Few things in co-op gaming are as frustrating as losing progression after a session ends, especially in a story-driven title like The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Legacy Edition. Multiplayer sessions that don’t save properly can leave players planning their next moves over again. Fixing this save error is crucial to maintaining the flow and investment in the game’s cooperative narrative.
This particular save problem mainly impacts the Client (P2), while the Host’s progress typically updates without issue. A reliable workaround is to force an autosave sequence for both players before quitting, with strict adherence to quitting order: the Client must always leave first, and the Host quits last. This restores confidence that all progress is retained across sessions.
How to Save Multiplayer Progress in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North?
Ensuring your progress saves correctly requires following these steps every time you finish a co-op run. Skipping any part or quitting too early can result in lost updates, particularly for the Client player.
1. Travel to a Town
Both players should head to a safe hub or town before ending the multiplayer session. Staying within a mission risks data not committing properly.
The town of Bree is a reliable example for this. You want to make sure you’re in a place where the autosave mechanic can trigger without interruption.
2. Host Will Save First
The Host (P1) should locate any merchant within the town hub to initiate the saving process.
Perform a quick transaction by buying or selling an inexpensive item, then close the merchant interface.
Watch for the golden spinning ring autosave icon to appear on screen — this confirms the game is writing progress data.
Wait until this icon fully cycles before attempting to exit. Exiting too soon can interrupt the save and corrupt multiplayer progress.
3. Client Will Save Last
Next, the Client (P2) repeats the process with any merchant in the town.
This involves another quick buy or sell action to trigger the autosave on the Client’s local machine.
Again, wait for the golden autosave icon to appear and disappear ensuring the Client’s game data is properly recorded.
Skipping this step is often why Client progression doesn’t save properly in multiplayer — it’s vital to do it every session.
4. The Client Will Quit First
After confirming both players have completed their autosaves, the Client must quit the session before the Host.
While still in the town hub, the Client opens the pause menu and selects:
Quit to Main Menu
Wait until the Client fully returns to the main menu before proceeding.
5. The Host Will Quit Last
Only once the Client has safely exited can the Host quit the game.
The order cannot be reversed. Exiting incorrectly often results in lost Client progress.
Set the Game to Run as Administrator
Windows permission issues can prevent the game from properly updating save files. Running warinthenorth.exe with administrator privileges helps mitigate these issues.
Both Host and Client should apply this setting to avoid save file write conflicts.
To set it up, follow these steps:
- Locate warinthenorth.exe in your game installation directory.
- Right-click the file and select Properties.
- Go to the Compatibility tab.
- Check Run this program as an administrator.
- Apply the changes and confirm with OK.
This allows the game to circumvent Windows restrictions when saving progress locally.
Keep the Same Character During Co-op
Clients must stick to using one specific character across all multiplayer sessions.
Playing this character in single-player or progressing quests independently between sessions can interfere with how the game reads and saves multiplayer data.
To prevent save corruption, avoid altering that character’s progress outside co-op play.
Do Not Use Alt+F4
Force closing the game via Alt+F4 or shutting down your console abruptly almost always leads to lost progress, particularly for the Client.
The only reliable way to save is through the proper in-game menus with the Client quitting first.
Respecting this sequence avoids corrupting save files and the frustration of replaying lost sessions.