by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

A new age has arrived in the world of character building within Diablo 3. Gone are the days of every build aiming to maximize their own DPS in hopes to out-damage each fellow party member for bragging rights over an invisible damage chart. What if a Greater Rift group was no longer comprised of four individual players who solely focused on their own playstyle? What might a team look like, instead, if each player began concentrating on one specific job that the team needs as a whole rather than attempting a multitude of functions on their own? When the community starts to ask these questions, we begin to see an evolution of how teamwork looks in Diablo 3. As a result, there is new motivation amongst community members to develop unconventional and highly specialized builds that can serve these specific roles. While certain specialized roles, such as the Support Monk, are nothing new, these focused characters are continually growing in value among the competitive Diablo scene. Enter the zDPS Witch Doctor: the spiritual tribesman like he has never been seen before..

The zDPS, or zero DPS, Witch Doctor no longer focuses on killing the enemy. In fact, this Witch Doctor actually forgoes all ability to do any damage. Instead, a zDPS Witch Doctor’s primary goal is to be his or her team’s go-to for all crowd control. By using a combination of gear and skills, this Nephalem can effectively fear (the Witch Doctor’s stun) all enemies on screen permanently until they are killed by the other party members. Why is this so important? In high Greater Rifts, the party’s survivability dramatically decreases as the monsters continually hit harder and harder. Naturally, if the enemies are permanently stunned until they die, there is far less of a chance for them to damage and/or kill the team.

While this article is not aimed to show the reader how to build this Witch Doctor in detail, it is important to look at the key aspects of the build in order to understand what makes it so efficient. The base of the build is created around the synergy of the skill Horrify and the helm Tiklandian Visage. This causes enemies within a certain range to be feared and rooted for 6-8 seconds. Enemies are then gathered up using Piranhado. While the enemies are feared, the Witch Doctor then drops Big Bad Voodoo (with the Slam Dance rune) beside his or her teammates to give them a damage boost. It is also important to cast Haunt (some use Mass Confusion) on your enemies for the increased damage as well.

Gear for this build is much different than what most high DPS Doctors are using. Rather than using the six piece sets, combinations of the Born’s, Blackthorne’s, and Asheara’s sets are often sought after for their toughness boost. Outside of the the Tiklandian Visage helm and a few other pieces, the primary goal of the rest of the gear is to boost cooldown reduction and toughness as much as possible.

The evolution of support characters in Diablo 3 is showing how the community is growing and maturing along with the game. The zDPS Witch Doctor is not the only build coming to fruition either: many four person groups are also utilizing a zDPS Crusader, which aims to help further control the enemies and buff the party’s damage. Many high-ranked teams seem to be rolling these two classes along with two Demon Hunters to provide the damage output as the Doc and ‘Sader keep the enemies at bay.

Want to be competitive and progress through the higher Greater Rifts? Invite a zDPS Witch Doctor. Want to make a lot of friends and always have a spot in your party of choice? Roll a zDPS Witch Doctor.

Have you tried this type of Witch Doctor? Need some advice on how to play one? Let’s hear them in the comments below.