Wintershield sees a celebration of maps in the Realms, symbolizing our paths through the new year. As part of this year's tradition, the Champions have purchased a map from a Waterdeep street vendor. Then it started talking...

December 21st, 2022 is the beginning of both Wintershield 6 and Season 2: The Flayer Hunters! Wintershield 6 introduces Imoen, a rogue/wizard and member of the Heroes of Baldur's Gate, and brings back two of her fellow Baldur's Gate heroes: Viconia DeVir, Drow Cleric of Shar, and Baeloth the Entertainer, Drow Sorcerer and proprietor of The Black Pits! Players have until Monday, January 2nd, 2023 at 12 PM Pacific to complete their Wintershield 6 unlocks and objectives.

Season 2: The Flayer Hunters

This is also the launch of Season 2, featuring five of the Heroes of Baldur's Gate, specifically Nerys, Shandie, Krydle, Jaheira, and Viconia. For our Season 2 skins, we were very excited to collaborate with Max Dunbar to create The Flayer Hunters! All of these Champions have received updates and buffs, and you can see an overview of the changes we have made in the video below and in the game.



Aside from the Champion balance updates, we've been listening to your feedback about the quests and rewards. The quests for this season have been tweaked to reduce some of the grind players experienced in Season 1. We outright removed some of the most disliked quests and added new ones in their place.

On the rewards side, we've added an entirely new reward slot for non-season pass players, providing ten more items to that reward track. Some of these items will even increase the Season Champions' item level. For tier 11, we've removed the requirement that you must purchase all the items from tiers 1-10. Instead, tier 11 now has the same unlock requirement for both season pass and non-season pass players: simply purchase 40 items from tiers 1-10 and you're good to go! We have made some other adjustments to tier 11, removing several items, adding two new ones, and tweaking the costs and reward counts for the remaining items.

A lot of these changes were in response to player feedback, so please keep that feedback coming on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!

Imoen's Design

Imoen is a surprisingly cheerful young woman, considering she eventually discovered that she was the child of a deadly murder god. As an orphan, she moved to Candlekeep at the age of 10 with her adoptive father and innkeeper, Winthrop. Soon she traveled to Baldur's Gate with a childhood friend, where she joined forces with powerful Champions like Minsc and Jaheria.

Imoen is a Support and Healing Champion who complements her thieving abilities with spells! She boosts her party's damage whenever a Favored Foe is defeated, and while not primarily a spellcaster, she doesn't mind stepping in with an occasional Polymorph or Stoneskin spell. Once unlocked, you can find this Human Rogue/Wizard in Slot 11 opposite Jamilah. You can find out more in Imoen's Full Champion Spotlight.

Year Six Variants

• Adventure Variant 1: Heya! It's me, Imoen! - Help a poor map find its way home for the holidays with Imoen! Imoen joins the formation, and can't be moved or removed. Only Imoen and Champions next to her can deal damage.
  Complete Area 75.


• Adventure Variant 2: Mutton Mongering Riff Raff - Help a poor map find its way home for the holidays fighting against a menagerie of beasts. Imoen joins the formation, and can't be moved or removed. 1-2 Beasts spawn with every wave, who don't drop gold nor count towards quest progress.
  Complete Area 125.


• Adventure Variant 3: Gotta Go Fast To Cast Fast - Help a poor map find its way home while blasting monstrosities as quickly as you can. Imoen joins the formation and can be moved, but not removed. You may only use Champions with an INT of 12+ and/or Champions from the Heroes of Baldur's Gate affiliation. Imoen's base attack cooldown is reduced by 0.5 seconds for each Champion next to her. 1-2 Monstrosities spawn with every wave, but they don't drop gold nor count toward quest progress.
  Complete Area 175.

Remember that 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!

"So, you ready to go? I'd prefer to travel with you, if I could."

With a lighthearted outlook and a care-free disposition, Imoen has managed to remain cheerful even in the face of deadly enemies and startling revelations. With her thieves tools in one hand and powerful magic in the other, she is ready to deal with any challenge the formation encounters when she joins the Champions during Wintershield!

I. Imoen

Imoen is a surprisingly cheerful young woman considering she eventually discovered that she was the child of a deadly murder god. As an orphan, she moved to Candlekeep at the age of 10 with her adoptive father and innkeeper, Winthrop. Soon she traveled to Baldur's Gate with a childhood friend, where she joined forces with powerful Champions like Minsc and Jaheria.

Imoen is a Support and Healing Champion who complements her thieving abilities with spells! She boosts her party's damage whenever a Favored Foe is defeated, and while not primarily a spellcaster, she doesn't mind stepping in with an occasional Polymorph or Stoneskin spell. Once unlocked, you can find this Human Rogue/Wizard in Slot 11 opposite Jamilah.

II. Imoen's Stats

Race: Human	Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Rogue/Wizard	Gender: Female	Pronouns: She/Her
Age: 20	Affiliation: Heroes of Baldur's Gate

STR: 9	DEX: 18	CON: 16
INT: 17	WIS: 11	CHA: 16

Role: Support, Healing
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt, Vajra, and Strahd
Slot: 11 (Jamilah)

III. Imoen's Design

As a recurring character in the Baldur's Gate series of video games, Imoen has proven herself as a valuable party member to join you on your quests. She also appears in several Baldur's Gate novels and even appears on a Magic: the Gathering card! When things are bleak, Imoen will be there with a joke to try and lighten spirits, and is excited to use her unique mixture of roguish and wizarding talents for good uses.

Imoen is focused on supporting the formation against her Favored Foe. She helps keep Optimism high by increasing the damage of adjacent Champions. With Perseverance she'll increase Optimism's damage boost every time any Champion's Favored Foe either appears or is defeated. For monsters that are not on her special list, Imoen can magically Polymorph them into an enemy that is the same type as her Favored Foe. Since the front-most column of the formation takes the brunt of attacks, she'll help them out by casting Stoneskin to give them a temporary hit point boost.

There are four Specializations that Imoen can choose from, making her regular attack do more damage against a specific type of enemy. She can focus on beasts, dragons, monstrosities, or aberrations, making them her Favored Foe and turning her ammo into Slaying Arrows for that specific type of creature. Usually Imoen attacks at range with her Short Bow, but if it's time to get up close and personal with her Ultimate, she'll pull out her short sword and lockpicks to leap into the fray! She'll Disarm Traps and strike multiple times dealing extra damage against hits-based enemies, proving as deadly with thieves' tools as she is with a weapon.

IV. Imoen's Abilities

Basic Attack

• Short Bow - Imoen makes a ranged attack against a random enemy, dealing one hit. Once her specialization is unlocked, Imoen prioritizes attacking Favored Foes, and she deals an additional 5 seconds of BUD-based damage with every hit to these enemies.

Formation Abilities

• Optimism - Imoen increases the damage of adjacent Champions by 100%.

• Perseverance - Any time any Champion's Favored Foe appears or is defeated, Imoen increases the effect of Optimism by 50%, stacking multiplicatively and then applying multiplicatively. Stacks up to 50 times. Stacks are reset each time the Champions change areas.

• Polymorph - Before every third attack, Imoen polymorphs a random non-boss non-static enemy into a monster with the same type as her Favored Foe, but only 10% of its original health. She can not polymorph enemies that are already polymorphed by this ability a second time.

• Stoneskin - Before every eighth attack, or upon entering a new area, Imoen casts Stoneskin on all Champions in the front-most column of the formation, granting them 300 temporary hit points. The amount is increased by 5% (additively) for each Favored Foe that is alive.

Specializations

• Beast Slaying Arrows - Beast enemies become Imoen's Favored Foe. Her Short Bow attacks against Beast enemies deal an additional BUD-based damage with each hit.

• Dragon Slaying Arrows - Dragon enemies become Imoen's Favored Foe. Her Short Bow attacks against Dragon enemies deal an additional BUD-based damage with each hit.

• Monstrosity Slaying Arrows - Monstrosity enemies become Imoen's Favored Foe. Her Short Bow attacks against Monstrosity enemies deal an additional BUD-based damage with each hit.

• Aberration Slaying Arrows - Aberration enemies become Imoen's Favored Foe. Her Short Bow attacks against Aberration enemies deal an additional BUD-based damage with each hit.

Ultimate Ability

• Disarm Traps - Imoen leaps out into the fray, attacking five enemies in sequence with her short sword in one hand and her lockpicks in the other. She prioritizes enemies with hits-based health and deals 5 hits per attack. If no hits-based enemies are available she deals normal ultimate damage to enemies she attacks.

V. Imoen's Epic Equipment

Slot 1: Global DPS	Slot 2: Optimism	Slot 3: Perseverance
Slot 4: Stoneskin	Slot 5: Ultimate Attack Damage	Slot 6: Ultimate Attack Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

The Heroes of Baldur's Gate have gained another ally! Let us know how much you enjoy Imoen in your formations 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!

It's the day before Shieldmeet and the Open Lord of Waterdeep has gone missing. Nobody has seen Laeral Silverhand in days, and it is imperative that she be found before the meeting with the Masked Lords begins.

At the behest of the Blackstaff, the Champions are sent to discover what happened...

Midsummer 5 introduces Valentine, the Reborn Half-Elf Sorcerer from The Black Dice Society, and brings back Ellywick Tumblestrum, the Gnome Planeswalker and Greatest Bard in the Multiverse, and Beadle & Grimm, the purveyors of the Pandemonium Warehouse and owners of the Giant's Bane Tavern. Players have until Monday, August 1st at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

I. New Champion: Valentine

Valentine was once a social butterfly, nightlife connoisseur, and princess of a shady family business until her life ended in sudden tragedy. Through the mysterious will of Bluetspur, Valentine was given a second chance at life, though no miracle comes without consequence. Now she wanders the domains of dread with her companion Tatyana, in search of purpose and power.

Valentine is a Support and Gold Find Champion who takes hold of any incoming positional formation abilities, and uses her telepathic powers to broadcast and boost them, making those abilities more deadly! When you want to add her to your formation, you can swap her with Calliope in slot 5.

For more information on Valentine and all of her mental powers, check out her Champion Spotlight!

Year Five Variants

• Tregrum's Day Out - Search for the absent Open Lord of Waterdeep with Tregrum, a perfectly normal black cat. Champions might be a bit distracted by this absolutely normal cat.
  • Complete Area 75.

• Stunning Teamwork - Valentine joins the search for the missing Open Lord of Waterdeep, helping keep monsters stunned so the Champions can push forward!
  
  • Monsters take 99% less damage when they are not stunned, but stun effects last twice as long.
  • Complete Area 125.

• Positional Play Valentine insists on being the center of attention while the search for the absent Open of Lord Waterdeep continues!
  
  • Non-positional formation abilities, other than Valentine's abilities, are disabled.
  • Complete Area 175.

See in-game for more information!

Wintershield sees a celebration of maps in the Realms, symbolizing our paths through the new year. As part of this year's tradition, the Champions have purchased a map from a Waterdeep street vendor. And then it started talking...

Wintershield 5 introduces Viconia DeVir, Drow Cleric of Shar from Baldur's Gate and Siege of Dragonspear. Wintershield also brings back Baeloth the Entertainer, Drow Sorcerer, and proprietor of The Black Pits also hailing from the Baldur's Gate games, and Artemis Entreri, the Human Assassin who first appeared in RA Salvatore's 1988 novel The Crystal Shard. Players have until Monday, January 3rd at 12 PM Pacific to complete their Wintershield 5 unlocks and objectives.

I. Viconia DeVir

Viconia DeVir is a devout cleric of Shar, the goddess of darkness and loss. But don't mistake her cleric powers as a sign of her working for good. She may not approve of how the Champions operate, but if the quest and the payout are worthwhile, she's here and ready to assist.

Viconia is an evil alignment buffer who can reanimate dead enemies and turn them against their former friends. She also heals, but only if you get damaged enough to make it worth her time. Once unlocked, you can find this displaced drow in Slot 5 (Calliope)

II. Viconia's Stats

Race: Elf (Drow)	Alignment: Neutral Evil
Gender: Female	Pronouns: She/Her
Class: Cleric	Age: 270
Affiliation: Heroes of Baldur's Gate

STR: 10	DEX: 19	CON: 8
INT: 16	WIS: 18	CHA: 14

Role: Support, Healing

Eligible for Patrons: Mirt, Strahd, Zariel

Slot: 5, (Calliope)

III. Viconia's Design

Viconia DeVir is a character from the original Baldur's Gate video game, as well as Baldur's Gate II and Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. Many of her powers, abilities, and personality were drawn from those games. We're excited to have another evil Champion joining the roster, as well as another member of the Heroes of Baldur's Gate! She may begrudgingly call Baeloth and Minsc 'friends', but the rest of the Champions are just allies that can help her accomplish her goals and earn some coin. She'll offer the other Heroes of Baldur's Gate buffs with her Cleric of Shar ability, and heal those Champions who are in dire need with Cure Medium Wounds. But her main focus during battle is seizing control of the lifeless bodies of their enemies and using Animate Dead to send them back against their former allies!

For more information on Viconia and her abilities, check out her Champion Spotlight!

Year Five Variants

• Adventure Variant 1: Wandering Patrols — Help a poor map find its way home with Viconia. Viconia joins the formation. She can be moved but not removed from the formation. Each wave spawns 1-3 Flaming Fist Soldiers. They don't drop gold, nor do they count towards quest progress. Gold Find is reduced by 99%.
  Complete Area 75.


• Adventure Variant 2: Think About It — Only Champions with INT 13 or higher can be used. Each wave spawns 1-3 Drow Rangers that fire their ranged attack at a random Champion. These attacks also stun any non-elf Champion for 2 seconds due to sleep poison.
  Complete Area 125.


• Adventure Variant 3: Snarky Map — Help a poor map find its way home with Champions that aren't very nice. Only Evil Champions and other Heroes of Baldur's Gate Champions can deal damage. Enemies move 200% faster and deal 500% additional damage.
  Complete Area 175.

Getting to know Viconia: Viconia buffs both evil Champions and other Heroes of Baldur's Gate. Use these types of Champions to get the most out of her support abilities!

For information on previous years' variants, check out the Wintershield 4 blog. And 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!

It's the day before Shieldmeet and the Open Lord of Waterdeep has gone missing. Nobody has seen Laeral Silverhand in days and it is imperative that she be found before the meeting with the Masked Lords begins.

At the behest of the Blackstaff, the Champions are sent to discover what happened...

Midsummer 4 introduces Ellywick Tumblestrum, Gnome Bard, legendary Planeswalker, and the Greatest Bard in the Multiverse, and brings back, Beadle & Grimm, the purveyors of the Pandemonium Warehouse and owners of the Giant's Bane Tavern, and the speedy hero of Baldur's Gate, Shandie Freefoot. Players have until Monday, August 2nd at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

For more information about Year 4 Events and how they work, please check out our Year 4 Events Dev Blog.

I. New Champion: Ellywick Tumblestrum

Thanks to a lucky draw from the notorious Deck of Many Things, Ellywick Tumblestrum is now the Greatest Bard in the Multiverse! Her magnificent music has dazzled beings across many planes, including royalty from the Feywild. The Summer Queen and the Queen of Air and Darkness were so moved by her performance that they gifted the bard her exquisite instrument, the beautiful lute Morningmist. She tells tales of her amazing adventures at the Witchlight Carnival, aided by her frog companion Groak.

Ellywick is a Support, Gold Find, and Healing Champion who uses the Deck of Many Things to augment her abilities. When you want to add her to your formation you can swap her with Tyril (Slot 10).

II. Ellywick's Stats

Race: Gnome	Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Class: Bard	Gender: Female
Age: 125

STR: 12	DEX: 17	CON: 14
INT: 13	WIS: 12	CHA: 20

Role: Support, Gold Find, Healing
Eligible for Patrons: Vajra, Strahd, Zariel
Slot: 10 (Tyril)

III. Ellywick's Design

Ellywick Tumblestrum is not only a featured Planeswalker in the latest Magic: The Gathering release: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, she is also a character you may encounter in the upcoming D&D TRPG Adventure: The Wild Beyond The Witchlight. We are so excited to continue the fun that Magic started with Ellywick's debut, and get everyone up to speed on her before you run into her on your next D&D campaign!

When we started to design Ellywick, we had the benefit of learning her backstory from The Wild Beyond Witchlight, but also what her Planeswalker Card would bring to the table. It allowed us to take inspiration from both brands' representations of Ellywick to create our own!

Ellywick is a Support, Gold Find, and Healing Champion who you'll find in Slot 10 (Tyril). Ellywick Tumblestrum is a Gnome Bard, legendary Planeswalker, and the Greatest Bard in the Multiverse. She won that title of 'Greatest Bard in the Multiverse' from a lucky pull from the Deck of Many Things, and her interaction with that iconic Dungeons & Dragons magic item is integral to her Idle Champions design.

Her Specializations allow you to increase the power of one of her abilities and increase the chance of drawing more beneficial cards, while her Ultimate Call Of The Feywild takes direct inspiration from her Planeswalker card, bringing 6 fey creatures forth to heal her allies and harm her enemies.

For more information on Ellywick and her abilities, check out her Champion Spotlight!

Year Four Variants

• Pixie Trickery - One slot is taken up in the formation by a Pixie riding an intellect devourer, who is along to watch Ellywick do her thing.Each time a boss arrives on screen, all Champions are stunned for 5 seconds. If Ellywick is in the formation, the stun does not take effect.
  Reach Area 75.


• Fey Harmonies — Ellywick starts in your formation. She can be moved. Every area, two Satyrs arrive to harmonize. While any Satyrs are on screen, all enemies can only be damaged by bards. Only Champions with CHA 14 or higher can be used.
  Reach Area 125.


• Draconic Dissonance — Every area five chromatic Dragon Wyrmlings spawn with the second wave. Each type of Dragon buffs the Dragons on screen in a unique way:
  • White - When a Dragon attacks, it heals 20% of its health.
  • Blue - Increase the normal attack cooldown of Champions by .5 seconds.
  • Black - When a non-boss Dragon dies, there's a 25% chance that it immediately respawns.
  • Red - Dragons move 100% faster.
  • Green - Dragons deal 100% additional damage.

If Ellywick is in the formation, one fewer Wyrmling spawns in each area.
Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

A modron sighting is a rare occurrence outside Mechanus, the plane of true law.

At least, it's supposed to be a rare occurrence -- word has it that thousands of modrons have been seen on the march in the wilderness, and they are heading towards Waterdeep!

The Great Modron March 4 introduces Mehen, Dragonborn Fighter and adoptive father of Farideh and Havilar of Brimstone Angels, and brings back Jaheira, the renowned half-elf druid from Baldur's Gate, Qillek Ad Khollar, the Aarakocra Cleric of High Rollers. Players have until Monday, May 31st at 12PM Pacific to complete their The Great Modron March 4 unlocks and objectives.

For more information about Year 4 Events and how they work, please check out our Year 4 Events Dev Blog.

I. New Champion: Mehen

Mehen is a tall, powerful dragonborn with dull-ocher scales and a blunt attitude. With strong opinions on the right course of action, he is just as comfortable yelling orders on the battlefield as he is fiercely protecting his daughters. Despite a life thrown into turmoil after being exiled from his clan and attempting to raise twin tieflings, Mehen remains resilient in his sense of self and his abilities with a falchion.

Mehen is both Grumpy and Gruff and uses those qualities to buff and bolster his allies, especially if those party members include Farideh and Havilar. When you want to add him to your formation, you can swap him with Nayeli (Slot 3).

II. Mehen’s Stats

Race: Dragonborn	Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Fighter	Gender: Male
Age: 48	Affiliation: Brimstone Angels

STR: 19	DEX: 8	CON: 15
INT: 13	WIS: 12	CHA: 14

Role: Support & Gold Find
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Vajra Safahr, Strahd von Zarovich, Zariel
Slot: 3 (Nayeli)

Mehen's Abilities

Mehen is a Support and Gold Find Champion. With the new Brimstone Angels affiliation, he buffs his daughters Farideh and Havilar (and they buff him), while Exiled helps all three find the gold they need to continue their adventures.

Mehen prefers to be towards the back of any formation where he can think tactically about the battle and issue precise orders. Grumpy gives buffs to Champions in front of him, and Gruff boosts this buff based on how far ahead Champion in question is, while We’ve Trained For This increases the amount of gold he’ll collect the further back he’s placed. For more information on Mehen and his abilities, check out his Champion Spotlight!

Year Four Variants

• The Elusive Bounty — Mehen is on the hunt for a pixie from the feywild who has been harassing adventurers for years! He starts in the formation. He can be moved or removed. The pixie arrives in each boss area to taunt Mehen, buffing all enemies so they move 100% faster and deal 100% additional damage.You must defeat her in addition to the area requirements to advance.
  Getting to know Mehen: To maximize Mehen's benefit within your formation, you'll want to watch his Grumpy stacks and keep them within the middle range.
  • Mehen gains Grumpy stacks based on which column he is in with a gain of 1 stack per second in the front row, to 5 stacks per second in the back row.
  • Mehen loses Grumpy stacks when one of the following things happens to either Mehe, Farideh or Havilar: They attack (10% loss), they take damage (10% loss), or they kill an enemy (5% loss).
• Reach Area 75.

• The Neverending March Continues — Every time a Modron is killed in non-boss areas it shuts down for 5 seconds and then comes back to life with full health. Modron enemies deal 100% additional damage.
• Reach Area 125.

• Volo's Guide to Grumpy Guys — Volo has returned to observe the formation. Only Male Champions can be used. Enemies move 100% faster, and deal 100% additional damage.
  Getting to know Mehen: While Mehen works best with his daughters Farideh & Havilar, he's no slouch on his own. Without the Brimstone Angels in your formation, you need to manage Mehen's Grumpy stacks a bit differently. Remember that changing his column will alter how quickly he is gaining Grumpy stacks.
• Reach Area 175.

For information on previous years' variants, check out the The Great Modron March 3 blog.

A young elven wizard is on a pilgrimage to the Grandfather Tree, and she has hired the Champions to escort her.

The wizard has foreseen an acorn falling from the tree - an extraordinary and truly rare occurrence - and she hopes to collect the holy relic to take to Silverymoon.

Yet as the party ventures forth, the very forest itself resists them, while elves from the Feywild and the Underdark seek to claim the acorn for themselves...

The Running 4 introduces Shaka, Tiefling Celestial Warlock of Rivals of Waterdeep, and brings back Krydle, the charismatic half-elf rogue of the Heroes of Baldur's Gate, Spurt, the beloved shortlived Kobold. Players have until Monday, May 10th at 12PM Pacific to complete their The Running 4 unlocks and objectives.

For more information about Year 4 Events and how they work, please check out our Year 4 Events Dev Blog.

I. New Champion: Shaka

As a member of Rivals of Waterdeep, Shaka is always looking for the latest adventure and the latest puzzle. His party has encountered mysteries and foes throughout Waterdeep, Candlekeep, Icewind Dale, and Avernus. Their base of operations is located in the Trollskull Manor in Waterdeep where a brain in a jar named Brian stands watch.

Shaka is here to help, using his keen intellect to solve the Celestial Puzzle and bolstering his allies with Celestial Resistance. When you want to add him to your formation, you can swap him with Makos (Slot 9).

II. Shaka’s Stats

Race: Tiefling	Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Warlock (Celestial)	Gender: Male
Age: 29	Affiliation: Rivals of Waterdeep

STR: 10	DEX: 16	CON: 15
INT: 16	WIS: 13	CHA: 16

Role: Support & Healing
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Vajra Safahr, Strahd von Zarovich, Zariel
Slot: 9 (Makos)

Shaka's Abilities

Shaka is a Support and Healing Champion. He can boost damage with A Celestial Puzzle, provide shielding with Celestial Resistance, and further amplify his abilities through specialization choices.

If more direct action is needed, Shaka can summon a Wall of Light as his Ultimate Ability and choose to Blind or Disintegrate enemies. The Blinding Wall of Light will push enemies away from the formation and cause their attacks to miss, while the Disintegrating Wall of Light will kill or damage those attempting to do his friends harm!

For more information on Shaka and his abilities, check out his Champion Spotlight!

Year Four Variants

• The Web Was On The Wall — Giant Spiders appear in each area. Whenever a Champion destroys a Giant Spider, they become webbed (stunned) for 3 seconds. Gold Find is reduced by 99%.
• Reach Area 75.

• Shaka's Puzzle — Shaka starts in the formation, he can be moved. Only Shaka and the Champions who match the tag for their slot from Shaka's A Celestial Puzzle ability can deal damage; Shaka's A Celestial Puzzle starts out unlocked.
  Getting to know Shaka: Shaka's main ability is A Celestial Puzzle. It will tag 4 random slots with a specific tag. When you solve the puzzle and place a Champion that matches the tag, A Celestial Puzzle buffs the damage of the entire party by 100%. Match all the tags to give your party the biggest boost.
• Reach Area 125.

• Lolth's Blessing — A Drow Wizard spawns in each area, with the Blessing of Lolth: 8 armored hit points that must be cleared before they can be killed. While the Drow Wizard is alive, all Drow enemies deal 300% additional damage and move 100% faster.
• Reach Area 175.

For information on previous years' variants, check out the The Running 3 blog.

Now it's time to enact our plan to save Elturel! Some things go right, some things go wrong. One thing goes REALLY wrong and will have drastic repercussions for the future of FaerÈ—n and Idle Champions.

Today's update for Descent into Avernus brings its exciting concluding adventures, as well as Reya Reborn the second variant for the Idyllglen adventure, which upon completion unlocks our latest Evergreen Champion, Reya Mantlemorn!

These adventures and variants go live with today's update at 12PM Pacific!

New Champion: Reya Mantlemorn

Born in the land of Turmish, Reya came to the holy city of Elturel to train as a Hellrider when she was twelve. As a faithful follower of Torm, Reya trained to sacrifice herself for the greater good. That preparation led to her taking Zariel's sword and joining the Champions, after rescuing the city of Elturel from Avernus.

Reya powers up Champions adjacent to her with her Searing Radiance. You can power up that ability by increasing Champions who are Lawful and/or Good in the formation. When you want to add Reya to your formation, you can swap her with Asharra (Slot 6).

II. Reya's Stats

Race: Human/Celestial	Alignment: Lawful Good
Class: Paladin	Gender: Female
Age: 19	Affiliation: none

STR: 18	DEX: 12	CON: 14
INT: 13	WIS: 11	CHA: 20

Role: Support

Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Vajra Safahr, Strahd von Zarovich, Zariel

Slot: 6, (Asharra)

For more information about our latest Evergreen Champion, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Reya Mantlemorn blog post!

Idyllglen

We relive the battle of Idyllglen through Lulu's recently returned memories. We'll face untold horrors on our way back to the Bleeding Citadel, the Sword of Zariel, and the fate that awaits us in Avernus.

• Variant: Reya Reborn — Help Reya take the Sword of Zariel and become a Champion. Zariel has positioned a fiendish army in Reya's way. Only Champions with STR of 10 or higher and CHA of 13 or higher can be used. In each area, additional fiends sent by Zariel appear. One randomly spawns at the end of the first wave, an additional fiend is added (no duplicates) every 100 areas.
  Fiends:
  • Bearded Devil - Gold Find is reduced by 99%.
  • Black Abishai - Champion damage is reduced by 99%.
  • Erinyes - - Champions damaged by enemies are stunned for 1 second. Getting damaged again resets the timer.
  • Lemure - Ultimate attacks are unavailable until this enemy is destroyed.
  • Merregon - The damage of all enemies is increased by 200%.
  • Spined Devil - All enemies move 200% faster.
  • White Abishai - The base attack cooldown of all Champions is increased by 1 second.
  Unlocks Reya Mantlemorn
  Reach area 625.

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Descent into Avernus Adventures, The Bleeding Citadel and Idyllglen, in order to access these new Adventures.

The Battle of High Hall Tower

Return to Elturel for the final battle, facing the worst Avernus has to offer. We have the sword of Zariel, now it's time for the endgame.

Reach area 550

• Variant: Might Makes Right — Return to Elturel for the final battle with your strongest Champions. Only Champions with STR of 18 or higher can be used.Champion damage is reduced by 99%.
Reach area 600.

Elturel's Last Stand

Facedown Archduke Zariel of Avernus, and try to save Elturel from its fate.

Reach area 575

• Gargauth's Betrayal — Facedown Archduke Zariel of Avernus, along with a backstabbing pit fiend! Gargauth's betrayal saps the will of the Champions, who are facing ruin at every turn. From area 26 onward, Gargauth the Pit Fiend has a 25% chance of appearing in each non-boss area. Whenever he doesn't spawn the chance increases by 25% (additively) until he does spawn. While Gargauth is on screen, all other enemies are invulnerable.
  Reach area 625.

See the in-game Change Log for more information, including a full list of changes and fixes included in this update.

The Sword of Zariel is within reach, but we need a history lesson to understand how it came to this awful place. Is there a way to save the Elturel? Who will take up Zariel's sword? What in the name of Faerûn is Yeenoghu doing in this nightmare? AND WHY IS HE HEADED OUR WAY?! Read on to see what the penultimate adventure of Descent into Avernus will hold!

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Descent into Avernus Adventures, The Sibriex and Wrecked Flying Fortress, in order to access these new Adventures.

The Bleeding Citadel

The Champions enter the Bleeding Citadel and advance towards the Sword of Zariel.

• Variant: Don't Pick at the Scab — Climb the stinking scab while trying not to disturb the architecture.
  • Only Champions with WIS and INT of 12 or higher can be used.
  Reach area 550.

Idyllglen

We relive the battle of Idyllglen through Lulu's recently returned memories. We'll face untold horrors on our way back to the Bleeding Citadel, the Sword of Zariel, and the fate that awaits us in Avernus.

• Variant: Madness of Yeenoghu — Relive history as you experience the madness caused by a demon lord! Enemies deal 200% additional damage and move 200% faster. Whenever a Champion destroys an enemy, the Champion is stunned for a duration equal to their base attack cooldown.
  Reach area 575.

See the in-game Change Log for more information, including a full list of changes and fixes included in this update.

Wintershield sees a celebration of maps in the Realms, symbolizing our paths through the new year. As part of this year's tradition, the Champions have purchased a map from a Waterdeep street vendor. And then it started talking...

Wintershield 4 introduces Baeloth the Entertainer, Drow Sorcerer, and proprietor of The Black Pits. Wintershield also brings back Artemis Entreri, the Human Assassin who first appeared in RA Salvatore's 1988 novel The Crystal Shard, and Nerys Kathon, Human Cleric of Kelemvor, and Hero of Baldur's Gate. Players have until Monday, January 4th at 12PM Pacific to complete their Wintershield 4 unlocks and objectives.

For more information about Year 4 Events and how they work, please check out our Year 4 Events Dev Blog.

New Champion: Baeloth the Entertainer

Baeloth Barrityl is the master of The Black Pits, the combat arena he claims is 'the best show in all the realms'. Baeloth captures hapless adventurers to fight to the death all for the sake of entertainment! When he's not commanding the attention of anyone near him, he's doing whatever he can to reinforce that he's one of the top five spellcasters in all the realms.

Baeloth is a Gold Find and Support champion, lightening the pockets of his enemies as he kills them. Despite his alignment, Baeloth is quite the team player buffing and exuberantly encouraging his fellow Champions, delighting in their triumphs on the field, and providing a swift resurrection from his indentured servant, the Djinn Najimm! When you want to add Baeloth to your formation, you can swap him with Jarlaxle (Slot 4).

II. Baeloth's Stats

Race: Elf (Drow)	Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Class: Sorcerer	Gender: Male
Age: 222	Affiliation: none

STR: 12	DEX: 14	CON: 16
INT: 19	WIS: 12	CHA: 16

Role: Gold Find, Support
Eligible for Patrons: Vajra Safahr, Mirt the Moneylender, Strahd von Zarovich
Slot: 4, (Jarlaxle)

Baeloth's Abilities

Baeloth's design has three parts, his gold-find taking the entrance fee to the Black Pits, his buff as his excitement for his allies' success grows, and his swift rescue of teammates who have fallen. With Chain Lightning enemies Baeloth drop extra gold when killed, and if enemies are killed by a Champion in the row ahead of or behind him, he feeds on this excitement triggering Cause For Celebration, and they explode in a shower of magical confetti, damaging and slowing enemies near them. His excitement level grows as more and more death and destruction occur around him, which increases his buffs to nearby Champions through building stacks of Morbid Excitement.

Finally, since he's a team player, with Generous Djinn he has commanded Najim, his indentured Djinn to keep everyone alive, which means anyone who dies gets resurrected and protected for a short period of time.

For more information on Baeloth and his abilities, check out his Champion Spotlight!

Year Four Variants

• Watchful Eyes — Only Champions with INT and WIS scores of 11 or higher can be used. Baeloth starts in the formation but he can be moved or benched.
  Reach Area 75.


• Rat Problems — The streets of Waterdeep have been overrun by deadly giant rats from Avernus! All beast enemies in the adventure have been replaced by Abyssal Rats throughout the adventure. Additional Abyssal Rats spawn in each area. Abyssal Rats start out by dealing 100% additional damage, but each time an Abyssal Rat attacks a Champion, the damage of all Enemies increases by 10% (multiplicative).
  Reach Area 125.


• The More the Merrier! — Baeloth starts in the formation and cannot be moved. An Ogre, a Shambling Mound and a Fire Elemental walk into a tavern appear in each area, while they are alive, they each grant a unique buff to the enemies.
  • Ogre — Enemies can only be damaged by Champions with Magical or Ranged base attacks.
  • Shambling Mound — Enemies deal 100% additional damage.
  • Fire Elemental — Enemies move 100% faster.
    
  This adventure has unique dialogue.
  Reach Area 175.

For information on previous years' variants, check out the Wintershield 3 blog.