Since there are a number of different pet types, it seems that you can get some that are ranged, and each has a variety of skills. You can also swap pets. So while the animal I used was ill-suited to the areas we were in, it is far too early to knock the system. For example, I could use a ranged Black Widow spider and just keep poisoning and weakening them from afar.
I am suddenly a lot more comfortable with the idea of rangers.
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