Are pet builds the game's easy mode?

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Both of you cool it or the thread will be closed. You’ve already been warned twice already.

As a member of this community for 10 years now and with hundreds of hours played I think I can objectively and rightfully say that I got basically no clue about pet builds.
Whenever I try to make a pet build I usually stop around level 30/40ish on Veteran and sometimes Elite, usually out of frustration.

So what can I contribute. The feedback of someone who has experience with building a char but just cant get a pet build going.

  1. It has a super weird power curve.
    In the earlier stages of the game they are strong especially if maxed. They will rarely die except in bossfights. In the mid stages they still dont die but also dont do much damage. Skeletons are insanely good early on if maxed iff their base stats and numbers alone. On veteran you can make it to act 2 or 3 without having to actually play the game. After that they might as well be non-persistent combat pets like Wind Devil because you recast them constantly anyway. I have tried quite a few builds that fell off after their first powerspike but damn, pets are the worst (for me).
    I obviously cant judge lategame but given the sheer amount of aoe-damage, shot guns (I still think getting hit by multiple instances of a spell should have dimishing return) and ground hazards it feels like having untargetabeable or very tanky few pets is better than having a lot. Also full healing Salazar within 2 second of him dropping seal is fun. I exaggerate but still.

  2. Itemization is … daunting
    First you need to actually find pet items. Of all “damage” types those felt the most rare but might be anecdotal. Then you need to find it on items that suit you. Then it needs to be the stats you need and want. +25% fire damage to all pets is fun unless you play necromancer/shaman. If you have more than one pet it also feels like you need to itemize for 10 different stats to optimize your dmg performance because everyone has different dmg types and often they have secondary types rop. And we didnt even get to defense yet. And if you want to get cute you can even try to find items that make both you and your pet better. Play a selffound pet char. It will be annoyong and painful and tedious unless you know very well what you are doing and are a bit lucky with drops. It might still be good but its in my opinion far from easy mode.

  3. aggro
    I dont get how pet aggro works. I send some pets to enemies while standing almost a screen away from them and as soon as monsters notice my pets they rush straight past them to me. Usually. Not always.
    I get some pets can ‘increase threat’ and while noticeable at times I still dont get how any of this works. Also leash range of pets feels arbitrary.

I can totally see how a properly built pet char can breeze through the game and even endgame content but getting to that point requires knowledge and dedication that goes beyond what other builds require.

Edit: to the two in here leading the discussion. If it helps your way of arguing, I can tell that I dont even know what point of either of you are arguing anymore. Try to look back at what you have written so far and summarize it for each other. You might be closer to each other’s opinion than you think.

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This! After 86 posts, we have the perfect one!

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Y’all got really mind broken by the lockdown i see :smile:

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Obligatory “when you find out your lifestyle is called quarantine”

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It depends on the content. Generally speaking, based on my own experience with 837 hours played:

Crucible: No, pets are not easier.
SR: Yes, pets are easier.
Leveling: Yes, pets are easier.
Dungeons: Yes, pets are easier.

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