LogFAQs > #964343845

Four in one week, during a busy week? I spoil myself.

81 - Witch Doctor (ranged Intelligence)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/6/9/AAAACbAADJER.jpg
Basic Abilities: Paralyzing Cask, Voodoo Restoration, Maledict, Death Ward.
Shard ability: New ability "Voodoo Switcheroo," which hides Witch Doctor and replaces him with a slower attacking Death Ward for 2 seconds.
Scepter ability: Upgrades Death Ward to make its attack have True Strike and bounce to targets within range. This bounce can also bounce to other units.
Notable 7.31(b) changes: 10 seconds lower cooldown on Death Ward. Base damage and stun for creeps lowered, but creeps will also take 200% damage from bounces (so less disable but more damage overall.)

Eesh, we're getting to the hard part of this list, where basically everything is still game-winning or game-losing depending on how well it (or I) can handle - or adapt to - the current meta, and almost all of them are interesting in some way or another.

Witch Doctor is a perennial favorite and one that people who have never even heard of Dota will know about - "Look at it go!" has been used in quite a few videos that have absolutely nothing to do with Dota (and even more used in League and HotS videos than in Dota videos, but ehn.)

He is also very, very squishy.

Abilities! Paralyzing Casks is one of the most annoying abilities in the entire game to be beaned by. If you're not the primary target and you're channeling something major, like a Freezing Field, Murphy's Law will always dictate that you're going to have your ult interrupted by a coconut. Bleh. If you ARE the primary target, it is just as annoying for WD's team, since the initial hit can be Lotus Orbed or Counterspelled, and WD now has a chain stun bouncing around his own team. It's just chaotic enough to always turn a fight around if he's against you, and just too inconsistent if you're trying to rely on it alone. This is completely ignoring that it actually does a fair amount of damage as the bounces rack up, because again, it's not the most consistent thing in the world.

Voodoo Restoration is simple. Turn it on, and a circle of healing appears around Witch Doctor that pulses for a small amount of healing a few times a second, draining mana while active. Talents can improve the healing done by it, or reduce the mana drain.

Maledict is a win-more ability, clunky by design because of its sheer potential burst: despite being a very weak DoT on its own, it spikes for snowballing magical damage every few seconds based on how long the victim has been debuffed by it Witch Doctor players who can consistently land a good Maledict will frequently steal kills on fleeing targets, or take down their own gankers postmortem with a Maledict+Voodoo Switcheroo. More alternatively/likely - Maledict gets applied, Witch Doctor gets terribly murdered, and his victim takes about 100 damage total before he can output any more damage. Not ideal.

Lastly, Death Ward. Death Ward itself is your standard "let the channel happen and you deserve your death" ability - an 8 second channeling spell that summons the eponymous ward, which will constantly launch attacks at heroes within range of the ward for physical damage that ignores Damage Block (but not Evasion, unless Sceptered.) .

It's kind of surprising how glass cannon-ish Witch Doctor can be early, being able to heavily damage from both ends of the spectrum, being able to poke effectively, but he absolutely can not take any punishment in return, and Voodoo Restoration almost feels like wasted points with the "run four at bot at 8 minutes" tendencies going on. He's rarely, if ever, going to be able to get Death Ward off for more than half a second without specifically drafting for it (read: Faceless Void or Enigma) and his teamfight disruption, while potent, is not in the slightest bit consistent beyond the first cask bonk. If you want to toss out a stun and pray to your gods, Windranger is much more consistent at long-duration-stuns-that-really-shouldn't-have-happened. If you want area healing, burst healing from items or any other heal hero is preferable right now, or a side effect (such as Winter Wyvern's Cold Embrace blocking physical damage.) He's great fun but I wouldn't recommend him in solo queue.

Next hero hint: I specifically bumped this hero down because of their 7.31 changes despite them being one of my most played heroes, due to their sheer inconsistency and need to rely on luck. Actual luck.