Heroes and Formations

Which hero is good, what formation do I use? How do I combine crusaders to maximize their potential?

Change log

06.05.16 Minor updates and GoG event added.
21.03.16 Easter update in the works.
18.03.16 Recent events update completed.
05.03.16 New event in the works.
13.02.16 Merci Mixup update (in progress). Lots of updates to basic crusaders done. Added types.
30.01.16 Blood Bowl update (in progress).
21.01.16 The heroes' items have been modified in the recent update and it will take a while to see through all the changes. Please stay with us as we update the heroes section. *celebrates* Jason no longer useless!
14.01.16 QLeaf joined me as a contributor for this guide, together we aim to provide a quality Cotli guide for you right here on Steam. :)

Introduction

Crusaders of the lost idols is a clicker/idle game. It lets you choose from a roster of 20 heroes to use and place them freely on a given grid. Each hero comes with individual strengths and abilities. Combining these properly is the key to success. A new hero can be unlocked by acquiring enough gold to buy it. Certain heroes require you to beat a challenge. If there is an open slot, the hero will be autoplaced once purchased the first time. Heroes can be swapped, removed and added at all times to the grid when no monster is currently in melee range.

Disclaimer: The recommendations are based on the heroes being at similar phases of their evolution. Obviously, if you have a lot of enchantment points on a rather weak hero (weak as described in this guide) but none on a strong one, it is better to pick that hero instead of a so-called strong pick.

In the end you have to check for yourself which hero can serve as your main source for damage and no recommendation is set in stone forever. The game deploys its enchantment points and equipment so randomly that it's impossible to provide a solution that works for everybody. However, the longer you play and the more epics you accumulate the more accurate the guide will become.

Certain information may also be missing and/or be outdated as the game updates but I keep it fresh as best as I can.

Alas, the heroes available to everybody from the beginning in order of their appearance:

Default crusaders (Part 1)

The Bush Whacker (Human)

Your cliché hero for click damage in a clicker game. You already own him and he's placed on field when you start a fresh game. His skillset, as you would expect it, purely increases click damage. Most of the other heroes have a buyable multiplier on higher levels that add to this champion's active damage output and, needless to say, should be purchased if you tend to clicking.

Items:

• +x critial damage multiplier
• +% chance to critically click
• +% click damage gained from Sword Play (passive)

Recommendation: Worth leveling, if you click a lot, obviously. If not, leave at level 1.

Jim the Lumberjack (Human)

Your first mandatory hero. This little fella may seem useless, and frankly, he is until he hits multiple hundred levels. His damage isn't the best but better than most other heroes' outputs. His ability Sharpen Pen increases the damage of every other hero in his column by 50 percent. Therefore it is strongly advised to put him in the same column together with your best damage dealers.

Items:

• +% Base DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% global DPS

Recommendation: Makes a great sidekick for your main dps hero. Once you bought him, level him to 25, then stop. Jim is part of a very basic crusader-combination called LJS. Refer to the formation chapters of this guide for more information.

Emo Werewolf (Animal)

This Warwick imposter is your top tier damage beast. Emo is easy to build at first but once your field grows you will run out of spots and have to work around its hatred towards humans walking next to him to keep the 200 percent extra damage ability Lone Wolf active. You have to place the werewolf on the border of the formation and block it off with nonhumans. This can be achieved fairly easy with the 2nd first/last column but is also doable in a mid column.

Items:

• +% Base DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% global DPS

Recommendation: Emo can single-handedly clear the first dozen levels by itself, once you hit its 200's always level it to the next x25 multiplier from that point on.

Sasha the Fierce Warrior (Human)

Not only a respectable source for dps but also incredibly useful as she can buff the entire column behind her with 40 percent additional damage (Bulwark). This is especially huge if combined with other multipliers. Sasha is to be found in the middle or 2nd column to the right of a formation.

Items:

• +% Base DPS
• +% global DPS
• +% damage gained from Bulwark (passive)

Recommendation: All you'd need is level 5, Sasha can add some nice damage though, pushing her past 200 can be worth if you happen to have rare or epic gear on her.

The Washed Up Hermit (Human)

Hermit is basically Emo Werewolf in human form but can be mixed with others for no penalty. However, to bring this champion to his full potential you need to make sure that there is nobody directly in front of him (even diagonally, which can affect two hero slots). You may discover that removing a hero in Hermits way will boost his damage where having one hero less on the grid yields a higher dps. If you find yourself in such a situation you may just do that or try to look for another spot for Hermit. Give him one in or ahead your main damage column where he still receives most of the boni.

Items:

• +% Base DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% global DPS

Recommendation: Evaluate how good your Hermit is against Emo and decide. You could use both at the same time, not without sacrifices however.

Default crusaders (Part 2)

Detective Kaine (Human)

Reason to use him first and foremost is his ability to raise your gold bonus. The more slots a column has you put him in, the higher the bonus will become. In a four-slot column this can add more than 100 percent global gold find. While it may seem pointless to level Kaine, he can do some notable damage. Personally I end up using him all the time but not always level him.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• -% cooldown on Magnify (active)
• +% gold gained from A-Hah! (passive)

Recommendation: Get him for extra gold find, leveling past 50 is not really necessary.

The Princess (Human)

Mandatory champion who alone manages to double your overall dps if fully leveled and equipped by only being part of the group. Find her a nice place to stay where she doesn't get hurt.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• -% cooldown on Fire Storm (active)
• +% global dps gained from Ignite, Char, Conflagrate, Incinerate (passives)

Recommendation: Worth leveling to 75 (125 for clickers)

Natalie Dragon (Human)

A situational champion that has good boosts for your team and is capable of serving as a decent main dps champion. Using her on her own is not recommended but together with Nate Dragon she can kick some butt. She's outclassed in most formations though by the usefulness of other supporters.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% global gold drops

Recommendation: Worth leveling to 75, and even beyond if you also use Nate Dragon. Once you claimed the gold-find item for her however, she becomes a valuable pick.

Jason, Master of Shadows (Human)

Once known as the most useless crusader. After they redworked him he still kind of is... you will use him regardless because he increases your gold drops massively once you find the appropiate item (just like Natalie Dragon). In certain setups you might want to use Jason at the very front if there are at least two spots, as monsters will ignore him once Subtle Deflection is acquired.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% global gold drops

Recommendation: 25 levels if used next to a tank, level 1 for everything else.

Artaxes, the Lion (Animal)

A hero too good to not be considered. You'll get this support hero for its damage buff of whopping 65 percent on all heroes in the column in front of him which makes it a must-pick choice for all formations.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% global DPS gained from Savage Strike (active)
• +% global DPS gained from Roar! (passive)

Recommendation: No point to have it go past 25, but clickers must buy their way up to level 125 for three important click damage boosters.

Default crusaders (Part 3)

Khouri, the Witch Doctor (Human)

Khouri can boost up to two heroes of your main damage column if placed behind or in front of said column. He can also be useful when placed directly in the main column as he boosts up to six heroes that way but usally he's pinned to the third or 2nd front column once a certain werewolf is part of the team. Despite the appearance of an owl, Khouri is not an animal.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% global DPS gained from Frog Soup (passive)
• +% global DPS gained from Koffee Potion (passive)

Recommendation: Leveling to 50 is fine, beyond highly questionable.

Dark Gryphon (Animal)

While you might like its damage in the beginning, you want this animal mainly because of its abilty to reduce incoming damage on the heroes directly in front of it. It's best placed in the 2nd front column.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% global effects gained from Under My Wing (passive)
• +% maximum health for crusaders affected by Under My Wing (passive)

Recommendation: Even if you do not use the gryphon for damage reduction, placing it in the same column right next to Emo could be interesting not only as a blocker but even dps-wise once it gets its items. In any case, level him to 100 for a team dps buff. Clickers aim for level 125.

Sarah, the Collector (Human)

Sarah used to be sh!t because she was a bad investment regardless of her numerous multipliers and couldn't compete. She's a decent main now and benefits clickers greatly by raising critical click chance.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% Base DPS

Recommendation: If you buy her, make sure the field will be complete as she gets a damage buff (Full Set) at 25 which - admittedly - is huge when combined with Queen Siri. Upgrade to 125 for a click-damage boost. When maining, there's no limit ofc.

Gold Panda (Animal)

You want that teddy on the field at all times as it dramatically increases your gold bonus. It does not matter where you place it but you might end up putting it close to Emo Werewolf if that is your main source for damage.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% global gold drops
• +% gold drops from Gold-O-Rama (active)

Recommendation: Huge coin drop booster. Level to 75 asap, and 125 if you click a lot.

Prince Sal, the Merman (Animal)

Next to Sal not being human there's nothing really worth mentioning here. If you get very lucky with his items he could be great close to Emo as a blockoff hero.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% Base DPS

Recommendation: Click-players like to hit level 100 for yet another boost.

Default crusaders (Part 4)

Fire Phoenix (Animal)

To be honest, damage is lousy, and even used next to Emo near or in your main lane isn't helping his attacks. It is interesting though to use him as a spearhead in boss fights together with a magnified Fire Storm which can kill bosses even with low team dps. A strategy tricky to use, probably too tricky for most players so they better skip spending cash on this hero alltogether.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% maximum health from Heart of the Phoenix (passive)
• +% damage from Vengeful Fury (passive)

Recommendation: If you want him, you must keep raising his level as well. Consider this in your spendings.

King Reginald IV (Human)

One of the weaker heroes in the roster. I only ever used him in my first game and both his damage and ability Royal Command are subpar to justify any coin at the moment, Siri stomps him. Might change once there are more royal heroes.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• -% cooldown on Royal Command (active)
• +% damage coming from Royal Grail (passive)

Recommendation: Leave him be.

Thalia, the Thunder King (Human)

Great damage output once you have the money to buy and level him his first hundred levels but becomes irrelevant quickly after you've unlocked his special ability. You only want to have him on the field once every few hours to cast a magnified Storm Rider which increases your total dps by 7.5 percent - instead of just five.

Items:

• -% damage taken
• +% global DPS
• +% effect on Storm Rider (active)

Recommendation: Once your roster is complete, buy him to 125 and save his position in the formation in one of the formation saves. Whenever Storm Rider is off cooldown, switch to his formation, cast it, preferably after a Magnify, and switch back to your main formation setup.

Merci, the Mad Wizard (Human)

Faces a similar fate like all the other high end champions. He proves useful as a brutal damage source in early stages of the game and his abilities are okay for his team - until you find enough equipment that outclass him even in his support role.

Items:

• +% effect on Alchemy (active)
• +% global DPS
• +% damage coming from Deflect Evil (passive)

Recommendation: If you get him, level him to 50 for his team dps buff. His Alchemy spell can be helpful when fighting bosses but isn't strong enough to solely sustain heavy incomes of damage.

Nate Dragon (Human)

Nate is the last hero you can acquire and he is very powerful, but once you've had your first couple of resets you will call him rather weak, even with his epic item. Together with Natalie his dps can be decent if buffed enough but is usually lower than the one dealt by his sister and quite a large field of other heroes to choose from.

Items:

• +% base DPS
• +% global DPS
• +% damage coming from Double Dragon (Nate) (passive)

Recommendation: Nate adds a natural 20 percent to team dps if pushed to 75, and even more if he has items. You'll have to level him to 150 if you want to reset the world.

Formation basics

There are some basic recommendations on how to setup your party. The most known one and key to good formations is the Lion/Jim/Sasha-Combo (LJS), each of them placed in three connecting columns (rear to front). All heroes in the same column as Jim are boosted by more than 100% and an additional 50% by Jim himself (those are mulitpliers). In some formations that would allow you to have up to three heavy DPS crusaders, and even Jim can add some to the punch.

The alternative to LJS is LPS (Lion-Pam-Sasha-Combo). It's better than LJS whenever you only have two slots for your main dps column (which would normally be occupied by Jim and a crusader of your choice). Sometimes you'll read LPS instead of LJS. Be aware of that and do not get confused.

The most recent wombo-combo is Groklok/front Drizzle (GfD). When Drizzle stays close to your main dps, and Groklok a column behind, your damage will be at least tripled. This is useful whenever you don't have space for Sasha or, if it turns out, a traditional LJS/LPS is weaker (probably due to items).

A recent development due to balance changes is the Royal Bond. This involves using either Siri or King Reginald with a crusader that benefits from their damage buff. For the queen it is easy to accomplish since all that's needed is a female crusader, Sarah, Natalie, Pam to name a few examples. For the King it is required that the crusader to benefit from this is a royal himself. So far this only applies to Sal, Thalia and Princess. For damage a King Reginald/Sal combination is totally legit.

It is often not recommended to level more than one crusader for damage, as you need hefty extra coin to just even out the other heroes to come to your already upgraded champion in terms of damage: it does not really impact your killspeed if you have two crusaders that deal 600 bilion each but one crusader dealing 3 trillion when you could use the coin you had already spent to raise the two to deal 600 billion each right away on your main crusader and boost him to 12 trillion DPS. An exception to this rule would be if you have two crusaders equally strong, in that case it is actually better to level both at the same time (if used within LJS).

Does that mean there can only be one? Ofc not, this is where RoboTurkey comes in to play, as he can copy most of the output of all crusaders surrounding it, cleverly placed it would mimick the damage from your main dps and almost double your overall damage for the price of leveling just one crusader. Princess is also a must if the mechanic grand chicken isn't amongst your roster yet, and unlike the turkey you can freely place her where she doesn't steal the buffs - can be an advantage too!

Another important crusader is Detective Kaine. Not using him can cost you more than 100% global gold find. Always place him in the column with the most spots - usually that's the same one where the Lion has its home.

TL;DR: For damage you need to declare a crusader your main DPS. Only ever level him past 200's. Get RoboTurkey, if available, and place it next to your main dps but to as least other crusaders as possible to keep the buff active. Place your main DPS in the LJS-setup (or LPS, where applicable), connect Khouri as well if you don't have Momma Kaine. Fill the other spots with crusaders that have the highest extra damage-to-entire-team- and/or gold-bonus-items.

Formation examples

	This player is running a Descent Into Darkness free play and decided to do three things with his Nate Dragon : boosting him with LJS (red line) Khouri (pink line) having his sister Natalie in the team (yellow line) Panda , Kaine , Natalie and Princess massively increasing gold find and team DPS.
In this standard game of World's Wake , similar to the first example, Nate Dragon again is the main damage dealer: LJS active (red line) Khouri nearby (pink line) Natalie in the formation (green line) Panda , Princess and Kaine perfectly applied to raise gold find and team DPS.
	An example of how to setup the Beauties and the Beasts challenge on Ghostbeard's Greed : LJS only partially possible (red line) triple DPS (yellow line) Frosty has amazing damage capabilities but it seems Emo can keep up even though it receives a penalty. Preferably the player should move Frosty elsewhere if this trend continues and focus on the werewolf. Placement of the other crusaders however is up to personal preference really.

Event heroes

These heroes need to be unlocked first, they're not available until you complete a few challenges available only during said event. Most of these are superior to the crusaders they are exchangable with and/or have unique abilities.

Once an event is over, the crusaders can't be unlocked anymore. The developer will come up with a solution for this, so do not worry.

Carnival of Sorrows 2015

Pete the Carney (Human)

Pete tags with Jason. This clown is not so special either but he does have one interesting buff at level 75 that rarely comes in handy due to the nature of it but when it does, it works wonders: Bad Joke. Similar to Momma Kaine's ability Perk Up the farthest away crusader gets buffed by 50 % extra damage.

Recommendation: The use of Pete as a main dps buffer is very limited, most formations don't allow it. Also many players weren't there for this event so it does not really matter if you don't have or use him - at all. Should you own him, leveling him past 150 is unnecessary.

Mister the Monkey (Animal)

Mister tags with Detective Kaine. The monkey does the same things like Kaine. The only difference: Instead of a cooldown reduction item it has a 2nd weapon, which, if for some reason you main this crusader for dps, makes it the better choice. Since that is unlikely and most players weren't there for this event it does not matter if you don't have or use it - at all. It does look cooler though to have a monkey on the grid and can help with Emo builds.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% global DPS
• +% gold gained from A-Hah! (passive)

Recommendation: If you have Mister and are at or beyond 50 % cooldown, there's no need to ever use Kaine again.

Halloween 2015

Jack O'Lantern (Demon)

Jack tags with Natalie Dragon. His speciality is his high life and damage reduction which makes him not really care if monsters pound on him, a perfect front line guy if kept leveled by the player.

Role:

• Main Role: Tank.
  
• Secondary Role: DPS/Gold buffer.

Equipped Items:

• Increase the base DPS of Jack O'Lantern by %.
  
• Increase all gold found by %.
  
• Increase the DPS of all crusaders by %.

Useful skills / levels:

• "Hardy Cake" : Obtained Level 25:
  Increases health of Jack O'Lantern by 100%.
  
• "Cry for Help" : Obtained Level 50:
  Increases the DPS of all crusaders by 10% for each enemy attacking Jack O'Lantern.
  
• "Everybody Scream" : Obtained Level 100:
  Increase the DPS of all crusaders by 15%.
  
• "Solid Innards" : Obtained Level 150:
  Jack O'Lantern takes 33% less damage.

Observations:

• Will be the main tank.
  
• Syncs well with Dark Gryphon.
  
• He can increase your gold bonus via item as well as soaks so much damage.

Recommendation: While he can't contribute much damage-wise, he has a bonus to team dps and gold that renders him useful even if not used as a tank. In that case level 150 is enough.

Wendy the Witch (Human)

Wendy tags with Prince Sal, the Merman. The witch has a nice mechanic: the more enemies on screen, the higher her damage multiplier climbs. If you've been there for the event you might have collected quite a few enchantment points already, in that case she is capable of being amongst the top champions for dps if placed accordingly on the field. Her items and skillset also help the entire team to deal more damage. As times passes on, she'll be of little to no relevance.

Role:

• Main Role: DPS.
  
• Secondary Role: DPS Buffer.

Equipped Items:

• Increase the base DPS of Wendy the Witch by %.
  
• Increase the DPS of all crusaders by %.
  
• Increase the base DPS of Wendy the Witch by %.

Limited Item Opportunity:
Golden Epic Item for Wendy the Witch.

Usefull Skills / Levels:

• "Little Ferret" : Obtained Level 25:
  Increase the DPS of all crusaders by 10%.
  
• "Draw Power" : Obtained Level 100:
  Increases the base DPS of Wendy the Witch by 25% for each enemy on screen.

Observations:

• She is a specific situational DPS as you need to get as much enemies you can possibly handle on screen for her to shine. Overall weak DPS and other crusaders will out DPS her by far.
  
• Syncs well with Jack O'Lantern and Dark Gryphon.
  
• She will be more useful as DPS buffer than actual DPSer.

Recommendation: To abuse the scaling damage in her role as main dps, combine her with Jack O'Lantern as tank. If you're only after her team buff, mark her maxed at level 25.


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

Challenge to unlock Wendy: The player tries to make the best of the situation with two DPS champions, namely Jim and Natalie Dragon:

• boosted via LJS (red line)
• Khouri (green line), powering both

Thalia draws aggro from Princess, ensuring her boni stay until he dies. The only improvement possible would be a swap Kaine <-> Merci (or Nate Dragon) for some additional gold find.

Thanksgiving 2015

RoboTurkey (Robot)

RoboTurkey tags with The Princess. This mechanoid of a beloved American dish is prompted to be the 2nd best dps champion. It needs to be placed next to your top dps crusader and away from as many champions as possible. The less champions RoboTurkey touches the more often it will zap your main dps, increasing your overall damage a great deal, and most important: consistently. In a crowded spot its damage would fluctuate too much, similar to Wendy's scaling.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% damage gained from Short Circuit (passive)
• -% cooldown on Fire Storm (active)

Recommendation: While losing The Princess and her numerous team dps buffs, RoboTurkey easily makes up for that, and it doesn't even need to be buffed or leveled up as the damage is not altered by those multipliers. Best to place it at the border in the column in front or back of your main dps and push it to 100 (150 for extra click damage). Make sure, Momma Kaine also joins the formation.

Momma Kaine (Human)

Momma Kaine tags with Khouri, The Witch Doctor. Although Khouri's healing ability is a goner, she has a similar one called Perk Up that heals the farthest away crusader(s), ideally the front column. Obviously you must place her somewhere in the back. Her Stasis Beam adds a bit of crowd control but it isn't really noticable.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% slow effect on Stasis Beam (passive)
• +% healing effect on Perk Up (passive)

Recommendation: Do not use her if you don't have RoboTurkey on the field as her main job is to push its damage. Raising her to 150 for an extra 20 percent team dps is a given.

Christmas 2015

RoboSanta (Robot)

RoboSanta tags with Gold Panda. While it takes patience to acquire decent items you'll end up using Santa one day in most cases. Only few formations unfavor him because unlike Gold Panda It does indeed matter where you position this crusader as the benefit from RoboSanta's skillset is better the more heroes are in the column directly in front of him.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% gold gained
• +% gold gained from Explosie Toys (passive)

Recommendation: Once you have at least uncommon items, RoboSanta is superior if he can enchant at least three champions. Till then, stick to Gold Panda, and don't bother leveling Santa past 75, unless you click... then push to 150.

Frosty the Snowman (Demon)

Frosty the Snowman tags with Thalia, the Thunder King. Frosty has some mechanics that aren't easy to see through at first. A lot of people level Frosty and buy his Chilling Power to realize it decreases their damage. All crusaders connected lose some percentage of their DPS while Frosty gains it. Properly used, Frosty can be a beast and even beat Emo and Hermit as top tier!

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% base DPS
• +% damage gained from Chilling Power (passive)

Recommendation: Like Thalia, he can cast Storm Rider but 25 levels sooner. The effect is not as strong though once Thalia gets his ability item. Support potential is fulfilled at 10 (includes a 10% team dps bonus). Frosty won't deal much damage without his special ability but if it cripples your main dps, best to withdraw from further upgrades to the snowman.


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

	Challenge to unlock Frosty , with several twists that not only help Emo : LJS (red line) well placed RoboTurkey , boosted by Momma Kaine (green line) max benefit from RoboSanta mega-tanky Jack in front (Not the best setup for this particular challenge however.)
A regular Nate before Christmas game where Hermit is designated main DPS: LJS as always (red line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine to double overall DPS (yellow line) Since one slot has to remain unoccupied Jack secures additional damage whilst getting healed by Momma Kaine and, if needed, Merci 's Alchemy.

Princess' Pool Party 2016

Pilot Pam (Human)

Pam tags with Jim. She's an edgier version of Jim, provides more damage overall (100% and more), but only to a single crusader. Focused Teamwork will at least double your main dps' damage.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% global DPS
• +% damage gained from Focused Teamwork (passive)

Recommendation: Choose her over Jim when you decide to (or must) use a 2-column for your main damage dealer. For old users Jim can still be better even if Pam has low quality items but that changes once she gets better equipment. Level 50 is mostly sufficient. Once you got her epics it is worth to level her all the way up as she's got two weapons and nice multipliers. Combine a female main and her together with Siri for tons of damage.

Queen Siri (Human)

Siri tags with King Reginald IV. For those of you who don't use Reginald at all, listen up, because Siri hit the road. This carpet riding Latifa provides a bit of everything for everybody. Oh, and if you miss Royal Command, don't worry, she can do that too!

Items:

• +% global DPS
• -% cooldown on Royal Command (active)
• +% damage gained from Queen's Decree (passive)

Recommendation: If you've bought Sarahs Golden Epic you'll love Queen's Decree as it doubles (and even more with items) all female damage. She also boosts team dps and coin loot. Whatever you do, bring her to 150!


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

	The plane formation in Princess' Pool Party offers room for many crusaders. In this Recruit Pam game Pam is still locked and Emo used as main damage dealer: LJS (red line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) challenge debuff (orange line) This formation favors Emo greatly but RoboTurkey not so much. Pam debuffs a lot of the crusaders behind her but they're not delivering damage anyway and RoboTurkeys output based on Emo's is not affected by it.
Siri hates guys and her butler blocks another important slot in Recruit Siri , it is not advised to use a male as your main, here's one way how to setup the formation with Wendy : LPS: Pam replaces Jim (purple line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) Although two slots are blocked and Santa needs to be replaced with Panda , Pam and a (in this case female) friend secure the damage. Bring your best female dps crusader (could also be Sarah , Natalie or even Phoenix ).
	Due to a bug on Wing-clipped challenge we can abuse Hermit s craziness: The slot he sits in counts twice, once also for the 3rd row, he gets fully buffed and RoboTurkey also can copy the damage. LJS (red line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) triple Kaine buff (green line) Sasha buffing Hermit (blue line) This bug got fixed! For those of you wondering why Pam wasn't used: She did not work here as the slot Jim occupies counted as a three-column.
Likely the strongest setup for this event, with Sarah as main: LPS (purple line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) Siri buff (pink line) The benefit from Pam over Jim is obvious once you consider RoboTurkey in this formation which as mentioned above isn't so lucky when combined with Emo or Hermit . With a two-slot dps column damage becomes way more stable and especially Siri and Sarah (for golden epic owners) redefine the meta.

Blood Bowl 2016

Groklok the Orc (Orc)

Groklok tags with Sasha. The most versatile crusader you could have. He's often used as a substitute for the Lion since his forward-aimed buff is more potent but he also works well as an off-tank. It's quite mandatory to also use Drizzle since they boost each other even more.

Items:

• +% health
• +% base DPS
• +% damage gained from Eligible Receivers (passive)

Recommendation: Level 75 is definately enough to unlock everything that's worth getting.

Drizzle the Dark Elf (Elf)

Drizzle tags with Artaxes. She's a mixture of Sasha and Khouri without the healing. Not only is she a good damage buffer, she also plays a huge role with Groklok and shouldn't be used on her own.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% damage gained from Inspiring Presence (passive)
• +% damage gained from Savage Strikes (passive)

Recommendation: Idle players are fine with level 75, for the Savage Strikes active 150 is required.


The mechanics are so deep that you'll find a special section explaining all the tactics:

front Groklok/Drizzle (fGD): For tank purposes, Groklok moves to the front line and has Drizzle in any column behind him. What this does is it raises max health and lowers incoming damage for all crusaders in Groklok's column. Jack is one of the crusaders that profits heavily from these effects. If you're intrigued to find out more, take a look at the last formation example in this chapter to get an idea of what's possible.

Groklok/front Drizzle (GfD): This is a more potent Lion/Sasha-version, especially when the main dps column consists of two crusaders or less. Pam fits well in to this combination and it replaces the LPS-combo that became popular when she was introduced. Nowadays using Pam with a backing Groklok and Drizzle in front is very common.

Groklok/Drizzle (GD): If both are applied to the same column it turns Groklok into a main dps. Sadly not a very good one as his damage is not that great and this setup isn't used often but in certain cases it can work... if you can manage to deal more damage with leaving one slot unoccupied, as a non-complete formation buffs Groklok's damage even more.


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

	The first challenge unlocks Groklok but for the time being he will butcher any crusader DPS in the column behind his own by 80 %. Don't worry. It ain't as bad as it sounds: LJS (red line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) challenge debuff (blue line) We find plenty of space to do the usual combos and still have some slots to boost our gold find and team DPS.
Drizzle puts you on a trial by crippling crusaders around him (blue line, affects six slots) by voiding their team abilities. This pins our most benefical heroes to the front columns: LJS (red line) Khouri (yellow line) Gold Panda provides the freedom we need to put Kaine and Lion to use (there aren't any other spots for them). RoboChicken has no real place, or should I say, Momma Kaine doesn't, and without her it just isn't that good since we'd have to ditch Siri also. Lack of damage is somewhat remedied by Khouri . The heroes around Drizzle provide nothing but gold find and DPS buffs.
	In Cheerleaders from Hell three orclings will occupy core mid slots as you move up, debuffing for at least 30 % damage. Adjustments have to be made as they come in at stage 50 and 100: LJS to partial LPS (red line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) challenge debuff (blue line) Not an easy challenge as column 2 becomes a bad place for your main dps. Moving him into the last one with Pam instead of Jim and throwing everything in that adds team DPS is your only hope with Lion gone and abysmal gold drops.
Everything's legal except humans in the 4th Blood Bowl challenge, some spots will remain unoccupied and Emo is likely your choice for dps: RoboTurkey (yellow line) front Drizzle / Groklok (green line) Crusaders unlocked in previous events can help greatly with this challenge, namely RoboTurkey, Frosty, Mister Monkey, RoboSanta and Jack , as they're sharing their bank with humans. Not having any of those makes this a tedious and slow game.
	This and the next example are formations for Halftime challenge and free event plays using the classic LJS since that is the better choice till you find those rares/epics: LJS (red line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) For those wondering: Yes, it is possible to replace Sarah and Siri with another main dps of your choice and a crusader that adds global dps.
Again Halftime/free play formation. This one applies the new event crusaders: RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) front Drizzle / Groklok (green line) Since the new crusaders replace Sasha and Lion , LJS is no longer possible. The main dps has to move forward to get the maximum damage out of this combination.
	Here's an interesting variation of a Drizzle / Groklok build on a free play: front Groklok / Drizzle (blue line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) extra defense (black line) The tankiest build around allows you to go one or two bosses further down before resetting thanks to the insane damage negation. Initial dps is much lower than in above builds but as mobs come in, Jack starts stacking his buff, overall increasing dps significantly for triple times the damage and more you'd achieve with any other build.

Merci's Mixup 2016

Rocky the Rockstar (Human)

Rocky tags with Dark Gryphon. A stereotype rock star that gets stronger the more females gather around him in exchange for damage reduction on said females.

Items:

• +% base DPS
• +% global DPS
• +% effect on Groupies (passive)

Recommendation: If you can sixaxis-encase Rocky it's worth a try to choose him as main DPS. He needs his items though, like Frosty.

Sally the Succubus (Demon)

Sally tags with Emo. She's a team-influenced crusader like Rocky and gets more massive boosts per valid crusader than Rocky would but suffers from a debuff if there are women around her.

Items:

• +% base DPS
• +% base DPS
• +% global DPS

Recommendation: She's best used in sausagefest formations.


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

	To unlock Rocky we have to reach stage 100 with him halfing everyone's damage nearby. Sounds awful but there's just enough space for everything we need: LJS/LPS/GD mix (red line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) Siri buff (pink line) challenge debuff (white circle) An easy task since we can move our main to the front. For the first time we see a mix of the three main combos that deals the highest damage: Lion and Groklok working together with Pam .
Recruit Sally is the 2nd event challenge. She doesn't debuff anything but occupies three front spots: LJS/LPS/GD mix (red line) Siri buff (pink line) Khouri helps out as there's not enough space to fit RoboTurkey in. Together with Siri and other buffs, the main dps easily packs the punch to reach area 100.
	Our formation is cut in half during Broken Hearted : partial LJS (red line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) Siri buff (pink line) It hurts our capabilities quite a bit but we only need to make it to stage 150. We can use the left half for gold bonus/team dps champions and the front for maximizing crusader dps.
Backstage Pass was made to let you try out Rocky but you don't have to use him to beat the challenge. He's also the only male crusader usable. Surround him with females that boost his damage and fill the rest up with other females as best as you can: LJS/LPS/GD mix (orange line) A tough challenge as many abilities aren't available. Note how the spot beneath Rocky isn't used. Adding another crusader here wouldn't help as it removes Pam 's damage buff.
	If you refuse to use Rocky (which is likely since you won't have items for him) during Backstage Pass , you can change the setup and use all slots. Pick your best female dps crusader: LJS/LPS/GD mix (orange line) Momma Kaine heal (yellow) Siri buff (pink line) A disregard of the usual rules we apply to setups but we arrange every female available accordingly to provide Sarah with the best possible options.

St. Patrick's Day 2016

Larry the Leprechaun (Human)

Larry tags with Kaine. The versatile leprechaun is the smallest character to date. As a cobold he promises great riches and he's fairly easy to apply to any formation and boost gold drops like no one else would. He can also be used as a damage buffer which opens a new way of making progress: It's perfect to have Larry boost your coin income until one would hit a wall, change his position and power up the entire team, then switch back to grinding. Repeat for profit.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• -% cooldown on Magnify (active)
• +% gold gained from Little Pockets (passive)

Recommendation: Larry is a must on any formation that has a spot surrounded by six other crusaders. His gold boni are just too good. Level 100 is sufficient for that but if you want some extra damage at the end of a run, push him to 150 and move him to any border.

Kyle the Party Bro (Human)

Kyle tags with Hermit. Kyle's a bit of everything and his uses are potentially limitless. He can be a decent main dps but requires crowded areas and mixed compositions (including Larry) to really shine.

Items:

• +% Base DPS
• +% global DPS
• +% DPS gained from Mosh Pit (passive)

Recommendation: All the way when maining him. For supportive means he should be used like RoboTurkey: away from as many other crusaders as possible yet next to your main dps. Level 150 is recommended to catch a nice 20 % team dps.


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

	Larry is willing to join your crusaders if you manage to pass area 100. Unlike one would think it does not matter where you put heroes like Gold Panda , the bonus gold malus affects them just the same since it isn't based on percentages: GfD (green line) Siri /female boost (purple line) affected crusaders (white circle) Since we only have two slots per column, a Pam -setup makes sense. Whether you use Groklok/Drizzle or Lion/Sasha is up to personal preference.
Kyle and his bud debuff damage by 50 % each. The lower guy lowers dps on all crusaders he is not connected to while Kyle does the same but to any crusader connected to him. Some slots are affected even twice (in this case Natalie and Pam ): debuffs (white line/circle) Drizzle / Pam / Sasha (green line) The two spots that are safe from harm are marked with red circles. Position your main dps there and align your crusaders accordingly to crack the level 100 barrier and Kyle will give in.
	The third challenge Parade Route removes the first and the last column and potentially a lot of damage and gold find. This isn't a too difficult task especially when you were capable of breezing through the first two. Larry will help you out by solving the gold issue which allows you buy more levels sooner: Nate / Nata (yellow line) Pam (red line) Together with Santa (or Gold Panda ) and Jason and team dps boosts by the likes of Princess , Natalie deals with this till area 150 just fine.
The focus in Four Leaf Clover should be on pure damage to reach Stage 250, so get your best crusaders ready. In my case it ended up in a sole Sarah/GfD formation while Larry raises gold find a little and doubling any damage via Subtle Magics .
	The difference between Beer Before Liquor (4th quest) and Free Play are endurable like bosses mobs (namely pink elephants) spawning every now and then, and those struggling to hit area 200 regularely will have a harder time to do it here as well. Besides that they share the same formation, heres an example to set it up: GfD / Pam (green line) Larry is utilized perfectly for maximum gold while a meanwhile typical Groklok / Drizzle -Combo with Pam and Siri in the back provide damage boosts for Sarah .

Easter 2016

RoboRabbit (Robot)

RoboRabbit tags with Bush Whacker.

Items:

• x
• x
• x

Recommendation:

Alan the Archangel (Nonhuman)

Alan tags with Fire Phoenix.

Items:

• x
• x
• x

Recommendation:


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

	Larry support, 2 slots blocked, no debuff: GfD (green line) female boost (purple line)
1 slot blocked, 1 random crusader down to 1% dps/15 sec, two mains: Nate/Natalie (blue line) GfD w/ Pam (green line) female boost (purple line)
	The "theft" of four slots in the 3rd challenge to hit area 250 slows progress down quite a lot. For Candy train I suggest two formations that can be swapped momentarely. While aiming for a high gold bonus, tagging in Larry and Drizzle for Kaine and Jason provides damage when we really need it: Groklok (optional GfD ) (green line) Nate/Natalie (blue line) swaps for damage (grey lines) The need for Pam/Jim isn't there as the presence of Nate Dragon triples Natalie 's damage.
To beat Hurry! I suggest full damage focusing on gold only early on or as long as it works for you damage-wise: Momma Kaine/RoboTurkey (yellow line) GfD w/ Pam (green line) female boost (purple line) tanky front (gray line) The bunny lowers all damage by 20 to 50 % depending on the given task but resets on the next screen so you need manpower similar to an area 225 free play. If things do get messy Thalia and Alan should survive long enough to clear the area objective.
	Easter Egg Hunt is a secret Lone Descent challenge. As you move up more and more slots become unavailable. To prevent unnecessary waste of coin focus on Emo or Hermit as your main right from the beginning as they're the only ones who can deal decent damage even when nobody is boosting them. Update your formation every 25 areas. Still, this is a very tough mission, you might not be able to complete. Good luck!

Spring 2016

Bat, the Billionaire (Human)

Bat tags with Merci. He's the first crusader to support active play. His passive abilities kick in as you use buffs, upgrade crusaders and use abilities. These buffs last 5 minutes (can be lengthened by an item) each. His Alchemy is better than Merci's too as Deep Menacing Voice halfes any incoming damage while it's in effect.

Items:

• +% gold gained from Smart Investigating (passive)
• +% damage gained from Sidekicks (passive)
• +% duration on passive procs

Recommendation: A super cool character for active clicker players. Position him close to your main and keep using abilities (any) to boost its damage.

The Metal Soldierette (Human)

The Soldierette tags with Sarah. As a replacement for Sarah who's been having a good time lately, this iron girl naturally has crazy damage multipliers. Similar to Thalia she can tank pretty well while dealing good damage but requires a front column slot to be of any use.

Items:

• +% Base DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% global DPS

Recommendation: There are multiple ways to use her. You kind of want her to tank many mobs as that raises her damage, Jason can help with that in 2-slot columns. Jack is also helpful: when he's tanking it also raises Soldierette's damage. She works better the more slots are available in the first two columns, three preferably (there are no 4-slot front column formations as of yet). Make sure to support her with crusaders like Alan, Gryphon, Khouri and alike to sturden her.


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

	The man named Bat is added to your roster once you finish area 100. Every now and then a boss-strong Joker appears that has more health than regular spawns. Other than that there's nothing that hurts your setup. We apply common tactics for this: GfD (green line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) female boost (purple line) We abuse the middle column for a very effective Groklok / front Drizzle combo. It isn't as strong as it would be with Pam siding Sarah but it's darn close.
Recruit Metal Soldierette I used the same formation simply because the debuff isn't always active and 50% isn't much considering all you need is beat area 100: GfD (green line) RoboTurkey / Momma Kaine (yellow line) female boost (purple line) debuff area (red circle) If it is an issue to you, move your main and adjacent crusaders one column back (refer to Free Play formation). Damage remains the same and keeps you safe from debuff.
	Two-Faced is a free-play with a twist. A damage modifier of about 50% moves back and forth every 25 areas, beginning with the two front columns. Those who hit a wall easily, have to update their formation until area 126, then it will stay (area 150 needed for ending the challenge successfully). The middle column is always unaffected by this.
Crap. Bat misparked his car. Either go full gold or damage on this one. I decided to use Soldierette as a tanky main dps: healing (purple line) damage (orange line) Dark Gryphon (gray line) front Groklok / Drizzle (blue line) Khouri / Gryphon is a vintage combo to sustain a front line. Soldierette and Jack increase team dps when they're under attack while Groklok provides additional health and defense. All three need to be constantly leveled up.
	Stolen Hardware/Free play formation

Gardeners of the Galaxy 2016

Broot (Nonhuman)

Broot tags with Jason. An excellent alternative to shady Jason and can be used without its friend Robbie, but not so much when needed as a durable tank. It's likely its burden to end up as one regardless since the 25 % dps boost at level 50 (suggested for pure supportive means) is too good to pass on.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% global gold drops
• +% effect coming from Robbie's buffs

Recommendation: If possible, team it with a proper tank like Thalia or Jack and make sure to NOT purchase the skill that draws aggro. Ofc if you plan to work with a tanky Broot, don't hesitate to level it all the way up to 150 (and beyond later) which also helps Robbie a lot, so do not forget to use him too.

Robbie Raccoon (Animal)

Robbie tags with Sal. He deals weak damage without his symbiont Broot, so they should always be walking together, next to each other.

Items:

• +% global DPS
• +% Base DPS
• +% effect coming from Broot's buffs

Recommendation: Due to the benefits coming from Broots given position in a formation, Robbie is often pinned to the 2nd front column. This eleminates room for certain damage combos but the multipliers are potent enough to make up for that.


Formation examples for this event and its challenges:

One of the easiest recruits is Broot's . He occupies a slot, yes, but he helps out by slowing down monsters just like Momma Kaine does. The thin columns don't allow much beside a classic GfD/Pam combo so I've put Soldierette to use for a change: fGD (green line) Momma Kaine (yellow line) Gryphon (gray line) female boost (purple line) Gryphon and a defensive Groklok -build secure the front line while Momma Kaine heals them.
	Robbie will be recruited if you manage to not get overwhelmed till area 100 as your dps goes Hillvalley all the time. Damage goes down by one percent each second and then increases for 50% (over your regular output) for 15 seconds. So it's both a debuff and a buff. This can lead to sudden enemy overflow and your formation overrun. Timing is key here: GfD (green line) Momma Kaine/RoboTurkey (yellow line) female boost (purple line) Otherwise there's nothing else to really mention here.
Infinity Stone is a tough one. It emits a shock every 10 seconds and whoever is struck suffers a 50 % debuff lasting twice as long and everyone nearby is potentially affected. You could think of it as an inverted RoboTurkey . Since it is in such an unfavorable spot, we end up with a front main. Any tank that deals damage will do, so Soldierette and Robbie are good choices: Momma Kaine / RoboTurkey (yellow line) Groklok (green line) You could also select a regular main like Emo and buff it from behind with Lion & Groklok - at the cost of tankiness.
	Displaced wildlife is good to try out the new crusaders. The three slots that are taken this time don't leave room for many options. Robbie is a fine main while Broot secures the front line: Groklok (green line) Momma Kaine/RoboTurkey (yellow line) team Broot/Robbie (turquoise line) Groklok or Artaxes give that extra punch while everyone else provides dps and gold buffs. Both Thalia and Broot share the tanking while under constant treatment of Momma Kaine.
Remember all of the crusaders you never use these days? Well, time to refresh your memory, Gardeners, Unite let's you do just that for 200 areas: BR hue hue (turquoise line) GfD (green line) Basically get Broot and Robbie going, spice it up with the Ork/Elven-combo and fill the rest up as best as you can. If you plan to use tanky Jack , don't make the same mistake I did and buy Broot's aggro skill. That would even be better late game. On top of the ones in the screen you can apply Succubus, Emo, Hermit, Monkey, Lion and Sal.
	Freeplay example 1 (text to be edited)
Freeplay example 2 (text to be edited)

The last section

To improve this guide you can help by leaving suggestions, error reports, critics... everything's welcome.

[ainosenshi007]

Got any recommendations for the Jet Formation? It's for the "get to level 300" achievement.
From back to front, the number of crusaders in each column is 2 3 2 1 2 1
Any help would be appreciated, as I have no head for strategy. -.-;;;

[Red Bingus]

If you have enough royal crusaders brogon can actually replace jim while being more effective at buffing.Also serpent king draco's dps can end up stupidly high.It's just kind of dumb

[auralys]

Thank you for this guide. I have found it extremely helpful for the events that it covers, even in 2018. :) I wish that there was an updated version, as I still need a bit of help, especially of this kind. Thank you again.

[normal.name.]

The character I have at the front now is Karen because of the legendary catnip I got for her, as she gives a 100% dps boost every time she goes down, and it stacks, and she can go down 9 times total, basically multiplying damage many times so there is no chance of failing.

[normal.name.]

I use Natalia Dragon for my main settup, and she is an absolute beast in dps. I have the level 2 legendary gauntlets for her, which helps quite a bit, and I use the second formation you list out in this guide as my main. So is emo/hermit still really good at level 1000?

[veikk0]

It should be noted that due to his 100% healing bonus ability Thalia is a very effective front-row tank for boss-busting formations when combined with the witch doctor's healing and Dark Gryphon's damage reduction. Even if it ends up reducing the overall DPS, this can help defeat bosses when your highest DPS formation doesn't have enough damage to just force its way through.

[SarahYasha]

Thanks for the tips.

[Red Bingus]

the search for simon was so easy and isn't coming back so don't add it

[bpbrother]

This is terribly outdated, I'm so sorry everyone. Used to have the extra time to keep it fresh but that's no longer the case. Work, work, work, y'know... the devs staying nuts with these updates isn't helping either, lol.

[Crasher Junep]

And male.