If ever there was a class to bring friends to the table, it's certainly the Witch Doctor. Known for equal parts voodoo shenanigans and hordes of friendly zombie companions, the Witch Doctor is welcome in any group. Today, we're taking a close look at one particular Witch Doctor item and how OftRepeated#1136 has tweaked a traditional pet build into something that not only brings the pain, but blots out the sun!

About the Build:

Endearingly titled the "At My Signal, Unleash Hell" build, OftRepeated has thrown his focus into making the most out of a single item: Carnevil. For those new to this voodoo mask, it encourages a very particular playstyle because each time you fire a Poison Dart, your entire Fetish family will do the same! Combined with a few other items and skills, you can expect this build to bombard your enemies with a never-ending stream of mortiferous missiles.

The goal? MOAR POISON DARTS!

Sadly, these skeletons seem to have no shade to fight under.

"This is just a hilariously fun build, and highly complementary to any party composition," OftRepeated writes in. The At My Signal build encourages adopting this style as a way of life for your character, providing a constant stream of covering fire and some light bodyguard duty!

The Skills:

The skills used in this build are fairly straightforward, utilizing the abilities needed to capitalize on Carnevil's effect while enhancing those abilities further.

Active Skills:

• Poison Dart (Snake to the Face)
  • Necessary to utilize Carnevil's effect
  • Snake to the Face offers much needed CC, valuable for any pet build
• Spirit Walk (Honored Guest)
  • Acts as your escape method, allowing flexibility in movement and a crowd control break
  • Quickly refills your Mana between expensive Piranhas casts and helps combat Pierce the Veil's cost increases
• Big Bad Voodoo (Slam Dance)
  • Offers group utility
  • Enhances the damage of both your Zombie Dogs and Fetish Army
• Fetish Army (Legion of Daggers)
  • The other side of the coin to Poison Dart, necessary to utilize Carnevil’s effect
  • Legion of Daggers gets you exactly what you want – MOAR POISON DARTS!
• Piranhas (Piranhado)
  • Damage amplification is helpful both for your own damage and in group settings
  • Piranhado offers a useful crowd control effect for keeping pesky demons still while filling them with venomous projectiles
• Summon Zombie Dogs (Leeching Beasts)
  • Faithful Zombie Dogs serve as buffers when soloing
  • Primarily serves as additional survivability, both as a bodyguard and from the additional life regeneration Leeching Beasts provides

Passive Skills:

• Gruesome Feast
  • A staple passive for many Witch Doctors
  • Turns Health Globe regeneration into general resource regeneration and a significant DPS boost
• Pierce the Veil
  • An all-around DPS boost at the cost of greater resource drain
  • This build uses few Mana dumps, and the increases are easily addressed with other useful skills like Spirit Walk (Honored Guest)
• Zombie Handler
  • Enhances your Zombie Dogs for additional survivability
  • Extra Zombie Dog provides a little bit more DPS
  • Can be replaced if survivability isn’t an issue (see Alternative Skills below)
• Fetish Sycophants
  • Constant Poison Dart casts will generate more Sycophants, which in turn fire more Poison Darts
  • Glorious cyclical synergy
  • Say it with me—MOAR POISON DARTS!

Alternative Skills:

• Acid Cloud (Acid Rain)
  • Replaces Summon Zombie Dogs
  • Provides supplemental AoE damage if survivability isn’t a concern

The Items:

While one particular item is required to create the core functionality of this build, little else is absolutely necessary before moving onward.

OftRepeated has found many of his recommended items, with some great supplemental additions that compliment his build.

Required Items:

• Carnevil
  • The heart and soul of this build
  • Required, and should be your starting point

Recommended Items:

• Starmetal Kukri
  • Reduction of the cooldown for both Fetish Army and Big Bad Voodoo provides you a significant early boost to consistent damage
• Zunimassa’s Haunt (4 Piece Set Bonus)
  • 4 Piece Set bonus allows your Fetish Army to last forever, keeping your diligent little archers around permanently
• Ring of Royal Grandeur
  • Allows easier access to the Zunimassa’s Haunt bonus, completing the complimentary items that much sooner

Recommended Stats:

Additional Poison gear will go a long way to helping this build flourish. Keep a look out for items like Swamp Land Waders or Stone of Jordan to help round this out. As a pet build, Critical Hit Damage should certainly be a high priority due to its high damage returns. Attack speed is also welcome. Do you know why? MOAR POISON DARTS!

Recommended Difficulty and Game Mode:

OftRepeated currently plays his At My Signal build in normal mode on Torment IV. While this build has the ability to climb higher, its efficiency does taper off beyond this point, and other builds may offer more. It does, however, excel in group play.

Bear in mind that at Torment IV, this build is a bit glass cannon and, without staying at range, you may find yourself in frequent peril. For this reason, I would avoid jumping into Hardcore experimentation right away and pacing yourself in earlier Torment levels with substantial survivability gear.

Why We Like This Build:

Pet builds are always loads of fun—there's something about filling the screen with all your little friends that makes your journey through Sanctuary a little less lonely. Even more satisfying is seeing that sheet of projectiles just blanketing your foes. I'm a fan of archery, but this Poison Dart build takes artillery to a whole different level.

Definitely not a group of friends I’d want to upset!

Also, in all honesty—Poison Dart (Snake to the Face) just makes me giggle. Because Snake to the Face. (Please don't send me builds that are nothing but Snake to the Face…Okay, maybe a few.)

Tell Us What You Think!

Have you picked up a Carnevil mask for yourself? If so, have you tried using it? How close or different is your Fetish Army build from OftRepeated's iteration? We'd love to know, so tell us in the comments!

Want to submit your own build? Then shoot them my way by e-mailing me at TheorycraftThursday@blizzard.com. Be sure to check out our full forum post on the kind of information I’m looking for, and you might just see your build right here on the front page!