How Important Are Dragons in League of Legends?
Dragons or Drakes, as they are sometimes known in League of Legends, have grown in importance over the years.
In the first seasons of the game, killing a dragon would only grant the players gold. While that was an interesting reward, it didn't make taking the risk of confronting the dragon all that worthwhile.
Early Types of Dragons in League of Legends
In the 2016 season, slaying dragons started granting players different power-ups. Within those first seasons, the different categories of dragons were introduced. The infernal, cloud, mountain, and ocean dragons were the first classifications that appeared. Players could tell the difference by the color of the dragons that appeared.
The Traditional Dragon Types and Their Power-Ups
Starting in the 2020 season, the Elder Dragon was added to the previous list of dragons within the game. The elder dragon became the hardest to take down, primarily because it would automatically execute players with less than 20% health. Here's a list of the powerups provided by each dragon after they are slayed.
Infernal: Attacks and abilities trigger an explosion, causing damage to the players in the surrounding area.
Cloud: Provides a permanent speed buff and slower cool-down times, plus extra capabilities.
Mountain: Grants a shield that will restore itself when the player is not in combat.
Ocean: Will cause health damage to enemies while restoring the health and mana of the team that defeated it.
Where Are Dragons Located?
Usually, these dragons will be in their den, which will be in the bottom half of the map. In the updated version of the game, the map's topography can change depending on the type of dragon that spawns. That's meant to add a level of difficulty that each team should consider to weigh the value of attempting to slay the dragon.
Dragons Affect the Map of the Game
As mentioned previously, the type of dragon that has currently spawned will alter the game's map. Some elements are meant to alter visibility, while others can provide certain boosts while a specific dragon type is active. Once that changes, those elements could affect the player differently.
Considering all this, it's clear that dragons in the current version of League of Legends have a massive impact on the game. One that goes way beyond just deciding to face them to earn the powerups. Certain situations can arise in the game where a specific team may decide to go after the dragon to change the terrain, not only to obtain the powerups.
How Often Do Dragons Appear?
In most cases, these dragons are going to respawn in about 5-minute intervals. The good thing about the changes in the map is that when players start to spot these, they can associate them with a new dragon. Once that's been established, the team can decide how to proceed.
Most of the time, a single player can't defeat these dragons. This means the team has to devise a strategy on the fly to see how or if it's worth attacking the dragon at a specific time. All the while having to deal with the different things that are going on in the match as well.
The Power-Ups That the Dragons Provide Are Essential to the Game
The importance of dragons in LoL has completely shifted in the last few seasons. When they were just a quest that provided some extra gold, they were an interesting element that could make the game fun. At the time, though, they had yet to be fully incorporated into the game's strategy element.
Currently, slaying dragons not only provides very useful power-ups to the team. Killing off the elder dragon is basically going to guarantee a win for that team. Having set strategies on how to attack the different types of dragons that will spawn throughout the game could go a long way toward guaranteeing a few more wins.
Final Thoughts
Dragons are a massive part of the game in the current version of League of Legends. Players must forcefully incorporate strategies to slay dragons while staying vigilant of other game elements.
Since the importance of dragons increased, it added a layer of complexity to the game. Dragons will likely remain an important part of LoL as the new seasons of the franchise arrive.
