Changes

ADVERTISEMENT
From Diablo Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Summon Zombie Dogs

5,832 bytes added, 23:06, 6 June 2012
no edit summary
[[File:IconSummonZombieDog.png|left]][[File:wd-mongrel1.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Good dogs.]]'''Summon Zombie DogDogs''' is a tier I Defensive [[Witch Doctor skill]] in the unlocked at [[Zombie Skill Treeclvl|level]], which 4. It summons several zombie dogs to do , commonly known as "mongrels" which [[tank]] for the Witch Doctor's bidding.The dogs fight and damage enemies, but their damage is quite low, making their main function that of tanks or distractions. The best way to deal damage with them is via the [[Sacrifice]] skill, which detonates all of the dogs, dealing potentially enormous damage, when stacked with other skills and passives.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/zombie-dogs-sacrifice-possibly-best-burst-aoe-damage-in-the-game]
At the time of Diablo III's launch, the hit points and defense of Mongrels and other Witch Doctor [[pets]] did not scale up adequately, making them useless by Hell difficulty, since any monster would kill them in a second. Fans requested much improved minions, a much reduced cooldown, or both, and Blizzard admitted that the pets were not functioning as planned at higher levels and said they would look into adjusting their value in a future balance patch.
<br><br>__TOC__
==Background==
{{Skillbox|game= Diablo III|portrait= Wd-mongrel3.jpg<!-- |portrait-width= -->|active= Active|name= Summon Zombie Dog|ranks= 5|user= Witch Doctor|tree= Zombie|description= Summon 1 level 12 [[zombie dog]] to aid you. Can Dogs have up good foot speed and are fearless, if not very damaging with their hand to X zombie dogs at a timehand combat.|type= Summon|quantity= Cast|effect= Target|school= Magical|resource= Health|cost= 10 health|cast-time= Unknown|cooldown= Unknown|synergies= Unknown}}The Witch Doctor summons forth vicious undead lackeys to do his biddingSacrifice deals far more damage than the mongrels ever will.
They are also useful as tanks or distractions, detaining monsters in combat and allowing the Witch Doctor to get in free shots at stationary enemy targets.
 
 
==Skill Rune Effects==
Refer to the [[Summon Zombie Dogs rune effects]] page for thorough descriptions of all five rune effects in this skill, including screenshots, videos, and strategy tips.
{{skill description header}}
<skill subcat="Pet" class="WitchDoctor">Summon Zombie Dogs</skill>
<skill class="WitchDoctor" rune="Rabid Dogs">Summon Zombie Dogs</skill>
<skill class="WitchDoctor" rune="Final Gift">Summon Zombie Dogs</skill>
<skill class="WitchDoctor" rune="Life Link">Summon Zombie Dogs</skill>
<skill class="WitchDoctor" rune="Burning Dogs">Summon Zombie Dogs</skill>
<skill class="WitchDoctor" rune="Leeching Beasts">Summon Zombie Dogs</skill>
==Skill Design==
[[File:WdSummon-Zombie-Dog-mongrel1allruned.jpg|left300px|thumb|Two mongrelsAll versions of the Dog, including un-[[rune]]d.]]Summon Zombie Dog Dogs is the first summoning [[skill in the Zombie Skill Tree]] most Witch Doctors will ever use, and is forms the backbone of early witch doctors specializing in this treeWitch Doctor strategy. They aren't The dogs are not very strong individually, but at higher levels and with other skills either in this treegiving or taking damage, but they can swarm and destroy tough enemies with ease. It appears this skill costs [[Health]] instead of manaare effective meat shields, possibly to enforce allowing the player Witch Doctor to use his dogs wisely at earlier levelsattack spells from the back row. Earlier versions of this skill allowed  Players assumed the dogs to would be enchanted with viable tanks or even weapons throughout the game, but shortly after Diablo III's launch it was discovered that Mongrels and [[Skull of FlameGargantuan]] s were underpowered and [[Locust Swarm]], giving fire damage or poison damage, respectivelyhad far too few hit points to survive more than a few seconds on higher difficulty levels. As a result all early Witch Doctors in Hell and Inferno were forced to play petless builds. Blizzard vowed to adjust this unfortunate reality in a patch.
This idea was scrapped, since the hassle of having attack skills enchant mongrels turned out to be a bother. What will the player want to enchant their dogs with, fire or poison? There weren't enough factors that helped the player decide. In a recent post by [[Bashiok]], he revealed that this idea will probably be turned into either passives or skill rune effects.
==Skill Rank TableSynergies==(legend (A) The following [[Witch Doctor passives]] provide a benefit to Summon Zombie Dogs, runed or not:{{skill description header}}<skill class="WitchDoctor">Circle of Life</skill><skill class="WitchDoctor">Jungle Fortitude</skill><skill class="WitchDoctor">Pierce the Veil</skill><skill class="WitchDoctor">Zombie Handler</skill><skill class= Assumed)"WitchDoctor">Fierce Loyalty</skill>
*Rank: 1/5**Summon 1 level 12 zombie dog to aid you. Can have up to 1 zombie dogs at Shortly before release, a timestrategy article on Diablo. **Health Cost: 10 health*Rank: 2/5**Summon 1 level 12 zombie dog to aid youIncGamers. Can have up to 2 zombie dogs at a timecom did some theorycrafting and revealed that Zombie Dogs + Sacrifice, when stacked with the right passives and other skills, could deal amongst the highest damage output in the entire game.**Health Cost[http: 10 health*Rank: 3/5**Summon 1 level 12 zombie dog to aid you/diablo. Can have up to 3 zombie dogs at a timeincgamers. **Health Cost: 10 health*Rank: 4com/blog/5**Summon 1 level 12 zombie dog to aid you. Can have up to 4 zombie dogs at a time. (A)**Health Cost: 10 health*Rank: 5comments/5**Summon 1 level 12 zombie dog to aid you. Can have up to 5 zombie -dogs at a time. (A)**Health Cost: 10 health-sacrifice-possibly-best-burst-aoe-damage-in-the-game]
[[Image:WdThe math was sound, and damage from 10,000-mongrel3.jpg|thumb|right|We serve 25,000% weapon damage is possible, but at least partially due to the Master..underpowered survivability of Mongrels on higher difficulty levels, this strategy was not much pursued in those early days.]]
==SynergiesDevelopment==* None known[[File:Wd-mongrel-locust.jpg|thumb|250px|Mongrel enhanced with Locusts.]]'''Summon Zombie Dogs''' debuted with [[Diablo III]] in the [[WWI 2008]] gameplay video, where the skill was in the [[Voodoo Skill Tree]] at Tier I. Summon Zombie Dog was called [[Summon Mongrel]] (as [[Mongrel]] was the original name of the Zombie dog), and mongrels could be enchanted with [[Locust Swarm]] or [[Skull of Flame]], among other spells. For [[BlizzCon 2009]], the skill was moved to the [[Zombie Skill Tree]]. By then, skill enchantments had been removed, replaced by skill rune enhancements. For a brief period of time, this skill apparently cost [[health]] instead of mana.  At [[BlizzCon 2010]], they evinced more damage and improved AI, preferring proximity to the Witch Doctor over dealing with stragglers. [[Flux]] described it like this:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-witch-doctor] <blockquote>''I saw them finish off the last zombie on screen a number of times, and I don’t recall ever having to summon new ones simply because the old ones had gotten stuck or lost around some corner of the dungeon. That speaks to their pathfinding as well, since the dungeons in this year’s Blizzcon PvM demo were made largely from narrow corridors and were quite windy and full of sharp corners and obstacles.</blockquote>
===Beta===
[[File:Wd-mongrel3.jpg|right|thumb|Witch Doctor walking two pets.]]
Skill tiers were removed shortly before the [[beta]] started in September 2011, and Summon Zombie Dogs became a level 1 skill. [[Flux]] gave it another try, and discussed the skill's function:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/witch-doctor-beta-skills-mega-report]
<blockquote>''Better known as “Mongrels,” this is the default tank for the beta, and a very effective one. The dogs don’t have a lot of killing power — all three of them on the same normal enemy is considerably slower than any Witch Doctor attack spell — but they’re not meant for damage in their base form. They’re meat shields, and they do a pretty good job of that.
<br><br>
''This skill previously worked with “one cast per dog,” so it took three casts to get all three of them out. (And you got more dogs with more skill points.) No more; now a single cast summons all three dogs, or re-summons fresh ones if your current batch are wearing out or one or more have died. It’s a full replacement cast, too; if you have two left you don’t just cast one new one to join the others; you get three new dogs.</blockquote>
==The skill system was once again overhauled for the [[Rune|Skill RuneBeta Patch 13]] Effects==* None knownin February 2012, and Summon Zombie Dogs was classified as a Defensive skill and moved to level 4.
===Previous Versions===
See the [[Witch Doctor skill archive]] for more details on previous versions of Summon Zombie Dogs (or [[Summon Mongrel]]) and other Witch Doctor skills.
===In Other Games===
Summon Zombie Dogs is the spiritual successor to [[Diablo II]]'s {{iw|Necromancer Necromancer}} skill {{iw|Raise_Skeleton Raise Skeleton}}, which is also a low-level tanking minion summoning skill.
==Development==
''Summon Zombie Dog'' was seen in every Diablo 3 game demo to date, and was iterated, renamed and moved, judging from the latest demo. The Summon Zombie Dog was called [[Summon Mongrel]] (as [[Mongrel]] was the original name of the Zombie dog), was in the Voodoo skill tree and mongrels could be enchanted with [[Locust Swarm]] or [[Skull of Flame]].
<!--<gallery>Image:Diablo_III_Logo.jpg|Skill use 1</gallery>
==Trivia==-->
<!--
==Trivia==
-->
==Media==
You Summon Zombie Dogs can find pictures be seen in action on video here:* [[Gameplay WWI2008|Gameplay: WWI 2008]]* [[Gameplay: Blizzcon 2010]] (in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery[[Arena]])* [[Video:Blizzcon 2010 Rune Effects]]* [http[Gameplay://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and picturesJuly 2011]]* [http[Skill Animations Videos#Witch Doctor Video|Video://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Mongrel Zombie Dog-specific gallery contentsAugust 2011 Witch Doctor Skill Animations]
You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/ Diablo III screenshots and pictures]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/search.php?keywords=Summon+Zombie+Dog&cat=all '''Summon Zombie Dogs''' specific gallery contents]
==Related Articles==
*[[Zombie Skill Tree]]
<gallery>
File:wd-mongrel1.jpg|Close-up of two Dogs.
File:Summon-Zombie-Dog-allruned.jpg|All versions of the Dog, including un-[[rune]]d.
File:Wd-mongrel-locust.jpg|Mongrel enhanced with Locusts.
File:Wd-mongrel3.jpg|Witch Doctor with two Dogs.
</gallery>
==References==
* [http://wwwdiablo.diiiincgamers.netcom/blog/comments/witch-doctor-gameplay-report/ BlizzCon 2008 Witch Doctor Gameplay Report]* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/full-witch-doctor-skills/ BlizzCon 2009 Full Witch Doctor Skill Trees and Stats]* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-witch-doctor BlizzCon 2010 Witch Doctor Hands-on Report]* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvp-arena-report/ BlizzCon 2010 PvP Hands-on Report]* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7960229#post7960229 Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report] — IncGamers 1st Aug 2011* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/witch-doctor-beta-skills-mega-report Witch Doctor Beta Skills Mega-report: Part One] — IncGamers 30th Sep 2011* [http://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/witch-doctor/active/ Witch Doctor Active Skills] — Blizzard's Official Diablo III Site
{{Skill navbox Diablo III|WD|defensive}}
{{Skill_navbox_zombie}}[[category:Active skills]]{{Skill_navbox}}[[category:Witch Doctor skills]][[category:Witch Doctor active skills]]