In off-season I often play couch co-op with four controlers, while only playing one character. The rest just follows me, doesn’t do anything, but I do get more gem-level-up chances (20 per rift if they all stay alive).
During season I sometimes do this as well, when I want to gain gear for say my Necro Main, but want to play something else. My Necro still gets loot, XP, etc, but I get to play a Monk or whatever to break the grind.
Now, is this cheating? I’m still the only one playing and killing stuff, but I just get more gear for my main account (off-season), or break the monotony (season). Honest, it doesn’t feel like cheating, but I do feel a little “guilty” since joining this forum…
Others can speak to their view on some of your points if they want.
Something I was wondering reading your post:
Do controllers 3 and 4 do this following as you say? Afaik you can’t even do more than 2 controllers in couch coop.
I play 2 controllers in couch coop frequently, but not the way you describe. Main controller I play actively, second controller I play semi-actively. It’s probably not what everyone looks for out of the game, but it’s a more interesting game this way for me… at least when it comes to speeds. Some aspects of this game are pretty boring to be honest after you’ve played it a bit. One of the challenges is getting controller two to contribute as much as it can. It’s a bit experimental in my perspective and adds a bit more depth / interest to the game play.
As I’ve said before here there are conveniences to it, but I’m not sure it really contributes in a competitive sense as there are gains and losses.
No, it’s not cheating. That’s just the way Couch Co-op works.
Knowing that, you can maximize the Challenge Rift Rewards (using the Nintendo Switch in this example since it has a limit of 8 profiles), to start the season with:
3,800 blood shards (Your cap is 500, so spend after each player opens the cache)
36.8 million gold
35 death breaths
100 veiled crystals
300 reusable parts
300 arcane dust
15 of each bounty crafting material
This works because in couch co-op, blood shards and gold go to every co-op player. So if 475 blood shards drop, all co-op players will get 475 blood shards.
I’m pretty sure it doesn’t contribute anything to your ability to complete a rift, because the other four don’t carry their weight (yes, on x-box you can have four). I find that if I can speed-rift 100 solo, I can only comfortably do 90 with three “zombies”.
I admit to laughing my a$$ off sometimes when a Wormwood Witchdoctor “kills” something, a Belt of the Trove Sader bombs something or a skeleton actually delivers a final blow. You hear the victory-brag, while you are working to keep them alive and out of explosions, poison clouds and other stuff…
And yeah, the bloodshards add up like crazy, but I don’t pick them up… I’ve kept every Anient I ever found (spread over some 20 profiles just for storage), so I can’t be bothered to pick up or spend Shards off-season…
unless you have 4 controllers, controlling all 4 characters, you are AUTOMATING the game by having them follow your main character around, etc. That is against the TOS and cheating.
if you want to cheat, then fine, but at least have the moral fibre to admit it, rather than going all out to try and deny it.
As I was the one asking the question, I conceed that it is in fact a form of cheating, and I haven’t used this technique this season. Somehow, I find myself enjoying this season lots more, maybe because I don’t use it. To keep from getting bored, I made three characters to play with, all three Int classes, to farm with.
well, whilst it is cheating, it’s so low grade that when compared to the other cheating on consoles that it’s nothing bad imho. PC can multibox and it’s not cheating (Blizzard has confirmed this). I personally disagree with it, since it is automating (as is the numlock skill hack on PC), but it seems Blizzard is very selective. Would be nice if Blizzard let consoles have a similar auto cast skill option …
You’re right, it is cheating. It’s just the dumbest form of cheating. With all the “advanced” forms of cheating available like reforging, blood-sharding and infinite puzzle rings as well as the newest DH glitch…OP decided to drag 3 alts so he can gear up 4 toons. After all the pain of clearing 4 inventories, dumping 4 sets of shards, sorting through 4 different gear sets and throwing crap in the stash 4 times…yeah sure…way to go, genius. What are clever technique. /s
Curious what you’re seeing in the TOS relating to that.
If you can even do that, it’s not going to be for the purpose of pushing any leaderboards. How the player wants to play and mind their own is their business, but i’ll be interested if there’s something in the TOS on it.
any code and/or software, not expressly authorized by Blizzard, that allows the automated control of a Game or part of a Game, or any other feature of the Platform, e.g. the automated control of a character in a Game
I guess it would come down to whether the extra controllers are being manually controlled by the player, or whether they have some sort of software allowing them to follow the main hero.
You do not need any software for that on consoles. This behaviour is implemeted in the game. All chars have to be on the screen in coop, the additional players follow the main player if they would get out of the screen.
In co-op, if you’re “inactive” for more than like 20 seconds, you’re teleported to whatever character is most active, usually P1 but could be P2. Its not entirely predictable and you can be force moved even when you’re trying to avoid something, possibly resulting in, for example, being warped into a molten explosion and dying (yes, this has happened to me in HC mode) and other things. It does not do that in “multiplayer” mode – only in co-op.
Also, you cannot use the in-town banners to teleport to other players nor can one of you stay in town and another move elsewhere… and, you definitely cannot be in different maps at the same time. Also, in co-op only as multiplayer is OK with it.
This means some Season Conquests (and obviously split bounties) are virtually impossible co-op which is how I play (with my lady).
Yes, it is awful but I suppose better than implementing split screen which would likely be the other way it can work.
In short - co-op is nice to have but is the most limited experience.