When pets were finally added to Diablo 4, a lot of players were excited to have a small companion tagging along through Sanctuary. Pets don't just follow you around—they automatically pick up gold and crafting materials, which already makes them more useful than a pure cosmetic. But after the initial excitement faded, many people started feeling that the system stops just short of being something great
Diablo 4 Items. The idea is promising, yet the actual gameplay impact is so limited that players are wondering why pets couldn't play a deeper role in item management or long-term progression instead of simply acting as little vacuum cleaners.
Right now, pets are strictly non-combat helpers. Monsters can't target them, they don't deal damage, and they don't apply any kind of debuff. Their job is to grab gold, herbs, ores, gem fragments, basic crafting components, and things like Aberrant Cinders, while leaving legendaries and other important items for the player to pick up. This avoids any balance issues, but it also makes pets feel pretty barebones—especially in a genre where other ARPGs have allowed pets to do a lot more. Players who hoped for an actual sidekick rather than a background utility tool have expressed disappointment.
How pets are unlocked also shapes expectations. The system starts with a short quest in Kyovashad called "Faithful Companion." Once you finish it, you unlock your first pet and gain access to the wardrobe's pet tab. From there, you can swap between pets you've unlocked, most of which come from cosmetic bundles or special editions. The catch is that every pet behaves exactly the same way no matter how it looks. Because of that, some players feel the system leans too heavily on cosmetics without offering gameplay depth to match the spotlight pets get in marketing.
A lot of the frustration comes from comparing Diablo 4's pets to those in other ARPGs. Torchlight's pets could carry items, provide extra storage, and even go back to town to sell junk while you kept fighting. Other games introduced pets that could offer small buffs or minor damage without stepping on the main build. Diablo fans often bring these examples up when asking Blizzard for more features—like giving pets adjustable loot settings, minor stash access, or the ability to run items back to town. None of these ideas would affect combat balance, but they would make pets feel like a genuine extension of the player's toolkit.
Some players also suggest tying pets to account-wide progression. Not in a way that turns them into actual summons, but in small, practical bonuses: a bigger pickup radius, the ability to grab more item types, or a way to prioritize specific materials. Others imagine cosmetic-plus progression where using a pet over a season unlocks new idle animations or tiny functional perks. The point isn't to make pets strong—just to make them feel like they grow with the account.
Of course, there's an obvious concern: Blizzard can't make pets too influential or else paid cosmetics might start drifting toward pay-to-win territory
diablo 4 gear buy. The community understands this, which is why most of the popular suggestions are focused on comfort, not power. People want pets to matter in a satisfying way, without creating advantages that depend on spending money.
The push for better pets is really a push for deeper systems across Diablo 4. ARPGs shine when their mechanics evolve, overlap, and reward time invested. Pets already reduce a lot of repetitive clicking, which is great during long farming sessions. But many players hope future updates will take the idea further—letting pets help with item flow, respond to player preferences, and feel like companions with a bit of personality and progression, even if they never deal a single point of damage.
Comments