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Witch Doctor
Strength attribute symbol
Agility attribute symbol
Intelligence attribute symbol
20 + 2.1
13 + 1.4
22 + 3.1
Level 0 1 15 25 30
Health 120 560 1198 1924 2188
+0.25 +2.25 +5.19 +8.49 +9.74
Mana 75 339 855 1371 1575
+0 +1.1 +3.27 +5.42 +6.3
Armor 0 2.17 5.43 9.77 11.27
Magic Resist 25% 27.2% 31.54% 35.84% 37.59%
Damage Block -
Damage

26
36

48
58

91
101

134
144

151
161

Attack Rate 0.59/s 0.66/s 0.78/s 0.93/s 0.99/s
Attack Range Ranged 550 (800)
Attack Speed ▶️ 100 (1.7s BAT)
Attack Animation 0.4 + 0.5
Projectile Speed 1200
Move Speed ▶️ 300 (Nighttime 330)
Turn Rate Takes 0.175s to turn 180°. 0.6
Collision Size 27
Bound Radius 24
Vision Range (G) 1800 (Nighttime 800)
Gib Type Default
Internal npc_dota_hero_witch_doctor
Channels a high damage death ward.
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 and Switcheroos. Notoriously known for Maledicting his adversaries and forcing them to relive the agony they will inevitably receive from his Death Ward, few can match Witch Doctor's versatility.
Paralyzing Cask
Voodoo Restoration
Maledict
Voodoo Switcheroo
Voodoo Switcheroo
Death Ward
Death Ward
Roles: Support Support Nuker Nuker Disabler Disabler
Complexity: Hero Complexity
Adjectives: BadTeeth, Potbelly, Nose
Legs ( 2 )


Bio[]

Witch Doctor minimap iconZharvakko, the Witch Doctor
▶️ "Malpractice makes perfect."
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.
Alias:
WD

Abilities[]

Paralyzing Cask
Paralyzing Cask icon
Affects
Enemies
Damage
Magical
Launches a cask of paralyzing powder that ricochets between enemy units, stunning and damaging those it hits. Each bounce deals more damage than the previous one. Deals 0.8 damage to creeps.
Cast Animation: 0.2+0.52
Cast Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 600
Bounce Distance: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 575
Number of Bounces: 2/4/6/8 (Talent 4/6/8/10)
Base Damage: 50
Damage Increase per Bounce: 10/15/20/25
Creep Damage Multiplier: 1.5
Stun Duration: 0.8
Cooldown symbol
 20/18/16/14
Mana symbol
 80/100/120/140
Partially blocked by Linken's Sphere.
Blocked upon impact as primary or secondary target.
Does not stop bouncing or increase in damage when blocked. The blocked instance still counts toward the number of bounces.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_witchdoctor_cask_thinker
Undispellable
modifier_stunned
The Witch Doctor recycles the bones of fallen friends and foes, using the powder as part of his arsenal of charms and alchemy.

  • The initial projectile travels at a speed of 1200, subsequent projectiles travel at a speed of 1000.
    • However, all projectiles bounce in 0.1-second intervals.
  • Can bounce on units in the Fog of War.
    • Since the projectile cannot be disjointable, already airborne projectiles can bounce to and off of units affected by hidden or Spell Block sources.
  • The initial target is not counted towards the bounces, resulting in a total of 3/5/7/9 (Talent 5/7/9/11) instances.
    • All bounces together can deal up to 180/400/770/1350 (Talent 350/665/1170/1925) to heroes (before reductions).
    • All bounces together can deal up to 270/600/1155/2025 (Talent 525/997.5/1755/2887.5) to non-hero units.
    • For how much damage each bounce Paralyzing Cask deals on each level, and with the cask bounce increasing Talent talent, please refer to the chart below.
  • The projectile can bounce on the same unit multiple times, but only when another target was hit between the bounces.
    • This means it may hit the same target a maximum of 2/3/4/5 (Talent 3/4/5/6) times.
    • Can deal up to 120/240/440/750 (Talent 210/380/650/1050) damage to a single hero.
    • Can deal up to 180/360/660/1125 (Talent 315/570/975/1575) damage to a single creep.
  • The cask first applies the debuff, then the damage.
  • If Paralyzing Cask is cast multiple times, the previous cast's bounce counter gets reset.
    • All Paralyzing Cask instances from the source use the same bounce counter, instead of each instance having an independent counter.


Voodoo Restoration
Voodoo Restoration icon
Ability
Toggle / Aura
Affects
Units
Damage
Magical
Witch Doctor focuses his magic to heal nearby allied units, costing Witch Doctor mana every second Voodoo Restoration is active.
Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 500/550/600/650
Base Damage per Second: 10/22/34/46
Base Heal per Second: 10/22/34/46
Aura Linger Duration: 0.5
Talent Max Health as Damage per Second: 2%
Talent Max Health as Heal per Second: 2%
Cooldown symbol
 0
Mana symbol
 35/40/45/50
 + 8/12/16/20/ second
Talent 6/9/12/15/ second
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_voodoo_restoration_aura
Death
modifier_voodoo_restoration_heal
Undispellable
Zharvakko's hocus pocus is not limited only hexxing his opponents and is quite adept at curing ailments.

  • Voodoo Restoration does not interrupt Witch Doctor's channeling abilities upon toggling On / Off.
  • Disabling Witch Doctor does not toggle Off Voodoo Restoration. However, he cannot turn it off himself while disabled either.
    • While Witch Doctor is invulnerable or hidden, all effects of Voodoo Restoration still applies. In this case, the mana per second cost will not be consumed.
  • Heals and damage for 3.3/7.26/11.22/15.18 health (+ Talent 0.66% of max health) in 0.33-second intervals (before reductions), starting 0.33 seconds when toggled On.
    • Costs 2.64/3.96/5.28/6.6 (Talent 1.98/2.97/3.96/4.95) mana in the same intervals.
  • Both the heal and damage are provided by the same aura and lingers for 0.5 seconds.
    • Always heals for the full amount per instance, regardless of how much damage the ability actually deals.
    • The mana cost is also bound to the aura, this means when toggled Off, the ability still heals and drains mana for 0.5 seconds before stopping.
    • The ability toggles Off if Witch Doctor does not have enough mana to support another heal instance.
    • However, the lingering buff continues healing, despite the lack of mana, providing up to 2 possible heal instances for free.
    • Neither affect invulnerable nor hidden units.
    • Fully affect ally Animal Courier Radiant minimap icon Couriers.


Maledict icon
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 Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 575
Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 180 (Talent 255)
Damage per Second: 12/18/24/30
Current Health Loss as Damage: 16%/24%/32%/40% (Talent 41%/49%/57%/65%)
Damage Interval: 4
Duration: 12
Cooldown symbol
 30/26/22/18
Mana symbol
 105/110/115/120
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_maledict
Death
modifier_maledict_dot
Death
Certain voodoo magics can make an enemy regret engaging the Witch Doctor.

  • Checks the affected units' current health 4 times, once as the curse is applied, and then every 4 seconds for the duration.
  • The burst damage is based on the difference between the hero's current health and its health as Maledict is applied.
    • This means the bigger the difference between current health and health upon receiving the debuff gets, the more damage the bursts do.
    • Vice versa, the lower the difference gets, the lower the burst damage. Therefore, 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 spell damage by Maledict, depending on when the health was lost during Maledict on each level (before reductions):
      • 0 – 3.9s: 48%/72%/97%/121% (Talent 124%/148%/172%/196%)
      • 3.9s – 7.9s: 32%/48%/64%/80% (Talent 82%/98%/115%/131%)
      • 7.9s – 11.9s: 16%/24%/32%/40% (Talent 41%/49%/57%/65%)
  • The damage per second component deals damage in 1-second intervals, starting 1 second after the debuff is applied, resulting in 12 damage instances.
    • Together with the bursts, it deals a total of 15 damage instances.
    • The bursts happen 0.1 seconds before each 4th damage tick, so the bursts happen after the 3rd, 7th, and 11th damage tick.
  • With no other sources of health loss or heals, Maledict can deal up to 188.5/320.9/483.6/680.2 (Talent 276/463.8/690/959) damage to a unit (before reductions).
  • Successive casts neither update the damage values nor damage intervals, but refresh its duration.


Voodoo Switcheroo
Voodoo Switcheroo icon
Ability
No Target
Affects
Self / Enemies
Damage
Pure
Turns Witch Doctor into a Death Ward briefly with reduced attack speed. He is hidden during this time.
Cast Animation: 0.1+0.73
Attack Speed Reduction: 40
Duration: 3
Cooldown symbol
 40
Mana symbol
 200
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Death Ward attacks have True Strike and bounce between nearby enemies.
Can be disjointed.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Death Ward notes fully apply.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_witch_doctor_voodoo_switcheroo
Death
Ability Draft Notes
Ability Draft Notes:
Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard.
Requires drafting Death Ward icon Death Ward to be unlocked.

  • Death Ward icon Death Ward based on its current level is summoned at Witch Doctor's location.
    • Death Ward and its Aghanim's Scepter icon Ability Upgrade notes fully apply. If it is not learned, Voodoo Switcheroo does nothing upon cast.
  • Voodoo Switcheroo cannot be canceled prematurely and always lasts for the full duration unless Witch Doctor dies during it.
  • The Death Ward has its attack speed reduced by 40, attacking slower than a regular Death Ward cast.
  • With its 0.22-second attack rate and the 40 attack speed slow, it can attack up to 9 times.
    • Can deal up to 177.27/272.73/368.18 (Talent 300/395.45/490.91) damage per second to a single hero.
    • Can deal up to 585/900/1215 (Talent 990/1305/1620) damage to a single hero (before reductions).


Death Ward
Death Ward icon
Affects
Enemies
Damage
Pure
Summons a deadly ward to attack enemy heroes within its attack range. Lasts a maximum of 8 seconds. Death Ward has 50% bonus accuracy.
Cast Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 600
Max Channel Time: 8
Death Ward Accuracy: 50% (With Aghanim's Scepter 100%)
Death Ward Damage: 65/100/135 (Talent 110/145/180)
With Aghanim's Scepter Bounce Distance: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 650
With Aghanim's Scepter Number of Bounces: Infinite
Cooldown symbol
 100/90/80
Mana symbol
 200
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Death Ward attacks bounce between nearby enemies.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard.
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade:
Grants the Voodoo Switcheroo ability.
Can be disjointed.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Does not bounce when disjointed by the primary attack target.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
When disjointed by a secondary target, the disjointing unit is not registered as hit, so the attack may immediately bounce on it again if within range.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_witch_doctor_death_ward
Death
modifier_phased
Death
modifier_stunned
Witch Doctor performs a ritualistic dance, one that haunts the dreams of those who live to recount it.
Death Ward visualized

Death Ward radius visualized. Death Ward does not need to turn to attack within the green-highlighted area.


Death Ward
Witch Doctor Death Ward model
Summoned Ward
135
+0.25
This unit has no mana.
Level 3
Duration Ability Duration 8 (Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard. 3)
Armor Armor 0
Magic Resistance 0%
Status Resistance 0
Attack Damage ▶️ Default
0
Attack Range Ranged 600
(Talent 675)
Acquisition Range 600 (Talent 675)
Attack Speed 4.55 attack(s) per second. 100 • 0.22s BAT
Attack Animation 0+0
Projectile Speed 1000
Turn Rate Takes 0.209s to turn 180°. 0.5
Collision Size 36
Bound Radius 16
Vision Range (G) 1200800
Bounty Gold 0
Experience 0
Notes Invulnerable
Deals attack damage on primary target.
Deals spell damage on secondary targets.

  • The Witch Doctor Death Ward icon Death Ward can be controlled to attack a specific target or to stop attacking altogether.
  • Both the attacks and the bouncing attacks of the Death Ward prioritize heroes when choosing its primary target.
  • The projectile's damage on the primary target has the following properties:
    • Deals pure attack damage based on the current level sourced to the Death Ward itself.
    • The damage can trigger attack modifier and on-hit effects, but does not ignore evasion.
    • Death Ward can target or the projectiles may fire toward attack immune primary targets despite being fully immune to attack damage.
  • The pure attack damage and spell damage is sourced to the Death Ward itself, meaning certain on-damage effects (e.g. Blade Mail icon Blade Mail) react on the ward rather than on Witch Doctor.
  • Bulwark icon Bulwark only redirects the primary projectile.
    • Neither reduces the damage of the primary projectile nor the bouncing projectile.
  • The Death Ward spawned always faces east no matter which direction Witch Doctor is facing.
    • Since the unit's attack projectile originates from the front of the unit model's skull, Death Ward has to turn and face the target before attacking within its radius, except in the 23° circular sector area marked green.
  • With its 0.22-second attack rate and the max channeling time, the Death Ward can attack up to a maximum 37 times.
    • Can deal up to 295.45/454.55/613.64 (Talent 500/659.09/818.18) damage per second to a single hero.
    • Can deal up to 2405/3700/4995 (Talent 4070/5365/6660) damage (before reductions) to a single hero for the entire duration.
  • Attacks from the Death Ward have a percentage-based accuracy, which prevents its attacks from being missed by 50% from evasion or blind effects.
    • Stacks multiplicatively with other outgoing accuracy sources.
  • After the channeling stops or is interrupted, the Death Ward is now phased and will expire in 5 seconds.
    • During this time, the Death Ward provides a 5-second Daytime 1200 and Nighttime 800 ground vision at its location.
  • Attacks from the Death Ward now bounce toward the closest enemy units within 650 range and the same projectile can never hit the same unit twice.
    • Cannot bounce to invisible units or on units in the Fog of War.
    • Cannot bounce to attack immune secondary targets. However, targets with attack immunity can still receive damage from the bouncing projectile.
    • Acquiring Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter immediately upgrades the current Death Ward instance.
  • The bouncing projectile's damage has the following properties:
    • Does not perform instant attacks.
    • Deals a fixed 65/100/135 (Talent 110/145/180) regular pure spell damage per projectile.
    • The spell damage is neither based on the Death Ward's attack damage values nor the damage value received on the target.
    • The damage does not trigger any attack modifier or on-hit effects and ignore evasion.


Paralyzing Cask Calculations[]

Level Paralyzing Cask icon Paralyzing Cask Damage Increase/ Bounce Hit
Base 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th
Hero Damage
Level 1 50 60 70 Talent 80 Talent 90
Level 2 50 65 80 95 110 Talent 125 Talent 140
Level 3 50 70 90 110 130 150 170 Talent 190 Talent 210
Level 4 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 Talent 275 Talent 300
Creep Damage
Level 1 75 90 105 Talent 120 Talent 135
Level 2 75 97.5 120 142.5 165 Talent 187.5 Talent 210
Level 3 75 105 135 165 195 225 255 Talent 285 Talent 315
Level 4 75 112.5 150 187.5 225 262.5 300 337.5 375 Talent 412.5 Talent 450

Talents[]

Hero Talents
+45 Witch Doctor Death Ward icon Death Ward Damage25+2% Max Health Voodoo Restoration icon Voodoo Restoration Heal
+25% Maledict icon Maledict Burst Damage20+75 Witch Doctor Death Ward icon Death Ward Attack Range
+300 Health15+2 Paralyzing Cask icon Cask Bounces
+75 Maledict icon Maledict AoE10-25% Voodoo Restoration icon Voodoo Restoration Mana Per Second
Notes:
  • The health talent increases the max health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.

Recent Changes[]

Main Articles: Changelogs, Old Abilities and Hero Lore
Version
Description
  • Death Ward icon Death Ward
    • Reduced damage from 70/105/140 to 65/100/135.
  • Voodoo Restoration icon Voodoo Restoration
    • No longer deals a base 10/22/34/46 magical damage per second.
    • Increased base heal from 10/22/34/46 to 20/30/40/50.


Recommended Items[]

Starting items:

  • Tango icon Tango sustains health so Witch Doctor can stay in lane.
  • Clarity icon Clarity sustains mana for Witch Doctor to use abilities.
  • Observer Ward icon Observer Ward provides vision that may prevent enemy ganks or catch enemies when they are off guard.

Early game:

  • Magic Stick icon 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 icon Magic Wand.

Mid game:

  • Magic Wand icon Magic Wand is good for burst healing and mana while providing bonus attributes compared to the Magic Stick icon Magic Stick.
  • Arcane Boots icon 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 icon 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.
  • Medallion of Courage icon 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.

Late game:

  • Spirit Vessel icon Spirit Vessel lets Witch Doctor keep allies healthy in combination with Voodoo Restoration, and the percentage-based damage is devastating with Maledict.
  • Black King Bar icon 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.

Situational items:

  • Rod of Atos icon Rod of Atos can be good as a pickup item for Witch Doctor support. It helps root enemy heroes, setting them up for a Death Ward.
  • Scythe of Vyse icon 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.
  • Linken's Sphere icon Linken's Sphere is a useful item for Witch Doctor for the same reason as Black King Bar icon 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.
  • Refresher Orb icon Refresher Orb will give great health and mana regeneration for Witch Doctor. And will also allow him to use his abilities and items twice in succession.

Dota Plus Progress[]

Main Article: Hero Challenges

Relics track a hero's actions and statistics, and display in-game notifications when a milestone is reached. They are only available to Dota Plus subscribers.

Relics Voice Lines
Relic Rare icon
Multi Hero Paralyzing Cask icon Paralyzing Cask Stuns
Relic Rare icon
Maledict icon Maledict Kills
Relic Rare icon
Kills with Death Ward icon Death Ward
Relic Rare icon
Death Ward icon Death Ward Damage While Invisible
Relic intelligence icon
Multi-Hero Maledict icon Maledicts
Relic intelligence icon
Long Range Kills
Relic intelligence icon
Channels Cancelled
Relic intelligence icon
Triple Kills
Relic intelligence icon
Dominating Kill Streaks
Relic intelligence icon
Dust of Appearance icon Dusts Leading To Kills
Relic intelligence icon
Observer and Sentry Wards icon Wards Placed
Relic intelligence icon
Kill Assists
Relic intelligence icon
Kills
Plus Hero Badge 1
Bronze
Plus Hero Badge 2
Silver
Plus Hero Badge 3
Gold
Plus Hero Badge 4
Platinum
Plus Hero Badge 5
Master
Plus Hero Badge 6
Grandmaster

Equipment[]

Trivia[]

  • 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".
  • ▶️ "Ask not for whom the spell tolls." is a reference to John Donne's poem "Meditation XVII".[3]
  • Witch Doctor's name, Zharvakko, is maybe a reference to the popular novel and film "Doctor Zhivago".[4]

Gallery[]

References[]

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