Co-op question for FREE players

[kiesu]

Hey.
I only just realised this game offers FREE game basically to a friend, and I thought this is the perfect opportunity to introduce a friend who has never player souls-like games to the genre without having her lose money on it if she doesn't like it. It's an awesome addition, thank you very much Devs for this opportunity!

I know next to nothing about co-op the mode, and the few review videos of it are skipping a bunch of relevant info.

My Question is rather simple:
- How do I give her the best possible experience of Lords of the Fallen with this Free pass?

Will she be restricted in any way if she plays the game for Free? If yes, what content will she be restricted from?
I heard only one player gets some items and XP in co-op mode? Which player is that? How do I make sure she gets the edge first? I assume I can play to the point she is at later solo, or how restricted is that? Do we need to do every map twice for both in order to progress?
If there is something only I can loot in world, can i drop it for her?

Any other things or "i wish i would have know this before starting" tips on how to set up an enjoyable as possible co-op campaign?


Also:
"Is crossplay supported?
Yes, password matchmaking enables crossplay for both co-op modes across PS5, Xbox, Steam, Epic, and Windows Store. “Beckon Friend” is platform-specific."

↑ Not sure I understand this. If I have the game on steam and she wants to play on xbox, how do we crossplay. "Becon friend" is plaform spesific, in what way? I dont quite understand what that means.

[HIT2MAN]

start a new playthrough, if you follow the joining steps (mentioned below), no one should be missing any items, xp.

The host has the privilege of the following:
- changing the world to Umbrell
- interact with NPCs to progress side missions
- when you die in combat/fall to death, you will enter Umbrell and get up again (assuming you are in the normal world when dying)

The joiner has only one:

- they dont lose XP when they die

the person using friend pass doesnt have a world to progress through, they only get to finish the tutorial and reach the first rest area. then their only option is to join others.

both of you can always drop items/weapons to each other ( keep a save file on the side if its an item that you also need)

to play with shared progress enabled:

- both need to set the same password
- Host has to select Becon player (not friend)
- Joiner has to select the shared-progress option

[kiesu]

Thank you very much for the clear response!

[mayhem523]

It's a good idea to back up your game regularly in general, but especially in shared coop. In case something goes wrong and you can't progress or join sessions. For example, if you kill a couple bosses in your game without your friend, she won't be able to join anymore because you're too far apart in terms of progress. There's also a bug with the empyrean key that can cause you to get soft locked, if your guest opens the chest its in. So you might want to make copies of your save file after each session.