Dota 2

Witch Doctor

● Intelligencerangedmagical damageSupportNukerDisabler

Witch Doctor is whatever his team needs him to be. Whether aiding his team with gradual healing, stunning and cursing foes to ensure a kill, or destroying enemies himself with a dance by his mighty ultimate, few can match Witch Doctor's versatility.

Pos 5 — Hard support · Pos 4 — Soft support
Win rate
52.3%
Pick rate
15.1%
Armor / MS
2.2 / 300
Range
550
Plan matchupRole builds

Abilities

Official ability data from Valve
Paralyzing CaskQ⏱ 20 / 18 / 16 / 14s◆ 80 / 100 / 120 / 140
Launches a cask of paralyzing powder that ricochets between enemy units, stunning and damaging those it hits. Damage increases each bounce.
Mechanics notes (1)
  • • Targets can be hit multiple times, as long as another unit is struck in between the bounces.
Voodoo RestorationW◆ 25
Witch Doctor focuses his magic to heal nearby allied units, costing Witch Doctor mana every second Voodoo Restoration is active.
Mechanics notes (2)
  • • Healing is done in 0.33 second intervals.
  • • Can heal Spell Immune units.
MaledictE⏱ 30 / 26 / 22 / 18s◆ 105 / 110 / 115 / 120
Curses all enemy Heroes and player-controlled targets 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.
Mechanics notes (1)
  • • If an affected hero's health has increased above the amount they had when Maledict was cast, the burst damage will be 0.
•
Voodoo Switcheroo⏱ 50s◆ 200
Turns Witch Doctor into a Death Ward briefly with reduced attack speed. He is hidden during this time.
•
Gris-GrisInnate
Witch Doctor gets a Gris-Gris, an item that cannot be dropped or placed in the backpack. When the owner dies, 100% of the gold lost from death is added to the item, and will be refunded when the item is consumed. The value of the Gris-Gris is increased by 1 every 3s. Right-click to consume and permanently remove the item.
Death WardR⏱ 100 / 90 / 80s◆ 200
CHANNELED - Summons a deadly ward to attack enemy heroes within its attack range. Lasts a maximum of 8 seconds. Death Ward has 50% bonus accuracy.
Mechanics notes (3)
  • • The Death Ward is invulnerable, and is only destroyed if Witch Doctor is interrupted or its duration expires.
  • • The Death Ward can be controlled, and made to attack a specific target.
  • • Death Ward attacks once every 0.22 seconds.
Traits ours:Stuns & disablesHealing / lifestealMagic burst

Our ratings

0–10, our judgement — every planner uses them
EarlyMidLateLaningWave clearTeamfightPickoffDisableDurabilityMobility

Aghanim's upgrades

Upgrade text from Valve · priority is ours Our recommendation
Aghanim's Sceptermedium priority
Death Ward: Death Ward attacks bounce between nearby enemies.
Aghanim's Shardmedium priority
Voodoo Switcheroo — channel Death Ward safely.

Tips & counterplay

Playing as Witch Doctor

Damage support. Win fights with Death Ward from a safe spot.

Laning: Maledict + autos; Cask bounces between hero and creeps.

Kill combo: Cask → Maledict → Death Ward.

Staying alive: Voodoo Restoration heals through harass.

From real games (OpenDota)
  • • Most games are in the safe lane (75.3%, 49% win rate).
  • • Best results come from the off lane (50.3% over 551 games).
  • • Arcane Boots: usually done by 12 min; finishing it by 12 min wins 53.8%.
  • • Aghanim's Shard: usually done by 25 min; finishing it by 12 min wins 56.3%.
  • • Glimmer Cape: usually done by 25 min; finishing it by 10 min wins 71.4%.
  • • Gets stronger the longer the game goes (46.4% before 20 min → 51.1% after 60 min).

Playing against Witch Doctor

Generated from this hero's traits, counters and real matchups

Stuns & disables Black King Bar, Linken's Sphere or Lotus Orb. Spread out so one stun doesn't catch the whole team.

Healing / lifesteal Cut their healing with Spirit Vessel, Eye of Skadi or Shiva's Guard, and burst them instead of trading slowly.

Magic burst Black King Bar, Pipe of Insight, Glimmer Cape and Infused Raindrops blunt the burst. Don't stand clumped.

  • • Respect Witch Doctor at Lvl 6: Death Ward kills isolated heroes.
  • • Respect Witch Doctor at Glimmer Cape: Safer Death Ward channel.
  • • Respect Witch Doctor at Aghanim's: Bouncing wards.

Items that counter it

Glimmer Cape Magic burst, Stuns & disablesBlack King Bar Magic burst, Stuns & disablesInfused Raindrops Magic burstBracer Magic burstUrn of Shadows Healing / lifestealCloak Magic burst

Heroes that beat it

Talents

Current talents (Valve)
+6 Paralyzing Cask Bounces
25
+40 Death Ward Damage
Maledict bursts deal 75% damage in a 800 AoE
20
+1% Target Max Health Voodoo Restoration Heal
-3s Paralyzing Cask Cooldown
15
+4s Maledict Duration
-25% Voodoo Restoration Mana Per Second
10
+200 Health

Best items

Position 5 build Our recommendation
Starting
Early
›
Core
››
Luxury

Power spikes

Our recommendation
Lvl 6Death Ward kills isolated heroes.
Glimmer CapeSafer Death Ward channel.
Aghanim'sBouncing wards.

Best skill build

Position 5 Our recommendation
123456789101112131415161718
Q Paralyzing CaskQQQQ
W Voodoo RestorationWWWW
E MaledictEEEE
R Death WardRRR
T Talent★★

Counters

Strong against ours

Countered by

Weak against ours

Synergies

Great with ours

Best lane partners

Toughest lane opponents

From our matchup model, adjusted by each opponent's laning rating Our recommendation
Sniper−24
Juggernaut−22
Anti-Mage−18
Puck−17
Necrophos−15

Live stats OpenDota · 2026-10-14

Public match stats

Win rate (all ranks)
52.3%
Win rate (Divine+)
50.4%
Pick rate
15.1% of matches
Sample
622,060 picks
Pro
47 picks · 53.2% WR · 10.6% ban

Lane presence

safe75.3% · 49% WR
off20.7% · 50.3% WR
mid4% · 35.5% WR

Win rate by rank

Public matches per medal bracket
52.7%Herald53%Guardian52.9%Crusader52.7%Archon52.3%Legend51.5%Ancient50.4%Divine

Win rate by game length

Minutes · OpenDota parsed games
46.4%10′47.4%20′47.6%30′48.3%40′50.6%50′51.1%60′

Item timings

When the item is finished, and the timing that wins most (≥15 games)
ItemGamesUsualWin %Best timing
Arcane Boots2,28712′50.6%≤12′ · 53.8%
Aghanim's Shard1,39325′51.6%≤12′ · 56.3%
Glimmer Cape1,15125′51.4%≤10′ · 71.4%
Blink Dagger83825′59.1%≤20′ · 60.1%
Spirit Vessel23320′53.2%≤20′ · 61.4%
Ghost Scepter17430′52.3%≤20′ · 58.3%
Aghanim's Scepter15830′65.2%≤25′ · 84.8%
Force Staff14730′55.1%≤20′ · 62.5%
Aether Lens9730′61.9%≤30′ · 77.8%
Eul's Scepter of Divinity6025′63.3%≤25′ · 64%

What players actually buy

Most purchased items by game phase
Start
Early
Mid
Late

Best real matchups

Head-to-head win rate, ≥40 games
Tidehunter75 games58.7%
Shadow Fiend144 games54.9%
Storm Spirit56 games53.6%
Crystal Maiden60 games53.3%
Invoker85 games51.8%

Worst real matchups

Head-to-head win rate, ≥40 games
Sniper46 games28.3%
Necrophos48 games35.4%
Puck48 games45.8%
Shadow Shaman54 games46.3%
Lion91 games48.4%

Recent pro & league games

Most recent league matches featuring this hero
LeagueResultK / D / ALengthDate
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersLoss8 / 8 / 728′2026-10-14
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersLoss2 / 7 / 1648′2026-10-14
1win Streamers League #3Win5 / 15 / 1143′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersLoss3 / 6 / 2740′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersWin7 / 3 / 1322′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersWin3 / 10 / 1863′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersWin2 / 10 / 733′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersWin1 / 7 / 1541′2026-10-13

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 Zharvakko the Witch Doctor advances, deploying a terrifying arsenal of fetishes, hexes and spells. It is a body of magical knowledge learned and perfected over several lifetimes in the island highlands of Arktura, now wielded with precision accuracy against his enemies. Zharvakko can be your best friend or your worst enemy--healing allies and laying waste to all who oppose him.