Blizzard details new co-op features for Diablo III's 1.0.8 patch

Blizzard is hard at work on the next major patch for its hack-and-slash loot-driven game – Diablo III. The company has detailed how it plans on improving the co-op mode of the game for the upcoming 1.0.8 patch.

Developer Wyatt Cheng admits that Diablo III's co-op is a bit problematic sometimes. He points out that while players may have fun playing with friends, it can often feel easier and more efficient to play solo. He says, "Playing solo has a number of advantages. For instance, you can choose your own route. If you're farming for something in particular (like a specific recipe), you can do it as many times as you want. And you can pause the game and attend to things in real life without making anyone wait."

While the co-op for Diablo III has many advantages, such as being able to take down major bosses faster and being able to better farm up Infernal Machine keys, it also has its disadvantages, like having to co-ordinate where you're walking and what you're attacking with your co-op buddies. If you don't have friends that play the game, however, the biggest problem comes from trying to find a group that has similar goals to your own.

Diablo III's co-op is getting new features

Some of the new features coming to the game to make it better include Matchmaking Tags, Multiplayer Bonuses, changes to monsters' health, Archon kills and combat alerts. There will also be minor additions like a private chat and the abliity to see players who are playing on the same local network.

Matchmaking tags allow you to set up a game with specific goals in mind, such as Questing, Brawling or Key Warden. The Multiplayer bonus from killing monster is boosted for every player in a game up to a maximum of 30 percent for a four-player game. Identify All is a quality-of-life feature that lets you quickly identify any unknown items you may be carrying around with you. The Archon mechanic is being reworked to also allow the extension of the Archon timer through assisted kills.

Back in January, Blizzard had released the 1.0.7 patch for Diablo III. Changes in the patch included the addition of Dueling, some class updates, additions to the crafting system, changes to the Monster Power system, changes to monster affixes and other general quality of life improvements.

The biggest thing, as you can see, is the addition of dueling. To duel another player, you need to talk to an NPC named Nek the Brawler at the inn in New Tristram. Speaking to him will take you and your party to the Scorched Chapel—a new zone designed specifically for PVP. The zone has custom geometry and features four areas: the church, the graveyard, the river and the lake. At the moment, dueling supports up to four players in a Free-For-All format, which means that you can battle with people either one-on-one, three player Free-For-All or full four-player Free-For-All.