How to Play Co-op in No Rest for the Wicked | No Rest for the Wicked co-op Guide

No Rest for the Wicked has been in early access for nearly two years. Recently, it received a highly anticipated update that introduced four-player online co-op. This action RPG with Souls-like mechanics already stands out in many ways, and its co-op features continue this trend by offering some of the most robust and player-friendly multiplayer options seen in the genre. So follow along as this guide walks you through how to play co-op in No Rest for the Wicked.

How to Play Co-op in No Rest for the Wicked | No Rest for the Wicked co-op guide

When you launch No Rest for the Wicked, your first step is to create a character. Characters represent your builds, including stats, gear, and weapons. Next, you will start a campaign, which the game refers to as a realm. It is important to understand that characters and realms are separate entities in this game. Realms are individual campaigns that can be played either solo or in co-op mode.

• To begin co-op play, one player must create a realm. This involves naming the realm and selecting a difficulty level. The difficulty can be changed at any time during gameplay.
• After creating the realm, open it and use the share function to invite your friends to join your party.
• Invited players will see the realm show up in their realms tab.
• Once all players are ready, you can start the campaign together from the very beginning.

Shared Progression and No Host Requirement

One of the most innovative aspects of co-op in No Rest for the Wicked is shared progression. The realm you create can be accessed and played by any invited player at any time, as long as they are online. Unlike many co-op games that require the host to remain online or depend on paid persistent servers, this game does not have those limitations. It's honestly something that games like Palworld should adopt.

• Any player in the party can enter the realm and progress the campaign or develop their character independently. There is no need for a dedicated host or paid server to keep the realm alive.
• Because characters and realms are separate, you can use the same character to join multiple realms. This allows you to play solo or with different groups while keeping your character’s stats and items intact across all realms.
• You are not limited to joining realms that are just starting either. You can bring an existing character into a realm that has already been progressed by someone else.
• The game supports multiple characters per player, so you can experiment with different builds and playstyles.

Loot and Trading Systems

Loot is not shared between players, which keeps the game balanced and competitive. However, No Rest for the Wicked includes a free economy trading system that allows players to trade items at any time.

Once players have progressed enough to purchase houses, they can set up shared storage chests. These chests enable players to leave items behind for friends to collect later. This system encourages cooperation while maintaining individual loot progression.

Player Agency and Realm Ownership

The player who creates the realm has extra control. They can remove other players from the realm permanently since the realm is limited to four players total. However, to prevent abuse of this power, realm creators can share ownership with trusted players, giving them the same administrative rights.

Beyond realm ownership, all players have equal agency within the world. There are virtually no gameplay or interaction differences between the first player and the subsequent players.

Dynamic Difficulty Scaling and Exploration

Difficulty scaling in No Rest for the Wicked is highly advanced. The game dynamically adjusts the number and toughness of enemies based on how many players are in the realm. This affects both regular enemies and bosses, sometimes changing their AI behavior. This isn't anything new as games like Diablo have been doing it for a while now.

What is a little different though is that the difficulty scaling is location-based rather than solely player count-based. If players move far enough away from each other so that their icons no longer appear on the left side of the screen, the difficulty scaling stops applying to them.

This means players can split up and explore different parts of the world independently without being restricted by the co-op difficulty adjustments.

Cross-Play and Future Updates

Currently, No Rest for the Wicked is available only in early access on Steam, so there is no cross-play or cross-save support at this time. The developers have stated that full cross-play between PC and consoles, as well as cross-save support, is planned. But it might be a little while yet.

Console versions for PlayStation and Xbox are expected to launch alongside the official 1.0 release sometime late 2026 or early 2027 give or take a bit as usual.