Diablo III- Skills Article CI: Witch Doctor, Secondary Skills- Haunt

Haunt (98 Mana): Target enemy (or the nearest enemy in the targeted direction) is haunted by a spirit for 12 seconds that deals 46% weapon damage as Arcane damage each second.  If the enemy dies before the spirit fades, the spirit will move up to 10 yards to another enemy and resume dealing damage.  You can only have one Haunt at a time.

Haunt is an exceedingly useful skill for the Witch Doctor.  While the total damage (575%) of the skill is very mana-efficient, the ability of the Haunt to move to a new target keeps the effect from being wasted if you’re fighting multiple weaker enemies.  Additionally, the fact that you can only have one at a time means that the 98 Mana cost of the spell isn’t nearly as debilitating as it could be- most fights you will only need one or at most two Haunts to get through.  A very useful skill to have on hand, and a nice way to open any fight.

Consuming Spirit (98 Mana): Target enemy (or the nearest enemy in the targeted direction) is haunted by a spirit for 12 seconds that deals 46% weapon damage as Arcane damage each second.  If the enemy dies before the spirit fades, the spirit will move up to 10 yards to another enemy and resume dealing damage.  You can only have one Haunt at a time.  For each second the Haunt is active, you heal an amount of Life based on your level (up to 155 Life) over the course of that second.

Boosting Haunt’s effectiveness by making it a defensive skill as well as an offensive skill, Consuming Spirit is a good way to boost your regular Life regeneration and keep you out of death’s reach for any ranged attackers you’re facing.  Don’t rely on this to keep you alive if you get into melee- but then, you shouldn’t be in melee anyways if you’re a Witch Doctor.

Resentful Spirit (98 Mana): Target enemy (or the nearest enemy in the targeted direction) is haunted by a spirit for 2 seconds that deals 144% weapon damage as Arcane damage each second.

Resentful Spirit is an interesting twist on Haunt that turns it from a steady, stable source of ongoing damage to make a battle easier into a mainline attack itself.  The Mana cost per casting is a little hard on the Mana pool, but having the higher damage in a shorter time can save you a lot of evasion and incoming damage.  This decision is really up to you and whether you fight in a more protracted or immediate fashion.  Most Witch Doctors will find the original form of Haunt more useful, or Consuming Spirit.

Lingering Spirit (98 Mana): Target enemy (or the nearest enemy in the targeted direction) is haunted by a spirit for 12 seconds that deals 46% weapon damage as Arcane damage each second.  If the enemy dies before the spirit fades, the spirit will move towards another enemy for up to 10 seconds and resume dealing damage (and counting down its active time).  You can only have one Haunt at a time.

Lingering Spirit is a handy tool that increases the life expectancy of Haunt if you’re facing multiple smaller enemies.  While it’s useless in a boss fight, the long time over which it will wait before just dissipating is a great boon to those who have a mana-intensive setup and use Haunt as well.  Definitely something to bring along for party play.

Grasping Spirit (98 Mana): Target enemy (or the nearest enemy in the targeted direction) is haunted by a spirit for 12 seconds that deals 46% weapon damage as Arcane damage each second and Slows its movement by 60%.  If the enemy dies before the spirit fades, the spirit will move up to 10 yards to another enemy and resume dealing damage.  You can only have one Haunt at a time.

The preferred form of Haunt for use against bosses (when Consuming Spirit isn’t needed), Grasping Spirit lets Haunt double as a control effect, and even when you’re dealing with groups can be fun- just tell your melee allies to watch out for the Haunt swirls.  Against a boss, this serves a dual purpose that keeps your foe from catching up and continually hands out damage at the same time- which frees up one of your other skill slots for something else you want handy.

Draining Spirit (98 Mana): Target enemy (or the nearest enemy in the targeted direction) is haunted by a spirit for 12 seconds that deals 46% weapon damage as Arcane damage each second and restores your Mana by 10.5 every second.  If the enemy dies before the spirit fades, the spirit will move up to 10 yards to another enemy and resume dealing damage and generating Mana.  You can only have one Haunt at a time.

Draining Spirit is the partner of Lingering Spirit- where Lingering Spirit saves you Mana by reducing the frequency you recast Haunt with, Draining Spirit restores your Mana while your Haunt is active.  The choice between the two really hinges on what you’re fighting- if you’re making your way through an area and dealing with clusters of mobs, Lingering Spirit is going to be the better savings, but if you’re fighting a few powerful foes, Draining Spirit is going to be by far the better deal, Mana-wise.