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Class reworks and Loot 2.0 have me stoked.

Quote from Rhogog

It's still early and my brain might be still sleeping but I think there's something wrong with the math behind bola shot+imminent doom. Why are you taking the 2 second arm time into overall dps calculation? Aren't those two seconds only relevant for the first shot and then it's up to your weapon speed? If you shoot BS+ID every half second than they will be blowing up every half second with a 2 second delay after your first shot. No?

Cant figure out the real DPS but clearly it must be better than the base bola shot.

Quote from Peppy

I believe some of your conception of DH skill are wrong. For example Base bolashot and Imminent doom bolashot.

It only take 2 second for the later to detonate but you don't shoot one bola every 2 second. If you did shoot every 2 second, then I would agree.

However, assuming you have 3 attack per second and you re shooting for 3 second. During those 3 second, there would be a total of 9 bolashots. After the first explodes, for 3 seconds, you'll have the remaining 8 explosions.

I know you did say you don't wanna take into account attack speed but in this case, you have the wrong conclusion.

Here is a representation in game with noise (assuming your opponent is far away=:
Shoot 0.33sec// Shoot 0.33sec// Shoot 0.33sec// Shoot 0.33sec// Shoot 0.33sec// Shoot 0.33sec//
Shoot 0.33sec// Shoot 0.33sec// Shoot 0.33sec//

Hits the target:
2 seconds cownt down for the first to explodes then:
Kaboum 0.33sec// Kaboum 0.33sec// Kaboum 0.33sec// Kaboum 0.33sec// Kaboum 0.33sec// Kaboum 0.33sec// Kaboum 0.33sec// Kaboum 0.33sec//

Yup, you're right. People pointed out the same mistakes made in the video in the comments too, and I put in some annotations to clarify where I went wrong. Sorry for any confusion.

In trying to figure out which DH skills could do the most burst damage in the shortest period of time I found myself trying to work out each Skill's exact damage frame by frame. I figured I may as well share what I found with you guys starting with the Hatred Builders:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvf4f5xXm3M&list=PL790A55C11691F8CE&index=1&feature=plpp_video


This video is more about napkin math and less about demonstration so apologies if you find it a bit dry. I planned on showcasing the abilities in another video, but I'm quite burned out of DIII at this point so I dunno; if you guys find this helpful I might summon the willpower to continue on with the other abilities, but it was A LOT of work so we'll see.


Also, if you were interested this was the build I came up with:


"The Sapper" a.k.a. "The Flustercluck":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgLQd6jCiwQ&list=PL790A55C11691F8CE&index=2&feature=plpp_video


It's more about giving the middle finger to Inferno than anything else. I'm tired of Tentacle spam.

Thanks guys. =)

Terror:



Decay:



Voodoo:



Passives:



And finally I put it all together with some sample builds:


"The Rainman":



"The (Fricken) Chicken Bomber":



"The Head Hunter":



I tried my best to avoid misinformation, but if you see that I made a mistake please let me know either in this thread, in the video's comments, or via PM, and I'll amend the video with an annotation.

I hope this helps players new to the class or those that were overwhelmed by the variety of Skills and Runes in this game. Here's hoping the WD doesn't stay the least played class for long. =)

This is a Video Compendium and Primer of all the Witch Doctor's various Skills and Runes. I demonstrate everything and provide some commentary going over the general use of the ability along with synergies and Passives that benefit it. I also talk about the overall usefulness of the different Runes in practice.

Each set of abilities is listed under its category (Primary, Secondary, Defensive, etc.) excluding the WD's Pets which I made into their own episode.


For ease of navigation I've organized everything into a playlist found here:

http://www.youtube.c...eature=view_all


To start I have a video explaining Elective Mode and Advanced Tooltips for players that weren't aware of these options:



Next each of the different ability categories:


Primary:



Pets:



Secondary:



Defensive:

Quote from dioprem

Hey dannyboy thank you for the video. I was having difficulty in Act 2 of Hell, and the video really helped a lot. Just wondering what particular build you are using in inferno at the moment. Zombie bears + haunt?

I'm using the Vision Quest variation of the build. So Zombie Bears, Horrify (Frightening Aspect for damage reduction), Healing Journey, Soul Harvest (Siphon), Fetish Army (Ambush), and (Rain Dance) Big Bad Voodoo.

Horrify is optional some good alternatives are: Locust Swarm (Searing Locusts) or (Draining) Haunt for some DOT damage, Mass Confusion (Paranoia) for even more burst and another long cooldown to keep Vision Quest rolling, Gargantuan (if you have the gear to keep him up or are willing to sacrifice Pierce the Veil or Jungle Fortitude for Fierce Loyalty), Hex (Hedge Magic if you want a bit more survivability or one of the damage runes instead), or Wall of Zombies for control. I've been switching around the Horrify slot for some of these to mix things up if I don't have NV at the time.

Quote from scorpious1109

Splinters, not SPined Darts for mana?

Splinters is one of the WD's highest DPS abilities; most people in Inferno just spam it ad infinitum as it's so cheap mana isn't an issue.

Quote from Leh

I have myself been using Rain of Toads almost exclusively since i got the spell+rune, and have found that using a slow 2-hander makes it a lot more sustainable. Have you tried something similar?

Well a slower weapon would make it tick slower and thus use up less mana per second. Not a bad idea if you're having mana troubles. I've generally just used whatever weapon combination I've found at any given time with the highest overall damage.

Quote from Leh

You did not seem to actually need the rain dance rune on your BBW. I would suspect that for any other build than zombiebears, the 30 % damage would be way superior. Have you tested this? Especially since the extra damage would stack with the attack speed increase, granting godlike damage.

Yes, Slam Dance would be superior for Toads once you have enough Mana Regen that you can cast it infinitely. Rain Dance was quite necessary leveling though.

Quote from Leh

Personally, what I do is use Grasping instead of a mana recovery spell on the second mouse button, sustained via. the use of Spiritual Attunement and a 2-hand mace (Mace, due to having a .90 Attacks per second speed seems optimal for mana usage). The only times I have been running OOM has been when I was using Grasping for a DPS increase, which honestly can be done away with. Alternately, it can be sustained with Spirit Walk -> Honored Guest. Furthermore, I prioritise having a Vodoo Mask with +Mana and +Mana Regen, both which scales with Spiritual Attunement.

Grasping also allow me to use more of a kiting game than rely on Fetish Army + Spirit Walk for uptime.

I've tried using Grasp, but on Inferno even with an 80% slow fast enemies just run right through, and enemies that don't don't really need to be slowed to begin with. Personally, if I were to drop the mana recovery skill I would use the Gargantuan for better uptime.

Quote from Leh

I often switch out Fear for Soul Harvest-> Health Return. I am still undecided on which is better, although I feel like Horrify may be better in group settings, since 4-6 seconds of fear can save your group when used right.

I hate saying this, but never take Soul Harvest out of your build. 5 stacks literally doubles your damage. It's the most powerful straight damage buff in the game.

Quote from Leh

Confuse with Paranoia gives a nice amounts of CC/Utility, and the 20 % damage + Confused Enemies + BBW with 30 % damage increase gives some insanely dangerous toads. Best part is, alll of it benefits my party members.

It's certainly an option, but its cooldown is too prohibitive for my tastes considering what it does. (I do realize its CD is shorter than the other buffs in this build, but I consider them more powerful.)

Quote from Leh

Last question, you use a shield in your video. For a spec that seems based on having as high damage as possible, why not use a WD OH? Or have you just had poor luck getting one? :>

I switch b/w a Shield and an Off-Hand depending on my needs. Sometimes I need the damage reduction and block.

Thanks for the thoughts Leh, and everyone else. =)

Quote from SubDT

I would like to point out that with the first variation of the build you would be better off with Slam Dance rune, since as shown on the video you dont even spend enough mana to chip on you manapool with the rain of toads, therefore the 30% damage buff from Slam Dance runed BBV would make it more useful. Otherwise pretty decent builds, lacked spirit vessel though which is basically a must have on inferno

For endgame you're correct; it took a good portion of the game to be able to spam Rain of Toads indefinitely though. Also, you can absolutely stick Spirit Vessel into the build if you'd like.

Quote from aghill

Interresting video. You have some good points. I have to play around with rain of toads when I get home.

I do think its funny though, that you discard dire bats. On inferno, thats the only skill I can truely clear near all champion packs with. Obviously it has to be in conjunction with Vision Quest passive and 4 CD skills.

Dire bats does change the firebat skill, as you say, but its definately for the better. The problem like you point out with firebats is the range, and thats why dire bats is awsome. Its the only hardhitting long range skill the WD have (atleast as far as ive gotten to find out). Dire Bats contine through enemies too, doing aoe that way, witch helps out alot.

With the rain of toads, how do you actively kite and aim at fast champion packs? Isnt that impossible? Doesnt you need Unbreakable Grasp too?

Dire Bats is a separate build; basically everyone is using Splinters + Dire Bats. This build is meant to be a viable alternative to that. You can cast Rain on fast moving Champions you just need to lead them or tie them up with Fetishes/Gargantuan. A big portion of Inferno as a Witch Doctor is also using Spirit Walk for 2 seconds of invulnerability and then bursting. Grasp of the Dead doesn't do anything to a very fast enemy; they'll just run right through it. If you're having trouble getting Rain on target I would use Hungry Bats or Zombie Bears as variations of the build. I talk about that partway through.

Quote from xkill911

I'm using Acid Rain and Unbreakable Grasp to kinda sorta do the same thing in nightware. how's does Rain of Toads compare to Acid Rain?

Acid Rain costs far more mana and does a lot lower DPS than Rain of Toads. Hungry Bats and Zombie Bears would be better choices as well from my own experimentation.

Quote from lorien1973

Locust swarm kills them in a single cast? Why make it so complicated.

You and I don't appear to be playing the same Hell/Inferno.

Thanks for the comments guys. =)

Hey guys this is a guide to the build I used to get my WD to Inferno. Rather than write it out I made a quick YouTube video to describe it in detail. It focuses on using Plague of Toads, Hungry Bats, or Zombie Bears coupled with Big Bad Voodoo and Rain Dance to put out consistently high damage. This was an effort in making a build that used something other than Poison Dart (Splinters) and Firebats (Dire Bats) as primary skills. There are some other builds on my Channel as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrCqubmwlG8


Feel free to ask questions + criticize here or in the comments of the video. =)