Best Co-Op RPGs With Deep Progression, Ranked

Sharing the adventure in an RPG with another person adds a unique touch. It’s not only about the treasures or advancements; it’s about jointly making choices, celebrating messy victories, and creating intricate paths together. However, all cooperative RPGs are not crafted equally. Some merely add multiplayer as an afterthought. But others weave their entire experience around it, ensuring that every decision, stat distribution, and chaotic encounter becomes a part of a larger, shared narrative. When this design is supported by advanced progression systems that truly encourage long-term strategy, the experience becomes even more enriching.

Here are some role-playing games (RPGs) that offer more than just button-mashing with friends. These games make teamwork significant and progression fulfilling, whether it’s by synchronizing a party’s stats or having two players debate for half an hour over how to divide one scarce treasure.

7. Warhammer: Chaosbane

Blood for the Blood God, Loot for the Party

For fans who prefer their multiplayer role-playing games dark and brutal, Warhammer: Chaosbane delivers as promised. Situated in the Old World shortly after the Great War Against Chaos, this action RPG immerses players into the lives of hardened warriors who’ve witnessed more than their fair share of atrocities and are no longer shocked by another manifestation of Chaos. The main appeal lies not in the narrative – which follows the standard Warhammer plotline – but in the combat, which is swift, visually striking, and offers enough substance to maintain engagement across numerous hours.

In team play, it truly excels. Each character is tailored for a distinct role, and as challenges intensify, the harmony among them becomes more apparent (and essential). The Dwarf Slayer’s brute melee force harmonizes splendidly with the High Elf Mage’s spell-based crowd control, and synchronizing abilities in real time transforms fights into thrilling, fulfilling skirmishes. Advancement is facilitated by well-structured skill trees, equipment sets, and exclusive Bloodlust powers that significantly alter a character’s performance, motivating players to continue leveling up even after the main story concludes.

6. Wasteland 3

The End of the World is Better With Friends

In the chillingly desolate Colorado landscape after the apocalypse, Wasteland 3 delivers all that fans anticipate from a sequel to the classic Fallout series, yet with an abundance of snow and a darker wit. It heavily emphasizes turn-based tactical combat, ethical dilemmas, and customization options, offering a vast array of perks, skills, and idiosyncrasies that enable players to build extraordinary characters – such as a grandmother armed with a flamethrower or a cunning sniper with a fixation on clowns. Yes, you read that correctly.

Collaborative play, or co-op, offers an engaging experience right from the start. Two players can command distinct squads, work on diverse missions concurrently, and occasionally make decisions that may conflict with each other. The game doesn’t merely tolerate such actions, but enthusiastically fosters them. For instance, one player could be haggling with a cult leader while another is scavenging his kitchen for scrap to resell. Since advancement revolves around managing a base, acquiring new equipment through strategic choices, and fine-tuning team configurations for every peculiar encounter, there’s always something to strategize, discuss, or mishandle spectacularly.

5. Solasta: Crown of the Magister

Rolling Dice and Taking Names

Among all games, none quite replicates the grainy essence of tabletop Dungeons & Dragons like Solasta: Crown of the Magister does. Built upon the SRD 5.1 rulebook, this game is unabashedly true to the dice-driven atmosphere of traditional campaigns, allowing players to witness real die rolls during combat and skill checks. It’s strategic, turn-based, and it proudly embraces its nerdy side.

In the game Solasta, teamwork is crucial. Since each player manages their unique characters, there’s a continuous requirement for strategic planning regarding character placement, spell selection, and the use of verticality – key elements in the game’s level design. The progression of characters is also extensive, with various class archetypes, feats, and multi-classing options available. This enables teams to develop into highly specialized units, ranging from stealthy infiltration squads to groups that unleash an array of area-of-effect spells. While it may not be the most visually striking RPG, for those seeking a cooperative experience that offers an immersive exploration of combat mechanics, Solasta is difficult to surpass.

4. Outward

Two People, One Backpack, Zero Hand-Holding

In this RPG, Outward, tutorials are not a concern. Instead, players are plunged headfirst into a harsh, indifferent world with only essential gear such as a rudimentary weapon, a dilapidated dwelling, and an urgent debt to settle quickly. There’s no overarching storyline or catastrophic threat; it’s all about enduring, discovering, and learning through difficult experiences. In cooperative play, this trial-by-fire becomes a shared challenge that can be as frustrating as it is satisfying.

In the game ‘Outward’, both split-screen and online cooperative play operate seamlessly, yet they don’t simplify things; instead, they heighten resource management requirements significantly. Both players have shared funds, equipment, and at times, even limited backpack storage. Moreover, since enemy difficulty in ‘Outward’ doesn’t adjust according to the size of the party, encounters can turn challenging quickly if roles aren’t clearly defined among players. The game’s progression system is unique yet intricate, deviating from traditional leveling methods. Instead of gaining levels, players pay trainers to learn new skills. Crafting a character involves making difficult choices about specializations, as each skill requires time, silver, and effort to unlock.

3. Diablo 4

The Grind is Real, but so is the Payoff

In simpler terms, Diablo 4 is a game that lets you feel powerful with its gory, cursed, and highly engaging loot systems, all wrapped up in an action role-playing game (ARPG). The narrative resumes decades after the events of Diablo 3, focusing on Lilith and her family’s divine issues, but the core experience lies in customizing your character, seasonal content, and the continuous cycle of exploring dungeons, gathering loot, and refining skills.

In this game, cooperation is smooth and consistently rewarding. Players can team up on a whim, take down world bosses as a group, or combine forces in Nightmare Dungeons where teamwork is crucial. Plus, with the shared world and cross-play options, the community feels more united than before. Progress isn’t limited to leveling up or improving gear; instead, there’s an extensive skill tree, a Paragon system for intricate late-game customization, and the abundance of legendary elements fosters creativity. Every character class has its unique playstyle, and each player contributes something distinct, whether in battle tactics or long-term strategy.

2. Divinity: Original Sin 2

The Former Gold Standard for Co-Op RPGs

In every aspect, Divinity: Original Sin 2 embodies “cooperative excellence.” Crafted with multiplayer at its core, it grants each participant autonomy over a character, shaping their origin story, objectives, abilities, and then immerses them in a world where these elements often conflict. This isn’t an oversight; it’s the design. One player may aim to liberate a tormented spirit, while another might seek to devour it for its memories. Both intentions are valid, and both are backed by the game mechanics.

As a gamer, I find the thrill of progression lies in the abundance of choices at my fingertips. The intricate character builds let me experiment with hybrid classes, devise strategic status-effect combos, and manipulate environments seamlessly within the game mechanics. When I strategize, like using rain to set up an electric shock chain, it always pays off.

Moreover, the world responds dynamically to decisions, both major and minor, adding depth to my adventure. And since cooperative play lets us divide roles, act out diverse characters, and even backstab each other, every gaming session is a fresh, unique story. It’s not just a game; it’s a captivating narrative generator with top-tier turn-based combat mechanics.

1. Baldur’s Gate 3

This is What Happens When Co-Op Meets Theater

In Baldur’s Gate 3, the anarchy of multiplayer role-playing is taken to its extreme, as up to four players can create their unique tale within the Forgotten Realms. While the story centers around a group infected with a mind flayer parasite, it’s the decisions made by the players and the unforeseen consequences that determine whether the party’s chaos turns into a catastrophe. In other words, your friends might just ruin an intricately planned cutscene by leaping onto tables and inciting a bar brawl – but in this game, that’s all part of the experience!

In Larian Studios’ cooperative design, both depth and flexibility are key features. Each player takes command of their unique character, with freedom to make individual dialogue decisions, stray off on their own paths (with consequences either good or bad), all contributing to the overall experience. The tactical turn-based combat, borrowed from Divinity: Original Sin 2, requires teamwork, as each class has a variety of spells, abilities, and special environmental interactions that significantly impact the composition of your party. The progression is directly linked to player ingenuity, with options like multiclassing and skill combination resulting in parties that are distinctively different by the end of the game. The 100+ hours pass swiftly as each act unfolds like a new campaign, making Baldur’s Gate 3 a benchmark in this genre, one that will be hard to surpass.

2025-07-21 00:04