War in the North Challenge Missions: Osgiliath & Lorien
Prepare a War in the North challenge party for Osgiliath and Lorien with hero roles, resources, revive cover and Patch 2 mission-summary changes.
Patch 2: prepare the retry and preserve the mission summary
Patch 2 restores headshot hitboxes, makes health-potion fill steady and removes the revive prompt while another player is already reviving. Use those changes in the party plan: the ranged hero takes a clear aimed lane, one player rescues and the remaining heroes hold the approach. The patch does not give a new fixed wave count, damage ranking or difficulty multiplier.
If you return to town during a mission, summary statistics are now retained. Check the objective and supply inventory separately before continuing; a summary repair is not the same as a guaranteed guest-save outcome. For a failed co-op retry, update every player before testing matchmaking, map selection and the loading transition again.
Answer first: what we can and cannot confirm
Prepare one ranged-pressure answer, one holding role and one recovery role before a challenge run. Review the first failed objective before changing another skill branch.
Current Legacy Edition Steam achievement data confirms that the current product still has Heroic and Legendary completion categories, but no official Legacy source reviewed for this page publishes challenge-map wave counts, reward tables, current unlock wording, or current matchmaking behavior. The useful response is a clear test card—not an invented modern guide.
Historical challenge snapshot
Use this table to recognise the original system, then compare it with the current map screen before you invest time in a run.
| Original-release route detail | What to look for in Legacy Edition | What to do if it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Osgiliath and Lórien become available around the Sarn Ford Ranger camp after the Fornost campaign | A current map icon, unlock message, or current journal/map condition | Follow the current display; do not conclude content is missing from an old unlock sentence |
| The maps are launched from the Map tab and show a recommended level | The current launch surface, difficulty selector, and any level guidance | Record the screen’s actual wording before choosing a difficulty |
| Leaving before completion restarts the original run | Your current platform’s restart/abandon warning | Do one short test first if you need to learn the rule; do not assume a partial clear persists |
| Original enemies could provide loot and coins; completion gave experience and achievement progress | Current reward and completion screen | Do not publish a reward table until the current screen is directly recorded |
Current-version check before you launch
Take 30 seconds at the map instead of treating the first failure as a build failure:
- Map state: is Osgiliath or Lórien visible, and what requirement does your version show?
- Run rule: does the current screen explain a restart, abandon, host, or reward condition?
- Difficulty: read the exact option names and any recommended level in your build.
- Party job: decide who holds the pressure, who removes priority threats, and who keeps the recovery answer.
- One measurement: choose one thing to improve this run—frontline stability, target removal, resource repeatability, or recovery timing.
The current Steam listing supports seamless three-hero switching and skill/gear progression. In solo play, that lets you test the party’s jobs without claiming that a map’s current tuning matches the original.
Osgiliath run card: test the party’s first failure
Use this checklist before launching Osgiliath. Start from the map prompt in your current game, choose party roles and inspect the resources needed for the first encounter.
| Moment | Party job | Pass condition | If it fails first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before start | Farin prepares the hold; Eradan owns the priority target; Andriel preserves recovery/control | Everyone knows which player acts when the first dangerous lane forms | Do not change skills yet—clarify the call and the map rule first |
| First pressure | Farin establishes the collision point; Eradan removes the enemy creating the worst line; Andriel waits for a real collapse | The party can name the threat and still has a retreat/revive route | If the line breaks, repair the anchor before adding a finisher |
| First repeat | Use the same core action again instead of spending every emergency option at once | The answer is available a second time and the party remains positioned | If the action is unavailable, fix the resource or recovery condition—not the whole build |
| After a wipe or exit | Record the first broken condition | One clear change is ready for the retry | Change only one variable: role, route, weapon posture, or resource check |
For the front-line and ranged handoffs behind that card, use the Farin build and the Eradan build.
Lórien run card: protect the formation, not a made-up wave number
Lórien should be used as a formation and recovery test.
| Before or after the run | What to do | What you learn |
|---|---|---|
| Before launch | Identify the current objective, the safe direction to regroup, and the hero responsible for keeping the party together | Whether the run is a positioning test or a target-removal test |
| When the formation stretches | Bring the party back to a single recoverable space before using more burst | Whether the problem is separation rather than insufficient damage |
| When one player is down | Preserve the anchor, create the revive lane, then spend recovery | Whether the group had a role failure or merely needed a better exit call |
| At completion or restart | Record the result shown by the current build and one spent resource | Whether the next attempt needs survivability/control or more pressure |
In solo play, switch heroes when the immediate role changes, then regroup before the next push. Check the current skill costs and objective rather than copying an old encounter sequence.
Choosing the next difficulty
| Difficulty state | Current platform check | Original-release route rule | What to do now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy / Normal | This page does not claim a current unlock sequence from a current source | The original manual presents them as the first-playthrough choices | Read the current selector and choose the route that lets you learn the map rule |
| Heroic | Current Steam achievements include Heroic completion references | The original manual says Heroic opened after a campaign completion | Treat the original sequence as context only; verify the current menu before planning a run |
| Legendary | Current Steam achievements include Legendary completion references | The original manual says Legendary opened after Heroic | Do not call it currently locked or unlocked without checking your own profile |
The original manual carries characters, skills, equipment and levels into campaign replay. Before starting another Legacy Edition run, inspect the current replay options and check the selected hero and inventory.
The run ledger that turns a wipe into a build decision
| Check | Write down | Next decision it supports |
|---|---|---|
| First break | Threat type, lane, or party role that failed first | Which build page to open first |
| Action repeatability | Whether the core action was ready for a second meaningful use | Resource/support adjustment instead of blind damage investment |
| Formation | Who left the anchor and why | Positioning, weapon posture, or recovery change |
| Current UI result | Map status, difficulty wording, restart/reward screen, and host/guest result if relevant | A record of the failed objective, selected difficulty and party roles |
Use this ledger on the same map twice. One controlled comparison is more useful than a fast clear with three untracked changes.
Related guides
The historical unlock, exit, reward-category, and difficulty material comes from the original official manual. Current product and achievement signals come from the Steam links in the page’s source ledger. For the edition-wide distinction, read Legacy Edition vs Original. For current co-op facts and uncertainty, use Legacy Edition Co-op Explained rather than assuming an old challenge result applies to every platform.
Sources
Recommended guide route