Witch Doctor

Death Ward
Ward
Level	3
Duration	8
Health	135
Health regeneration	0.25
Armor	0
Magic resistance	0%
Status resistance	0%
Attack damage	85/135/185 ( 160/210/260)
Acquisition range	700 ( 825)
Attack range	700 ( 825)
Base attack time	0.22
Attack animation	0+0
Projectile speed	1000
Turn rate	0.5
Collision size	16
Vision range	1200 • 800 (G)
Bounty	0
Experience	0
Model scale	1
Notes	Invulnerable; Can only attack heroes; Attacks bounce 4 times and have True Strike when upgraded

Witch Doctor 18 + 2.3 13 + 1.4 22 + 3.3
Movement speed	300
Attack speed	100
Turn rate	0.5
Vision range	1800/800
Attack range	600
Projectile speed	1200
Attack animation	0.4+0.5
Base attack time	1.7
Damage block	0
Collision size	24
Legs	2
Gib type	Default

Hero

Strategy

Zharvakko, the Witch Doctor, is a ranged intelligence hero who can take on the role of a support or a ganker. A master of voodoo curses and healing arts, he possesses several positioning-dependent crowd control/damage spells as well as a heal that scales well into the late game. Maledict is one of the most powerful damaging spells in the game, and is fittingly enough quite hard to hit properly – but when applied at the right time, Malediction can curse someone to suffer a slow, humiliating death as they limp back towards safety. Paralyzing Cask is a somewhat-unreliable stun that requires multiple enemies to bounce between to be effective, but can provide a barrage of stuns to the enemy team if they are grouped together. Death Ward has the potential to be one of the most damaging ultimates in the game as long as he is able to channel the spell uninterrupted.

Bio[edit]

Zharvakko, the Witch Doctor

▶️ "Malpractice makes perfect."

Lore:

A wiry silhouette hitches forward—uneven of feature and limb, bizarre of gait, relentlessly criss-crossing the battlefield in search of that vital weak point where his talents can do most good, and most harm. Whether broken or mismade it is not clear, but still, none can doubt the power carried in his twisted physique. A long staff thumps the earth as the Witch Doctor advances, deploying a terrifying arsenal of fetishes, hexes and spells. It is a body of magical knowledge learned over several lifetimes in the island highlands of Prefectura, now wielded with precise accuracy against his enemies. Witch Doctor is your best friend, or your worst enemy--healing allies and laying waste to all who oppose him.

Voice:

Tom Chantler (Responses)

Abilities[edit]

Paralyzing Cask

▶️

Ability
Target Unit

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Magical

Launches a cask of paralyzing powder that ricochets between enemy units, stunning and damaging those it hits.

Cast Animation: +

Cast Range: 700

Bounce Distance: 575

Number of Bounces: 2/4/6/8 (

4/6/8/10)

Hero Damage: 50

Creep Damage: 75/100/125/150

Hero Stun Duration: 1

Creep Stun Duration: 5

20/18/16/14

110/120/130/140

Cannot directly target spell immune enemies. Can bounce to spell immune enemies. Does not stun or attempt to damage spell immune enemies.

Blocked fully when primary or secondary target. Blocked upon impact. Does not stop bouncing when blocked.

Modifiers

Stunned: Dispellable with strong dispels.

The Witch Doctor recycles the bones of fallen friends and foes, using the powder as part of his arsenal of charms and alchemy.

Notes:

The cask travels at a speed of 1000.

The projectile bounces in 0.3 second intervals.

Can bounce on the same unit multiple times, but only when another target was hit between the bounces.

Cannot bounce on invisible, invulnerable or hidden units, but can bounce on units in the Fog of War.

Can deal up to 150/300/500/750 ( 225/400/625/900) (100/150/200/250 ( 150/200/250/300) to heroes) damage to a single unit (before reductions).

All bounces together can deal up to 225/500/875/1350 ( 375/700/1125/1650) (150/250/350/450 ( 250/350/450/550) to heroes) damage (before reductions).

The cask first applies the debuff, then the damage.

Illusions are treated as creeps, while Roshan and creep-heroes are treated as heroes.

Multiple casks from the same hero both reset and share the remaining number of bounces between all instances.

Voodoo Restoration

▶️

Ability
Toggle / Aura

Affects
Allies

Witch Doctor focuses his magic to heal nearby allied units, costing Witch Doctor mana every second Voodoo restoration is active.

Cast Animation: +

Heal Radius: 500

Mana Cost per Second: 8/12/16/20

Base Heal per Second: 16/24/32/40

Max Health as Heal per Second: 0% (

1.5%)

Aura Linger Duration: 0.5

0

35/40/45/50

Modifiers

Voodoo Restoration Aura: Undispellable.

Voodoo Restoration Heal: Undispellable.

Zharvakko's hocus pocus is not limited only hexxing his opponents and is quite adept at curing ailments.

Notes:

Voodoo Restoration does not interrupt channeling spells upon toggling.

Disabling Witch Doctor does not turn Voodoo Restoration off. However, he cannot turn it off himself while disabled either.

Heals for 5.28/7.92/10.56/13.2 ( +0.495% of max health) health and costs 2.64/3.96/5.28/6.6 mana in 0.33 second intervals, starting 0.33 seconds after toggled on.

The heal is provided by an aura. The mana cost is also depending on the aura. The buff lingers for 0.5 seconds.
- This means when toggled off, the spell still heals and drains mana for 0.5 seconds before stopping.
- If Witch Doctor does not have enough mana to support another heal instance, the spell toggles itself off.
- However, the lingering buff continues healing, despite the lack of mana, giving up to 2 possible heal instances for free.

Maledict

▶️

Ability
Target Area

Affects
Enemy Heroes

Damage
Magical

Curses all enemy Heroes in a small area, causing them to take a set amount of damage each second, as well as bursts of damage every 4 seconds based on how much health they have lost since the curse began.

Cast Animation: +

Cast Range: 575

Radius: 180

Damage per Second: 7/14/21/28

Lost Health as Burst Damage: 16%/24%/32%/40%

Burst Damage Interval: 4

Curse Duration: 12 (

16)

30/26/22/18

105/110/115/120

Cannot place the debuff on spell immune units.
If already placed, the debuff stops applying the damage over time if the unit turns spell immune. The burst damage pierces spell immunity.

Modifiers

Maledict: Undispellable.

Certain voodoo magics can make an enemy regret engaging the Witch Doctor.

Notes:

Checks the affected units' current health 4 ( 5) times, once as the curse is applied, and then every 4 seconds for the duration.

The burst damage is entirely based on the difference between the hero's current health and its health as the curse got applied.
- This means the bigger the difference of current health and health upon receiving the debuff gets, the more damage the bursts do.
- Vice versa, the lower the difference gets, the lower is the damage of the bursts, so getting healed during it reduces its damage.
- It also means it does not matter how affected units lose health, as it directly compares its health values, not damage values.
- This is how much of the lost health is re-dealt as damage by the curse, depending on when the health was lost during the curse on each level (before reductions):
  0–3.9 Seconds: 48%/72%/97%/121% ( 64%/97%/129%/161%)
  
  3.9–7.9 Seconds: 32%/48%/64%/80% ( 48%/72%/97%/121%)
  
  7.9–11.9 Seconds: 16%/24%/32%/40% ( 32%/48%/64%/80%)
  
  ( 11.9-15.9 Seconds: 16%/24%/32%/40%)

Deals its own damage in 1 second intervals, starting 1 second after the debuff is applied, resulting in 12 ( 16) damage instances.

Together with the bursts, it deals a total of 15 ( 20) damage instances.

The bursts happen 0.1 seconds before each 4th damage tick, so the bursts happen after the 3rd, 7th, and 11th ( 15th) damage tick.

With no other sources of health loss or heals, Maledict can deal up to 109.9/249.6/423.1/634.8 ( 137.9/305.6/507.1/746.8) damage to a unit (before reductions).

The debuff can be placed on illusions and creep-heroes.

Does not affect invulnerable and hidden units. Affects invisible units.

Death Ward

▶️

Ability
Target Point / Channeled

Affects
Enemy Heroes

Summons a deadly ward to attack enemy heroes within it's attack range. Lasts a maximum of 8 seconds.

Cast Animation: +

Cast Range: 600

Max Channel Time: 8

Bounce Distance: 0 (

650)

Number of Bounces: 0 (

4)

80

200

Death Ward attacks have True Strike and bounce between nearby enemies.

Witch Doctor performs a ritualistic dance, one that haunts the dreams of those who live to recount it.

Notes:

The Death Ward automatically attacks enemy heroes within its attack range, using default auto-attack rules.
- Upon created, the ward attacks the closest enemy hero to it. After that, it follows default auto-attack rules.
- It is possible to manually give the ward an attack target by just right-clicking an enemy hero in range.
- Giving an attack order while having Witch Doctor and the ward selected, does not cause the channeling to be canceled.
- It is also possible to stop the ward from attacking by ordering it to stop (only works when the auto-attack option is turned off).

Can only attack or bounce to heroes (including Meepo clones and Tempest Doubles) and illusions.

The damage source is the ward itself, meaning certain on-damage effects react on the ward rather than on Witch Doctor (e.g. Blade Mail).

The primary attack can be disjointed and can miss, doing so prevents the projectile from bouncing. Cannot miss when upgraded.

However, after having bounced at least once, it can no longer miss, but can still be disjointed.
- When disjointed, it does continue to bounce and can even bounce back to the disjointing hero.

Does not bounce on invisible units or units in the Fog of War. One projectile can never hit the same unit twice.

With its 0.22 second attack rate, it can attack up to 36 times. With the bounces added by Aghanim's Scepter, it can deal 180 damage instances.

With the current attack rate and damage, it can deal up to 386.4/613.6/840.9 ( 727.3/954.5/1181.8) damage per second to a single hero.

Can deal up to 3060/4860/6660 ( 5760/7560/9360) damage to a single hero (before reductions).

When all attacks and bounces hit, it can deal up to 3060/4860/6660 ( 15300/24300/33300) damage (before reductions).
- With the damage upgrading talent, it can deal up to 5760/7560/9360 ( 28800/37800/46800) damage (before reductions).

Death Ward's attack damage is not reduced by Damage Block.

Provides 1200/800 range ground vision for 5 seconds at its location after the channeling stops.

Talents[edit]

Hero Talents
+75 Death Ward Damage	25	+1.5% Max Health Voodoo Restoration
+1 Maledict Ticks	20	+125 Death Ward Attack Range
+120 Gold/Min	15	+2 Cask Bounces
+6 Armor	10	+75 Damage

Notes:

The armor talent does not benefit illusions.

This attack damage talent is added as raw attack damage, so it does not benefit illusions, and is not affected by most percentage-based damage increasing or reducing effects.

Gold granted from the talent is unreliable gold.

Recent Changes[edit]

Main Article: Witch Doctor/Changelogs

Version

Description

7.23

Maledict's damage over time and burst damage no longer apply if the target turns spell immune. [?]

7.22

Increased Death Ward attack damage from 75/125/175 to 85/135/185.

7.21

Increased intelligence gain from 2.9 to 3.3.
Reduced movement speed from 305 to 300.
Reduced Maledict cooldown from 50/40/30/20 to 30/26/22/18.
Level 10 left talent: Increased armor bonus from 5 to 6.

Recommended items[edit]

Starting items:

Tango sustains health so Witch Doctor can stay in lane.
Healing Salve also restores health.
Clarity sustains mana for Witch Doctor to use abilities.
Animal Courier ferries items to allies.
Observer Ward provides vision that may prevent enemy ganks or catch enemies when they are off guard.

Early game:

Magic Stick is a useful health/mana restoring item if the enemies in lane are casting many spells. It can later be built into a Magic Wand.
Boots of Speed give a speed boost, offering better escape and catch-up. They can later be built into Arcane Boots.
Urn of Shadows gives early healing and damage for participating in ganks, and can be built into Spirit Vessel.

Mid game:

Magic Wand is good for burst healing and mana while providing bonus attributes compared to the Magic Stick.
Arcane Boots provides Witch Doctor with an increased mana pool, as well as the ability to supply himself and nearby allies with mana.
Glimmer Cape can also be a good item which grants invisibility while casting Death Ward. Good support item which can be cast on allies/self while in danger.
Town Portal Scroll is essential for cross-map transportation. TP scrolls allow Witch Doctor to return to lane quicker after a death, meaning he misses out on less experience in the lane. They can also be used to quickly jump into a fight or defend a tower in a different lane.

Late game:

Aghanim's Scepter allows Death Ward to deal more damage, as well as the ability to bounce between each nearby enemy. This allows for far greater damage output, though it is most effective when you are paired with large initiation stuns such as Tidehunter, Faceless Void, or Enigma, which will prevent enemy heroes from breaking Witch Doctor's channeling. In addition, it also provides True Strike for Death Ward. allowing Witch Doctor to counter enemies who rely on evasion such as Windranger and Phantom Assassin.

Situational items:

Spirit Vessel lets Witch Doctor keep allies healthy in combination with Voodoo Restoration, and the percentage-based damage is devastating with Maledict.
Medallion of Courage is a cheap item which reduces an enemy target's armor. Since Death Ward deals physical damage, using the Medallion of Courage on a low armor hero greatly increases the damage dealt by your ultimate.
Rod of Atos can be good as pickup item for Witch Doctor support. It helps root enemy heroes as well on casting Death Ward while rooted.
Scythe of Vyse gives Witch Doctor a large increase to his mana pool, as well as additional attributes and the ability to hex an enemy target. The ability to disable an important enemy target is crucial in the late game.
Black King Bar provides Witch Doctor with an increase to his low health pool, as well as spell immunity, preventing most enemies from cancelling your ultimate.
Linken's Sphere is a useful item for Witch Doctor for the same reason as Black King Bar. While it only prevents one single target stun, its cooldown is much shorter and can be used on priority allies to increase their survivability.

Gameplay[edit]


Roles:	Support Nuker Disabler
Complexity:	★☆☆
Playstyle:	A bizarre figure shambles across the land, searching for any opportunity to apply the morbid arts of Prefectura Island. Filling a skull with noxious powder, the Witch Doctor throws this Paralyzing Cask to stun enemies in succession. To his allies, Zharvakko is a fountain of health, curing ailments with Voodoo Restoration. To his foes, he is the source of curses. The Witch Doctor Maledicts his adversaries, forcing them to relive the agony they will inevitably receive from his Death Ward.

Strategy & Tips

Counters &
Matchups

Audio[edit]

Responses

Sounds

History[edit]

Lore

Old Abilities

Changelogs

Equipment[edit]

Trivia[edit]

Witch Doctor is sometimes called "The Walking Fountain", referring to his support abilities Voodoo Restoration and Death Ward.
Witch Doctor's last hit response ▶️ "Pills here!" is a reference to Left 4 Dead, another title from Valve, where the players can notify the other survivors that they found pills. The survivors would say "Pills here" upon finding some.^[1]
Witch Doctor's original name in DotA was Vol'jin, a reference to the character from the Warcraft universe. Vol'Jin is the warchief of the playable race, the Trolls.^[2]
Witch Doctor's fun name in DotA was Moose, taken from the player DL.Moose who played the Witch Doctor.
His dying line ▶️ "Bad medicine.." is likely a reference to Bon Jovi's popular old classic Bad Medicine.
The line ▶️ "Ask not for whom the spell tolls." is a reference to John Donne's poem "Meditation XVII".^[3]
- It could also be a reference to the thrash metal Group Metallica, with their song For Whom the Bell Tolls
Witch Doctor's name, Zharvakko, may be a reference to the popular novel and film Doctor Zhivago.^[4]