I tried liking Zombie Dogs. I really did. I used them through Normal and Nightmare, and even outfitted myself with Jungle Fortitude and Zombie Handler for an extra Dog and 20% more Dog defense. I also had a Templar and Gargantuan at my side, helping to pick up the slack when the dogs couldn't keep up.
There were some rough patches where the dogs were less than useful, but I struggled forward and eventually defeated Diablo in Nightmare. My build was more or less this. I mostly lobbed Firebombs and blew Poison Darts at stuff while my vast army of dudes kept stuff off of me. It worked, sorta.
Enter Hell difficulty. My dogs die in an encounter with more than 3 normal mobs. In a champ/boss pack, they just explode instantly. I cannot even envision a gearing/skill strategy which might make a 4 Zombie Dog soloing build at all useful in anything above NM difficulty.
There were some rough patches where the dogs were less than useful, but I struggled forward and eventually defeated Diablo in Nightmare. My build was more or less this. I mostly lobbed Firebombs and blew Poison Darts at stuff while my vast army of dudes kept stuff off of me. It worked, sorta.
Enter Hell difficulty. My dogs die in an encounter with more than 3 normal mobs. In a champ/boss pack, they just explode instantly. I cannot even envision a gearing/skill strategy which might make a 4 Zombie Dog soloing build at all useful in anything above NM difficulty.