Year 3 Champion Guide - Briv, the Half-Orc Paladin
Last Updated: March 23rd, 2023 - Added event reference; moved Adventure Info to permanent event guide
Last Updated: Initial Post
This is a stand-alone information guide for this Champion that will be updated as necessary for use during a Time Gate. This Champion is no longer available in Events.
If you have questions about this Champion or find something that needs updated, feel free to let me know in the comments. Please know reddit archives posts after a certain amount of time, so PM me if something needs updated and the comments are locked.
You can find all 130+ of my Idle Champions guides here.
If you'd like to support the creation of guides like this one and you play on the Epic Games Store, you can use the code below when making a purchase of any kind.
Epic Games Creator Code: GAARAWARR
In connection with Epic Games’ Support-A-Creator Program, I may receive a commission from certain in-game purchases when you use my Creator Code when making a purchase.
If you play on other platforms and wish to support guides like this one, you can follow me on Twitter and Twitch, as well as subscribing to my Twitch if you can. You can also rate my guide collection on Steam to ensure new players see it.
Thanks!
#Year 3 Champion - Briv Steelmarrow, the Half-Orc Paladin
-
Source: The Heroes of the Planes series of streams as played by Adam Bradford
-
Arrival Event: Festival of Fools
You can read their original Champion Spotlight here.
-
Slot 5
-
Good with: Everyone
-
Affiliation: Heroes of the Planes - Alyndra, Avren, Briv, Freely, Orkira, Penelope, Widdle
-
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt, Varja, Zariel
-
Time Gate Priority: High
| Race | Class | Alignment | Gender | Age | Role(s) | Overwhelm Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half-Orc | Paladin | Chaotic Good | Male (He / Him) | 42 | Tanking / Support / Healing / Speed | 30 |
| Strength | Dexterity | Constitution | Intelligence | Wisdom | Charisma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
Bio: Relentlessly brave but markedly uncouth, Briv Steelmarrow is a stalwart champion of the weak, innocent, downtrodden, and oppressed. Centuries ago, a cabal of Netherese mages experimented on Briv’s clan, gifting him with a magical metal inside his bones that he can pull through his skin and shape for attack or defense. Once a slaver, Briv sought atonement by joining the Order of the Lost Cause, an elite group of knights that travel across Faerûn, taking on quests that only fools would pursue.
Listen to "Steelmarrow," the official Bardic Inspiration song for Briv, here.
Basic Attack: Mocking Cleave — Briv leaps out and attacks a random enemy with his greatsword, cleaving all nearby enemies as well. On each enemy hit, there is a 20% chance that they will stop attacking another Champion and attack Briv if possible.
-
Base Attack Type: Melee
-
Base Attack Speed: 7.5 seconds
-
Self-DPS Buff: 5.21e20%
Ultimate: Netherese Explosion — Briv forces all of his remaining Netherese Metal out of his body, shooting it in all directions in an arc in front of him, damaging enemies that it passes through. He then draws it back into himself, dealing double damage to enemies it hits on its way back to him.
- Base Ultimate Cooldown Time: 280 seconds
Health Upgrades: 9.95e04
##Interesting Abilities
Steelbones: Whenever Briv comes under attack, metal shoots out of his pores, covering him in heavy armor. This effect persists as long as Briv remains under attack, and for an additional five seconds afterwards. While armored, Briv takes 10% less damage and gains a stack of Steelbones whenever he is hit by an enemy attack.
- No upgrades
Gaar's Note: This is the core of Briv's kit. You want him to build as many stacks as possible during a run.
Netherese Steel: Briv increases the damage of all Champions behind him by 0.01% for each stack of Steelbones he has gained.
- 2.62e07% post-stack multiplier after upgrades; Supported by an Item & Feats
Unnatural Haste: Briv has a 25% chance of sprinting forward quickly on steel-springs after completing a new area, skipping the next area entirely. This action consumes 4% of his Sprint stacks, and requires at least 50 stacks to occur. When you reset the adventure, all stacks of Steelbones that Briv has gained convert into stacks of Sprint, which persist between resets until they are used by this ability.
Note: If the chance of springing forward surpasses 100%, you are guaranteed to skip 1 level and the remaining percentage is your chance to skip 2. Surpassing 100% again then becomes a guarantee to skip 2 areas, and so on. If you skip a boss area in this way, everything from the boss loot bag (the gems, chests, red jewels, etc.) are collected automatically. The amount of Sprint stacks consumed does not change as he skips more levels, making your progress even more efficient. Skipping an area does not count as completing the area.
- No upgrades; Supported by an Item & a Feat
Gaar's Note: This is Briv's speed ability. There is currently no cap to the number of areas you can skip by building up Item Levels here.
Healing Phlo: Briv's pet flumph Phlo appears next to Briv and telepathically stores healing power whenever Briv is hit. After 10 hits or 10 seconds, whichever comes first, Phlo heals all Champions in the party for 50% of the damage Briv took during that time. The 10 second timer only starts when Briv takes a hit and does not fire if the healing is triggered by taking 10 hits. It would start again at 10 seconds on the next hit after healing triggers.
- No upgrades
Gaar's Note: This ability is modified by a Spec Choice. Between his Spec Choice and outside factors like Mirt's "Perk Up," Briv can raise the percent healed to 100% and beyond.
Oath of Heroism: Briv increases the max health of all other Champions by 25% of his max health.
- No upgrades
Global DPS Buff: 4.91e06%
##Specializations
Metalborn: Unnatural Haste uses 20% less Sprint stacks whenever it activates.
Gaar's Note: This is the choice if you're just using him to speed as far as possible in a run before his stacks run out.
Tempered Steel: Increase the effect of Netherese Steel by 100%.
Go With The Phlo: Increase the heal of Healing Phlo by 50%.
Gaar's Note: This is the choice to ensure he stays alive as long as possible and should be what you use for deep pushes.
##Equipment
| White | Green | Blue | Purple | Gild Priority | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slot 1: Increases the damage of all Champions | 15% | 65% | 120% | 230% | 3 |
| Slot 2: Increases the health of Briv | 10% | 30% | 50% | 100% | 2 |
| Slot 3: Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 3 |
| Slot 4: Increases the effect of Briv's Unnatural Haste ability | 10% | 30% | 50% | 100% | 1 |
| Slot 5: Buffs Briv's Ultimate Attack Damage | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 4 |
| Slot 6: Reduces the cooldown on Briv's Ultimate Attack | 7s | 14s | 28s | 70s | 4 |
##Legendary Effects
- Increases the damage of all Champions by 10% for each Champion in the formation
- Increases the damage of all Champions by 20% for each Male Champion in the formation
- Increases the damage of all Half-Orc Champions by 150%
- Increases the damage of all Champions with a CON score of 11 or higher by 100%
- Increases the damage of all Champions with a CHA score of 11 or higher by 100%
- Increases the damage of all Melee Champions by 150%
Gaar's Note: Find more information on the Legendary system here.
##Feats
Here is the info for when you can unlock each Feat Slot:
| Feat Slot | Unlocked at Level | Rough Cost |
|---|---|---|
| First | 215 | e20 |
| Second | 535 | e40 |
| Third | 925 | e64 |
| Fourth | 1410 | e93 |
Gaar's Note: Currently, you will need to level this Champion past their current upgrade softcap which will require you changing the blue update indicator from UPG to one of the numbered options.
Here is the info on what Feats are available for this Champion:
| Obtained | Recommended | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Selflessness | Increases the damage of all Champions by 10% | |
| Default | Tough | Increases the health of Briv by 15% | |
| Default | Defensive Duelist | Briv takes 5 more enemies attacking to get overwhelmed | |
| 12,500 Gems | Inspiring Leader | Increases the damage of all Champions by 25% | |
| Regular Gold Chest | Survivability | Resilient | Increases the health of Briv by 30% |
| 12,500 Gems | Situational Speed | Wasting Haste | Caps the effect of Briv's Unnatural Haste ability at 800% |
| 12,500 Gems | Steelmarrow | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 40% | |
| 50,000 Gems | Pushing | Pirate Plating | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 80% |
| Regular Gold Chest | Calm Under Pressure | Briv takes up to 10 more enemies attacking to get overwhelmed | |
| 50,000 Gems | Survivability | Sentinel | Briv takes up to 20 more enemies attacking to get overwhelmed |
##Level Upgrades
Gaar's Note: Level Cost is the cost to go from your current level to the stated level. It is not a cumulative total. However, since we're dealing with very large numbers, it's in the ballpark.
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3.00e06 | Add to Formation |
| 20 | 2.65e08 | Steelbones |
| 30 | 8.67e08 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 40 | 3.51e09 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 50 | 1.42e10 | Netherese Steel |
| 60 | 5.74e10 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 70 | 2.32e11 | Increases the health of Briv by 95 |
| 80 | 9.39e11 | Unnatural Haste |
| 90 | 3.80e12 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 100 | 1.54e13 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 110 | 6.22e13 | Healing Phlo |
| 120 | 2.52e14 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 130 | 1.02e15 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 140 | 4.12e15 | Oath of Heroism |
| 150 | 1.67e16 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 160 | 6.74e16 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 170 | 2.73e17 | Specialization Choice |
| 180 | 1.10e18 | Increases the health of Briv by 165 |
| 190 | 4.46e18 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 200 | 1.81e19 | Ultimate Attack |
| 210 | 7.30e19 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 220 | 2.95e20 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 230 | 1.20e21 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 240 | 4.84e21 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 255 | 4.58e22 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 265 | 1.59e23 | Increases the health of Briv by 290 |
| 275 | 6.44e23 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 285 | 2.61e24 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 300 | 2.47e25 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 310 | 8.58e25 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 330 | 1.75e27 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 340 | 5.68e27 | Increases the health of Briv by 510 |
| 350 | 2.30e28 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 365 | 2.18e29 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 375 | 7.56e29 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 395 | 1.54e31 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 405 | 5.01e31 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 435 | 4.34e33 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 445 | 1.34e34 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 455 | 5.43e34 | Increases the health of Briv by 890 |
| 475 | 1.11e36 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 490 | 8.42e36 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 540 | 1.04e40 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 550 | 3.17e40 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 565 | 3.00e41 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 575 | 1.04e42 | Increases the health of Briv by 1,560 |
| 590 | 9.89e42 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 605 | 8.05e43 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 625 | 1.41e45 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 640 | 1.07e46 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 665 | 3.90e47 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 675 | 1.22e48 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 685 | 4.96e48 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 695 | 2.00e49 | Increases the health of Briv by 2,730 |
| 720 | 8.50e50 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 735 | 6.26e51 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 775 | 1.90e54 | Increases the damage of Briv by 400% |
| 785 | 5.82e54 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 800 | 5.52e55 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 815 | 4.49e56 | Increases the health of Briv by 4,775 |
softcap upgrade - March 24th, 2020
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 825 | 1.56e57 | Increases the damage of Briv by 200% |
| 855 | 1.35e59 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% |
| 875 | 2.11e60 | Increases the damage of Briv by 200% |
| 910 | 2.97e62 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 925 | 2.13e63 | Increases the damage of Briv by 200% |
| 935 | 7.40e63 | Increases the health of Briv by 7,800 |
softcap upgrade - December 16th, 2020
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 960 | 3.14e65 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 980 | 4.98e66 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 990 | 1.61e67 | Increases the damage of Briv by 200% |
| 1000 | 6.53e67 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1040 | 2.31e70 | Increases the damage of Briv by 200% |
| 1050 | 7.08e70 | Increases the health of Briv by 14,200 |
softcap upgrade - September 15th, 2021
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1080 | 6.13e72 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 1110 | 4.06e74 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1140 | 2.69e76 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 1160 | 4.19e77 | Increases the damage of Briv by 200% |
| 1170 | 1.36e78 | Increases the health of Briv by 24,000 |
softcap upgrade - June 1st, 2022
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1210 | 4.82e80 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1250 | 1.29e83 | Increases the effect of Briv's Netherese Steel ability by 100% |
| 1290 | 3.46e85 | Increases the damage of Briv by 200% |
| 1300 | 1.06e86 | Increases the health of Briv by 42,500 |
Current max upgrade level is 1300
#Formation & Mission Information
In a Time Gate, you will be given two basic adventures and one variant to complete, along with being granted access to Free Plays. They all use a formation that holds 10 Champions. They have a Champ-specific format that I've done my best to re-create below.
| Back Column | 4th Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 |
New Player Formation & Specializations:
While I recommend learning to build your own formations, here's a set of starter formations for brand new players to use while they get the hang of things. Anyone with other options should check that link for how to figure out how to make the best of them. You can also ask for help in the #formations channel in the official Discord.
| Back Column | 4th Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | ||||
| Minsc - Humanoids | Bruenor - Battle Master | |||
| Calliope - College of Valor | Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | |||
| Celeste - Life Domain | NA | |||
| Hitch - Charismatic | Jarlaxle - Leader of Bregan D'aerthe | |||
| Asharra - Dwarves & Elves |
This formation is for the first couple of runs where you're just not going to get enough Gold to get everyone on the field, let alone level people up into their power curves. At this point, Jarlaxle is focusing on being your Primary DPS while everyone else is set up to support him.
The following formation is for once your Hitch starts doing more damage than your Jarlaxle. You can find this out by pulling Asharra out of the formation and swapping Jarlaxle and Hitch around to see whose damage is better. If Hitch is higher, next run change Asharra's Spec to buff Hitch instead.
| Back Column | 4th Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makos - Dark Blessing | ||||
| Jarlaxle - Leader of Bregan D'aerthe | Bruenor - Battle Master | |||
| Calliope - College of Valor | Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | |||
| Celeste - Life Domain | Tyril - Wild Shape | |||
| Asharra - (Swap) | Hitch - Charismatic | |||
| Minsc - Humanoids |
This formation should get you through the Time Gate as a new player. If you have other options or think a different DPS is geared better, try it out and see what happens! Swapping DPS around like this can help you figure out what works best for you with your specific items.
These are the rough Favor values you need to reach to make a Variant say Difficulty: Easy. Keep in mind that this is just a generic rating system and some Variants may be harder than others, even with Favor in this range.
| Variant | Favor Level (Normal) | Favor Level (Scientific Notation) |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | 20,000 | ~2e04 |
| 125 | 15,000,000 | ~1.5e07 |
| 175 | 150,000,000 | ~1.5e08 |
##Initial Mission: A Fool's Errand
Complete: Area 50
Reward: Briv + Gold Briv Chest & whatever Mystra's Favor you earned
Info: No restrictions.
Gaar's Note: The area 50 boss here is armored and hits very hard. That makes this boss a Favor check as you need to not only be able to damage them, but also survive. You may need to farm a while at the prior level to upgrade useful abilities to pass it initially and at higher levels. This means you may not push as far in this event as others.
##Second Mission: A Fool's Errand
Complete: Area 75
Reward: Gold Briv Chest & whatever Mystra's Favor you earned
Info: No restrictions.
The area goals go up by 50 each time you select a specific Champion's Time Gate and then go down by 25 each time you select someone else's. This encourages you to do Time Gates for different Champions, potentially in a rotation, rather than just grinding the same Champion's Time Gate over and over.
Once you've done the first two missions, you then have to complete the variant the Time Gate gave you. If you've never done any of them, you'll get one at random. If you've done one, you'll get one of the other two you haven't done before. If you've done two of them before, you're guaranteed to get the one you haven't done. If you've done all three before, you get one at random.
##First Variant Option: A Little Perspective
Complete: Area 75
Reward: Gold Briv Chest & whatever Mystra's Favor you earned
Info: Pixies spawn at random in all non-boss areas. When a Pixie spawns, it shrinks a random Champion by 33%, decreasing their damage done by 99%. This effect persists until the Pixie causing it is killed. This effect can stack multiplicatively if multiple Pixies target the same Champion.
Gaar's Notes: So this is an interesting take on damage reduction variants. The best way to overcome this negative effect is with Favor to let you level your Champions even more. If you're newer, you're definitely going to want enough Favor as shown in the chart above and maybe even waiting a bit after that.
##Second Variant Option: Nerves of Steel
Complete: Area 125
Reward: Gold Briv Chest & whatever Mystra's Favor you earned
Info: Briv starts in the formation and can not be moved, removed, or swapped out. Normal enemies move faster and attack faster; bosses are unaffected.
Gaar's Notes: Briv starts in the bottom slot of the front column, so works pretty optimally as a tank. You definitely want the Favor shown in the chart above due to the high damage of the enemies, but you may also want to wait until the second weekend so he has some gear on him. This is a great variant to earn his Divine Patience achievement though, due to how fast everything moves. I left him as tank, put in a couple healers and an extra tank for health, but left Briv solo up front to tank all enemies and just went AFK and it worked. (See the gif under Achievements.)
##Third Variant Option: A Delicious Diversion
Complete: Area 175
Reward: Gold Briv Chest & whatever Mystra's Favor you earned
Info: A cart of tasty pies, baguettes, and other baked snacks takes up two slots in the formation; the cart has 100 hit points. Ravenous Crows and Famished Rats spawn randomly in each area. These additional creatures have armored health. If, for whatever reason, the cart is smashed, you immediately lose the area and go back to the previous area.
Gaar's Notes: You're going to definitely want this showing as Easy and you're going to want to lean on multi-hit/attack Champions to keep the Crows/Rats away from the cart.
| Back Column | 4th Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | 0 | |||
| x | x | 0 | ||
| x | x | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 |
This is the basic formation you're looking at for this variant. Due to the separation, you're going to have to ditch some of your regular close-up buffers and rely soley on the long-distance ones.
| Back Column | 4th Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyril - Moonbeam | ||||
| Hitch - Charismatic | Bruenor - Shield Master | |||
| x | x | Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | ||
| x | x | Briv - Go With the Phlo | ||
| Minsc - Beast | Asharra - Potpourri/TBD | |||
| Makos - Dark Blessing |
##Free Play
Complete: Area 50
Reward: Whatever Mystra's Favor you earned
Info: No restrictions.
#Achievements
Gaar's Note: All of these achievements can be earned at any time except where noted.
Recruit Briv - 1%
Recruit Briv, the Half-Orc Paladin
Sprint Triathlon - 1%
Complete all three variants of the "A Fool's Errand (Briv)" adventure. (This achievement can be earned via Time Gates.)
Torn Apparel - 1%
Obtain a piece of gear for each of Briv's six equipment slots. (Event Champ gear does not come from regular Silver/Gold Chests. You can earn Event Champ gear from their specific Event Chests, Time Gates, qualifying Patron Chests, and other Chests as noted.)
Who's The More Foolish? - 1%
Complete area 275 in any "A Fool's Errand" free play. (This achievement can only be earned during the Festival of Fools Event, but it can be earned in any Champion's free play.)
Divine Patience - 1%
Have Briv gain more than 250,000 stacks of Steelbones in one adventure
Gaar's Note: Do this in the Nerves of Steel variant to reduce the amount of time it takes. Setting up a formation like this one where Briv is getting some extra healing assistance along with health-share from some Tank friends allows you to do this even quicker. I do recommend area 48/98 due to the ranged enemies making things super fast and easy. If you die too fast, go back to the prior 48/98 and try there. Ideally, you want a level where you don't kill them quickly, if at all, and they can't kill you. Setting this up right can complete this Achievement in 30 minutes or less with speed potions active.
Posted Mar 17, 2023, 2:54 AM UTC · edited