Back 4 Blood was intentionally designed to be just like Left 4 Dead. Because of that, some of the worst experiences in playing this game can be from random players ruining the run. Sometimes, you’d rather just play with bots and spend time with a group of friends! And if you want to ensure that your friends join a lobby, rather than random idiots, you’re gonna want to change some things. So, if you’re wondering how you play with only your friends in Back 4 Blood, then we can help you out!
How to Play With Friends Only in Back 4 Blood
In order to play with friends only in Back 4 Blood, you must head into the “Preferences” tab of your main campaign menu. Once you’re in Preferences, select “Private Campaign Lobby” and switch it to “on.” Once this is on, you must invite your friends to the lobby by going to your Party menu – which is usually the same menu where you choose your campaign type – and inviting them there. You can also invite players during games by heading to this menu, but you can’t exactly pause a run!
Once your party is all together, you start a run just like you normally would. A Private Lobby still needs to “Search for a Game” for a bit before the servers realize you’re a private server. Then, you will automatically reserve a server and start a game. If you run with a party of less than four, you will have some bot teammates. This is unfortunate, because the bots are… not great. However, at least they’ll try to help you out of jams!
While on the Preferences menu, Voice Preference doesn’t do anything unless you plan on actively matchmaking. You should probably keep Crossplay to “On.” Otherwise, some PC players who don’t know about their Xbox integration might be kicked out of your party.
Also, if you invite new people to a not-full run, then they’ll take control of the bots. And the bots don’t really get weapon upgrades or cards. So, consider making a new run if you’re adding a friend to the mix!
We’ve got some more Back 4 Blood guides, if you’re interested!