While it’s not a requirement, State of Decay 2 is one of those survival games that’s often better with friends. You can invite a pal to join you in rebuilding society, or you can help them with their community, but there’s a catch that we’ll go over more shortly. Here is how to play co-op in State of Decay 2!
How to Play Co-op in State of Decay 2
To play multiplayer in State of Decay 2, you must first connect your game to Steam/Xbox, depending on where you own your copy, and then host a game via the multiplayer settings menu. Once you’ve toggled on the host game option, you may invite a friend to join your game.
Unfortunately, connection woes are my biggest problem when playing coop in State of Decay 2. No matter how stable our internet was, my wife and I failed to play multiplayer four out of five times. It just would not connect.
You may find yourself dealing with similar issues. Just be patient!
State of Decay 2
State of Decay 2, developed by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios, is an open-world zombie survival game with a focus on building and managing a community of survivors.
Related: Vehicle Upgrades and You in State of Decay 2
How Does Multiplayer Work in State of Decay 2?
Unfortunately, and this is what most people don’t want to hear, State of Decay 2’s cooperative game mode does not save progression for both players. It’s not genuine co-op. The host will have their world state, loot, and survivors regularly saved, while the second player can keep some of the spare loot they find and send it back to their community.
For the second player, missions do not save. Nor do survivors. So, if you complete an entire map cooperatively, it only counts for the host.
Furthermore, player two can initiate quests, though they cannot speak with enclaves or NPCs to progress them. Moreover, the host can bring a survivor from their community, meaning you’ll have three characters out in the world to deal with zombies, making said quests much easier to complete.
Lastly, the game utilizes a tethering system. Essentially, the two of you cannot move too far from each other without the second player teleporting back to the host regularly. It’s a major annoyance with such a massive open world to explore!
Many people, myself included, have been kept from thoroughly enjoying the multiplayer in State of Decay 2 because of these little nitpicks. But it’s not all terrible, so long as the second player doesn’t mind helping the host.
Now that you have a co-op partner helping your community thrive, the next step in surviving the zombie apocalypse is getting power in State of Decay 2! The Guide Hall is diving back into the game while we impatiently wait for State of Decay 3!