GTFO is designed as a co-operative experience. Sure there have been a few players who have managed to clear stages solo or as a duo. But the intention has always been to play as a team of 4, working together to complete objectives for the Warden in the depths of the Complex.

How can you play together?

As of right now there is no in game matchmaking system, although that is something that is currently in the development pipeline. 

Should you have friends who are willing to play the game with you, you can simply invite them via the normal steam invite to game method. 

However, if you’re one of those players who doesn't have a full team of friends to play with, there are other ways to find players. 

The main source of finding players is through the games official Discord channel. Once you’re in the discord you will find a number of ‘looking for group’ rooms with willing players. If you want to create a lobby for others to join you can simply choose the expedition you want to play, create a lobby and then in the top right of the games screen you will see the option to ‘Copy lobby ID to clipboard’. You can then send this on to others and they will be able to join you. 

There is also no in-game VOIP functionality either, so if you want to talk - and you’re going to need to, you can then join one of the many voice chat channels available.

It’s understandable that some people might not feel comfortable playing with strangers. However, the experiences of players that have used this function have found it to be very positive.

Communication is key

Once you’ve created your team, you will quickly realise that you need to have good communication in order to survive the Complex and defeat its inhabitants. 

Whilst it’s not vital, it’s probably a good idea to have one person as the lead, or point man. A person who is deciding where to go or what doors to open. It’s also probably a good idea to have that person be equipped with the bio tracker. That way they’re able to relay important information about the location of enemies. 

Another key thing to consider is syncing stealth attacks. Sometimes when you kill an enemy it’s body might flop over and hit another nearby causing it to become alerted and ensuring all hell breaks loose. However, if you can sync up multiple attacks on multiple enemies at once you will minimise the chance of this happening. It’s therefore vital that you learn how long it takes to charge a melee swing, what the reach of your melee weapon is and what number you’re all ‘going on’. There is nothing worse than saying ‘go on three’ then starting a countdown from three to one - this comes from personal experience. 

The most important thing to remember is to just talk about what you’re doing, if you think you have a clear shot on an enemy don’t just do it, tell your team you’re doing it. Otherwise your team mates might get confused and start shooting too. 

Whilst GTFO is meant to be a challenging co-operative game it’s also meant to be fun. So first and foremost, remember that if you do team up with people you don’t know, be respectful towards them. At the end of the day, we all just want to enjoy playing video games.