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11 Overview
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44 DragonSword: Awakening is a single-player RPG, but Hound13 has built in limited cooperative play for specific content types. The main story and open-world exploration across the Continent of Orbis are solo experiences. Co-op is opt-in for Subjugation boss content (also referred to as Battle) and for Raids, both accessible through invite codes rather than public matchmaking.
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66 Some English-language coverage and the Steam FAQ interchange the words "Subjugation" and "Battle" when referring to the 2-player boss tier. They describe the same content. The rest of this page uses "Battle" for consistency with Steam's own wording.
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88 Player Caps by Mode
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1010 Content TypeMax PlayersJoining MethodBattle (Subjugation)2 playersInvite codeRaid3 playersInvite codeMain story and open worldSolo onlyNot applicable
1111 Battle Mode (2 Players)
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1313 Battle is the 2-player cooperative tier built around named boss encounters, sometimes called Subjugation content in prior builds. A host player opens a session for a specific Battle and shares an invite code with one other player, who drops into the encounter with their own Hero loadout. Both players use their full kit of Active Skills and Signal Skills together against the boss.
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1515 Because Battle scales around two players rather than a full party, it sits between the solo main story and the larger Raid tier in terms of difficulty and preparation. Players who prefer to fight these bosses alone can still attempt them in single-player, but the encounter is tuned with the 2-player option in mind.
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1717 Raid Mode (3 Players)
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1919 Raids are the top-tier cooperative content, supporting up to 3 players in one session. Like Battle, Raids are joined with an invite code shared by the host, not through a public matchmaker. The 3-player cap is the largest party size the game supports: there is no 4-player or larger group play anywhere in DragonSword: Awakening.
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2121 Raids are designed as the most mechanically demanding encounters in the game. Each player brings their own Hero, Familiars, skill loadout, and gear. Coordinating Signal Skill chains and status-ailment tag-team combos across three players is the intended way to clear the hardest Raid bosses.
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2323 How Co-Op Works
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2626 Invite codes, not matchmaking. Players share a code to pull friends into a session. There is no public lobby browser and no automatic matchmaker.Host-based peer-to-peer. One player hosts the session; other players connect directly to that host. This is distinct from the server-hosted model used by MMOs.No regional restrictions. Because the session is host-based, players from different regions can co-op together freely. Significant latency to the host may affect gameplay smoothness, but the game does not block cross-region sessions.Opt-in for supported content only. Co-op is available for Battle and Raid content. The main campaign, open-world traversal including Dragon Riding, and general exploration stay single-player.
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2828 Rewards and Progression
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3030 Co-op rewards feed back into the same single-player progression systems. Gear, materials, and Hero upgrades earned in Battle and Raid sessions apply to the player's own account regardless of whether they were the host or a guest. Because there is no gacha and no monthly pass under the game's buy-to-play model, co-op exists for the content itself rather than as a funnel into monetisation.
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3232 New players can approach co-op content whenever they feel ready. The Getting Started flow does not require co-op, and the full roster of Heroes including Kalien and Lute is earned through story progression rather than through multiplayer drops.
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3434 Single-Player vs Co-Op Differences
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3636 AspectSingle-PlayerCo-op (Battle or Raid)Content typeMain story, open world, exploration, Dragon RidingBattle bosses and Raid encounters onlyParty sizeOne player with Hero-swap on the fly2 players in Battle, 3 players in RaidJoin methodNo join neededInvite code from the hostDifficulty tuningTuned for a single Hero and their FamiliarsTuned around the coordinated party sizeProgression impactPrimary way to unlock Heroes, Familiars, and regionsFeeds back into the same account progression
3737 Design Intent
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3939 The framing Hound13 has used is "single-player package with optional co-op" rather than a live-service MMO structure. In the CEO statement accompanying the self-published Steam release, content that previously supported multiplayer in the Korean free-to-play version, specifically Subjugation and Raids, is preserved here as peer-to-peer play. Everything else has been adapted into a self-contained single-player experience.
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4141 Related
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4343 Heroes - the 19 playable characters, each with their own skill kit.Familiars - collectible companions and mounts that travel with each Hero.Active Skills and Signal Skills - the two skill tiers that power both solo and co-op combat.Dragon Riding - the solo-only aerial traversal system.