How To Unlock And Play Co-op Mode In Genshin Impact?

One of the best aspects that separate Genshin Impact from other great open-world titles like Breath of the Wild is that it can be played with a bunch of friends in co-op mode. And while that’s great and all, the co-op mode is unfortunately not accessible to players right out of the gate.

How To Unlock Co-op Mode

To unlock co-op mode, players will need to hit Adventure Rank 16, which takes quite a bit of time to reach in the game. Depending on your pace, it can take you anywhere from 8 to 10 hours to get this rank.

However, the great thing is that it isn’t incredibly hard to get the Adventurer’s Experience (not the same thing as Character Experience) needed to level up your Adventurer Rank. There’s almost little to no grinding involved.

Just play through the game and complete the main quest line. Maybe find some Statues of the Seven or clear out the Abyssal Domain dungeons. Open chests, explore, or cook, play through the game and you should reach Rank 16 before you know it.

How Co-op Works

Once unlocked, the co-op in Genshin Impact works the same as it does in a number of other games. One player acts as the host, and then up to three other players can join their world, explore the map, and engage in multiple activities.

Remember before playing, though, that multiplayer changes how party-switching works in the game, and players cannot swap between 4 different characters whenever they want, like in a single-player.

2 Player Co-op: When it’s just the host and another player, both participants are limited to 2 characters.

3 Player Co-op: When it’s the host and two other players, then only the host has two characters to swap between while the visitors are limited to just one.

4 Player Co-op: When playing in full four-player co-op, each participant, including the host, only has access to one character.

Limitations

Playing co-op doesn’t come without its own set of limitations and setbacks.

And while some of these drawbacks are understandable, some are just disappointing to see in 2020 and beyond.

• Genshin Impact co-op is cross-platform, and PC, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Android users can play together, but only if they all happen to be on the same regional server.
• All players wanting to join a co-op session will have to have reached Adventure Rank 16, which is quite an ask for many players who will pick up Genshin Impact specifically to play multiplayer.
• Story Quests cannot be accessed in co-op, and the host cannot get assistance in these from their visitors.
• Spiral Abyss is a unique type of Abyssal Domain that is locked off in co-op, and this is a shame since this is an excellent end-game activity that players would have liked to undertake with their friends.
• Guests cannot open chests, make offerings to the statues of the Seven, or even collect some handy items in co-op. On the one hand, this makes sense as it doesn’t allow visitors to steal critical articles from the host, but on the other, it’s inconvenient that item drops are not instanced for each player.

Now that you know how to start playing co-op with your friends, all of you should start making your way up to Adventure Rank 16.