Multiplayer and Mods

Barony supports co-op for up to four players. The dungeon does not change structurally in multiplayer, but enemy counts and difficulty scale with party size. Having a full four-player team with dedicated roles (tank, healer, DPS, utility) makes the game more manageable through the mid and late floors. The game also has full Steam Workshop support for mods that range from cosmetic retextures to custom dungeon maps.

Multiplayer Setup

Option 1: Steam Lobby (Recommended)

The easiest way to play with friends. No port forwarding needed.

Launch Barony and click Start Game from the main menu.
Go through character creation (race, class, name).
In the lobby screen, click View Game Settings.
Set the lobby visibility to Public (anyone can join) or Friends Only (Steam friends only).
Your friends can join through the Steam friends list by right-clicking your name and selecting Join Game, or by browsing the in-game lobby browser.

tip

If friends cannot see your lobby in the browser, have them restart their game. The lobby list sometimes takes 30 seconds to refresh after a new lobby is created.

Option 2: Direct IP / LAN

For players on non-Steam versions or those who prefer a direct connection.

Host setup:

Open Barony and select Host LAN Lobby from the multiplayer menu.
Forward port 57165 on your router for both UDP and TCP to the machine hosting the game. Both protocols are required for the connection handshake to succeed.
Share your public IP address with the players who need to connect.

Client setup:

Open Barony and go to the lobby browser.
Select the option to enter a direct IP address.
Type the host's public IP followed by the port:

123.456.7.8:57165

Connect.

warning

If port forwarding is not an option (corporate networks, university dorms, restrictive ISPs), use a VPN service like Hamachi or ZeroTier to create a virtual LAN. Both players need to join the same virtual network, and the "host" shares their VPN IP instead of their public IP.

LAN Play

If everyone is on the same local network:

Host selects Host LAN Lobby.
Clients open the lobby browser. The host's lobby appears automatically on the LAN tab.
Click the lobby and join. No port forwarding needed.

Multiplayer Rules and Limitations

Rule	Detail
Party size	2 to 4 players
Drop-in/drop-out	Not supported. All players must be present from the start of the run.
Save compatibility	If you save a multiplayer run and resume later, all original players must be present with compatible save files. Missing players break the save.
Difficulty scaling	Enemy count and HP increase with more players. A four-player game has roughly twice the enemies of a solo run.
Loot	Loot is shared. Items are first-come, first-served. Coordinate with your team to distribute gear effectively.
Permadeath	If one player dies, they stay dead for the rest of the run unless another player has a Resurrect scroll or spell.

info

Starting a fresh game is almost always easier than resuming a save in multiplayer. Save files are fragile and mismatch issues are common. Treat each multiplayer session as a standalone run.

Co-op Strategy

Recommended Party Composition

Role	Best Class	Job
Tank	Warrior	Lead the party. Enter rooms first. Absorb damage.
Healer	Cleric or Healer	Stay behind the tank. Keep the party alive with Thaumaturgy healing spells.
DPS	Hunter or Ninja	Deal damage from range or backstab priority targets. Let the tank hold aggro.
Support	Bard or Brewer	Buff the party (Bard instruments) or brew potions (Brewer alembic). Manage resources for the group.

Communication Tips

Call out traps. The player with the highest Perception should scout ahead.
Share food. The player with the lowest hunger should eat first.
Coordinate loot. The tank gets the best armor, the healer gets mana potions, the DPS gets weapon upgrades. Do not compete for drops.
Stick together. Splitting up in a dungeon with scaling enemy counts is how parties wipe on Floor 3.

tip

The Healer class is weak solo but shines in co-op. A dedicated healer who focuses entirely on keeping the tank alive lets the whole party push 5 to 10 floors deeper than a party of four DPS characters.

Steam Workshop

Barony has built-in Steam Workshop support. Mods install automatically when you subscribe to them.

Installing Workshop Mods

Open the Barony Steam Workshop page in your browser or through the Steam client.
Browse or search for mods.
Click Subscribe on any mod you want.
Launch Barony. Go to the Custom Content menu.
Your subscribed mods appear in the list. Toggle them on or off.

Types of Mods

Mod Type	What It Changes	Examples
Custom Maps	New dungeon layouts or standalone challenge floors	Community dungeons, arena modes
Voxel Models	Replaces character and item 3D models (`.vox` files)	HD weapon models, character reskins
Retextures	Swaps dungeon and item textures	High-res floor textures, themed dungeon packs
Audio/Music	Replaces sound effects or background music	Custom soundtracks, retro sound packs
Gameplay Mods	Changes mechanics, items, or balance	New classes, rebalanced enemies, added items

Manual Mod Installation

If you are not using the Steam version, or a mod is not on the Workshop:

Download the mod files.
Place them in the mods/ directory inside your Barony installation folder.
Launch the game and activate the mod through the Custom Content menu.

warning

Mods can conflict with each other. If you experience crashes or visual glitches after installing multiple mods, disable them one at a time to find the conflict. Always keep a backup of your save files before testing new mods.