Co-op (short for cooperative) is a special game mode (called Co-Op Campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition) in which two players can play multiplayer matches together against the AI on specially designed maps and scenarios. One of the players can also be an AI. This usually comes in the form of campaigns and Historical Battles. They use a slightly modified version of the map, AI, and settings. The civilizations of the human players may not be the same, but it enhances diversity and strengthens both civilizations due to the other's team bonus.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition[]
Co-op campaigns were launched to celebrate the second anniversary of the release of the Definitive Edition, and were added between update 50292 and update 58259. The scenarios of a co-op campaign are all unlocked from the start, so the player(s) do not have to unlock any, unlike the regular single-player versions. The following campaigns are playable as co-op:
Steps[]
To play with other human players, the player can set up a public lobby and wait for other players to join, or the player can also set the lobby as private and send a friend the lobby password to only allow that specific person to join the lobby. The players can chat with each other via the messagebox right above the bottom-most row of buttons. It is also recommended to use voice chat from any other app or social media which supports it, like Discord, as the game does not have an inbuilt voice chat system.
The player can change which of the two players (marked as Player A and Player B in co-op scenario pages) they control by clicking on the numbered and coloured button to the left of their name and icon in the list. Civilization and team cannot be changed. Once another human player has joined the lobby, the lobby host can change the player they or the other human controls.
If wishing to play with the AI as the other deuteragonist, as a sort of online singleplayer, the host can set the other player as "AI" from the dropdown menu seen by clicking on Open.
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition[]
Since update 61213, all Historical Battles can be played in the cooperative mode with another player. For scenarios introduced in expansions, only the hosting player needs to own the corresponding expansion. Both players must be human; an AI cannot be set as the other player.
| Base scenario | Co-op scenario |
|---|---|
| Algiers | Algiers (co-op) |
| Christopher da Gama's Expedition | Christopher da Gama's Expedition (co-op) |
| Chuvash Cape | Chuvash Cape (co-op) |
| Raid on the Caribbean | Raid on the Caribbean (co-op) |
| Fort Duquesne | Fort Duquesne (co-op) |
| Battle of New Orleans | Battle of New Orleans (co-op) |
| The Battle of the Three Kings | The Battle of the Three Kings (co-op) |
| Fall of the Hausa | Fall of the Hausa (co-op) |
| The Era of the Princes | The Era of the Princes (co-op) |
| The Burning of USS Philadelphia | The Burning of USS Philadelphia (co-op) |
| Grito de Dolores | Grito de Dolores (co-op) |
| Battle of Queenston Heights | Battle of Queenston Heights (co-op) |
Age of Mythology: Retold[]
- Main article: Arena of the Gods
| Game modes in the series | |
|---|---|
| Popular | Campaign (II) · Multiplayer · Random map · Deathmatch · Regicide · Nomad · Co-op (Arena of the Gods) · D3 · Free-for-all |
| Battle Royale · Capture the Relic · Defend the Wonder · Dominion · Empire Wars · Historical map · King of the Hill · Sudden Death · Treaty · Turbo Random Map · Tycoon · Wonder Race | |
| Limited time | Chart a Course · Full Moon · Map Monsters · Season's Feast |