How to Fish Multiplayer and Co-op Guide

Host and invite

Patch 1.0.5 added private lobbies and an invite button, so a friends-only session is the cleanest starting point.

1. Update the game and restart Steam so every player is on the same current build.
2. From the multiplayer flow, create a lobby and select the private session type if you only want invited players.
3. Use the in-game invite button or the matching Steam invitation flow to bring friends into the lobby.
4. Wait until every player has fully loaded before the host starts travel, a quest trigger, or a boss encounter.
5. If an invite fails, return to the lobby rather than spending a one-use progression item while the party state is uncertain.

Four players or eight?

The official store description still advertises one to four, while the newer patch 1.0.4 notes say lobbies support up to eight players.

Save safely in co-op

Patch 1.0.6 changed the save flow: the game autosaves every minute and saves through Save, Main Menu, and Quit, but no longer saves because of a crash.

• Use an intentional Save, Main Menu, or Quit action after an important hand-in instead of treating a crash as a save method.
• Let the party finish an item hand-in and confirm the next objective before the host ends the session.
• The official notes do not document a complete host-versus-client ownership matrix for quests, money, or inventory; do not promise that unverified behavior.
• For a valuable boss drop, agree who carries it, complete the hand-in, and use a normal save path before reorganizing the party.

Join diagnostics

Patch 1.0.9 added a Steam connection debug indicator; a red status means Steam initialization failed, which gives you a useful first branch.

1. Confirm the host and joining players are running the same visible game build.
2. Check the Steam connection indicator. If it is red, fully close the game, verify Steam is online, restart Steam, and launch again.
3. Create a fresh private lobby and send a new invite instead of repeatedly accepting an expired or stale invitation.
4. If loading stops on a black screen, update first: patch 1.0.4 fixed a black-screen multiplayer join case.
5. Reproduce once with a new lobby and note build, host, player count, and indicator color before reporting the problem.