Dragons (dragon buildings and treasure)
Dragons appear in Goodgame Empire twice. First, as the toughest NPC target in the game - the Dragon Fortress in the Fire Peaks with a fixed reward of 370 rubies. And second, as a whole dragon era endgame, which opens with a Castle level 8 at legendary level 950: the Dragon Hoard and Dragon Breath Forge buildings produce currencies for recruiting four dragon units, currently the strongest in the game. This overview covers both.
Dragon Fortress in the Fire Peaks
In the Fire Peaks, the quest line guides you through battles with cultists who want to summon dragons back - and at the end, you face an attack on the dragon. The Dragon Fortress is the hardest NPC target in the game, with strength equivalent to a level 55 bandit castle.
The defense consists of 200 units:
- 2x 50 dragon claws on the wings - defense 250 against melee, 180 against ranged.
- 100 dragon breaths at the front - defense 400 against melee, 470 against ranged.
Additionally, there are defensive tools on the walls and castellan effects around +39% wall, +32% gate, +34% melee strength, and +31% ranged strength. The fortress opens every 17 hours and you compete for the target with other players - marching speed or travel feathers come in handy.
How to defeat the dragon and what it drops
Do not engage the dragon without a strong commander - +90% ranged strength is the necessary minimum, ideally plus bonuses to wings and wall reduction. Units: at least veteran heavy crossbowmen, better imperial archers and spearmen; regular heavy crossbowmen will suffer heavy losses even with a good commander.
A proven attack pattern of 4 waves: use shield walls or mantlets and ladders to soften the tools in the first waves, with the main force of archers at the front in the last waves. With imperial archers and spearmen and a commander with +90% melee / +90% ranged / -26.6% wall / +48% wings, you can take down the dragon with losses of around 49 units.
Reward: fixed 370 rubies plus loot of up to 6,800 wood, 6,800 stone, 17,000 food, 30,000 coins, and 39 XP. Have a military hospital (at least level 5) built - losses can be healed.
Dragon Hoard
A civilian building from April 2024, one per castle. It unlocks through the research Dragon Tax in the Hall of Legends (Castle 8, 225 imperial ducats per level, 675 total). The building costs 290 building tokens and 1,225 upgrade tokens, with upgrades requiring plaster and dragon scales. It cannot be demolished or burned and can be stored in the Inner Area.
| Level | Cost | Production bonus | Public order | Required research |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 290 building tokens + 1,225 upgrade tokens | - | 100 | Dragon Tax 1 |
| 2 | 150 plaster + 750 dragon scales | +5% | 300 | Dragon Tax 1 |
| 3 | 225 plaster + 1,125 dragon scales | +10% | 850 | Dragon Tax 2 |
| 4 | 340 plaster + 1,690 dragon scales | +25% | 2,500 | Dragon Tax 2 |
| 5 | 510 plaster + 2,530 dragon scales | +50% | 3,750 | Dragon Tax 3 |
It produces two currencies using manuals (short = 1 hour, long = 5 hours):
- Dragon scales - from building tokens and upgrade tokens (short manual: 40 + 170 tokens for 80-160 scales depending on the level of the manual; long: 95 + 380 tokens for 240-480 scales).
- Draconic amulets - from coins and sceats (short manual from 35,700 coins + 4 sceats for 6,000 amulets up to 178,500 coins + 21 sceats for 30,000; long manual is five times the amount).
Dragon Breath Forge
The second dragon building (June 2024), again one per castle, unlocked by the research Fire and Steel (225 ducats per level, 675 total). It is built for 75 plaster and 375 dragon scales, with higher levels having the same costs as the Dragon Hoard (level 5: 510 plaster + 2,530 scales, +50% production, 3,750 public order). It can be stored in the Relic Trading Area.
It produces four currencies for recruiting dragon units:
| Currency | Resources | Short manual (1 h) | Long manual (5 h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double Fire Axes | steel + draconic amulets | 600-3,000 pcs | 3,000-15,000 pcs |
| Dragon Glass Arrows | dragon glass + draconic amulets | 600-3,000 pcs | 3,000-15,000 pcs |
| Dragon Scale Armor | draconic amulets + shards of dragon scales | 600-3,000 pcs | 3,000-15,000 pcs |
| Dragon Scale Arrows | draconic amulets + shards of dragon scales | 600-3,000 pcs | 3,000-15,000 pcs |
Example costs (manual level 1): 6,000 steel + 300 amulets = 600 axes; long manual 30,000 steel + 1,500 amulets = 3,000 axes. At level 10 of the manual, it is 30,000 steel + 1,500 amulets for 3,000 pieces with a short manual.
Dragon units and the entire path to them
The dragon era is the final content of the game. Progress looks like this:
- Legendary level 950 - condition for researching Takeoff (200 imperial ducats) in the Hall of Legends, which unlocks Castle level 8.
- Dragon Tax (675 ducats) - Dragon Hoard, production of dragon scales and draconic amulets.
- Era of Strength (750 ducats) - Barracks levels 16-20, conditioned by Relic Cattle Breeding (1,250 ducats).
- Fire and Steel (675 ducats) - Dragon Breath Forge, currencies for recruiting units.
The units themselves are recruited for currencies from the forge:
| Unit | Barracks | Training in the Hall of Legends |
|---|---|---|
| Glasswing Archer | 16 | 200 ducats per level, 10 levels (2,000 total) |
| Flamebreath Berserker | 17 | 200 ducats per level, 10 levels (2,000 total) |
| Scalebound Guardian | 19 | 200 ducats per level, 10 levels (2,000 total) |
| Scaleshard Marksman | 20 | 200 ducats per level, 10 levels (2,000 total) |
Additionally, the Hall of Legends offers for 900 ducats a piece of Wall, Castle Gate, and Tower level 9 (researches Dragon Bastion, Dragon Maw, and Dragon Nest). The entire dragon package will cost you thousands of imperial ducats - expect long months of gathering from the League of Kingdoms and events.