean and easy, like the fire or lightning a {{iw|Sorceress Sorceress}} can produce with a snap of her fingers. Witch Doctors get dirty. They summon [[Wall of Zombies|walls of zombies]] to rip apart enemies, they call forth undead demon hounds called [[Mongrel]]s that they can detonate to deal heavy damage to their enemies, and they fashion the skulls of the dead into explosive grenades. The D3 team discussed the Witch Doctor's design concepts in the [[WWI 2008: Denizens of Diablo Panel|Denizens of Diablo panel]] at the [[WWI 2008]].

::''For the Witch Doctor, we wanted to get a rich, voodoo vibe. We wanted to avoid straight up master-caster feel. He's not just conjuring things out of thin air. WDs don't just channel magic. They take real world objects and infuse them with voodoo magic. Our spell descriptions for the WD were like, "He's going to throw a shrunken head filled with a chemical concoction." Or "He's going to create insect swarms by blowing voodoo dust from his palms." Or "He's going to sprinkle dust in the air and cause illusions and frighten monsters away."''

The team felt that it wouldn't be a real Witch Doctor without [[zombies]]. They go together naturally, but they didn't want normal slow wandering zombies. They mashed the idea of Zombies with the Firewall of previous games and came up with [[Wall of Zombies|zombie wall]].

[[Leonard Boyarsky]] describes the Witch Doctor: <ref>[http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/diablo-iii/885172p1.html Leonard Boyarsky @ BlizzCon 2008] - Gamespy, October, 2010</ref>

::''The Witch Doctor is angry, someone who's been broken by a life that's dealt a few too many hard knocks and not enough joy. This is someone tired of being smacked in the head, so he uses his mystical powers to get into the heads of others (and if that doesn't work, a swarm of locusts will get under their skin).''

==Skills and Traits==

The [[Witch Doctor skill]]s were arranged in three skill trees, [[Zombie_Skill_Tree|Zombie]], [[Spirit_Skill_Tree|Spirit]], and [[Voodoo_Skill_Tree|Voodoo]], prior to 2010. They have since been arranged into one large list. The following is a very short version of it.
* [[Witch Doctor skills]] all active skills.
* [[Witch Doctor traits]] all passive skills.

Tier One Skills
* [[Summon Zombie Dog]] -- The Witch Doctor summons a level X zombie dog to aid him. Can have up to X zombie dogs out at a time.
* [[Plague of Toads]] -- Release a handful of toads that deal X-X poison damage to anybody who steps on them.

Tier Two Skills
[[Image:Wd-locust-swarm1.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Locust Swarm]].]]
* [[Zombie Charger]] -- A reckless, suicidal zombie deals X-X poison damage to all enemies in its way.
* [[Corpse Spiders]] -- Summon X spiders to attack nearby enemies.
* [[Haunt]] -- Haunt an enemy with a spirit dealing X arcane damage over X seconds. If the target dies, the spirit will automatically haunt another nearby target.

Tier Three Skills
* [[Poison Dart]] -- Fires a deadly poison dart that deals X-X poison damage and an additional X-X poison damage over X seconds.
* [[Grasp of the Dead]] -- Hands reach out, slowing enemies by X% and dealing X-X damage per second for X seconds.
* [[Hex]] -- Summon a fetish shaman for X seconds that will hex enemies into chickens. Hexed enemies are unable to perform offensive actions and will take X% additional damage.
* [[Sacrifice]] -- A nearby zombie dog explodes, dealing X damage to all enemies within X yards.
* [[Soul Harvest]] -- Feed on the life force of nearby enemies. Gain X% increased spell damage per enemy within X feet for X seconds.

Tier Four Skills
* [[Firebats]] -- A swarm of fiery bats burn enemies in front of you for X fire damage per second.
* [[Locust Swarm]] -- A plague of locusts assault enemies dealing X damage per second over X seconds. The locusts will jump to additional nearby targets.

Tier Five Skills
[[Image:Wd-zombie-wall1.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Wall of Zombies]]]]
* [[Acid Cloud]] -- Acid rains down dealing an initial X-X poison damage followed by X-X poison damage per second to nearby enemies who remain in the area.
* [[Firebomb]] -- Lob an explosive skull that deals X-X fire damage to all enemies caught in the explosion.
* [[Horrify]] -- Don a spectral mask that horrifies all enemies within X feet, causing them to run in fear for X seconds.
* [[Wall of Zombies]] -- Zombies erupt from the earth and attack nearby enemies for X damage per second.

Tier Six Skills
* [[Gargantuan]] -- Summon a large level X zombie follower to fight for you.
* [[Mass Confusion]] -- Incite paranoia in enemies, causing some to fight for the Witch Doctor for X seconds.
* [[Pit of Fire]] -- A gang of fetishes go tribal, causing X-X fire damage to all enemies caught in their ceremony.
* [[Spirit Walk]] -- Enter the spirit realm, allowing unhindered movement for X seconds.

Tier Seven Skills
* [[Fetish Army]] -- Summon an army of fetish creatures to fight by your side for X seconds.
* [[Parasite]] -- Launch a parasite at an enemy, dealing X damage over X seconds. If a target dies while under the effects of parasite, a zombie dog emerges from the slain body.
* [[Spirit Barrage]] -- A multitude of spirit bolts bombard enemies in the targeted area. Each bolt deals X-X arcane damage.

==Male Witch Doctor's Look==

[[File:Wd-male-masks1.jpg|frame]]
The facial look of the Witch Doctor, male and female, may be almost irrelevant in the game, since most characters will always have one of the masks ([[helms]]) on them. These are far more obscuring of the face than the headgear of any of the other classes. It's not yet known how exactly alike the masks are for male and female WDs.

[[File:Wd-male-faces1.jpg|left|frame]]
The Male Witch Doctor's face has evolved quite a bit during the game's development, at least judging from the few pieces of concept art we've been shown. The earliest version of the character was a sort of wildman of the swamp; he doesn't appear to have been brown-skinned, and the oddest part was that he carried a little shrunken monster in a backpack, somewhat like the Fetish Shaman found in Diablo II.

This mini-WD was something of a sidekick, and would assist the WD in combat. One example given during a Blizzcon panel was that when the WD was stunned, the mini-WD would stand up in the backpack and beat him on the head to try and wake him up.

==Necromancer Replacement?==
The WD is clearly {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necromancer]}}-like, in his mixture of summonings, mind control curses, and sub-mage quality magical attacks, but the [[D3 team]] does [[WWI_2008:_D3_Design_Fundamentals_Panel|not view the character as a replacement]] for the Necromancer.

::'''Q:''' Is the witch doctor a replacement or spiritual successor to the {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necro]}}? They seem to have rather similar skills.
::'''A:''' We don't view the Witch Doctor as a replacement. The Necromancer is a very cool char. We thought about him as a class and tried to see if we could improve on him, which is something we did with every class, and that led us to create the Witch Doctor. If we ever decided to make a Necromancer, the Witch Doctor wouldn't prevent us from doing so.

[[Jay Wilson]] commented further on this and detailed what makes the Witch Doctor different than the Necromancer in an interview with 1up.com in December 2008. <ref>[http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=1&cId=3172030&p=1 Jay Wilson Interview] - 1up.com, December, 2010</ref>

::We wanted to create a class whose pets were not his primary source of damage output. [...] Most Necromancer builds are very pet heavy. The pets do a lot of the damage, and a lot of mechanics are built around [[debuff]]ing the enemy so your pets can be better against them or taking advantage of the bodies your pets create by blowing them up with corpse explosion.

::The Witch Doctor's pets are more of a distraction -- they're his form of [[crowd control]]. [...] We wanted to have this general notion of a character who controlled all things slimy and gross, like zombies, bats, snakes, and spiders, but he didn't rely on them -- he just throws them out there. [...] Each element is like that, where it's another distraction while the source of primary damage is the Witch Doctor himself. This makes him play very differently than the Necromancer, which was intentional.

===Build Variety?===

One question that arose in early conversation about the Witch Doctor, after players got to try out the class at [[Blizzcon]] 2008 and 2009, was how varied his potential builds would be. Jay Wilson addressed this issue in an October 2009 interview.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/ Jay Wilson Interview] - IncGamers.com, October 2009</ref>

::'''''Diii.net: '''The Witch Doctor build seems fairly narrow in concept. He’ll always have mongrels for tanking, some mini-mage support, and some minion attacks and a bit of mind control. Looking at his skill tree now, there doesn’t seem to be that many potential Witch Doctor builds, which isn’t true of the [[Wizard]] or [[Barbarian]]. Can you comment on that? Is it just that we don’t know enough about the Witch Doctor yet?
::'''Jay Wilson: '''The Witch Doctor is less developed than the Wizard and the Barbarian. His skills are on what we call a second round, a second revision, while the Barbarian and Wizard are firmly in their third, maybe even their fourth revision. So as every time we revisit the systems we expand the abilities. It’s based on playing them. We discover basically the same things, and we’ll say something like, “Oh, this class seems a little bit more focused than we wanted. We can’t make this kind of build the way we wanted to.” So we end up expanding them over time.

In the game, every class is different. Some classes offer themselves up to a lot of variations. Some classes tend to have a lot more focus. We saw that in Diablo II, some classes had fewer variations and fewer possibilities than the others. That’s not really our goal though. Our goal is to make sure that every class is equally diverse in the types of builds they can be made for.

===ZooKeeper Build===

The Witch Doctor is not going to support the "zookeeper" style of build, where a player has numerous weaker summons which can be used to swarm enemies. The class is more about precisely managing a few minions at once, rather than summoning up a horde of helpers. This point was made by [[Bashiok]] in a March 2010 forum post about the [[Fetish Army]] skill.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-posts-on-shields-zookeeper-builds-and-healig-spells/ Bashiok forum post] - IncGamers.com, March 2010</ref>

::Fetish army is really the only mass-summon spell the witch doctor has. The fetish army spell effects are coming along too, it's looking pretty amazing.

::But it's really more of an AoE that happens to do its damage by sending out little dudes to fight.

::The witch doctor is more about using a small number of summons as damage soaks, and then casting spells for the majority of his damage. Some of which are themselves larger one-off summons. He's not a mass summoner, that's just not the intended flavor of the class.

==Spell Damage==

One of the key changes to spell casters in Diablo III is the addition of +% spell damage modifiers. These sorts of modifiers were found on many skills in Diablo 2, and on a few uniques and runewords, but they were uncommon, and not necessary to kill effectively. As a result, casters in Diablo 2 were much less item-dependent than the combat classes, and found it easier to concentrate on [[Magic Find]], resistances, hit points, and other non-damage bonuses.

This will not be the case in Diablo 3, where mages must add considerable +% spell damage from modifiers to stay ahead of the monster hit point curve. A high level Wizard or [[Witch Doctor]] in Diablo 3 will no more be able to kill quickly with no +spell damage than a [[Barbarian]] or [[Monk]] could succeed with a junk weapon. A quote from Flux's post-Blizzcon 2009 Wizard write up explains this in more detail:

::When viewing the listed damage on each spell, it’s important to keep in mind that those are not absolute numbers, in D3. They’re much like weapon damage; modified by your wizard’s attributes, your character level, by other skills, and also by your equipment. Lots of types of items in D3 carry modifiers that boost spell damage, usually by a percentage.

::I found numerous wands, staves, and even pieces of armor with values between +5-25% spell damage, and that was just in the early stages of the game. We know nothing about higher level equipment bonuses, and it’s entirely possible that the D3 team is projecting high level characters to have +100%, +200%, or who knows, +500%, spell damage. If so they’ll be adjusting the base spell damage accordingly, which might make it look very low to our untrained eyes.

::Here’s an example from early in the game, that was mentioned in the [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-witch-doctor-skills/ Witch Doctor skills report]. The skill tree listed damage on my level 2 Skull of Flame spell was 6-9, yet with a level 12 Witch Doctor my Inventory screen showed 19-29 for that spell. I don’t think I had more than +50% spell damage from equipment, so assuming the display values aren’t wrong (in [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Lying_Character_Screen D2’s infamous LCS] style), there are considerable bonuses added to damage from character attributes, which are then further boosted by the spell damage bonuses on your equipment.

::This is all part of the D3 team’s plan to make all of the attributes useful to all characters, and to make more types of modifiers useful/essential to spell casters. We don’t know enough yet to judge how well it’s working, but it should be a substantial change from how spell damage was calculated and scaled up (or not) in D2.

==Mana Resource==

The Witch Doctor is the only class in Diablo 3 who uses [[mana]] as a character resource. In this the WD is very conventional and familiar to people who played Diablo and Diablo 2. The character casts spells that cost X amount of mana, which regenerates over time, at a rate determined by various factors including total mana pool, item modifiers, and relevant skills. (Details are as of yet far from complete.)

Mana is also regained when the Witch Doctor uses [[health orbs]]; an issue [[Jay Wilson]] addressed while answering a question about the [[Wizard]] during an October 2009 interview. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/ Jay Wilson interview] - IncGamers.com, October 2010</ref>

::'''''Diii.net: '''Do you envision the health globes will boost [non-mana resources] in the way that the Wizard and Witch Doctor gained mana from them at Blizzcon?
::'''Jay Wilson: '''Um, maybe? *sounding intrigued* Usually in the third or fourth skill revision on classes we look at that kind of thing. For the [[Witch Doctor]] we figured that a lot of the mana things we had on the Wizard would work better on the Witch Doctor. We were having trouble maintaining enough mana while play testing the Witch Doctor. Especially if players didn’t take a specific mana recovery skill. So we focused on spreading that out across a lot more of the class so he can pull mana back more easily. When we get to other classes I’m sure we’ll look for more of that.

But the key is that we don’t necessarily want to... we don’t want to cannibalize an existing gameplay mechanic. So when you take health globes that are already important, and you make them even more important, then that doesn’t really create gameplay. For the WD, the health globes weren’t that important a lot of times, since he very rarely took damage with his pets, so for him by enhancing his desire for health globes, we’re really putting gameplay where it wasn’t. So whatever we’re designing a class that’s what we look at.

==Class Background==

The Witch Doctor comes from the an area of the [[Torajan]] jungles called [[Teganze]] on the southern tip of the great eastern continent, just southwest of [[Kurast]] (where {{iw|Act_Three Act Three}} took place in [[Diablo II]]). You can see it located on the [[World map]] close to Kurast.

The fearsome Witch Doctor of the [[umbaru]] is believed to be a legend by many, but [[Abd al-Hazir]] has seen them with his own eyes, documented in the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|thirteenth entry]] of his [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir|writings]].

The Witch Doctor uses terrifying precision to assault his foe's mind and body with elixirs and powders evoking fires, explosions, and poisonous spirits. He can also summon and control [[undead]] creatures from the netherworld to combat his enemies.

Witch Doctors come from the Tribe of the Five Hills, who frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the Clan of the Seven Stones and the Tribe of the Clouded Valley as a ritual rather than conquest. The tribes use these wars to replenish their supply of human sacrifices their civilization revolves around. Only those taken in battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice according to the code of heroism and honour of the tribes.

The tribes define themselves by their belief in the [[Mbwiru Eikura]], which roughly translates to "[[Unformed Land|The Unformed Land]]". Their belief holds that the true, sacred reality is veiled behind the physical one we normally experience. Their vitally important public ceremonies are centred upon sacrifices to the life force that flows from their gods, who inhabit the Unformed Land, into this lesser physical realm.

Witch Doctors are finely attuned to this Unformed Land and are able to train their minds to perceive it 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]].

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.

Their most current war created an intense social upheaval among the tribes due to an incident, of which details are lacking, but might be the reason the Witch Doctor has traveled west to [[Tristram]].

===Official Character Lore===

As related in the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|13th entry in the writings]] of [[Abd al-Hazir]].

<blockquote>Most believe the fearsome [[witch doctor]] of the [[umbaru]] race a legend, but I have seen one in battle with my own eyes. And it was difficult to believe, even then. He dispatched his opponent with terrifying precision, assaulting his victim's mind and body with elixirs and powders that evoked fires, explosions, and poisonous spirits. As if these assaults were not enough, the witch doctor also had at his command the ability to summon [[undead]] creatures from the netherworld to rend the flesh from his enemy's body.
 
 
I came upon this rare display as I ventured deep into the interior of the dense [[Torajan]] jungles that cover the southern tip of the great eastern continent, in the vast area known as the [[Teganze]], with the goal of seeking out the tribes that reside there. This area is extremely secluded, and heretofore unseen by foreign eyes. I was fortunate to befriend the witch doctor I saw in battle, and, through him, his tribe: the [[Tribe of the Five Hills]].
 
 
The culture of the umbaru of the lower Teganze is fascinating and perplexing to those hailing from more civilized walks of life. For instance, the Tribe of the Five Hills frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the [[Clan of the Seven Stones]] and the [[Tribe of the Clouded Valley]], but these are matters of ritual and not of conquest. I had heard tales that these wars are waged in order that the victors may replenish their supply of raw materials for the human sacrifices that their civilization revolves around, and when I timidly asked my hosts more about this topic, I must admit their laughter made me fear for my safety. However, through stumbled attempts at communication of such complex topics as what constitutes heroism and honor in their society, I gathered that only those taken in battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice, much to my relief.
 
 
Upon further discussions with my hosts, I discovered that these tribes define themselves by their belief in the [[Mbwiru Eikura]], which roughly translates to "[[Unformed Land|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 doctor]]s 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.</blockquote>



==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Witch+Doctor Witch Doctor-specific gallery contents]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=doctor&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=546&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=546 Witch Doctor Screenshots].
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=witch&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=563&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=563 Witch Doctor Concept Art].
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=witch&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=550&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=550 Witch Doctor Wallpapers].

<gallery>
Image:Wd-1.jpg|Witch Doctor in game
Image:Wd-concept1.jpg|WD concept art
Image:Wd-firebats1.jpg|[[Spirit_Skill_Tree#Firebats|Firebats]] unleashed.
Image:Skill_witchdoctor_firebomb.jpg|[[Skull of Flame]] animation shots.
Image:Wd-concept2.jpg|High quality concept
Image:Wd-concept3.jpg|Crazy WD
Image:Wd-concept4.jpg|Male WD concept
Image:Wd-concept5.jpg|Female clothing concepts
Image:Wd-concept6.jpg|Female WD
Image:Wd-concept7.jpg|Male WD action
Image:Wd-concept8.jpg|Female sketches
Image:Witch_Doctors.jpg|Female and male WDs.
</gallery>

==Resources==
* [[Umbaru]]
* [[Tribe of the Five Hills]]
* [[Clan of the Seven Stones]]
* [[Tribe of the Clouded Valley]]
* [[Khazra]]
* [[Torajan Jungles]]
* [[Teganze]]
* [[Mbwiru Eikura]] / [[Unformed Land|The Unformed Land]]
* [[Ghost Trance]]

==References==

<references/>
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013: The Witch Doctor]]
* [[Media Coverage|Diablo III Media Coverage Archive]] for all interviews, previews, pictures and more.


{{Class navbox|Witch Doctor}}

[[category:Witch Doctor]]
[[Category:Classes]]
[[Category:Umbaru]]
[[Category:Basics]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Witch Doctor

2010-11-09T16:38:29Z

MiniMonk: Fixing an error with a link.

The '''Witch Doctor''', abbreviated '''WD''', is a pure [[caster|spellcaster]], dealing with elemental magic, nature magic, necromancy and alchemy. The class has taken some inspiration from the [[Necromancer]] of [[Diablo II]].

==Class Design==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Witch_Doctors.jpgf
|portrait-width= 205px
|name= Witch Doctor
|classtype= official
|role= [[Caster]], [[Summoner]]
|attrib= [[Willpower]] [[Mana]]

|skilltree1= [[Zombie Skill Tree]]
|skilltree2= [[Spirit Skill Tree]]
|skilltree3= [[Voodoo Skill Tree]]

|origin= [[Teganze]], [[Torajan|Torajan jungles]]
|affiliation= [[Tribe of the Five Hills]] 
|friends= None Known
|foes= [[Clan of the Seven Stones]], [[Tribe of the Clouded Valley]]
}}
The Witch Doctor looks a bit like the top half of one of [[Diablo II]]'s {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Flayer_Shaman Flayer Shaman]}}, especially when outfitted in one of his oversized, colourful tribal masks. There is even a Flayer Shaman called {{iw|Witch_Doctor_Endugu Witch Doctor Endugu}}. Judging by the [[Witch Doctor skills|skills thus far demonstrated]], the WD fights a lot like a {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necromancer]}}, using cunning and guile, rather than direct physical attacks. Witch Doctors possess a number of mind control spells, the ability to summon and control [[undead]] servants, and a variety of direct damage [[elemental]] attacks.

The [[D3 Team]] has described the Witch Doctor as old, grizzled and fanatical. His magic is not clean and easy, like the fire or lightning a {{iw|Sorceress Sorceress}} can produce with a snap of her fingers. Witch Doctors get dirty. They summon [[Wall of Zombies|walls of zombies]] to rip apart enemies, they call forth undead demon hounds called [[Mongrel]]s that they can detonate to deal heavy damage to their enemies, and they fashion the skulls of the dead into explosive grenades. The D3 team discussed the Witch Doctor's design concepts in the [[WWI 2008: Denizens of Diablo Panel|Denizens of Diablo panel]] at the [[WWI 2008]].

::''For the Witch Doctor, we wanted to get a rich, voodoo vibe. We wanted to avoid straight up master-caster feel. He's not just conjuring things out of thin air. WDs don't just channel magic. They take real world objects and infuse them with voodoo magic. Our spell descriptions for the WD were like, "He's going to throw a shrunken head filled with a chemical concoction." Or "He's going to create insect swarms by blowing voodoo dust from his palms." Or "He's going to sprinkle dust in the air and cause illusions and frighten monsters away."''

The team felt that it wouldn't be a real Witch Doctor without [[zombies]]. They go together naturally, but they didn't want normal slow wandering zombies. They mashed the idea of Zombies with the Firewall of previous games and came up with [[Wall of Zombies|zombie wall]].

[[Leonard Boyarsky]] describes the Witch Doctor: <ref>[http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/diablo-iii/885172p1.html Leonard Boyarsky @ BlizzCon 2008] - Gamespy, October, 2010</ref>

::''The Witch Doctor is angry, someone who's been broken by a life that's dealt a few too many hard knocks and not enough joy. This is someone tired of being smacked in the head, so he uses his mystical powers to get into the heads of others (and if that doesn't work, a swarm of locusts will get under their skin).''

==Skills and Traits==

The [[Witch Doctor skill]]s were arranged in three skill trees, [[Zombie_Skill_Tree|Zombie]], [[Spirit_Skill_Tree|Spirit]], and [[Voodoo_Skill_Tree|Voodoo]], prior to 2010. They have since been arranged into one large list. The following is a very short version of it.
* [[Witch Doctor skills]] all active skills.
* [[Witch Doctor traits]] all passive skills.

Tier One Skills
* [[Summon Zombie Dog]] -- The Witch Doctor summons a level X zombie dog to aid him. Can have up to X zombie dogs out at a time.
* [[Plague of Toads]] -- Release a handful of toads that deal X-X poison damage to anybody who steps on them.

Tier Two Skills
[[Image:Wd-locust-swarm1.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Locust Swarm]].]]
* [[Zombie Charger]] -- A reckless, suicidal zombie deals X-X poison damage to all enemies in its way.
* [[Corpse Spiders]] -- Summon X spiders to attack nearby enemies.
* [[Haunt]] -- Haunt an enemy with a spirit dealing X arcane damage over X seconds. If the target dies, the spirit will automatically haunt another nearby target.

Tier Three Skills
* [[Poison Dart]] -- Fires a deadly poison dart that deals X-X poison damage and an additional X-X poison damage over X seconds.
* [[Grasp of the Dead]] -- Hands reach out, slowing enemies by X% and dealing X-X damage per second for X seconds.
* [[Hex]] -- Summon a fetish shaman for X seconds that will hex enemies into chickens. Hexed enemies are unable to perform offensive actions and will take X% additional damage.
* [[Sacrifice]] -- A nearby zombie dog explodes, dealing X damage to all enemies within X yards.
* [[Soul Harvest]] -- Feed on the life force of nearby enemies. Gain X% increased spell damage per enemy within X feet for X seconds.

Tier Four Skills
* [[Firebats]] -- A swarm of fiery bats burn enemies in front of you for X fire damage per second.
* [[Locust Swarm]] -- A plague of locusts assault enemies dealing X damage per second over X seconds. The locusts will jump to additional nearby targets.

Tier Five Skills
[[Image:Wd-zombie-wall1.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Wall of Zombies]]]]
* [[Acid Cloud]] -- Acid rains down dealing an initial X-X poison damage followed by X-X poison damage per second to nearby enemies who remain in the area.
* [[Firebomb]] -- Lob an explosive skull that deals X-X fire damage to all enemies caught in the explosion.
* [[Horrify]] -- Don a spectral mask that horrifies all enemies within X feet, causing them to run in fear for X seconds.
* [[Wall of Zombies]] -- Zombies erupt from the earth and attack nearby enemies for X damage per second.

Tier Six Skills
* [[Gargantuan]] -- Summon a large level X zombie follower to fight for you.
* [[Mass Confusion]] -- Incite paranoia in enemies, causing some to fight for the Witch Doctor for X seconds.
* [[Pit of Fire]] -- A gang of fetishes go tribal, causing X-X fire damage to all enemies caught in their ceremony.
* [[Spirit Walk]] -- Enter the spirit realm, allowing unhindered movement for X seconds.

Tier Seven Skills
[[Fetish Army]] -- Summon an army of fetish creatures to fight by your side for X seconds.
[[Parasite]] -- Launch a parasite at an enemy, dealing X damage over X seconds. If a target dies while under the effects of parasite, a zombie dog emerges from the slain body.
[[Spirit Barrage]] -- A multitude of spirit bolts bombard enemies in the targeted area. Each bolt deals X-X arcane damage.

==Male Witch Doctor's Look==

[[File:Wd-male-masks1.jpg|frame]]
The facial look of the Witch Doctor, male and female, may be almost irrelevant in the game, since most characters will always have one of the masks ([[helms]]) on them. These are far more obscuring of the face than the headgear of any of the other classes. It's not yet known how exactly alike the masks are for male and female WDs.

[[File:Wd-male-faces1.jpg|left|frame]]
The Male Witch Doctor's face has evolved quite a bit during the game's development, at least judging from the few pieces of concept art we've been shown. The earliest version of the character was a sort of wildman of the swamp; he doesn't appear to have been brown-skinned, and the oddest part was that he carried a little shrunken monster in a backpack, somewhat like the Fetish Shaman found in Diablo II.

This mini-WD was something of a sidekick, and would assist the WD in combat. One example given during a Blizzcon panel was that when the WD was stunned, the mini-WD would stand up in the backpack and beat him on the head to try and wake him up.

==Necromancer Replacement?==
The WD is clearly {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necromancer]}}-like, in his mixture of summonings, mind control curses, and sub-mage quality magical attacks, but the [[D3 team]] does [[WWI_2008:_D3_Design_Fundamentals_Panel|not view the character as a replacement]] for the Necromancer.

::'''Q:''' Is the witch doctor a replacement or spiritual successor to the {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necro]}}? They seem to have rather similar skills.
::'''A:''' We don't view the Witch Doctor as a replacement. The Necromancer is a very cool char. We thought about him as a class and tried to see if we could improve on him, which is something we did with every class, and that led us to create the Witch Doctor. If we ever decided to make a Necromancer, the Witch Doctor wouldn't prevent us from doing so.

[[Jay Wilson]] commented further on this and detailed what makes the Witch Doctor different than the Necromancer in an interview with 1up.com in December 2008. <ref>[http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=1&cId=3172030&p=1 Jay Wilson Interview] - 1up.com, December, 2010</ref>

::We wanted to create a class whose pets were not his primary source of damage output. [...] Most Necromancer builds are very pet heavy. The pets do a lot of the damage, and a lot of mechanics are built around [[debuff]]ing the enemy so your pets can be better against them or taking advantage of the bodies your pets create by blowing them up with corpse explosion.

::The Witch Doctor's pets are more of a distraction -- they're his form of [[crowd control]]. [...] We wanted to have this general notion of a character who controlled all things slimy and gross, like zombies, bats, snakes, and spiders, but he didn't rely on them -- he just throws them out there. [...] Each element is like that, where it's another distraction while the source of primary damage is the Witch Doctor himself. This makes him play very differently than the Necromancer, which was intentional.

===Build Variety?===

One question that arose in early conversation about the Witch Doctor, after players got to try out the class at [[Blizzcon]] 2008 and 2009, was how varied his potential builds would be. Jay Wilson addressed this issue in an October 2009 interview.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/ Jay Wilson Interview] - IncGamers.com, October 2009</ref>

::'''''Diii.net: '''The Witch Doctor build seems fairly narrow in concept. He’ll always have mongrels for tanking, some mini-mage support, and some minion attacks and a bit of mind control. Looking at his skill tree now, there doesn’t seem to be that many potential Witch Doctor builds, which isn’t true of the [[Wizard]] or [[Barbarian]]. Can you comment on that? Is it just that we don’t know enough about the Witch Doctor yet?
::'''Jay Wilson: '''The Witch Doctor is less developed than the Wizard and the Barbarian. His skills are on what we call a second round, a second revision, while the Barbarian and Wizard are firmly in their third, maybe even their fourth revision. So as every time we revisit the systems we expand the abilities. It’s based on playing them. We discover basically the same things, and we’ll say something like, “Oh, this class seems a little bit more focused than we wanted. We can’t make this kind of build the way we wanted to.” So we end up expanding them over time.

In the game, every class is different. Some classes offer themselves up to a lot of variations. Some classes tend to have a lot more focus. We saw that in Diablo II, some classes had fewer variations and fewer possibilities than the others. That’s not really our goal though. Our goal is to make sure that every class is equally diverse in the types of builds they can be made for.

===ZooKeeper Build===

The Witch Doctor is not going to support the "zookeeper" style of build, where a player has numerous weaker summons which can be used to swarm enemies. The class is more about precisely managing a few minions at once, rather than summoning up a horde of helpers. This point was made by [[Bashiok]] in a March 2010 forum post about the [[Fetish Army]] skill.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-posts-on-shields-zookeeper-builds-and-healig-spells/ Bashiok forum post] - IncGamers.com, March 2010</ref>

::Fetish army is really the only mass-summon spell the witch doctor has. The fetish army spell effects are coming along too, it's looking pretty amazing.

::But it's really more of an AoE that happens to do its damage by sending out little dudes to fight.

::The witch doctor is more about using a small number of summons as damage soaks, and then casting spells for the majority of his damage. Some of which are themselves larger one-off summons. He's not a mass summoner, that's just not the intended flavor of the class.

==Spell Damage==

One of the key changes to spell casters in Diablo III is the addition of +% spell damage modifiers. These sorts of modifiers were found on many skills in Diablo 2, and on a few uniques and runewords, but they were uncommon, and not necessary to kill effectively. As a result, casters in Diablo 2 were much less item-dependent than the combat classes, and found it easier to concentrate on [[Magic Find]], resistances, hit points, and other non-damage bonuses.

This will not be the case in Diablo 3, where mages must add considerable +% spell damage from modifiers to stay ahead of the monster hit point curve. A high level Wizard or [[Witch Doctor]] in Diablo 3 will no more be able to kill quickly with no +spell damage than a [[Barbarian]] or [[Monk]] could succeed with a junk weapon. A quote from Flux's post-Blizzcon 2009 Wizard write up explains this in more detail:

::When viewing the listed damage on each spell, it’s important to keep in mind that those are not absolute numbers, in D3. They’re much like weapon damage; modified by your wizard’s attributes, your character level, by other skills, and also by your equipment. Lots of types of items in D3 carry modifiers that boost spell damage, usually by a percentage.

::I found numerous wands, staves, and even pieces of armor with values between +5-25% spell damage, and that was just in the early stages of the game. We know nothing about higher level equipment bonuses, and it’s entirely possible that the D3 team is projecting high level characters to have +100%, +200%, or who knows, +500%, spell damage. If so they’ll be adjusting the base spell damage accordingly, which might make it look very low to our untrained eyes.

::Here’s an example from early in the game, that was mentioned in the [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-witch-doctor-skills/ Witch Doctor skills report]. The skill tree listed damage on my level 2 Skull of Flame spell was 6-9, yet with a level 12 Witch Doctor my Inventory screen showed 19-29 for that spell. I don’t think I had more than +50% spell damage from equipment, so assuming the display values aren’t wrong (in [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Lying_Character_Screen D2’s infamous LCS] style), there are considerable bonuses added to damage from character attributes, which are then further boosted by the spell damage bonuses on your equipment.

::This is all part of the D3 team’s plan to make all of the attributes useful to all characters, and to make more types of modifiers useful/essential to spell casters. We don’t know enough yet to judge how well it’s working, but it should be a substantial change from how spell damage was calculated and scaled up (or not) in D2.

==Mana Resource==

The Witch Doctor is the only class in Diablo 3 who uses [[mana]] as a character resource. In this the WD is very conventional and familiar to people who played Diablo and Diablo 2. The character casts spells that cost X amount of mana, which regenerates over time, at a rate determined by various factors including total mana pool, item modifiers, and relevant skills. (Details are as of yet far from complete.)

Mana is also regained when the Witch Doctor uses [[health orbs]]; an issue [[Jay Wilson]] addressed while answering a question about the [[Wizard]] during an October 2009 interview. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/ Jay Wilson interview] - IncGamers.com, October 2010</ref>

::'''''Diii.net: '''Do you envision the health globes will boost [non-mana resources] in the way that the Wizard and Witch Doctor gained mana from them at Blizzcon?
::'''Jay Wilson: '''Um, maybe? *sounding intrigued* Usually in the third or fourth skill revision on classes we look at that kind of thing. For the [[Witch Doctor]] we figured that a lot of the mana things we had on the Wizard would work better on the Witch Doctor. We were having trouble maintaining enough mana while play testing the Witch Doctor. Especially if players didn’t take a specific mana recovery skill. So we focused on spreading that out across a lot more of the class so he can pull mana back more easily. When we get to other classes I’m sure we’ll look for more of that.

But the key is that we don’t necessarily want to... we don’t want to cannibalize an existing gameplay mechanic. So when you take health globes that are already important, and you make them even more important, then that doesn’t really create gameplay. For the WD, the health globes weren’t that important a lot of times, since he very rarely took damage with his pets, so for him by enhancing his desire for health globes, we’re really putting gameplay where it wasn’t. So whatever we’re designing a class that’s what we look at.

==Class Background==

The Witch Doctor comes from the an area of the [[Torajan]] jungles called [[Teganze]] on the southern tip of the great eastern continent, just southwest of [[Kurast]] (where {{iw|Act_Three Act Three}} took place in [[Diablo II]]). You can see it located on the [[World map]] close to Kurast.

The fearsome Witch Doctor of the [[umbaru]] is believed to be a legend by many, but [[Abd al-Hazir]] has seen them with his own eyes, documented in the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|thirteenth entry]] of his [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir|writings]].

The Witch Doctor uses terrifying precision to assault his foe's mind and body with elixirs and powders evoking fires, explosions, and poisonous spirits. He can also summon and control [[undead]] creatures from the netherworld to combat his enemies.

Witch Doctors come from the Tribe of the Five Hills, who frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the Clan of the Seven Stones and the Tribe of the Clouded Valley as a ritual rather than conquest. The tribes use these wars to replenish their supply of human sacrifices their civilization revolves around. Only those taken in battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice according to the code of heroism and honour of the tribes.

The tribes define themselves by their belief in the [[Mbwiru Eikura]], which roughly translates to "[[Unformed Land|The Unformed Land]]". Their belief holds that the true, sacred reality is veiled behind the physical one we normally experience. Their vitally important public ceremonies are centred upon sacrifices to the life force that flows from their gods, who inhabit the Unformed Land, into this lesser physical realm.

Witch Doctors are finely attuned to this Unformed Land and are able to train their minds to perceive it 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]].

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.

Their most current war created an intense social upheaval among the tribes due to an incident, of which details are lacking, but might be the reason the Witch Doctor has traveled west to [[Tristram]].

===Official Character Lore===

As related in the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|13th entry in the writings]] of [[Abd al-Hazir]].

<blockquote>Most believe the fearsome [[witch doctor]] of the [[umbaru]] race a legend, but I have seen one in battle with my own eyes. And it was difficult to believe, even then. He dispatched his opponent with terrifying precision, assaulting his victim's mind and body with elixirs and powders that evoked fires, explosions, and poisonous spirits. As if these assaults were not enough, the witch doctor also had at his command the ability to summon [[undead]] creatures from the netherworld to rend the flesh from his enemy's body.
 
 
I came upon this rare display as I ventured deep into the interior of the dense [[Torajan]] jungles that cover the southern tip of the great eastern continent, in the vast area known as the [[Teganze]], with the goal of seeking out the tribes that reside there. This area is extremely secluded, and heretofore unseen by foreign eyes. I was fortunate to befriend the witch doctor I saw in battle, and, through him, his tribe: the [[Tribe of the Five Hills]].
 
 
The culture of the umbaru of the lower Teganze is fascinating and perplexing to those hailing from more civilized walks of life. For instance, the Tribe of the Five Hills frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the [[Clan of the Seven Stones]] and the [[Tribe of the Clouded Valley]], but these are matters of ritual and not of conquest. I had heard tales that these wars are waged in order that the victors may replenish their supply of raw materials for the human sacrifices that their civilization revolves around, and when I timidly asked my hosts more about this topic, I must admit their laughter made me fear for my safety. However, through stumbled attempts at communication of such complex topics as what constitutes heroism and honor in their society, I gathered that only those taken in battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice, much to my relief.
 
 
Upon further discussions with my hosts, I discovered that these tribes define themselves by their belief in the [[Mbwiru Eikura]], which roughly translates to "[[Unformed Land|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 doctor]]s 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.</blockquote>



==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Witch+Doctor Witch Doctor-specific gallery contents]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=doctor&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=546&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=546 Witch Doctor Screenshots].
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=witch&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=563&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=563 Witch Doctor Concept Art].
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=witch&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=550&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=550 Witch Doctor Wallpapers].

<gallery>
Image:Wd-1.jpg|Witch Doctor in game
Image:Wd-concept1.jpg|WD concept art
Image:Wd-firebats1.jpg|[[Spirit_Skill_Tree#Firebats|Firebats]] unleashed.
Image:Skill_witchdoctor_firebomb.jpg|[[Skull of Flame]] animation shots.
Image:Wd-concept2.jpg|High quality concept
Image:Wd-concept3.jpg|Crazy WD
Image:Wd-concept4.jpg|Male WD concept
Image:Wd-concept5.jpg|Female clothing concepts
Image:Wd-concept6.jpg|Female WD
Image:Wd-concept7.jpg|Male WD action
Image:Wd-concept8.jpg|Female sketches
Image:Witch_Doctors.jpg|Female and male WDs.
</gallery>

==Resources==
* [[Umbaru]]
* [[Tribe of the Five Hills]]
* [[Clan of the Seven Stones]]
* [[Tribe of the Clouded Valley]]
* [[Khazra]]
* [[Torajan Jungles]]
* [[Teganze]]
* [[Mbwiru Eikura]] / [[Unformed Land|The Unformed Land]]
* [[Ghost Trance]]

==References==

<references/>
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013: The Witch Doctor]]
* [[Media Coverage|Diablo III Media Coverage Archive]] for all interviews, previews, pictures and more.


{{Class navbox|Witch Doctor}}

[[category:Witch Doctor]]
[[Category:Classes]]
[[Category:Umbaru]]
[[Category:Basics]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Spirit Walk

2010-11-06T07:30:59Z

MiniMonk: It was revealed at Blizzcon 2010 not 2009. =P

'''Spirit Walk''' is a tier V [[skill]] in the [[Spirit Skill Tree]], which causes the witch doctor to enter the spirit realm, allowing him to move freely.

==Background==
{{Skillbox
|game= Diablo III


|active= Active
|name= Meditation
|ranks= 5
|user= Witch Doctor
|tree= Spirit
|description= Your Spirit spells return X% of their mana cost over 10 seconds
|type= Buff
|quantity= Duration
|effect= Self
|school= Magical
|resource= Mana
|cost= 12 mana
|cast-time= Unknown
|cooldown= Unknown
|synergies= Unknown
}}
The Witch Doctor enters the spirit realm through a trance, and can move through anything and anyone while he's there.

==Skill Design==
This skill is probably the skill that Jay Wilson was hinting about, when talking about spells like [[Teleport]]. It can probably be used as an escape skill, but the possibility of "escaping" into the spirit world could work as a defensive skill when the player is low on health and is about to die. Although it is unknown if the player can use this skill to, lets say, get across a chasm like the Barbarian does with [[Leap Attack]].

==Skill Rank Table==
(legend (A) = Assumed)

*Rank: 1/5
**Enter the spirit realm, allowing unhindered movement for 3 seconds.
**Mana Cost: 12 mana
*Rank: 2/5
**Enter the spirit realm, allowing unhindered movement for 6 seconds. (A)
**Mana Cost: 12 mana
*Rank: 3/5
**Enter the spirit realm, allowing unhindered movement for 9 seconds. (A)
**Mana Cost: 12 mana
*Rank: 4/5
**Enter the spirit realm, allowing unhindered movement for 12 seconds. (A)
**Mana Cost: 12 mana
*Rank: 5/5
**Enter the spirit realm, allowing unhindered movement for 15 seconds. (A)
**Mana Cost: 12 mana

==Synergies==
[[File:Spirit-walk2.jpg|frame|Spirit Walk decoy left behind in a [[Battle Arena]] shot.]]
* None known.

==[[Rune|Skill Rune]] Effects==
* None known.

==Development==
''Spirit Walk'' was first seen in the [[BlizzCon 2010]] demo, and is a new skill. It is unknown if this skill was iterated, at least publicly.


==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery. Sadly, no images of Spirit Walk have been seen:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]

==Related Articles==
*[[Spirit Skill Tree]]

==References==
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-witch-doctor-skills/ Full Witch Doctor Skill Trees and Stats]

{{Skill_navbox_spirit}}
{{Skill_navbox}}

Shields

2010-11-04T07:45:05Z

MiniMonk: Fixing a typo.

Shields are an item type found in Diablo III. Specific types of shields are not yet known, but they will be familiar to gamers from other RPGs; the D3 Team isn't reinventing this item type.

==Shield Changes in Diablo III==
[[File:Shields1.jpg|left|frame]]
Shields are much changed in function in Diablo III.

They still block attacks, but while their % chance to block varies (as in D2), they only absorb a set amount of damage. The buckler, the weakest shield and the only one we know the stats of, absorbs 6-10 damage. Higher quality shields will take much more damage with a successful block.

This differs greatly from Diablo II, where any shield could block (absorb) 100% of any physical attack, even huge hits from boss monsters that would have dealt hundreds of points of damage.

This change makes shields much more realistic, but also much less effective (mandatory) in Diablo III than they were in Diablo II.

[[File:Buckler1.jpg|frame]]
The stats of a [[Buckler]] as of August 2010.
* Armor: 78
* Chance to Block: +25%
* Block Amount: 6-10
* Durability: 25/25
* Sell value: 1

This is presumed to be part of the Barbarian's starting equipment, since the sell value is just 1.

==Monks and Shields==

[[Monk]]s can not use shields, for reasons expressed by [[Bashiok]] in a pair of forum posts in early March 2010. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzard-on-diablo-3-class-specific-weapons/] [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzard-on-diablo-3-class-specific-weapons/]

::Bruce Lee would not use a shield, and neither would the monk.

::We have shields. Everyone but the monk can wield them.

::Of course that’s subject to change.

==Shield Skills==
[[File:Shield-barb2.jpg|thumb|300px|Two views of a low-level [[Barbarian]] with a hand axe and [[buckler]].]]

There are no known shield attack skills in Diablo III, like the [[Paladin]]'s {{iw|smite Smite}} from Diablo 2. There are some skills that work with shields, though.

The Barbarian's Battlemaster skill, [[Battlemaster_Skill_Tree#Shield_Specialization|Shield Specialization]] gives more information about this change. Here are the stats, as of October 2008 (figures will be changed in the final game):
* '''Shield Specialization'''
** Passive Skill
** Max Rank: 15
** Description: Increases the Barbarian's chance to block with a shield and the amount of damage he can block.
** Rank 1: +8% chance to block, +6 damage blocked.
** Fury cost: None

[[File:Shield-barb1.jpg|left|frame|Barbarian with shield.]]
Note that description; this skill increases the chance to block '''and''' the amount of damage blocked. This is because shields in Diablo III block a % of the time, and only absorb some set amount of damage when they do.

In retrospect, blocking was overpowered in Diablo II. That a shield gave your character up to a 75% chance to completely erase all incoming physical damage hardly seems fair, and was certainly not realistic. How can a weak Sorceress or Necromancer with a little wooden plate on their arm completely stop the damage from a massive polearm? If the Diablo III system works as Shield Specialization makes it sound, the use of shields should be much more interesting in D3. It would make two-handed weapons more viable, for one thing, since a player wouldn't be giving up 75% damage reduction by using them.

==Shield Media==

Images of characters using shields in Diablo III remain fairly scarce. Only Barbarians have been seen using shields, thus far.

<gallery>
File:Shield2.jpg|A cool skull shield in the [[Blacksmith]]'s display.
</gallery>

[[Category: Armor]]
[[category: shields]]
[[category: items]]

The Torture Chambers of the Mad King (quest)

2010-11-04T06:54:19Z

MiniMonk: Fixing a small grammar error.

'''The Torture Chambers of the Mad King''' is quest that was first seen in the [[BlizzCon 2010]] build.

==Walkthrough==

Not much is known about this quest, details are vague and will most probably be changed or incorrect in some way. Upon entering [[Leoric's Hold]], the player encounters the ghost of a woman, who is the Queen (Leoric's Wife), asking the player to free the spirits of the innocent people who died within.

The player must then explore the prison, experiencing flashbacks of Leoric's madness (Such as Leoric executing his wife with [[Lazarus]]), and find 5 forgotten spirits, which are placed randomly within the cells and free them (Either by killing, or by some other means).

Once this is completed, the player must battle through Leoric's Halls of Agony, and as a Bonus objective, kill the Cultist Guard Inquisitor (Completing this bonus objective may give the player a reward)

[[Category:Quests]]

Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0006

2010-11-04T04:02:04Z

MiniMonk: Fixing a typo or two that MiniMonk saw.

{{Abd writings top}}

==Borderlands==
After my encounter with the savage dune thresher (see [[Writings_of_Abd_al-Hazir:_Entry_no._0004|Encounter with Burrowing Death, entry 004]]), one might think it natural were I hesitant to venture into the wastes surrounding [[Caldeum]]. Those who have set foot upon the [[Borderlands]]' burning yellow landscape and looked out upon its miles of barren sand roiling with terrible wildlife would surely agree with this sentiment.

It was not always thus. In years past, I could have ventured forth with no concern for my safety. Though the Borderlands are among the most savage habitats in our world, even these deadly lands were no match for the superior resolve of Caldeum in its prime.

The Borderlands were originally devoid of any but the most hardened (some would say crazed) prospectors until the great military city of [[Lut Bahadur]] (literally, "city of the gate") was built to keep the [[lacuni]] in their cliff dwellings safely away from Caldeum. Lut Bahadur's solitary watch over the desolate wastes came to an end four hundred years ago when precious ore was discovered in the region known as the [[Stinging Winds]]. The town of [[Alcarnus]] was quickly established as the center of all mining in the area, with several other smaller settlements springing up in its wake. When the [[Dahlgur]] oasis was discovered and a third town was erected there, Caldeum's dominance over the Borderlands was complete. The Borderlands could reliably depend on fresh supplies of food and water from Dahlgur's caravans, protected by the might of Caldeum's [[Dune Guard]].

But [[Hakan II]], our young and inexperienced sovereign, has seen fit to withdraw the support of Caldeum from the wastes and leave those who live there to their own devices. Now, no caravan is safe, and refugees from the Borderlands beat against the gates of Caldeum in an endless wave of displaced humanity, desperate for the salvation our city once provided. I have spoken with many of these poor folk at length, and the tales they share would give even the most stalwart adventurer pause. Though their stories of a [[Dark Cultist|secret cult]] intent on raising a [[demon]]ic army are obviously embellished due to their lack of knowledge pertaining to such things, their hysteria and suffering have convinced me that something terrible indeed stalks the Borderlands.

==References==
* [http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/world/environments/borderlands.xml Blizzard Borderlands Page]

{{Book navbox|abd}}

Way of the Hundred Fists

2010-11-04T03:14:57Z

MiniMonk: It is a combo skill. It doesn't require Spirit. so MiniMonk changed how Golden runes might work with something that makes a bit more sense.

'''Way of the Hundred Fists''' is a Tier 4 [[skill]] which requires a [[clvl]] of 10. This is a [[combo]] skill. 
Enhance the combat speed of the Monk significantly, and pound your enemies with your fist.

==Background==
{{Skillbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Monk_-_Way_of_a_hundred_fists.jpg

|active= Active

|ranks= 5
|user= Monk
|tree= Tier 4
|description= A fast series of attacks strikes enemies in front of you.
|type= Damage

|effect= Self
|school= Physical
|resource= None
|cost= None
|cast-time= Instant
|duration= Unknown
|cooldown= 1.5 sec
|synergies= None
}}
[[File:Monk-100-hands01.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Monk dashes towards his first target.]]
As part of a Monk's training they strive to become more than just a fighter, focusing their mental energies to enhance combat speed.

==Skill Design==
This one was a blast to use, and was about the most fun Monk skill. It's just straight out of an action movie, or some game like Tekken 3. The Monk does a short dash to the first punch, throws a flurry of blows for the second stage, and then blasts an explosive, AoE attack. It's an excellent crowd killer, and when used on a monster marked with the Explosive Palm 3rd stage, it's almost certain to clear the room. [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-monk-skill-tree-discussion-and-status/]

==Skill Rank Table==
'''Rank:''' 1/5
* '''First hit:''' A short range dashing attack that deals 100% weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.
* '''Second hit:''' Attack rapidly 6 times for 8% of weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.
* '''Third hit:''' Attack all enemies near the monk for 85% of weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.

'''Rank:''' 2/5
* '''First hit:''' A short range dashing attack that deals 108% weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.
* '''Second hit:''' Attack rapidly 7 times for 8% of weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.
* '''Third hit:''' Attack all enemies near the monk for 85% of weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.

'''Rank: 3/5'''
* '''First hit:''' A short range dashing attack that deals 116% weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.
* '''Second hit:''' Attack rapidly 8 times for 8% of weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.
* '''Third hit:''' Attack all enemies near the monk for 90% of weapon damage. Grants X [[spirit]] points.

==Synergies==
* None known.

==Runestone Effects==
None are yet known. It's easy to envision the [[Crimson rune]] adding damage, and the [[Golden rune]] increasing [[Spirit]] generated, but it's unclear what the [[Indigo]], [[Alabaster]], or [[Obsidian]] runes will do.

==Development==
This skill was first shown at [[BlizzCon 2009]] as one of the originals when the [[Monk]] was unveiled.

==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Way+of+the+Hundred+Fists Way of the Hundred Fists-specific gallery contents]

<gallery>
Image:Monk_-_Way_of_a_hundred_fists.jpg|There will be [[blood]].
File:Monk-100-hands01.jpg|Dashing to the first hit.
</gallery>

==References==
[http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-monk-skill-tree-discussion-and-status/ Full Monk Skill Tree stats and discussion]

[[category:combo skills]]

{{Skill_navbox_Monk}}
{{Skill_navbox}}