If you're an Emo Werewolf fan, you'll be more than a little familiar with his first upgrade that increases Emo's base DPS by 100% called "Liek Dis If You Cry Evry Tim". The mistake-filled title is not a typo but a variation and reference to a popular meme.

Liek Dis If You Cry Evry Tim



The origins of the original "I Cri Evrytiem' is a 'copypasta', or 'copy and pasted story', that circulated on Tumblr before being adopted by internet culture. It's transition into a popular lexicon was due to its comedic use to convey an ironic sense of sadness.



A quick visit to KnowYourMeme.com gives more details explaining how it quickly gained popularity among the most active online communities. It spread through Blogspot, YouTube and onto Reddit by August 2011.



As anyone who has read comments sections online will attest, poor grammar and spelling abound. The use of "I Cri Evry Time" became a favourite way to respond to trolls who seem to take to supergluing their CAPS LOCK button down and hammering their keyboards to convey their distaste at whatever the target of their ire was at the time.

As an emotional teenager, Emo the Werewolf naturally adopts 'Cri' in his every day communications. Just don't expect a straight answer from him as to why.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring...apart from a horde of unrelenting monsters intent on your destruction.

The Nate Before Christmas campaign will run from today until December 29th at Noon PST. In a fit of festive enthusiasm, Nate decided to find a some holiday decorations for his house. Unfortunately, Nate was kicked out of his village for a drunken incident involving an axe and the town Christmas tree in the main square.

Now Nate finds himself and his fellow Crusaders wandering the snowy winterland searching for redemption.

RoboSanta



As luck would have it, on his travels he'll have the chance to recruit two brand new Crusaders.

RoboSanta and Frosty the Snowman will "bring the heat" to the gang of Crusaders once you complete their objectives. However, they are going to make it hard going.

RoboSanta has a bolt loose and instead of the generous, jovial Saint Nick, we get a rotund, avaricious dude who debuffs his fellow Crusader's gold generation by 20% up to a total of 80%.

Frosty, the Snowman



Frosty puts his fellow Crusaders 'on ice', literally freezing a random Crusader and debuffing their DPS by 100% every 15 seconds. He'll also chill all adjacent teammates' DPS by 20%.

The remaining two objectives are Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and Milk and Cookie Run. Rudolph will lead you on a mission to find the remaining eight reindeer and leave you with four slots for Crusaders by the end of the objective.

Rudolph, the Rednose Reindeer



In Milk and Cookie Run, you have to help Santa complete his present deliveries within 60 minutes. However, every 25 areas you'll gain more energy in the form of the "Milk and Cookies" buff that will accelerate monster spawn speeds for a few minutes.

Happy Holidays one and all!

This week we are releasing more objectives for you. We've added one new objective to World's Wake, and two new objectives to Grimm's Idle Tales. All three require you to have earned 2,500 Idols to access them.

Top Tier



In objective Top Tier, your merry band must reach area 350 with only half of the available Crusaders available to you as the team get split up. Everyone from The Bushwhacker to Merci, the Mad Wizard can be selected. Everyone from Jim the Lumberjack through Nate Dragon will be locked out.

But how will I reset? We hear you cry. Don't worry, Merci has taken Nate's reset ability for this objective.

Let It Go



Let It Go is the first of the two new objectives for Grimm's Idle Tales. A familiar-looking lady by the name of Elsa, who just happens to have some magical winter abilities is tagging along like a bad smell.

Elsa keeps freezing adjacent Crusaders every 10 seconds. The affected heroes have their DPS reduced for up to 15 seconds, but thankfully their formation buffs are unharmed.

I Like Potatoes



The final new objective is I Like Potatoes. An evil potato mayor has pilfered all your idols, and the only way to get them back is to mash him into a pulpy mess. You're going to have to finish the older objective Big Phoney Wizard first but once you do, don't forget your potato masher. Good luck

'Tis the Season for Giving!

Get into the giving mood of the holiday season by tackling the Bushwhackia Christmas event.

You'll want to get started by heading to the event area in the Commons to meet up with the stranded elf and help him fix his teleporter. Once you've got it operational, you'll be able to make the journey far to the North Pole where you'll find a bevy of characters who need your special skills to make the holiday celebrations work!

Your primary task will be helping the elves make presents by bringing them Candy Canes (that you find in bushes), but there is a veritable smorgasbord of holiday related quests to complete as well. All of these quests will unlock over the course of the event, with the last ones unlocking on Christmas Day.

New to 2015:

There are 8 new quests in the 2015 edition of the event. Bundle up well as you deal with two snowy quests, one of which replaces the old friend-built Snowman, and it's time to give your poor reindeer some food finally.

Presents all Around!!

Once a day, if you have excess tokens, you can send a Present to a friend! These presents will contain a random amount of gold, energy, mana, power and come with some other treats as well. If you want to send more presents every day it'll cost you a few Bush Bucks. Talk to Sasha in the North Pole to learn more!

Event Achievements - POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!

There are a total of NINETEEN possible Achievements to earn in the Christmas 2015 event:

Achievements Returning in 2015:

Apprentice Elf Helper - You've been responsible for at least one present!
Journeyman Elf Helper - You've been responsible for at least 20 presents!
Professional Elf Helper - You've been responsible for at least 50 presents!
Expert Elf Helper - You've been responsible for at least 50 presents from each Elf!
Santa Man - You've delivered a present to someone's house!
Diverse Santa - You've delivered a present to several houses!
Schoolyard Victor - You won 5 snowball fights!
Reindeer Herder - You've saved the reindeer 5 times!
Yay! Presents - You've opened a present from the Developers!
12 Days of Bushmas - You completed all 12 days of Bushmas!
Christmas Savior - You've helped all the citizens in need at the North Pole!

Added/Changed for 2015:

Season of Shopping - You purchased all the Christmas 2015 items!*
Snow-ho-ho! - You built yourself a snowman!
Reverse Santa - You stole a cool item from somebody's house. Real cool man.

We also have 5 achievements from previous year's events, which may be earnable by spending some Bush Bucks, if a player was not present during the initial years:

Santa Santa - You're practically Santa! (deliver a present while dressed as Santa)
Materialist - You bought all the 2012 Christmas things!
Reverse Grinch - You've delivered a present dressed as a Grinch!
All The Toys - You bought all the 2013 Christmas things!
No Returns Allowed! - You bought all the 2014 Christmas items!

* The Christmas Mini Golf piece is NOT included in the Season of Shopping achievement, and therefore it is not required to purchase it.

Note: The achievements Reverse Santa 2.0 and Napping Nate Nabber are not available during the 2015 event.

2015 Pet Packs:

New 2015 Pet Packs:

COMING SOON! Keep an eye out for the sale pop-up!



2014 Event Pets available for Bush Bucks:

Gingerbread Man - Turns up to 25% of your Nothing wins into Candy (random energy, mana, and power)
Christmas Elf - Turns up to 25% of your Nothing wins into Presents (random energy, mana, and power)
Friendly Yeti - Turns up to 25% of your Nothing wins into Snowballs (random energy, mana, and power)

2013 Event Pets available for Bush Bucks:

Christmas Kitty - Turns up to 25% of your Nothing wins into Presents (random energy, mana, and power)
Chilly Penguin - Turns up to 25% of your Nothing wins into Snowballs (random energy, mana, and power)
Mini Grinch - Turns up to 25% of your Nothing wins into Coal (random energy, mana, and power)

Other Pets available**:

2012 Reindeer - The pet for getting 100% in the 2012 Christmas Event
2013 Reindeer - The pet for getting 100% in the 2013 Christmas Event
2014 Reindeer - The pet for getting 100% in the 2014 Christmas Event
Snowman - Earned for completing a specific quest in this event.

** Note that these four pets start out as ranch items only, and can be converted to real pets by talking to Hank the Farmhand in the Commons (once you've built the stables)

Discuss this event on the forums here!

The Christmas event will run until Wednesday December 30th at Noon PST (8pm UTC.)

To say that the team at Codename is inspirational is more than just a charming way of saying we've assembled a team of kick-ass people to work on Crusaders. In artist Cory's case, he truly was an inspiration.

You may have noticed that there's one Crusader who happens to share a similar sounding name: Khouri, the Witch Doctor.

Khouri In-Game



When creating the various characters and backstories to the Crusaders in the game, we sometimes delve into our love of gaming for inspiration. It just so happened that Cory was undertaking a massive Diablo 3 campaign at the time and that passion for his favourite game seeped into the creative process in the studio.

The Office Witch Doctor



To describe Cory as a fan of the Diablo franchise would not do him justice. It would be similar to saying that teenage girls are just partial to Justin Bieber.

Cory's love affair with Diablo 1 started way back when it launched in 1996, then Diablo 2 in 2000 and then Diablo 3 in 2012. In total he's racked up 20 years of play. That dedication has paid off with his current main character being no less than a Level 70, Paragon 610 sporting all kinds of death-dealing voodoo paraphernalia.

Cory and his Diablo Companion



Just lately Cory has been playing Diablo on hardcore mode, a pursuit he describes as much more rewarding. The risk of losing all your progress keeps it far more exciting for this Sanctuary veteran.

It was around the time of the inception of Crusaders of the Lost Idols that the team were looking for inspiration to really differentiate the unique characters from one another.

While the team were creating concepts late into the night, their attention was drawn to Cory's exploits in Diablo 3 and that's how Khouri was delivered into this world of Crusaders of the Lost Idols.

Cory's Diablo Witch Doctor, 'Preyy'



Our Khouri is somewhat less terrifying than Cory's own creation in his favourite game but has become a firm fan favourite due to his contribution to the Crusade. Cory himself is also less terrifying and says he only practices his own dark arts on weekends which is a relief for the rest of the team.

Hi Whackers!

Descend from the land of clouds and get acquainted with another new area. Although why would anyone or anything set foot in this sea of yellow grass and dead trees? Strive to find a sanctuary where you can rest your weary adventurer's soul as you struggle to heal the corruption. Who knew the land could be so blighted?

Introducing the Infected Plains!

This content update includes:

• Four brand new poisonous areas to explore!
• Level cap increase to 330!
• New Trinkets!
• And tons of other fun stuff to discover!

To go along with this content update, we're having a sale! Get an adorable Baby Seal pet in this limited time package!

If you're a keen-eyed player of Crusaders of the Lost Idols you've probably noticed we have a lot of fun integrating gaming and movie references. We do it for no other reason than it tickles us.

The whole team at Codename are ardent fans of both gaming and movie culture. Sometimes it reaches the point where an innocuous conversation in the office will quickly devolve into a cross-office debate about tactics and experiences in Fallout 4 or fan theories about Star Wars.

In Crusaders, one of the most noticeable references often called out by players is the 'arrow to the knee' text for the Washed Up Hermit upgrades.

The Washed Up Hermit



The 'arrow to the knee' reference became famous for most fans due to its inclusion in the awesome The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game we played religiously when it first launched.

Arrow to the Knee in Skyrim

However, unbeknownst to most pop culture fans, the original inspiration for the now infamous meme was the popular 2007 novel, The Name of the Wind by author Patrick Rothfuss.

The book is the first in a series of fantasy stories that won several awards and is much-loved by members of the Codename team. The original passage is delivered by an innkeeper character:

“Took an arrow in the knee on my way through the Eld three summers ago. It gives out every now and then.” He grimaced and said wistfully, “It’s what made me give up the good life on the road.” He reached down to touch his oddly bent leg tenderly."

The Name of the Wind



The Washed Up Hermit's scraggly appearance and ranting should give players just enough pause to question whether he is a broken-down vestige of an epic adventurer or just a rambling, booze-fueled delusional old fart. We won't tell.

Our goal this year was a modest $1000, but we blasted that out of the park to raise almost $4100 by the time the stream finished!

We could not have achieved that goal within a week and a half without the help of our generous community, and those with the desire to see Clive in a princess dress! And thank you to everyone who supported our efforts to game and stay up all night!

The first shift arrived at the office and got the stream live on Twitch without too much technical difficulties, thanks to last year's experience and staying late to set up the night before. Plus, there were piles of sugary treats to snack on for focus. Cory led the charge, with his ambitious playing of an Idiot Savant build in Fallout 4 while the rest of the day crew trickled in to start their gaming. We were joined briefly by Kyle from Indochino, who played Ghost Blitz and Anomia with some of us.



Brownies, peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies were just some of the treats available to snack on. The cookies were all gone by the end of stream.

Letting Justin leave the stream command so he could go play the "Get Me Out of Here" objective in Crusaders, Eric manned the chat room and played Meta Game with those in chat and asking those in the office their opinions as well. It's always interesting to talk about what games we have in common and what we think about them.



Justin wearing Clive's alternate princess hat choice, thanks to Erika's silliness, while he beats "Get Me Out of Here" and eats lunch with Dave playing Fallout 4 beside him.

We were joined later in the day by a bevy of teenagers, who helped keep us awake all night, and Princess Clive. Clive really was a good sport about following up on stretch goal and staying in the princess gown all night, even doing some curtsies and waves on camera for the people chatting with us on stream.



Andrew took over stream command for part of the evening, and really enjoyed the chance to interact with the players in our community and get to know them better. And he even learned more about himself, like that he is able to get a cookie from his forehead to his mouth by scrunching his face. He also got a donation from doing it, which is awesome!



Katherine made her goal while on stream, and followed up on her donation goal bonus as well. She started out by roughing in the headbutting dinosaur poster that her main donator asked for, then moved on to her "derpy doodles" of doing anything suggested by people in our twitch chat. You can check out all her drawings, like the pirate goat or wizard orca, here. Thank you for sharing them and being here for the stream, Katherine!

In the wee hours of the night, with the need to resist sleep setting in, the teenagers volunteered to man the twitch chat. They decided to do whatever anyone in chat asked for, and ended up raising $30 for drawing on each other's faces! Plus, they showed off their exercise skills with push ups and sit ups.



The sunrise in the morning brought sleeping teenagers but also the siren call of breakfast. (Next year, we'll make it earlier in the morning, because it helped us wake up!) Once Cory had his coffee in him, he whipped up the pancake batter and Erika had charge of cooking the batches of bacon pancakes! We had prevailed through the night!



For interested Bush Whacker players: You can still donate if you're interested and be immortalized in our next area expansion. This option remains open until the end of the 2015 calendar, when the 2015 Extra Life drive closes. Please comment on Justin's page with how you'd like your character to appear.

Thank you for supporting all of us!!

This weekend, on December 5th and 6th, Crusaders of the Lost Idols is nominated for Best Social/Casual game award at the Canadian Videogame Awards 2015. We're offering you an exclusive opportunity to attend the event.

As part of the celebrations, we have four pairs of fanfest weekend passes and tickets to the awards ceremony in Toronto to give away. That's four (4) winners who can each take a friend or family member.

Check out the official fanfest details here.

Check out the official Canadian Videogame Awards 2015 details here.

All you need to do to enter the contest is enter the sweepstakes below and follow the instructions. We'll randomly draw winners for the passes and tickets when the contest closes and that's it! We'll contact the winners privately to arrange the details.

Please note: Winners will need to arrange their own travel and accommodation to attend the fanfest and awards ceremony.

Good luck!

Click here to enter