War in the North Wiki — Co-op Action RPG, Guides & Tips

War in the North: Legacy Edition is a remastered version of the 2011 action RPG The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, released by Aspyr on August 11, 2026. It keeps the original story and levels but adds major quality-of-life improvements: restored 3-player online co-op, on-the-fly character hot-swapping, full party equipment and skill control, a refined lock-on system, an improved user interface with visible health and experience bars, 60 FPS support and automatic saving with multiple save slots.

No — the Legacy Edition is a remaster, not a full remake. It is built from the original 2011 game by Snowblind Studios with the same story, voice acting and level design. What Aspyr added are gameplay and quality-of-life upgrades: restored online co-op that was removed in 2017, instant character switching, better party AI controls, a clearer HUD, 60 FPS performance and several UI conveniences. If you played the original, you will recognize every chapter, but the way you manage your party and switch heroes feels meaningfully different.

Co-op lets up to three players join the same campaign. The host starts the game and can invite Steam friends to join from the main menu or in-game. Progress and loot are shared across the party, and each player controls one of the three heroes — Eradan, Andriel or Farin. You can also play two-player local split-screen with two controllers on the same PC, or use Steam Remote Play Together to stream a slot to a friend. The Legacy Edition restored the online multiplayer that the original lost when its servers were shut down.

No — there is no crossplay in War in the North: Legacy Edition. Online co-op is limited to the same storefront, so Steam players can only join Steam players, and EGS players can only join EGS players. This is consistent with the original game's approach and is confirmed by community reports from the 2026 launch. If you want to play with friends, make sure you all own the game on the same platform and store before starting a co-op session.

There is no single best hero — the three are designed to cover different roles. Eradan is the safest first pick: his bow delivers reliable ranged damage and his stealth skills find hidden stashes. Andriel rewards players who enjoy spellcasting, with powerful area damage and healing. Farin is the straightforward bruiser who takes hits and breaks through enemy lines. Because the Legacy Edition lets you hot-swap mid-combat, the real answer is to learn all three and switch based on the enemy — archers for Eradan, swarms for Andriel, heavy armour for Farin.

Hot-swapping is a new Legacy Edition feature that lets you switch between your three heroes instantly during combat instead of only in menus. The active hero is the one you control; the other two fight under simple AI but can be given full equipment and skill control. When you hot-swap, the incoming hero enters the fight ready to act, which lets you interrupt an enemy's attack with Farin's heavy axe and finish with Eradan's bow. Managing the cooldown and switching at the right moment is a core skill in the remaster.

A normal playthrough of the main campaign takes roughly 10 to 15 hours, depending on difficulty and how many secrets you chase. Reaching 100% completion takes considerably longer because you need all 46 achievements, every Cult of the Lidless Eye scroll, all of Tedder Hedgegrow's riddles and the missable conversations in Bree and Rivendell. Legendary difficulty and New Game Plus add further hours for players who want the full challenge and the completionist trophies.

The Legacy Edition ships with 46 Steam achievements. They cover story progress for completing each chapter, combat feats such as Keen-eyed Marksman and Troll's Bane, co-op trophies like Strength of Our Alliance, collectible milestones tied to the Cult of the Lidless Eye scrolls, and a set of missable conversation achievements. Some achievements can only be earned in co-op, so plan a session with friends if you are hunting for 100% completion.

Community reports and hands-on testing indicate that War in the North: Legacy Edition runs well on Steam Deck. The game targets 60 FPS on modern hardware and the default graphics preset on the Deck is comfortable, with only occasional dips during the busiest boss fights. The controls translate cleanly to a gamepad, including hot-swap and lock-on. If you want a steadier frame rate, lower shadow quality and disable motion blur in the settings. This makes the Deck a great way to play the campaign.

At launch the Legacy Edition holds a Very Positive rating on Steam from around 146 reviews, and the restored 3-player co-op has been the most requested feature since the original game's servers were shut down in 2017. At $19.99 with a 10% launch discount, fans of dark-fantasy action RPGs and Tolkien lore generally consider it an easy recommendation — especially if you have two friends to play through the campaign with.

No active redemption codes have been found for War in the North: Legacy Edition. The game does not appear to have a public code system at launch. If Aspyr introduces codes or promotional rewards later, this wiki will list them here as soon as they are verified.