It's been reported that after you and your friends get co-op working (see below for how), if you ACCEPT an invite from your friend WHILE YOU ARE NOT IN GAME YOURSELF, then it will delete your save file, reset your stats to level 1, and remove all chapter progress. (You'll still be able to play with your friends, but your turtle(s) will be at level 1 and you won't have any of the special weapons unlocked. You'll also be forced to start at chapter 1 since you won't be able to click 'ready' on any other chapter even if the host sets it to another chapter. And after you play your co-op game, you'll have to replay the introduction before you can even get back to the main menu again.)

However, if you manually load up the game BEFORE accepting your friend's invite, then it should not reset your progress and everything should work fine.

Let's hope they fix this bug, but until then, beware!

Almost everyone is having problems even getting Co-op to work right now. However, it IS possible to get it to work (I've played several co-op games myself and it's fun!)

It's basically as simple as making sure your ports are open. The easiest way to do that is have UPnP enabled.

The way that UPnP is supposed to work is it basically allows the game to tell your router what ports it needs. If you have UPnP on your router, it might be that all you have to do is turn it on (almost all routers default to having it off since it's a security risk), and then you're done and can host and join games. Only if that doesn't work would I recommend reading the rest of this section for which ports to forward, because sometimes UPnP won't/can't open the necessary ports all by itself. (Why is it a security risk? If you have a virus or malware on your computer, this 'program' can use UPnP to open ports on your router to let a hacker in.) How do you turn UPnP on? Google it, and if you know the brand of your router, include that when you google.

Thanks to Activision for finally releasing port information for this game. If you don't know how to open ports at all, you can google how to open ports, plenty of guides out there, you might even find one specific to your router.

For a breakdown of which ports are used for which purposes, check Activision's link[support.activision.com] for the ports used by this particular game, and Steam's link for the ports used in general by Steam for multiplayer, matchmaking, and VOIP.

Also, I ran a port-finder program myself when hosting a TMNT game, and noticed ports 1000, 1001, and 1002 used, in the UDP, and some ports in the 50000-58000 ranges used, both TCP and UDP, as well as port 27015 UDP. I'd go ahead and add these in and see if that helps, especially if you don't have UPnP. I think adding the range 1000-1100 is really the key, as 1000 in particular appeared every time I tried to host and disappeared everytime I stopped trying to host, and 1001 and 1002 appeared when joining other games. Way back when the game was new, these ports were also recommended as being found in the game's config files. So I've added the 1000-1100 range into the list below, along with all the ports Activision and Steam mention. A friend had all of these ports open (and more) but did not have the 50000-58000 range open and was still able to host, so I have not included that range in the list below.

You don't need to open a port twice, if you've already opened one or more of these ports for other games, no need to mention it twice.

Here's the ports to have open:

TCP:
28910, 27014-27050

UDP:
27900-27901, 5165, 27000-27030, 4379-4380, 3478

Both:
1000-1199

Make sure these ports are open, and/or you have UPnP turned on, and hit 'quick match.' This is the fastest way to find a game on any chapter you currently have access to, although 99% of the time, you probably won't find a game to join because so many people have given up on this game by now. So you're probably going to wind up host.

Then hit X on your controller (sorry keyboard users I don't know your controls at all) to invite friends. Hit the invite button (using your mouse) and once you've invited everyone you want to invite, close to go back to the lobby screen. Note that this is a public game which means anyone can join in. If your ports are open,'custom' and 'private' games will work too, I just strongly suggest everyone use quick match because if a game already exists, it probably needs more people.

Considering how much the multiplayer community has 'died' from it being so buggy and hard to work, I still think 'quick match first, then invite your friends if there's room' is the best way to go to support other co-op players in this tiny community. If there's not enough room in the game you land in for the friends you want to include, then host your own game (if you leave and quickmatch again you're probably going to land back in the same game as it's probably the only game online other than yours at the moment.)

Even when you're in-game you can pause and hit X on your controller and invite friends. You aren't limited to only doing it in the lobby.

The rest of this guide is going to assume that you actually are able to play Co-op games, and some tips for how to be a good player for your teammates. Good luck!

One of the biggest selling points of this game is the co-op mode. Featuring 'join at any time, leave at any time' co-op, this game most strongly reminds me of the Left 4 Dead series in how it plays.

However, first and foremost, before you set up or join a game, please check your Steam settings for voice.

You can find this several ways. In your main steam window, go to Steam -> Settings -> Voice. You can also right click the Steam icon in your systray and go to Settings -> Voice. Or activate your in-game overlay (default key is Shift-Tab) and click Settings near the bottom, and go to Voice.

The important part to note here is that the game uses these settings and most people will have the default set to 'open microphone.' If you want to use push to talk instead (recommended if using a mouse and keyboard to play), you set it here.

If you leave your microphone open (which is the default setting), please respect your fellow gamers and put on headphones or turn down the volume of your game! Nothing's more annoying than hearing an echo from someone who doesn't realize their mic is open! Also, if you have trouble hearing people, this is the only place I can find to turn up the volume of other people's mic.

Here's an example of what the co-op menu looks like. In this case, I am the host, with three CPU's, for screenshot purposes.

Pressing up or down will navigate the menu on the right.

Note that the 'select chapter' is to change the chapter choice. However, the one that is in the screenshot is the one that you will actually do when the game starts. Each chapter is locked until you have done the one before it, either in co-op or in single player.

Note that if you join a game, especially by using Quick Match, you may jump immediately into a game in progress and not see the lobby until after the chapter has ended.

You can select your turtle here, or choose random (the default).

However, of most important note is the ready button.

You will have to go down a couple times and click 'ready' in which case a check mark will appear next to your name (like the CPUs) instead of the red X you start with. Also, if the host changes the chapter, even if you have previously clicked ready you may have to click ready again.

The game does not start until all players are ready. It is currently impossible to kick players who do not ever click ready. (You just have to leave and host or find another game.)

I've seen a lot of players who for whatever reason can't figure out how to use the ready function. Please don't let that be you!

As you level up and gain XP, you will earn stat points. If you're going to be doing mostly Co-op, consider putting those points into the Team benefit for each of your turtles first (possibly after any skills that boost your XP gain of course). A full breakdown of the best skills to get is in a later section, but in this section I'll outline what each of the 'team' abilities do and how they work.




Each turtle starts off with one of the team abilities (except Mikey, who starts with the ability to counter special attacks). And they all look really cool, too.

There's three default abilities each turtle can use, which is to Team Attack, Team Counter, and Team Turtle Power Knock Out (TPKO). (You can also team taunt together, such as high-five or dance, but that doesn't require a skill point.) There's a lot of powerful skills available in all of the trees, but the reason I emphasize these for co-op is that you're helping your teammates level right along with you: not only do you get XP if an attack lands, but so do the turtle(s) you cooperate with.

Team Attack (Right trigger and A when near a teammate) will use one of your three special power charges and grab a teammate, launching yourself into moving mayhem. Launching off of Leo or Don do AoE attacks, whereas launching yourselff off Mikey or Raphael tends to launch you in a straight line.

Team Counter gives your teammates a free hit if you hold block instead of tap block. If none of your teammates attack the enemy you're blocking though, you'll use up a lot of your block meter. You can switch to another turtle (if available) and complete the move yourself if need be.

Team TPKO is cool and does even more damage than a normal TPKO. It's also quite easy to pull off, you do it just like a normal TPKO and if a teammate happens to be close enough and not busy at that exact second, they'll help for extra damage (and generating extra XP for the other turtle). I strongly recommend TPKO be the first point spent for all four of your turtles (not counting Raphael, who starts with it) as soon as you level up enough to do so.

There are other abilities on the Team page as well that benefit all the turtles, again I recommend getting those before any other abilities if you'll be doing Co-op a lot. You may also want to consider abilities which launch enemies into the air, so that if your teammates also have those abilities you can 'juggle' enemies which keeps them unable to fight for the duration, and, yet again, shares the xp.

The thing to keep in mind though is that you never know which turtle you'll be stuck having to play in a co-op game. However, you CAN allocate stats during a multiplayer game. Simply open the menu (your turtle will stand still and do nothing, the game is not paused) and assign stats. Unlike solo play though, you cannot switch between turtles on the stats screen and can only assign points to your current turtle. Note that you CAN switch turtles in a co-op game any time you want, assuming the turtle you want to switch with is currently being controlled by a CPU. If you're in a 4-player game, you're stuck with the turtle you have until someone leaves or the chapter is completed and you're kicked back to the lobby. (You can't assign stats in the lobby though.) So you can switch to a different turtle and then assign stats, but it's easier just to assign to your current turtle you'll be playing for the rest of the chapter.

You can assign stats during an in-game cutscene, but not a comic-book cutscene. Since after awhile you'll have the cutscenes memorized, that's a good time to assign stats, but of course you can't switch turtles during the scene. (For this reason, I don't assign stats outside of a co-op game, since I always want to assign stats to the turtle I'm currently playing, and whatever turtle I wind up with, I stay with that turtle to the end of the chapter.)

At the time of this writing, there's a bug that crashes the game if you open the menu during multiplayer. It doesn't always happen, but it happens fairly often, especially if you open the menu during a cutscene. Please keep this in mind if you are the host of the game so you don't crash your teammates' game. Around level 50 or so you'll have maxed all turtles so you should never need to open the menu unless it's to invite people (which you can also do from the lobby if need be) or leave the game. Hopefully this will be fixed soon, since during a cutscene is the best time to allocate stats!

Also, for upgrading, there's also the Workshop. I'll get to that in the following section.

As you play, you'll not only get stat points for your turtles but also Workshop points. You will not be able to allocate these during a co-op game, but any that you have already allocated will be able to be used.

It took me a bit to figure out the inventory system. Left trigger rotates through your inventory, and left bumper activates the currently selected item.

In the case of Workshop special items for each character, the left bumper will toggle the item on or off (if it is the currently selected item.)

For instance, this is most easily seen on Donatello or Raphael, as they will visibly put stuff on their hand(s) or take it off. The animation for Mike taking out his weapon is pretty clear, but putting it away is vague, and many people get confused by Leo's animations as taking out the weapon and putting it away kind of look alike.

If your weapon is active, though, then your special attacks (the same ones you can do without a weapon, that use your special attack charges, not counting Team Attacks) will use the special workshop weapon instead of your standard weapon.

Another thing about items is Pizzas. They are necessary for reviving fallen turtles, or can be used individually to heal. Personally I recommend saving them for reviving. Leo has a skill he can learn that allows him to revive without a pizza, but the normal method is that if the person you're reviving has a pizza, then their pizza is used, and if they don't have one, but you do, then your pizza is used. If you don't have one and they don't have one, then you can't revive them. However, everyone is automatically revived at the end of combat, so if you think you can last until then and want to save your pizzas, then do so. But of course if all four turtles fall simultaneously, it's game over and back to the lobby, even if someone has a pizza that could have been used.

The method to revive someone is right trigger and left bumper. You do not need to have the pizza as your currently active item in order to revive someone. Be careful to not accidentally use items you don't want to use. If you have hints turned on, a prompt will appear if you're close enough (and able) to revive someone. Note that getting hit while reviving will interrupt and prevent the revive, so clear the area a bit.

In addition to team skills recommended in a previous section, there's a few skills that I recommend.

First off, as you level, go to the 'turtle-specific' page. This is the one left of the 'Team' category and the name of the category is different for each turtle (Donatello's says 'Genius' in leet speak, for instance, Raphael is Hot Head, etc.)

This page will have a way for your turtle to get additional XP from certain things. There will be a choice between two ways to get bonus XP, and you'll have to pick one for each turtle based on whichever happens more often in your playstyle when playing that turtle. (When you make choices like this, you cannot change your mind later without resetting all your stats completely and starting over.)

The next best skills to get are the ones in the team category. Specifically, the ones that give bonuses to all of the turtles. If you get all the bonuses on all the turtles, they're already pretty strong even if you wind up with a turtle that isn't as upgraded as the others yet. Stuff like Team attack, TPKO, and Team Counter, are also good because they give XP for you and the turtle(s) you cooperate with, as mentioned in a previous section.

Next is the 'combat' category. You really want to get the TPKO threshold ability ASAP on all of your turtles. This makes the TPKO requirement go from 10 to 8 to 5, which is significantly easier. You also want to get the generic 'make them better' skill as well, which will increase their damage and durability and such.

In the Defense category, a good ability to get is the 'Iron Shell' which after three points gives you a pretty good chance of not breaking your combo if hit from behind. There's also 'Special Counter' (although Mikey starts with that one) which gives you an instant KO if done successfully, and a skill that 'improves your counter window' which makes countering much easier to do.

Finally in the Offense skill is the 'shell shock' ability, which you can use instead of a TKO or a 360 special to instantly kill any enemy that's knocked down. The best part is you get 100 XP for this kind of kill and it's real easy to do (especially once you lower TPKO threshold to 5.) You'll have to put a couple points into offense in order to reach it on the third row, though.

After that you're pretty much unstoppable and can get whatever skills you want for variety and fun. Enjoy!

Now that you've got all those skills, you need to try them out!

One of the things the game provides is a way to practice and learn any ability on any turtle, in the Dojo. Before you go into co-op, I recommend practicing the Dojo on at least one turtle, preferably all of them, so you get a basic understanding of how to perform all the abilities that turtle offers in case it's the turtle you wind up with in co-op. I also recommend dipping in there when you're between games and have learned new abilities.

If you have difficulty pulling off a move because the enemies aren't cooperating (for instance the double counter), 'killing' the enemies will restart the practice automatically and give you another chance. After you complete a move, it will automatically cycle to the next move you have not yet practiced (on that particular turtle.) If you've done them all, it'll automatically return you to the menu.

After you've done this once though, coming back and trying to find new abilities you've recently learned can be annoying to search for, so here's a tip: just pick the easiest one (to attack multiple times, the first on the list, don't even have to scroll for it) and after you whack the enemy a couple times it will automatically skip to the next uncompleted ability to practice for that turtle, or back to the menu if you've practiced every ability currently unlocked.

In addition to the fixes of bugs and getting Co-op play to work in the first place, I've written a list of suggestions I think would be great for the game. Feel free to check it out and /sign it if you like the suggestions, or make some suggestions of your own!

You can find it here.

Thanks for reading and go eat some pizza!