If you want more dragons, breeding is the best way to get them. Breeding works a little differently than your typical ARPG, but the basis is the same—you put two lovers together and some eggs pop out! The main difference is that well-built characters can impart vast benefits to their offspring. You don’t need to consider breeding as canon for your characters. A dragon must complete their Grand Display before breeding. If the parents are the same sex, they will need Twilight Incense to help with mechanical issues that crop up.
Quick Links: 2024 Breedings | Display & Modifier Rarity Helper
| Breeding Slots |
Until they hit max level, your dragon can only make eggs a set amount of times. Your dragon gains slots every time it levels up. If your dragon runs out of slots, or if you don’t want to take away from your slot count, then you can use a Courtship Slot. If Courtship Art is drawn for the breeding and added as a supplement, not only will a dragon not lose a slot, they will also receive an additional egg! You can use courtship art even if the dragon has hit max level.
| Dragon Elements |
There are ten major elements and each has its own chances of inheriting a gene. For this reason, elements are the first thing rolled. One element will be picked from each parent. If the elements picked are the same, the egg will have one element. If it happens to pick the same element, then it will result in a purebred dragon. If it picks different elements, then it’s a crossbred dragon!
It can only have two elements. Elements impact magic ability, marking and mutation rarity, and base colors. Crossbred dragons have the best chance of inheriting traits, but you’ll have to make sure the parents have very different elements to increase your odds. Their stats also tend to be more chaotic, with double weaknesses and double strengths.
| Marking Inheritance |
When a trait of an opposing element is rolled for a dragon, it becomes two tiers rarer. When it is rolled for regular elements, it becomes one tier rarer. Compatible elements receive no change. To figure out which is which, simply refer to the image above. When the hatchling has more than one element, the roll is optimized to pass the trait, but it’s still not guaranteed.
Here are the chances for markings to pass:
Hereditary – 100% Chance of Passing
Very Common – 75% Chance of Passing
Common – 60% Chance of Passing
Uncommon – 30% Chance of Passing
Rare – 10% Chance of Passing
Ultra Rare – 2% Chance of Passing
Legendary – No Chance of Passing
Wait, why are there more rarities than there are listed on the traits page? When a dragon develops its elemental magic, it increases the chance of passing a marking of a corresponding element. In the case of Koi, it is primarily an Ocean marking with a base Rare rarity. For hatchlings of an opposing element, that trait will have a Legendary rarity, which means there is no way to inherit it. However, if the parent dragon learns Tier IV Ocean magic, it bumps down the rarity tier of all its Ocean traits by two. This means Koi becomes a common marking for Ocean, Storm, and Earth hatchlings that it parents. A common marking like Spotted would become ultra common. And to the Light dragons? Well, Koi moves down two tiers from ‘Legendary’ to ‘Rare,’ while Spotted moves down from ‘Rare’ to ‘Common.’ With a combination of Breeder skills, items, and magic, you can breed incredible dragons. Some traits can even become hereditary!
| Recessive Genes |
You may choose for a gene to be recessive. This can have two different effects.
- Physical - If you receive a physical trait from a different element (such as ‘aquatic limbs’ on an Earth dragon or ‘Wingless’ on a Fire dragon), you may make that recessive and choose one of the base element physical traits instead. Physical traits that are made recessive drop off of the gene entirely and can't be switched back with a redesign.
- Display or Modifier Traits - Making any other trait recessive means it will not show up on the physical appearance of your dragon. Choosing recessive traits will make them harder to pass to offspring. The only way to bring back these traits is to use Phinae's Remembrance in a redesign. Note that you CANNOT use this item on Physical Traits or Mutations.
| Charged Traits |
When breeding parents with the same trait, sometimes an egg will have that trait…Charged. A Charged trait does not affect breedings, but it can give that dragon a unique appearance. Whether you choose to use Charged rules or normal rules is entirely up to you–charged markings simply have expanded design choices. You can find out the details of Charged traits on that specific page (IE: for Charged Stripes, check Stripes).
| Physical Traits |
Physical traits have the same rules, with one change—they can’t double up without a mutation. A dragon can’t have both feathered wings and leather wings, for example. It can’t have both smooth scales and velvet scales. It can’t have both a tuft tail and a whip tail. You get the picture! The hatchling has a 50/50 chance of receiving its parent’s physical trait, with each trait rolled separately. The only exceptions are Mythical Traits, which have a very small chance of passing.
| Mutations |
Beyond these traits, there are a few breedable mutations that appear randomly and are not attached to any element. When inherited randomly, there is a 1% chance a mutation will occur. When a parent or grandparent carries a mutation, they follow the following format:
Parent Carrier – 10%
Grandparent Carrier – 5%
The only way a dragon can carry more than one mutation at once is to inherit at least one mutation. Dragons which inherit mutations still receive the random mutation roll, but will not ‘double up’ if their inherited mutation is rolled. All mutations can occur randomly except Independent. To see all the mutations, check this page.
| Brood Size |
A brood size is determined by the element of the parents. Opposing elements will only produce a clutch of one. Compatible elements will produce a clutch of three. All others produce a clutch of two. If both parents are level 5 and above the brood will always get one extra egg. This means, at present, a brood can have a maximum of four eggs without further buffs.
| Optional Breeding Bonuses |
- Certain familiars grant breeding bonuses. View all of the familiars and their abilities here.
- Riders can give their dragon a bonus based on their job. Learn about Rider jobs here.
- Learning magic and mastering magic gives bonuses as described in the marking inheritance section. Learn about unlocking magic here.
- Chocolate provides an extra egg and is available from Alchemist Crafting.
- Twilight Incense allows the breeding of two dragons of the same sex and is available from Expeditions.
- Several items affect element ratios, trait chances, and magic buffs. These are available from Den Prompts and Affiliation Duties.
- Courtship art can be used to gain an additional egg in the clutch and will cause the breeding to not take a slot, allowing dragons who don’t have any slots available to breed. Read more about courtship art here.
| Inbreeding |
Inbreeding is not possible in this game. Dragons are smart enough to know their relatives! If a dragon has the same parents or grandparents as another dragon, they will be unable to breed. The easy way to know this is to see if the parents have matching relative names anywhere on their import!