So, you are saying that your friend - who can be, for example, lvl 20, should be able to join your lvl 5 character and play through whole story again, so he wouldnt lose his progres.....(and game would be just terrible easy becouse he would be to strong)?
Its Co-op - when u play co-op mode u both play together through whole game. If you want to play alone.. play singeplayer instead.