Co-op rules

Good Basic Rules of Co op Gameplay

I've been playing Diablo for over a year now, and I've developed a standard of gameplay that works well for me. I believe in total fairness in the game. So, I have listed below some of the things that mean a lot to me, in the fair gameplay style.

Before the game starts:

First off, talk to the people you intend to play with. Communication is the first rule of order. A few minutes before going into a game means no confusion as to who is legit, who is a purist, who runs what cheat programs. I play all styles. There are times I may run a hack, but NEVER without asking my partners first.
Respect! As above, I never run No Drops at Death.dat or any other dat without first telling my partners and making sure they do not mind. Some people do mind, very much!!
Town square is the community property spot. Don't put your personal stuff from your inventory there, pick an out of the way spot so that there is no doubts that it is personal stuff and not game spoils.
NEVER touch someone else's personal stuff without asking. Don't linger by it as if you're longing for it, that really makes some people nervous!
If you have tons of cash, drop some in town and by Adria's as a slush fund for others to use that may not have as much cash as you do and let your partners know it's there for the use of the group as needed.
Check Wirt, Griz and Adria for items, elixirs, books and let the group know what is offered in case someone can use something offered to you.

Into the Dungeons:

Wait till all the party is down and go as a team. Nothing is more annoying than one person striking out, stirring up the monsters before everybody is down and their manashields (if necessary) are up.
Everybody wants a piece of the action, don't head off in search of Laz's tomb or Gorash or other known bosses while the others fight the good fight. If you prefer to have all the glory yourself, then play alone, this is co-op!!!!
During the battles if you hear the *ding* of an amulet or ring, if you find it let the group know you found it and picked it up. Jewelry is most sought after and nobody likes a jewelry hog!
NEVER hit cauldrons in multi-play. It's bad form, and can cause other players to lose attributes. NEVER touch a Tainted Shrine.
Shrines in the lower levels are shared, the character that benefits the most from that shrine gets the use of it.
Picking up the cash and magical items to carry is fine, as long as you intend to share them by dropping in town square when you go up.
If someone says they need to go up to town because their pack is full, if you have room in yours, take some of the stuff so that the group can continue on for a bit.
We usually go up as soon as either someone needs more potions, repairs or if we can't carry anymore items, and then as a courtesy a portal is thrown in a safe area and all goes up.
Once up, repairs are made, potions bought, items ID's and the gold left is dropped for the group.
All items are dropped in town square. The exception to this is something so rare and wonderful that having lag eat it would be nuts! In this case the person with the great item says what it is and offers it to the person in the group who can use it the most. i.e.: Windforce goes to the Rogue in the group for first dibs no matter WHO found it. Dreamflange to the Sorcerer, really great swords or armor to the Warrior, if they don't want it, then dickering begins on who might want it for one of their other characters, sometimes trades are made. One possible exception to this would be a great ring or amulet like obsidian ring of zodiac, that any character could benefit from. It's been my experience when something like this type of item is found the person that keeps it offers up a nice ring or amulet that the Ob/zd replaced. We go down to fight as a group and we split stuff equally as a group.
Perhaps on one of the trips up Gris offers me an Awesome plate of Sorcery, which is better than my Awesome plate of the Stars because I use magic a lot. If I can afford it, I buy it and offer my old plate to whoever needs it most. If I cannot afford it, but I want it really bad, I say so, and never once has the folks I played with not said "Hey then, lets pool our gold!!! Gold is easy to get and you'd do it for us." Same thing with books for Sorcerers at Adrias (of course any respectable Sorc would not wear out his welcome on this one ;)
Speaking of books, books found in the game go first dibs to the Sorcerer, if he cannot read, they are offered to whoever can.
Elixirs found are given to the one that can use the most. i.e.: Strength to Warriors, Dex to Rogues, Magic to Sorcerers.
A plan of action for the major quests like Laz and Big D. Don't just rush in and do it, work as a team.
We usually maze Diablo, if we are going for dots, so that the rest of the level can be cleared. (trap him by luring him into the maze after it is cleared.)
The person with the dot already (if there is one) goes up to hold the game.
Sorcerers always use holy bolt on Diablo so that others don't take damage.
We decide as a group how we want to kill him. It's all teamwork and we always try to let the person getting his virgin dot do the killing, even if that person has to restart again and again, we can maze him again and again, hehehe.
After the game, when all is back in town square, the spoils are looked at, things are tried on for size (woohoo...love to see those Rogues flash when they change armor) and everybody gets what goodies they want, the rest is sold and the money split equally between all. But hey, if you were the beneficiary of some great item, or they pooled their gold to get you that bow you wanted, or bought you a bunch of books, be a lady or gentleman and decline the gold by saying that you feel like you got more than your share already, trust me, they will remember your fairness next time.

Some general Character stuff:

For Sorcerers ~~~~~~

Holy bolt on Diablo, that way you do lots of damage but not to your companions
Be generous with the town portals, after all it costs you practically nothing to cast one
Keep an eye out for your fellow adventurers, especially those who need a bit of help and stone for them when you can but don't over do it. Some people prefer not to be a walking golem for the mages.
Use golem carefully, especially when in Hell/Hell as it stirs up hoards of monsters at one time on occasion.
Chain lightning is just not a player friendly spell and should be avoided unless you are clearing the path when your adventurers have died and need to get their stuff or you clear it ahead of time with them and they allow you a room here and there for experience because you're so nice and stone stuff for them.
Apoc is one of those spells that most people just really dislike in multiplay. It stirs up a lot of monsters in Hell difficulty and it is so powerful in normal and nightmare difficulties that most feel it to unbalance the game. People who use Apoc are considered experience point hogs! It has a bad reputation because of hackers that use staffs with 255 charges and go into games and wipe out whole levels ahead of you.
Guardians are easily avoided by the melee characters so I use those frequently on closed type rooms where it will only stir up the one room of monsters.

For Rogues~~~

Those arrows sure do sting. Try to aim in a different direction then your partners.
Try to use your guided missiles to take out the roving monsters, like witches, that you can pinpoint and take out from afar.
If you must fire into the area where you know your companions are, aim for the fringes of the pack of monsters and try to time your firing so that you are not firing extra arrows after the monster dies.
Align yourself on one side of the wall while going down hallways, and if the mages and warriors and other rogues get ahead of you, a gentle reminder that they are in your line of fire usually works wonders.
Teleport works well on big rooms, just teleport to the other side where you have a better line of fire, which also draws off some of the monsters from the mages and warriors, careful though, if you are not a "melee rogue" and do not have the AC to withstand the close contact with the bad guys. (melee rogue: has ac over 200 and likes close combat)
If you pay attention and see the monsters info highlighted, chances are you will not hit a character, unless you continue to shoot when that monster is dead.
Aim for the hot spot of the monster (the crotch area) it's amazing how much damage it seems to do.

For Warriors~~~

Not much you can do that's bad. Warriors are the backbone of the hunt.
The main thing that I would say is to have patience and not rush ahead of your companions.
Don't count on your Sorcerer friend to heal you although he will, when he isn't getting beat up by monsters, most times.
If you are a telekill warrior (one that uses teleport to pop in behind monsters and kill them quickly) try to stay out of the line of fire from the Mages and Rogues, when you can and when you can't ... well Drink those Red Koolaids!
Don't rush in and stir up so many bad guys that your companions who have much less AC than you can not handle it. Remember every character is not as Buff as you!!
And don't brag about your exploits with Gillian ... we are jealous.

In my opinion, it mostly boils down to respect and communication. I play with a group of people often and we play so well together that the rules are unspoken and game play is a great joy. I have learned that when I create a game and invite new people into it, to tell them upfront how I play, especially the share all thing, and try to lead by example. When I join others' games, I naturally play by their standards. It's all about having fun, and having some good times to remember.

Good Basic Rules of Co op Gameplay

I've been playing Diablo for over a year now, and I've developed a standard of gameplay that works well for me. I believe in total fairness in the game. So, I have listed below some of the things that mean a lot to me, in the fair gameplay style.

Before the game starts:

Respect! As above, I never run No Drops at Death.dat or any other dat without first telling my partners and making sure they do not mind. Some people do mind, very much!!

Town square is the community property spot. Don't put your personal stuff from your inventory there, pick an out of the way spot so that there is no doubts that it is personal stuff and not game spoils.

NEVER touch someone else's personal stuff without asking. Don't linger by it as if you're longing for it, that really makes some people nervous!

If you have tons of cash, drop some in town and by Adria's as a slush fund for others to use that may not have as much cash as you do and let your partners know it's there for the use of the group as needed.

Check Wirt, Griz and Adria for items, elixirs, books and let the group know what is offered in case someone can use something offered to you.

Into the Dungeons:

Wait till all the party is down and go as a team. Nothing is more annoying than one person striking out, stirring up the monsters before everybody is down and their manashields (if necessary) are up.

Everybody wants a piece of the action, don't head off in search of Laz's tomb or Gorash or other known bosses while the others fight the good fight. If you prefer to have all the glory yourself, then play alone, this is co-op!!!!

During the battles if you hear the *ding* of an amulet or ring, if you find it let the group know you found it and picked it up. Jewelry is most sought after and nobody likes a jewelry hog!

NEVER hit cauldrons in multi-play. It's bad form, and can cause other players to lose attributes. NEVER touch a Tainted Shrine.

Shrines in the lower levels are shared, the character that benefits the most from that shrine gets the use of it.

Picking up the cash and magical items to carry is fine, as long as you intend to share them by dropping in town square when you go up.

If someone says they need to go up to town because their pack is full, if you have room in yours, take some of the stuff so that the group can continue on for a bit.

We usually go up as soon as either someone needs more potions, repairs or if we can't carry anymore items, and then as a courtesy a portal is thrown in a safe area and all goes up.

Once up, repairs are made, potions bought, items ID's and the gold left is dropped for the group.

Speaking of books, books found in the game go first dibs to the Sorcerer, if he cannot read, they are offered to whoever can.

Elixirs found are given to the one that can use the most. i.e.: Strength to Warriors, Dex to Rogues, Magic to Sorcerers.

A plan of action for the major quests like Laz and Big D. Don't just rush in and do it, work as a team.

We usually maze Diablo, if we are going for dots, so that the rest of the level can be cleared. (trap him by luring him into the maze after it is cleared.)

The person with the dot already (if there is one) goes up to hold the game.

Sorcerers always use holy bolt on Diablo so that others don't take damage.

We decide as a group how we want to kill him. It's all teamwork and we always try to let the person getting his virgin dot do the killing, even if that person has to restart again and again, we can maze him again and again, hehehe.

Some general Character stuff:

For Sorcerers ~~~~~~

Holy bolt on Diablo, that way you do lots of damage but not to your companions

Be generous with the town portals, after all it costs you practically nothing to cast one

Keep an eye out for your fellow adventurers, especially those who need a bit of help and stone for them when you can but don't over do it. Some people prefer not to be a walking golem for the mages.

Use golem carefully, especially when in Hell/Hell as it stirs up hoards of monsters at one time on occasion.

Guardians are easily avoided by the melee characters so I use those frequently on closed type rooms where it will only stir up the one room of monsters.

For Rogues~~~

Those arrows sure do sting. Try to aim in a different direction then your partners.

Try to use your guided missiles to take out the roving monsters, like witches, that you can pinpoint and take out from afar.

If you must fire into the area where you know your companions are, aim for the fringes of the pack of monsters and try to time your firing so that you are not firing extra arrows after the monster dies.

Align yourself on one side of the wall while going down hallways, and if the mages and warriors and other rogues get ahead of you, a gentle reminder that they are in your line of fire usually works wonders.

If you pay attention and see the monsters info highlighted, chances are you will not hit a character, unless you continue to shoot when that monster is dead.

Aim for the hot spot of the monster (the crotch area) it's amazing how much damage it seems to do.

For Warriors~~~

Not much you can do that's bad. Warriors are the backbone of the hunt.

The main thing that I would say is to have patience and not rush ahead of your companions.

Don't count on your Sorcerer friend to heal you although he will, when he isn't getting beat up by monsters, most times.

If you are a telekill warrior (one that uses teleport to pop in behind monsters and kill them quickly) try to stay out of the line of fire from the Mages and Rogues, when you can and when you can't ... well Drink those Red Koolaids!

Don't rush in and stir up so many bad guys that your companions who have much less AC than you can not handle it. Remember every character is not as Buff as you!!

*This was originally written by another member of agd and I have made a few minor changes (with her permission) to fit this to my experience.

During the battles if you hear the ding of an amulet or ring, if you find it let the group know you found it and picked it up. Jewelry is most sought after and nobody likes a jewelry hog!