Diablo 3: Eternal Collection requires Family Online Subscription to play 2P online on 1 Switch

[delete12345]

Reddit thread in discussion:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/9ti6bs/diablo_3_on_switch_requires_family_online/

(Update: Discussion is "removed due to excessive reports from the community")

OP, the Reddit post you linked/got your info from was removed due "multiple reports from the community." Just a heads up as I don't use Reddit and so don't know the reason specifically why it was removed (but can still be read, just kicked out of their front page)

That said, I would be EXTREMELY surprised if you need a Family Plan specifically, but each user profile does need to be linked to a Nintendo account with NSO access. I know several Switch games work that way (i.e. a guest account doesn't cut it.) Can you clarify/confirm that a Family Plan is mandatory?

Click to shrink...

Updated gists:

• You don't need a family subscription. It's just that the second profile also needs to be subscribed to NSO in some way.
  
  

  As I understand it, online subscriptions are on a per-account basis rather than a per-machine basis, so on paper it makes total sense. If there are two accounts and one account doesn't have the subscription, the accounts would not be able to play together online because one wouldn't have access to the online portion of the game.

  Click to shrink...

The gists are:

• The author has read about the game that it would require the Nintendo Online Subscription to play online.
• However, the author attempted to play locally with a 2nd player (on 1 switch), and found out the game is unable to go online with that 'user account', as it doesnt have online access.
  
• The author tried out the same thing with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and noted that "you can play 2 player on 1 switch online, with just 1 online subscription." But, this has been pointed out that this is offline local multiplayer, which is allowed.
• The author said it doesn't matter if the 2nd player's account/profile was tied to another Nintendo account.
• The author made a new guest account and didn't tie it to an account. When choosing that account as the 2nd player for Diablo online, the game forces the author to link it to a Nintendo account (presumably to check for online subscription). If declined linking it, it won't work for online.
  
• The author has tried both using a normal character and a seasonal character. There was no difference.
• The author did specify a player can make seasonal characters with or without Switch Online, but it requires Switch Online to actually play online.

More gists (correction for the strikethrough text):

• Mario Kart co-op online doesn't use two profiles. It uses a main profile and then a guest.
• /u/Robin64 - "It's completely different because the other players aren't making use of distinct local profiles with their own progression and such stored completely separately. But that's core to Diablo 3. Each player's characters are stored in that player's profile / saves. The same basic kind of "anonymous guest" can't sensibly be used."

Public opinion on this:

• Reddit community agreed this may be a bug.
• Some agreed this is not caused by Nintendo. Rather, they said the blame is on Blizzard and how the game does the checks online.
• From Tunesmith , it's the same for any online game that supports more than 1 player on Switch (that doesn't allow Guests). MK and Rocket League uses Guests. This was known long before the paid Switch Online plans went live, and all Users must subscribe either individually or via Family Plan to be used online for those games that doesn't allow guests.

Thoughts? I didn't see a thread on this, so I thought I create one.



If you are unsatisfied with the game, you have this:

Yeah, no native "upgrading" option is a big omission from Nintendo.

Based on the help article it does sound like they might offer some pro-rated refund option or something along those lines if you have "significant time left" on your individual subscription when upgrading.

https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/41203/~/can-i-change-my-nintendo-switch-online-membership-type-(individual-or-family)?

If you already have an individual membership and want to upgrade to a family membership, purchase or be added to a family membership.

• Please note that the remaining time on your individual membership will not be carried over to extend the family membership, so you will have two memberships running concurrently. You will receive whichever is longer - the remaining time on the family membership or the remaining time on your individual membership.

• If you have a significant amount of time remaining on your individual membership, please contact us for additional options.

Click to shrink...

Click to shrink...

 

[Marossi]

Wow, what turned into a "maybe" has gone to a hard pass because of this.

 

[TheMoon]

Reddit thread in discussion:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/9ti6bs/diablo_3_on_switch_requires_family_online/

The gists are:

• The author has read about the game that it would require the Nintendo Online Subscription to play online.
• However, the author attempted to play locally with a 2nd player (on 1 switch), and found out the game is unable to go online with that 'user account', as it doesnt have online access.
  
• The author tried out the same thing with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and noted that "you can play 2 player on 1 switch online, with just 1 online subscription." But, this has been pointed out that this is offline local multiplayer, which is allowed.
• The author said it doesn't matter if the 2nd player's account/profile was tied to another Nintendo account.
• The author made a new guest account and didn't tie it to an account. When choosing that account as the 2nd player for Diablo online, the game forces the author to link it to a Nintendo account (presumably to check for online subscription). If declined linking it, it won't work for online.
  
• The author has tried both using a normal character and a seasonal character. There was no difference.
• The author did specify a player can make seasonal characters with or without Switch Online, but it requires Switch Online to actually play online.

Thoughts? I didn't see a thread on this, so I thought I create one.

Click to shrink...

from the OT:

Mario Kart co-op online doesn't use two profiles. It uses a main profile and then a guest.

"It's completely different because the other players aren't making use of distinct local profiles with their own progression and such stored completely separately. But that's core to Diablo 3. Each player's characters are stored in that player's profile / saves. The same basic kind of "anonymous guest" can't sensibly be used."

Click to shrink...

 

[ManaByte]

First the LEGO Worlds DLC requiring Switch Online, now this?

 

[Niceguydan8]

So does it require NSO to go online or does it require NSO to play offline local coop? Your title says one thing and the context of your post says the other.

 

[delete12345]

from the OT:

Click to shrink...

Thanks

 

[Tunesmith]

As I posted in the D3 OT, it's the same for any online game that supports more than 1 player on Switch (that doesn't allow Guests). MK and Rocket League uses Guests.
This was known long before the paid Switch Online plans went live, you need all Users to subscribe either individually or via Family Plan to be used online.

 

[Joedev]

I think this was known since the game requires both players to be signed into a switch profile. Mario Kart allows allows a user to use a guest profile that won't save any data, a solution that doesn't make any sense for diablo.

The problem for me is that they don't offer anyway to upgrade a standard Switch online subscription to a family plan. I'd like to play this game with my wife, but I already have a standard subscription. To play online, I would have to basically throw my basic subscription away and purchase a full Family subscription.

 

[delete12345]

As I posted in the D3 OT, it's the same for any online game that supports more than 1 player on Switch (that doesn't allow Guests). MK and Rocket League uses Guests.
This was known long before the paid Switch Online plans went live, you need all Users to subscribe either individually or via Family Plan to be used online.

Click to shrink...

I'll update OT. Thanks.

 

[tyfon]

So does it require NSO to go online or does it require NSO to play offline local coop? Your title says one thing and the context of your post says the other.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I'm a bit confused too.
Also, how is it for ad-hoc coop with two switches?

This won't be a problem for my wife and I in the near future as we have the family plan for us and the kids, however it is not certain we will keep this forever as the benefits are very low except for the actual online gaming and we usually don't play with other people.

 

[delete12345]

So does it require NSO to go online or does it require NSO to play offline local coop? Your title says one thing and the context of your post says the other.

Click to shrink...

Online coop. I'll request an update to the thread title.

 

[Tunesmith]

The problem for me is that they don't offer anyway to upgrade a standard Switch online subscription to a family plan. I'd like to play this game with my wife, but I already have a standard subscription. To play online, I would have to basically throw my basic subscription away and purchase a full Family subscription.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, no native "upgrading" option is a big omission from Nintendo.

Based on the help article it does sound like they might offer some pro-rated refund option or something along those lines if you have "significant time left" on your individual subscription when upgrading.

https://en-americas-support.nintend...nline-membership-type-(individual-or-family)?

If you already have an individual membership and want to upgrade to a family membership, purchase or be added to a family membership.

• Please note that the remaining time on your individual membership will not be carried over to extend the family membership, so you will have two memberships running concurrently. You will receive whichever is longer - the remaining time on the family membership or the remaining time on your individual membership.

• If you have a significant amount of time remaining on your individual membership, please contact us for additional options.

Click to shrink...

 

[Kamagii]

Wonder if it is on Blizzards end ... I do think it is fair (probably in the minority) because it is s different character and you are going from couch co-op (which should be free) to online playing with others which is not free. has anyone looked into if on PS4 or XboxOne this is the same case?

 

[Joedev]

Based on the help article it does sound like they might offer some pro-rated refund option or something along those lines if you have "significant time left" on your individual subscription when upgrading.

Click to shrink...

Thanks, I didn't realize that. We'll probably just play locally for now and if we ever do feel like going online, I'll try contacting them and seeing what the additional options would be.

 

[Skittzo]

I thought this was expected and known for a while now. Using two different profiles on the same Switch requires each profile to have an online sub.

 

[Bazry]

I take it the 2nd profile has it own save stats that it can then use online by itself or with another user?

Makes sense

 

[Renna Hazel]

Isn't the entire point of the family plan to allow multiple users to play online? I thought this was a given.

 

[Niceguydan8]

Online coop. I'll request an update to the thread title.

Click to shrink...

As I understand it, online subscriptions are on a per-account basis rather than a per-machine basis, so on paper it makes total sense. If there are two accounts and one account doesn't have the subscription, the accounts would not be able to play together online because one wouldn't have access to the online portion of the game.

 

[Vylder]

Just curious.

Let's say I want to make a character and play co-op with my girlfriend. Can we just make two characters on my main account and play both of them at the same time online? Can we play seasonnal in co-op?

 

[MaverickHunterX]

Okay, stupid question time.

Let's say I have an online sub on my Switch, and the brother had one on his as well. Can we log in the same account on said second Switch (e.g. he tries to use his profile on my Switch) or is the paid sub stuck on the original Switch?

Sorry if the wordings confusing.

 

[SeeingeyeDug]

Does this mean you can't even play seasonal characters in local co-op mode offline because an online connection with that character has to have happened at least once?

 

[SpottieO]

Just curious.

Let's say I want to make a character and play co-op with my girlfriend. Can we just make two characters on my main account and play both of them at the same time online? Can we play seasonnal in co-op?

Click to shrink...

As long as you're playing local co-op you should be fine, you just can't play with randoms or friend's online. I think that's how it works.

 

[Plumpman]

The author said it doesn't matter if the 2nd player's account/profile was tied to another Nintendo account.

Click to shrink...

Is this true? I would expect it to work fine if I'm playing on my Nintendo Online account, and my buddy is playing on their Nintendo Online account (on the same Switch).

 

[Powerofthecloud]

I'm not for online subscriptions. But didnt they make it known that each profile was a separate account. No? Maybe I am misremembering.

 

[Pooroomoo]

I'm sorry but this makes total sense. I wouldn't have thought it would work any other way.

Wow, what turned into a "maybe" has gone to a hard pass because of this.

Click to shrink...

So you thought it might be possible for two different accounts, to play online with a single person online subscription? (this is not local co-op, we are talking about online)

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Well of course it would, individual game progress is saved per-profile. No other way of doing it and having your progress carry over.

 

[Tambini]

I'm sorry but this makes total sense. I wouldn't have thought it would work any other way.


So you thought it might be possible for two different accounts, to play online with a single person online subscription? (this is not local co-op, we are talking about online)

Click to shrink...

On PS4 you can play online couch co-op with one ps+ account

 

[Pooroomoo]

On PS4 you can play online couch co-op with one ps+ account

Click to shrink...

So for Diablo 3, there would be separate saves and characters for both co-op players in one PS+ account?

 

[Carolina Reaper]

 

[Popetita]

I played 2p online with a friend on his Xbox.

I don't care about progress just playing so why would this affect me in any way?

 

[Braaier]

Doesn't affect me. Still stinks though. Just buy family plan I guess!!

 

[Bob Beat]

I don't understand the logic. I have to pay extra for my kid to play fortnight, on the same console.

I'm not using any extra resources. It's the same switch. Only one of us can play at a time.

I could understand if he was logging into another switch, that makes sense. But making switch, with local multiplayer being a push, the controllers separating or two people in the same screen and you have to pay more?

Definitely annoying.

 

[Tambini]

So for Diablo 3, there would be separate saves and characters for both co-op players in one PS+ account?

Click to shrink...

I can't remember exactly but I think the second player just logs in on their profile and use their save file and it lets them both play online even if only player 1 has ps+

 

[HadesHotgun]

So for Diablo 3, there would be separate saves and characters for both co-op players in one PS+ account?

Click to shrink...

On PS4 anybody playing on my system can play online even if they don't have a PS+ account.

 

[Bazry]

I don't understand the logic. I have to pay extra for my kid to play fortnight, on the same console

Click to shrink...

No you don't, Fortnite is free to play online

 

[Wereroku]

I'm sorry but this makes total sense. I wouldn't have thought it would work any other way.


So you thought it might be possible for two different accounts, to play online with a single person online subscription? (this is not local co-op, we are talking about online)

Click to shrink...

That's how it works on PS4 and Xbox so it's not unreasonable to assume it would work the same on switch.

 

[srtrestre]

OP, the Reddit post you linked/got your info from was removed due "multiple reports from the community." Just a heads up as I don't use Reddit and so don't know the reason specifically why it was removed (but can still be read, just kicked out of their front page)

That said, I would be EXTREMELY surprised if you need a Family Plan specifically, but each user profile does need to be linked to a Nintendo account with NSO access. I know several Switch games work that way (i.e. a guest account doesn't cut it.) Can you clarify/confirm that a Family Plan is mandatory?

 

[Atheerios]

That's how it works on PS4 and Xbox so it's not unreasonable to assume it would work the same on switch.

Click to shrink...

That's because the Switch has a different type of cheapest plan.

On PSN, you have the $60 plan. When you have it and the account is set as primary, every other account in the same console can enjoy online too.

On the other hand for Switch, this is similar in the $35 plan but works with the family group, in the same console or a different one. But the Switch also has a cheaper plan, an individual $20 plan that is only for one account, so it's logical that it works the way it currently does.

That said, I would be EXTREMELY surprised if you need a Family Plan specifically, but each user profile does need to be linked to a Nintendo account with NSO access. I know several Switch games work that way (i.e. a guest account doesn't cut it.) Can you clarify/confirm that a Family Plan is mandatory?

Click to shrink...

You just need to be subscribe to NSO in the second player account. Can be thorough a family plan, a individual plan or a whole different family plan that the first player. Yeah, OP is misleading.

 

[BringBackSonics]

I kind of figured, you are using two profiles.

 

[JigglesBunny]

The wording here is somewhat confusing, this is just to take both profiles online to grab two more players right?

If my fiancé and I wanted to just play together offline on the same Switch then I won't have a problem, right? If this is just two accounts trying to play online at the same time on the same system than what exactly is the issue here? If you're taking any account online, it needs online access.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

How does this work in other consoles? I have only played this game on PC before

 

[Wereroku]

The wording here is somewhat confusing, this is just to take both profiles online to grab two more players right?

If my fiancé and I wanted to just play together offline on the same Switch then I won't have a problem, right? If this is just two accounts trying to play online at the same time on the same system than what exactly is the issue here? If you're taking any account online, it needs online access.

Click to shrink...

The problem seems to be that on every other console as long as one account has online access every other account can connect. On the switch every account has to have online to connect to online. It's not a family plan vs single plan thing it's simply the way that nintendo handles online access. They track it by user only. PS and XB track it by user and console.

How does this work in other consoles? I have only played this game on PC before

Click to shrink...

On PS4 and XBO if I start playing on my account that has plus/gold my wife can log into her non plus/gold account and play online with me. Plus and gold is shared with other users if you are playing on the same console. Nintendo doesn't share their online by console it's solely tracked by the user.

 

[Deleted member 888]

Little confused reading this but if that's local co-op with two people trying to play on one Switch this is bullshit.

 

[Bazry]

The problem seems to be that on every other console as long as one account has online access every other account can connect. On the switch every account has to have online to connect to online. It's not a family plan vs single plan thing it's simply the way that nintendo handles online access. They track it by user only. PS and XB track it by user and console.


On PS4 and XBO if I start playing on my account that has plus/gold my wife can log into her non plus/gold account and play online with me. Plus and gold is shared with other users if you are playing on the same console. Nintendo doesn't share their online by console it's solely tracked by the user.

Click to shrink...

The problem with people trying to compare Nintendo's online service to other platforms though is Nintendo have stated that if you want other users on your Switch to have online benefits, you should buy the Family plan. The confusion lies in that Nintendo offer a cheaper single user option, whereas in reality those paying for PSN & Gold are getting the benefit of a family like plan by paying the 1 premium price

 

[eseqko]

There maybe an issue with how Nintendo servers see 2 players online since there is 2 player/one console coop, two player/two console local coop, and two player online coop.

 

[Robin64]

Little confused reading this but if that's local co-op with two people trying to play on one Switch this is bullshit.

Click to shrink...

Local co-op on one Switch doesn't require NSO. This is just if you want to then take that co-op online and grab two more players.

 

[Anteo]

Yeah on switch each profile needs their own online subscription, you cant just have a sub for the primary account and have the other profiles use it for online. It doenst require the family plan specifically, but thats what most people would use if playing on the same switch on the same household

 

[BringBackSonics]

Scrolling through the Reddit post, apparently if the 2nd profile had a sub in the past (ie uses free trial etc) then you can play two characters with just one online sub (so this does seem like a bug). Or at least a work around ? (Have 2nd player do a free trial)

 

[Atheerios]

delete12345 could you clarify OP? You don't need a family subscription. It's just that the second profile also needs to be subscribed to NSO in some way.

 

[boris_feinbrand]

Little confused reading this but if that's local co-op with two people trying to play on one Switch this is bullshit.

Click to shrink...

Hint: it isn't.