The issue is not lack of damage output. You have to spend an amount of points separately to keep each being reasonably alive. Four pets means up to about 160 points. No other build strategy is this skill demanding defensive wise. If you have all these 160 points on a single character, you are hardcore mode viable. These extra pet skills from gear used to balance it out. Now having decent pets means you are guaranteed frail.
Pets were not balanced around abusing gear swapping for excess skill points.
To suggest that this exploit was necessary for pets to be viable is just absurd.
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Well, if you of all find it really an exploit then fix it for “+ all skills” too. Unbalanced but at least consistent…
What about + all skills?
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Swapping “+ pet skill” un-summon
Swapping “+ all skills” does not
You may want to check that again 
Pseudo-pets like Blade Spirit do get unsummoned
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if you wear for example Ravager’s Dreadgaze, summon a Hellhound or a Familiar and then unequip the helmet, the pet does not unsummon
Can confirm this happens with Mogdrogen’s Ardor as well.
Tested for Occultist and Shaman pets when I upgraded. Can´t confirm right now cause I deleted all pet builds. Using “exploit” was still very challenging, gave up them now. Pets turned paper tiger.
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Using the snapshot exploit is not necessary at all to have a successful pet build. Even I who has no clue about building and optimizing a pet build managed to kill Ravager with my Double Familiar Conjurer
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Indeed, I remembered it clearly desummoning the pet, it being either pseudo or an actual pet, wtf.
Btw Maya’s making tons of shredding pet builds, the fact you think you need to max every single pet of the class tells me you’re just not building right.
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Maybe. I actually make a point of never dying, kiting, using potions, farming and all other stuff I find actual “exploits”. Maybe that’s what’s making my build “wrong”.
In all honesty I have no idea what this means. Are you saying things like using potions or your character dying, or dodging/kiting enemy attacks is an “exploit?”
TIL anything other than “bite yer pillow, I’m goin’ in dry” facetanking, is an exploit. Who knew?
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The other day I got careless while fighting Zaria the Carver and died. Little did I know that getting my face scorched off with a red lightning bolt was actually me exploiting the game mechanics! :o
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Yes and no. Technically an exploit is something not intended by design. Personally I think using all that makes for either ridiculously powerful or cowardly playthroughs; thus “exploits”. I like the challenge of making builds which do not lean on these crutches. Funny enough I found pet gear switch to be within honor code. Again, this is personal - play as you see fit & fun.
Well, you have to live with the notion my toon is so much smartly built as to win it like that.
DG reaper went down too with the LA and PB changes. It could barely stay up by sacrificing defenses to ensure its highest possible damage which is still low, via dumping points into all SS and BH line, not to mention that its impossible to get all the needed points for the damage now while still pumping some into PB and Call of the Grave. Its just not possible. I decided some time ago to try a different approach since the set favors cdr and cd reduction to BH amd went for good old Oppressor, dual dg blades and dg blade + contagion offhand. These were my results.
I have also tried in the current patch with call of the grave instead of ascension in the hope of seeing some difference and i only obtained a hair pulled 7.14 at best (can upload the video if needed as proof).
Overall reaper, especially DG one suffered a lot, oppressor is simply bad despite the cdr, the damage is simply not there, and call of the grave didnt really do anything for neither of the setups, on the contrary it made them more clunky since its an extra button added.
As a conclusion I strongly believe BH needs to take both weapons damage on dual wield setups and i also believe more resistance reduction/damage is needed.
P. S. When i fought Aleksandr in crucible (therefor buffed) it felt like i was trying ravager, the kill itself take about 20-30 seconds.
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You definitely played Hardcore.