Multiplayer Etiquette

## Enemies

**Multiplayer** is one of the core features of Dragon Marked For Death, in which players can form parties of up to 4 people in local or online multiplayer.

This page is a guideline to keep in mind when playing in Online Multiplayer. However, these are not rules that need to be followed. Don't forget to have fun when playing the game.

Please note that Dragon Marked For Death does not have cross-play between platforms.

## Singleplayer VS. Multiplayer Accommodations

The following table shows ways you can change your settings and playstyle to manage the differences between Singleplayer and Multiplayer.

## Types of Online Matching

After entering the Bar, select **Online Multiplayer**, then select either **Open Matching** or **Friend Matching**.

If you don't have an Internet connection, you will be met with a "Communication Error" message.

### Open Matching

By selecting **Open Matching**, you can host a party that anyone in your region or worldwide can see, based on the Quest and the conditions you have selected.

#### Open Room Hosting

##### Quest Difficulty

**Quest Difficulty** (AKA "Quest Level" or "Q.Lv") is the difficulty of the selected Quest.

* Open Rooms require the host to pre-select a Quest and Quest Difficulty before hosting.

##### Required Level

**Required Level** (AKA "Recruitment Level") is the player level restriction of the Open Room.

* Rooms will be displayed only for the players of the specified level.
* By default, the Required Level is "1 Above", meaning that player characters of Level 1 to Level 100 can join your Open Room.
* To set up a Required Level, you first select the base number, then select if you want to allow players "Above" that level, "Below" that level, or "+-10" that level.
	+ For example, if you have the Required Level set to "80 +-10", then players from Level 70 to Level 90 can join your Open Room.

##### Conditions

**Conditions** are the set of preferences you can select to tell other players the requirements and goals of your Open Room.

* You can use this to indicate what playstyles you are looking for, what kind of team composition you want, etc.

##### Region Connection

**Region Connection** is the country or location of connection for your Open Room. You can set the Region Connection to be either "Same region matching" or "Worldwide matching".

* If you set the connection to "Worldwide matching", all text will still be in your selected language, but Room Chat and Room Conditions will automatically be translated to the other players' selected languages on their screens.

##### Room Code

**Room Code** is a 1-to-8-digit code you can set for your Open Room. Players who enter the same code will be matched together. Essentially, it allows matching with players who are not registered as friends.

* If you don't enter a Room Code, then your Open Room will be a free room.

#### Open Room Joining

* The only Open Rooms that will appear are the ones of your desired Region Connection and Room Code.
	+ **You can join rooms running a Quest Level that you have not yet unlocked, as long as you have already unlocked the Quest itself.**
* Once you select the Quest listing, you can see the Difficulty Level, Conditions, and number of participants who are already in the room.
	+ If there is a speech bubble next to the host's icon, then the host has set specific Conditions for their Open Room. Please read these Conditions before deciding to enter.
* The room name displayed is the name of the host's Nintendo Switch, Steam, or PS4 account name, which may be different from their character's name.
	+ You can see participants' player character names once you enter the room.

### Friend Matching

By selecting **Friend Matching**, you can host a party that only your friends on your Nintendo Switch account, PlayStation Network account, or Steam account can see.

* On the Nintendo Switch, please note that if your "Display Online Status" setting is set to "No one", then you cannot host a party.
* Friend Rooms do not require the host to pre-select a Quest. Upon pressing the "Depart" button, the Quest list will appear and allow the host to select the Quest to launch.
* The only Quests that can be selected are the ones that everyone in the room has already unlocked.
	+ For example, if one of your party members does not have Polluted Water unlocked, then you will not be able to launch Undying Dragon, Frozen Fusion, Water Inspection, and Twin Dragon's End, even if your other party members have them unlocked.
* However, you can select the highest Quest Difficulty unlocked by any of your party members for a particular Quest.
	+ For example, if you only have up to Quest Level 35 of Eastern Treasures, but one of your party members has up to Quest Level 120, then you can select Quest Level 120. Upon completion of that Quest, your selected character will now have up to Quest Level 120 unlocked.

## Preparing & Searching for Rooms

When playing Dragon Marked For Death, feel free to set up a room at any time. Since recruitment times may be long, some players opt to announce their rooms on other platforms, such as Discord, Twitter, and more.

Certain Open Rooms will not appear on the roster under the following conditions:

* The Quest is one that you have not yet unlocked.
* The room is running a DLC Quest, but you don't have the DLC.
* You do not fit the criteria for the room's Required Level.
* The party has already departed on the Quest.
* There are already 4 party members.
* The host has locked recruitment early.

### Managing an Open Room

Waiting times may take a while, so feel free to do something else while waiting for party recruitment. You will hear a jingle when someone enters your room. Remember to greet people when they enter and indicate whether to wait or whether you are preparing to depart.

* Indicate your activity by using the Room Chat or by waving the cursor around.
* If you are going to leave for more than a few minutes, stop hosting and recruit again when you return.
* You can press the Select or - button to open the Room Chat Log to view previous messages sent.

### Dealing with Disruptive Players

If a player keeps forcefully joining your party and they are not following your desired conditions, you can set up a Room Code. Unfortunately, if you are playing with players you cannot contact outside of the game, it will be difficult to coordinate the Room Code.

## Playing

When deciding whether to join an Open Room, check your current level, equipment, and confidence in playing as well as the Room Conditions before joining.

### General Play

The difference in levels between beginner and experienced players is large. Therefore, if you select the conditions of "Anyone can join!" and "Looking for help!", it will be easy for experienced players to enter low-level parties.

If you are told, "Let’s play to our strengths" (AKA "Let’s match our strengths" in other languages), or "Let’s stay close together", then it may be better to refrain from instantly killing enemies by using equipment that lowers your stats, or to refrain from running alone ahead of everyone.

If you are an experienced player farming drops with an emphasis on efficiency or playing around high difficulties, then you may want to increase the lower level limit or add the Room Conditions of "Experienced players only" or "Aiming for a quick clear".

#### Common Room Conditions & Room Chats

The following Room Conditions and Room Chats usually indicate certain requests.

### Beginner Play

If you are a beginner, don't be afraid to play for the first time. Other players will support you.

* Often, experienced players will be working with beginner players to level them up or help them clear the story.
	+ If you want to play with others around the same level as you, you can restrict the Open Room's desired level and say, "Let’s play to our strengths" (AKA "Let’s match our strengths").
	+ You can also say, "Let's stay close together", so that team members don't run ahead of you.
* If the Room Condition says, "Anyone can Join!", "Beginners welcome", "First time clear", or "Whoo-hoo!!", then it's safe to assume that you can join.
* If you say in the chat, "I'm new to multiplayer", "I'm new to this character", "I'm new to this quest", or "I haven't cleared this quest yet", it is easier for your teammates to know that they should bring in support items or play differently to support the whole party.
* While waiting in the room, your character's name, level, stats, and money will be displayed.
	+ If a character's level is low but the money in possession is high, then it can be assumed that the player has already cleared the game on a different character and is currently working on another character in their save file.

### Experienced Play

Experienced players usually have specific playstyles and desired team compositions for their Open Rooms. Make sure to read the room's Conditions carefully before deciding to join.

* If the Room Condition says, "Experienced players only", then you can assume that players of Level 90 and above are desired for the party.
	+ Experienced players may carry Special Upgrade equipment usually restricted to Level 100 players.
* Some rooms may have specific Room Conditions calling for a certain team composition or element (such as Fire and Burn) to exploit Boss weaknesses and attack type advantages.
* If you are an experienced player joining a beginner's room, you can say, "I'm here to help out!", to introduce yourself.

## Opening Treasure Chests

Because the result of a treasure chest drop depends on the LUC of the player who opens the chest, **only the player with the highest LUC in the party should open chests**. The higher the LUC, the more likely you are to retrieve a rare drop (determined by the Rare table side of the drop list).

* If you are aiming for a drop with a high rarity, such as R++ and SR, then the highest-LUC party member should open chests.
* However, it may be better for lower-LUC party members to open chests if you are aiming for a drop with a lower rarity, such as N, R, and R+.
* The above guidelines are loose due to the nature of RNG, so use your best judgment on drop rarities.

Additionally, Bandits have the ability to **roll for LUC 2 times**, even if they pull the Normal table the first time.

During the Quest, you can check the stats of your allies from the menu.

Especially for Boss treasure chests where rare drops can be expected, check the LUC stat of your party members, and if LUC is the same between two or more players, it's usually better if the Bandit opens the chests.

On the official live broadcast Dragon Marked For Live, it was announced that the soft cap of LUC affecting the treasure chest is 100 as of Version 2.1.0.

* Based on stat testing, LUC overflows at 151, making it seem as if you have very low LUC. Therefore, try not to reach more than ~140 LUC.
* You can use items such as White Candy, Shard of Luck, and Relic of Luck to increase your LUC stat.

While in the waiting room, there is a chat option saying, "I’ll open chests."

* If you are equipped with high LUC, it’s a good idea to speak before you depart.

### LUC Growth for Each Player Class

* Empresses are generally difficult to raise LUC for. You can use Emperor Sword (LUC + 20) and other Weapons with LUC stat increases.
* Warriors can equip Konyo-hojo (LUC + 30 or more) as a secondary weapon.
* Shinobis are easy to raise LUC for, and LUC is increased due to the stats of several pieces of equipment, particularly late-game and endgame equipment.
* Witches also have LUC increases on endgame equipment.
* Oracles don’t have much opportunity to raise the LUC stat.
* Bandits naturally have high LUC stats and double rolls, so it’s best to let a high-LUC Bandit open chests.

## Teamwork Guidelines

Because Dragon Marked For Death is a cooperative multiplayer game, remember to help your party and participate in the progression of the Quest.

* You can learn the mechanics and maps of the game by watching other people's operations, which might help you find hidden passages and observe various techniques.
* If a teammate is surrounded by enemies, it may be a good idea to help them, even if the party is playing for efficiency.
* Also, please remember to communicate using the Room Chat and in-game chat. It's better to communicate than to remain silent and not follow the goals of the rest of the team.
	+ You can press the R button to open the Room Chat.
	+ You can also map in-game chat shortcuts while in the Inn. Please note that these shortcuts are specific to each character.
* Please don't just stand at the Quest start and do nothing until the Boss gate is activated. Other players can see your position on the mini-map, so if they see that you are not moving, you'll be singled out.
	+ If you feel like you are dying too much or becoming a burden by not following the other party members, you can kill enemies near you, which will help build DP for the rest of the party.

### Multiplayer Mechanics

#### Shared Retry Gauge

Each player character has a set number of **Retry Points**, which increases as the character levels up. At the starts of Quests, the Retry Points of each character in the party will be combined into the **Retry Gauge**.

* High-level players will contribute more to the Retry Gauge than low-level players.
	+ This means that low-level players can get knocked out more times and not affect the Retry Gauge too much.
	+ However, this also means that high-level players will take out a significant portion of the Retry Gauge if they get knocked out.

#### Enemy Health Points Increases

In multiplayer, based on the Quest Difficulty and the number of players in a party, the Health Points (HP) of enemies increase. As such, it's important for the whole team to work together to complete the Quest.

Health Points Corrections in Multiplayer
 2
 3
 4

### If You Die Too Many Times

If you notice that you repeatedly die during a Quest, it may be because your player character level, Weapons, Accessories, and Items may not be suitable for this particular Quest. Equipment setup is very important because despite being above the Quest level, you can still struggle if you don't have strong equipment.

* If you are going to depart on a high-level Quest, you may want to look for **Accessories with the effect "Resist instant-death"**, such as Ring of Life.
* Make sure you set up your Item shortcuts in the Inn to the Items that you use the most.
	+ For example, mid-to-late-game players tend to have shortcuts set for Potion +2 (for stacking regenerative healing) and Bizarre Bone + (for Status Ailment resistance).
	+ You may also consider carrying party-healing Items, such as the various Healing Powders available.
* If you want to level up and find help for dropping Weapons and Accessories, you can add the Room Condition of "Looking for help!" and "Looking for a high LUC party" so it is easier to get powerful rare equipment as a team.

## Room Chat & Room Conditions in Different Languages

The following tables include the full list of Room Chat and Room Conditions in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (Traditional). There are slight differences between the texts of each language, so it helps to know them.

## References

1. ↑ オンラインプレイの心得 - Dragon Marked For Death攻略Wiki - atwiki（アットウィキ） (https://w.atwiki.jp/dragonmfd/sp/pages/17.html)
2. ↑ Lancer