War in the North Characters and Skill Trees

The party in one sentence

Eradan creates space, Farin holds it, and Andriel makes it safe to stay. That division is more durable than any old numeric build because the original manual documents the roles while the Legacy Edition has not published a full balance changelog. Build around the job your party is missing, then verify the exact skill tooltip and cooldown in the current build.

Eradan — ranger, scout, and finisher

Eradan combines bow pressure, stealth, evasion, and fast melee. The manual associates him with ranged damage and mobility; historical guides also call out Ranger’s Strike and sniper-oriented skills. He is the safest lead character for learning a new area because he can tag an archer, retreat behind Farin, and return when a target is exposed.

Safe priority order

1. Take one reliable ranged attack that you can repeat without emptying power.
2. Add evasion or mobility before stacking conditional damage. A dead ranger contributes no crit chance.
3. Improve the skill that rewards attacking a marked or staggered target.
4. Keep one close-range escape option for spiders, Wights, and Orc rushes.

Use Eradan to scout side paths and class-specific caches. In co-op, announce that you are leaving the formation before opening a flank; the party’s threat can change while you are in stealth. In solo Legacy play, character switching means Eradan can now be a utility opener even when Farin remains the main damage investment.

Farin — frontline, breaker, and emergency control

Farin is the durable Dwarf champion. The original manual gives him heavy weapons, shields, crossbows, War Cry, sweeping attacks, and high-impact strikes. He is the best answer when a fight contains a gate, a machine, a Troll, or a defense objective that punishes kiting.

Safe priority order

1. Choose either shield stability or a two-handed stagger route for the first several levels; do not split every point between both.
2. Take War Cry or an equivalent party-control anchor early if the group lacks interruption.
3. Add one sweeping attack for clustered Goblins and spiders.
4. Invest in the heavy attack that punishes a staggered elite, then test whether its current tooltip still matches the old guide.

Use the crossbow when a boss exposes a weak point or when an objective requires damage without leaving cover. For a three-player party, Farin should call the moment a gate, lever, or NPC interaction is safe so the other two players do not spend cooldowns during a scripted wave.

Andriel — protection, recovery, and control

Andriel is the Loremaster. Her staff, Sanctuary-style protection, recovery, and control words give the party time to make good decisions. She is not required to be a passive healer: a support spell that prevents a knockdown can create more damage than a small offensive bonus.

Safe priority order

1. Keep one dependable protection or recovery tool available for every arena.
2. Add control for casters, archers, and spider packs before chasing a rare damage interaction.
3. Test the staff’s range and the placement of Sanctuary in an empty area; the Legacy interface may present targeting differently from the original.
4. Respec only after identifying the party’s repeated failure point.

Andriel should stand where she can see both Farin’s objective and Eradan’s fallback route. In solo play, switch to her before a scripted wave, place the protection field, then return to the hero who can finish the kill. In co-op, announce the cooldown rather than assuming another player can see it.

Skills, respecs, and party testing

The original manual describes level-up skill points and respec tokens. Use that system to test one change at a time: record the skill rank, tooltip, cooldown, and result against the same enemy type. Do not copy a spreadsheet value from a 2011 forum post and call it a Legacy fact.

The simplest party tests are:

• Fornost courtyard: can Farin hold the center while Eradan removes the archers and Andriel keeps the group upright?
• Barrow tomb: can Andriel control the first Wight wave without exhausting power before the gate?
• Gundabad activation: can the party interrupt the attackers while Nordri channels?
• Mirkwood camp: can Eradan mark the elite while Farin protects the captive?

If the answer is no, change the role assignment before adding raw damage. The existing Farin, Eradan, and Andriel pages cover the current role-first framework; this page explains how to choose between them.

Source boundary: Warner Bros. original manual and the historical GameFAQs character guide.