What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
175 buys
2ndSecond most
98 buys
3rdThird most
95 buys
4thFourth most
82 buys
5thFifth most
81 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Witch Doctor
Ranged · Intelligence
- Win rate
- 52.0%
- Pick share
- 1.5%
- Matches
- 687,681
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsSupportNukerDisabler
NeedsCarryInitiatorFrontlineTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 50 min + — that is where this hero measures best, at 51.6% over 977 matches.
- You are playing around Guardian — its strongest medal, 53.0% over 67,231 picks.
Avoid
- Sniper is on their side — this hero wins 28.8% of 52 matches against it.
- Ember Spirit is on their side — this hero wins 32.8% of 64 matches against it.
- Necrophos is on their side — this hero wins 32.0% of 50 matches against it.
175 buys98 buys95 buys82 buys81 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Witch Doctor took at each level.
QParalyzing Cask
Launches a cask of paralyzing powder that ricochets between enemy units, stunning and damaging those it hits.
Unit Target · Magical damage
WVoodoo Restoration
Witch Doctor focuses his magic to heal nearby allied units, costing Witch Doctor mana every second Voodoo Restoration is active.
No Target · Magical damage
EMaledict
Curses all enemy Heroes and player-controlled units 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.
AOE · Point Target · Magical damage
RDeath Ward
CHANNELED - Summons a deadly ward to attack enemy heroes within its attack range.
Point Target · Channeled · Pure damageMax Order
EQW
Max E first, then Q, then W. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QParalyzing Cask
- WVoodoo Restoration
- EMaledict
- RDeath Ward
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QParalyzing Cask | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WVoodoo Restoration | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EMaledict | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RDeath Ward | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Witch Doctor performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
82 opponents · public matches40%60%Witch Doctor's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “stun”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”, “pure”.
- Clear or push the wave
Creeps, summons and anything that hits a building. Matched on “summon”.
- Pressure their mana
Burn it, drain it, or take the spell away entirely. Matched on “mana”.
By medal
- Herald52.8%18,267
- Guardian53.0%67,231
- Crusader52.6%116,676
- Archon52.4%157,730
- Legend51.6%153,567
- Ancient51.2%88,442
- Divine49.8%43,813
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min47.5%3,341
- 20–30 min47.6%7,068
- 30–40 min47.2%4,546
- 40–50 min49.6%2,034
- 50 min +51.6%977
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Witch Doctor
Abilities
Paralyzing Cask
Unit Target · Magical damageLaunches a cask of paralyzing powder that ricochets between enemy units, stunning and damaging those it hits. Damage increases each bounce.
Voodoo Restoration
No Target · Magical damageWitch Doctor focuses his magic to heal nearby allied units, costing Witch Doctor mana every second Voodoo Restoration is active.
Maledict
AOE · Point Target · Magical damageCurses all enemy Heroes and player-controlled units 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.
Voodoo Switcheroo
No Target · HiddenTurns Witch Doctor into a Death Ward briefly with reduced attack speed. He is hidden during this time.
Gris-Gris
PassiveWitch 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 Ward
Point Target · Channeled · Pure damageCHANNELED - Summons a deadly ward to attack enemy heroes within its attack range. Lasts a maximum of 8 seconds. Death Ward has 50% bonus accuracy.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 20 +2.1
- Agility
- 13 +1.4
- Intelligence
- 22 +3.1
- Move · range
- 300 · 550
Talents
- 4Paralyzing Cask BouncesDeath Ward Damage
- 3Maledict bursts deal damage in a AoETarget Max Health Voodoo Restoration Heal
- 2Paralyzing Cask CooldownMaledict Duration
- 1Voodoo Restoration Mana Per Second+200 Health
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Death Ward
Death Ward attacks bounce between nearby enemies.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Voodoo Switcheroo
Turns Witch Doctor into a Death Ward briefly with reduced attack speed. He is hidden during this time.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.