In Diablo 4, there are various activities that you can do with other players. However, experts believe that it is not worth it – in some cases, group play is even penalized.
Basically, the group play aspect of Diablo 4 has been criticized since its release. As early as August 2023, players said: Diablo 4 is the loneliest multiplayer game they have ever encountered – despite the open, shared world. The lack of social features in particular is often discussed.
In YouTube videos, two experts now talk about how group play is rarely worth it. In their opinion, one endgame activity in particular needs to be revised to make it better for groups.
What activity is it about? Diablo expert Rob2628 reacts in a YouTube video to content creator Rhykker’s comments on group play in Diablo 4. A big topic is the Pit – the new endgame activity that came into the game with Season 4.
Diablo 4 Season 4 “Loot Reborn” in the gameplay trailer
More videos
Autoplay
Fewer mats because you play with friends
What do the experts criticize? Rob says in the video that group play is “punished like crazy” and is simply not worth it. You don’t even want to go into the activity with your friends. Rhykker notes that group play in the pit is not encouraged and is a deterrent.
This is mainly due to the few materials that the players in the group receive as a reward at the end. You need the special mats from the pit for the two crafting systems Tempering and Masterworking in Diablo 4.
In concrete terms, this means that one player gets all the mats, while all the others only get half as much. You would therefore have to take turns opening the pit. It is more efficient to simply do the activity alone.
In addition, it’s not worth doing pit runs in a group when it comes to speed and difficulty, says Rob. In fact, it’s actually harder to play in a group. Each player makes the run harder. And splitting up on the levels to get through them faster is even less useful, as there’s usually only one way to go.
What would be a solution? Rob notes that when the pit is opened, players should be asked if they want to contribute three rune shards. If they click “yes”, they will also receive the full mats at the end. In his opinion, that’s fair.
In the video, Rhykker notes that in Diablo 3, only one key was needed to open a Rift. People then wanted to get as many “free Rift runs as possible”. The developers then introduced a requirement for each participant to have a key. Rob says that this could also come in Diablo 4.
Diablo 4 is “multiplayer-unfriendly”
What do other players say about the group game? In the comments under the YouTube video, “lil—-lil” refers to the missing social features: “Right now, the ONLY way to play in groups is to shout in the trade channel.” And “davidblanche3713” says: “For people who like to play with their friends or even in a clan community, Diablo 4 has become very ‘soloplay’.”
The topic is also being addressed on Reddit. “PlutoISaPlanet” writes in his post:
It’s unbelievable how multiplayer unfriendly this game is.
Why are the rewards in the pit halved just because the initiator made this trivial contribution of 3 [Runenscherben] done? Remember the Greater Rifts in Diablo 3 where everyone needed the currency to enter? […] This game is a collection of hundreds of people playing a single player game.
In Diablo Immortal, every dungeon entrance has a group finder. This damn mobile game encourages dungeon runs in a hundred ways, like [Diablo 4] does not do. […]
It’s even difficult to invite random players into groups in the open world. Press W over their character while they’re dashing and teleporting, and then there’s no indication if you just missed them, or if they’re already in a group, or have other crossplay settings, or who knows what else.
Do you often play in a group or are you more of a solo player? Do you go into the pit with your friends or do you also think that it’s not worth it? Feel free to leave us your opinion in the comments.
Some players complain not only about the mats they get – or rather don’t get – in the group play in the pit, but above all about the most annoying enemies they encounter there. They want to leave the endgame activity as soon as they see the enemies in the pit. And these are not the bosses.