No Rest for the Wicked Has Co-Op Friendly Fire for a…

Friendly fire is one of those features that immediately puts a game on trial in the court of public opinion, especially in co-op. It is often seen as unnecessary friction or an outdated design choice, something modern games generally avoid. That reaction is exactly what No Rest for the Wicked ran into. According to Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler, players were quick to label the decision as "crazy" when the team committed to leaving friendly fire on. However, as with many of No Rest for the Wicked's most polarizing ideas, it's there for a reason, and unapologetically so.

After recently spending some time playing No Rest for the Wicked’s new Together co-op update alongside Mahler and game designer Kevin Jordan, it became clear that friendly fire actually reflects the game's broader design philosophy accurately. Wicked is built around intentional combat, spatial awareness, and shared responsibility, all things that modern ARPGs often sidestep in favor of speed and accessibility. In co-op, that philosophy extends beyond enemies and into player behavior itself, ensuring that players remain conscious about where they're aiming their sword or spell. During my time playing with Mahler and Jordan, the devs offered TheBestWarGames some more insight on No Rest for the Wicked's design, and why friendly fire is a must-have for accomplishing their goals.

No Rest for the Wicked Is Designed to Punish Carelessness—And That Includes Friendly Fire

To be quite honest, I didn't even realize friendly fire was a thing in No Rest for the Wicked before playing with Mahler and Jordan, and it wasn't because they told me either. Instead, that realization came when Mahler accidentally hit me with a ranged attack, prompting him to apologize. At that point, my face was flushed, as I began tracing things back in my memory to see if I had just been unknowingly depleting my partners' health bars that whole time. To this day, I'm not sure, but I have a feeling they both know.

"There's also friendly fire," Mahler said after hitting me with a spell. "People called us crazy when we first put this in." And he's not exaggerating either. After looking through posts on No Rest for the Wicked forums and the game's Steam community hub, I noticed plenty of complaints about the game's implementation of friendly fire, with some players saying things like "it's almost impossible to avoid hitting your friend" and others calling the mechanic the "worst thing." That hasn't stopped countless players from lobbying in support of No Rest for the Wicked's preference for friendly fire, though—players who ultimately understand the whole point of the system to begin with, which Mahler affirmed:

"We very much discourage button-mashing and that kind of thing. You have to play intentionally. Otherwise, you will just be locked into your attacks, and it will punish you for that. It's very, very different. That's one of the things we wanted to accomplish with No Rest for the Wicked. I always had this frustration that I felt like Diablo 3 wasn't really the sequel that I wanted to see after Diablo 2. I didn't really see that much innovation in Diablo 3, Diablo 4, Path of Exile 2, and so on. I thought, 'The genre is so rife for just doing crazy things, and yet we haven't had all that many risks taken.'"

If there was an award for taking risks in the ARPG space, if No Rest for the Wicked didn't win it, the game would at least emerge a top contender. Friendly fire, in and of itself, is a major risk, as some of its reception has shown. Nevertheless, this is just one of the many things that sets Wicked apart from other ARPGs like Diablo and Path of Exile, both of which Mahler stated lacked innovation for their unwillingness to stretch the genre's boundaries a bit.

But friendly fire is, of course, something that plays directly into No Rest for the Wicked's vision of what co-op should feel like at a foundational level. Rather than allowing players to exist in the same space while effectively playing separate games, Moon Studios wanted co-op to introduce genuine interaction, awareness, and even occasional tension between players. As game designer Kevin Jordan explained, "We wanted players to have a more social experience rather than feeling like they were playing a single-player game side-by-side where everyone is just doing their own thing and there is no crossover in terms of social or gameplay experiences." Friendly fire reinforces that idea in combat, forcing players to consider not just enemy positioning, but their allies as well.

No Rest for the Wicked Together Screenshot 2-1

If it wasn't clear already, Mahler repeatedly stressed just how far No Rest for the Wicked is willing to separate itself from ARPG mainstays like Diablo and Path of Exile. The goal, however, was never to frame one approach as inherently superior to another, nor to suggest that players are wrong for enjoying what those games offer. Instead, Moon Studios is focused on pushing the genre into unfamiliar territory, even if that means challenging expectations along the way. Friendly fire sits squarely within that mindset. It may frustrate players who view co-op as a built-in safety net, but it reflects a broader commitment to experimentation and forward momentum rather than convention. As Mahler explained:

"The point-and-click system that you have in Diablo and Path of Exile, I think, in today's world, isn't the best thing you can do anymore. Obviously, I'm biased because I made No Rest for the Wicked, but I think something even better is those combat systems where you're actually in control of your character. Combat where the spacing matters, the positioning matters, and the timing matters. To me, that's logically the next step forward."

And to this inexperienced No Rest for the Wicked player, friendly fire never bothered me for that reason. It's just part of how the game works. Playing alongside Mahler and Jordan made it clear that co-op isn't meant to protect players from their own mistakes or let them zone out while swinging wildly. You are expected to pay attention. You are expected to respect the space around you. Friendly fire reinforces that expectation every time you play, whether you like it or not. It might not be for everyone, but it fits exactly what Wicked is trying to do, and after spending time with it, I personally wouldn't want it any other way.

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