Rise of the Ronin multiplayer guide: how to invite and play with friends

Rise of the Ronin features online multiplayer just like previous Team Ninja RPGs, and you can team up with two other players to take on the game’s missions in co-op. There are some frustrating limitations to multiplayer though.

Because Rise of the Ronin changes up the traditional Team Ninja formula by moving away from a mission-based structure in favor of an open world, the co-op system doesn’t work like it used to. If you’re trying to play the entirety of Rise of the Ronin with friends, you’ll likely end up disappointed with the new co-op implementation.

How to Play Co-Op in Rise of the Ronin

Co-op play in Rise of the Ronin is only available during missions. When preparing for a main story mission or major side quest, you’ll see an option to “Cooperate” with other players. Choose that option and you’ll be able to invite up to two other players to help you out. You can also invite players during a mission by visiting a Veiled Edge Banner.

If you want to join a random online mission or replay old missions with friends, then head to your Longhouse and choose the Cooperate option. From there, you can invite friends to a party and select any mission that you’ve previously completed or search for a random in-progress mission to join. This is a great way to experience Anti-Shogunate and Pro-Shogunate missions that you may have missed during your playthrough.

In the Cooperate menu, you can also set the co-op mode to open so players can join you during your missions. People can drop in and drop out at any time if you leave co-op open, so make sure to turn it off if you want to experience the story solo.

As players come and go from your session, any AI allies in your party will despawn and reappear as needed. Playing with friends is also a great way to ensure that your party is prepared for all sorts of enemy encounters since you can bring multiple types of weapons with you.

Is There Open World Co-Op in Rise of the Ronin?

Sadly, there is no way to play co-op in the open-world parts of Rise of the Ronin. Unless you’re doing a big mission that has a prep screen beforehand, you won’t be able to invite anyone to play with you. Thankfully, most main story missions have online support and some side quests are big enough to allow for co-op.

It’s super disappointing that you can’t explore Yokohama and the rest of Japan with friends, but there’s still a ton of co-op content in Rise of the Ronin for those who want a new game to play with friends. Especially after you’ve gotten far enough in the main story, there are a ton of missions that you can replay to farm for better gear and equipment. Buildcrafting is a huge part of Team Ninja RPGs and Rise of the Ronin is no exception, so friends can make the grind much more bearable and even make higher difficulties easier to conquer.