How to invite your friends in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2 is far more fun if you invite your friends to play with you. Sure, you can solo most of the content, but why not bring along some friends — or even make some new ones? Such games are almost always more fun when you bring along a few allies to crush the forces of evil with you. After all, PoE 2 is certainly a harder game than the original release, so it couldn’t hurt to bring a party.

No one class or ascension can do everything - so why not invite a friend to your Path of Exile 2 gameplay to have some extra firepower? Maybe you want someone tankier, or with lots of minions to help do extra damage? No matter the reason, it’s not too hard to bring friends along.

How to add a friend in Path of Exile 2

It’s relatively simple to add a friend in Path of Exile 2. All you need to do is open the Social Menu, and, while in the “Friend” tab, select “Add New Friend”. From there, just type the character’s name, and any extraneous numbers you find, along with hashtags. That’s to differentiate that person from others in the world.

PoE 2 makes it pretty easy to add friends (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Then that person just has to accept, and you’ll see them in your friend list. If you invite that person to a party in Path of Exile 2, they’ll always be in the same instance as you - though you do have to be on the same server.

How does the Party Board work in Path of Exile 2?

There aren't many parties going right now, but that'll change when Early Access kicks off officially (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

The Party Board is where you can make, or look for groups that are doing particular content. Path of Exile 2’s Party Board system means you don’t have to go and look for the Notice Board to find a group, or use global channels. Just open the Social Menu, and tab over to the “Party” section.

You’ll be asked to Create or Join a party unless you’re already in one. You can have up to six players in a party in Path of Exile 2, so bringing friends along is easier than ever. If you create a party, you set the party title, have a few settings to play with, and can also make it private.

You can set a few Item Allocation modes: Free for All, Short, and Permanent Allocation. In addition, you adjust Default Level Downscaling. You can enable or disable this, depending on if you want allies to downscale to the party average. Finally, you can adjust who gets access to Map Portals: All Party Members, Only Friends, Only Friends or Guild, or Only You. This can restrict who can follow you back into areas, so use it wisely.

Otherwise, you can try to join parties. You do this in Path of Exile 2 by selecting Join Party instead, and by looking at the various groups that are presently in play. If one fits what you’re trying to do, try to join them — at that point, it’s up to the other party if they want to bring you along, though.

Things you need to know about co-op sessions: Bossing, portals, and more

If you should disconnect/die and leave the fight, we noticed that loot didn't drop if the boss died before we got back (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Co-op gameplay is a great deal of fun in Path of Exile 2, but all our experience so far has been from significant distances. You can only queue for a party with people on the same server as you, but you can change that at the character select screen.

It’s pretty straightforward as an experience, but there are a few things we noticed. If you die against a boss and respawn/get disconnected, and the boss dies, you won’t get any of the loot, so do try to stick around for a revive, or until the boss has been defeated.

Another aspect is that if an ally gets disconnected, they’ll no longer have access to your portal that you put up. It’s a different instance now, and if you want to bring them back — say if you’ve gone to a different area — you must go back and make another portal in the current town hub you’re both using.

While the game is supposed to have full crossplay and co-op in Early Access, it’s not known if it’s available at this time. We’ll have to wait until Early Access opens up officially to ascertain. It is in the cards though, so you should eventually be able to play with anyone, regardless of platform.

Check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and features

Jonathan Rogers on why Path of Exile 2 is harder than the first game
Path of Exile 2: All returning League mechanics confirmed so far
Path of Exile 2 Ascension Trials, explained