**DISCLAIMER**(If you don’t like walls of text, you should leave now) Once again, I know that it is WAY too early to write guides. Like many other people who are eagerly waiting for Diablo 3 I have found myself spending quite a bit of time imagining the game. So what better way to play “imagine Diablo 3” than to just pretend the game is out already? This guide is written from the perspective of well after release and makes quite a few wild assumptions about rune effects, traits and various other things. This was written purely for fun and I am posting it here because some of you may have as much fun reading it as I had making it. Enjoy it or tear it apart, it’s up to you.
Notable Assumptions
Some things to keep in mind as far as “general” assumptions that I make: You can max a skill at 5/5, 10/10 or 15/15 and are able to increase any skill to the next “cap” but it takes a lot of time/resources to do this. You can only advance a skill to the next “cap” after you complete a difficulty. So to go from 5/5 to 6/10 you need to have completed Normal. Obviously you don’t have enough skill points to max all skills so there is no need to do this for every skill. I also “assume” that because of the nature of raising the “cap” mechanic for each skill the next point after the cap (6 and 11) makes a fairly large difference. In general these next levels can hit a wider range of monsters (bosses, uniques) or just do more damage / have increased effect more than a standard point does. I also assume that as a reward for starting the next difficulty (nightmare and hell) you start the new play through with 1 skill point and 1 trait point to spend. This brings the total Skill points possible to 61 and Traits to 21.
The DoT Destroyer Witch Doctor Build
This guide will show you how to make your Witch Doctor a master of dispatching large groups of monsters at the same time. You will use a multitude of Damage Over Time abilities, clever combination of rune effects and the right choices for traits to maximize your DoT potency. This build can also do very respectable damage to a single target if you focus all your efforts on to one monster/Boss. The downside to all of this destructive power is that you will have VERY little survivability. But play smart, learn the tricks/tactics of the build and things won’t be alive long enough to take advantage of that short coming.
This guide explains which skills and traits to get and how/when to use them for maximum effect.
Plague of Toads (Filler – Respec at Level 10) Any Rune
This is a filler skill. Don’t invest more than one point in Plague of Toads as we want to minimize the cost to respect at level 6. The only reason you are taking this skill at all is to speed up the process of getting to level 6. Of course, you can hoard the skill point and just sped two points in Haunt at level 3, but due to the SUPER low cost of respecting just 1 skill point, why not take this till level 6?
Haunt * 6/10 * Alabaster / Indigo
Starts to build a solid foundation for what we are trying to do. There is a pretty large strategic choice here in your rune selection. Go for Alabaster if you want to add the slow effect. This can REALLY be helpful later on as you raise the cap the first time on your Haunt skill and take it to 6/10. That 6th point will allow you to have 3 haunts out at a time and being able to choose up to 3 targets to slow down can really help you keep things where you want them so your later abilities can hit them as well. Putting a super high level Alabaster Rune will slow these targets down to a crawl. However, if you prefer to let your Grasp of the Dead (see below) do that job on its own than go for Indigo. Personally I highly recommend Indigo as its effect REALLY compliments the build. Indigo runes add a split function to the Haunt. So you still shoot 1 out at a time (again you can only have 3 of your original haunts out at a time, which really is nice because with this rune, you cast 3 and forget) but when the first target dies, 2 haunts split out to find a new target. With a higher level rune, more splits. I would invest at least a level 5 Indigo rune in here so you will get 4 splits. Having to only cast Haunt 3 times and then watch the haunts multiply is REALLY fun. The damage effect alone can really shine through the first play through on normal. However, what we really care about is just having the DoT effect active on as many targets as possible in late game. Combined with the trait “The Sick Get Sicker” this effect forms one of the cornerstones of this build. Later in the game you will find yourself focusing down your original 3 Haunt targets (once the damage from level 6 Haunt stops killing things by its self) so they split out to the rest of the crowd to help multiply your damage with “The Sick Get Sicket”.
Soul Harvest * 6/10 * Crimson
With the Crimson Rune, this skill becomes a “click and forget” ability. You’re still going to be getting the bonus spell damage from your Soul Harvest, which at level 6 will lasts a very respectable 10 seconds, and will be a larger bonus for each monster in the target area. However, the Crimson Rune adds a DoT effect to all monsters that are hit by your Harvest which (you guessed it) combines nicely with the trait “The Sick Get Sicker” (notice a pattern forming here?) There is no Cool down on Soul Harvest, so even though it is a pretty big Mana sink you will find yourself canvassing the area to make sure you have as many of the Crimson DoTs up as possible and each cast refreshes the 10 seconds of bonus damage. So the more targets that have been hit within the last 10 seconds, the more bonus damage. Once you have your Gargantuan, this “spamming” of Soul Harvest becomes much easier.
Grasp of the Dead * 6/10 * Golden
Here is your primary CC ability. With the extra point (6/10) into GotD you will be able to slow down almost all creatures in the game. Bosses and some of the Most annoying super uniques will remain un slowed. It could be argued that rune selection here is optional, but I STRONGLY recommend the Golden rune. The Golden rune adds a “Mana Steal” component to any monsters in the Area of Effect and this effect is (you guessed it) applied in the form of a DoT. This results in a double dip from this one skill with the trait “The Sick Get Sicker”. Some important notes about GotD: While the damage from GotD doesn’t look like a standard DoT on the UI, it is computed like a regular DoT and any monster in the effect of GotD is considered to have a DoT on them, dealing damage from the skill and slowing it down. The Golden Rune’s mana steal effect is applied in a more standard form of DoT and will easily be recognized as a dot in the UI. The end result is (unless Blizzard changes it) with a Golden rune you are applying two DoTs with GotD, the slow/damage from the standard skill and the Mana steal from the Rune.
Locust Swarm * 11/15 * Indigo/Alabaster
Though with “The Sick get Sicker” trait, nearly all of your DoTs will do fairly respectable damage (once your rotation is amped up) Locust Swarm is your primary way of dealing direct Damage. This is one of my personal favorite skills in Diablo 3, for any class. It acts as a spreading AoE spell that you can Cast like a standard Missile ranged attack. The feeling you get after a cast of Locust Swarm is truly one of the most satisfying in the game in my opinion. Locusts Swarm’s deliciousness has a bit of a steep price however, both in mana cost and the 2.5 second cool down. But that is where your Rune Selection comes in. Take Indigo if your playstyle doesn’t mind the 2.5 second cool down. If you find yourself (which is likely) settling into a comfortable rotation with this and your other DoT’s than take Indigo. Indigo (basically) increases the size of the initial “blob” of locusts that you cast. Sometimes it can be annoying as you may be trying to hit a pack of monsters in the back, but the increased size causes your locusts to hit that wall of Shield Skellys again. But for the most part, the increased size is welcome as it not only makes the Blob larger, but causes its initial hit to be able to swarm more monsters. With a respectable Rune, you can hit 3-4 monsters easily, GREATLY decreasing the amount of time it takes to start a swarm from monster to monster. (the game has a somewhat random hidden CD on how quickly LS can jump from target to target. It can be anywhere from .5 seconds to about 3 seconds). The other Rune choice is Alabaster. Take the Alabaster rune if Cool down’s just aren’t your cup of Tea. Alabaster removes the CD of Locust Swarm all together which lets you spam it to your heart’s content. Keep in mind the fairly steep mana cost keeps you from going to nuts with this, but without a CD this can become a good way to Focus Down a boss as each cast of Locust Swarm can stack if you keep hitting the same target. Having a Golden Grasp of the Dead up (and hitting several monsters) can really help let you spam a Golden Locust Swarm. Of course, any target currently being swarmed by your locusts counts as a DoT towards your “Sick Get Sicker” trait.
Acid Cloud * 6/15 * Golden
This is the most straight forward skill we are taking. With the Golden Rune this doesn’t do damage to the monsters upfront and it doesn’t do damage to monsters only when they are in the cloud’s downpour, it (you guessed it again.. your smart!) applies a DoT. At level 6 the area of effect greatly increases of a standard level 5, so I highly recommend taking that extra point. You will find you self dropping this after your Gargantuan (once you have it) settles in with a bunch of monsters, or after you have slapped a Grasp of the Dead down to keep a large group of monsters where you want them. However, because of the way the Golden Rune’s effect works, you can snipe groups weather they are stationary or not. It just takes a bit of good timing.
Gargantuan * 11/15 * Obsidian
Weather you think Blizzard missed the Mark with the Rune effects on this skill or not (personally I love the Crimson effect too, just not for this build) for what we are doing you will be taking the obvious and almost always used Obsidian rune. Why not take the Rune that makes your tank EVEN Better at Tanking. A lot of people think he should always tank at the level he can with Obsidian and just add various effects to augment the tanking with runes. We will see if the Gargantuan sees any changes as we approach the first Expansion. Anyway, none of that changes the fact that putting an Obsidian Rune in your Gargantuan makes him EASILY the best tank, as far as summon-able companions go, in the game. He will nearly be impossible to kill and with the Traits “Blood Bite” “Gargantuan Specialization” and “Death Aura” he really becomes the center of your build and the reason you can completely ignore survivability sills. Obsidian increases the Gargantuan’s Defenses and Resistances by a % and Each higher level rune gives you a higher %. Once you get your hands on a level 8 Obsidian rune, it goes here. With a level 8 rune he just doesn’t take much damage.. from anything and what damage he does take will be healed back from Blood Bite. You can end up letting him die if you allow him to be swarmed by monsters that slow and stun, but even then with a good Rune it will take a while for him to drop dead. Once you have him leveled up to 11/15 his health pool will be huge too. More on the Traits in the trait section.
Parasite * 15/15 * Alabaster
Parasite, with the Alabaster Rune, Becomes your “you die now” single target ability. It deals massive damage over 6 seconds. It does have a 10 second cool down (decreased to 6 with the trait “Quickening”, making it refreshable on drop off for one target) which keeps you from just spamming it at everything that moves, but you won’t need to use them for anything but Bosses and the BIG GUYS in a standard pack of monsters. What the Alabaster rune does to Parasite is remove the function that spawns a Zombie Dog on death, and instead increases the potency of all DoT effects on the effected target for the Duration of the Parasite. Once you have set your web of DoT nastyness (some of the stronger monsters won’t be getting hurt much later in the game) you cast this at any monster that is taking particularly long to Die. Not only is the Damage from a fully skilled 15/15 Alabaster Parasite pretty huge, but each DoT on the target does 30-35% more damage (depending on your rune, go for a level 8 of course!). Needless to say.. this bonus compliments the core Trait of the build “Sick Get Sicker” really well and when you have a Parasite out on a boss or super unique they just Melt away. Once you get top end gear nothing will last long.
Traits The Sick Get Sicker * 3/3 * Damage Over Time effects deal 4/8/12% more damage when there are two or more DoTs on the Target. This bonus Multiplies for each additional DoT.
I’ve been referring to it throughout the whole guide. This trait is why we Focus are skills and our Rune selection on additional Damage Over Time Effects. If the Stars align you can have up to 8 DoT effects out at once. Haunt, Soul Harvest, Grasp of the Dead, Grasp of the Dead Mana Steal (Golden Rune), Locust Swarm, Acid Cloud, Death Aura (From your Gargantuan), and of course Parasite. You Will be hard pressed to keep it all active at once, and the standard play style that I settle into usually gets about 5 or 6 effects out to kill a standard group of monsters. So just to help clarify the wording Blizzard uses to describe this Trait, here is what happens: If you put 1 DoT on a target, it deals normal damage. If you get a 2nd DoT on a target, they each deal 12% more damage, if you cast a 3rd DoT on the target they each deal 24% more damage, if you cast a 4th DoT on a target, they all deal 36% more damage.. ECT. So, if you can get all 8 of your DoTs active you can max this effect out by having all of the them deal 96% more damage! Realistically, you will usually be sitting 60%-72% more damage.
Quickening * 3/3 * Reduced casting speed by 15% per level
A staple for most Witch Doctor and Wizard builds, this build is no exception. Reduces the CD of your abilities, greatly decreasing the time it takes to get your DoT machine going. Out of all of your DoTs, only two get a Direct Damage Bonus from quickening. Luckily they are two Big ones! Parasite and Acid Cloud will both apply their damage 45% faster. This is what pushes Parasite (with the Alabaster Rune) over the top as far as really being an outstanding Single Target Nuke spell. As for Acid Cloud, it just makes it that much more effective at getting its DoT effect applied. Care of the Master * 3/3 * Increases the health of the Witch Doctors Summons
Not much to say here. Our build aims to take full advantage of the tanking ability of your Gargantuan. This trait gives him a total of 60% more health. Take it.
Blood Bite * 1/1 * The Gargantuan’s melee attacks steal life based on a % of the damage done
Unfortunately this is not applied in the form of a DoT, that would be nice! This trait is just meant to add to the already incredible survivability of the Obsidian Gargantuan. Maxed out he steals 30% of his damage dealt as life. (Not too crazy because he doesn’t do too much damage to begin with)
Gargantuan Specialization * 3/3 * Increases the likely hood that monsters will attacks the Gargantuan and increases the damage dealt by the Gargantuan by a % per level.
We take this mainly for the “taunt” effect that comes with it. It makes a huge difference in how well your Gargantuan can pick up monsters and keep them. The extra damage is nice as it makes Blood Bite that much more effective.
Death Aura * 1/1 * Your Zombie Summons attempt to pull the souls of all nearby Targets back to the depths of hell, dealing physical damage over time
What the description doesn’t say (why not blizzard?) is that the effect is based on the health of your summon and can only be applied by the summon with the highest health pool. Because our Gargantuan has so much health, the Damage from Death Aura is fairly respectable. But the main reason we get this is obvious. It is a free and mindless application of “Sick Get Sicker”. The range is pretty small but it is very nice to have out.
Staff Specialization * 3/3 * The Witch Doctor’s abilities deal % more damage when you have a Staff equipped
We are starting to get into optional traits, but really, we have already forsaken all survivability with this build. And (for the most part) using a 1 handed weapon and a shield or fetish ups your survivability. Obviously there are exceptions to this and if you want to go the 1H + Offhand route grab that Specialization.
Intimidation * 3/3 * Decreases vendor costs and increases damage done
More damage is never a bad thing, and with no penalties. The decreased vendor costs are welcome as well. Take it!
1 extra point
This leaves you with 1 point to spend. Use it however you like. Toughness is never a bad choice to help avoid 1 shot deaths.
Notable Assumptions
Some things to keep in mind as far as “general” assumptions that I make: You can max a skill at 5/5, 10/10 or 15/15 and are able to increase any skill to the next “cap” but it takes a lot of time/resources to do this. You can only advance a skill to the next “cap” after you complete a difficulty. So to go from 5/5 to 6/10 you need to have completed Normal. Obviously you don’t have enough skill points to max all skills so there is no need to do this for every skill. I also “assume” that because of the nature of raising the “cap” mechanic for each skill the next point after the cap (6 and 11) makes a fairly large difference. In general these next levels can hit a wider range of monsters (bosses, uniques) or just do more damage / have increased effect more than a standard point does. I also assume that as a reward for starting the next difficulty (nightmare and hell) you start the new play through with 1 skill point and 1 trait point to spend. This brings the total Skill points possible to 61 and Traits to 21.
Links to Other (For Fun) Guides
Wizard Guide: The Controler
Monk Guide: The Sponge
Barbarian Guide: The Bloodletter
The DoT Destroyer Witch Doctor Build
This guide will show you how to make your Witch Doctor a master of dispatching large groups of monsters at the same time. You will use a multitude of Damage Over Time abilities, clever combination of rune effects and the right choices for traits to maximize your DoT potency. This build can also do very respectable damage to a single target if you focus all your efforts on to one monster/Boss. The downside to all of this destructive power is that you will have VERY little survivability. But play smart, learn the tricks/tactics of the build and things won’t be alive long enough to take advantage of that short coming.
This guide explains which skills and traits to get and how/when to use them for maximum effect.
Plague of Toads (Filler – Respec at Level 10) Any Rune
This is a filler skill. Don’t invest more than one point in Plague of Toads as we want to minimize the cost to respect at level 6. The only reason you are taking this skill at all is to speed up the process of getting to level 6. Of course, you can hoard the skill point and just sped two points in Haunt at level 3, but due to the SUPER low cost of respecting just 1 skill point, why not take this till level 6?
Haunt * 6/10 * Alabaster / Indigo
Starts to build a solid foundation for what we are trying to do. There is a pretty large strategic choice here in your rune selection. Go for Alabaster if you want to add the slow effect. This can REALLY be helpful later on as you raise the cap the first time on your Haunt skill and take it to 6/10. That 6th point will allow you to have 3 haunts out at a time and being able to choose up to 3 targets to slow down can really help you keep things where you want them so your later abilities can hit them as well. Putting a super high level Alabaster Rune will slow these targets down to a crawl. However, if you prefer to let your Grasp of the Dead (see below) do that job on its own than go for Indigo. Personally I highly recommend Indigo as its effect REALLY compliments the build. Indigo runes add a split function to the Haunt. So you still shoot 1 out at a time (again you can only have 3 of your original haunts out at a time, which really is nice because with this rune, you cast 3 and forget) but when the first target dies, 2 haunts split out to find a new target. With a higher level rune, more splits. I would invest at least a level 5 Indigo rune in here so you will get 4 splits. Having to only cast Haunt 3 times and then watch the haunts multiply is REALLY fun. The damage effect alone can really shine through the first play through on normal. However, what we really care about is just having the DoT effect active on as many targets as possible in late game. Combined with the trait “The Sick Get Sicker” this effect forms one of the cornerstones of this build. Later in the game you will find yourself focusing down your original 3 Haunt targets (once the damage from level 6 Haunt stops killing things by its self) so they split out to the rest of the crowd to help multiply your damage with “The Sick Get Sicket”.
Soul Harvest * 6/10 * Crimson
With the Crimson Rune, this skill becomes a “click and forget” ability. You’re still going to be getting the bonus spell damage from your Soul Harvest, which at level 6 will lasts a very respectable 10 seconds, and will be a larger bonus for each monster in the target area. However, the Crimson Rune adds a DoT effect to all monsters that are hit by your Harvest which (you guessed it) combines nicely with the trait “The Sick Get Sicker” (notice a pattern forming here?) There is no Cool down on Soul Harvest, so even though it is a pretty big Mana sink you will find yourself canvassing the area to make sure you have as many of the Crimson DoTs up as possible and each cast refreshes the 10 seconds of bonus damage. So the more targets that have been hit within the last 10 seconds, the more bonus damage. Once you have your Gargantuan, this “spamming” of Soul Harvest becomes much easier.
Grasp of the Dead * 6/10 * Golden
Here is your primary CC ability. With the extra point (6/10) into GotD you will be able to slow down almost all creatures in the game. Bosses and some of the Most annoying super uniques will remain un slowed. It could be argued that rune selection here is optional, but I STRONGLY recommend the Golden rune. The Golden rune adds a “Mana Steal” component to any monsters in the Area of Effect and this effect is (you guessed it) applied in the form of a DoT. This results in a double dip from this one skill with the trait “The Sick Get Sicker”. Some important notes about GotD: While the damage from GotD doesn’t look like a standard DoT on the UI, it is computed like a regular DoT and any monster in the effect of GotD is considered to have a DoT on them, dealing damage from the skill and slowing it down. The Golden Rune’s mana steal effect is applied in a more standard form of DoT and will easily be recognized as a dot in the UI. The end result is (unless Blizzard changes it) with a Golden rune you are applying two DoTs with GotD, the slow/damage from the standard skill and the Mana steal from the Rune.
Locust Swarm * 11/15 * Indigo/Alabaster
Though with “The Sick get Sicker” trait, nearly all of your DoTs will do fairly respectable damage (once your rotation is amped up) Locust Swarm is your primary way of dealing direct Damage. This is one of my personal favorite skills in Diablo 3, for any class. It acts as a spreading AoE spell that you can Cast like a standard Missile ranged attack. The feeling you get after a cast of Locust Swarm is truly one of the most satisfying in the game in my opinion. Locusts Swarm’s deliciousness has a bit of a steep price however, both in mana cost and the 2.5 second cool down. But that is where your Rune Selection comes in. Take Indigo if your playstyle doesn’t mind the 2.5 second cool down. If you find yourself (which is likely) settling into a comfortable rotation with this and your other DoT’s than take Indigo. Indigo (basically) increases the size of the initial “blob” of locusts that you cast. Sometimes it can be annoying as you may be trying to hit a pack of monsters in the back, but the increased size causes your locusts to hit that wall of Shield Skellys again. But for the most part, the increased size is welcome as it not only makes the Blob larger, but causes its initial hit to be able to swarm more monsters. With a respectable Rune, you can hit 3-4 monsters easily, GREATLY decreasing the amount of time it takes to start a swarm from monster to monster. (the game has a somewhat random hidden CD on how quickly LS can jump from target to target. It can be anywhere from .5 seconds to about 3 seconds). The other Rune choice is Alabaster. Take the Alabaster rune if Cool down’s just aren’t your cup of Tea. Alabaster removes the CD of Locust Swarm all together which lets you spam it to your heart’s content. Keep in mind the fairly steep mana cost keeps you from going to nuts with this, but without a CD this can become a good way to Focus Down a boss as each cast of Locust Swarm can stack if you keep hitting the same target. Having a Golden Grasp of the Dead up (and hitting several monsters) can really help let you spam a Golden Locust Swarm. Of course, any target currently being swarmed by your locusts counts as a DoT towards your “Sick Get Sicker” trait.
Acid Cloud * 6/15 * Golden
This is the most straight forward skill we are taking. With the Golden Rune this doesn’t do damage to the monsters upfront and it doesn’t do damage to monsters only when they are in the cloud’s downpour, it (you guessed it again.. your smart!) applies a DoT. At level 6 the area of effect greatly increases of a standard level 5, so I highly recommend taking that extra point. You will find you self dropping this after your Gargantuan (once you have it) settles in with a bunch of monsters, or after you have slapped a Grasp of the Dead down to keep a large group of monsters where you want them. However, because of the way the Golden Rune’s effect works, you can snipe groups weather they are stationary or not. It just takes a bit of good timing.
Gargantuan * 11/15 * Obsidian
Weather you think Blizzard missed the Mark with the Rune effects on this skill or not (personally I love the Crimson effect too, just not for this build) for what we are doing you will be taking the obvious and almost always used Obsidian rune. Why not take the Rune that makes your tank EVEN Better at Tanking. A lot of people think he should always tank at the level he can with Obsidian and just add various effects to augment the tanking with runes. We will see if the Gargantuan sees any changes as we approach the first Expansion. Anyway, none of that changes the fact that putting an Obsidian Rune in your Gargantuan makes him EASILY the best tank, as far as summon-able companions go, in the game. He will nearly be impossible to kill and with the Traits “Blood Bite” “Gargantuan Specialization” and “Death Aura” he really becomes the center of your build and the reason you can completely ignore survivability sills. Obsidian increases the Gargantuan’s Defenses and Resistances by a % and Each higher level rune gives you a higher %. Once you get your hands on a level 8 Obsidian rune, it goes here. With a level 8 rune he just doesn’t take much damage.. from anything and what damage he does take will be healed back from Blood Bite. You can end up letting him die if you allow him to be swarmed by monsters that slow and stun, but even then with a good Rune it will take a while for him to drop dead. Once you have him leveled up to 11/15 his health pool will be huge too. More on the Traits in the trait section.
Parasite * 15/15 * Alabaster
Parasite, with the Alabaster Rune, Becomes your “you die now” single target ability. It deals massive damage over 6 seconds. It does have a 10 second cool down (decreased to 6 with the trait “Quickening”, making it refreshable on drop off for one target) which keeps you from just spamming it at everything that moves, but you won’t need to use them for anything but Bosses and the BIG GUYS in a standard pack of monsters. What the Alabaster rune does to Parasite is remove the function that spawns a Zombie Dog on death, and instead increases the potency of all DoT effects on the effected target for the Duration of the Parasite. Once you have set your web of DoT nastyness (some of the stronger monsters won’t be getting hurt much later in the game) you cast this at any monster that is taking particularly long to Die. Not only is the Damage from a fully skilled 15/15 Alabaster Parasite pretty huge, but each DoT on the target does 30-35% more damage (depending on your rune, go for a level 8 of course!). Needless to say.. this bonus compliments the core Trait of the build “Sick Get Sicker” really well and when you have a Parasite out on a boss or super unique they just Melt away. Once you get top end gear nothing will last long.
Traits
The Sick Get Sicker * 3/3 * Damage Over Time effects deal 4/8/12% more damage when there are two or more DoTs on the Target. This bonus Multiplies for each additional DoT.
I’ve been referring to it throughout the whole guide. This trait is why we Focus are skills and our Rune selection on additional Damage Over Time Effects. If the Stars align you can have up to 8 DoT effects out at once. Haunt, Soul Harvest, Grasp of the Dead, Grasp of the Dead Mana Steal (Golden Rune), Locust Swarm, Acid Cloud, Death Aura (From your Gargantuan), and of course Parasite. You Will be hard pressed to keep it all active at once, and the standard play style that I settle into usually gets about 5 or 6 effects out to kill a standard group of monsters. So just to help clarify the wording Blizzard uses to describe this Trait, here is what happens: If you put 1 DoT on a target, it deals normal damage. If you get a 2nd DoT on a target, they each deal 12% more damage, if you cast a 3rd DoT on the target they each deal 24% more damage, if you cast a 4th DoT on a target, they all deal 36% more damage.. ECT. So, if you can get all 8 of your DoTs active you can max this effect out by having all of the them deal 96% more damage! Realistically, you will usually be sitting 60%-72% more damage.
Quickening * 3/3 * Reduced casting speed by 15% per level
A staple for most Witch Doctor and Wizard builds, this build is no exception. Reduces the CD of your abilities, greatly decreasing the time it takes to get your DoT machine going. Out of all of your DoTs, only two get a Direct Damage Bonus from quickening. Luckily they are two Big ones! Parasite and Acid Cloud will both apply their damage 45% faster. This is what pushes Parasite (with the Alabaster Rune) over the top as far as really being an outstanding Single Target Nuke spell. As for Acid Cloud, it just makes it that much more effective at getting its DoT effect applied.
Care of the Master * 3/3 * Increases the health of the Witch Doctors Summons
Not much to say here. Our build aims to take full advantage of the tanking ability of your Gargantuan. This trait gives him a total of 60% more health. Take it.
Blood Bite * 1/1 * The Gargantuan’s melee attacks steal life based on a % of the damage done
Unfortunately this is not applied in the form of a DoT, that would be nice! This trait is just meant to add to the already incredible survivability of the Obsidian Gargantuan. Maxed out he steals 30% of his damage dealt as life. (Not too crazy because he doesn’t do too much damage to begin with)
Gargantuan Specialization * 3/3 * Increases the likely hood that monsters will attacks the Gargantuan and increases the damage dealt by the Gargantuan by a % per level.
We take this mainly for the “taunt” effect that comes with it. It makes a huge difference in how well your Gargantuan can pick up monsters and keep them. The extra damage is nice as it makes Blood Bite that much more effective.
Death Aura * 1/1 * Your Zombie Summons attempt to pull the souls of all nearby Targets back to the depths of hell, dealing physical damage over time
What the description doesn’t say (why not blizzard?) is that the effect is based on the health of your summon and can only be applied by the summon with the highest health pool. Because our Gargantuan has so much health, the Damage from Death Aura is fairly respectable. But the main reason we get this is obvious. It is a free and mindless application of “Sick Get Sicker”. The range is pretty small but it is very nice to have out.
Staff Specialization * 3/3 * The Witch Doctor’s abilities deal % more damage when you have a Staff equipped
We are starting to get into optional traits, but really, we have already forsaken all survivability with this build. And (for the most part) using a 1 handed weapon and a shield or fetish ups your survivability. Obviously there are exceptions to this and if you want to go the 1H + Offhand route grab that Specialization.
Intimidation * 3/3 * Decreases vendor costs and increases damage done
More damage is never a bad thing, and with no penalties. The decreased vendor costs are welcome as well. Take it!
1 extra point
This leaves you with 1 point to spend. Use it however you like. Toughness is never a bad choice to help avoid 1 shot deaths.
I added a link to another Guide in the Monk Forum, The Sponge.