In Dying Light 2, co-op can make the difference between survival and starting over. Like the original game in the series, you can enjoy most of Dying Light 2 cooperatively, but you'll need to get beyond a particular story checkpoint before it becomes available to you. Here's all you need to know about how to play Dying Light 2 in co-op, as well as the settings you'll want to change to make your open world available to friends, anyone, or even no one, for those times when you want to face the undead horde in solo mode.

　　

Dying Light 2 co-op

Dying Light 2 co-op is available for almost all of the open-world action-RPG. That means you could take up to three friends through the vast majority of the 80+ hour sandbox, but you'll need to first do the opening prologue on your own. In Dying Light 2, the prologue is considered the main story up until you complete the mission called Markers of Plague. Once you've checked that box, you'll be given the proverbial keys to Villedor and you'll be able to invite friends and other players to your game at will.

　　

Dying Light 2: How to make public lobby

There are several settings related to Dying Light 2 that will further enhance your co-op experience. You'll want to consider just how often, if at all, players can join your game, and whether that's limited to friends or allows for strangers. By default, Dying Light 2 will be set to single-player mode, meaning you can pause freely and expect no arrivals from other players. To change this, head into the pause menu, then Online, and lastly, Online Options. You'll have to choose from several settings:

　　

Game Type

Public: Open to all playersFriends-only: Open to just friendsPrivate: Open only to those you invite yourselfSingle-Player: Not open to any co-op mode

Call For Help

This feature automatically invites other players to join you at a cadence of your choosing:

　　Never: Will not invite players to joinFrom time to time: Sometimes invites players on your behalfRegularly: Sends frequent invitesBring a friend and you'd have a helping hand in this moment.You'll also be able to toggle voice chat on or off and select a voice chat volume from this menu. From the preceding menu, Online, you can also quick-join an open lobby or search a list of active games, though this list does not seem to populate right now. You're also able view your friends list and even add previous players to your favorites list--though if you're really getting along with someone, it might be time to add them to your friends list anyway.

　　Bringing friends on your missions, side missions, and open-world activities can make things easier, especially in combat, and more fun. Some players are reporting co-op disconnections out of the gate for the new game, but hopefully, these are contained issues and to be fixed soon. For more on Dying Light 2, learn how to repair weapons, what to do at night, and read our Dying Light 2 review.

　　Mark Delaney on Google+