With the expansion “Vessel of Hatred,” Diablo 4 has introduced the Dark Citadel as a new endgame activity. Meanwhile, many players are wondering if anyone is actually playing there – some have even completely forgotten about the feature.
What is the deal with the coop feature? In October 2024, the first expansion for Diablo 4, Vessel of Hatred, was released. Among other things, it brought the new coop dungeon “The Dark Citadel” into the game.
To tackle the Dark Citadel, you need at least one teammate – ideally, there are four of you, as the difficulty does not scale with group size. Most players, however, play Diablo 4 solo.
Almost six months after the introduction of the coop activity, many are asking: Is anyone still playing it?
Players criticize the lack of couch coop and “group pressure”
Here’s what players are saying about the coop activity: In a Reddit post, Pleasant-Guava9898 asks the community when they last visited the Dark Citadel – he himself cannot remember. The top comment from Zahrukai resonates with many: “I play solo… so never.” With over 450 upvotes (as of March 20, 2025, 11:45 PM), it seems he is voicing exactly what many think.
flavian1 says he has never played the coop dungeon – and does not feel like he is missing out. And fliteriskk notes: “I honestly forgot it existed until I saw this post.”
And Saguaro-plug is frustrated about a missing feature: “I wanted to finally try it out the other day when I was playing couch coop with my friend… and then I realized that the Dark Citadel doesn’t support couch coop?!?”
In another Reddit thread, JmWallSeth demands that the Dark Citadel should be playable solo. After all, the majority of players are often playing alone – and at the end of a season, the “social hub” is often quite deserted. jcdommo also writes that he would like to play the Dark Citadel solo or with his mercenary.
The mercenaries are your companions introduced with Vessel of Hatred who assist you in battle:
“What would be the point in solo mode?”
Are there also positive voices? On Reddit, Argos_Nomos asks what sense the Dark Citadel would have in solo mode at all. He writes: “[The activity] wouldn’t have any of the mechanics that make it what it is, and would just be another boring dungeon that you’d complain about because it’s too short.” He suggests simply using the group finder to find teammates.
And Pyramithius explains on Reddit that the Dark Citadel is actually the most fun activity for him in Diablo 4. “When I do it with my friends, we simply enjoy finally having mechanics that require conscious input, yet still align with just about everything that makes Diablo 4 fun,” he writes.
The Dark Citadel is part of Vessel of Hatred – and to play the coop dungeon, you will need an edition of the expansion for Diablo 4. In October 2024, Season 6 was also released, which revamped the leveling system and brought more features to the game. We summarize which content is available in the Diablo 4 base game and which you have to pay for.
