PEAK Late Join Guide: Mid-Game Play with Friends

Authored by Jason B. | PEAK

PEAK supports joining active gameplay sessions without mods, but specific conditions must be met. Failed join attempts often stem from lobby settings, Steam privacy configurations, or technical glitches.

Session Joining Mechanics

Requirements: Friends must be on your Steam list, and your lobby must be set to Invite Only or Friends Only.
Spawn Point: Joiners appear at your current zone’s campfire without requiring host intervention.
Critical: Players joining must initiate from the Steam main menu, not from another active session.

Troubleshooting Steps

Friend’s Status: Ensure they’ve exited all active games/lobbies and are at Steam’s main menu.
Lobby Settings: Confirm Invite Only mode via the pause menu – stricter settings block spontaneous joins.
Steam Privacy: Adjust via Profile > Edit Profile > Privacy Settings:
- Set Game Details to Friends Only/Private to restrict access
- Loosen restrictions if invites malfunction
Direct Steam Joins: Bypass in-game invites – use Steam’s Join Game option via right-clicking the friend’s profile.
Session Reset: Restart the game if all settings appear correct – lingering bugs sometimes require fresh sessions.

Join Mechanics & Exceptions

Spawning: Late joiners materialize at the host’s latest accessible campfire.
Unstable Zones: Joining during fog/combat may cause spawn errors. Progressing to the next checkpoint often resolves this.
Blocked States: Joins are disabled during cutscenes, loading screens, or active combat encounters.

Developer Updates (June 24)

Set Invite Only as default lobby privacy
Prevented Steam profile joins from bypassing lobby rules
Improved mid-session invitation reliability

Developers continue monitoring join functionality for unresolved issues.

Key Recommendations

Successful mid-game joins require:

Host’s lobby set to Invite Only
Invited players initiating from Steam’s main interface
Session restarts for persistent issues

FAQs

Can friends join mid-session?: Yes, via campfire spawns in open lobbies.
Mods required for joins?: No – native Steam integration handles invitations.
Invite failures?: Usually caused by recipient’s active session or lobby bugs. Use Steam’s direct join option.
Late joiner spawn points?: At host’s most recent campfire.
Stuck in terrain/fog?: Occurs during map transitions. Advance to next campfire to fix.
Adjusting lobby privacy?: Pause menu > Lobby Settings > Invite Only/Friends Only.
Blocking random joins?: Steam Privacy Settings > Game Details > Friends Only.
Current stability?: Mostly functional post-patches, though rare issues persist.