The Witch Doctor. A sinister and cannibalistic character that will soon be walking the Diablo3 earth . Some say he is brilliant some simply hate him .. I will discuss this further here

Why do people hate the D3 WD ?

Because he was the “Necromancer killer” Not sure if this definition is correct, blizzard said that they were planing to replace All characters from D2 but the Barbarian still had a spark in his eye. So the Witch Doctor was the first nonD2 character to appear and had similar skills to the Necromancer.People auto-assumed that HE was the reason that the Necro will not appear in the final version of DiabloIII

Why do people love the D3 WD?

• Because he has new awesome skills. The wall of zombies is simply breathtaking ( i hope they make it useful though) – a very tactical skill with high potential
• It is a new Savage Tribal Character never before seen in the Diablo Universe
• Very powerful at high levels. From what we see in the Diablo3 Videos we can assume that this character will RULE. I hope that Blizz doesn’t overpower him
• There is no charge for Coolness. This character looks absolutely great, with those masks and body painting.
• It is New. I am sure though that when the other D3 characters are released people will love them the same.

What would you like to see?

There is a debate about the Witch Doctor having the power to summon creatures. Some say it is good, others say it’s bad. My opinion is that is good as long as we don’t make him a Necromancer in a Shaman’s clothes. This character should be unique.

I saw an unique idea online: The WD should be able to perform heavy-duty rituals in battle. This would mean painting lines and symbols with paint of enemy blood and therefore casting powerfull curses/spells.
A great idea but it needs more tweaking

At last This character must be able to resist Hell mode… no additional words on this topic

A few of his current D3 abilities :

• Firebomb
• Locust Swarm
• Horify
• Mass Confusion
• Soul Harvest

From what we read online we can assume that the WD will have a disease, summon, and fire tree (If Blizzard goes with the skill tree approach like D2). An interesting a new look over a Diablo character (although it was used before)

Isn’t the Witch Doctor a hyped up shaman ?
Here is the wikipedia definition of a Shaman:

Shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. Practitioners of shamanism are known as shamans. There are many variations of shamanism throughout the world, though there are some beliefs that are shared by all forms of shamanism:

* That spirits can play important roles in human lives.
* The shaman can control and/or cooperate with the spirits for the community’s benefit.
* The spirits can be either good or bad.
* Shamans engage various processes and techniques to incite trance; such as: singing, dancing, taking entheogens, meditating and drumming.
* Animals play an important role, acting as omens and message-bearers, as well as representations of animal spirit guides.
* The shaman’s spirit leaves the body and enters into the supernatural world during certain tasks.
* The shamans can treat illnesses or sickness; they are healers.

It is up to you to decide what character class you will play in Diablo3, I am sure that Blizzard will make them all balanced and powerful. At last it is a matter of taste

PS: let’s hope they assign the Witch Doctor a deep african voice 🙂

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We all loved the D2 Barbarian, it was a great character, a never ending source of violence and brute force. In Diablo 3 it seems that he got some new skills, the barbarian has become magical. Yes, he is still tough as nails, but has some magic in him also. The seizmic slam is a great example.

The GamePlay Video is simply awesome, it shows the potential of a hardcore melee character with a touch of magic

The fans simply love this, it is a fresh approach on the Barbarian but Blizzard must keep in mind that this character is a brute(too much magic will break his spirit). Hack and Slash at its finest.

A quick reminder of his current D3 skills :

• cleave
• ground stomp
• leap
• sesmic slam
• whirlwind

Do you think the D3 Barb is the same from D2 ?

Here are some facts to convince you:

I have posted already the Diablo3 Developers Video where they clearly explain the situation

Here is what Blizzard Poster, Bashiok said about the Barbarian:

The barbarian in Diablo III is indeed the same character we all played in Diablo II. So his memories, interactions, and backstory all still exist, including his knowledge of Cain.

Here is an extract from the D3 Video:

Barb: “Cain you still live?”
Cain:”Oh there you are . . . “

Do you still have doubts ?
The Diablo3 Barbarian IS THE SAME ONE from D2. He is older but stronger and has forgotten almost everything.
An interesting scenario for the D3 barb is this:
After defeating Baal, the Barbarian had a mental breakdown, destroying everything he owned and retreating into solitude.
After 20 years in solitude he was left with nothing .. no memories and no skills.. He begins the search for his sanity .

The Barbarian has 85% chance to be my first played character in Diablo3.

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Did you notice that there are fans (huge number) that don’t actually know the D2 game ? I mean they know the major places/bosses and all the quests, but they don’t actually know the whole game …

There are players that don’t know 90% of Diablo2 because they warp through the game do the quests and kill the bosses. Once they reach a boss or a good farming area they run through that hundred of times. After you finish the game in Normal more the boss farming starts. From running Meph and Andy for example and the Ball minions for exp the game is put on hold.
People farm like crazy for Magic Items and Experience. Everyone needs better gear and more power.

In Diablo 3 things should change a bit, i suggest:

• Create more “good farming areas”
• Spread them through the game so the player has to actually play it.
• Make the Bosses harder to reach
• Create mini-bosses in each cavern so the player has a reason to run it
• Make D3 harder to warp through in 1-2-3 days

Don’t get me wrong i like to farm bosses like any other diablo fan but i would like to see more of the game, not just the same area a thousand times.
Diablo 3 is beautiful and Blizzard must make the players see it all, not just the important parts and areas

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Indeed, we all know that in D2 our character would run and hack & slash everything on the map.
Well no more says Blizzard, in Diablo 3 we will have to use our brain in battle. Powerfull characters can be brought down if we don’t use the correct approach. The possibility of you getting killed is higher than DII because of this

I personally love this new feature, it will bring the brain factor in the game.
You can dodge, jump, and avoid the enemies, a new level of complexity in the Diablo World

Also it seems that the actual number and density of monsters on the map will be smaller but they will be tougher to beat… not sure what to say about this.. I don’t want D3 to become boring.

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They speak about:

1. – The barbarian and his progress through time.
2. – Dialogue interaction.
3. – Character design.
4. – How the character skills are made.
5. – Special effects.

Here is the 2 part presentation

DIII developers Part1

DIII developers Part2

2 great videos for all you Diablo Fans

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Here are more screenshots to make your face drool :

Die minion die !

Thank you Blizzard for the Diablo eye candy

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