Cooperative Gameplay (Dark Souls II)

Cooperative Gameplay (co-op for short) is multiplayer online feature where players can help each other. In order to summon another player one must have reversed their hollowing. The only way to summon a friendly phantom into your world is by activating the summoning sign that another player has placed on the ground.

Shades
Fellow players summoned via the Small White Sign Soapstone, these phantoms have a timer of 5-8 minutes. The timer is shortened based on the amount of souls gained while in the hosts world. The color of this phantoms summon sign is White. The rewarding for helping a host as a shade is a Smooth & Silky Stone.

Normal Summons
Fellow players summoned via the White Sign Soapstone, these phantoms have a timer of 15 minutes, and their summon sign is White. The reward for helping the host as a white phantom is a Token of Fidelity.

Heirs of the Sun
Sunbros are players in the Heirs of the Sun covenant. Beating an area boss with an Heir of the Sun present will reward the host with a Sunlight Medal. Heirs of the Sun have gold summon signs, a 15 minute timer, and are rewarded with a Sunlight Medal upon completion of their duties.

Soul Memory Ranges
Soul Memory is the determining factor in who you can and can't connect to online and has numerous tiers, but are not hard boundries and can be extended by using certain items.

Items That Effect Soul Memory Tiers
Certain combinations of items allow players to broaden the range of people they can summon and be summoned by. Summoning range can also be affected by covenants.