Dragon

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"The might of the dragons are known throughout the land. This scaly terror of the skies feels no mercy and nothing will escape the fiery splashes of his breath."

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Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4

Level 5	Level 6	Level 7	Level 8	Level 9

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Summary

• The Dragon is a troop unlocked at Barracks level 9. He is a fearsome flying unit capable of attacking both ground and air units. Similar to the Wizard, the Dragon's attacks are ranged and deal splash damage.
• A Dragon does short-range splash damage when he attacks. This can only be noticed when used against Clan Castle troops and Walls or when attacking Skeletons from the Skeleton Trap.
• Dragons have no preferred target when attacking; they will simply attack the closest building. However, once 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), 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.

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Offensive Strategy

• Most Dragon strategies involve taking out as many Air Defenses as possible with other units (Barbs, Giants, etc.) or Lightning Spells, as they are a significant threat to this powerful unit.
• Bring some Barbarians or Archers to take out buildings in the corners to prevent wasting a whole Dragon for it.
• 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.
  • Be warned however, as this strategy consumes loads of Elixir.
• A powerful, but costly, strategy for Town Hall 7 and Town Hall 8 players (especially for Clan Wars) uses a combination of Dragons and Balloons. Dragons can tank the Air Defenses and Wizard Towers while Balloons target the Defensive Buildings. Which spells to bring 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, or Rage Spells.
• Dragons are mostly used to get Trophies and in war, as their high cost doesn't make them great candidates for Elixir raiding, but strategic planning makes them easier to win battles.
  • At Town Hall 8, some careless opponents might poorly bunch together their Air Defenses together, allowing them to be taken down by Lightning Spells and Earthquake 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 Barbarians or Minions or save their Barbarian King to take out lone buildings in the corners; it might mean the difference between a 99% 2-star and a 100% 3-star raid. A level 4 Clan Castle can hold a Haste Spell which can be used to speed up the Dragons if time is in short, though Haste Spells are better used for a frontal assault.
  • Some opponents may also put a Hidden Teslas nearby. In that case, one shall simply use their Barbarian King. It's also possible to put the Dragons in one of the corner buildings, then allow them to wreak havoc inside the base.
• 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 a Minion instead. However, it is not recommended to sacrifice an entire Dragon for this.

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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 are critical for success against Dragons.
• 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 + 3 Lightning Spells can destroy both.
• Dragons are wonderful Clan Castle troops. As a flying unit, the Dragon is completely immune to attacks from most ground troops, and his splash damage capability makes it especially suited for destroying groups of Barbarians and Goblins. His high health also helps him survive attacks from even multiple Archers or Wizards (although a large group of either will usually be enough to destroy the Dragon). However, you can use spread your Archers and Wizards in a semi or whole circle around the Dragon. This exploits the fact that Dragons have a slow hit-speed.
  • Alternatively, an army of Dragons can easily overwhelm a single Dragon.
  • At higher levels, Dragons may not do enough damage to cripple or kill any troops, so it is better you choose a different troop. However, they can still serve find as one, but you may need to back it up with other troops.
• The Air Sweeper can stall Dragons 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 Lightning Spell and destroy both an Air Defense and an Air Sweeper, or it is extra value and useless.

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Upgrade Differences

• The Dragon undergoes significant visual changes at all levels.
  • Initially, the Dragon 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 it as the new "ancient red dragon." His eyes also start flaming.
  • At level 5, the Dragon's skin turns into a brownish-crimson color. It also obtains golden horns near the back of its head and spikes on its back. Its wings also get larger.
  • At level 6, the Dragon's skin turns dark crimson in color. The edges of its wings take on a reddish shade.
  • At level 7, the Dragon's skin turns completely red in color. The tip of the tail also starts flaming.
  • At level 8, the Dragon's skin turns into a more maroon kind of color. The spikes on its 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 its back are slightly darker.

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History

• The Dragon was in the original release of the game on August 2, 2012, with 2 levels.
• The August 30, 2012 update gave the Dragon's attack visual effects.
• The September 18, 2012 update added the level 3 Dragon and improved visual effects.
• The October 27, 2012 update decreased Dragon's training cost.
• The March 12, 2013 update gave the Dragon some balance changes:
  • Dragons now do small area splash damage.
  • Decreased training cost for Dragon.
  • Increased hitpoints and damage for level 1-2 Dragon.
• The May 23, 2013 update added the level 4 Dragon and gave the Dragon a significant change to his appearance. Here are what the Dragon's info, 2D sprites with levels 1, 2 and 3, and icon looked like before.
• The November 6, 2013 update slightly increased hitpoints of level 4 Dragon.
• The December 5, 2013 update slightly increased damage of level 4 Dragon.
• The July 1, 2015 update added the level 5 Dragon, reduced training time for some levels of Dragon and moved level 4 Dragon to Town Hall 9.
• The October 12, 2016 update added the level 6 Dragon.
• The December 19, 2016 update increased the Dragon's attack speed (DPS are unchanged).
• The March 8, 2017 update increased damage of levels 4-6 Dragon.
• The June 27, 2017 update increased hitpoints of levels 4-6 Dragon.
• The June 11, 2018 update added the level 7 Dragon, increased hitpoints of level 5 and 6 Dragon, and reduced training cost for all levels.
• The June 26, 2018 balance changes reduced upgrade times of levels 1-5 Dragon.
• The October 23, 2018 update reduced gem donation cost for the Dragon.
• The April 2, 2019 update reduced upgrade times of levels 2-6 and reduced training costs of levels 1-7, Dragon.
• The September 11, 2019 update increased hitpoints of levels 5-7 Dragon.
• The December 9, 2019 update added the level 8 Dragon.
• The March 30, 2020 update reduced upgrade costs of levels 3-5 Dragon.
• The May 20, 2020 update made it so that the Dragons are no longer followed by the Grand Warden.
• The June 15, 2021 update added the level 9 Dragon.

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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 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 15 Dragons at one time in a complete set of fully upgraded Army Camps. This number increases to 17 if you include the 2 that can fit into a level 8 or higher Clan Castle. On the battlefield, you can clone an additional 4 Dragons with four level 2 or higher Clone Spells (three from the regular spell inventory and one from a max-level Clan Castle).
• 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 its image in the Barracks.
• The Dragon received new art as of the 23 May 2013 update; the new Dragon receives forelegs along with a line of small spikes down its 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.
• A Dragon's shadow is oval, not dragon-shaped.
• The Dragon's upon-death skeleton is human-shaped, despite not being a human.
• The Dragon is one of the four troops to have upgrade differences at each level, the others being the P.E.K.K.A, Headhunter and Yeti.
• The Dragon has many variants, being the Baby Dragon, Inferno Dragon, Electro Dragon, Dragon Rider, and the Giant Dragon/Golden Dragon.
• 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 level 1-4 Dragons have very thin gaps going through the base of the wing. However, this is barely noticeable.
• Dragons do not attack Walls, but can deal damage to them if indirectly attacking (for example, if it attacks Clan Castle troops over a Wall).
• 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 29/1/15 through 5/2/15, during which the Dragon's training speed was 5 times faster, along with the Barbarian.
• The Dragon, along with the Yeti and Headhunter, are the only Home Village troops in the game that are not in Clash Royale, excluding Super Troops.
• The Dragon, along with the Healer, Miner, Electro Dragon, Yeti, Golem, Bowler, Ice Golem and Headhunter are the only troops not to have a Builder Base Troop or Super Troop counterpart.
• The level 1 Dragon being green matches up with it being a young Dragon as the Baby Dragon is green.

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
1 Barracks	2 Barracks	3 Barracks	4 Barracks
12m	6m	4m	3m

Level	Damage per Second	Damage per Attack	Hitpoints	Training Cost	Research Cost	Research Time	Laboratory Level Required
1	140	175	1,900	10,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	160	200	2,100	12,000	1,750,000	1d 12h	5
3	180	225	2,300	14,000	2,500,000	3d	6
4	210	262.5	2,600	16,000	4,000,000	5d	7
5	240	300	3,100	18,000	6,000,000	7d	8
6	270	337.5	3,400	20,000	8,000,000	9d	9
7	310	387.5	3,900	22,000	10,000,000	14d	10
8	330	412.5	4,200	24,000	15,000,000	16d	11
9	350	437.5	4,500	26,000	18,500,000	18d	12