Diablo 2 Resurrected removes multiplayer feature, but how important is P2P anyway?

20 years ago, Diablo 2 was a must at many Lan parties when it came to choosing the right action role-playing game. And so you spent hours fighting Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal – or setting up the network connection. Once the Peer2Peer connection was established, you could play together over TCP / IP.

20 years later, the establishment of a common local network has become much easier and statements like “I see you, do you see me too?” – “No, but I see Florian for that” is a thing of the past. The TCP / IP support for Diablo 2: Resurrected, the remaster of the original, is also a thing of the past.

The end of support will be announced via FAQ

The beta for pre-orderers of Diablo 2: Resurrected will start on August 13, 2021. A week later there will be an open beta weekend for everyone interested. Blizzard has im published an FAQ blog post and also answered the question about TCP / IP multiplayer support. The answer itself came as a surprise. In the FAQ it says:

“Support for TCP / IP will not be available in the beta tests or in the final game. After a long deliberation process, we decided to no longer support this option as we identified potential security risks.”

Contrary to previous statements by Executive Producer Rod Fergusson, which he promised in an interview with Eurogamer, the direct connection in the local network is no longer supported and the multiplayer will only work directly via Battlenet. When asked whether trading will be possible in multiplayer or will be removed due to numerous bugs and exploits, Rob Fegusson replied:

“[…] Much of what we are doing now was already included in the original. We really focus on providing an authentic experience. You can still connect locally via TCP / IP if you want! It already existed in D2. It will also exist in D2R. “

It is not known why the feature announced in February is no longer available in the game. Potential security risks are cited as the cause, but what exactly they are is not known.

Is Peer2Peer still important at all?

The question cannot be answered that easily. With regard to Diablo 2 and its great importance for Lan parties, the simplest statement would be: Yes.

But in the end it is not that simple. It is understandable that Blizzard does not want to see security gaps and exploits that are used in the local network to duplicate items in global online mode. In the worst case, that would destroy the in-game economy.

So if you want to play together on a Lan Diablo 2: Resurrected in the future, you don’t need a functioning local network, just an Internet connection and WiFi or enough Ethernet cables and free slots. And even if the Ethernet network is now 40 years old, there is probably no intention of pulling the plug forever.