Lord Of The Rings War In The North 3 Player Lan Fix Review
Ensure all three PCs are on the same "Network Profile" (Private or Domain). If one PC is set to "Public" network profile, Windows will block the broadcast packets required for the game to appear in the LAN browser.
It is a tragedy that WB Games never officially patched War in the North for modern systems. However, with this Lord of the Rings War in the North 3 Player LAN Fix, you can finally experience the full co-op campaign.
Recap for the desperate:
Once you get it working, the game shines. There is nothing quite like watching a Ranger stun an Orc Captain, a Dwarf shatter his armor, and an Elf call down lightning simultaneously. The North may have fallen, but your LAN party doesn't have to.
Have a fix that worked for your group? Mention it in the comments below. For the Grey Company!
How to Fix 3-Player LAN in Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Lord of the Rings: War in the North is widely considered one of the best cooperative Middle-earth experiences, but it is notorious for its technical hiccups. For many players, the biggest hurdle isn't the trolls of Fornost—it’s actually getting a 3-player LAN connection to work without constant disconnects or "Session No Longer Available" errors.
If you’re trying to set up a nostalgic couch co-op or local network session, here is the definitive guide to fixing the common 3-player LAN issues. 1. The "Same Version" Rule lord of the rings war in the north 3 player lan fix
Before tweaking any files, ensure all three PCs are running the exact same version of the game.
Steam Players: Right-click the game in your library > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files.
Manual Installs: Check the version number in the bottom corner of the main menu. If even one player is on a different patch, the third player will consistently fail to join the lobby. 2. Use a Virtual LAN (The "Hamachi/Radmin" Method)
Even if you are in the same room, the game’s built-in netcode often struggles with modern router security protocols. Many players find that using a Virtual LAN (VLAN) bypasses the "invisible" firewall issues that prevent a 3rd player from joining.
Download Radmin VPN (preferred for its stability over Hamachi). Have one player create a private network. Have the other two players join that network. Launch the game and search for Local Area Network games. 3. The Connection Timeout Fix (INI Edit)
The game has a very short "handshake" window. When a third player tries to join, the game often times out before the connection is verified. You can extend this window manually.
Navigate to your game folder (usually Documents\WitN or the Steam common folder). Find the file named game.ini or user.settings. Look for a line regarding ConnectionTimeout or PeerTimeout. Ensure all three PCs are on the same
Change the value from the default (often 5000 or 10000) to 30000. Save and restart the game on all three machines. 4. Disable "Green Man Gaming" or Steam Overlays
For reasons unknown to the developers, the Steam Overlay and third-party tracking software often interfere with the peer-to-peer (P2P) packets required for a 3-player session.
Disable Steam Overlay: Steam Settings > In-Game > Uncheck "Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game."
Kill Background Apps: Close Discord, Spotify, or any heavy bandwidth-using apps before attempting to host the LAN session. 5. Port Forwarding for LAN
If you are playing on a traditional local router without a VPN, you must ensure the following ports are open in your Windows Firewall for all three computers: UDP: 3074, 27000-27015 TCP: 27015-27030
Pro Tip: If the 3rd player is still getting kicked, try changing who the Host is. Usually, the player with the most powerful CPU and the most stable wired connection should host the session. Summary Checklist for a Stable 3-Player Session:
Wired is better: Avoid Wi-Fi if possible; the packet loss in War in the North is unforgiving. Once you get it working, the game shines
Turn off Firewalls: Temporarily disable Windows Defender/Firewall on all three PCs to test the connection.
The "Lobby" Trick: Have the host wait in the Bree or Rivendell hub area before the 2nd and 3rd players join, rather than joining from the main menu.
By following these steps, you can finally experience the full Fellowship of Farin, Eradan, and Andriel without the dreaded "Connection Lost" screen.
This is a well-known issue. "Lord of the Rings: War in the North" officially supports 3-player co-op, but the LAN mode is bugged on PC (especially on Steam/GOG versions) — the third player often cannot see or join the lobby.
Here is the proven fix for 3-player LAN.
If you prefer not to use emulator DLLs or are running a strictly offline hardware LAN, you can attempt to force the game to bind correctly using system files. This is often required to fix the "Third Player Drop" issue.
Fix: How to get 3 players working on LAN — War in the North (PC)