Romestead Co-op Guide (1–8 Players)

Romestead supports up to 8 players in online co-op and LAN, with scaled difficulty. Co-op makes the boss fights significantly easier but introduces a different problem: coordinating storage, roles, and god choices across a shared settlement. This guide covers the practical decisions you need to make in the first 30 minutes of a co-op run.

Hosting and joining

Romestead's co-op runs on Steam friend invites. To host:

1. Start or load a singleplayer save.
2. Open the pause menu and select the co-op option.
3. Invite friends via the Steam overlay.
4. For LAN, both clients need to be on the same network with the LAN option enabled.

Joiners need their own copy of the game. Cross-platform isn't yet supported as of the current Early Access build.

Difficulty scaling

• Enemy spawn density and HP scales with player count. Bosses are tuned harder in a 4-player run than in solo.
• Resource yields generally don't scale. A tree drops the same lumber whether one or four players chop it — meaning per-capita resources go down with more players. Plan economy accordingly.
• Raid waves scale. A Satyr raid on a 4-player settlement is significantly more dangerous than a solo raid. Wall earlier in co-op.

Roles for 2 players

The most common co-op size. Recommended split:

• Player A: Scholar (ranged backup) — handles dungeon-diving, scouts new biomes, can solo-clear weak enemies while Player B builds.
• Player B: Legionary or Woodcutter — front-line in fights, primary base-builder. Lumber-heavy economy means Woodcutter pays off fast.

In boss fights, Scholar kites from range, Legionary draws aggro and tanks hits.

Roles for 3 players

• Player A: Scholar (ranged DPS, scout)
• Player B: Legionary (melee/tank)
• Player C: Miner — pushes the Tin/Bronze timeline. With a dedicated miner, you'll have Bronze gear days earlier than a 2-player run.

Roles for 4–8 players

At 4+ players, specialization matters more than coverage:

• 2 combat-focused players (Scholar + Legionary)
• 1 economy player (Woodcutter or Miner)
• 1 dedicated builder/explorer who scouts new biomes, recruits NPCs, manages the Shrine quests
• 5–8 players: add additional combat or economy roles based on group preference. Avoid stacking more than two Scholars — you'll be range-heavy and base-light.

Storage etiquette

In co-op, shared storage is the most common source of friction. Recommendations:

• Designate one central Food Storage and one central material storage. Everyone dumps there. No personal hoards.
• Personal chest per player for unique gear (Feathered set, named weapons, potions you don't want consumed). One chest each, off the shared system.
• Tools go in workshop storage, not personal inventory. A spare pickaxe in the Mine means the next player to work the Mine doesn't have to dig in their bag.
• Communicate before pulling crafted gear. "I'm taking the Bronze Spatha" in voice/chat prevents another player from looking for it ten minutes later.

Same god, different god

An important early-game decision: should the whole party court the same god, or split?

• Same god (recommended for first co-op run): Worship Points stack per player at the shared Altar. You unlock blessings and god quests faster. Downside: you all have the same active blessing pool.
• Split (Mars + Ceres + Diana, for example): Each player courts a different god, broadening total blessings available. Slower per-god progression. Better for long-running settlements where you can afford the time.

Remember: only one blessing can be active per player at a time. So even with split worship, each player can only equip one blessing in the moment. See our gods guide for blessing details.

Co-op mistakes to avoid

1. No assigned roles. If everyone tries to fight and build, nobody does either well. Talk roles in the first 10 minutes.
2. Triggering the Satyr war before everyone's geared. The raid hits the whole settlement. If half the party is still in flint armor, you'll lose citizens (permadeath) and possibly buildings.
3. One player monopolizing dungeon loot. Bronze Spatha drops should go to the front-line player, not the scout who picked it up first. Talk about loot priority.
4. Not designating a host for restarts. If the host disconnects, the session ends. Decide who has the stable connection.
5. Skipping the Shrine because "someone else will do it". The Shrine is mandatory for progression — explicitly assign someone to handle god offerings.