Its op, I have losing more and more matches because of it and I can't combat it's unfair that people can reduce my damage by half, what can a witch do that is as good as that?

Willowydream on Feb 17, 2016 wrote:

Maybe switch to another weapon that doesn't attack with magical damage?

That won't be good because I have a witch and I mostly rely on his spells. I recommend you get a wand or staff (a gun may work too) with a long range so no one will be able to hit you with witch hunter. You could also try to increase your dodge.

Willowydream on Feb 17, 2016 wrote:

Maybe switch to another weapon that doesn't attack with magical damage?

That's not mainly the problem it's from spells

witchdoctor daruis on Feb 18, 2016 wrote:

First off, it happens anyway, no matter who is in the AoE's center as long as they are in it

Secondly it's just unfair that they can train the epic and I'm sure you know why

Up until we could train Witchhunter, NO class had a response to a witchdoctor attack - now there is one, how is this "unfair"?
Other classes have responses to attack, either before or after an attack. Witchdoctors have critical responses also: Mojo Echo, Mojo Rising, Jobu's Ruse ( through gear ), but I'll bet this will be available with new updates.

witchdoctor daruis on Feb 18, 2016 wrote:

That's not mainly the problem it's from spells

Sounds like you are stuck on a particular strategy that isn't working very well.

If you equip a different weapon, you can still use your many powers against your enemies, and the attack you use from that other weapon will not trigger a preemptive strike that reduces its power by 50%. If you insist on using a staffy weapon, let your non-witchy companions attack whoever has the witch hunter talent while you attack other targets.

anecorbie on Feb 18, 2016 wrote:

Up until we could train Witchhunter, NO class had a response to a witchdoctor attack - now there is one, how is this "unfair"?
Other classes have responses to attack, either before or after an attack. Witchdoctors have critical responses also: Mojo Echo, Mojo Rising, Jobu's Ruse ( through gear ), but I'll bet this will be available with new updates.

Witches don't have a response to melee and ranged classes either

anecorbie on Feb 18, 2016 wrote:

Up until we could train Witchhunter, NO class had a response to a witchdoctor attack - now there is one, how is this "unfair"?
Other classes have responses to attack, either before or after an attack. Witchdoctors have critical responses also: Mojo Echo, Mojo Rising, Jobu's Ruse ( through gear ), but I'll bet this will be available with new updates.

As I have mentioned in other threads, I agree that it is unfair, because there is no epic like this one. A pirate with a melee weapon or a musket weapon can hit the witchdoctor with a chain of attacks any time the witch tries to attack with a spell or wand attack. No such epic exists against melee or musket weapons- except for first strike and quick draw which require the same type of weapon to be equipped in order to activate.

Aside from how this might be unfair against witchdoctor pirates, it is also unfair against witchdoctor companions. If a pirate with withhunter moves within range of a witchdoctor companion, then often that companion will die from witchhunter without even being able to attack.

Of course, this all can be overcome with the right strategy, but I am just pointing out that no such epics exist against melee or musket weapons. A pirate with a musket cannot use quickdraw to strike a melee pirate, and a pirate with a melee weapon cant use first strike to hit a musket preemptively. And of course, a witch cant use intuition to preemptively strike a melee or musket attack. The only way to do so would be to use a combo weapon, but then this should be the same for all weapon types.

witchdoctor daruis on Feb 19, 2016 wrote:

So if I choose to use a gun witch hunter would not activate from spells such as mojo blast and Davy Jones locker?

It will still activate with spells, just not with the weapon attack. And of course, witchdoctors are designed to use their spells as their primary attacks, so thats a bit of a problem.

Willowydream on Feb 19, 2016 wrote:

Would you rather have your spell damage reduced by 50% every time or do full damage with a shooty attack? It may not be as powerful, but especially if you have gear that gives shooty powers, you'll get something through.

Sometimes you need to step outside your comfort zone and try something different is all I'm saying. People can sometimes be beaten when they meet the unexpected.

The damage reduction doesnt have much of an effect, I agree, all I am saying is that similar epics to have pre-emptive strikes against different weapon types should exist in the game. It doesnt seem fair to have it exist only against magic attacks.

anecorbie on Feb 19, 2016 wrote:

Shields are a defense, not a counter. The only power that reduces damage is Witch Hunter. But you could train Burst Fire or Relentless as a combo weapon or straight up change to a different style of weapon, as Willowydream suggests. And save the staff for PVE.
I still don't see the "unfairness" of this power, all other classes have to deal with a pre-emptive or retaliatory talent attacks, why should Witchdoctors be exempt?

All other classes are exempt from pre-emptive attacks EXCEPT from the same weapon type or a combo weapon type. It should be the same for witchdoctors IMO

stormy quentin ver... on Feb 19, 2016 wrote:

All other classes are exempt from pre-emptive attacks EXCEPT from the same weapon type or a combo weapon type. It should be the same for witchdoctors IMO

And even if I'm equipped with a stabby weapon; if I use Jobu's Breath, I'm still going to trigger Witch Hunter.

anecorbie on Feb 19, 2016 wrote:

If I approach a musketeer, then I'm in danger of an overwatch attack. Or if I'm foolish enough to use throw/hurl knives I can trigger a quick draw, so you see a different weapon can trigger pre-emptive attacks.
No one is now exempt from these kind of talent attacks. Everyone faces these troublesome talents, there is nothing inherently "unfair" with them.

Overwatch and quick draw don't lower your damage insanely , as a swash you have a decent chance of dodging these attacks and not taking as much damage from them because you have naturally high agility, witches have low health, rarely dodge, are vulnerable to criticals and rely on their spells, when is the last time you have needed to hurl knife a musketeer and whenever do you just approach a musketeer without hide? In a witches case this is a severely hindering attack.

stormy quentin ver... on Feb 20, 2016 wrote:

All classes can be affected by quick draw, just as they can be affected by readied spell. They work in similar ways. However, there is no other epic that compares to witch hunter, in which you can pre-empitvely strike a witch with a melee weapon or musket weapon. Thats all I am trying to point out, that this epic exists only against witch attacks and spells, not against other attack types. Forget about "unfair" or "op", I am just pointing out that this epic exists against witches, without an equivalent epic against other classes' weapon types (melee, musket).

Maybe it's just a sign of how fearsome and dangerous Witchdoctor powers are? All magic comes with a price, and magical power attacks have features unlike other weapon attacks.

In future, it's possible that additional Epics will be developed along the same lines, so that if a player goes to use bombs that we can cause them to go off-target or explode early, or if a Swashbuckler tries to use Black Fog, their spell has a chance to fizzle or only hide part of their crew.

For now, though, the work-around is simple. Don't directly attack an enemy who has Witch Hunter with magical attacks. Use your crew, summoned creatures, a different weapon, etc.