Do warlocks actually swap minions in groups or just leave one out from habit?

I have been watching a warlock friend level up and noticed the minion out while questing seems to change depending on what we are fighting, but honestly I cannot tell if that is a real decision or just muscle memory from solo play carrying over into groups.

What I have tried so far is just asking her directly, but she kind of shrugged and said she just keeps whatever is already out unless something goes wrong. That does not really answer my question though.

So here is what I do not understand: when a warlock joins a group for a dungeon, is there an actual reason to switch minions once inside, or do most people really just leave out whatever they had while questing and never bother changing it? I am not asking about which one is best, just whether swapping is something people actually do in practice or if it is more of an old habit nobody really follows anymore.

Your friend's answer is actually the practical rule, not a shrug. Swapping is real when the fight demands a specific tool, not a default habit either way.

The honest answer is I cannot tell you what the pet slot actually delivers in a pull, since I do not have mechanics confirming what minions do differently against adds versus a boss. If nothing in the pull obviously calls for a change, keeping whatever is out is the lazy-but-defensible choice.

With the merged 52-node Warlock tree in WoW Forever, I would ask which build she is running before assuming her minion choice generalizes to other warlocks. That guide only covers tree, builds, rotation, and best races as of beta build 1.60.1.69893, so any pet-related behavior in it can shift with patches.

So to your actual question: it sounds like swapping happens for her, but only situationally, not as a fixed rule either way. Worth asking her what specifically goes wrong that makes her switch, since that would actually tell you the decision point instead of guessing at it.