LOTR: Companions (Renewed Addon)
If you have ever wandered the vast landscapes of Middle-earth in Minecraft and wished you had a loyal soldier marching beside you, the LOTR: Companions (Renewed Addon) is exactly what you have been waiting for. This add-on brings hirable units back into the world of The Lord of the Rings Mod: Renewed, letting you recruit fighters, build a small army, and take on the dangers of Middle-earth with backup at your side.
What Does This Add-On Actually Do?
The LOTR: Companions (Renewed Addon) is a work-in-progress Minecraft Forge addon for version 1.16, currently in its alpha stage. It is part of the larger Renewed Extended project, which aims to eventually port all of LOTR: Legacy content into Renewed. Because of this, the add-on requires two other mods to function: The Lord of the Rings Mod: Renewed and LOTR: Renewed Extended.
An important note for returning players: all the core features of the original Companions mod have now been merged into the Renewed Extended mod from version 1.7.1 onward. As a result, this add-on now focuses on adding the Gondor Soldier as a hirable landscape soldier within Renewed Extended. It is a smaller, more targeted mod than before, but it still delivers the companion experience fans love.
Hirable Units and How Recruiting Works
Right now, the roster of hirable units is intentionally small, but it will expand with future updates. The current lineup includes:
- Gondor Soldiers - 60 coins
- Bree-land Guards - 40 coins
Silver coins are dropped by most LOTR NPCs, so you will naturally accumulate currency as you explore and fight. To hire a unit, simply right-click a hirable soldier with any type of coin. Once recruited, your companion will follow you around unless you set them to Stationary. They will attack any NPC that attacks you, making them genuinely useful in a scrap.
Companion Features Worth Knowing
The LOTR: Companions (Renewed Addon) for Minecraft packs in a solid set of mechanics that make hired units feel like real party members rather than mindless mobs. Key features include:
- Units use food placed in their inventory to heal when health runs low
- Hired units can level up and increase their maximum HP
- Health bars appear above units so you can track them from a distance
- You can change the equipment your hired units carry
These systems add a layer of management and progression that rewards players who invest time in their companions. Watching a Gondor Soldier grow stronger after surviving several battles is genuinely satisfying.
Planned Features and Known Issues
Since the add-on is still in alpha, there is plenty on the roadmap. The developer plans to add an option to enable or disable hirable units participating in PvP, introduce farmers, reduce costs based on your reputation with a faction, add the remaining hirable units for other NPCs, and implement Guard and Hunting modes.
There are also a few known issues worth mentioning. Hired soldiers do not always spawn with the same gear as the unit they were hired from, and they can occasionally be damaged by friendly units, which causes them to fight back. These quirks are on the list to be fixed eventually.
For players who want a smoother setup, the foxygame.net launcher offers a one-click install for LOTR: Companions (Renewed Addon), pulling in the required dependencies automatically so you can jump straight into recruiting soldiers. Its add-on catalog also keeps track of version compatibility, which is handy when you are juggling multiple mods for the same Minecraft release.
How to Install LOTR: Companions (Renewed Addon)
If you are ready to download LOTR: Companions (Renewed Addon), the process is straightforward. First, make sure you are running Minecraft 1.16 with the Minecraft Forge loader installed. Next, download and install both The Lord of the Rings Mod: Renewed and LOTR: Renewed Extended, since the add-on will not run without them. Then place the Companions add-on file into your mods folder and launch the game. If everything loads correctly, you should see silver coins dropping from NPCs and hirable soldiers ready to join your cause.
Final Thoughts
The LOTR: Companions (Renewed Addon) is a focused, evolving addition to the Renewed Extended ecosystem. It may not be a massive content drop on its own, but the ability to hire, equip, and level up soldiers adds real depth to your Middle-earth adventures. If you enjoy building a loyal fighting force in Minecraft, this add-on is well worth trying, and future updates promise to make it even better.