Summons/pets
The player commands a persistent or repeatedly-cast ally creature — a skeleton, a spirit wolf, a golem — that fights alongside them, acting semi-autonomously or under direct command. Diablo III's Necromancer skeleton army and Witch Doctor pets, alongside Path of Exile's minion-focused builds, turn 'summon and manage an army' into an entire distinct playstyle separate from directly dealing damage yourself. Designers use summons to enable a pet-focused build archetype that plays fundamentally differently (positioning and managing allies rather than personal combat), to add visual spectacle and scale to combat, and to create build depth around summon quantity, quality, and buffing rather than personal stats. Key decisions: summon cap and resummon cost (unlimited free summons trivialize risk; expensive resummons punish losses), AI behavior and whether the player can issue direct commands, whether summons scale with the player's own stats or have independent gear/leveling, and visual clarity in chaotic fights with many summons on screen. Pitfall: summon builds that reduce the player to a passive spectator (cast once, watch the AI fight) can feel disengaged compared to active combat styles — the best summon systems keep the player actively managing positioning, buffs, or resummon timing. A core design split is temporary versus permanent: short-lived summons cast per-fight versus persistent pets that follow, level, and can die — each pulling the fantasy in a different direction.
- Dev effort: Medium
- Timing: Real-time or turn-based
- Common in: arpg