Dragon

* Dragon (S2)
* S1
* Classic
* Oldest
* Zombie
* Winter

* Immunity to ink
* Immunity to lava

"*UPGRADED to Dragon!
(Wow, You're amazing!)
Fly over everything, Hold W to shoot fire!*"
The **Dragon** is a tier 15 Land animal in Mope.io. It is the equivalent of the T-REX, The Kraken, The Yeti, The Snowman, The Snowgirl, Pterodactyl, King Crab, Phoenix, and The Bigfoot.

## Technical

* Upgrades from Elephant, Blue Whale, Cassowary, Mammoth or Blackwidow Spider at 1M XP
* Upgrades to the Dino Monster, Land Monster, Giant Scorpion, Sea Monster and Ice Monster at 5M XP.
* The Dragon can eat all food sources in the game except for dates, Cactus Pears, and berries. Prey of the Dragon includes animals within tier 6 to tier 14 (Fox to Elephant).
* Predators of the Dragon are all animals in tier 16 and tier 17 (the Monsters and Black Dragon/King Dragon).
* A passive ability of the Dragon's is it can fly over everything including rocks (meaning its movement consistency never changes, no matter what surface the Dragon is on).
	+ Due to this, the Dragon is immune to River current's effect, and can move over lava without burning or taking damage.
* It is also immune to ink.
* When pressing `W`, the Dragon can breathe a single ball of Fire with a fairly fast reload. See the fire page for more details.

## Appearance

The current, default *"Season 2"* Dragon is a scaly aquamarine animal bearing large wings connected by dark turquoise membrane. It has duller spikes down its back, a ridge of paler spikes all around its body, and short horns. Its face has a trapezoid-like portruding snout and large black eyes in small sockets. Two orange nostrils sit at the end of its snout. The Dragon's tail is lengthy, and its body is decorated in small spots.

The default Dragon has orange fire. Other skins have different fire colors.

### Purchasable Skins

*The skins listed below are or have been accessible to buy in-game. Older versions or non-purchasable skins may be seen in the article's infobox and/or asset gallery.*

## Strategy

#### As a Dragon

* The Dragon is considered the weakest apex by most since its ability is weak, but can still be useful.
* The Dragon is one of the few animals that are not sped up or slowed down anywhere, including in rivers, oceans, hills, mud, etc. This can be used to the player's advantage, chasing down prey who are slow in said places and burning them. However, the dragon is slower than most Land animals on land, and most Ocean animals in water. This is probably to balance out the Dragon.
* If the player decides to hunt, their fire breath needs to be used carefully. The projectile is small, requiring some precision. It does little damage, and when used, slows down the player. Only use the fire when the target is in range, for example. However, the fire is useful because it cancels the prey's Special ability and stops them from getting away. This applies for prolonged-use abilities, such as the Eagle's and Rhino's.
	+ Do not use fire while a target is already on fire. It will not extend the burn time, slows down the player unnecessarily, and wastes the ability for when it may be useful in a moment. The fire, however, does inflict a small amount of contact damage which is desirable if the animal has a sliver of health left.
	+ Fire should be used very minimally if at all in water. The burning damage is powerful but in water is it cut down to one or two insignificant fire ticks. Using the fire breath anyway makes the player slower in a region where they are already slowed.
	+ The increase in thirst brought on by fire is most powerful against animals that already drain water quickly or animals with debuff.
* The player should not hunt and instead should hide if they are even remotely low on health. This goes for many animals, but is especially important as an Apex tier because predators are numerous and many prey animals have the capability to kill the player with the wrong move. The Dragon's ability is weak defensively.
* The player's primary targets should be tier 14 animals, followed by tier 13 and tier 12. Hunting animals below tier 12 is usually a waste of time due to the low XP gain.
	+ Elephants are great, abundant prey, and should be chased down on sight. Elephants can usually be found near rivers farming frogs.
		- Do use some caution with Elephants. Their Trunk hit ability has some range, inflicts decent damage, and has a fairly quick cooldown (although slower than the Dragon's). Some Elephants can skillfully juggle between running and suddenly looking back to hit the player for consistent damage which can be lethal in the long run. The Dragon's ability slightly out-ranges the Elephant's: As long as the player keeps it that way, they can slowly but surely take down the Elephant. They can afford to be more bold while the Elephant's ability is in cooldown, but again, watch for the front side of the Elephant.
		- Since Elephants are fairly large and cannot climb hills, it is easy to pursue them. As long as the Elephant takes at least a few fireballs and is barred from water access, the Dragon usually outlasts the Elephant in water supply. However, Elephants are slower in mud and water, so it may be tactical to trap one in such a location. Avoid using the latter option as Elephants have a lengthy dive time and can use that time to heal, drink, and trunk hit the player when they come out of their dive.
		- *Never* attack a team of Elephants, especially in the water. Although the XP may be tempting, the disadvantages of one Elephant is largely nullified with two or more Elephants and such a team can quickly make short work of the player.
	+ Giant Spiders are also easy victims of Dragons. The player should look for webs in an area to find one. Like Elephants, Giant Spiders are slower, and very sluggishly so, in water and mud, and while in water they cannot dive for long.
		- Giant Spiders are much more difficult on land due to their ability to enter small hiding holes and climb webs to remain out of reach. A Giant Spider can remain indefinitely on webs over water. Avoid contact with webs—They will stop abilities in action and prevent their usage while touched.
		- The Giant Spider's small size can cause the player to miss their fire, especially if they are already damaged.
	+ Another prey option are Cassowaries; Trap them in a water source as Cassowaries are just about the slowest animals in water. Avoid using mud because Cassowaries are not hindered as much in it. With that being said, Cassowaries are difficult to catch since they can usually run away with their charge and kick ability. They are however slowed for a bit after the ability and are unable to climb terrain, which can be enough for the player to catch up. Cassowaries also drain water fairly quickly, helpful for long chases.
	+ The tier 12 land animals, Rhino and Eagle, may be a bit tricky to hunt for the same reason as the Cassowary's ability, but can be hunted successfully given some patience.
		- The player *should not* engage with rare variants of the Eagle (Golden Eagle, Shahbaz, and Golden Shahbaz) or Rhino (White and Black Rhino) unless they are confident they can score a quick kill. Although tempting due to their coin bounty, rare rhinos are very harmful with their abilities and can kill the player with ease, and rare eagles can pick up the player to place them in a predator's way. These rare variants are usually teamed with other players, often predators to the player or other rares, that react if the rare is in danger. Additionally, the rares tend to "mini" themselves to become a small size, making it harder to hit them with the fire.
	+ Hunting sea animals will not guarantee a high success rate, as they can dive, and hence, easily escape. It is recommended to go for a sea animal that is on low health for a potential large XP gain.
* Alternatively, if the player does not want to hunt, they can choose to farm.
	+ The "Island Farming" method works very well for the Dragon. It consists of going into the Ocean from island to island to eat its supply of coconuts, bananas, clams, conches, etc, eating anything or anyone else in the way. This increases the risk of finding Krakens, King Crabs, and Sea Monsters, the latter of which is the greatest threat. To avoid Sea Monsters, the player should avoid being in open ocean for long and fly over rocks and hills to get to an island.
	+ Heading to the Volcano to farm watermelons is another popular strategy, although this is quite risky. The player is vulnerable to easy predation by Land Monsters, Phoenixes, and Black Dragons (and the King Dragon, if there is one). Also, as of an unknown update, the player moves slower in the Volcano, slower than its residents, and takes damage from the fire the lava makes which will quickly exhaust their health and water bar if they aren't eating watermelons constantly. The player should only attempt this if they are on good terms with most players there, skilled enough to win 1v1s against any opponents, or on an empty server.
	+ The player can try to harvest cacti and aloevera in the Desert. This is less risky than the Volcano, but leaves the player open to very deadly Giant Scorpions, the occasional Dino Monster, and increased thirst, not optimal for running away from danger.
	+ Otherwise, the player can farm mushroom bushes, Ducks, and other food in the Land biome. Depending on the server capacity, this can take anywhere from half an hour to a couple hours.

#### Against Other Equivalents

* Unfortunately, the Dragon pales in comparison to most other equivalents out of arena, mostly due to its ability's mediocre damage output.
	+ That being said, the only three areas where the Dragon has the upper hand is its versatility across landscapes (no other apex moves quickly over all terrain), its ability to exhaust an opponent's water bar, and its supremacy in 1v1s.
		- 1v1s are the single best way to level up with a Dragon. It is the most accustomed to fighting in the arena, as it has the most fluent movement in the arena, and is easy to work with. While it isn't essential, it is very effective, and while 1v1-ing isn't the easiest concept to do, practice will pay off for good. The player should try to engage equivalents in a 1v1 if possible.
* The Dragon has a long dive time, but less so than the Kraken or King Crab. If the player gets in a scuffle with an equivalent, they can use their dive to heal and seek safety.
* If the player needs to run from an equivalent, they should fly over terrain the equivalent can't climb or is slow in. No equivalents, besides the Pterodactyl with its ability and the Phoenix, can reach the player while they are on a tree.
* If there is an opportune time to kill another apex animal on low health, the player should take it as long as they can escape from the confusion.
* With the exception of Pterodactyls, Yetis, and other Dragons, the player should avoid directly engaging with its equivalents out of arena unless they are confident they can take them down.
	+ Pterodactyls struggle with routine damage through their ability since its damage output is weak and taxing on their energy bar (which they have in place of a water bar). As long as the player can stay close, the fire cancels out the Pterodactyl's long ability startup and eliminates their escape options, thus forcing them to fight in close quarters. Pterodactyls are fairly decent at defense up close, but will go down eventually with the Dragom's supplemental fire damage. Keep in mind that Pterodactyls don't stay on fire as long as normal animals do and fire does not drain their energy.
		- Should the player be forced to hide for any reason, know that Pterodactyls can camp indefinitely outside of a large hiding hole and dehydrate the player to death. The player should attempt to escape through the Ocean, which damages the Pterodactyl occasionally and renders them slow.
	+ Against Yetis, the player should keep them on fire continuously. The Yeti's ability is reliant on water to work smoothly and even then its damage output is low. The Dragon can challenge the Yeti in its own biome, although this is not recommended as the Dragon will take debuff damage that makes it unable to heal. Yetis are fast in water, but their dive time is short and manageable.
		- Snowmen can be handled the same way, only that they are marginally more powerful.
		- The player should not challenge Aqua Yetis, the rare Yeti variant. Unlike normal Yetis, Aqua Yetis completely immobilize the player for a few seconds with their ability, dealing a good chunk of damage in the process that can easily kill the player with a few repetitions. They can additionally climb rocks. Aqua Yetis are also often teamed, so if the player attacks one, chances are they will have to deal with more than they can chew. Aqua Yetis tend to hang out near the Volcano.
		- Snowgirls are similar to a nerfed Aqua Yeti but can be handled, with caution.
	+ A Dragon is capable of successfully killing a Phoenix, with some expert planning. If the player wants to attempt this, they should fight the Phoenix as far away from the Volcano as possible. Phoenixes regenerate lava quickly in the Volcano biome, at a much slower rate within a certain spherical radius around it, and drain it outside of the radius. Phoenixes require lava for fire tornadoes, so by luring them away, it limits their ability to make them. The fire tornados are powerful en masse and can drain the player's water bar in just a couple minutes, but one or two is manageable for the Dragon. Tornadoes can be dispelled with water and automatically die if the Phoenix hides. The Phoenix's bite does do more damage than typical due to its fire setting properties, so the player should take that into consideration.
		- Fight the Phoenix in water if possible. Phoenixes can't dive in water, are slow, and fire becomes next to useless.
		- It's important for the player to be confident about taking out the Phoenix in their attempt because Phoenixes are faster than the player is. If the player retreats, the Phoenix can get in multiple tailbites and camp the player in a hole as long as the Phoenix is within the lava regeneration radius.
		- Phoenixes don't drain or gain lava passively in the Desert and are slower there, leaving a window for the player to attack them.
* The player should avoid T-Rexes at all costs; They are single-handedly the Dragon's biggest enemy in its tier: Their bite ability is very powerful out-ranges the player's, and the Dragon's meager fire isn't an even a match for comparison. When fighting T-Rexes, the player should run the most, go though spots that a T-Rex can't, such as hills, mud, lava; and if possible, try to hinder them with fire.

#### What to Avoid

* All predators, especially the monsters, are capable of easily killing the Dragon and the player should immediately evacuate to safety the moment one is seen unless they plan to 1v1 the threat.
	+ Black Dragons, despite being a higher tier, are actually a lower threat to the player than monsters are. Dragons are an easily obtained apex animal to become King Dragon, and XP becomes meaningless at that tier past 20 million, so the chance of being killed randomly is lower than monsters where XP is still important. Black Dragons are also slow and their method of killing is identical to the Dragon's. If the player is chased by one, they can outrun the Black Dragon provided that they have a good amount of health, other animals don't interfere, and they don't get "stuck" between the Black Dragon's mouth and a hard place. This might not always be the case, as a Black Dragon's teammates are often more troublesome than the Black Dragon themselves.
		- Black Dragons, like Phoenixes, are capable of camping indefinitely (and can sit on top of them to prevent re-entry), so the player should avoid hiding and flee if possible.
		- If the player is allied with others, they can potentially take down a Black Dragon via tailbites, especially if the Black Dragon is away from the Volcano. Fire can be used as an aid but it doesn't do much damage.
* Each monster is weaker outside of their respective biome. By staying away from other biomes, the player can avoid encounters with most monsters except for the Dino Monster and Bird Monster.
* Like with equivalents, trees can help temporarily avoid attacks, although this will not work for the Land Monster due to its passive flight.
* As noted in the previous section, most equivalents should be evaded.

### Against a Dragon

* Dragons are slower than most Land animals. This means that the player can escape their FoV fairly easily as most prey, but the Dragon is also versatile and not very impeded by terrain, which can allow them to catch up if the player is slowed by something along the way such as a river.
* The water draining properties of burning are a valuable asset for the Dragon: If the player is hit, they should seek water alongside water spots or run through water fulfilling food bushes/trees (such as pears) during the chase to replenish. The player should try to take all the food or water to not leave any for the Dragon so that they exhaust their water faster.
* If the player is fast in water, they should cut through water to reduce the strength of the Dragon's fire. If said water is the Ocean, it can lead the player into danger, but with luck it can be an apex that will attack the Dragon instead of the player.
	+ For rivers, the player should travel with the current to escape. Dragons are not affected by the current.

## Gallery

### In-game

A normal dragon getting a Black Dragon Kill.Knight Dragon in the #GoldenAge update trailer.A tiny Dragon!A Dragon flying left.An average sized Dragon.The message that appears if you are killed by Dragon fire.A winter Dragon flying over a HillRunning from a DragonTwo Dragons teaming a Rhino (me)A Dragon and HippoA Dragon team of 3A Dragon giving free bitesA Dragon on a hillA Dragon eating a Mushroom BushDragon killing a Boa ConstrictorA Knight Dragon that's become an ice statue from an Aqua Yeti.A Mouse chatting with a Golden Dragon.A shivering Dragon that's about to die.A Fiery Dragon that is smaller due to being in the Forest.A Goofy Dragon about to upgrade into a tier 16 animal.A Dragon flying over a tree.A Knight Dragon and Jellyfish holding Beachballs.A Dragon that is burning due to the fire from the Volcano.A Squishy Dragon burning in the Volcano.
### Other

A scrapped reskin of the Dragon.An older scrapped reskin of the Dragon.Leak of a Season 2 Dragon skin, posted by KOA in the Official Mope Discord
## Criticism

### Overpowered

Many people formerly hated the Dragon due to the fact it was mildly overpowered and frequently used for teaming. The developers have nerfed the Dragon a few times throughout Mope.io's existence and was majorly nerfed in the birds update, along with their fireball cooldown increasing from one second to three seconds.

This caused many people to label the T-REX as unplayable, since it was very poor against Dragon and was bad against most other apexes as well. The T-REX however was buffed in an update where it has a longer dive time than Dragons and can still use their ability/shake animals when on fire or even hurt/stunned by anything else.

Finally, when Battle Royale and Team Mode were released, the Dragon (and pretty much everything else that spawns fireballs) got a fireball delay. This feature means that they are unable to burn animals that were hurt 3 seconds ago. Although ground fires still burn, the nerf was quite successful since ground fires are not very common. This was all done to prevent Dragons from teaming with other animals or Dragons. Another nerf includes that people can't tail-bite animals that are lit on fire. MopeTubers expressed multiple critiques to how unbalanced the Dragon was.

### Underpowered

After the #GoldenAge update on December 23, 2019, there was a pattern of complaints that the Dragon became underpowered. All other tier 15 animals could easily kill a Dragon, even a whole team of them. Ironically, the T-Rex at this time was also harshly criticised for its extreme imbalance and being able to kill any given apex with ease, especially the Dragon. The only area that the Dragon is slightly superior to its counterparts in is the 1v1 arena.

## Trivia

* It is the animal that has had the most changes to its XP requirements:
	+ First, it upgraded at 100K and evolved at 100M.
	+ Then it upgraded at 300K and evolved at 100M.
	+ Then it upgraded at 1M and evolved at 100M.
	+ Then it upgraded at 2M and evolved at 100M.
	+ Then back to 1M.
	+ Then it evolved at 10M.
	+ Then it evolved at 5M.
* An update from November 23, 2016, made the Dragon able to hide in large holes. This was reversed two days later. When the Black Dragon was introduced on April 9, 2017, Dragons could once again hide in caves.
* There was once a developers' joke that occurred when a Dragon attained 100M XP: players would automatically devolve into a Mouse that could not evolve anymore. Tail-biters would receive 10K XP from each bite, making any possible tail-biter go straight to Cheetah/Stingray. This "feature" has since been removed from the game due to the addition of the Black Dragon.
* When the fireball ability was added, it could pull out victims from underwater, but one update later, the ability and the Dragon were nerfed.
* The Dragon is one of the the most iconic animals of Mope.io aside from the Mouse.
* The AG Dragon skin was added in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Addicting Games, which was founded on September 21, 2002.

## Footnotes

### References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb5JxRklpJg&t=86
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nupl\_pE7II&t=477

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