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.

Bel has one final task for us as we attempt to get our plan to save Elturel in order. Along the way, we encounter Zariel for the first time...

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Descent into Avernus Adventures, Questlines and Bel's Forge, in order to access these new Adventures.

The Sibriex

Follow Bel's instructions and find the Sibriex before it's too late for Elturel.

• Variant: The Archduke's Blessing — Follow Bel's instructions while a cultist of Zariel preaches to your enemies.
  • A Cultist of Zariel arrives in each area to celebrate Zariel. The cultist has 4 armored hit points and deals 300% additional damage.
  • While the Cultist of Zariel is on screen, bosses cannot be damaged.
  Reach area 500.

Wrecked Flying Fortress

Explore the flying fortress to find the adamantine rods for Bel.

• Variant: Relentless Peril — Explore the flying fortress while ghouls from Elturel haunt your thoughts. The Champions worry about Elturel as their quest drags on. Elturel Ghouls now attack in each area. They have twice as much health as normal and, when they take a killing blow, they are stunned for 10 seconds before coming back to life.
  Reach area 525.

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

Tiamat has set our next goal: Bel. The former Lord of Avernus. No big deal. But before we head to THAT party, we need to run some errands.

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Descent into Avernus Adventures, The Wandering Emporium and Tiamat's Army, in order to access these new Adventures.

Questlines

Arkhan has instructions from Tiamat, but before we can act on them, we need to complete some quests.

• Variant: Raggadragga's Crew — Various Lycanthropes appear and hassle the Champions. They do not count towards quest progress, nor do they drop gold.
  • Wererat- Enemies drop 99% less gold while a wererat is on screen
  • Wereboar - Enemies deal 100% more damage while a wereboar is on screen.
  • Werebear - Enemies speed is increased by 25% while a werebear is on screen.
  Reach area 450.

Bel's Forge

It's time to face Bel, and whatever tricks he has up his sleeve! Reya arrives with some bad news about Elturel.

• Variant: Extreme Heat — Bel's Forge was built into an active volcano. As such, the formation is taking a bit of heat while adventuring. Every 3 seconds, each Champion takes 10% of their max health as damage. Whenever a Champion's health is below 50% of their max health, their damage is reduced by 99%.
  Reach area 475.

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

"A colossal dragon's skull leans against a mountainside, surrounded by bones the size of houses. Acrid smoke rises from the skull's maw. A military tent has been pitched among the bones, and parked next to it is a Devil's Ride belonging to Torogar Steelfist, the savage minotaur bodyguard of Arkhan the Cruel."

You may recognize Torogar from Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus or from some of the awesome art posted online. Let's dive right in and see how this raging minotaur shapes up, shall we?

I. Torogar Steelfist

There's savage, and then there's Torogar. Few had even survived a head-to-head match with him before he ran into Arkhan the Cruel. He was known worlds over as an unstoppable brute. Now, as a part of the Dark Order, Torogar leads armies and communes with a god, but he's always down for another one-on-one match.

II. Torogar's Stats

Race: Minotaur	Alignment: Lawful Evil
Class: Barbarian	Gender: Male
Age: 32	Affiliation: Dark Order

STR: 23	DEX: 17	CON: 14
INT: 8	WIS: 9	CHA: 15

Role: DPS, Support
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt, Vajra
Slot: 10, (Tyril)

III. Torogar's Design

When it came to designing Torogar, we were lucky to have the direct assistance of his creator, Joe Manganiello. Joe really helped us to distill down the essence of who Torogar is, what his relationship is like with Arkhan the Cruel, and more importantly, how Torogar and the Dark Order operate.

To start, we knew when introducing Krull last year, that Torogar and the Dark Order would be coming to Idle Champions. With the release of Torogar, Arkhan & Krull will gain the Dark Order affiliation, as well as a new Dark Order Synergy ability for both. Get ready, Champions. The Dark Order has arrived!

Torogar is a lynchpin for evil formations, doubling down on the boosts they are already receiving from other Dark Order members and making them stronger as they push further into the adventure.

Torogar's DPS and buffs increase with his devotion to Tiamat through his Zealot stacks affecting his Markings of a Zealot & Preach abilities. Initially, Torogar only gets a Zealot stack when he or an adjacent Champion kills an enemy his Word of Tiamat specialization extends this power to all evil Champions.

Now that his design has come together, Torogar is a support and DPS Champion who powers up Evil Champions. While blood raging, he increases the damage of the formation significantly, with permanent power-ups that unlock the more you use him. Torogar is potent in formations focused on evil Champions and is especially powerful when combined with Arkhan the Cruel & Krull. When you want to add Torogar to your formation, you can swap him with Tyril (Slot 10).

IV. Torogar's Abilities

Basic Attack

• Fiery Longswords — Torogar inflames his golden blades and then attacks the nearest enemy.

Formation Abilities

• Markings of a Zealot — Whenever Torogar or an adjacent Champion kills an enemy, Torogar gains a Zealot stack. Torogar's Damage is increased by 0.01% for each Zealot stack he has collected (additive), and stacks persist through resets. This damage bonus is increased by 100% when Blood Rage is active. At various Zealot stack thresholds, the Blood Rage increase is buffed. These buffs apply multiplicatively.


• Preach — Increase the damage of all other evil Champions by 0.01% for each Zealot stack Torogar has (additive).


• Dark Order Synergy — The effect of Preach is increased by 100% for each Dark Order member adjacent to Torogar (multiplicative). While Blood Rage is active, this ability is increased by 100%. At various Zealot stack thresholds, the Blood Rage increase is buffed.

Note: We have also added Dark Order Affliations and Synergies for Arkhan the Cruel and Krull.
• Arkhan the Cruel — Arkhan's Normal Attack Cooldown is decreased by 0.5 seconds for each other Dark Order member in the formation.
• Krull — The effect of Krull's Arkhan's Army ability is increased by 100% (multiplicative) for each Dark Order member adjacent to Krull.


• Blood Rage — Whenever Torogar's Zealot stacks reach a multiple of 50, Torogar enters a Blood Rage for 30 seconds. While Blood Rage is active, enemies damaged but not killed by Torogar gain a Mark of Tiamat debuff. Enemies with a Mark of Tiamat take 300% additional damage. Enemies cannot gain a Mark of Tiamat twice. Once Torogar's Zealot stacks reach the thresholds noted below, the listed effect will also activate when Blood Rage is active. Triggering Blood Rage while it's already active resets the duration.
• 250: Whenever an enemy gains a Mark of Tiamat, they are stunned for 2 seconds.
• 2,500: Torogar adds a small AOE to his base attack at 50% of his damage. This AOE attack can trigger multiple Mark of Tiamat debuffs from one attack.
• 25,000: Enemies with a Mark of Tiamat attack 1 second slower.
• 250,000: Torogar reduces his base attack cooldown by 1 second.
• 2,500,000: The damage bonus from Mark of Tiamat is increased by 200%.

Specializations

• Tiamat's Word — Torogar now also gains a Zealot stack when any evil Champion kills an enemy (not just Champions adjacent to Torogar). Only one stack can be gained per kill, so an evil Champion next to Torogar still only counts once.


• Tiamat's Rage — The duration of Torogar's Blood Rage is extended by 15 seconds, and it automatically triggers after using Torogar's ultimate.

Ultimate Ability

Bull Rush — Torogar lowers his head and rushes at an enemy in the back, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. Enemies who are rushed through, or who walk through the remaining fire take damage. If the Tiamat's Rage specialization is chosen, Torogar triggers Blood Rage when he returns to the formation regardless of the number of Zealot stacks, or reset the duration if Blood Rage is already active.

V. Torogar's Equipment

Slot 1: Global DPS	Slot 2: Self DPS	Slot 3: Markings of a Zealot
Slot 4: Preach	Slot 5: Dark Order Synergy	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

We've been wanting to include Torogar in Idle Champions since the very first time we set our eyes on his character art, and we're excited to have had another chance to work with Joe to bring this badass Minotaur to life and to debut the Dark Order in Idle Champions! We hope you like him!

Feel free to send us feedback on via the Idle Champions Subreddit, Steam forum, or the Idle Champions Discord!

We introduce ourselves to Red Ruth as our trip through Avernus takes a decidedly more dangerous turn...

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Descent into Avernus Adventures, The Path of Dreams and The Lost Hollyphant, in order to access these new Adventures.

The Wandering Emporium

We introduce ourselves to Red Ruth, who demands a favor before she'll help us...

• Variant: Madcap Adventures Redux —The Madcaps are back! Madcaps arrive in each area. If a Madcap deals damage to a Champion, another Madcap immediately spawns (bloodspawned). The bloodspawned Madcaps do not drop gold or count towards quest progress. Each time a Madcap is bloodspawned, Champion damage is reduced by 99% for 3 seconds.
  Reach area 400.

Tiamat's Army

It's time to pay a visit to Arkhan's Dragon Queen and meet Arkhan's minotaur bodyguard Torogar...

• Variant: Show of Strength — Only Champions with STR of 16 or higher can be used.
  Reach area 425.

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

The Champions and Lulu find themselves at Fort Knucklebone with some new allies. They set off in a warmachine to find the Sword of Zariel and encounter some interesting folks along the way.

Traveling the wastelands of Avernus is never a simple or smooth journey.

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Descent into Avernus Adventures, Into the Fire and Dreamscape, in order to access these new Adventures.

The Path of Dreams

The Champions and their new allies catch a sweet ride to Harumann's Hill, but the journey through the wastelands of Avernus is neither uneventful nor easy...

• Variant: The Path of Redcaps — Redcaps from Fort Knucklebone arrives to hamper your progress. Redcaps appear in each area with increased damage. Redcaps track the number of enemies destroyed. For each enemy destroyed during this adventure, the damage of all Redcaps is increased by 10% (additive).
  Reach area 350.

The Lost Hollyphant

The Champions find themself alone on Avernus and launch a rescue party for their kidnapped ally!

• Variant: Zapper Overload — The Demon Zapper is overcharged and overloading! Only Champions with STR of 13 or higher can be used. In areas 1-40, the demon zapper is no longer targeting fiends, it's targeting interlopers that are in Avernus! Every 10 seconds, one member of the formation is zapped by the demon zapper offscreen. In addition to taking damage from the zap, Champion zapped have one of the following random effects happen to them:
  • Teleport: The Champion is removed from the formation and you are unable to use them until you change areas.
  • Sear:The Champion takes 50% more damage from the beam for each Champion adjacent to them.
  • Enfeeble:The Champion's damage drops to 0 for the next 30 seconds.
Reach area 375.

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

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 3 introduces Beadle & Grimm, the purveyors of the Pandemonium Warehouse and owners of the Giant's Bane Tavern, brings back the speedy hero of Baldur's Gate, Shandie Freefoot, and the street rogue, Xander Cesso. Players have until Monday, July 27th at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

Year 3 Champion: Beadle & Grimm

Beadle and Grimm have been best friends & adventuring partners their entire lives. Together, they have faced the most dangerous foes their realm had to offer and built a respite alongside the frozen north's harsh realities: The Giant's Bane Tavern.

Beadle & Grimm are Support and DPS Champions able to swap places in the formation on demand. The longer that one is in the formation, the more powerful the other becomes when swapped in. When you want to add Beadle & Grimm to your formation, you can swap them with Delina (Slot 8).

For more information about Beadle & Grimm, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Beadle & Grimm dev blog!

Year 2 Champion: Shandie Freefoot

Shandie grew up on the rough streets of the Lower City of Baldur's Gate. She quickly learned that if she wanted to survive, she needed to be fast on her feet and even faster with her wit and weaponry. The first time Shandie saw a bowmaster gracefully launch an arrow into a bull's-eye, she knew she had to master archery. With years of practice under her belt, any opponents underestimating this stealthy halfling will soon realize how dangerous she is as a volley of arrows bear down on them unexpectedly from shadowy corners.

Shandie is an agile Support Champion. Her Dash ability can increase formation speed, while Explosive Arrows and Agile Allies offer potent formation buffs. When you want to add Shandie to your formation, you can swap her with Asharra (Slot 6).

For more information about our latest Champion, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Shandie Freefoot dev blog!

Year 1 Champion: Xander Cesso

Fascinated by magic at a young age when he lived in an orphanage, but lacking any ability or proficiency, Xander is not terribly good at much of anything, though something about his adorable clumsiness and childlike wonder anytime magic is being used nearby has been known to inspire those around him. Until recently, he was living on the streets of Waterdeep, scraping together just enough to survive. Now, he is a faithful member of your party, always ready to leap into the fray, even if he doesn't really seem to be able to hit much of anything.

Xander is a Support Champion. His Lucky Shot ability has a chance to double quest progress, and his Streetwise ability increases the damage of Champions behind him. When you want to add Xander to your formation, you can swap him with Calliope (Slot 5).

Year Three Variants

• Arvaiss' Next Trap - Every area, a collection of magical monsters attempt to thwart your progress. Once they spawn, their effects are active until they are destroyed.
  
  • Young Red Dragons(Armored) - No other monsters can be damaged until all the Young Red Dragons on-screen are destroyed.
  • Fire Snake - The base attack cooldown for each Champion is increased by 1 second while this enemy is alive.
  • Giant Fire Beetle - While this enemy is alive, all enemies are increased in size by 20%, deal 300% more damage and move at 100% increased speed.
  Reach Area 75.


• Showoffs - Beadle & Grimm are ready to show the Champions how they do things in the frozen north! Beadle starts unlocked and in the formation. They can be moved. Champions can only be used if they meet one or more of the following requirements:
  
  • Strength 18 or higher
  • Dexterity 17 or higher
  • Intelligence 16 or higher.
  
  Reach Area 125.


• A Contest, You Say? - Beadle & Grimm have started some infighting on which method of attacking is best. It's time to answer the question, but the enemies are not going to make it easy on you!
  
  • Enemies have 300% more hit points.
  • Enemies attack twice as often.
  • When an enemy is killed by a type of Base Attack (Melee, Ranged, or Magic) the Champions with the same Base Attack type have their damage decreased by 2% while Champions with the other Base Attack types have their damage increased by 1%.
  
  Reach Area 175.

Year Two Variants

• Dreams of Grandeur — Jenks really wants to meet Vajra Blackstaff. From Area 12 onward, Jenks takes up a slot in your formation.
  Reach Area 75.


• Stay Back — Only Champions that attack with ranged or magic-based attacks can be used.
  Reach Area 125.


• Haunted Past — Only Neutral, Evil, or Champions with a Dexterity (DEX) score of 15 or higher can be used. Shandie beings the adventure in your formation and cannot be swapped out, moved, or removed. Strahd Vampires that can only be damaged by Shandie randomly spawn in non-boss Areas. Luckily, Shandie will prioritize Strahd Vampires over all others and attack twice as frequently when they are present.
  Reach Area 175.

Year One Variants

• Waterdeep Escort — The Waterdeep City Watch Officer insists that he accompany you on your adventure. He fills one slot in the formation, and if he is killed, your DPS goes down by 33% every 10 seconds.
  Reach Area 75.


• Drow Deception — The Drow said they were looking for a wizard, but the Champions seem like a more interesting quarry to chase! A Stealthy Drow Pickpocket appears on every level, and if they reach the formation, you fail the area and have to head back to the previous level.
  Reach Area 125.


• Commander Xander — Xander takes the lead as his childhood wishes of becoming a Hero have come true! Champions not adjacent to Xander have a 50% chance to miss whenever they attack (Xander isn't great at command). Those that are adjacent to Xander attack normally. He does enough missing for everyone.
  Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

Since July of last year we've had an item on our 'to-do list' that we've been pushing further and further back. First it was to make room in our development schedule for Feats, then came Patrons, followed by Patron Challenges & Advanced Effects Descriptions, Updated Time Gates, and Offline Progress.

It has been a busy 8 months! But we never forgot about finishing our balance update for our remaining Year One Champions, and today we're going to talk about the updates to those Champions coming with our v1.0 Launch / Spring Extravaganza Update tomorrow. This blog ended up being a bit of a longer one, so we've included a Table of Contents for you to browse.

Would you like to know more? Read on!

Table of Contents

• General Updates
• Ultimate Ability Change
• Level 'Soft Cap' Increase


• Champion Updates
• Deekin Scalesinger
• Gromma Nander
• Ishi Snaggletooth
• Dhadius the Scarlet
• Krond
• Hitch
• Birdsong
• Barrowin Undurr
• Strix Beestinger
• Azaka Stormfang

General Updates

As many players may be aware, Champions with debuff abilities are quite powerful in the current meta because they allow you to double-dip on their debuffs when you use ultimate attacks. Champions' base attacks take into account the debuff in their damage and thus that increased damage determines your BUD. When you use an ultimate attack it uses the BUD value for the damage and then applies the debuff again, allowing debuffs to double dip, something that regular formation buffs do not do. Unfortunately this is something that we feel needs to change, as it means that debuff Champions are simply too powerful compared to their non-debuffing counterparts. The biggest change in this patch is that debuffs will no longer apply to ultimate attacks. They will still apply to base attacks, and so still influence BUD just like normal formation abilities do, but ultimates will no longer double dip. This will not affect the BUD that players can obtain, but will affect the top area that players can grind to as ultimate damage may be drastically reduced. We will continue to monitor the results of this change over the coming days and weeks and take action to offset the lost progress if necessary.

Ultimate Damage Change

Ultimate attacks will no longer have their damage increased by debuffs on enemies. Affected abilities include, but may not be limited to: Minsc's "Go for the Eyes!" (ultimate debuff portion), Gromma's "Spiked Shell", Strix's "Poor Hygiene", Catti-brie's "Mark for Death", Donaar's "Command: Flee", Warden's "Hex", Aila's "Storm Soul/Storm Aura", Spurt's "Wa-speration: Skunky", Krull's "Plague: Pain", Minsc's "Favored Enemies", and Regis' "Ruby Weakness".

Level 'Soft Cap' Increase

New upgrades have been added for all Champions, increasing the soft cap to approximately e62/e63 gold.

Champion Updates

Deekin Scalesinger

Deekin's Story of Doom stacked a little differently from other support Champions so we tweaked how buffs apply to it to bring him more in line with the others. This necessitated a rebalance of all of his Story of Doom upgrades, so he should come out a little ahead of where he used to be with average gear levels. We also expanded his speed-up abilities through a new specialization choice and feat.

• Buffs to Story of Doom now apply to the post-stack value instead of the pre-stack value.
• Upgrades for Story of Doom have been rebalanced given the above change.
• The Epic Tale of Little Kobold specialization now increases the effect of "Story of Doom" by 100%, up from 50%.
• Added new specialization choice, Boss Wants Speed, which increases the effect of Confidence in the Boss by 100%.
• Added a new Feat to increase the effect of Confidence in the Boss.

Gromma Nander

No changes to Gromma this go-round as she was already tweaked somewhat recently in the Tanking Healing & Shielding Update and sees decent usage (though we will watch the effects of the ultimate damage change and tweak things accordingly).

Ishi Snaggletooth

We've shown Ishi a lot of love with boosts to her DPS and gold find. Some of her abilities that used to stack additively now stack multiplicatively, really rewarding you for building a non-human focused formation. We removed her two gold find-related specializations and replaced them with a single ability that boosts her gold find when she gets a killing blow. We've also updated her Friends to X specializations with new races, increasing her synergy possibilities.

• The Monsters Are People Too! ability now stacks multiplicatively instead of additively and we have increased the base stack size to 100%, up from 25%.
• Increased the base effect of Let's Find Some Treasure, however this ability continues to stack additively.
• The specializations Wait for it! and Clear 'em out! have been removed
• Upgrades for the above specialization have been removed.
• Added a new ability, Treasure Hunter, which increases the effect of Let's Find Some Treasure for 5 seconds after Ishi gets a killing blow.
• Added new races to the Friends to X specializations.
• The Friends to X specializations now stack multiplicatively.
• The gear in slot 2 which increased Global DPS now increases Ishi's DPS.
• Ishi's self DPS upgrades have been redistributed.

Dhadius the Scarlet

Dhadius got both some DPS and Support tweaks. A properly utilized Dhadius should excel at buffing high intellect, magic using Champions, with even his buffs now varying over time based on his trademark Practice Makes Perfect ability.

• Added a new ability, Together In Magic, which increases the effect of Skill Empowerment on Champions with a magic base attack.
• The Empowered Orbs specialization now also increases Dhadius' damage by 400%.
• The Empowered Empowerment specialization now also increases the effect of Skill Empowerment by 50% for each stack of Practice Makes Perfect that is active.
• The Chromatic Specialist upgrade no longer requires the Empowered Orbs specialization, so Dhadius will now more often cast the same elemental orbs in a row regardless of specialization choice.
• Dhadius' self DPS upgrades have been rebalanced.

Krond

Krond was already a pretty powerful evil damage dealer, thanks to his earlier rebalance when his event re-ran again in year 2 and the addition of more strong or evil Champions over the past year. We've made some small tweaks, but nothing major.

• Updated the advanced effect display of Survival of the Fittest to reflect that upgrades and equipment apply to the pre-stack multiplier value (a rare occurrence in the current meta).
• Updated the Cantrip: Shocking Grasp specialization to also stun the affected target for 3 seconds.
• Reduced the damage multiplier of the individual Cantrip: Fire Bolt fire bolts so that Cantrip: Shocking Grasp may be a superior choice vs. individual enemies.

Hitch

As the least-recently created Champion in the rebalance, Hitch needed quite a bit of love. While his Friendly ability was invaluable in the meta in the past he has fallen out of favor more recently. With that in mind we've completely redone his dagger throwing ability and added some big buffing power there that ramps up in certain situations. Since we want this new Hitch to focus on buffing others, we've removed his DPS tag and reorganized some of his equipment buffs and feats in order to emphasize his support role.

• Renamed Friendly to Natural Performer.
• Added a new ability, Ricochet, which gives Hitch's thrown daggers a chance to bounce off of their target and hit another target. Each time they do Hitch increases the effect of the "Natural Performer" ability. This effect can stack with each ricochet and the stacks degrade naturally over time. Due to years of intense practice (and some DM hand-waving), daggers can ricochet off of an enemy and then strike the same enemy again. There are buffs to this ability that increase both its ricochet chance and the bonus it provides.
• Replaced Hitch's self DPS feats with ones that increase the damage bonus from Ricochet.
• Added a new Feat that increases the odds of the Ricochet ability proc'ing.
• Added a new epic Feat that increases the number of daggers thrown.
• Removed many upgrades that increase the number of daggers thrown.
• Removed DPS tag.
• Changed the effect of Hitch's slot 1 and slot 2 equipment (to Buff Ricochet Damage Bonus and Global DPS respectively).

Birdsong

Birdsong is one of my personal favorite Champions, so I wanted to make sure that we addressed some of her long-standing issues in this update. The main issue she has is that while she's a decent buffer, her Song of Victory stacks are very difficult to consistently keep up, especially if she's not also your main damage dealer. To fix this we've added new specialization choices that add a secondary trigger for Tempo of Victory, each tuned with a certain situation in mind. Now even if Birdsong isn't your primary damage dealer she can keep her song-based-buff going long and loud. We've also given her upgrades some love to make sure she can stand tall as either a primary DPS option or a powerful support Champion.

• Individual stacks of Tempo of Victory are now multiplicative with each other instead of additive, and buffs to this ability apply to the post-stack multiplier.
• Added a new set of specializations:
• The new Soloist specialization increases Birdsong's damage by 400% and increases the base cooldown of Tempo of Victory stacks to 60 seconds.
• The new Concertino specialization causes Tempo of Victory stacks to also be triggered when any Champion affected by Song of Battle (including Birdsong) gets a kill. Stacks triggered in this way last for at least 10 seconds.
• The new Crescendo specialization causes Tempo of Victory stacks to also be triggered when any Champion affected by Song of Battle (including Birdsong) attacks a boss enemy. Stacks triggered in this way last for at least 5 seconds.
• None of these specializations affect the fact that Birdsong getting a kill will continue to trigger a stack of Tempo of Victory that lasts for at least 15 seconds.
• Added a new feat that buffs Tempo of Victory.
• Birdsong's slot 2 gear now buffs Tempo of Victory.
• Birdsong's upgrades have been rebalanced to increase both her buffing ability and her self damage, including new buffs for Song of Battle and global damage.

Barrowin Undurr

As one of our earliest "OP" champions, Barrowin's power has waned over time as we've tried one thing or another to fix her. She also suffers from being in the same slot as some powerhouse Champions that see a lot more use than she does. We've decided to double down on the niche that we want Barrowin to fill: the best support in the game for Champions that attack very very slowly. We've completely redesigned her Blessed Hammer ability in a way that directly emphasizes this core design, and given her a number of other small buffs as well.

• Barrowin's Blessed Hammer ability now statically buffs adjacent Champions based on the differential between her attack speed as theirs, causing Champions with slower attacks to receive a much larger buff.
• Barrowin's Healing Word ability will now buff Tank Champions in the column in front of her by half its normal amount.
• Barrowin's Even Temper ability will now trigger whenever any ally that is eligible for Healing Word is attacked (Champions in the same column or Tank Champions in the column ahead of her).
• Barrowin's ultimate now increases her attack speed by 2 seconds for 15 seconds following its use.
• Barrowin's base attack speed has been adjusted.
• Added a new Feat that reduces Barrowin's base attack speed.
• Rebalanced all buffs to Blessed Hammer.

Strix Beestinger

We expanded upon Strix's "Haunted" ability in order to increase her buffing ability in certain situations. If your team is having trouble defeating a boss, why not turn all those wipes into a good thing?

• Strix's Haunted ability will now persist its stacks through area changes, and can add multiple stacks for the same Champion if they are killed multiple times during an adventure.
• Strix's existing specializations have been completely removed and replaced with three new options.
• Added Anxious Fireballs specialization which increases Strix's base attack cooldown by 2 seconds and her damage by 300%.
• Added Echoes of the Past specialization which increases the effect of Haunted by 200%.
• Added Smelly Lunch specialization which increases the effect of Poor Hygiene by 100%.
• Updated Strix's upgrades (for Haunted, Poor Hygiene, Global DPS, and Self DPS).

Azaka Stormfang

No changes to Azaka at this time. We were hesitant to do too much too quickly; the ultimate changes will be a big adjustment in this update, and we wanted to hold off on changing players' other major farming technique at the same time.


These changes will go live as part of the v1.0 Launch / Spring Extravaganza Update. As always, we look forward to your feedback: let us know in a Community Q&A or feedback post on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!

Watch our Idle Champions streams tomorrow, Wednesday 25th March, on Twitch.tv/cnegames to receive in-game rewards as part of our Twitch Drops 2.0 launch! Check out the stream schedule below:

• 10 AM to 1 PM PT - Official CNE Stream (3 hours)
• 1 PM to 3 PM PT - Mars' Guiding Hand (2 hours)
• 3 PM to 5 PM PT - Gaarawarr's Stream (2 hours)

Twitch Drops will be available after 15 minutes for players on Steam after the drops are claimed. Players on web, consoles, iPhones, iPads, and Android devices will still be able to collect their drops but their accounts will be updated in the coming weeks!

Getting Your Twitch Drops

Watch our streams to claim your Twitch Drops. Then unlock the rewards in-game when you link your Idle Champions account to your Twitch account in the Settings menu. If you don’t already have a Twitch account, you can sign up for one here.



Link your Twitch account here!
Rewards include:

• Gold Chests.
• Mirt Patron Chest.
• Vajra Patron Chest.
• Strahd Patron Chest.
• Birdsong Barovian Witch Skin.

We hope you like the Extravaganza!