War in the North Legacy Edition Complete Story Walkthrough
Follow the War in the North campaign through Fornost, Mirkwood and the Grey Mountains, with hub hand-ins, chapter checks and Patch 2 route repairs.
Patch 2: move past the repaired campaign blockers
Install Patch 2 (November 3, 2026 UTC) before retrying a blocked route. Fornost has two separate repairs across the updates: Patch 1 addresses progression-critical enemies failing to leave a gate after a multiplayer respawn; Patch 2 addresses a goblin being launched out of reach. Neither requires abandoning the campaign to follow an old workaround.
In the Grey Mountains, the update closes an area where heroes could be knocked outside the playable boundary. At Urgost’s lair, loading a checkpoint no longer skips the introductory cutscene. Luin also resumes moving correctly after a save is loaded. Follow the active objective after each transition, rather than treating a missing scene or stationary NPC from an older build as the intended route.
Before returning to town mid-mission, note the current objective and supply state. Patch 2 preserves the mission-summary statistics on that return; summary statistics are separate from your quest checkpoint, character level and saved equipment. Check those separately before the next long section.
Use this as a campaign handoff map
Follow the named regions and the active quest log from Bree to the final northern campaign. Finish available hub conversations and collection hand-ins before choosing the next journey.
What to do first: use the route table to know what your next historical handoff should be, finish the relevant hub tasks before travelling, and compare the objective text shown in your current game before relying on an old trigger or collectible location.
The route in one screen
| Campaign handoff | Main route cue | Finish before you move on | Current-version check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bree → Fornost | Begin the northern expedition; free Beleram; push through the city and defeat Tharzog | Resolve any Bree conversations and note your active side-quest counters | Confirm the displayed objective and your platform’s current save flow before leaving the first hub |
| Sarn Ford → Barrow-downs | Take the Ranger-camp handoff, search for the missing Rangers, and continue to Rivendell | Keep the Barrow-downs collection and side-quest counters visible before you leave the region | Verify the current map label and route prompt; do not assume an old secret location is unchanged |
| Rivendell → Ettenmoors | Take the hub quests, complete the Ettenmoors route, and return after Bargrisar | Hand in what the current journal marks complete before accepting the next mountain trip | Compare the actual quest-log wording with the historical names below |
| Mount Gundabad → Nordinbad | Reach the Dwarven stronghold, protect Nordri’s activation, then reach Nordinbad | Re-equip and resolve visible turn-ins at the new hub | Check that the next story destination is unlocked in your current map |
| Nordinbad → Mirkwood | Follow the rescue and Radagast route through Mirkwood | Recheck side paths, active requests, and any collection counter before the next major travel step | Treat old NPC and item locations as historical until you see them in your build |
| Grey Mountains → Siege → Carn Dûm | Reach Urgost’s lair, return for the siege, then finish the Agandaûr route | Complete the journal items you are still able to turn in before the final commitment | Use the current objective and achievement list; do not rely on an old boss/checkpoint exploit |
Completion-safe loop for every hub
Use this four-step loop before every travel commitment. It is deliberately simple because it works whether you are solo, using current hero switching, or playing with friends.
- Read the current journal, not the old guide first. Mark the displayed main objective and every side quest that has a current turn-in or counter.
- Speak and hand in before travel. Historical routes contain several hub-specific conversations and smith/collection exchanges. Complete the items your current journal shows before choosing the next destination.
- Set the party job. Give Farin the room-holding task, Eradan the pressure-target task, and Andriel the recovery/control task. Use the character tree overview if your current party setup has drifted. 4. Do not force the route to match an old screenshot.
Chapter handoff cards
1. Fornost — open the road north
Route: Aragorn sends the party north to distract the enemy force at Fornost. The route passes through the city and underground areas, frees Beleram, reunites the party with Elladan and Elrohir, includes a defense sequence, and ends with Tharzog before the Sarn Ford handoff.
Before you leave: finish visible Bree conversations, inspect active requests such as Rowlie’s Gift, Forewarned is Forearmed, and Otto’s Arsenal if they appear in your current journal, and keep any collection counter visible. The old route places Tedder Hedgerow’s riddle wager at the Prancing Pony; treat that location and reward as historical context, not a current guarantee.
Next-page handoff: use the chapter objectives checklist for a shorter current-screen reference, and the side-quest checklist when a counter needs a named hand-in.
2. Sarn Ford and the Barrow-downs — clear the tomb route
Route: at Sarn Ford, the party receives the missing-Rangers and Athelas context, then searches the Barrow-downs, follows the signs of Luin and Kilaran, clears the Last Sons of Cardolan sequence, defeats the Barrow-wight Lord, and continues to Rivendell.
Before you leave: historical guides treat breakables, tomb rooms, and Westernesse collection progress as easy to lose track of. Clear the routes your current map exposes, then look at the real counter before deciding whether a replay is needed. Do not claim a fixed drop location from a historical guide.
Checkpoint check: confirm the current quest title and map icon at Sarn Ford. The original manual describes challenge content opening around this point, but the current Legacy UI and unlock wording are covered separately in Challenge Missions: Osgiliath & Lórien.
3. Rivendell and the Ettenmoors — turn in before the mountain
Route: Rivendell is a major conversation and turn-in hub. Original routes associate quests with Angmir, Bilbo, and Arwen, then send the party through Coldfells, High Moors, and Stone Chasm to Bargrisar before the return to Rivendell.
Before you leave: look for current journal turn-ins first; then equip for the problem that actually stopped the party. If the group struggles to hold an opening, start with the Farin build. If distant pressure forced every retreat, use the Eradan build.
Historical achievement note: original routes associate a conversation with Frodo with the Friend to the Ring-bearer path. The current Steam page confirms that Legacy Edition has 46 achievements, but it does not verify that original trigger. Use the achievement roadmap as a route companion rather than assuming the old condition pops unchanged.
4. Mount Gundabad — protect the activation handoff
Route: travel through the Alpine Pass and Gundabad, find the Dwarven objective, protect Nordri’s ancient-weapon activation, and continue to Nordinbad after the rescue sequence.
Keep Farin at the objective, let Eradan remove the threat that prevents the hold, and save recovery/control for the moment the formation breaks. For a current combat decision rather than an old route description, use Bosses and Encounter Tactics.
Checkpoint check: after the arrival, confirm the live map shows Nordinbad as the usable hub and read the next displayed objective before selling or travelling.
5. Nordinbad and Mirkwood — do not skip the return loop
Route: Nordinbad functions as the later Dwarven hub. Historical guides then send the party through Mirkwood, including Wulfrun, Beleram’s route, Radagast’s staff, optional rescue/collection work, and the Saenathra encounter.
Before you leave: resolve the visible hub requests, check whether a smith or collection item still has a current destination, and scan the routes your map opens before the final arena. The historical quest names are useful prompts for your journal, not a promise that every route branch or item position is identical.
Checkpoint check: if a quest counter or co-op progression display looks wrong, preserve the current journal state and follow the targeted progress-saving guide rather than re-running a whole chapter from an old walkthrough assumption.
6. Grey Mountains, the Siege, and Carn Dûm — finish the live objective, not an old exploit
Route: Radagast points to Urgost’s lair in the Grey Mountains. The historical sequence returns to Nordinbad for the siege, then moves through the Agandaûr endgame and Carn Dûm. Some old indexes divide the return and final assault differently; this page keeps both search names visible instead of pretending that one historical chapter label is the only current label.
Before the final commitment: turn in whatever the current journal still permits, inspect your equipment, and save through the platform’s real flow. Do not depend on an old checkpoint timing, reward, boss weakness, or achievement exploit.
Checkpoint check: the current Steam achievement list confirms a 46-achievement Legacy set, including completion categories. It does not validate every historical achievement trigger, so use it to verify the live label—not to rewrite an old condition as fact.
If the route and your game disagree
Follow the active objective, map destination and quest counter before an old route description. If a prompt differs, use the route that the current journal opens.
For systems that are explicitly edition-sensitive, start with Legacy Edition vs Original. For secrets and counters, use Collectibles, Scrolls, and Secrets alongside the relevant chapter—not after the whole campaign is complete.
Sources
Recommended guide route