User blog:Liberkhaos/Breeding 101

We receive a fair amount of questions about basic breeding stuff on this wiki so this page is dedicated to teaching the knowledge required for basic, intermediate and advanced breeding. Here we go:

Before Starting

Here are some of the terms I will use often in this guide and their meaning: P: Plant element E: Earth element F: Fire element C: Cold element L: Lightning element W: Water element A: Air element M:Metal element A specie of dragon.(Example: Plant dragon, Tree dragon, Iceberg dragon, etc...) Elemental Pool: The sum of all elements used during your breeding session.(Example: Breeding a Flower dragon and a Mountain dragon puts Plant, Fire, Earth and Cold in your Elemental Pool) Basic Dragon: A dragon with only 1 element.(Example: Water dragon, Plant dragon, etc...) Hybrid Dragon: A dragon with 2 or more elements.(Example: Moss dragon, Love dragon, etc...) Uncommon Dragon: A 2 element dragon with less chances to be bred than it's counterpart.(Example:Iceberg dragon, Forge dragon, etc...) Opposite Elements: Elements that cannot be bred together with Basic dragons.(Air and Earth, Fire and Cold, Plant and Metal, Lightning and Water) Limited Dragon: A dragon created by Backflip to commemorate a holiday or a special event. (Example: Bone, Reindeer, Paper etc...) Epic Dragon: Dragons with specific elemental breeding requirements but having an entirely different element of their own. (Example:Moon dragon, Seasonal dragon, Gold dragon, Silver dragon, Rainbow dragon etc...)

Basic Breeding

Basic Breeding Rules

Breeding 2 dragons of the same Kind will always result in a dragon of that Kind. Breeding 2 dragons(whether Basics or Hybrids) will always produce an offspring made of 1 or more elements from the parents Elemental Pool. Breeding 2 dragons(whether Basics or Hybrids) will NEVER produce an offspring with an element that isn't part of the parents Elemental Pool.(Example: Breeding a Plant dragon(P) and a Lava dragon(F+E) can result in a Flower(F+P), Poison(P+F), Lava(F+E), Moss(E+P) or Basic Breeding 1 Basic Breeding 2-3 Basic Breeding 4 1/3 Tree dragon(P+E). NOTHING ELSE!!!!!) The two exceptions to rules 2 and 3 are the Air dragon which is bred through W+F even though it's a Basic Dragon and the Epic Dragons which requires conditions we'll discuss below. The law of Chaos. Things change. Backflip has been known by the past to change the rules along the way and will certainly do so again. If you witness something that doesn't fit with the things you see here, don't hesitate to tell me. I will investigate and maybe we'll find something new.

Basic Breeding Tricks

The least different possibility your Elemental Pool allows, the more chances you have Basic Breeding trick 1. Which panel would you aim at to get a Quake dragon? Basic Breeding Trick 2. Position in the Breeding cave doesn't change the outcome. Basic Breeding Trick 3. What about the dragon's level? Basic Breeding Trick 4. Sometimes you need to be patient. 1/4 of getting the dragon you want(So breeding with Basic Dragon is usually a better idea). Placing a certain dragon on the left and the other on the right doesn't change anything. The level of your dragons has has no impact on the results for dragons from level 1 to 14. Dragons at level 15 and higher brings increasing chances of bearing rare results. PATIENCE'!!!!!! This game wasn't meant for the faint of heart who needs everything the second they lay their eyes on it. It is based on chance and probability and will have most of you trying over a week even for the most common dragon at times.

Intermediate Breeding

Limited Dragons

Limited Dragons are dragons that can be bred only during certain real life events to commemorate that specific occasion. The basic rule concerning those(and those only) is that if you can't see them in the Egg Market, you can't breed them anymore. Here's a list of those Limited Dragons and the event they covered. Bone(Halloween) Reindeer(Christmas) Panlong(Dragon's Chinese Year) Love(Valentine's Day) Leap Year(Leap Year) Clover(St-Patrick) Bloom(Easter/Spring) Sakura(Cherry Blossom's Season) Butterfly(Deaf Awareness) Emerald(May's Birthstone) Pearl(June's Birthstone) Solstice(Summer/Winter Solstice) Firework(Independance Day) Ruby(July's Birthstone) Peridot(August's Birthstone) Sapphire(September's Birthstone) Paper(DragonVale's first anniversary) Blue Moon(Blue Moon) Equinox(Fall/Spring Equinox) Opal(October's Birthstone) Ghost(Halloween) Topaz(November's Birthstone) Solar Eclipse(Solar Eclipse) Lunar Eclipse(Lunar Eclipse) Turquoise(December's Birthstone) Apocalypse(2012/12/21) Gift(Christmas) Garnet(January's Birthstone) Amethyst(February's Birthstone) Century(100th Dragon released) Rose(Valentine's Day) Aquamarine(March's Birthstone) Celtic(St-Patrick) Spring(Spring) Motley(April Fools)

Opposite Dragons

Bluefire, Current, Dodo, Frostfire, Ironwood, Malachite, Plasma and Sandstorm are the Opposite Dragons. So how do you breed Opposite Dragons? You can't breed the Basic Dragons together? Simple! You need to take the Basic Dragon that looks like the Opposite Dragon(example, for Bluefire, you would need the Fire Dragon) and mate it with any hybrid of the other element, however, that hybrid cannot be an Opposite Dragon. So if you want a Bluefire, you need an element that can breed with both F and C. E-L-W-A-P could work since they can breed with F. This means you need at least one Hybrid Dragon with your "Mixing Element" to breed. You chose E? Then go with Mountain(E+C) and Fire(F). But remember, Opposite Element Dragons are among THE HARDEST DRAGONS TO GET in this game. Even knowing what you're doing and doing it right, it could take you a VERY LONG TIME to breed one. Some people have been trying for a month before getting any results.

Uncommon Dragons

Iceberg, Copper, Quicksilver, Forge, Scoria, Steel, Evergreen, Pollen, Rain, Ash, Obsidian, Smoke, Glacier, Hail, Blizzard, Thunder and River are the actual Uncommon Dragons. These Dragons have a few very specific rules. They have a 25% chance of being bred against 75% for their more common counterpart when using basic dragons. Second, those dragons cannot be bred when using a Hybrid Dragon if only 2 elements are in your Elemental Pool. That means for example that Air/Plant+Willow/Pollen can only result in Willow. You cannot obtain a Pollen dragon that way. If you have 3 or more elements in your Elemental pool, the dragons loose their Uncommon property and split evenly with the other possible results. That means Air+Flower for example would give a possible result of Poison, Flower, Willow, Blazing or Pollen with the same chances at breeding.

Three or More Elements Hybrid Dragons

So how do you get Panlong or Century for example(when they are avaiable to breed obviously)? Simple! You need an Elemental Pool that includes every Element the dragon is made of. Remember, when breeding, it's the elements that count, NOT THE DRAGON(Except for some limited dragons discussed below and the Opposite Dragons discussed above)!!! Someone tells you he got his Panlong dragon on the first try using Mud(E+W) left and Blazing(F+A) right? Well yeah! The good elements are there so there was a chance it might work and luckily for him it did on the first try. But Lava(F+E) and Fog(W+A) works too. And on the first try for some. But for the rest of us, it's not gonna be that pleasant. So don't take it personal if someone says he got it on the first try and you can't get it even after a month. The odds are against you. But if you persevere, someday you'll get it.

Epic Dragons

Sun and Moon: Aren't they beautiful? And very easy(if long) to get. Those 2 are the same element combination:L+C!!! Yup! That's all. The same way you can get a Storm or Hail dragon. But don't be fooled. They are EPIC Dragons for a reason. Your chances of scoring one are very slim.(about 3%) It has been speculated and refuted that time of the day mattered and after several testings by some members of the external forum(see Useful Links at the bottom of the Blog), we've concluded that it does indeed. The Sun Dragon can be bred between 7h and 19h and the Moon Dragon from 19h to 7h. The time that matters is the time on your device at the moment you start breeding them, NOT the Backflip Studio time, nor the time at which you hatch the egg. Silver: Silver is a simple combination of M+C. Gold: You just need to put F+M in your Elemental Pool to get a Gold Dragon. It's percentage is almost as low as the Rainbow dragon so don't be surprised if you don't get it on the spot. Platinum Dragon:  The rarest of the Treasure Dragon, Platinum is M+W. Rainbow: Again, simple! You want a Rainbow, you need at least 4 elements in your Elemental Pool.(at least because now Panlong and Love allows to exceed that number) Which combination gives you more chances? NONE! No matter what anyone tells you, there is no combination that bears more chance to breed this dragon. Keep trying, switch your combination if you get bored and hope for the best. Some people have been playing since the very beginning and still don't have this elusive beast. Others got it accidentally without even trying for it. Life is not always fair... My only advice is persevere!!! Bronze, Silver and Gold Olympus: The three Olympic Dragons share the same breeding combination. A+E+L. It can come from any dragon. Cyclops: The Cyclops Dragon requires M+W+L. Seasonal: The Seasonal Dragon is a mix of A+F+P. Apocalypse: The Apocalypse dragon is P+M+C+L. Be careful when looking at the timer as this dragon is 20hrs12 and one of the possible outcomes is Copper at 20hrs. Leap Year Dragon: The Limited LYD Dragon had the same breeding rules as a rainbow, only it was more common to get. It is unfortunately NOT AVAILABLE at the moment. Celtic: The Limited Celtic Dragon requires a Storm Dragon to breed with any P dragon. It is AVAILABLE at the moment. Solstice Dragon: The Limited Solstice Dragon requires Blaze with an Earth Dragon(or Earth Hybrid). Also, Sun+Solstice has a chance of giving another Solstice(Slightly less than 50%). It is unfortunately NOT AVAILABLE at the moment EXCEPT with the use of the combo Solstice+Equinox/Solar/Lunar Eclipse. Blue Moon Dragon: The Limited Blue Moon Dragon is bred in the exact same fashion as the Sun/Moon(it works at all time of the day) but it's way easier to obtain.It is unfortunately NOT AVAILABLE at the moment EXCEPT with the use of the combo Blue Moon+Equinox/Solar/Lunar Eclipse. Equinox Dragon:The Limited Equinox Dragon requires Blaze with a Water Dragon(or Water Hybrid). Also, Blue Moon/Solstice+Equinox has a chance of giving another Equinox(50%).It is unfortunately NOT AVAILABLE at the moment EXCEPT with the use of the combo Solstice+Equinox, Blue Moon+Equinox, or Solar/Lunar Eclipse+Equinox. Solar Eclipse Dragon:The Limited Solar Eclipse Dragon requires A+F+E. It is unfortunately NOT AVAILABLE at the moment EXCEPT with the use of the combo Solstice+Solar Eclipse, Blue Moon+Solar Eclipse, Equinox+Solar Eclipse or Lunar Eclipse+Solar Eclipse. Lunar Eclipse Dragon:The Limited Lunar Eclipse Dragon requires A+C+E.  It is unfortunately NOT AVAILABLE at the moment EXCEPT with the use of the combo Solstice+Lunar Eclipse, Blue Moon+Lunar Eclipse, Equinox+Lunar Eclipse or Lunar Eclipse+Solar Eclipse. Spring Dragon: The limited Spring Dragon is C+L+F. It is AVAILABLE at the moment. Also...: In some rare cases, people have reported breeding one of the Epic Dragons in different ways(less than 4 elements for Rainbow or without L for Sun/Moon or one of those 2 at the wrong time of the day). These are the exceptions rather than the rule and whether they are due to glitches(See Advanced Breeding) or obscure data about Epic Dragons is unknown but I am currently working real hard to find out.

Epic Breeding Island

The Epic Breeding Island(EBI) is a second Breeding Cave. But there is also more to it. It slightly increases the chances of getting some dragons. Here is the list of dragons we've confirmed so far; Rainbow Leap Year Celtic Platinum Gold Sun Moon Blue Moon Solstice Equinox Solar Eclipse Lunar Eclipse Gold Olympus Silver Olympus Bronze Olympus Cyclops Seasonal Spring Apocalypse Bluefire Frostfire Sandstorm Dodo Plasma Current Malachite Ironwood Bone Ghost Reindeer Gift Love Rose Clover Panlong Paper Bloom Sakura Butterfly Century Motley Emerald Pearl Ruby Peridot Sapphire Opal Topaz Turquoise Garnet Amethyst Aquamarine Remember that breeding in the EBI does NOT guarantee you these dragons. It simply means that your chances of getting one are a little higher. I will update this list every time we find something new.

Advanced Breeding

Time Management

The Basic: Okay! I said that there is no better combination for anything and that's partially true. No combination will ever give you more chances per attempt. However, some combinations will allow you too get more attempts per day. Why is that? Because not all dragons have the same breeding time. To see a dragon's breeding time while in the game, go in the market, select "Egg", choose a dragon to see it's description and scroll down to the bottom of that description. TAADAAAA!!! Breeding time. Now what you want is to avoid the long unnecessary breeding times if you do not get the dragon you were aiming for. Your worst enemies are E, C and M. ESPECIALLY if you mix E+L(Crystal dragons are a painful 24hrs breeding time and gives close to no Exp and a meager 5000 ). So for example, when breeding for a Bluefire dragon, instead of risking a 10hrs wait if E+C+F gives you a Lava or worst, a 14hrs wait for Mountain, try with C+F+P with Fire and Lichen(Or Evergreen/Reindeer). Your "failures" will result in 30mins Poisons, 1hr Flower, 6hrs Lichen or 10hrs Evergreen. Yes, there is still one 10hrs, but your average failure is way lower. So what about Epic Dragons and time management?: Now here's an interesting question right? Same thing. Aim for the lowest breeding times in case of failures. Sun and Moon are best served by C+L+F for the Scorch/Firefly(3hrs), Storm(5hrs) and Hail(8hrs) results. But be careful, using a basic Cold or Fire dragon could result in a Blue Fire or Frostfire dragon(12hrs) so you might want to breed Storm with Scorch for example. The Uncommon rules offer an interesting time management strategy for the Gold Dragon. Instead of using Fire+Metal which gives 25% chance of getting a Forge Dragon(24hrs) Fire+Brass/Forge will assure you that you will only get Brass(5hrs). For the Rainbow, the choice is more obvious. The shortest times for "failures" while attempting to breed a Rainbow is P+W+F+L. Does that ring a bell? Yeah! It's the "famed" Firefly and Seaweed combo. Most people used it without even realizing why it's so efficient. But as a note, again, it's the element that matters. Not the dragons. So Scorch and Swamp would have worked just as fine here or even Scorch and Seaweed or Firefly and Swamp. But it'll still be really hard to get a Rainbow. All that's left is praying and waiting... and waiting... and waiting...

Multitasking

By now you probably figured it out by yourself, but a good way to work on getting Epic Dragons(or hard to get ones) is to multitask your Elemental Pool. You can work on Rainbow, Moon/Sun, Gold and Silver by trying a combination of M+L+F+C(Storm and Brass for example). This is multitasked at getting the four(Sun and Moon can't be obtained at the same time) Epic Dragons at once. Panlong is by default multitasked to get you a Rainbow dragon at the same time. Looking for a Frostfire AND a Moon dragon? Try C+L+F(Cold and Firefly for example)! Multitasking is simple. All you need is to figure out the list of elements you need for every dragons, respect the exceptions for limited and Opposite dragons you want and put the appropriate elemental dragons in the breeding cave. Just remember to keep it to a minimum of elements to avoid unwanted results.

Speed-breeding with Gems

It's always tempting to use to accelerate Breeding and incubating time and get what you want right away. But with being the rarest currency in the game, it's always good to try and moderate oneself in order to accumulate more for emergencies and buildings. So here are a few tips on using for breeding. Do you REALLY need to accelerate that breeding? For Limited Dragons it's a bit more understandable, but regular dragons that sticks all year don't really need any boosts. They will come in time. When accelerating breedings for a specific dragon, don't force the eggs out of the hatchery. Use only to speed up a few breeding sessions, then wait for most things to incubate and then start the whole process again. This will save you a considerate amount of and you will still get your limited dragons in time. The gain in will be even more substantial if you have the Enchanted Cave/Sanctuary. Speaking of the Enchanted Cave/Sanctuary, those are great on the long run to save . 20% off every breeding time can easily buy back your hard earned 100 and 125 in no time. If you have the EBI/EBS, remember that the chances of getting Epic and Limited Dragons is increased there. As such, you should limit your Speed-breeding to that it and let the Normal Cave follow it's own rythm. Once you get the desired dragon, don't speed it up. You got it. Unless you have a ginourmous line up of dragons to get your hands on the sense of emergency should be gone. In 4 days max(For Rainbow, Sun and Moon) you will get your hands on the object of your desire. And always remember; Patience is a virtue. So again, do you REALLY need to accelerate that breeding?

Exceptions on Limited Dragons

Okay. There will be a link to the discussion about this at the bottom of the page and an update for every concerned dragons, but here's a summary; Some Limited Dragons have some specific requirements in order to breed them. Love Dragon: Love Dragon requires a Flower dragon to breed with any Lightning Dragon. Clover Dragon: Dunkelzahn, Sylvandyr and Tatzelwyrm have run hundreds of test runs. In all their testing, Clover Dragons have been shown to be breedable only through the use of a Moss Dragon AND 2 P in the Elemental Pool. Since Moss is already a Plant Hybrid it means you need to breed it with at least a Plant Dragon or another Hybrid Dragon with P(other than another Moss obviously) Bloom Dragon: Bloom Dragon requires a Storm Dragon to breed it. Butterfly Dragon: For now all reported success includes Firefly. Emerald Dragon: Succesful Emerald breeding have all included Lichen and Crystal. Pearl Dragon: Succesful Pearl breeding have all included Snow and Seaweed. Ruby Dragon: Succesful Ruby breeding have all included Scorch and Chrome. Peridot Dragon: Succesful Peridot breeding have all included Crystal and Cactus. Sapphire Dragon: Succesful Sapphire breeding have all included Rain and Mountain. Opal Dragon: Succesful Opal breeding have all included Lava and Mud. Topaz Dragon: Succesful Topaz breeding have all included Cactus and Firefly. Turquoise Dragon: Succesful Turquoise breeding have all included Poison and Swamp. Garnet Dragon: Succesful Garnet Breeding have all included Obsidian and Smoke. Amethyst Dragon: Sucesful Amethyst Breeding have all included Hail and Sonic. Rose Dragon: Rose Dragon requires a Flower Dragon to breed with any Air Dragon. Aquamarine Dragon: Succesful Aquamarine Breeding have all included River and Iceberg. Motley Dragon: Being a prankster, Motley can be bred using any combination of non-Epic dragons, as long as you do not breed twice the same dragon.

Probabilities

Dragonvale is a game where it's hard to figure out the exact probabilities of breeding something because without the exact algorithm, you always need to hope that your testings are gonna represent what is happening in the game rather than being pure luck. Also, the numbers change depending on what dragons you choose to breed as you have more or less possible outcomes. However, some dragons seems to have fixed probabilities which will be explained down here. Do keep in mind that these aren't absolute numbers. The breeding process is pretty much like several "filters". From the moment you breed 2 dragons, the future result must pass through the appropriate filters until it is stopped. The first filter is for Gemstone Dragonsand is around 3%. The second filter is for Rainbow Dragon and is around 1%. The third filter is for Gold and is around 2%. The fourth filter is for Sun/Moon and Seasonal Dragons. It's around 3%. The fifth filter is for Opposite Hybrids if you have the proper Basic Dragon and it's opposite element. It's around 7% The sixth filter is for Limited dragons and vary in rarity with the dragon. The seventh filter is for Uncommon Dragons, admitting they still hold their property(see the Uncommon Dragons section for more details) The last filter just give you a similar chance of getting every other dragons. PS:Obviously, if you don't meet the requirement to breed a dragon(such as having at least 4 elements in your Elemental Pool for a Rainbow), the chances of activating that filter are 0%. Also, note that Olympics aren't there as I haven't managed to firgure out where they stand exactly yet.

Breeding Glitches

Dragonvale is an online game. Few people know this, but the breeding portion of the game happens online though the Backflip's server. Dragonvale has now over 9 000 000 players. That's a LOT of activity. Every time they issue an update, they eliminate some bugs, but chances are they also cause new ones. Why am I breaking you ears(eyes) about this? Just to tell you that sometimes, glitches happen and sometimes, they concern breeding. It is not impossible to face an abnormal situation where you got a dragon outside the possibilities of your Elemental Pool or get a different dragon than the 2 parents of the same Kind your were breeding. But it is highly unusual. If you're not sure about a result, don't be afraid to share it here and I will look into it. Maybe we'll be able to find a pattern or discover something new about a Epic Dragon.

Useful Links

You don't understand why after so many attempt you still can't get the dragon you want? Here's a good explanation. Clover Dragon's breeding theory discussion. Experimentation and discussion about new breeding theories and EBI. Experimentation and discussion about levels and order in the Breeding Cave. Fletch_smf is a member of the External Forum who does a lot of breeding to find information on new dragons(especially limited ones). You can see his results here. A discussion about the filter theory as well as the possibility of a new map theory. The DragonVale Breeding Sandbox is a useful link(Just copy and paste it in the navigation bar). R0b0-tr0n has one of the most accurate breeding sandboxes and an amazing combo finder there. The discussion about the increased chances of high level dragons to breed rare dragons.

Conclusion

Well, if you've read all this you now know as much about breeding as I do. Just keep in mind that I have been playing since the middle of September and didn't acquire everything in a single day. Be patient. You will be rewarded for your efforts someday.

If you have any questions don't be shy and post them down here. I try to go on the Wiki everyday but worst case situation I should be available to give you an answer in at most 5 days.

I wish good luck to anyone playing this game with the intent of getting everything.

Cheers!