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<\/p>\nI just finished my third play through of the Diablo III beta, and I think it was my favourite so far. Not because the same areas, monsters, items and bosses somehow become more interesting and exciting the more you see them, or because the same 3 hour segment of gameplay grows on you with time, but because I played it with the Witch Doctor; a character which I am quite sure will be the first character I roll with when the game is eventually released.<\/p>\n
An interesting character, the Witch Doctor resembles a primitive, ritualistic, voodoo wielding jungle warrior, making use of dark magic, powerful summoning spells, and of course, poison darts, to inflict his own special brand of pain on his or her foes.<\/p>\n
The Witch Doctor is the only character in Diablo III that uses Mana as its only spell casting resource. Unlike some of the other characters in Diablo III, the Witch Doctor’s Mana system is straight forward and bang in-line with that employed in Diablo II. Quite simply, it is spent when you cast spells, regenerates slowly, and can be topped up using potions.<\/p>\n
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The first three skills the Witch Doctor unlocks are a lot of fun to use. There is the Poison Dart which acts as a basic ranged weapon that does additional damage over a short period of time. Then there is the Plague of Toads, which the Witch Doctor releases upon multiple foes to essentially do area of affect damage, and then there is Summon Zombie Dogs, which summons a pack of three ravenous zombie hounds that fight by the Witch Doctor’s side.<\/p>\n
These three spells form the basis of the Witch Doctor’s arsenal during the very early stages of the game. Grasp of Death is introduced a little later, and allows the Witch Doctor to cast a sea of zombie hands across the ground, doing damage and slowing all enemies that cross over it.<\/p>\n
The Witch Doctor also has passive skills, such as Circle of Life, which essentially increases the character’s basic healing capabilities, and Vermin, which increases the damage dealt by abilities such as Plague of Toads, Corpse Spiders and Firebats.<\/p>\n
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