This is a guide and FAQ of sorts for Crusaders of the Lost Idols. Anyone is free to take from this as they please, and repost it elsewhere as needed. I'll be updating and editing this over time, so bear with me for now! If you are just looking for a little help, please skip past the Basic Mechanics section - it's Playing the Game that you want to read. :)

Last Updated: 7/31/2015

---

BASIC MECHANICS

What even is this game?!
As many have pointed out, this game is similar to Clicker Heroes, with several new twists. It's a basic idle game where you recruit new and stronger Crusaders to increase your Damage Per Second (DPS) to advance through harder and harder areas. At a certain point, you'll be able to exponentiate your individual Crusader's DPS, as well as reset the game to start over with permanent rewards.

What is the formation system?
The main difference from Clicker Heroes is the formation system, where you organize 10 of your Crusaders in a bowling pin formation. Only active Crusader's abilities will apply to your group, and certain abilities are directly influenced by their position in the formation. I'll be giving advice throughout this post on proper formation usage.

Wait, can my Crusaders die???
Crusaders all have an amount of HP that can be reduced to 0. However, they only stay dead for the stage you are on; simply changing locations will revive them at full health. Also, should all your party die, you'll simply be pushed to the previous area.
However, formation is still important. Certain skills can heal Crusaders, and once a Crusader dies, their abilities and boosts to the party stop being active. So if a Crusader buffs the party by 10%, if that one is in your front position and dies first, you lose that 10% boost as soon as they fall.

Do DPS boosts stack?
YES. I'll touch on this later, but all boosts stack on each other. So for example, if you had 100 DPS, and you added two separate 50% boosts, you would not be doing 200 DPS (100+(100% boost)). You would actually be doing 225 (100+50%, 150+50%). While that doesn't seem like much at low numbers, when you have a dozen boosts and high DPS, even a 10% can make a huge impact on your total.

How about Equipment and XP, what do those do?
Each Crusader has three pieces of equipment to be unlocked, that give some kind of boost to them or the party. It acts as a normal, permanent ability. Additionally, you the player can get equipment as well, such as rings and amulets for the same purpose. If you get any duplicate equipment for a Crusader, it gets changed into a 25% permanent Enchantment boost in that Crusader's DPS.
XP is another way to boost a Crusader's DPS. For every five hours (online or off) you leave a Crusader active in your formation, they will receive a 100% boost. This is a single boost that increases over time, with no limit as far as I'm aware.
You should note that Enchantments and XP boosts are the only ones that do NOT stack, but are cumulative - meaning 5 enchantments results in a single 125% boost.

Okay, wait. Why aren't you talking with actual numbers in this?
Because of the variables like Equipment, Achievements, and XP, you'll never be able to match any other player exactly. I can only advise on what the best options are, and say how the mechanics work. The rest is slightly randomized, but the theories all remain sound.

How do I use abilities and buffs?
Abilities are Crusader-specific, you need that crusader in the party in order to use their ability. You can, however, switch them out immediately after, provided they have no damage or aggro. Buffs, on the other hand, are gotten from chests and are used as one-time timed boosts to various things.

How do you soft reset, and what does it do?
Soft Resetting is an upgrade for Nate Dragon (NOT Natalie). He is the 20th and [currently] last Crusader to unlock. It costs 500 Q to reset. If you aren't near that money mark, you haven't reached him yet.
As for what it does, it resets everything but Equipments, Enchantments, and Usable Buffs. It also rewards you with Idols, 1 per 500 Total Crusader Levels. Idols give you +3% DPS and +1% Gold each, for a cumulative playthrough boost. Lastly, you can earn Rubies by completing the "Campaign Objective." Your first objective is to simply use the Reset button - you'll pick another objective before you start your second run.

When should I reset?
My first reset was around stage 90. I got 14 Idols on that reset. However, the second run was actually more challenging in the beginning, because I lacked the XP boosts on my team. So after a day or two, I reset a second time at stage 103, gaining 19 more Idols.
You should reset when you are comfortable with your progress and don't want to wait for more gold to level up. You can also wait until you finish the Campaign Objective, but some people find it difficult to reach 100 on the second run.

Should I spend Rubies?
Yes. The developers have confirmed that Rubies will only be used to buy Jeweled Chests. It is doubtful that the price of those chests will decrease, but there may be a way later to increase your Ruby gain.

---

PLAYING THE GAME

So I just started out, what formation should I use?!
For the first 10 Crusaders, the formation is pretty cut and dry. You can't really go wrong, so just explore around each one. Make sure you unlock all their abilities, so you can see what kind of potential they have. On your first run, you'll be getting a treasure chest every five levels, so you shouldn't have to worry too much.

Okay, I got more than ten heroes, and I'm getting stuck. Surely there's a "best" formation, right??
Well, sorta. There's a dominant strategy you should start to follow between stages 40 and 60. Remember how I said buffs stack exponentially? Well, generally speaking, it is better to mass-boost your two best DPS dealers than it is to boost 5 or more. For example, Khouri could boost up to six positions, if you place him in the middle. However, if you do so, you'll be losing a position that could also be boosted by Sasha, Artaxes, Jim, and Khouri himself all at once. Since Khouri's DPS is low, his boost doesn't offset this loss.
So what to do? Well, the basic "best" formation principle at this time is shown here: http://prntscr.com/7z92qp Here, you can see that Sal and Sarah have many boosts on them, and their DPS is way higher than everyone else's. Basically, you want Sasha, Jim, and Artaxes in those positions, with Khouri next to Sasha or Artaxes. That'll give you two super-boosted positions for your two strongest Crusaders.
However, gold is equally important at this time too. So you want both a maxed Panda and Detective Kaine in your party, with Kaine in the back row (as seen in the image). To get over this stage 40 wall, you'll need to upgrade all your Crusaders as you advance. My suggestion is to upgrade them to 100, scaling down to your most recent to 25, before moving on. (Credit to eltsoldier on Kongregate for this formation image.)

Wait, no Bush Whacker???
Bush Whacker is good for bosses, but in general you'll only get past a single stage with him if you are stuck. However, if you really want to use his ability to help, replace him with the panda, or another low DPS character. Just watch your numbers, and see what works best. He can be used, but for now, most people don't.

Okay, so I've finally got Nate Dragon. How do I push for a reset?
If you haven't yet, you should start getting the level 200 skills for each character. These stack super quickly, and they all stack on each other. So Jim will very quickly become one of your best DPSers, because you'll have multipliers in the billions and trillions for very very cheap.
Sils has an excellent post on the endgame strategies, so instead of copy/pasting it, I'll just link you. Sorry! But by the time you get a couple resets under your belt, you should have the mechanics memorized. Also, this thread is being used to tease out some theories, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask here:
http://forum.codenameentertainment.com/?thread_id=10584#54864

I reset, but things seem to take longer? What gives?!
I would probably say XP is to blame. You probably spent a couple days getting to your first soft reset - that's at least 50 hours, or a 1000% potential DPS boost to your early characters. The second time around you were able to blast through the first areas in a much shorter time. You also aren't guaranteed treasure chests, so it'll be a bit more grindy. Still, just give it some time, take breaks when you're stuck, and you'll get back and beyond where you were before.

---

THE CHARACTERS

There's so many characters, how do I pick?
Each character has something unique they are good at, once you unlock their proper abilities. I'll highlight them here:

The Bush Wacker - Your clicking Hero. If he isn't in the formation, your clicks are only as good as your base damage, which starts at 0.
Jim the Lumberjack - Buffs the column he is in. Insanely useful as both a major DPS hitter (his end bonuses are cheapest) and a DPS booster.
Emo Werewolf - Boosts himself if he is surrounded by non-humans. Only useful in the triangle's corners, and only when guarded by non-human Crusaders.
Sasha the Fierce Warrior - Buffs the column behind her. Insanely useful as a booster.
The Washed Up Hermit - Boosts himself if he is in the front of the formation. Only useful in the front-most position.
Detective Kaine - Has a gold boost based on Crusaders also in his column. VERY useful, but only in the back column.
The Princess - Boosts the entire party. A definite-must have, since she has multiple stacking boosts.
Natalie Dragon - Basic DPS, but a great boost if both her and Nate are in the formation.
Jason, Master of Shadows - Reduces his aggro. Not very useful for now, since aggro doesn't matter much.
Khouri, the Witch Doctor - Both a major booster for all surrounding Crusaders, and has a healing spell. Very good in any formation.
Dark Gryphon - Reduces damage to the column in front of him, and has a party-boosting ability.
Sarah, the Collector - Basic DPS, not much special.
Gold Panda - The primary gold booster, a must have when gold-farming.
Prince Sal, the Merman - Basic DPS, with a party-boosting ability.
Fire Phoenix - Does 25% damage to all on-screen enemies upon his death.
King Reginald IV - Basic DPS, with a party-boosting ability.
Thalia, the Thunder King - Increase his aggro (like a tank). Not very useful for now, since aggro doesn't matter much.
Merci, the Magician - Basic DPS, with a party-boosting ability.
Nate Dragon - Basic DPS, but a great boost if both him and Natalie are in the formation. Also can trigger resets.

---

THIS GUIDE

You were WRONG on the Internet!!!
If I got something wrong on the guide, lemme know in the following posts. I'm leaving an update notice at the top as well as a version notice in the second post. This is a fairly new game, so I'm stumbling through it same as everyone else. Bear with me, please ^^;;;

I think you should ______!!
I need more general information to make this the best guide there is. Specifically, if you discover an equally powerful or better Formation, stronger strategies, or additional information, please let me know by posting. Also, anything you feel I've left out, tell me and I'll work it in. I'll give any credit where it's due in the second post (or where it's most relevant).

I could also use a hand with some general numbers, so if you want, answer these for players to review, and I'll update my guide to reflect the most common trend:
What map level did you reach when you first reset? Second?
How many Idols did you get on your first reset? Second?
(will update if I need more info)

You type too much! TL;DR!!!
I know, I'm sorry. But it beats copy/pasting the same image, or telling people how to reset for the millionth time in the chat rooms. I want to be as comprehensive as I can. Soon everyone will know these things and my guide will be obsolete, but until then, I'm just trying to help.

Thx for the help Lloyd, herds something you could add, a combo section EG: griffins protection plus witch doctors healing makes a great row of survivalists at the cost of some DPS.