Build:Witch Doctor Summoner
Guide Author: Illusions
Original Posting: Diablo: IncGamer's Forums
I haven't seen this built around so decided to create a thread about it because the Summoner Witch Doctor is under-rated.
I use a Summoner Build for my Witch Doctor and I'm able to solo inferno 5 and up with very minimal repairs required for this build. What is so special about this build is it requires absolutely NO MANA BOOST. You will never run out of mana.
Active SkillsEdit
- Gargantuan (db) (Bruiser (db) - Stun is good and 200% weap dmg)
- Summon Zombie Dogs (db) (Life Link (db) - Your only skill to get life)
- Plague of Toads (db) (Addling Toads (db)...low mana, AoE, and confuses enemies... what else do u need? Stay back and spam while ur pets kill)
- Fetish Army (db) (Devoted Following (db) - Lowers cooldown to 68 secs)
- Big Bad Voodoo (db) (Slam Dance (db) - All your pets get 30% dmg + 20% atk speed + 20% movement)
- Spirit Walk (db) (Jaunt (db)) ... this is the only optional skill, can be replaced by Mass Confusion (Paranoia - for more dmg) OR Soul Harvest
Personally I would recommend Spirit Walk if your DPS is 120k + , if lower then that, you would need to boost damage with either (Mass Confusion db) (Paranoia (db)) or (Soul Harvest db) (rune of your choice, I wouldn't pick the mana one)
Passive SkillsEdit
- Tribal Rites (db) (25% reduce cooldown on most of your skills, IT IS A MUST, your Fetish Army cooldown goes down to 51 secs)
- Pierce the Veil (db) (your overall dmg increased by 20%. Your mana cost increased by 30%, who cares about increase of mana? The main skill you're gonna be spamming is 12 mana which is regenerated instantly when u cast almost.)
- Fetish Sycophants (db) (these little guys are A LOT STRONGER than the active skill, but both are a deadly combination. If anyone knows the exact weapon dmg % of this passive skill please share.)
My DPS is around 175k without Big Bad Voodoo activated, so with Big Bad Voodoo activated , your Summon Zombie dogs get 9% + 30% so 39% of 175k , Gargantuan is 200% weapon dmg + 30% so 230% of 175k , Fetish Army is 20% base + 30% so 50% of 175k. The Fetish Sycophants are much stronger, I heard around 150% base or more but cant guarantee this.
You're probably gonna ask, why no Soul Harvest and why no Gruesome Feast?
No Soul Harvest because the Radius is only 15-16 yards. You're standing far from your pets who are attacking for you. Pointless.
Gruesome Feast. My gear doesn't have high Pickup Radius. If your gear does have high pickup radius you might want to use this skill
An easy way to get high DPS is by not sacrificing any crit hit chance on any equipment except the Mojo (I recommend using (Skorn (db) with crit hit dmg and a socket with 1400 dps+ for your 2H weapon, it will increase your dps by minimum 10k , by using that instead of a 1000 dps crit weap w/ socket + mojo)
My crit is ~ 40/450. I'm still wondering if my crit is transfered to my pets or if their damage % is [B]only[/B] based on my DPS. In my calculation above, only used DPS, will be checking for crit though.
Also, definately choose Anatomy with Scroundel for the extra 3% critical hit chance (it will remain activated even when Scroundel is dead. This will improve your DPS drastically if your crit hit dmg is high).
My crit is ~ 40/450 so 3% CHC extra gives me at least 5k dps extra.
External Links
If you want to search for more help on Witch Doctor Class, this is one good article to check out: