Hmm. I didn't read it that way. Give up an action to issue a command like "Attack goblin 2.". Until goblin 2 dies, animal keeps attacking goblin 2. 1 action. Multiple rounds. As ranger gets better, bonus action is all that's required. Made sense to me. Animals are not easy to boss around in combat.
From the PHB:
Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower ...
Add your proficiency bonus to the beast’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals the hit point number in its stat block or four times your ranger level, whichever is higher.
It takes its turn on your initiative. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you).
You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, or Help action. If you don't issue a command, the beast takes the Dodge action. Once you have the Extra Attack feature, you can make one weapon attack yourself when you command the beast to take the Attack action.Seems pretty clear to me. They even make the point that once you can attack twice, you can take one attack and the beast can take the other attack. But like I said, WotC changed the Ranger recently. Beasts can attack on the Ranger's Bonus Action now, which is way better. But that was after early access started. There is even an interview, where Larian (I forget who) stated they were working with WotC to make changes to the Ranger. That WotC liked the changes Larian was making. Obviously WotC went a different direction with their upgrades. I actually prefer the new P&P version over Larians, but Larians is a lot better than the PHB version.
