Best Farin Build for War in the North Legacy Edition
Build Farin around frontline control, safe revives, weapons and respec checks in War in the North Legacy Edition, including the Patch 2 gear repair.

Original guide illustration
HERO BUILD PLAN
Farin — at a glance
Frontline anchor
Rooms collapse at the objective or a revive lane never stays open.
- Opening focus
- War-cry → Sweeping Attack
- Keep ready
- A shield or heavy weapon, plus a crossbow pull option.
Patch 2: protect the recovery and revive window
Health potions now fill the bar steadily. For Farin, preserve a block, retreat or crowd-control window while that recovery happens. Do not read the visual repair as a new potion amount or an added defensive skill bonus.
When another player is already reviving an ally, the duplicate revive prompt is removed. Keep the approach controlled while that player completes the rescue. Before changing a developed frontline build, install Patch 2, spend the respec token in a safe section and compare equipped and spare items afterward; the update repairs a specific respec-related equipment loss.
The quick answer
Build Farin around the room the party must hold. Pick one dependable opening action, keep a defensive answer ready and add damage after the control loop works.
| Your first repeatable failure | Open next | Check in the current tooltip before adding another point |
|---|---|---|
| The objective, a revive lane, or the support player is getting overrun | War-cry | What the current ability does for attention, defense, interruption, or movement—and whether you can use it before the line breaks |
| A stable frontline turns into an unreadable crowd | Sweeping Attack | Area coverage, recovery time, and the resource needed to use the action again in the same room |
| The party is safe but a staggered heavy target never dies during its opening | Crushing Blow | Wind-up, recovery, and whether the big hit is available when the target is actually vulnerable |
Farin is not “best” because every point is damage. He is best for a party when the other two heroes have enough time and space to do their jobs. If you die while locked in a large swing, return to the first row before spending deeper into the last one.
Eradan’s role and hero switching
The current Legacy Edition Steam listing presents Farin as a Dwarven Champion with tank-like durability and devastating melee attacks. It also confirms current three-hero switching, skills and gear progression, online co-op for up to two friends, and split-screen co-op. Current Steam achievement data still references a War Cry ability modifier, so that name has a current Legacy Edition signal.
This supports an anchor-first route. It does not prove a best weapon roll, exact threat value, point breakpoint, cooldown, or difficulty-specific damage number.
Read the three trees correctly
The original official manual explains the original-system identities below. Use it as a historical map of the trees, then verify the current in-game text before you commit points.
| Tree | Original tree focus | What that means for a first Legacy run |
|---|---|---|
| War-cry | Defensive strength, shield disruption, drawing enemy attention, and charging options | Open this lane when the room has no safe center. Your first win condition is a readable frontline and a revive route. |
| Sweeping Attack | Area pressure, reflected or explosive damage, and tools for groups | Add one repeatable crowd answer after the anchor exists. A large group tool is valuable only if Farin can recover and hold position afterward. |
| Crushing Blow | A high-impact hit, fast ranged options, and lower Power costs | Use it to convert a stable opening into a finish. It should solve an elite or stagger problem, not compensate for a missing frontline loop. |
First skill priorities — rank only, not a damage meter.
A build plan you can actually follow
1. Anchor the first dangerous room
Open the current War-cry branch and take the first action that lets you start a difficult room without immediately retreating. On the next two encounters, judge it by one outcome: can the party keep a revive lane and a clear target call while you use it?
If the answer is no, do not add a larger attack yet. Check whether you were late to the collision point, whether the action had the resource it needed, and whether the current tooltip offers a defensive, attention, or interruption answer that better fits the problem.
2. Add one group answer, not a second personality
Once the frontline stays readable, take a Sweeping Attack option for the rooms that stack enemies on the party.
The check is not “did the effect look impressive?” It is “after using it, is the objective still protected and is a second use available if the room keeps coming?” If not, adjust resource or survival before more damage.
3. Spend toward a finisher only after the handoff works
Move into Crushing Blow when the team can reliably create an opening: the crowd is controlled, a heavy target is committed, or a ranged threat has already been removed by Eradan. Test the current wind-up and recovery against a real elite. If the action strands Farin away from the job, it is too early for that commitment.
Choose a weapon posture by the room
The original manual lists Farin as eligible for two-handed axes, hammers, and crossbows; Farin and Eradan can use two-handed swords and shields; all three heroes can use one-handed weapons. That is a historical eligibility reference, not a damage-tier table.
| Weapon posture | Use it when | Validate on your current build | Stop forcing it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shield / one-handed anchor | You are learning an encounter, defending an interaction, or repeatedly opening revives | Can you stay at the collision point and keep a recovery route open? | The party already owns the room and lacks a way to finish a vulnerable elite |
| Two-handed pressure | You can read enemy recovery windows and need reach into a stacked group | Does the swing resolve before the frontline loses its job? | You are regularly interrupted or pulled away from the objective |
| Crossbow utility | A specific distant target must be pulled or finished before it creates pressure | Does the shot solve that target without removing Farin from the anchor role? | It becomes a reason to abandon the frontline while the party still needs it |
You can compare the historical eligibility rules and current gear language in Weapons, Armor, and Elf-stones. Do not discard a defensively useful setup simply because an untested heavy weapon has a larger displayed number.
Room-response board
| What the room is doing | Farin’s next decision | The partner handoff |
|---|---|---|
| A crowd reaches the objective before the party can identify a target | Rebuild the anchor first, then test one Sweeping Attack option | Eradan removes the enemy creating the worst ranged pressure; Andriel holds recovery for the true collapse |
| A revive always pulls the frontline away | Prioritise the action that keeps attention and space at the revive lane | Tell the group when the lane is open instead of assuming they can see it |
| One elite survives every safe window | Add a measured Crushing Blow answer only after the group has control | Ask Eradan to mark the opening and keep support resources for the recovery after it |
| The group wins story fights but unravels under repetition | Record whether the first failure was crowd size, resource, position, or a missed finish | Use the challenge mission test card and change one condition per retry |
Solo and co-op use
Solo: Current Legacy Edition material confirms that you can switch between the three heroes. Let Farin establish the safe center, switch to answer the urgent ranged target or recovery need, then return before the frontline has disappeared. The switch is a tool for restoring the party’s job split, not a reason to leave Farin locked in a slow attack.
Co-op: Give one short call before using the group action: “holding,” “sweeping,” or “finishing.” That tells Eradan whether to spend range on a target call and tells the support player whether to reserve recovery. The official co-op listing supports the mode; the callouts are editorial coordination advice.
Two-room validation card
Use the same type of encounter twice and write down:
- Break point: what crossed the line first—crowd, elite, ranged pressure, or a lost revive?
- Anchor state: after Farin’s first action, was the party still standing where it needed to stand?
- Repeatability: did the group answer have the resource and time for a second use?
- Finish window: did the elite finisher land during a controlled opening or create the next emergency?
If the anchor failed, stay in War-cry. If the anchor held but the crowd failed, add a Sweeping Attack answer. If both held and the elite stalled, try Crushing Blow. That is a decision tree a player can reproduce without pretending to know current numerical balance.
Planning your next run
Use Hero Roles and Skill Trees for the shared historical system map, the Eradan build for the ranged partner handoff, and Legacy Edition vs Original for the edition differences.
Sources
Recommended guide route