It's only a matter of time before you get fed up with the NPCs in Far Cry 5 and start craving actual human companions in the game. While Ubisoft does a great job of making Hope County's citizens believable and relatable, they're not as helpful or as chaotic as your actual friends. Luckily, you can invite others over to a multiplayer session in Far Cry 5.

It's a welcome addition after the feature's absence in the preceding game, Far Cry Primal. Hence, there's more fun to be had in Far Cry 5 while you wage war against cult zealots who have nothing better to do than huff hallucinogenic flowers while land-grabbing. Still, Far Cry 5's multiplayer can be quite chaotic as well (that's the trademark) so it pays to know what you're getting into before you purchase the game for that aspect of gameplay.

Updated August 3, 2022 By Ben Jessey: Far Cry 5 has recently been added to Xbox Game Pass. And it is a welcome addition, as it's a fantastic open-world action game.

While the title is fun to play alone, it's even more enjoyable to have a friend by your side for your adventure. However, there are a lot of great co-op games out there to play. So before you commit to Far Cry 5, you may want to learn more about it first. This is why we created this list, which now contains even more information.

12/12 You Can Only Play Co-Op After Leaving Dutch's Island

Far Cry 5 Screenshot Of Dutch

Far Cry 5 begins with some cutscenes showing your character arriving in Hope County and facing Joseph Seed. Things quickly go wrong, and you end up having to escape to an island in the center of the map and meet up with Dutch.

This island serves as an extended tutorial section where the game explains how to do everything during a series of quests. You can't complete this section of the game with a buddy, as co-op only becomes available after you leave Dutch's island.

11/12 The Game Uses A Drop-In Drop-Out System

Far Cry 5 Screenshot Of Car Chase

You may notice that there isn't a co-op story option on the main menu of the game. And when you select a new game, you're not taken to any sort of lobby. This is because Far Cry 5 uses a 'drop-in drop-out' co-op system. So, you invite or join players when you're already in the game.

It makes for a more fluid system as your friends can join or leave as they like - depending on your settings. Plus, it means if you lose connection to your teammate, you aren't kicked back to the main menu, nor do you lose progress.

10/12 There's Only A Co-Op Mode For Vanilla Multiplayer

far cry 5 coop hunting

First thing's first, what type of multiplayer does Far Cry 5 offer? Sadly, only Co-Op is supported in the official and main game. There's no competitive side to it unless you start counting in-game kills like Gimli and Legolas in The Lord of the Rings.

On the plus side, there's little to no toxicity in that kind of multiplayer scheme. It's all about helping others progress their game session. Moreover, connection issues won't hamper the experience too much as you won't return to find yourself dead and gearless.

9/12 It's Not Cross-Platform

boomer stealing a gun in far cry 5

Another caveat you might want to consider before diving into Far Cry 5 for its multiplayer experience is that doesn't support cross-platform play. Far Cry 5 is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. However, there's no way for PC players to connect with their console buddies and vice versa, meaning the pool of people you can play with might get limited.

Another logical consideration for this is that PC players typically have an aiming advantage due to a control scheme more conducive for shooting games so not having cross-platform play might be for the best.

8/12 Up To Two Players Can Team Up

Far Cry 5 Cultist Millionaires enemies

In addition to the rather limited availability of friends to play with in Far Cry 5's multiplayer, the number of active multiplayer participants at a given main game session is only a maximum of two. Basically, a two-player Co-Op.

So you'll have to be picky with who you invite or with who you join or help. One of the possible reasons for this is that the Co-Op enemies likely weren't programmed or armed to deal with more than two competent entities in the game world.

7/12 The Campaign Is Playable In Co-Op

Far Cry 5

As for which Co-Op enemies you'll be facing in Far Cry 5's official multiplayer? None other than the campaign enemies. Far Cry 5's single-player was also designed to be playable in Co-Op, hence the Co-Op spots in the main game.

One thing to consider as well is the lack of split-screen Co-Op which other games with multiplayer campaigns have implemented. Both players will be present in the host player's campaign and will progress only the host's game world.

6/12 Co-Op Is Limited For The Invited Friend

Far Cry 5 Hour of Darkness DLC Guy Marvel gun mod

So what other limitations are available for Co-Op? Well, the host player usually gets the most benefits out of any multiplayer session in Far Cry 5. The joining player doesn't really get much, apart from the typical loot.

They get neither mission nor story progress as the only progress that gets filled is in the host player's game world. On top of that, only the host can interact with the NPCs. If the joining player strays too far, they get respawned back to the host player.

Far Cry 5 Reshade presets

With the limited progress for joining players in mind, it's best for them to refrain from Co-Op invites from hosts. That is assuming they're just new to the game and haven't progressed their story or campaigns.

Because if the joining player pushes with this and is new to the game, then they'll risk the content getting spoiled. Moreover, they'll have to do the effort all over again once they return back to their game worlds.

4/12 Friendly-Fire Is Possible

two players facing enemies on the street

With all the restrictions in store for the multiplayer mode, some of you might deem it stale but you can always spice up the experience for example, by turning on the friendly-fire mode.

By default, this mode is turned off in the settings but you can flick it back on anytime. This way, Co-Op can be made more fun and risky as well as more intricate. Being careful with your shots certainly adds another layer of difficulty in a game that's easy enough to cheese.

3/12 There's A Map Editor

Far Cry 5 Fishing

Speaking of methods of increasing the fun factor in Far Cry 5's multiplayer mode, another thing that you can do is to dabble in the map editor. It's called Far Cry Arcade and it's a dedicated and powerful tool that allows players to create their own maps.

You can use this tool within Far Cry 5 to let your creativity run wild. You can then share custom-made maps with other players and also check out their maps. This way, players get to create their own community within Far Cry 5 that's bigger than the two-player Co-Op.

2/12 PvP Is Available Via Player-Made Maps In Far Cry Arcade

far cry 5 arcade wacky map

In addition to having a flexible and relatively complex map editor and creator, Far Cry 5's Arcade also allows a curbed version of PvP for those looking for competition, rather than Co-Op, in the multiplayer aspect.

Players can create their own PvP modes within the Arcade and let others kill one another in their maps. Some of the maps can be insane and interesting too. Apart from PvP, players can also create their own custom story or Co-Op missions with the map editor.

1/12 There's No Official PvP Support

far cry 5 arcade pvp scene

With that said, and despite the presence of a bootleg PvP mode in the map editor, there is no official PvP support for Far Cry 5. No score-tracking or reward tracks exist that are sanctioned by the developers.

As such, don't expect much from its player-created PvP mode. It's lackluster or fundamentally unrewarding compared to games with dedicated PvP modes such Halo or Battlefield. Still, if you have friends or just want to try out what else Far Cry 5 has to offer, then its multiplayer is good enough.

NEXT: Far Cry: New Dawn - Every Companion In The Game, Ranked From Worst To Best