View Full Version : Witch Doctor's Pets
Doctor Salvador
10-01-2009, 06:31
Jay Wilson had this to say about the Witch Doctor on the 1Up interview:
"For the Witch Doctor, we wanted to create a class whose pets were not his primary source of damage output."
I respect that, since Blizzard doesn't just want a replacement for the Necromancer, and there isn't anything wrong with dishin' out your own pain, but I might tear up a little (just a little) if I don't have an army to do my bidding.
Methinks that the Necro will come back in an expansion (hopefully) which will once and for all fill in the summoner role, but hey, we could always use two summoners . . .
I think more along the lines of a summoner who can pack his own punch. Nothing's worse than being a summoner and having 1 or 2 slip past the army and hit you in the face....and they count the zombie wall as a summonable.
On top of that the summons have different roles such as frogs slowing stuff down, zombies distracting and blocking and locusts (I count them asminions, why not) to sprea out and hit everyone.
raveharu
10-01-2009, 07:33
Seriously I made a pure Summoner and didn't like it one bit.
I don't understand how the term " fun" applies when all one has to do is to stand there and let the computer do the fighting.
That is probably the reason why they made the WD, they want your character to be part of the action, and not just the summons.
Oh yeah, summoning of skeletons and golems are so passe, I sincerely hope they will never appear in D3.
... and i don't understand how much fun is too spam one spell (hamerdins, ww barbs etc.). Do you see my point? Some people like it (like me ^^). Commanding personal legion of doom give really nice feelings. I never liked druid because his creature were <nah> even with mod removing cap limit >< and looks like wd will fit same role so it making still open slot for full summoner type class maybe in exp.
Because you do not like this type of gameplay, fine, skip it but do not force yours on others.
raveharu
11-01-2009, 01:42
... and i don't understand how much fun is too spam one spell (hamerdins, ww barbs etc.).
It's a different scenario, you are involved in the battle, you kill the enemies, not the computer.
Because you do not like this type of gameplay do not force yours on others.
Technically they are already imposing this into D3, that is why the WD was created, and Jay has already mentioned they don't want him to rely mainly on his pets to do the killing.
Doctor Salvador
11-01-2009, 06:21
Technically they are already imposing this into D3, that is why the WD was created, and Jay has already mentioned they don't want him to rely mainly on his pets to do the killing.
I still believe that they are going to give the WD something more, though. In the gameplay video, it is stated that the mongrels are the first of his summons, which means there will be more. But mongrels already take up the role of the dispendable distraction.
But if they added a single golem-ish minion with some nice killing ability, it wouldn't hurt Wilson's vision of the WD. Just like how having that single grizzly bear didn't make you a summoner druid, 'cause you still had to fight along side of it.
P.S. If there is a WD golem, it should actually be able to kill uglies . . .
It's a different scenario, you are involved in the battle, you kill the enemies, not the computer.
With summoner you are involve in the battle too even if you do not kill personally you need pay attention to fight how it evolve, cast buffs, debuffs, reinforce your army or you may loose or even die.
Technically they are already imposing this into D3, that is why the WD was created, and Jay has already mentioned they don't want him to rely mainly on his pets to do the killing.
He is same like druid.
His summons aren't as much of an army as much as they are spells as far as I can tell. Do you think that the locust swarm, firebats or toads count as summons?
Controlling an army might be fur for some, for other, it's plain annoying. Summonmancers tend to crowd the screen making it hard or impossible to have a clear view of the situation - atleast I'm suffering from this problem.
Now, didn't blizzard said they wanted to keep things simple and clear - by for instance only 4 people in a party. Throwing a character with the same summon properties as the necromancer would ruin this idea. A single summonmancers counts for 3 or 4 other classes in the aspect of crowding the screen. So I'm afraid summonmancers won't come back.
On the other hand, do you think its better to have lots of weak summons or a few strong summons. I would like to see a few strong summons more then a lot of weak summons. They are much more functional while keeping things clear and easy.
raveharu
19-01-2009, 10:49
The WD will most probably be able to summon the dead aka Revive as one of their high level skills.
But this is just my speculations :crazyeyes:
Mizantrop
20-01-2009, 15:40
Don't forget that summon mongrel is an active skill which means we can insert runes to it. Who knows what cool and different summons we can get this way beside the basic mongrel.
Also the basic mongrel is not so basic, it gets a different effect for each damage spell you cast near it. The problem I had with it was that I wanted to keep X spell enchantment on it (say FireBomb) but it changed when I cast a Y spell. Although that is a very simple thing to fix, just make an option for that in the menu or UI.
Mad Mantis
20-01-2009, 17:46
Combining spells and runes with mongrels should make for an awful lot of permutations. This could be fun.
Maybe we could have legions of doom, reminicent of the Necro, by placing high-level multistrike runes in the WD's summon skills?
Doctor Salvador
20-01-2009, 21:11
Maybe we could have legions of doom, reminicent of the Necro, by placing high-level multistrike runes in the WD's summon skills?
Ya know, I never even pondered the possibilities of runes with the WD's summons. Maybe lethality or power runes will give them even more vicious explosions. Sounds pretty neat.
I don't need mob (like 30 skelly + plus 30 revives) to enjoy my summoner, 10 powerful and cool looking summon would be enough for me, but mongrels and cool don't work together for me ><.
raveharu
26-01-2009, 22:39
I don't need mob (like 30 skelly + plus 30 revives) to enjoy my summoner, 10 powerful and cool looking summon would be enough for me, but mongrels and cool don't work together for me ><.
10 would still be too many IMO, under 10 would be better.
And you don't have to worry about that, because WD will not be a pure summoner class like the necromancer.
I doubt mongrels are the WD's main summons, they're kinda of like the basic ones which helps one to go through the start of the game. I bet the main one's will be pretty nasty :D
At least we know no more summon skellies(:smug:)
Jay Wilson had this to say about the Witch Doctor on the 1Up interview:
"For the Witch Doctor, we wanted to create a class whose pets were not his primary source of damage output."
I respect that, since Blizzard doesn't just want a replacement for the Necromancer, and there isn't anything wrong with dishin' out your own pain, but I might tear up a little (just a little) if I don't have an army to do my bidding.
Methinks that the Necro will come back in an expansion (hopefully) which will once and for all fill in the summoner role, but hey, we could always use two summoners . . .
While you are right in that the "true pet class" slot is not taken, and a Necro, or a modified Necro might appear, they have said "No Necro with release". An expansion Necro perhaps?
It would be interesting to see how they would do with pets then, to truly make it the DPS output, while still making the gameplay with other classes smooth and not blocking out the screen...
I think a pure summoner is out for now and the Witch Doctor is all we're going to get. If however the necro did return, many people would want what they had in D2, different builds. He was well built, just a bit underpowered.
When you think abotu the WD class does not need pets at all to be successful unlike the necromancer in the previous Diablo games. They both seem to be opposites to me.
Well i think that the witch doctor will be super versatile. Seeing as he summons and Has damaging spells he will be a complex character. Not to mention his abilities that are similar to the necromancer's curses in D2.
Seriously I made a pure Summoner and didn't like it one bit.
I don't understand how the term " fun" applies when all one has to do is to stand there and let the computer do the fighting.
That is probably the reason why they made the WD, they want your character to be part of the action, and not just the summons.
Oh yeah, summoning of skeletons and golems are so passe, I sincerely hope they will never appear in D3.
...i hope you will never appear in D3 :P
seriously the necro summoner was actually original..and its lazy yeah....but you still have to keep paying attention...play hell dude...you need to debuff and recast summon and not die...it can actually be the most strategic class in the game...but guess you didint bother to l2p with that kind of attitude
anyway the WD isnt even a summoner is pet are basicly just weapon and not really doing much dmg by themself...he look nice but like blizz said its not a replacement for the necro...the WD spell so far are all revamped old spell of other class...i love the locus one and the zombie wall...but its still just the same spell with other graphic...the pet bomb are original though..but il probly build mine as a caster...or else il probly be dissapointed and keep thinking about the necro :P
the necro was the first class to ever control is own little army and still is the only one in any game like Diablo...i really wish they will make a summoner of some kind that does dmg with summon...so far im really happy but...still barb,wiz and WD are not that original for class...i think about the WD as the druid in D2 lol
Summoner
28-02-2009, 02:33
Seriously I made a pure Summoner and didn't like it one bit.
I don't understand how the term " fun" applies when all one has to do is to stand there and let the computer do the fighting.
That is probably the reason why they made the WD, they want your character to be part of the action, and not just the summons.
Oh yeah, summoning of skeletons and golems are so passe, I sincerely hope they will never appear in D3.
The feeling of having your own legion of terror, death and pain to do your bidding goes beyond anything that i can imagine. Fighting evil with evil jest gives me so much sensation. In Diablo 2, you dindnt have to be a summoner necromancer because you could advance in other spells as well, which made more people happy than jest creating a class that kinda had minions but had more personal firepower. Now that they might take away that versatility really takes away the feeling of destroying evil with your own set of evil, cause lighting strikes, axes, and fireballs cant be labeled as evil attacks. But your own army of undead minions is like fighting fire with fire.
I like WD.
LOL Psycho. You say WD is unoriginal. Necromancer was in the Last game, so unless they change him a lot when they bring him back, he will be unoriginal.
Barbarian is not the same. They changed him a LOT. Lots more flashy attacks now. Plus he's old.
Tragedian
28-02-2009, 07:01
You say WD is unoriginal. Necromancer was in the Last game, so unless they change him a lot when they bring him back, he will be unoriginal.
Thank you SO much for this statement. I honestly think the only reason most people are complaining about the WD anyway is because he's a hunched over africanesque man rather than a skinny old white man ala the Necro.
Srikandi
01-03-2009, 03:11
Necromancer was never original in the first place. Golems and armies of skellies has to be the oldest RPG cliche in the book ><
He had a few novel abilities... Bone Wall was something new... but undead minions are old, old school.
Doctor Salvador
01-03-2009, 22:20
Necromancer was never original in the first place. Golems and armies of skellies has to be the oldest RPG cliche in the book ><
He had a few novel abilities... Bone Wall was something new... but undead minions are old, old school.
I think modern RPG's need a purposeful touch of old school, which is why I really like the new DnD/Star Wars Wizard. With everyone trying really hard to make something new (Which is darn near impossible) maybe if you just went old school you'd come up with a nice retro feel that some of those Old Geezers can enjoy.
Necromancer was never original in the first place. Golems and armies of skellies has to be the oldest RPG cliche in the book ><
He had a few novel abilities... Bone Wall was something new... but undead minions are old, old school.
Name me one one other game that allow you play necromancer with personal undead army then we will talk about originality, yeah there is always tons of necromancers, skeletons, golems in other rpg's but they are always on other side than player. Diablo 2 gave you chance how would be just once on this other side in term of power.
Srikandi
03-03-2009, 10:29
Name me one one other game that allow you play necromancer with personal undead army then we will talk about originality
Everquest had an undead-summoning necromancer class a year before D2 came out, just to name one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everquest#Damage_dealers
I'm pretty sure EQ got this from one or another MUD, like most of its content, but I don't have the documentation to link.
Lol, a mmo? But i give a point for finding one "game" even if i don't touch a mmo even with stick. I am not multiplayer freak so i was thinking more about single-player oriented game, oh well i don't touch mmo or muds so diablo's necromancer for me very refresh.
Srikandi
04-03-2009, 02:13
LOL Smash :) I didn't play Everquest either, but that's irrelevant :p Your assertion was that it was original. I'm sure it isn't, but the EQ example was the easiest to turn up evidence of *shrug*
There's nothing much original in Everquest either, but I'm not very interested in spending the time it would take to document earlier playable undead summoning classes ;) I'm certain they exist though, back to pencil and paper RPGs from the seventies most likely.
BelushiEightyOneX
12-03-2009, 14:50
Everquest had an undead-summoning necromancer class a year before D2 came out, just to name one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everquest#Damage_dealers
I'm pretty sure EQ got this from one or another MUD, like most of its content, but I don't have the documentation to link.
Several MUDs I played have/had a necro class summoning undead and rezing your vanquished foes to fight beside you....
Most of them were crap, they'd leech XP from you...
Well, as of now it seems like there could be a chance that the WD could maybe possibly in some way become viable as a summoner. It seems like the devs are making melee wizard easy to build with passive skills like Damage Resistance and Weapon Mastery, and the WD will probably have some passive skills that increase the life/damage of his pets, and he will probably have more/stronger pets at higher levels (since it would seem a little bit silly to give him just one low-level pet).
The devs might have said that they don't want pets to be the WD's main source of damage, but with all the emphasis on passive skills and the fact that so many more of the WD's skills have yet to be seen, he could end up as a viable summoning class. As of now, he seems the most likely to be the summoning class, if there is one.
knightmawko
01-05-2009, 03:30
Nothing's worse than being a summoner and having 1 or 2 slip past the army and hit you in the face.
this is exactly why the Necro had bonespear, greatest spell ever, my necro build is basically just points into four things, bonespear, golem master, summon resist, and fire golem. Sometimes I like to spice it up with Iron Maiden and some other curses
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