Trying to solo Diablo as a Witch Doctor on Normal mode? This build/guide should help and assumes you are level 30.
Build – Mouse over for a quick visual.
Mouse 1 – Poison Dart with Splinters skill rune.
Mouse 2 – Wall of Zombies – no skill rune available before 32.
Skill 1 – Summon Zombie Dogs with Final Gift skill rune.
Skill 2 – Sacrifice with Next of Kin skill rune.
Skill 3 – Fetish Army – no skill run available before 34.
Skill 4 – Gargantuan with Humongoid skill rune.
Why These Skills?
There is little use for AOE abilities in all 3 phases of the Diablo fight on Normal difficulty but because of a need to constantly move, Poison Dart is ideal due to it’s long ranger than Corpse Spiders (not by a huge amount) or similar spells that require you to stand still a little longer while chain casting.
Wall of Zombies is useful for distracting/escaping the Shadow Clone’s that spawn in phase 2 of the fight but you need to focus fire them down quickly before getting back on Diablo. Because of it’s short CD, you should burn it every time.
Zombie Dogs are also useful for phase 2 of the fight and should be quickly Sacrificed in phase 1/3 due to quick deaths. Let them get a few hits in and when they begin to drop in health, blow them up. Be careful of blowing your CD and losing your dogs prior to phase 2 as they’re a great help there.
Fetish Army are your go to guys when your dogs are on CD as well as your Gargantuan. This is more likely in phase 2 so don’t burn it just prior to entering.
Gargantuan can tank Diablo but he can die quickly in phase 2 if you’re too slow to get the clones down. Focus them and you shouldn’t have a problem.
Don’t be afraid to move around a lot of the map in phase 2 as there are no other mobs on the map nor will you spawn any extras.
Phase 3 is almost a repeat of phase 1 but you’ll need to dodge his breath by running in the opposite direction or out range it by being at a distance.
It’s best to fight in either the east or west corner near the health pools in case you need them in phase 1 or 3. If you do use one, move towards the opposite health pool and use when required. They refresh so move back towards the other if you use both.
Soloing Diablo on normal difficulty as a Witch Doctor is not hard but your mistakes are less forgiving compared to playing with a group.
Passives
Zombie Handler – The additional dog means another opportunity for a health globe to drop when they eventually die. These globes can be used to top yourself and the Gargantuan up as well as any left over dogs.
Pierce the Veil – Because this build is not mana intensive, an additional cost of 30% is a non issue and nets us an extra 20% damage.
Fetish Sycophants – This passive has great synergy with Poison Dart and the Splinters skill rune as the additional darts provide us with additional opportunities to spawn Fetish Sycophants. 3% odds doesn’t sound high but you’ll get a team of them going in no time.
As we’re moving, shooting darts and then moving again, they will begin to spawn all over the place and can DPS Diablo while you’re moving away from his fire and cages. If you’re too slow and you get caught in a cage, you’ll want to mash your health pot hot key as Diablo will grab and release you with an almost empty HP pool.
Did you find this guide useful or have a better one of your own? Let us know in the comments below and submit your witch doctor build for normal difficulty so others can vote on it.
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I had spider queen, restless giant gargantuan on him as well as the fetish army. I had grasp of the dead 80% snare to keep him away from me as I was a very melee-centric build. While Diablo was being tanked by the pets, I spammed Acid Cloud with the Blob for my main dps skill. The remaining two skills I used was Hex heal and the Soul Harvest Siphon I would use when the CD was off and under 60% health.
Basically have the pets on him and stay close by spamming acid cloud, along with grasp + fetish when off CD. Just avoid all his abilities which shouldn’t be too hard if you are constantly moving. If you are hit, there are the two heal skills that can be used as well as pots or the health wells nearby.
For passives I had: Bad Medicine, Spiritual Attunement and Jungle Fortitude.
basically 40% damage debuff on Diablo and a mana regen buff.
Another tip that can be useful. Use the health wells! Okay obviously right? Maybe not exactly what I meant lol. USE THE WELL itself! Even an empty well has benefit to you, its a good object to run around. For example, when Diablo casts his fire spell that expands in a complete circle around him, the health well blocks it ( by blocking just one of the flames, but one is all you need!).
So running circles around the health well, placing the well between you and Diablo is a good way to stay semi-safe from that one fire-spell that’s difficult to dodge other wise. Also, if you’re good enough at dodging his attacks, you might stick around near that health well long enough for it to replenish. If not, there’s always a second well.
Keep in mind that other spells of Diablo’s (as well as your own) can go through or over the health well. So you still need to dodge Diablo’s other attacks. Keep moving as much as possible, as soon as you see the ground darken in spots, hinting at the cages coming up, best to stop casting and just keep running until he is done casting cages. Beating Diablo takes time, don’t let yourself get impatient and then caught in a cage because you didn’t want to dodge them.
And the Gargantuan is a must have because Diablo does not allow your followers.