Dhukk, jorg, zargala, robar should be in

I did it with dhukk, zargala, jorg, tuhak, sandlashed

Pulling jorg was the crucial thing for me, i had him in regen i think and fast and tanky.

I had Dhukk, Zargala, Vrask, Big Un, Ultimate Galek, I think. I had Jorrg, but don't remember if I used him, he's still at 50. Although if you don't have a healer, it may be necessary to have a reviver. 

You can definitely do it, but I'd 60 Zargala, she's great. And wouldn't sleep on Galek, especially with Jorrg to increase attack (and since he's a reviver, I assume you'll build him fast). 

Zargala and Dhukk can keep Def debuff for the entirety of the fight. I don't have Garog or Robar, but their kits seem solid for damage. 

Overalll, I'd say you have a lot of damage, but little sustainability. If you can scrounge enough lifesteal gear to keep them dangerous, I'd start borrowing gear from other champs. 

You will also use them to farm FW crypts for forge materials and glyphs, so don't regret building them up. And finally, they will not be releasing the new crypt until they have enough Sylvan Watchers in rotation. They are releasing them piece by piece, but you have time. Take a deep breath and build some of those guys. Good luck.

Keeping them alive is a problem, yes. Jorrg does what he can, but typically I've always got 1-3 of them dead since he has a 5 turn CD on the revive. He's not super fast at 218, but I don't have the gear to spare for a FW only champion. As a result, the damage output suffers between the revive cycles, and with no way to heal them once they are up again. I've been hoping for a Vrask for a while, but no luck. I'm just concerned that lifesteal won't be enough to keep them alive. Dhukk manages because he's naturally tanky, but I'd have to sacrifice damage for the others.

I guess I'll bite the bullet and 6* Zargala and then put her in lifesteal. There are a few DT secret rooms where she can be used, though none where I think I actually need her. Hopefully that'll be enough, and as long as I can get a well-timed revive at the very end of the fight once, it doesn't matter if future farming includes casualties until I get an orc worth upgrading for other content.

You don't have to gear out a FW only champ, you can borrow gear to beat the stage. I have the same 10 gear sets passed around to beat the stages. Sure, it costs silver, but it is worth it. Now that I'm almost done, I have champs geared out more or less permanently. 

I think Zargala is worth it, her A2 saved me a few times if you can time her right. If anything, she'll help you with farming the FW later on.  

This is good advice. I ignored it and am wasteful and once completed a faction left the champs as is so I can farm it each week.

To get through it though and get Lydia just switch gear around.

Getting to Lydia is just so massive for progression that I think this is by far the best way to go. I was sandbagging the grind last year before @harleQuinn pointed out to me how critical it is to just finish the damn thing ASAP. 

That said, I took my sweet time regearing some factions. 

I agree sharing gear is a good idea. In all honesty I never thought of it during my fw grind ..I have robbed some of the champs since then however