The dragons in LoL have a huge bear upon on the game. In this mail you will learn everything almost the different dragons, the dragon soul, the mighty elderberry dragon and tactical approaches to drakes.

While they used to be just a small gold bonus for the team that killed them, today you lot get permanent bonus stats that are a lot stronger, especially in the late game. In season iii, a dragon was worth roughly the same gold every bit a belfry, so it was often used to trade these objectives.

Today, yet, a dragon brings practically no gold, but bonus stats that can be actually worthwhile: More damage, armor, regeneration or haste. But more on that later.

Drake Pit in League of Legends
The dragon spawns in the river on the bottom side of the map.

By the organisation of the rocks in Summoner's Rift, the ruby team (meridian) has an advantage in killing dragons compared to the blue squad (bottom). This makes it easier for the red squad to approach the drake pit without sight. The blue team has to take detours and is much more at gamble of falling into a trap if they accept to face-check into the river.

Drake Spawn Mechanics

V different elemental dragons can spawn in the game. The first dragon spawns at infinitesimal v and has a random chemical element. As presently as that 1 is killed, the next dragon appears after another five minutes with one of the three remaining elements.

Immediately later on the kill of the 2d dragon, the timer (press tab) and the map shows, which type of dragon will spawn from now on. I of the three remaining elements is randomly selected, which volition now change the map. With a death timer of five minutes, a dragon of this element now e'er spawns until a team has killed four dragons.

As soon as this is achieved, the elemental drake no longer spawns. Instead, the elderberry dragon spawns after 6 minutes.

Bonuses from Dragons

Depending on how many of the same dragons your team has killed, the vitrify of this elemental dragon increases linearly:

  • Infernal Drake (+four% AD and AP each)
  • Mount Drake (+6% armor and magic resistance each)
  • Sea Drake (2,v% health regeneration every 5 seconds each)
  • Cloud Drake (+3,5% move speed out of combat and +iii,5% deadening resistance)
  • Hextech Drake (+6 ability haste and +half dozen% assault speed each)

While these bonuses practice not matter at the beginning of the game, they tin can become decisive later, peculiarly in combination with the Dragon Soul.

Dragon Soul

As shortly as one team has killed four dragons, it receives the passive effects of the dragon soul, which changed the map before:

  • Infernal Drake Soul: Attacks and abilities trigger an AOE explosion on the target.
  • Mountain Drake Soul: You will receive a shield as shortly as y'all are out of combat.
  • Ocean Drake Soul: If you lot cause impairment to enemies, you heal yourself for a short period.
  • Deject Drake Soul: After y'all cast your ultimate, you will get a movement speed buff for a short time.
  • Hextech Drake Soul: Attacks and abilities trigger a chain lightning that deals damage and slows up to four targets.

Aspect of the Dragon

This vitrify is granted to the team that slays the Elderberry Dragon. The Elder Dragon spawns later one of the teams kills iv dragons.

A champion with the attribute of the dragon inflicts a called-for outcome on the opponent, similar to Ignite. If the opponent'southward hit points fall below twenty%, he is executed.

Elemental Rift

Later the second dragon has been killed, it is decided which elemental dragon will ever spawn and at the same time modify the map. Depending on the element, this will have different effects on Summoner's Rift. Here is an overview of all dragon-maps in LoL:

Infernal Rift

  • Bushes are burned and walls collapse
  • More nail cones spawn

Mountainous Rift

  • New rocks will spawn on the map

Ocean Rift

  • Some bushes grow or spawn new
  • More than honeyfruits spawn

Cloud Rift

  • Around the buffs and in the drake pit, motility speed is increased
  • More scryer's blooms spawn

Hextech Rift

  • Pairs of Hextech-Gates spawn on the map, allowing champions to teleport between them

Priority of Dragons

Non every dragon is worth the same. Depending on the team composition and scaling, the focus tin be on other drakes, considering there are champions that can utilize some bonuses amend than others.

For example, carries benefit more from infernal drakes and hextech drakes, while tanks can make better use of mountain drakes.

This results in the following priority for elemental dragons:

Infernal Drake > Hextech Drake > Mount Drake > Bounding main Drake > Cloud Drake

If your team is playing against a full AD limerick, for example, it is very of import to get all mountain dragons in order to arrive equally hard as possible for the opponent.

And then you see - at that place is no direct answer to the question of which dragon is the best. It e'er depends on the state of affairs.

Trade Dragons

The elemental dragons' bonus stats are overnice, simply not decisive for the game. Particularly in the early game, the bonuses of a unmarried dragon are negligible.

In comparison, a destroyed turret in the early game can turn the whole game around. Therefore, information technology tin can brand sense to trade a dragon for the Rift Herald. If it is placed well, it non only gives you lot the bonus for the kickoff tower of the game, just also opens the map for your team.

In the tardily game you tin also consider to give your opponent a dragon in order to secure Baron Nashor for yourself in this brusk fourth dimension window. That would be a very adept trade for your team that could determine the game.

Delay Dragon Soul and Elder Dragon

Afterward a team has killed four dragons, simply the elder dragon spawns from now on. The buff that this dragon brings is extremely strong and most of the time decisive for the game, nonetheless it is questionable whether you lot should even play for such an objective.

It may be, for case, that your team dominated at the start, and was able to secure the beginning iii dragons. At present you take three different dragons that bring you lot pocket-size bonuses, but only the dragon soul would give you the necessary boost to close the game.

Then the opponent has a comeback, through individual outplays, but too through particular and champion ability spikes. In this case it would be fatal to greed for the dragon soul, because after that the elder dragon would spawn. In the electric current situation, your team would not be able to win a fight for the elderberry dragon. If the opponent gets the elder drake at this bespeak of the game, the game could be over apace.

Instead, information technology'southward ameliorate to give abroad the elemental dragons until the team has recovered. This delays the spawn of the elder dragon and meanwhile, the damage acquired past the elemental dragons should non be too high. And then information technology always depends:

  • When does the opponent accept his power spike?
  • How much practise the elemental dragons help the enemy?
  • Tin can you win the game without the dragon soul and elder dragon?