Back 4 Blood may be made for co-op play, but not all of us have three friends ready to bash zombie skulls in at a moment’s notice. If you’re lacking a full squad, we’ll explain how to play with bots in Back 4 Blood so that you can venture forth without being forced to invite random players.
Back 4 Blood: How to play with bots
First, we need to distinguish between playing with bots and playing solo. If you want to learn how to play Back 4 Blood solo, we have a guide for that here. However, you won’t be able to make progress with your supply runs or other achievements.
If you’ve only got one or two friends and want to fill the remaining slots with AI companions, here’s how to play with bots in Back 4 Blood.
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In the Fort Hope hub area, open the game menu (press Tab on PC). Under the Play tab, select the Preferences option from the menu on the left. Once this is open, swap Private Lobby to on. This will stop the game from matchmaking you with other players, instead filling any empty slots with bots.
As noted above, this system won’t work if you’re hoping to play solo. You need at least one other player in your lobby to play with bots in Back 4 Blood and still earn progression. Invite your friends, swap the preferences to a private lobby, then start searching and the game will find you a server to play on with just you, your pals, and your robot buddies. Back 4 Blood will reset your private lobby preference each time you quit and load the game again, so make sure you set it each time you load up to play with your friends.
Back 4 Blood’s bots aren’t the most capable AI companions, but they will offer an unlimited supply of ammo, always have grenades to toss, and will teleport if you get too far ahead of them. You won’t need to wait for them to enter each safe room either – just slam the door when all human players are inside and they’ll magically warp in to join you.
Now that you know how to play with bots in Back 4 Blood, you can enjoy the campaign without interruptions from random players who forgot to turn off their microphones before blaring out music. We’ve got plenty of other handy guides to kickstart your Ridden slaying, including a list of the game’s best guns to read.
