Dragon (2024)

Summary

• The Dragon is the ninth Elixir troop unlocked at Barracks level 9, which requires Town Hall level 7.
• He is a fearsome flying unit capable of attacking both ground and air units, with both high health and damage. Similar to the Wizard, the Dragon's attacks are ranged and deal splash damage, observed when he attacks enemy troops that overlap or over walls.
• Dragons have no preferred target when attacking; they will simply attack the closest building. However, if they become aware of enemy Clan Castle troops, Heroes, or Skeleton Trap skeletons (either by being attacked themselves or by being near another friendly troop under attack), and can fight back against them, they will leave their previously targeted building and instead engage the enemy troops. Once all of the nearby enemy troops are defeated, the Dragons will proceed to attack the nearest structure.

Strategies

Offensive Strategy

• Most Dragon strategies involve taking out as many Air Defenses and Air sweepers as possible with other units (Barbarians, Giants, etc.) or Lightning Spells, and even the Giant Arrow from the Archer Queen can help, as they are a significant threat to this powerful unit.
• Bring some Barbarians, Minions or Archers to take out buildings in the corners to prevent wasting a whole Dragon for it, and to prevent the dragons from going in different directions.
• The Rage Spell and Dragon are like bread and butter. Dragons are slow but deal high damage per attack, so using a pure-Dragon army with Rage Spells can be effective. Since Dragons are air units this also saves the time of them moving through Walls significantly.
  • Try to spread the Dragons along the edge of the base, as they will converge in the middle of the battle when you have reached the base's center. Then place a Rage Spell for mass destruction to the core of the base.
• A powerful strategy uses a combination of Dragons and Balloons. Dragons can tank the Air Defenses and Wizard Towers while Balloons target the Defensive Buildings and help by activating the seeking air mines to counter Dragons. Which spells to bring and use ultimately depend on the layout of the defending base - an attacker should have a plan to destroy every Air Defense as fast as possible, whether that involves extra Balloons, Lightning Spells, Earthquake Spells, Healing Spells, hero abilities, Siege Machines or Rage Spells.
  • At Town Halls 8-10, some careless opponents might poorly bunch together their Air Defenses together, making them much more vulnerable to spells. If they have a lot of resources, a Dragon raid is usually the best option as they can devastate the entire base once Air Defenses are taken out.
• When using mass Dragon raids, one should be careful of buildings in the corners, because their relatively slow movement speed does not make it great for moving around from corner to corner. To prevent this, attackers should bring some Archers or Minions or even save a hero (such as Barbarian King) to take out lone buildings in the corners; it might mean the difference between a 99% 2 star & 100% 3 star. A level 4 or higher Clan Castle can hold a Haste Spell which can be used to speed up the Dragons if time is short, though Haste Spells are better used for a frontal assault.
  • Some opponents may also put Hidden Teslas in a corner which is also called a Troll Tesla or Corner Tesla, which staves off lesser cleanup troops. This means either using a hero or a dragon is necessary.
• Dragons will attack the Barbarian King and Clan Castle troops that cannot target air units if these troops are the closest target, despite their lack of anti-air capabilities. Be careful as these troops can distract your Dragons from attacking other more threatening targets, wasting time.
  • If the Barbarian King does not move near defenses, one can simply avoid deploying Dragons near him and use other air troops, as the Dragon's high housing space makes it a huge waste anyway.
• A strong attacking combination, known as Hydra (Hybrid Dragon), involves using Dragons with the Dragon Rider. Dragon Riders can tank and attack enemy defenses, while Dragons attack Clan Castle troops and aerial Skeletons from air-set Skeleton Traps that might get in the way.
  • Balloons can also be used to tank for Seeking Air Mines, therefore increasing the Hydra's survivability.
• Dragons can also be used to counter Clan Castle troops (especially other types of Dragons) before the main attack. Use small troops to bait the Clan Castle troops to a corner, then drop two or three of your own Dragons to take out whatever is inside the Clan Castle and to continue the main attack later.
  • However, if there are a lot of splash air troops, then try and spread them out so that they all don't get hit at the same time.

Defensive Strategy

• Dragons are one of the most powerful troops in the game, and as such it can be difficult to defend against them. Multiple high-level Air Defenses and good seeking air mine placement is critical for success against a Dragon army.
• As a Town Hall 8 player, keeping your Air Defenses semi-spread while protecting them with storages and other high hitpoint buildings is the key to preventing most 3-star attacks using Dragons. If the Air Defenses are too close together, a single Rage Spell applied to a cluster of Dragons can quickly wipe out all three. Also, if two are placed close enough, an Earthquake Spell and 3 Lightning Spells can destroy both.
• Dragons are wonderful Clan Castle troops, especially at lower TH levels where options are limited. As a flying unit, the Dragon is completely immune to attacks from most ground troops avaliable at this point, with its splash damage capability making quick work of Barbarians and Goblins. Its high health also helps it survive attacks from even multiple Archers or Wizards (although a large group of either will usually be enough to destroy the Dragon or two). However, you can spread your Archers and Wizards in a semi or whole circle around the Dragon. This exploits the fact that Dragons have a slow attack-speed.
  • Dragon-based armies usually do not suffer from this issue, as they will have the necessary offense to neutralize lone defending Dragons.
  • At higher levels, Dragons may not do enough damage to cripple or kill any troops, limiting their defensive value in comparison with more powerful ones like the Electro Dragon. However, they can still serve this role, but you may need to back it up with other troops like Witches or any sort of high damage troop.
• The Air Sweeper can stall Dragons up for a very long time. Protect them and cover the Air Defenses with their range for maximum effectiveness. However, make sure one cannot place a few Lightning Spells and Earthquake Spell to destroy both an Air Defense and an Air Sweeper, else the attacker could get a lot of value, rendering these defenses useless.

Upgrade Differences

The Dragon undergoes significant visual changes at all levels.

• Initially, the Dragon is a flying creature with two wings and a long tail. He has green-colored skin and black eyes.
  • At level 2, the Dragon's skin turns from green to purple, matching his image in the Barracks. His eyes also turn purple.
  • At level 3, the Dragon's skin changes again to dark greenish-brown.
  • At level 4, the Dragon's skin turns a deep red; as part of the update announcement, Supercell referred to him as the new "ancient red dragon." His eyes also start flaming.
  • At level 5, the Dragon's skin turns into a brownish-crimson color. He also obtains golden horns near the back of his head and spikes on his back. His wings also get larger.
  • At level 6, the Dragon's skin turns dark crimson in color. The edges of his wings take on a reddish shade.
  • At level 7, the Dragon's skin turns completely red in color. The tip of his tail also starts flaming.
  • At level 8, the Dragon's skin turns into a more maroon kind of color. The spikes on his neck turn to look like a bone-like material.
  • At level 9, the Dragon's skin turns into dark green color. His horns and spikes on his back are slightly darker.
  • At level 10, the Dragon's skin turns blue in color. The edges of his wings take on a bright blue shade. His eyes turn purple and the tip of his tail is pink.
  • At level 11, the Dragon's skin turns into a dark turquoise color. His eyes and the fire at the tip of his tail turn completely green.

Statistics

Statistic Modifiers

Input values into these modifiers below to modify the statistics in the tables below accordingly

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Gold Pass modifiers

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Preferred Target	Attack Type	Housing Space	Movement Speed	Attack Speed	Barracks Level Required	Range
None	Area Splash 0.3 Tile Radius (Ground & Air)	20	16	1.25s	9	3 tiles

Training Time of Dragons
Barracks available	Barracks upgrading
3m	6m

Level	Damage per Second	Damage per Attack	Hitpoints	Research Cost	Research Time	Laboratory Level Required
1	140	175	1,900	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	160	200	2,100	1,000,000	18h	5
3	180	225	2,300	2,000,000	1d 12h	6
4	210	262.5	2,700	3,000,000	3d	7
5	240	300	3,100	3,800,000	4d	8
6	270	337.5	3,400	4,900,000	5d 6h	9
7	310	387.5	3,900	6,300,000	5d 12h	10
8	330	412.5	4,200	8,800,000	7d	11
9	350	437.5	4,500	17,500,000	12d	12
10	370	462.5	4,900	19,500,000	14d	13
11	390	487.5	5,300	21,500,000	16d	14

Super Troop Boost

Super Troop	Boost Cost	Dragon Level Required
Super Dragon	25,000	7

History

Patch	Type	Description
August 2, 2012		The Dragon was in the original release of the game with 2 levels.
August 30, 2012	Update	The Dragon's attack gain visual effects.
September 19, 2012	Update	Added the level 3 Dragon and Improved visual effects. The level 1 Dragon now has a unique appearance. The upgraded Dragon now displays pink asterisks that represents the level.
October 27, 2012	Update	Decreased Dragon's training cost.
March 12, 2013	Update	Dragons now do small area splash damage. Decreased Dragon's training cost at levels 1-2. Increased the Dragon's HP at levels 1-2.
May 23, 2013	Update	Added the level 4 Dragon. Retextured the Dragon's appearance in his info and in battle.
November 6, 2013	Update	Slightly increased hitpoints of level 4 Dragon.
December 5, 2013	Update	Slightly increased damage of level 4 Dragon.
February 27, 2015	Maintenance break	Fixed visual effect of Dragon's fire breath attack.
July 1, 2015	Update	Added the level 5 Dragon. Reduced training time for some levels of Dragon. Moved level 4 Dragon to Town Hall 9.
October 12, 2016	Update	Added the level 6 Dragon.
December 19, 2016	Update	Increased the Dragon's attack speed (DPS are unchanged).
March 8, 2017	Update	Increased damage of levels 4-6 Dragon.
June 27, 2017	Update	Increased hitpoints of levels 4-6 Dragon.
June 11, 2018	Update	Added the level 7 Dragon. Increased hitpoints of level 5 and 6 Dragon. Reduced training cost for all levels.
June 26, 2018	Balance Changes	Reduced upgrade times of levels 1-5 Dragon.
October 23, 2018	Update	Reduced gem donation cost for the Dragon from 25 to 15 gems.
April 2, 2019	Update	Reduced upgrade times of levels 2-6 Dragons.. Reduced training costs of levels 1-7 Dragons.
September 11, 2019	Update	Increased hitpoints of levels 5-7 Dragon.
December 9, 2019	Update	Added the level 8 Dragon.
March 30, 2020	Update	Reduced upgrade costs of levels 3-5 Dragon.
May 20, 2020	Update	The Dragons are no longer followed by the Grand Warden.
June 15, 2021	Update	Added the level 9 Dragon.
August 12, 2021	Maintenance Break Changes	Increased hitpoints of level 4 Dragon from 2,600 to 2,700.
December 9, 2021	Update	Reduced upgrade costs and times for level 2-6 Dragons.
June 12, 2023	Update	Added the level 10 Dragon. Reduced upgrade times for levels 7 and 8. Level 7: 10d -> 9d Level 8: 12d -> 9d 12h Reduced upgrade costs for levels 2 and 3. Level 7: 7,000,000 -> 6,300,000 Level 8: 11,000,000 -> 8,800,000

Gallery

Trivia

• The first person to have reached over 4,000 trophies (Jorge Yao) used an all-Dragon army to do so. He used 4 Lightning Spells (in their past iteration, taking two spaces with six random bolts) as support, one to take out Clan Castle troops and the rest to destroy an Air Defense. This was his way to ensure 50% damage practically every time he attacked in order to become the top player and achieve this amazing feat.
• You can have a maximum of 16 Dragons at one time in a complete set of fully upgraded Army Camps. This number increases to 18 if you include the 2 that can fit into a level 8 or higher Clan Castle. On the battlefield, you can clone an additional 8 Dragons with four fully upgraded Clone Spells (three from the regular spell inventory and one from a level 10 or higher Clan Castle), for a total of 26 Dragons.
• The purple Dragon icon shown in the Barracks is actually a level 2 Dragon. The Dragon changes from green to purple after upgrading to level 2, matching his image in the Barracks.
  • Prior to September 19, 2012 update, Dragons were always purple and did not update their appearances whatsoever.
• According to Supercell, the Dragon was originally going to appear in Clash Royale, but was replaced with the Baby Dragon due to his extremely large wings.
• The Dragon received new art as of the May 23, 2013 update; the new Dragon receives forelegs along with a line of small spikes down his neck and back. This new look often debated among fellow players to which one looks the 'best', along with the P.E.K.K.A.
• Oddly, the Dragon's shadow is oval rather than dragon-shaped.
• The level 3 Dragon originally had fiery eyes until the May 23, 2013 update, which usurped to the level 4 Dragon.
• The Dragon's upon-death skeleton is human-shaped, despite not being a human.
• The Dragon has many variants, being the Baby Dragon, Inferno Dragon, Electro Dragon, Dragon Rider, and the Giant Dragon/Golden Dragon.
• The level 1-4 Dragons have very thin gaps going through the base of the wing. However, this is barely noticeable.
• Like any flying troop, Dragons can ignore Walls and so do not target them, though their splash damage enables them to hit walls unintentionally if a ground unit gets too close.
• The January 2013 update added Dark Elixir, stating that this resource is formed over eons from fossilized Black Dragon (then-maxed level 3 Dragon) bones. However, training or upgrading Dragons never involves Dark Elixir.
  • This is more likely a reference over oil, a fossil fuel because Inferno Towers were powered by them.
• An event lasted from 29 January, 2015 through February 5, 2015, during which the Dragon's training speed was 5 times faster, along with the Barbarian.
• The level 1 Dragon being green matches up with it being a young Dragon as the Baby Dragon is also green.

Comparisons

• The Dragon is one of the five troops to have upgrade differences at each level, the others being the P.E.K.K.A, Yeti, Dragon Rider, and Headhunter.
• The Dragon, along with the Barbarian, Archer, Giant, Goblin, Wall Breaker, Balloon, Wizard, Healer, and P.E.K.K.A are the oldest units in the game.
• The Dragon, along with the Healer, Miner, Electro Dragon, Yeti, Dragon Rider, Golem, Ice Golem and Headhunter are the only troops not to have a Builder Base Troop counterpart.
• The Dragon is one of only two troops of which the picture in the Barracks resembles an upgraded troop, the other being the Wall Breaker.
• The Dragon, along with the Yeti, Dragon Rider and Headhunter, are the only Home Village troops in the game that are not in Clash Royale, excluding Super Troops (with the exception of the Inferno Dragon).

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