I know a lot of people struggle with this role in ranked so as a high elo player, I will share some tips here on how to win as this role.
Common sense:
- Never control N1. I've seen many witches accidentally screw over themselves and mafia by randomly controlling a player N1. Every time I see a witch die to a veteran N1, I just want to facepalm.
- Don't claim lookout unless caught. I don't know why witches think they can fake lookout. Just don't do this unless an investigator finds you.
- Don't randomly control someone when mafia is about to get majority, or if evils have the same number of votes as town. You can control the jailor claim, or control someone you're sure is town, but when in doubt, just stay home or pick another target like the outed jailor.
- If you control the jailor, make sure to do it into either yourself or a confirmed town member. You don't want to accidentally make the jailor execute another evil.
- Don't control "TK" claims unless you're absolutely sure of their exact role.
- You can be active during the day in the beginning of the game, but make sure you are passive once town loses majority. Obviously don't side against evils, but also don't say stuff like "evils don't vote" or generally anything that might draw unwanted attention to yourself.
What to claim:
- Town Protective: This works especially well if you stay home on N1, as you have an excuse as to why you didn't visit the jailor, and when you are seen by LO on N2, town is less likely to think you're witch as you have been "witched". Alternatively, you can control the jailor on both nights and blend in with the real TPs. A big mistake I see many witches making is that they randomly control someone N1, and then they control the jailor N2. It looks really obvious when you "conveniently" failed to visit the jailor on N1 as "TP".
- Lookout: Only do this claim if you are good at guessing TPs, there is no real LO, or you have been caught by an investigator. If you are caught by an investigator, this is where not controlling anyone becomes really useful. You can claim witched LO yourself, which will not only clear yourself of suspicion but also throw suspicion onto the investigator for checking a "witched" player.
- Town Killing: I don't really recommend this claim but if you are playing with noobs, the real TK might actually cc your claim. Don't expect this to work with smarter players though. Honestly, though, if the real TKs are dumb enough to cc TK, you might as well just vote them up in VFR and they'll probably out themselves instead of fake-claiming. And besides, you'd want to have a chance to stop the jailor from executing, and it looks really suspicious when the lookout catches a "Town Killing" visiting the jailor N2.
Who to control:
- Vigilantes: If there is an outed vigi, you should always control them. If you think there is a BG in the game, witching them into the jailor or TP/LO request might be a good idea. Otherwise, you should pick another confirmed townie, as if TP is doctor and you shoot the jailor, all that'll do is confirm the doctor as a legit doc. If you are really unsure, you can never go wrong with just witching the vigilante into themselves. As a bonus, you can buy yourself a day by claiming "dying vigi" if you are really in a pinch.
- Escorts: An escort is probably the second most useful townie to control besides outed vigilantes. With an escort, you can RB the jailor while stopping the escort from RB'ing evils, essentially killing 2 birds with one stone. As a bonus, you will most likely not get caught by LO doing this strategy as the LO will just see the witched escort visiting the jailor.
- Jailor: If there is no escort claim, you can always control the jailor yourself. Make sure you have a TP or LO claim ready, however, or any real LOs will catch you.
- Town Protectives: Generally, it's a better idea to just control the jailor, but sometimes it's fine to sacrifice an evil to the jailor to get rid of the jailor a day sooner. If you found the mafia already, you can coordinate with them to witch the TPs off jailor and give mafia a clear shot. It's usually not a good idea to witch TP if none have died, however, as there can easily be multiple. In some cases though, you can try controlling a known BG into possible vigilante targets, which will get rid of 2 powerful town roles for free.
Who to look out for:
- Transporters: This role is the most effective counter to your role. You should try to get transporters killed as soon as possible, as they can stop you from controlling the jailor or any outed vigilantes.
- Veterans: This role is probably the biggest threat to you, and it is definitely the role that most witches die to. Watch out for anyone who says something that sounds like a vet bait d1. Common phrases include "party at my house", "d1 vet bait", and "dont visit me". Those should usually be pretty easy to spot, but make sure you don't forget who the vet baiters are in the middle of the match and accidentally visit a veteran. Also, beware of "vigilantes" who seem all too eager to out themselves. The rule of thumb for me is that I never control anyone who claims vigilante unless they've been proven. Even if they're not a veteran, vigilante is a common fake claim for mafia killing roles, and the mafia would probably be pretty annoyed if you went ahead and disrupted their killing patterns.
- Silent Jailor: If the jailor is not doing the jailor meta, then your usefulness as witch has immediately decreased by a lot and there's no guarantee that you will be able to lynch them before they execute you even when evils have majority.
- Lookouts: Besides transporter, LO is the only other counter to witch controlling jailor to stop them from executing. I've already mentioned several counters to LO, but the general rule of thumb is that you should always witch an escort into the jailor if one is available, and if you absolutely have to visit the jailor yourself, make sure to make a plausible TP or LO will.