Rise of the Ronin: How to play in co-op mode

Rise of the Ronin was a massive triumph for Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo Games, as gamers fell in love with the idea of playing as a samurai without a master. The game was recently ported to PC, and just like the PlayStation 5 version, players can experience this story alone or with a group of friends.

This article will cover everything you must know about the co-op conditions of this game and other lobby requirements. You can't join a random lobby full of different players unless they permit you.

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Rise of the Ronin has a few options for co-op

Not everyone is keen on playing with others, but it can lead to a rewarding experience (Image via Koei Tecmo Games)

To initiate a co-op session with friends or other ronins, you must head to the Longhouse. The Longhouse can be accessed after completing a few early missions. This area serves as your hub where you can rest, redesign the appearance of certain items, repair your gear, change your character's look, and many more. Here, after accessing a menu, scroll down to cooperate.

Once you select cooperate, another menu will appear summarizing what they can expect from the online multiplayer component. Here are all the options you get if you wish to join or host a co-op session:

• Recruit: As the recruiter, you will be hosting the lobby. This serves as an open invitation for other players to join you in completing missions.
• Match: This option is much more delicate than the other two. The match option lets you join a lobby with your specific requirements and preferences and is often used for private sessions.
• Join: This option lets you link up with other ronins without much hassle.

This feature can be useful, especially if you are up against a difficult mission. You can assemble a small team beforehand, and this could increase your chances of succeeding and surviving. Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo didn't design this game to be hard, but it does have the ambiance and feel of a Soulslike game.

There is no shame in asking for help. Your ronin could always return the favor by lending a helping hand to other struggling ronins. Even if you are outside mission parameters, playing with a friend can be much more entertaining than fighting NPCs by your lonesome.

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Will there be crossplay between PlayStation 5 and PC players?

At the time of writing, there is no official word about crossplay between PlayStation 5 and PC players. This could happen, considering most of the games ported received some form of multiplayer feature between the two platforms. Perhaps Rise of the Ronin might follow in the same footsteps soon.

While you don't have to play with other ronins to get the full experience, there are benefits such as shared story progression and rewards. You can help a friend get through a certain mission you already finished once, and to incentivize you to help them out, you will be compensated with worthwhile rewards.

Fighting enemies with a friend could save you both a lot of time (Image via Koei Tecmo Games)

The best reward for helping a friend out is the Silver Coins, the rarest in-game currency, and they are difficult to come by if you are solo. Playing with friends or making new ones online can be a productive way to farm this rare resource early in the game. You could purchase every item in the Longhouse if you have collected enough Silver Coins or buy every gear with higher rarity.

The game takes place in a massive and detailed world, but it could feel dense and lifeless if you always interact with generic NPCs. Playing with a friend will improve immersion and improve your gaming experience, knowing there is another person to hang with inside the lobby.

If you are one of those players who wants to challenge fellow players in combat, it is worth noting that there is no way to fight other ronins. This is a positive feature implemented by Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo to prevent another online game full of hostile players and toxic culture. There is no need to fight one another when the game is full of bandits that can be chopped in half.

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Rise of the Ronin is now available on PlayStation 5 and PC. For more related articles, check these out:

• How to claim pre-order bonuses in Rise of the Ronin
• 5 things Rise of the Ronin does better than Ghost of Tsushima