GaianCommander on Jun 26, 2021 wrote:

So, I made a witchdoctor character to try out the witchdoctor class and I have heard that the witchdoctor class is not a good class for soloing the game mainly due to how "squishy" witchdoctors are, but I'm up for it. Right now I'm at Level 11 on my Witchdoctor character and I have a let that already grants me 1 rank of Mojo Rising, and I my first mate is Old Scratch, followed by Grimtooth (which I love it when he says BOOM SHAKALAKA) and then finally Ratbeard, which/has been promoted to Rat Captain by the time this post is uploaded. But I notice that upon me or a witchdoctor companion fizzles, the enemy I, or they target (if it is Old Scratch or Grimtooth) will do their victory dance. I know as a witchdoctor I should be focused on Will and I am, but is there anything else I need to focus on? Something like accuracy for example? So far I have not had any issues with the enemies but I know that can become a problem later on, so I need to be ready for it. Also, should I mainly focus on Will or my Spell Power, which by the way, upon creating my Witchdoctor character, I chose Natrually Spooky since I remembered that it helps boost spell power, which is vital for healing powers. Unfortunately I did not know this when I made my Swashbuckler character. Either way, I am used to the ways of a swashbuckler and I am not very good witchdoctor so I am gonna need help from anyone that has gone through the game as a witchdoctor.

FireMorgan13 on Jun 29, 2021 wrote:

Hello! Coincidentally, my first pirate was a Swashbuckler and now I'm playing through on a Witchdoctor. For reference, my Witchdoctor is now level 26ish.

So far, I honestly don't know anything about how fizzling works. My thought was just that it was a way of showing that the character missed since, usually, the enemy performs their dodge animation on a fizzle. If I'm right about that, then boosting accuracy is probably the way to go to avoid fizzling in the future.

As I understand it, Spell Power is gonna be the useful thing to grow, especially as you hit the later game. All of your powers(Ghost Wail, Mojo Blast, etc.) are based on your spell power and, more importantly, THEY DON'T DO AN ACCURACY CHECK. They're guaranteed damage on the chose target(s).
After that(particularly on your companions), you'll wanna boost Will since I believe the witchdoctor's normal attack is based on weapon power which is, in turn, based on Will. I could be wrong about that cause I've not been paying close attention, but so far, that's been my experience.

Hope that helps! If you have anymore questions, be sure to let me know. Otherwise, may your training in the mojo progress smoothly.

Halloween Chick on Jun 30, 2021 wrote:

As our fellow pirates have said, witchdoctors and musketeers play very differently from swashbucklers and buccaneers, but they are perfectly capable of soloing the game. I believe that they need to play more defensively - let the enemy advance, push them back and let them try to come back at you, if they dare. Try to find some of the musketeer doubloons like Galewind and Hurricane to help you gain time to buff your team.

Fizzling is just a way of saying that a spell "missed" and it's kind of frustrating, but it only happens with wand hits or natural attacks, so using Powers is definitely preferred. Summoning creatures is also important for Witchy companions, and boosting Will and Spell Power before you do the Summon is the main way to be sure and have powerful allies on your team.

My final piece of advice, Don't Limit Yourself to just a couple of companions -- use a mix of witchy and musketeers, change up your strategy based on the types of enemies you are fighting. You have a full roster, and they can all be helpful if you give them a chance and keep them trained up. Study up on Companion Tasks and be sure that if you don't need them in battle, they are out doing something useful:

http://www.pirate101central.com/forums/showthread.php?61994-quot-Hey!-You-re-Not-Doing-Anything-Useful-Right-Now-quot-A-Guide-to-Companion-Tasks