Hail Crusaders!

You may have heard whispers about "uncapped objectives" swirling around this year and wondered what they were. Well, wonder no more! It's time to descend into The Dungeons!

Welcome to The Dungeons

What are the Dungeons you might ask? Well, it's a set of 10 new objectives for you to enjoy, with a major bonus: no maximum DPS cap! That's right, you can now see how far your formation building will take you without running into an invisible wall! The Dungeons are available to try once you've completed the From the Ashes Tier 3 Objective in the Mischief at Mugwarts campaign.

These objectives come with all-new formations that range from 12 to 15(!) spots to place your Crusaders, challenging you ascend to new heights while expanding your creativity. And getting deeper into these objectives is good, as it will net you more rewards in the form of Dungeon Coins, an all-new currency arriving with this update. Dungeon Coins can be spent on various items in the new Dungeon Coin shop, The Dungeon Depot, helping you gain even more additional power to push your formations even further.

10 New Formations

We wanted to give you a brief introduction to the 10 new formations, so without further ado, here they are!



Playing it Old School
This formation will look familiar to most players, as it's a take on Ready Player Two with the bottom spot of the middle column removed, leaving it with 13 spots for you to build your formation with. But we have faith you can make it work!



Free for All
This formation features two columns of 4 Crusaders each for you to experiment with, as you build a formation that works with the 12 spots you have available.



Fun and Games
Two columns of 4 again, but with different adjacent spots for the center two spots and the extra front spot gives you some more variety in this formation of 13 Crusaders.



Under Fire
Another riff on the Ready Player Two formation, but this time with the center 2 spots having more adjacent spots than in the original.



Sunday Stroll
Another 13 spot formation for you to try out, starting big on the outside and going in to the lone center spot. How far can this formation take you?



Dark Dwellers
14 spots for you to play with in this N-shaped formation, featuring 3 columns of 4 Crusaders each and a couple Mindy friendly spots, but those two solo spot columns might prove tricky to craft around.



Making Waves
The first 15 spot formation of the new formations. Ride the wave as you make this formation work.



Jungle Journey
Another 15 spot formation, with columns of 4 and more of your Crusaders clustered together. We're excited to see how you can take advantage of this shape to push as far as you can.



Achieve Flight
With 14 spots and a column of 4, this evil eye formation might not be so evil after all, especially with its Mindy friendly spots.



Dungeon Crawl
The final new formation is also 14 spots for you to fill, with yet another column of 4, flanked by columns of two and bounded by columns of 3 Crusaders.


We hope you enjoy busting out your formation crafting with these new formations!

New Rotating Buff System

But we can hear you ask, why would I do any objective other than the ones with the excellent 15 spot formations?

Good question player! Well, the Dungeons also feature a rotating buff system. So of the 10 objectives, 3 will be assigned a buff to give you a bonus for doing that objective. The buffs will rotate to 3 different objectives every time you reset the world off of an objective in The Dungeons. So you can benefit from doing an objective with a smaller formation if you do it while it has the buff that you currently want.

The three buffs that will rotate are:

• Bonus Idols - Gain anywhere from 0.01% of your current total Idols at the time you reset the world, up to 3% depending on how deep you get before resetting the world on an objective when it has this buff. Ka-ching!


• Bonus Dungeon Coins - Gain 10% more Dungeon Coins from this reset when you choose an objective that has this buff. Dungeonlicious!


• Bonus Dungeon Points! - Gain 10% more Dungeon points from this reset when you choose an objective that has this buff. Cryptastic!

Dungeon points, you ask? Let's continue on to the next section.

New Season: The Crypt

The Dungeons update will also introduce our new 'Seasons' mechanic to the game and our first season: The Crypt! Complete the whole season and in addition to the in-game achievement for beating it, you'll unlock our adorable new Crypt-themed taskmaster, Li'l Reaper.




So what's the short and long of it?

• If you have access to the Dungeons objectives, you can participate in the season.



• You have 12 weeks to earn enough Dungeon Points to clear all 25 levels and earn all the prizes, including Li'l Reaper.



• For our first season, The Crypt, Dungeon points are only earned from completing objectives in the Dungeons.



• The deeper you go on an objective, the more points you get.



• You can do 15 objectives for Dungeon points a week for free, letting you choose when you can invest your time in earning those points.



• If you need additional runs to earn your Dungeon points, you can spend Dungeon Coins in the Dungeon Depot to access additional runs for the week.

Want even more goodies than you can earn for free? You can support Crusaders by purchasing the Mysterious Benefactor's pass at any time. You'll immediately be able to claim any premium rewards you've already unlocked and you'll be able to claim the others as you meet the season goals.

We're looking forward to your feedback on this new addition to Crusaders! Get your delving on!

F.A.Q. for Dungeons and The Crypt Season

• Q: What are the Dungeon objectives?
  
  A: They are a series of new objectives for you to test your mettle against. The maximum number cap has been removed, so you can go as far as your heart desires and see what your true DPS is in these all-new formations.



• Q: How do I access the Dungeons objectives?
  
  A: Once you've completed the Tier 3 Objective From the Ashes in the Mischief at Mugwarts campaign, objectives for The Dungeons will become available from the campaign selection screen.



• Q: Why no bonus boss Idol drops?
  
  A: Because the bonus boss Idols drops are based on the areas reached and the maximum number cap has been removed for these objectives.



• Q: Will I get progress towards my Free Play Bonus by doing these objectives?
  
  A: No, these objectives do not count towards that bonus, as these are special types of objectives and that bonus is for rotating through the free plays on the permanent themed campaigns.



• Q: What do I get from doing the Dungeons objectives?
  
  A: You get the all-new Dungeon Coins to purchase items from the new Dungeon shop; and Dungeon points for the current season. The debut season is The Crypt.



• Q: Can I only do these objectives once?
  
  A: No, you can do each objective multiple times. The only limit is your weekly allowance of runs.



• Q: How do I see my season progress?
  
  A: You can click on the all-new Dungeons button on the Rosette tab at the bottom of the screen, the one with your Achievements, Stats and Challenges information.



• Q: Why is the season geared towards veterans? How can I make progress?
  
  A: The season is meant to be additional end game content, but we still want mid level players to have access to the dungeon objectives. You can still earn points, especially if you take advantage of the buff that gives more Dungeon Points from a reset. You do also have the twelve weeks to try and get up into the higher echelon of power, and you can purchase extra runs for Dungeon Coins in the later weeks if you've managed to raise your power levels by then.



• Q: What happens if I can't complete the first season?
  
  A: The top prize for the season will become available for Dungeon Coins in the Dungeon Coin store a few weeks after the season completes.



• Q: Do I have to claim the rewards right when I unlock them?
  
  A: No, you can wait to claim them until you're ready to use them. However, if the season has ended, any unclaimed rewards will automatically be claimed at the end. Rewards will be awarded if you are in the game when the season ends, or the next time you log in if your game is closed when the season ends.



• Q: If I purchased the Mysterious Benefactor's pass during the previous season, do I get the rewards in the current season?
  
  A: No, but you keep all of the permanent rewards you've earned from the old season.



• Q: How do I buy the Mysterious Benefactor's pass?
  
  A:
  • Launch Crusaders of the Lost Idols.
  • Navigate to the current season's dialog.
  • Click on the purchase button.
  • Benefit!



• Q: What if I buy the Mysterious Benefactor's pass late in the season?
  
  A: You will receive all of the rewards up to your current level, retroactively, and you can claim them at any time after you've purchased the pass.



• Q: What happens when the season ends?
  
  A: All the rewards you haven't claimed yet will be auto-claimed.
  
  If you are currently on a dungeon objective that would get you points for the season, those points will be applied to the new season once you reset that objective.

The Champions are at the Field of Triumph in Waterdeep for Founders' Day to watch the illusory shows of the history of the city and the Founders themselves.

Archduke Zariel of Avernus sets a plan in motion to harvest souls for the Blood War during the festivities...

Will our Champions be able to stop her in time? Players have until Monday, July 6th at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

Founders' Day 3 introduces Freely, the lucky halfling from Beyond Heroes and Silver & Steel, and brings back the Documancer Walnut Dankgrass, and the kolbold bard, Deekin Scalesinger. Players have until Monday, July 6th at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

Year 3 Champion: Freely

Freely has traveled across multiple Planes, but he has always had his luck to keep him safe. Even an unfortunate detour into being trapped as an Illithid ultimately led him into the company of his new friends, Beyond Heroes! Armed with the magic in his blood, and the Faith that flows through his sword, he always seeks to destroy evil wherever he can sense it. Freely prefers to act first and think later, since hey, things always tend to work out for him anyway, right?

Freely is a Gold Find and Support Champion. He increases your divine favor directly with his Adventurous Tale ability. When you want to add Freely to your formation, you can swap him with Minsc (Slot 7).

For more information about Freely, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Freely dev blog!

Year 2 Champion: Walnut Dankgrass

Walnut Dankgrass (the k is silent) is played by Trystan Falcone on Penny Arcade's The "C" Team.

Walnut is a child of the Enclave Panax Anima, an all-female clan of woodland defenders within the Kryptgarden Forest. Not only a frighteningly enthusiastic member of Acquisitions Incorporated, she also strives to protect the natural world by any means necessary. Did we mention she also has the goddess Mielikki living inside her? That seems important.

Walnut is a versatile Tank and Support Champion. Her Documancer ability can be customized for your formation needs through multiple specializations. When you want to add Walnut to your formation, you can swap her with Delina (Slot 8).

For more information about our Walnut, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Walnut Dankgrass dev blog!

Year 1 Champion: Deekin Scalesinger

A former member of the Dripping Fang clan, Deekin was once a Skald for a White Dragon named Tymofarrar. Once he was released from Tymofarrar's service, he set out to become the most amazing storyteller in all of FaerÈ—n. He yearns to sing and tell stories of heroic deeds, but his songs often devolve into "tales" of the doom that is coming to him or his companions.

Deekin is a Support Champion. He helps the party by buffing DPS and by attracting enemies (to help clear areas more quickly) with his Song of Doom. When you want to add Deekin to your formation, you can swap him with Bruenor (Slot 1).

For more information about Deekin, check out the Year One Champion Balance Update (March 2020) dev blog!

Year Three Variants

• Team Smrt Defense Team - Only Champions with an INT score of 12 or lower can be used.
  Reach Area 75.


• Invasion Nation — Whenever a demon or fiend spawns normally, two more copies of that creature spawn. These creatures don't trigger additional spawns, don't drop gold or count for quest progress, and move twice as quickly as normal ones.
  Reach Area 125.


• Live Free — Freely takes up slot 6 in the formation with Luck of Yondalla unlocked and can not be moved or removed. Champions placed adjacent to Freely automatically get Luck of Yondalla, regardless of their alignment. Enemies can only be damaged if they are affected by at least one Lucky Break.
  Reach Area 175.

Year Two Variants

• Rain of Fire — Fireballs occasionally rain from the sky, damaging a random Champion. These Fireballs become more frequent the further you progress.

Reach Area 75.

• Close Quarters Combat — Only Champions with melee Base Attacks may be used.

Reach Area 125.

• Aww, Hells Nuts — Enemies become much more powerful over the course of the adventure. Walnut starts the adventure in your formation and cannot be moved, removed, or swapped out. Demonic Squirrels occasionally spawn. When killed, these squirrels drop Hell-Nuts, which increase the effectiveness of Walnut's Documancer ability and last until the end of the adventure, stacking additively.
Reach Area 175.

Year One Variants

• Spectator Sport — Three local farmers have joined in on the Founders' Day tussle, and won't take the hint that they should probably take a seat. It might be because they are pretty drunk. They take up a slot in your formation and change positions every 25 areas.

Reach Area 75.

• Doom is Coming to Waterdeep — Deekin must sing a song so everyone in Waterdeep knows that doom is coming. I know. We tried talking to him. However, he doesn't know which spot will give him the best acoustics. Deekin is always in your formation and will change positions every 10 areas. Deekin cannot be moved because, well, Deekin is singing a song.

Reach Area 125.

• The Blood War — Whenever you kill a demon, devils get stronger and demons get weaker, and vice-versa.
Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

It's time for the latest Idle Champion Spotlight, and this time around we're talking about a well-traveled Gold Find and Support Champion!

And did we mention that this lucky halfling directly increases your Divine Favor as well?

Read on and learn all about Freely...

I. Lucky Halfling

Freely has traveled across multiple Planes, but he has always had his luck to keep him safe. Even an unfortunate detour into being trapped as an Illithid ultimately led him into the company of his new friends, Beyond Heroes! Armed with the magic in his blood, and the Faith that flows through his sword, he always seeks to destroy evil wherever he can sense it. Freely prefers to act first and think later, since hey, things always tend to work out for him anyway, right?

Freely is a Gold Find and Support Champion. He increases your divine favor directly with his Adventurous Tale ability. When you want to add Freely to your formation, you can swap him with Minsc (Slot 7).

II. Freely's Stats

Race: Halfling	Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Bard/Warlock	Gender: Male
Age: 42	Affiliation: none

STR: 13	DEX: 17	CON: 10
INT: 8	WIS: 10	CHA: 16

Eligible for Patrons: Mirt

III. Freely's Design

We had the great fortune to cross paths with B. Dave Walters while participating in the D&D Live events over the last few years. As we grew to know B. Dave better, we learned that in addition to playing Freely on Beyond Heroes and Silver & Steel, he's also the writer for A Darkened Wish, an awesome human (and an awesome vampire), and just an all-around cool creator in the D&D Community. We knew we wanted to work with him, and in early 2019 we talked to him about bringing Freely to the game.

(Side note: we know what you're thinking. Yes, it really can take well over a year for everything to line up behind the scenes to introduce a new Champion to the game. We actually already have nearly all of our Champions locked in through 2021...)

When we sat down to start working with B. Dave on Freely, it was immediately apparent that even though all Halflings are lucky, Freely has a special connection to Yondalla, the creator of the halfling pantheon and the halfling race itself. Yondalla offers protection to all halflings in the form of incredible luck, and when it comes to Freely, his unique Luck of Yondalla ability is core to his design.

Luck of Yondalla grants Freely and his allies chances to have enemies drop more gold (Requisition), to reduce their attack cooldowns (Follow-Through), to increase the damage enemies take (Opportunity), and to stun enemies (Stagger). This is further boosted by his Unlucky For Them ability, which increases the effect of Luck of Yondalla for each enemy affected by it.

When Freely is in your formation, An Adventurous Tale increases the amount of Divine Favor you collect when you reset (Complete Adventure) based on the number of areas you've cleared during that adventure.

Finally, Freely uses Cutting Words to distract enemies when he is within three slots of a Tank Champion who is under attack, increasing the Overwhelm of the Tank Champion.

Okay, now it's time to talk details...

IV.Freely's Abilities

Basic Attack

• Eldritch Blast — A beam of aquamarine crackling energy streaks towards a random enemy.

Formation Abilities

• Luck of Yondalla — Freely, and any allies granted this ability through his specializations, have the Luck of Yondalla backing them up. Whenever they attack, one of the following Lucky Breaks occurs completely at random, affecting all enemies hit by the attack. Each Lucky Break can be applied on each enemy once for each Champion with Luck of Yondalla. Each application lasts for 15 seconds, so even if 10 Champions are attacking a single enemy with Luck of Yondalla, the actual Lucky Break applications on the enemy will vary over time.



• Requisition — Target will drop 10% more gold when they are killed, stacking multiplicatively. This Lucky Break can be buffed by equipment and feats.
• Follow-Through — Any Champion who attacks this enemy has their next base attack's cooldown decreased by 0.1 sec for each application of this Lucky Break on the enemy. This Lucky Break is never buffed.
• Opportunity — The targeted enemy takes 100% more damage from all attacks, inclusive, stacks multiplicatively.
• Stagger — Target has a 2% chance to be stunned for 1 second when they are attacked by any Champion, stacking additively.This Lucky Break is never buffed.

• Unlucky For Them — The total effect of Luck of Yondalla: Opportunity is increased by 100% on enemies affected by it. This buff applies once to the total value of the applications.

• An Adventurous Tale — If Freely is in your formation when you complete an area for the first time, he keeps track of it for future tales. When you reset your adventure, you'll collect an additional .01% of Divine Favor for each area Freely tracked, stacking additively but applying multiplicatively. Freely does not have to be in your formation when you reset to gain the additional Divine Favor, but he does need to be in your formation when you complete an area to increase his bonus. The bonus resets when you complete your adventure. This ability is buffed by feats and equipment.

• Cutting Words — Freely distracts enemies if he is within 3 slots of a Tank Champion who is under attack by at least 1 enemy, increasing the overwhelm point of such Champions by 5. This ability is not buffed.

Specializations

• Trust in Law — Grants Luck of Yondalla to all Lawful Champions in your formation. Affected Champions now cause Lucky Breaks whenever they attack.

• Value Neutrality — Grants Luck of Yondalla to Neutral Champions (on the Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic scale) in your formation. Affected Champions now cause Lucky Breaks whenever they attack.

• Always Expect Chaos — Grants Luck of Yondalla to Chaotic Champions in your formation. Affected Champions now cause Lucky Breaks whenever they attack.

Ultimate Ability

• I Will Not Deafen — Freely grabs his sword and launches himself toward an enemy, showering green and red lightning in his wake until he smashes into his opponent for massive damage. It also applies all four Lucky Breaks on that enemy or any they didn't already have.

V. Freely's Equipment

Slot 1: Global DPS	Slot 2: Luck of Yondalla: Requisition	Slot 3: Unlucky For Them
Slot 4: An Adventurous Tale	Slot 5: Ultimate Damage	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

Freely is an interesting Champion, and we are excited to see how well he fits into the Idle Champions meta with his Divine Favor Buff. If you have feedback, let us know in a Community Q&A or Champion feedback post on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!

We are proud to announce that we have partnered with Red Nose Day to create a unique familiar! Codename Entertainment will be donating the net proceeds from all sales of the Baby Snowy Owlbear Familiar Pack through July 1st, 2020, to the Red Nose Day Fund/Comic Relief US! To thank you for supporting this great cause, everyone who purchases a Baby Snowy Owlbear familiar through July 1st will also unlock an exclusive skin for the familiar, with a red nose!



Net proceeds from all Baby Snowy Owlbear Familiar sales through July 1st, 2020 will be donated to Red Nose Day, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with the mission to end child poverty by funding programs that keep children safe, healthy, and educated.

Red Nose Day supports programs that address both the immediate needs of children in poverty while fostering long-term change. Funds raised are split 50/50 between the United States and some of the poorest communities around the world. Red Nose Day ensures your donations go where the need is the greatest. Food. Medicine. Shelter. And most importantly, to give hope. To date, Red Nose Day donations have positively impacted over 25 million children living in poverty to help change their stories for good. We hope you can help join us in supporting the cause!

Familiars are NPCs that players can assign to specific tasks, such as clicking enemies, leveling up Champions, or using ultimate abilities. Familiars will click at different rates depending on the task they are assigned to. For more information, see our Introducing Familiars Dev Blog.

The Baby Snowy Owlbear Familiar is available now in the in-game shop on PC and Mac on Steam and web, Xbox One, and on all Android devices.

The Baby Snowy Owlbear Familiar will be available on PlayStation 4 on Thursday, June 18th, and on Nintendo Switch & iOS in the coming weeks. We will be donating the net proceeds for the first two weeks of release, once available on those platforms.