Diablo 4 multiplayer is not only easy to set up but provides a solid experience boost too. Much like the Diablos of the past, Diablo 4 encourages you to play with other people. Players will even pop up from time to time while you're out exploring or completing world events. You can invite them on the spot or add them as a friend to group up later.
Each class can synergize with the other, making even the most overwhelming demon hordes a mere distraction. Put a geared-up Barbarian and a squishy Sorcerer into a group and the worst bosses will crumble.
Your friends don't have to be on the same platform—or even in the same region—because Diablo 4 supports cross-play for every platform it's available on. The other bit of good news is that cross-progression is also available, provided you use the same Battle.net account for every platform.
How to group up for co-op in Diablo 4
You can invite people to your party for co-op after completing the prologue in Diablo 4. You're able to start inviting other players to your party as soon as you've completed the quest Missing Pieces when you reach Kyovashad with Lorath. Here's all the steps to group up with your friends, regardless of what platform you're all playing on:
- Press O to open the social tab or Esc to find the social tab in the top bar
- If you need to add a friend first, click "Add a Friend" at the bottom and type their BattleTag (e.g. PCGamer#1993)
- Click a friend in the list and then select "Invite to Party"
- If you're receiving a party invite from a friend, be prepared to be transfered to their world instance after accepting
- You can invite non-friend players around you to a party by hovering over them, holding E to open the emote wheel, and selecting "Invite To Party"
Once your friend accepts the invite, they will join your party but remain where they were in the world. Remember that you can play with friends across all platforms as Diablo 4 does have cross-play. Sadly, only console players get couch co-op at this time.
You can have up to four players in a group at one time.
How to party chat
You can use text chat or the native, cross-platform voice chat to talk with friends in Diablo 4.
To text chat, press Enter to open the chat window and then hit Tab to cycle through chat channels until you find the party chat, which has blue text by default.
To use voice chat, open your social menu with O again and press the button in the top left of the screen that says "Join party chat." You can change your voice chat from the default Push To Talk to Open Mic as well as your audio input and output devices in the "sound" section of the options menu. Push To Talk is mapped to the ~ key by default but can be changed in the "controls" section of the options menu. You can also toggle cross-network communication and play in the "social" section of the options menu.
Co-op quest progress
Co-op campaign progress is pretty easy to manage in Diablo 4, though remember that your party leader's world state is the one that will be used. You can travel around the open world separate from your party, but certain story quests and instances like strongholds will require all members to be present and alive to progress.
And as long as you're in a group, you'll get a 10% xp boost from killing monsters. XP gains are shared between you and your party, but loot remains individual to you. You can give items to friends either by dropping them on the ground (drag and drop from your inventory) or by inviting them to a trade.
Side quests do not share progress with party members, however. This means you can split up to do your own thing but also means that if you've already accepted a quest and don't remember where you got it then your friend may be out of luck until they find it on their own.
How cross-progression works
Cross-progression is possible in Diablo 4 if you use the same Battle.net account regardless of what platforms you're playing on. All data is uploaded and saved to Battle.net, meaning you can hop between your PS5 and PC whenever you like.
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