Multiplayer/Coop has been live in NA for a modest period of time now and has given us numerous laughs, heart aches, and frustrations. Puzzle and Dragons was originally a solo game that could be picked up and put down at will. There was less pressure to perform or match quickly and you could even put aside your device mid dungeon and come back at a later time. These features combined with the whole match orb/collect pretty girls/puzzle process medium is probably the reason many of you are playing today. For the most part, PAD has been a solo game with only some interaction between other players. Then came the introduction of Best Friends, Ranking Dungeons, and finally Mutliplayer.

Best Friends gave new meaning to virtual partnerships as it granted players access to numerous benefits and access to more leads for prolonged periods of time. A smashing success overall. On the otherhand, Ranking Dungeons have probably been met with mixed reviews. Granted these are completely optional and only award a one time, varying reward and you do not need to attempt (but should at least for the participation rewards). Introducing the game’s only PvP (player versus player) component can be frustrating, especially given the limitations of the scoring system, but again it is completely optional and does not have too big of an impact in the long run. Another bad side effect is the feeling of not being good enough as you are given a (albeit inaccurate) percentage ranking based on a poorly designed scoring system.

Now we have the Multiplayer feature which has a diverse array of emotions from players of all progression and skill levels. Upon Coop’s initial release, I wrote a nice little post on my initial impressions if you care to take a look. However, after about two months of largely playing with myself, I have a much stronger opinion formulated on multiplayer. As a disclaimer, my alt account, Fantastic, is nearing rank 500 and is quite developed and I am able to form a very powerful Blue Sonia  team between my two accounts. This allows me to excessively play with myself as I always have a partner who is ready to go. Continue reading My Perspective on Multiplayer →