This last part is crucial because every party member syncs up with the leader’s world progress. Moreover, you can only team up with three other players, and only one player can serve as its leader. In order to start multiplayer, you need to complete Diablo 4’s prologue and reach the city of Kyovashad. It’s a pretty simple system, but there are a few rules and restrictions. Pick the friend you want to invite and select “Invite to Party” (or “Request to Join Party” if you want to join their party instead). You can also invite friends on the other side of the game map by opening Diablo 4’s menu and navigating to the Social tab. Likewise, if someone invited you, just accept their invitation. Simply hover your cursor over the player you want to team up with (or get close to them on console), bring up the action wheel, and select “Invite to Party.” If they accept, and will be well on your way to creating a full party. While you can wander Sanctuary alone and lend a helping hand whenever you wish, Diablo 4 also has a proper multiplayer system that lets you join friends and strangers. In fact, Diablo 4 encourages gamers to randomly crash events because merely being near other players provides a 5% XP boost (plus the better you do in world events, the better loot you earn). Some of these activities, such as world bosses, are designed for multiple players, and you can help by joining in whenever you like. No matter where you go in Sanctuary, you will probably bump into other players completing their own missions and participating in world events. The silver lining is that Diablo 4 is technically an MMO, so you are always playing alongside friends and strangers. Without the connection or servers, you don’t have a game. Yes, this means you need to connect to servers via an internet connection.

For better or for worse, Diablo 4 is an always-online live-service game.

Diablo 4 cinematic explained