Introduction

In this guide we will explain how to set up your Dragon for war.

Background

There are many ways to get boosts that will help you prepare for war, this guide only focusses on the dragon. The Dragon is interesting in the sense that you have to make some choices (which Dragon Skills to focus on), while other things (like for example Research), it is more straightforward, the more you put in it the better.

Dragon XP Level

Although you can go to war at any time, it is good to consider the following Dragon XP Levels first.

Level 30 unlocks the 5th and 6th Dragon Skill slot. There are two more to unlock at level 40 and 45, but they may take a long time, while level 30 is still quite easy to reach. Having 6 instead of 4 Dragon Skills make a huge difference, especially since there are 6 very good damage dealing Dragon Skills, as we will discus below.

Level 32 unlocks the last of your Dragon Skills, and Flaming Arrows II is an important one, so it is worth aiming for this as well.

Assigning Dragon Skills to the Attack Category

Bowmen and Cavalry are you damage dealers, so you should focus on having the Flaming Arrows I, II and III, and Cavalry Claw I, and II as your Dragon Skills for Attack if your dragon is level 32 or higher. In addition to these 5 I like March of Fury which increases your March Size.

The background for my choice for March of Fury is mathematical. For example if I have 28k Cavalry in a March, having a lvl 9 March of Fury allows me 6500 extra Cavalry, which means an increase of 23%. If I would instead have the Cavalry Claw III Dragon Skill of also Level 9, my 28k Cavalry does an extra damage of 26% to Siege Troops. Yes, 26% is higher than 23%. But the extra 23% Cavalry means that basically all stats (attack to all troops, but also defense and health) are improved with 23%, while the 26% only applies to attack against one troop type. If you have much larger March Size and Dragon Skill levels there is a tipping point, since the increase in March Size is a fixed one and the increase in attack is a percentage.

Cavalry Claw III is Cavalry Attack against Siege, which is in my opinion the least useful of the 6 Flaming Arrow and Cavalry Claw Dragon Skills.

Other Dragon Skills to consider are Beast of Burden, which increases the amount of resources your troops can carry, which you might consider switching to once you have zeroed an opponent who still has lots of resources. Winged Heels I would also only use on an already zeroed target to increase the march size with which you can empty the target. Dragon Blessing reduces the number of your troops killed in battle, but in general most players would rather increase the damage they do instead. Trap Wrecker increases the Attack of your siege troops against Traps. Most players you are attacking likely have lots more troops than traps and you likely attack with more Bowmen and Cavalry than Siege troops as well. If you are going for a target which relatively very large amount of traps and you consider using many siege troops, you can consider using Trap Wrecker instead of one of the other Dragon Skills.

Assigning Dragon Skills to the Defense Category

For the Defense category my first choice is also going for the (4) available Flaming Arrows and Cavalry Claw Dragon Skills first. You should try to make sure you are never attacked by too strong opposition, so my key focus is that if people are attacking me I want to do as much as possible damage. If you have many traps you can consider using Firetrap (increases the Attack of your Traps) in addition. I opt for Infantry Backbone I and II which provide defense for Infantry against Bowmen and Cavalry.

Other Dragon Skills to consider are Smokescreen, which increases the health of your traps, again something to consider if you have lots of traps. Infantry Backbone III provides defense for your infantry against siege, a good choice if your attacker is using relatively large amounts of siege troops. Dragon Blessings as described in the previous paragragh decreases the number of your troops killed in battle, but for defense I find this even less useful.

Upgrading and Enhancing Your Dragon Skills

In our Dragon guide we describe how to upgrade and Enhance Dragon Skills, please see there for details. Once you have settled on which Dragon Skills to use make sure you get them as high as possible. If you find it difficult to acquire the Intensity Crystals needed to enhance your Dragon Skills, this is just the way the game is set up, without spending it is difficult to get further than enhancement level 1.

Specializing your Dragon

You can get a Troop Attack, Defense and Health boost of 10% (if your dragon is XP level 31 or higher) if you have a Brutal dragon. The specialization is influenced by the Assault and Guardian Power you have assigned to Dragon Skills. Make sure you have relatively enough Assault Power assigned to always stay in the Brutal region when you go for war. You can switch this by resetting your dragon skills (item available in Alliance Store).

10% might not seem much compared to some other boosts, but realize this is Attack, Defense, and Health for all troops against all troops, so they are much more useful than just a attack of one of your troop types against one other troop type.

Conclusion

I hope this helps you getting your dragon ready for war. Any suggestions or questions are welcome.