This page is to document current jank and bugs in ITR2 (mostly in coop) that you should know about or have workarounds for. It is going to be likely outdated very quickly as it document a rapidly changing game.

In the early stage coop is janky but very fun. Radiusing with the bro(s) is a great way to experience the zone. It changes the game quite a lot though, mainly in terms of atmosphere. It's less about being an oppressive trawl through hostile conditions and more a challenging adventure. Plenty of solo stuff to do in the first game though.

Coop intro

How coop works at the moment is a host:client system. Only one client is supported in early access, but I presume they will add more later. The host has the master save file for the multiplayer session. This save contains mission and story progression status, and client items.

To host, simply start a coop game. To join, join someones game on steam; it's integrated into steam so you can just right clikc their name in your friends list and join.

Each different client gets a different set of items. They start with a basic kit with a makarov, ammo, heals, probes, rig, backpack, etc. If a client disconnects (or crashes) they take items with them until they load back in. Make sure they don't leave with quest items.

While there is a lot of jank at the moment; it is in a mostly playable state if you know about the issues. It's a lot of fun. There's very little that beats the thrill of scoping out an anomaly field in a house to see if you can find a path inside and then accidentally bumping into a military checkpoint and running away under a hail of bullets.

Coop Workarounds / Jank

Items

Item sync in general - Items don't sync perfectly which causes issues.
Lagging when the host uses items - This can be mitigated by resetting the host's rig. Take it off and put it back on at the start of a map and your client should stop lagging out when you grab rig items. We think this is because the location of the rig is off screen and the game trying to match the position the client thinks it is in and the position the host is saying it is going to causes physics collisions or something and it just lags out for a bit.
Artifact grabbing - There's a bit of a bug as the client can't break jars on client side but it still breaks host side. Clients at the moment shouldn't go artifact hunting by themselves.
Empty Magazines - Sometimes the client will not see that magazines are full.
Unusable/vanished items - The client will sometimes not see items in their own rig. The host should grab and put them back in the client's rig for them.
Clients can't use probes - I hope this is fixed soon, the only workaround is have the host use all the probes.

Visuals

Corpses - Enemies don't float and dissolve yet for the client, they just vanish.

Anomalies

Anomalies are actually synced.

Interface

When loading a save after death for some reason the single player saves are listed. You will need to respawn (come back to life) and use the main menu load function to access your coop saves.

Crashes

When loading into a new zone, client crashes are likely.

Singleplayer / Host Jank

Weapons not showing a round in the chamber - (Some?) weapons don't show that a round is in the chamber. Very annoying since it's important to pull the slide or bolt back a bit to check if it's loaded. You need to either fully cycle and reload the magazine or keep mental track.

Balance Issues

In coop you get the same amount of money as singleplayer but have to buy stuff for two people. While combat is easier, it's not cheaper. You will probably have to do lots more side missions and money runs than you would in single player.