Understanding the Dragons of Summoner’s Rift: A Comprehensive Guide
The five dragons in League of Legends are objective monsters that provide powerful, game-altering buffs to the team that slays them. These dragons are the Infernal Dragon, the Mountain Dragon, the Ocean Dragon, the Cloud Dragon, and the Hextech Dragon. Each dragon grants unique combat stats and passive effects. Furthermore, slaying four dragons of any type grants the team a powerful Dragon Soul, providing an even stronger bonus based on the dominant dragon type slain.
The Elemental Dragons: A Deep Dive
The elemental dragons are crucial objectives in League of Legends, significantly impacting the pace and strategy of the game. Understanding their individual strengths and how their buffs synergize with different team compositions is key to achieving victory.
Infernal Dragon: The Damage Dealer
The Infernal Dragon is all about increasing damage output. Slaying this dragon grants bonus Attack Damage and Ability Power, allowing champions to deal more damage in both auto-attacks and abilities. This buff is incredibly valuable for scaling damage dealers and can significantly accelerate a team’s ability to melt through enemy champions and objectives.
The Infernal Dragon Soul grants bonus damage every 3 seconds, damaging the target champion and reducing its armor and magic resistance for a short duration. This effect makes Infernal Soul holders exceptionally dangerous in extended fights.
Mountain Dragon: The Tank Enhancer
The Mountain Dragon provides increased Armor and Magic Resistance, making champions tankier and harder to kill. This buff is particularly useful for bruisers, tanks, and other frontline champions whose primary role is to absorb damage and protect their carries. The increased survivability granted by the Mountain Dragon can significantly improve a team’s ability to engage in prolonged team fights and siege enemy turrets.
The Mountain Soul grants a shield after not taking damage for a short duration. This can be invaluable for absorbing burst damage and surviving difficult engagements.
Ocean Dragon: The Sustain Provider
The Ocean Dragon offers increased Health and Mana regeneration, allowing champions to sustain in lane longer and recover from poke damage more effectively. This buff is particularly useful for champions who rely on mana or health to trade effectively and control the map. The Ocean Dragon’s sustain can significantly reduce the need to recall, allowing a team to maintain pressure and secure objectives.
The Ocean Soul regenerates health and mana/energy when dealing damage to enemies. This provides exceptional sustain in combat, making Ocean Soul holders incredibly difficult to kill.
Cloud Dragon: The Mobility Booster
The Cloud Dragon grants bonus Movement Speed, both in and out of combat. This buff allows champions to rotate around the map faster, respond to skirmishes more quickly, and kite enemies more effectively. The Cloud Dragon is particularly useful for teams that prioritize map control and objective control.
The Cloud Soul grants permanent bonus movement speed. Additionally, casting your ultimate ability grants even more movement speed for a short duration, allowing for incredibly fast engages and disengages.
Hextech Dragon: The Utility Enhancer
The Hextech Dragon is the newest addition to the dragon roster, offering unique utility buffs. This dragon grants Haste (Ability Haste & Attack Speed Haste). Haste allows you to cast abilities and auto-attack more frequently. This Dragon is particularly beneficial for teams that rely on spamming abilities or sustained damage output.
The Hextech Soul grants periodic chain lightning effect to attacks and abilities. This can significantly increase burst damage potential in team fights and also spread damage to multiple targets. Additionally, your team gains bonus movement speed and magic resistance.
The Elder Dragon: The Game Endor
After one team obtains a Dragon Soul, the elemental rift transforms back into a regular Summoner’s Rift, and Elder Dragon spawns. Slaying the Elder Dragon grants a powerful buff that executes enemies below a certain health threshold. This effect makes it incredibly difficult for the opposing team to contest objectives or engage in team fights, as they risk instant death if they fall below the execution threshold. The Elder Dragon is generally considered a game-ending objective, as it significantly increases the likelihood of victory for the team that secures it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About League of Legends Dragons
1. When do dragons spawn in League of Legends?
The first dragon spawns at 5 minutes into the game.
2. How often do dragons respawn?
Dragons respawn every 5 minutes after being slain.
3. What determines which elemental dragon spawns first?
The first dragon that spawns is random.
4. How does Dragon Soul work?
Once a team slays four elemental dragons, they gain a Dragon Soul. The soul is determined by the type of dragon that spawned most frequently throughout the game. This Soul grants powerful permanent bonuses.
5. Can the same type of dragon spawn multiple times in a row?
Yes, it is possible for the same type of dragon to spawn multiple times in a row. However, Riot Games has systems in place to try and ensure that no single dragon type dominates too heavily throughout the game.
6. How long does the Elder Dragon buff last?
The Elder Dragon buff lasts for 150 seconds.
7. What happens if both teams are fighting the Elder Dragon at the same time?
The team that deals the most damage to the Elder Dragon will slay it and receive the buff. If both teams dealt similar damage, the last team to hit the dragon gets the buff.
8. Can you steal an Elder Dragon?
Yes, you can steal an Elder Dragon by dealing the killing blow to it, even if the other team has been doing more damage. This is often accomplished using burst damage abilities or Smite.
9. Does Dragon Soul stack?
No, Dragon Souls do not stack. Only one Dragon Soul can be active at a time.
10. How can I counter a team with a strong Dragon Soul?
Countering a team with a strong Dragon Soul requires strategic play. Focus on split pushing, catching out key enemy champions, and avoiding direct team fights until you have a significant advantage. Utilizing vision control and objective denial can also help to mitigate the impact of the Soul.
11. Which Dragon Soul is considered the strongest?
The strongest Dragon Soul is subjective and depends on the game state and team composition. Some argue that Infernal or Ocean Soul can provide the most immediate impact, while others find Mountain Soul or Cloud Soul more valuable in specific situations.
12. Does Dragon Soul have a cooldown?
No. Dragon Souls are passive effects that are always active once acquired. However, some souls have effects that can only be triggered under certain conditions (such as Ocean Soul’s regeneration on dealing damage).
13. How does the terrain change with different elemental rifts?
Each elemental dragon corresponds to a different terrain transformation on Summoner’s Rift. Infernal Rift creates new pathways and removes bushes. Mountain Rift adds terrain around the jungle and buffs. Ocean Rift adds more bushes and plants and floods the jungle. Cloud Rift adds speed zones throughout the jungle. Hextech Rift adds Hexgates throughout the jungle and slows down enemies when in range of a friendly unit.
14. Does the Hextech Soul have a cooldown for its chain lightning?
While the specifics can change with patches, the Hextech Soul chain lightning has a cooldown before it can trigger again, preventing it from firing continuously.
15. How does the “execution” mechanic of Elder Dragon actually work?
The Elder Dragon’s “execution” effect is technically a massive damage burst. When an enemy champion falls below a certain health threshold (which can vary with game versions), the Elder Dragon buff will apply a massive amount of true damage. Because it’s true damage, it bypasses all armor and magic resistance, effectively executing the target.