Everything you need to know about LoL’s dragons and drakes

League of Legends Season 10 revolutionized objective control with the elemental rift system, where the map dynamically transforms based on dragon spawns. The third dragon appearance permanently establishes the battlefield environment for the entire match. Many competitive players continue to struggle with understanding each dragon’s specific advantages, strategic value of dragon souls, and optimal engagement timing. This comprehensive guide provides advanced insights to elevate your dragon control strategy.

Buffs granted by dragons in LoL

Season 10 completely overhauled dragon spawn mechanics and buff progression systems. The first two dragons feature random elements, while the third dragon’s type becomes permanent and continues respawning until one team achieves four dragon takedowns and unlocks the powerful dragon soul.

Cloudbringer’s Grace

Cloud Dragon provides progressive ultimate cooldown reduction at 10/20/30/40 percent, completely bypassing standard CDR limitations. This unique mechanic enables champions to potentially reach unprecedented 80% ultimate cooldown reduction under optimal conditions.

Cloud Dragon Soul typically ranks as the least impactful soul option. It awards 10% permanent movement speed that surges to 50% bonus movement speed for six seconds following ultimate activation. In late-game scenarios where team fights determine match outcomes, marginal movement speed advantages often prove insufficient to create meaningful advantages.

Infernal Might

Infernal Dragon boosts attack damage and ability power by 4/8/12/16 percent. The Infernal dragon introduces substantial power spikes that significantly influence game tempo. Additional offensive stats benefit every champion archetype, regardless of team composition strategy.

Infernal Dragon Soul triggers explosive area damage around targeted enemies whenever champions land abilities or basic attacks. The detonation deals 80 base damage plus 22.5% bonus AD, 13.5% AP, and 2.75% bonus health scaling. This offensive soul excels at securing close victories through enhanced team fight execution.

Mountainous Vigor

Mountain dragon enhances defensive capabilities with 6/12/18/24 percent bonus armor and magic resistance. This protective enhancement benefits all team compositions but delivers exceptional value on naturally durable champions who already present elimination challenges.

Mountain Dragon Soul generates protective shields valued at 200 base plus 18% bonus AD, 13% AP, and 13% bonus health. Mountain soul represents the premier defensive option, dramatically increasing champion survivability during critical late-game engagements when tanks reach their maximum potential.

Oceanic Will

Ocean dragon regenerates 2.5/5/7.5/10 percent of missing health at five-second intervals. Ocean provides unparalleled sustain capabilities and consistently ranks as the most powerful individual dragon buff. While not purely defensive like Mountain enhancements, the ability to endure additional seconds in combat frequently determines skirmish outcomes.

Ocean Dragon Soul activates healing for 160 health and 80 mana restoration whenever champions damage opponents, with additional scaling based on 36% bonus AD, 22.5% AP, and 9% bonus health. Ocean soul maintains its status as the most coveted game-ending advantage that teams aggressively contest.

Dragon priority in LoL

Each elemental dragon offers distinct strategic advantages that dynamically shift priority based on spawn sequence and team composition requirements.

The best dragon to start the game

Despite Cloud dragon’s overall lower valuation, it presents exceptional early-game value when champions lack cooldown reduction items. The initial dragon spawn at five minutes provides 10% ultimate CDR when champions typically possess minimal CDR completion, making early Cloud takedowns strategically sound investments.

Dragon souls from best to worst

Ocean soul establishes itself as the premier game-winning advantage through substantial healing and mana restoration. These numerical benefits cannot be overlooked and provide the sustain necessary to prevail in extended engagements. Opposing teams require healing reduction items and massive burst damage capabilities to counter teams possessing Ocean dragon soul. Regardless of game state, teams must aggressively contest Ocean dragons, particularly on Ocean-themed rifts where additional environmental effects amplify the soul’s power.

Eliminating opponents rapidly provides satisfaction, but survival under concentrated enemy fire delivers greater strategic value. Mountain soul ranks as the secondary defensive option through its protective shielding mechanism. Marksmen and mage champions typically avoid defensive itemization, making any additional resistances exceptionally valuable.

Infernal soul occupies the third position, as its damage augmentation, while beneficial, lacks the transformative impact of higher-ranked souls. Enemy acquisition of Infernal soul doesn’t guarantee victory, as counterplay options remain available.

Cloud soul consistently ranks lowest, though it maintains situational utility. Its effectiveness correlates directly with pre-soul Cloud dragon acquisitions. Twenty percent CDR combined with two additional dragons creates respectable stacking, but rarely produces game-altering advantages. Achieving 40 percent CDR through multiple Cloud takedowns delivers meaningful benefits, though typically insufficient to single-handedly determine match outcomes.

When is the right time to go for the dragon?

Strategic dragon attempts require precise timing and execution methodology. Objective availability alone doesn’t justify immediate engagement attempts. Losing team fights within the dragon pit frequently determines match outcomes decisively.

Bottom lane priority creates ideal dragon engagement opportunities by enabling both ADC and support to provide river assistance. Mid lane priority also presents viable opportunities, though bottom lane dominance remains preferable for secure executions.

Additional optimal dragon timing occurs when enemy jungler positioning confirms opposite-side map presence. When opposing junglers commit to top lane ganks or distant farming activities, these windows allow relatively uncontested dragon securement.

Setting up for a dragon

When enemy junglers maintain significant distance from the pit, junglers can initiate with minimal preparatory requirements. As matches progress and teams intensify neutral objective competition, comprehensive setup becomes essential, including strategic vision placement throughout the river and surrounding areas. Vision control at all river access points becomes mandatory. Teams on the red side must additionally secure vision behind the pit to prevent enemy blast cone steals.

Eliminating opposing junglers beforehand consistently improves success rates. Junglers must preserve Smite availability immediately preceding dragon spawns to counter potential steals or secure contested objectives during engagements.

Mid laners and bottom lane duos should meticulously track spawn timers and communicate remaining time through pings. This coordination ensures team-wide awareness and preparation for potential conflicts.

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