Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms News

North of Neverwinter is the city of Luskan - a den of scum and villainy from all across the Sword Coast. It is not place for Champion, but Jarlaxle and the Bregan D'aerthe need your help! The Dragondown celebrations are in full swing, but you'll need to defend the city from the teeth and claws of a fearsome bronze dragon!

Dragondown 7 has arrived! It introduces Duke Ravengard, the Human Fighter from Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus! This Support Champion is ready to bolster your formations and carve a path through adventures! It also reintroduces Ezmerelda d'Avenir, the Human Fighter/Wizard, from the mists of Curse of Strahd. You can learn more about Diana and the rework to Ezmerelda below. Also, you can choose three of eight previous Champions to unlock over the course of Dragondown 7!


[h2]Table of Contents[/h2]

• Duke Ravengard
  
• Ezmerelda
  
• Flex Champions
  
• Event Theme: Wyrm Slayers

[h2]Duke Ravengard[/h2]

Ulder Ravengard is the leader of the Flaming Fist and the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate. His primary concerns are the stability and prosperity of Baldur’s Gate, and he's been a voice of reason and common sense among the ruling council. In recent years, he has been a target of fiendish plots in unsuccessful attempts to take over the city.

Duke Ravengard is a Support Champion who bolsters those who also use Melee base attacks. The more melee attacks, the stronger his buffs become! His buffs are further increased in an area when any Melee Champion scores a critical hit. Once unlocked, he will bring his sword to your battle from Seat 8 opposite Delina.


Learn more about Duke Ravengard in our Champion Spotlight!



[h2]Ezmerelda[/h2]

A prolific vampire hunter from the land of Barovia. Ezmerelda has joined the Champions to try and rid this new realm from evil. She brings a wealth of knowledge from Barovia to assist the Champions.

Ezmerelda is a Support Champion who teaches other Champions how to spot the vulnerable points of their enemies. She increases her debuffs as the Champions defeat more undead, which are her favored foe. Once unlocked she'll be in Seat 1 opposite Bruenor, ready to jump into the formation and start training!

Learn more about the changes coming to Ezmerelda in our Champion Spotlight!

[h2]Flex Champions[/h2]

Flex Slots allow players to unlock additional Champions and earn chests during events, choosing from a pool of retired Champions associated with the event. This pool of retired Champions includes the Champions from previous years of the event as well as some Champions whose events have been retired. This event's Flex Slot pool includes:

[h3]

• Korth (Seat 2)
  
• Merilwen (Seat 2)
  
• BBEG (Seat 3)
  
• Binwin (Seat 3)
  
• Dungeon Master (Seat 6)
  
• Shaka (Seat 9)
  
• Nova (Seat 11)
  
• Selise (Seat 12)[/h3]
  
  

[h2]Event Theme: Wyrm Slayers[/h2]

Throughout the event, we release new Packs for the featured & flex Champions everyone is unlocking & gearing up. Starting with Dragondown, the skins included in these packs will now share a theme!

For this first themed DLC event, we are drawing on the event itself for the theme! Dragondown is celebrated in-world with bonfires and rituals to "tame" or "drive down" dragons. As such, our theme for Dragondown 7 is Wyrm Slayers! These are Champions decked out in dragon-themed outfits (leaning into red dragon/dracolich looks)



Starting today you can find the Duke Ravengard Wyrm Slayer Theme Pack and the Ezmerelda Wyrm Slayer Theme Pack in the in-game store. More Wyrm Slayers are coming on June 12th and June 19th.
We also have a Wyrm Slayer Celebration lined up to launch on Thursday, June 13th! From the 13th to the 20th, players will be able to log in and collect a free daily chest full of goodies - and if you claim four out of the seven daily chests, you'll also unlock Warduke and collect his Wyrm Slayer Skin for free!




To learn more about Events 2.0 check out our Blog Post!



Join our amazing community with any of the links below:

• The Idle Champions Subreddit or Steam forums.
  
• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• Our YouTube Channels: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and CNEGames.
  
• Our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!

"My duty is first and foremost to the city and its people."



As a lifelong soldier of the Flaming Fist and now the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate, Ulder Ravengard has spent his whole life serving and protecting the city. He struggles to remain committed to his ideals, even as devilish creatures seek to undermine all that he has achieved.

[h2]I. Duke Ravengard[/h2]

Ulder Ravengard is the leader of the Flaming Fist and the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate. His primary concerns are the stability and prosperity of Baldur’s Gate, and he's been a voice of reason and common sense among the ruling council. In recent years, he has been a target of fiendish plots in unsuccessful attempts to take over the city.

Duke Ravengard is a Support Champion who bolsters those who also use Melee base attacks. The more melee attacks, the stronger his buffs become! His buffs are further increased in an area when any Melee Champion scores a critical hit. Once unlocked, he will bring his sword to your battle from seat 8 opposite Delina.

[h2]II. Duke Ravengard's Stats[/h2]



Role: Support

Eligible for Patrons: Vajra, Zariel, Elminster (available until June 5th, 2027)

Seat: 8 (Delina)

[h2]III. Duke Ravengard's Abilities[/h2]

[h3]Basic Attack[/h3]

Duke Ravengard has two basic attacks, the first is his normal attack and the second is when he chooses the Lead The Charge specialization.

• Duke's Longsword - Duke Ravengard attacks the closest enemy for one hit with his longsword.
  
  
• Duke's Longsword (after picking the Lead the Charge specialization) - Duke Ravengard attacks the closest enemy for one hit with his longsword. If he scores a critical hit, he follows-up by smashing the enemy with his shield, knocking them back a short distance.

[h3]Passive Abilities[/h3]

• Critical Hit - Duke Ravengard's base chance to Critical Hit is 20%.

[h3]Formation Abilities[/h3]

• Marshal of the Flaming Fist - Duke Ravengard gains a Command stack for each Champion with a melee base attack in the formation (including himself). Each stack increases the damage of these Champions by 400%, stacking multiplicatively.
  
  
• Position of Power - Duke Ravengard increases the effect of the outgoing positional formation abilities of all Champions with a melee base attack by 25% for each Command stack he has, stacking additively.
  
  
• Critical Teamwork - Whenever a Champion with a melee base attack gets a critical hit, increase the effect of Marshal of the Flaming Fist by 50% and additively increase the odds of all Champions in the formation getting critical hits by 1%. Both effects stack multiplicatively up to 50 times and reset when changing areas.

[h3]Specializations[/h3]

• Lead The Charge - When Duke Ravengard gets a critical hit, he follows up by bashing the enemy with his shield, knocking it back a short distance. When this occurs, all melee Champions adjacent to Duke Ravengard have their base attack cooldowns immediately reset.
  
  
• Strength of Baldur's Gate - Champions with a melee base attack have their crit chance additively increased by 20% and crit damage increased by 1000%.
  
  
• Legacy of Ravengard - If Wyll is in the formation, anyone affected by Wyll's Folk Hero benefit gains an additional stack, but the maximum remains at 4 stacks.

[h3]Ultimate Ability[/h3]

• Fire Shield - Duke Ravengard's magical armor ignites in flames, surrounding him in a flickering aura of magical hot flame for 20 seconds. For the duration, his attacks deal an additional 25 seconds of BUD-based damage and any enemy that makes a melee attack against the formation suffers 25 seconds of BUD-based damage as well.

[h2]IV. Duke Ravengard's Epic Equipment[/h2]


[h2]V.Duke Ravengard's Achievement and Adventure Variants[/h2]

[h3]Achievement:[/h3]

• A Critical Task - Score 10,000 Critical Hits while Duke Ravengard is in the formation.

[h3]Adventure Variants:[/h3]

Might of Melee - Attempt to calm down a very angry bronze dragon with the Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard!

• Duke Ravengard starts in the formation. He can be moved, but not removed.
  
• You may only use Champions with a melee base attack.
  
• Getting to know Duke Ravengard: As an experienced Soldier, Duke Ravengard understands melee combat. Use Champions with Melee attacks to make the most of his buffs!
  
• Area Goals:
  
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 75.
    
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 250.
    
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 600.
    
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1200.

Critical Combat - Attempt to calm down a very angry bronze dragon while optimizing your chance to score a critical hit!

• Duke Ravengard starts in the formation. He can be moved, but not removed.
  
• You may only use Champions with a melee base attack.
  
• At the start of each area, all Champions have their damage reduced to 1 until someone in the formation scores a critical hit. Every 200 areas, the number of critical hits required to remove this damage reduction debuff is increased by 1.
  
• Getting to know Duke Ravengard: Duke Ravengard's buffs grow more potent as your Champions score critical hits. Use Champions with improved critical hit chances to make the most of this!
  
• Area Goals:
  
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 125.
    
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 350.
    
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 800.
    
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1400.

That's a Whole Lot of Goblins - Attempt to calm down a very angry bronze dragon while facing down hordes of goblins!

• Duke Ravengard starts in the formation. He can be moved, but not removed.
  
• Duke Ravengard's Ultimate starts unlocked and the cooldown is reduced by 75%.
  
• You may only use Champions with a melee base attack.
  
• In the first wave of each non-boss area, there is a 20% chance that 30 goblins immediately spawn. These goblins do not drop gold or count toward quest progress.
  
• Getting to know Duke Ravengard: When facing a lot of enemies at one time, Duke Ravengard's Fire Shield ultimate can help even the score!
  
• Area Goals:
  
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 175.
    
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 450.
    
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 1000.
    
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1600.

[h2]VI. Conclusion[/h2]

Have you enjoyed how much Duke Ravengard supports a formation filled with melee masters? Let us know about your epic adventures:

• The Idle Champions Subreddit or Steam forums.
  
• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• Our YouTube Channels: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and CNEGames.
  
• Our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!

A prolific vampire hunter from the land of Barovia. Ezmerelda has joined the Champions to try and rid this new realm from evil. She brings a wealth of knowledge from Barovia to assist the Champions.

Ezmerelda is a Support Champion who teaches other Champions how to spot the vulnerable points of their enemies. She increases her debuffs as the Champions defeat more undead, which are her favored foe. Once unlocked she'll be in Seat 1 opposite Bruenor, ready to jump into the formation and start training!

[h2]II. Ezmerelda's Stats[/h2]


Role: Support, Debuff

Eligible for Patrons: Mirt, Vajra, Strahd, Zariel, Elminster (until June 5th 2027)

Seat: 1 (Bruenor)

[h2]III. Ezmerelda's Abilities[/h2]

[h3]Basic Attack[/h3]

• Fire Bolt - Ezmerelda hurls a mote of fire at a random enemy.

[h3]Formation Abilities[/h3]

• Training Montage - Ezmerelda marks enemies that she attacks, training other Champions to spot their vulnerable points. Marked enemies take 100% more damage from all Champions for each Debuff Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.
  
• Preparation - Every time a debuff is applied to an enemy, the effect of Training Montage is increased by 20%, stacking multiplicatively, up to 100 times and resetting when changing areas.
  
• Threat Tracking - Undead are Ezmerelda's favored foes. Ezmerelda tracks the favored foes that any Champion kills while she is in the formation, increasing the base effect of Training Montage by 0.025% for each favored foe killed (additively then multiplicatively). These stacks persist for the entire adventure, resetting when you complete it. Caps at 1,000,000 favored foe kills.
  
• Enemies In The Mist - While Ezmerelda is in the formation, 0-2 "Mist" enemies can spawn with each wave. When a "Mist" enemy is defeated, an enemy whose type matches one of Ezmerelda's favored foe appears from the mist, and all nearby enemies gain the Training Montage debuff.

[h3]Specializations[/h3]

• We've Trained For This - All champions deal 100% more damage against enemies with armor-based health, increasing their chance of breaking an armor piece. Additionally, if a hits-based or armor-based enemy is affected by Training Montage, successful hits against them remove an additional hit or armor piece.
  
• Vampire Hunter - The effect of Training Montage is increased by 400% on enemies who are one of Ezmerelda's favored foes, and Threat Tracking counts each favored foe killed twice.
  
• The Devil You Know - Increase the effect of Training Montage by 100%. The effect is doubled during Strahd patron variants.

[h3]Ultimate Ability[/h3]
My Signal - Ezmerelda reveals a magical sun dagger and launches it at the enemy with the highest health (randomly if tied). The dagger lands in the target dealing ultimate damage, and then remains there as it begins to glow with a burst of radiant energy, creating a new debuff that lasts 10 seconds. The debuff increases the damage done to the enemy by 25% for each stack of Preparation currently active, stacking multiplicatively.

[h2]IV. Ezmerelda's Epic Equipment[/h2]







[h2]V. Ezmerelda's Achievement and Adventure Variants[/h2]

[h3]Achievement:[/h3]

• You Are Adequately Prepared - Use Ezmerelda's ultimate ability with a cumulative total of 2,500 active Preparation stacks. This count persists through adventures.

[h3]Adventure Variants:[/h3]

The Devil's Scourge - Strahd von Zarovich sent his Zombies to follow Ezmerelda from Barovia.

• Strahd Zombies appear in each wave and deal 100% additional damage. They do not drop gold, nor do they count towards quest progress.
  
• Area Goals:
  
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 75.
    
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 250.
    
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 600.
    
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1200.

The Devil Knocks - The mists of Ravenloft encroach upon us, making it harder for the Champions to see.

• Enemies move 100% faster and drop 99% less gold.
  
• Area Goals:
  
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 125.
    
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 350.
    
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 800.
    
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1400.

The Devil You Know - This time Strahd sent his vampire spawn to follow Ezmerelda.

• Vampire Spawn appear in each wave and deal 100% additional damage. They do not drop gold, nor do they count towards quest progress.
  
• Ezmerelda starts in the formation and cannot be moved. Only Champions in Ezmerelda's column can deal damage. All other Champions have their DPS disabled, but their formation abilities are active.
  
• You may only use Champions with a melee base attack.
  
• Area Goals:
  
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 175.
    
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 450.
    
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 1000.
    
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1600.

[h2]VI. Conclusion[/h2]

Strahd and his undead don't stand a chance against Ezmerelda's debuffs! Let us know about your triumphs in the mist:

• The Idle Champions Subreddit or Steam forums.
  
• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• Our YouTube Channels: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and CNEGames.
  
• Our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!

It's time again to put your formations to the test! Today we add more Adventure Variants to five of our active campaigns. Read on to learn more about what these adventures are and where to find them!


[h2]Adventure Variants[/h2]

This week's update brings 10 new adventure variants to five of our active campaigns! This week's update also brings Vecnas - or Vecnae - to half of them, with variants of The Whispered One from across the multiverse arriving to fight the Champions. One might even describe this assault as something of a 'Vecna Emergence' event...






[h3]Grand Tour of the Sword Coast Adventure Variants[/h3]

• Vecna Lives! Variant 3: Emperor Vecna Lives! Explore the emergency in Candlekeep and discover an even newer threat to Faerûn.
  • 1-2 Emperor Vecna Cultists, new unique monster from Vecna 1.1 (both melee and ranged), spawn with each wave. They do not drop gold or count towards quest progress.
    
  • You may only use Champions with a Charisma of 13 or lower.
    
  • Complete area 375.
  
  
  
  
  
• Vecna Loots! Variant 3: Very Well Equipped Stop the assault on Candlekeep with the very best of your best equipped Champions!
  • Only Champions with at least four Epic equipment or better may be used.
    
  • Three wizard students join the formation. They just get in the way.
    
  • Complete area 375.

[h3]Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden Adventure Variants[/h3]

• Ending the Rime - Part 1 Variant 3: Baldur's Gate Expatriates - Part 1 Head off in the nautiloid with a crew experienced with ceremorphosis.
  • 1-2 Emperor Vecna Cultists spawn with each wave. They do not drop gold or count towards quest progress.
    
  • You may only use Champions from the Heroes of Baldur's Gate or Absolute Adversaries affiliation.
    
  • Complete area 550.
  
  
  
  
  
• Ending the Rime - Part 2 Variant 3: Baldur's Gate Expatriates - Part 2 Continue to hunt for The Codicil of White, while dealing with those tadpoles in your head.
  • Requires Baldur's Gate Expatriates - Part 1 completed.
    
  • 1-2 Emperor Vecna Cultists spawn with each wave. They do not drop gold or count towards quest progress.
    
  • You may only use Champions from the Heroes of Baldur's Gate or Absolute Adversaries affiliation.
    
  • Bosses (including all 3 forms of Auril) deal 500% additional damage.
    
  • Complete area 575.

[h3]The Wild Beyond the Witchlight Adventure Variants[/h3]

• The Fairy Rings of Thither Variant 3: The Magical Rings of Thither Enter the forests of Thither with those well versed in the magical arts.
  • 1-2 Emperor Vecna Cultists spawn with each wave. They do not drop gold or count towards quest progress.
    
  • You may only use Champions with a Magic base attack.
    
  • Complete area 650.
  
  
  
  
  
• Will of the Feywild Variant 3: No Damage, None of the Time
  
  Face off against the next member of the League of Malevolence without your damage dealers!
  • You may only use Champions with an ability score total of 78 or less.
    
  • You may not use any Champions with the DPS tag.
    
  • Complete area 700.

[h3] The Light of Xaryxis Adventure Variants[/h3]

• Rocky Reception Variant 2: Con Crud Search for Commodore Krux while your tough Champions are off doing something else.
  • 1-2 Emperor Vecna Cultists spawn with each wave. They do not drop gold or count towards quest progress.
    
  • In non-boss areas, non-Vecna Cultist monsters are immune from damage until all Emperor Vecna Cultists are defeated.
    
  • You can only use Champions with a Constitution of 13 or lower.
    
  • Complete area 600.
  
  
  
  
• Rock and Roll Variant 2: Modal Nodes
  
  Escape the rock before somebody shoots first.
  • Only Champions with a ranged base attack can deal damage.
    
  • After area 25, you can't remove Champions from the formation.
    
  • After every 50 areas, a random non-Bard Champion is removed from the formation and can't be used for the rest of the adventure.
    
  • Complete area 650.

[h3]The Turn of Fortune's Wheel Adventure Variants[/h3]

• The Beginning is the End Variant 2: Tomb of Champions II: Funky Fandango Return to the Tomb of Annihilation to stop Acererak from assembling a villainous super team with even more speed!
  • You must complete area 300 within 30 minutes of starting the objective.
    
  • Fire breath potions can't be used during the adventure, and click damage has no effect after area 5.
    
  • Complete area 300.
  
  
  
  
  
• The End is the Beginning Variant 2: Mixing It Up NEPHEW. ADJUST. PATH?
  • After area 25, you can't add, move, or remove Champions.
    
  • After every 50 areas, Champions not in the front column are randomly placed in the formation.
    
  • Complete area 450.

[h2]Champion Search[/h2]

Get ready to level up your formation building with Champion Search! With Champion Search, you will be able to quickly filter through over 140 Champions in the game to perfectly fit your formation needs. Learn more about Champion Search, coming to the game TODAY in our blog post!



See the in-game Change Log for more information!



We would love to hear about your experiences in Idle Champions on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!

Get ready to level up your formation building because we're here to provide a sneak peek at a system update coming to the game on May 29th: Champion Search! With Champion Search, you will be able to quickly filter through over 140 Champions in the game to perfectly fit your formation needs.

Read on to learn more!

[h2]Champion Search[/h2]


The Champion Search was designed to help players sort through the Champions available based on a variety of filters. For example, when you encounter a tough Adventure Variant that restricts the use of certain Champions, such as a Variant that allows Only Evil Champions, players have long asked for a quick and easy way to find the right Champions. Currently, this would require clicking through all seats and all available Champions, looking at each Champion's Character Sheet to find out what their alignment is.

With the release of Champion Search, it will be as easy as clicking a check box!



[h2]How It Works[/h2]To get to Champion Search, simply go to swap a Champion as you normally would and click the new Search button at the bottom of the pop-up. On the Champion Search screen, you can filter your options and select new Champions to add to your bench. Once you are done, just click Apply in the upper right and when you return to the main game, your bench will have the Champions you selected ready to add to your formation!



[h3]Current Adventure[/h3]Many Adventure Variants have more than one restriction. Rather than trying to remember all of the restrictions when looking for Champions, there is a handy check box labeled Current Adventure. Selecting that will show you only the Champions that are available for the adventure you are currently on with all restrictions in mind!



[h3]Search By Name[/h3]Can you remember a Champion's name, but not what seat they are in? Just search for the Champion directly by name! Best of all, this search bar sorts as you type - so you don't even need to remember how to spell Xerophon's full name!



[h3]Filters[/h3]You might have a Champion that works well with more of their own class, you want to make a party of all tieflings, or maybe you don't want to see any more Tanks when evaluating who else to add to the formation. There are a whole host of filter options you can choose from to curate the Champions you're seeing in the Champion Search. It could be something as easy as a single alignment, or it could be as complicated as wanting to find all of the Support, Human, Male, Good, Champions that work with Patron Vajra!



[h3]Equipment Rarity[/h3]Adventure Variants aren't the only time you might want to use Champion Search. If a player is hitting a particularly difficult boss and wants to find Champions with a higher rarity of equipment, there is a slider that will filter through each rarity, showing Champions that have at least that level of rarity across all 6 equipment slots. Champion's portraits in the Champion Search will also be outlined in that rarity's color to make it easier to find the better-geared Champions at a glance!



[h3]Ability Scores & Age[/h3] Some Adventure Variants and Champion Abilities need specific Ability Scores and/or Ages. Champion Search has sliders for each Ability Score - as well as Total Ability Score (TOT) - and ages 0 to 500+! You'll be able to set each of these to specific numbers and find the perfect Champion for what you need.



[h3]Ownership[/h3]It may be overwhelming to see so many Champions as a new player and wonder where you need to go to unlock them. Luckily, Champion Search has those players covered. Clicking on a Champion that you do not own will bring up a pop-up that tells you where you can recruit that Champion. For instance, if you were to click on Astarion, the pop-up would tell you that he can be recruited in Brightswords and how many days until that event returns. If that event is actively happening, there will be a button to take you right to the Event screen! It will also show you how he can be purchased in the in-game store or unlocked via a Time Gate, with buttons to take you to each option.



For Evergreen Champions that are unlocked via Adventure Variants, the pop-up will tell you exactly where you can unlock them. If a player wants to unlock Blooshi, for instance, the pop-up would direct you to the Bully for You! Variant in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight campaign.



[h3]Sorting[/h3]To make the list of Champions easier to parse as you are looking through them, there are sorting options for each seat at the bottom. One is for Ownership, letting you choose between All, Owned, and Unowned. The other lets you sort Champions by Name (A-Z or Z-A), Item Level (ascending or descending), Equipment Rarity (Common-Legendary or Legendary-Common), and Release Date (2017-Present or Present-2017).



[h3]Mouseover Details[/h3]Lastly, we have added a new mouseover feature that appears in both the Champion Search screen, as well as the swap options screen. Mousing over a Champion's portrait in those windows will now show important information about that Champion. These include Ability Scores, Gender, Race, Class, Overwhelm, Alignment, Age, Role(s), and Affiliation(s).



Champion Search will release in Idle Champions on May 29th, 2024 at Noon PT.

We would love to hear your feedback about Champion Search! Join our community and start a conversation:

• The Idle Champions Subreddit or Steam forums.
• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• Our YouTube Channels: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and CNEGames.
• Our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!