Red Dead Online is now available to the vast majority of Red Dead Redemption 2 players, and while some may be running into server issues and other problems, those who are able to get into a game may be wondering how they can start playing with their friends. Well, there are some prerequisites players have to complete before they can start playing Red Dead Redemption 2 with their friends online, so they shouldn't expect to just jump into a game with them right away.

First and foremost, Red Dead Online players who want to play with their friends will have to complete the mode's introduction. This introduction takes about an hour to complete, and consists of players customizing their character, going through some basic tutorials, and also stealing some horses with some strangers online in a mission called Honor Among Horse Thieves. Red Dead Online will find three other people for players to complete this part of the mission with, though it's possible that friends may be able to join in. Unfortunately, we were unable to test it at the time of writing, and it may be better to just get all the introductory stuff out of the way first anyway.

After players are free to roam the online open world in Red Dead Redemption 2, they can then start inviting friends to their game (assuming their friends have also completed the introductory mission). To do this, players need to press left on the d-pad, and then select the Player menu. From there, click on Players, which shows everyone in the online session, as well as everyone that players have on their PlayStation Network or Xbox Live friends list.

Upon locating their friends, Red Dead Online players simply need to select whoever they want to invite and invite them to their session. Assuming the session isn't full and they don't bump into any technical issues, they should be able to join the free roaming fun without a hitch. Alternatively, Red Dead Online players can choose to jump into their friends' sessions from this menu instead, though again, it depends on if the session has any room or not.

Some Red Dead Online players may be more interested in completing story missions with their friends, and to do that, they will want to make a posse. This feature is also made available after completing the intro, and players should see the Form Posse option in the same menu that they used to invite their friends to the game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now for PS4 and Xbox One.