EAC optional but...?

[Toshironikko]

The pinned post says EAC is optional but will I be able to play with friends online? I don't care about playing with random ppl.

[Kaoshi[San]™]

Been wanting to ask this very question, but was holding on until release and it'll be my deciding factor if I get the game or not. I only want to play co-op with my friends and maybe versus with just a small group of friends, but if I need EAC for any kind of online interaction I pass.

Would've been nice if we could host our own servers, we could just kick/block the cheaters out. I had so much hope for this game and it all just went poof the moment EAC came into the equation.

[&rew]

The dev's responses seem to indicate that it's required for anything that goes online, yes. And there's no mention of LAN or direct IP connections that could sidestep the EAC requirement.