Nioh 2 offers a wider range of multiplayer options than many Souls-likes on the market, but it doesn’t outright tell you how to play coop with friends. There are a few systems in place, and it is important to know how each works if you are looking to run your cooperative sessions as smoothly as possible.
You can play coop with friends via the Torii Gate or after summoning them from a shrine.
The easiest way to play coop with friends is to use the Expeditions option from the Torii Gate, accessed from the Starting Point on your map. Expeditions essentially start a coop session before setting out on a mission, and they do not require Ochoko Cups (more on those later). You can always matchmake into a random group if all you are looking for is some drop-in/drop-out coop, but to play with friends you will want to set a Custom Match. From here you can either look for an existing room or create one.
The best way to play with friends is to set the summoning condition to a Secret Word, which you can then share with the two friends you wish to play with (there is a three player limit for groups in Nioh 2, yourself included). You can set the condition to Friends, but it doesn’t always play nice. A Secret Word works every time, though if you use a common one you may find yourself in someone else’s room, or send your friends off to a random stranger’s.
What if you are already in a mission and need help from a friend or stranger? Also easy! If you are in a mission visit a shrine and select Summon Visitor. From here you can set similar conditions as an expedition (such as a Secret Word), and even lock the second visitor slot if you only want one person to assist (perfect when looking to strangers for help). The only caveat to this is you will need to use one of the aforementioned Ochoko Cups to complete the summoning, and it will cost one per person invited.
These are not terribly hard to acquire, though. The Kodama Bazaar in the shrine has them on offer, and the currency required to buy them is easily earned by donating equipment found in the field. These cups can also be found on defeated hostile revenants (the red graves of fallen players), so if you are confident in your combat prowess you can farm them this way. The cups are also used to summon friendly AI companions from the blue graves, but these computer-controlled allies tend to get themselves killed quickly, so save your cups for actual people.
If you are looking to join a friend who is using Summon Visitor you will need to be outside of a mission. Head to your Torii Gate and select Random Encounters. From here you can either assist random players looking for help, or join your friend’s game (again, Secret Word is amazing here).
Remember: in Nioh 2 you don’t leave a coop session if you die once. Instead, you have a blue meter that depletes with each death. It’s once that meter empties out that everyone fails the mission (boss battles aside, where the last person standing can try and overcome the encounter). Dark areas will replenish this meter a bit when cleared, and rapidly resurrecting the dead will conserve it. Don’t self-res if someone can reach you and the bar isn’t close to fully depleting.
