In League of Legends, dragons are powerful neutral monsters that provide significant buffs to the team that slays them. Each type of dragon offers unique benefits that can greatly influence gameplay and strategy. With Worlds 2024 underway, here's a breakdown of the drakes and how they will effect the championship, as well as general tips in your own gameplay.

1. Infernal Dragon

• Buff: Grants increased attack damage and ability power.
• Effect: For every Infernal Dragon slain, your team receives a permanent increase of 8% attack damage and ability power. This buff scales with the number of Infernal Dragons your team kills, capping at 24% with three dragons.
• Strategic Use: Great for teams with high burst damage or scaling champions. Prioritize this dragon when your team composition relies on damage output in skirmishes or team fights.

2. Mountain Dragon

• Buff: Provides increased armor and magic resistance.
• Effect: Each Mountain Dragon slain grants your team a permanent 8% increase to both armor and magic resistance, with a cap of 24% for three dragons. Additionally, if your team slays a Mountain Dragon, you gain bonus damage to objectives, making it easier to take down towers, Rift Heralds, and Baron Nashor.
• Strategic Use: Ideal for tanky compositions or teams that wish to secure objectives more efficiently. Mountain Dragons can help bolster defenses during late-game sieges.

3. Ocean Dragon

• Buff: Enhances health regeneration and mana regeneration.
• Effect: Each Ocean Dragon slain provides a 3% health regeneration and a 3% mana regeneration per five seconds. If your team slays multiple Ocean Dragons, the regeneration can be quite substantial, allowing for prolonged skirmishes and extended fights without the need to return to base.
• Strategic Use: Especially valuable for poke compositions or teams that engage in frequent skirmishes. The regeneration helps sustain champions in fights, enabling them to outlast opponents.

4. Cloud Dragon

• Buff: Increases out-of-combat movement speed.
• Effect: Each Cloud Dragon slain grants a 7% increase in out-of-combat movement speed, stacking up to 21% with three dragons. This buff allows for quicker rotations across the map, better escape potential, and improved engage/disengage tactics.
• Strategic Use: Highly beneficial for teams that focus on mobility and map control. It can help teams respond faster to objectives and skirmishes, making it easier to maneuver around the map.

5. Elder Dragon

• Buff: Grants powerful temporary buffs and execution damage.
• Effect: Slaying the Elder Dragon grants your team a buff that increases damage against enemies and applies an execution effect to champions below 20% health. This buff lasts for 150 seconds and is pivotal during late-game team fights.
• Strategic Use: The Elder Dragon is a game-changer, often serving as the deciding factor in late-game team fights. Focus on securing it when your team is ahead or has the means to engage in a decisive fight.

Tips for Securing Dragons

1. Vision Control: Always maintain vision around the dragon pit. Use wards to keep track of enemy movements.
2. Team Coordination: Communicate with your team to set up fights around dragons. Ensure that your composition is ready to contest.
3. Objective Priority: Pay attention to which dragons are spawning and adjust your playstyle to secure the desired buffs that complement your team’s strengths.

Conclusion

Understanding and leveraging the buffs from dragons is essential for achieving victory in League of Legends. Each dragon type can significantly influence gameplay, and prioritizing the right dragons can provide your team with a crucial edge over the enemy. Adjust your strategy accordingly, and make dragon control a key part of your game plan!