For a completion-focused Legacy Edition save, begin on Normal, retain that save for Heroic, and retain it again for Legendary. Current AppID 2523770 player routing reports that level, skills, equipment, items, and statistics carry into the next run. The difficulty achievements are treated as separate rather than automatically stacking, so plan to finish each required tier instead of expecting one Legendary clear to award everything below it.
Normal
Learn chapters, finish side work, collect seven scrolls, and establish a dependable equipment base.
Heroic
Use the retained fellowship, mainline the eight chapters, and tighten builds around the attacks that cause downs.
Legendary
Enter with a complete plan, strong set gear, and no unresolved achievement cleanup that distracts from survival.
Easy
Choose it for accessibility if needed, but do not count it as a step in the Normal–Heroic–Legendary route.
Decide what the first campaign must accomplish
Normal is more than a preliminary clear. It is the run where you can listen to quest dialogue, learn one-way transitions, search secrets, return all seven Lidless Eye scrolls to Elrond before the Siege of Nordinbad, and practice each boss without endgame pressure. It is also the best time to discover which hero feels natural before investing a later run in a specialized plan.
Write down a small set of objectives rather than chasing every achievement counter at once. The most important are missable conversations, scroll turn-in, Glorihirin’s Mirkwood quest, chapter secrets, and the final Agandaûr condition that forbids using Beleram. Ordinary kill totals and money are easier to finish later than a story interaction behind a completed chapter.
If Normal already produces frequent downs, do not hurry to Heroic. Review armor requirements, unused skills, companion equipment, target priority, and recovery items. A retained save carries both strengths and neglected problems forward.
Treat Heroic as a build examination
Heroic reduces the margin for attacking through incoming damage. The route is familiar, so use that knowledge to arrive with resources and avoid unnecessary pulls. A current completion approach favors Farin for later difficulties because his durability, crossbow utility, War-cry, Dwarf-armor, and other defensive or pressure tools make mistakes less expensive. That is a community strategy, not a rule: an Eradan or Andriel player can succeed with equivalent control and preparation.
Mainline progress is reasonable after Normal cleanup. You may skip collectibles that the retained save already registered, but do not confuse “previously collected” with “currently required by an active quest.” Read the log at the start of the new cycle. Keep useful consumables and equipment; sell only when the item has no role in the current or backup build.
When a fight fails, identify the exact transition. Was the hero killed during an unsafe revive, caught by a boss ground effect, depleted before a second wave, or isolated from support? Change one matching part of positioning, timing, or loadout. Randomly replacing several pieces makes it harder to learn why the next attempt worked.
Enter Legendary with the campaign already solved
Legendary is the place to execute a known route, not discover basic chapter geography. Carry a reliable armor family, a weapon plan for both close and distant pressure, enough recovery, and an understood skill rotation. Current completion guidance uses merchant travel among Bree, Sarn Ford, Rivendell, and Nordinbad to inspect refreshed shops for matching set pieces before the final push.
Do not discard a complete set after its achievement unlocks if it remains the best defensive option. Avoid farming in a way that leaves the campaign save at an uncertain checkpoint. Travel normally, verify inventory after purchases or trades, and let Steam Cloud finish after a long session.
Boss knowledge is worth more than one small statistic. Against Agandaûr, recognize ground effects, avoid lunges, clear or manage summons, and preserve the final condition of not activating Beleram’s help. Against Saenathra, the abdomen opening after a missed lunge matters more than forcing damage through poison and spider pressure.
Understand what carries and what must be rechecked
Current player evidence says level, assigned skills, equipment, carried items, and statistics persist when the completed save moves to the next difficulty. Still inspect the new campaign after loading. Confirm the selected difficulty, active quest state, hero inventory, and first checkpoint before investing another session.
Do not assume every story choice, side-quest stage, or chapter pickup remains completed in the active cycle. A new campaign repeats story progression even while character growth persists. That distinction is why the second run can skip optional searching for completion efficiency but still must advance all required chapters.
Steam achievements may unlock for the host and guests differently in particular co-op events. If a group action awards only the host, record the result and rotate hosting for the next controlled attempt rather than changing local files or claiming that one account’s state proves another’s.
Recover from an incorrect difficulty choice
If the opening selection is wrong, verify it early in the menus before progressing. Prefer a clean new campaign or the game’s normal completed-save transition over save manipulation. The Legacy Edition uses AppID 2523770, and the retired original uses AppID 32800; old save conversion is not promised by the store or support pages.
Keep the last known working save and Steam Cloud state intact. Before any troubleshooting, exit normally and capture the visible chapter, difficulty, hero level, and error. A reproducible report is useful to Aspyr support; an overwritten save is not.
Pair this plan with New Game Plus for the handoff between clears and the boss guide for encounter-specific responses.