Co-op: server list, host loss, and priority targets
Finding a lobby is the easy part now. Keeping four dwarves on the same floor for twelve minutes is the actual skill.
Join a lobby one Threat Level above your comfort zone and copy what the host does. If the host drops, the team restarts the floor under a new host; if it happens on floor one you go back to the Ramrod with the mission still selected.
Finding a team got easier in Update 2 and keeping one got easier in Update 3. Those two changes are the difference between a lobby that never fills and a run that survives a host quitting.
The server list is ungated now. You can join missions at depths and in biomes you have not unlocked, though you still need to unlock a depth before you can host there.
Matchmaking rules
| Rule | Before Update 2 | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Joining a locked depth | Blocked | Allowed |
| Hosting a locked depth | Blocked | Still locked |
| Threat 5 | Reached by grinding | Needs a Threat 4 clear |
| Gauntlet lobbies | Hidden | Listed, Ascension required |
| Priority Target | Did not exist | Marked in the server list |
From official Update 2 and Update 3 notes, checked 2026-11-15. The Threat Level filter also exists in the server list, so a Threat 5 lobby is a deliberate choice rather than a surprise.
When the host disappears
Update 3 added a full host-crash recovery flow, and it has three branches worth knowing before you need them.
| Where the host drops | What the team gets |
|---|---|
| On the first stage | Return to the Ramrod with the mission still selected |
| Mid-run | Regroup under a new host and restart the stage |
| Cannot regroup | Continue solo, or claim rewards and end the run |
| Host aborts on purpose | The team votes: follow to the Ramrod, or restart with a new host |
From the official Update 3 patch notes, checked 2026-11-15. Nothing about this is buried in a menu, the choice appears when the host leaves.
Priority Targets and the +10%
Every Mission Map now carries one Priority Target mission. OMEGA assigns it based on the intel you have collected, and completing it adds 10% to your Reclaimer Points.
The mission is marked in the server list with an icon, so you can find a team already heading there. On a fresh account that bonus compounds: Reclaimer Points turn into Chips at 1,000 points per Chip, and Chips are how Enhancements unlock.
Playing with strangers
Four rules, learned the hard way by everyone:
- Follow the host's route for the first floor. They know which cave they picked.
- Do not start an Expenite Event alone. Triggering it and dying means the team fights the wave for nothing.
- Kill the thing shooting at your Guardian, not the thing in front of you.
- Leave when the host leaves. A run that continues with two people is a run that ends at the Gatekeeper.
Official Ghost Ship Games announcement art.
Why the server list matters for learning
Joining a Depth 4 lobby before you have unlocked Depth 4 is the cheapest way to see a Balgorath fight. You will probably die, and you will see the pattern set that kills 96.4% of players on the first attempt, which is worth more than a guide page.