Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Diablo III Witch Doctor Beginning Weapons Strategy

Beginning a new character in any game is an exciting time for a gamer. There is a sense of wonder around what this lowly looking character may become. What will they look like, what will they specialize in? That sense of excitement is enhanced by good game storylines and cinematography in the opening of the game. Blizzard have long been a master of this and in Diablo III you are treated to various openings depending on whether you choose to play a Barbarian, a Demon Hunter, a Monk, a Witch Doctor or a Wizard. This article looks at a couple of the beginning weapons decisions to make when playing the mysterious Witch Doctor.

When you start the game with your nearly naked character you will be Level 1 (maximum level is 60) and will only have one weapon to choose from. When playing the Witch Doctor your opening weapon is the Poison Dart. The Poison Dart is actually a weapon that you will likely use throughout the game and I suspect not too many classes will be able to say that about their opening weapon. The good thing about the poison dart is that it is ranged and it deals direct damage. Naturally, that dame is very small at the beginning of the game but then your enemies don't have many hit points so that is fine. The ranged nature of the dart means that your lack of armour is not much of an issue as, with a little bit of skill, your enemies won't get close to you.

When you get to Level 2 you can use Grasp of the Dead, an area curse which slows enemies down and deals a little damage at the same time. Once again the Witch Doctor gets an extremely useful ability very early in the game. Enemies in Diablo III often attack in mobs so that there are many of them and only one of you. With Grasp of the Dead you are able to slow them down and then shoot them directly with your poison darts. Again this reduces the chance that you will take melee damage. The main things you need to watch out for are ranged attacks and enemies that teleport beside you and then hit you.