Progression

No. Star Rank is 100% permanent. It never resets and carries over between reigns (8-week reigns). That's what makes it one of the safest pillars of your progression.

Don't confuse it with the dragon's level (Reign Level), which does reset every season and has to be re-ground. So:

• Stars = permanent capital (keep it, stack it, nothing to fear)
• Level = throwaway (raised again each reign through combat or meat)

Simple rule: everything you put into relics → stars is won for good. If you're unsure where to put your effort at the end of a reign, stars are always a good pick because they go through the wipe.

Adding a star does far more than inflate a number. Concretely, each star:

• Raises every stat on the dragon (Strength, Instinct, Intelligence, Initiative)
• Unlocks a Habit slot (roughly one Habit every 2 ranks)
• Increases the army size the dragon can lead
• Changes its size and look

The part people miss: stars also unlock stronger versions of abilities. A confirmed example on Crimson: its stun goes from 20% to 40% on the first turn at 10★, and adds a −12% Instinct/Initiative debuff. Plenty of big effects sleep at 6★ or 10★ until you get there. Permanent, so it's a safe investment.

The stat bonus per star depends on the dragon's rarity. Based on the rank upgrade offers (1★→2★):

• Legendary: +20% to all stats per star (e.g. Syrax)
• Epic: +15% to all stats (e.g. Shadowsong, Daemoros)
• Rare: unconfirmed, probably +10% (check in game)

The strategic consequence: for the same Relics, a star pays more on a Legendary than on an Epic or a Rare. One more reason to concentrate your best Relics on your key Legendaries rather than sprinkling them everywhere. And since Star Rank is permanent, that +20% follows you Reign after Reign.

Yes. Dragon level (Reign Level) resets every reign (8-week reigns). It's one of the throwaway things in the game: you have to re-grind it each season through combat or meat.

Don't mix it up with what stays:

• 🔴 Resets: dragon level, research, buildings, basic resources, meat, House Level.
• 🟢 Permanent: stars (Star Rank), habits, relics, gold, the dragons themselves.

Strategic takeaway: don't build your long-term strength on level, which evaporates. Level is there to make you strong NOW, this season. For something lasting, invest in stars and habits. At the start of a reign, push the level of your key dragons back up fast so you're operational.

A dragon's Reign Level goes up two ways:

1. By fighting: XP comes from enemy troops killed. The more you send that dragon at beasts, knights and players, the more levels it gains.
2. By feeding it Meat: Meat raises the level instantly (an alternative to combat XP). You get it from events, the campaign, encounters and the shop.

Level drives the dragon's maximum army size and its 4 stats, and it carries a big share of its Power 🔥.

⚠️ Careful: Reign Level resets every reign — you re-grind it every season. The Combat Training research gives +2.5%/level of dragon XP in PvE to speed that up.

Your dragons' level is capped by your campaign stage. As long as you don't push further into the campaign, your dragons hit a ceiling (level 30 is a cap seen in game), no matter how much Meat or XP you throw at them.

So if a dragon refuses to level while you're feeding it:

• check which campaign stage you've reached,
• push the campaign to lift the cap.

The campaign runs 11 stages plus an epilogue (~40 days) and requires Stronghold Tier 10 before it ends. Progressing through it unlocks the level cap *and* rewards. Remember that this level resets every reign, so the cap re-opens each season through your campaign progress.

Meat is used to feed your dragons and raise their level instantly, without farming combat XP. Very handy early in a Reign to quickly restore a key dragon whose level reset.

⚠️ Major trap: Meat resets at the end of the Reign. Any unspent stock is lost. So:

• don't hoard Meat "for later",
• spend it all before the Reign ends on the dragons you actually play,
• prioritize the dragons you'll really deploy this season.

Meat comes from events, the campaign, encounters and the store. Since it's disposable, spend it without hesitation rather than watching it vanish at the season change.

Dragon XP comes from enemy troops killed: the more troops a target has, the more you earn. So go for high-level beasts and knights rather than chaining small, low-value targets.

Levers to speed it up:

• The Combat Training research: +2.5%/level dragon XP in PvE. Worth leveling when you're re-grinding levels.
• Remember that damage accumulates across rounds and across waves: sending several waves at a big tile eventually drops it (the defender never heals).

⚠️ Your level is capped by your campaign chapter: no point over-farming if you're already at the cap — advance the campaign first. And since level resets every Reign, concentrate the XP on the dragons you really play this season.

Every dragon has 5 Habits (permanent passives), each one upgradable over 5 levels. The life of a Habit:

locked → unlocked (lvl 1) → raised to lvl 5.

Two separate steps:

1. Unlocking the slot: a Habit unlocks at a Star Rank milestone of the dragon (locked panels read "Get N star(s) for [dragon]"). Count on roughly one Habit every 2 ranks.
2. Raising it (lvl 1→5): with chest materials — one Breedmark + one Core matching its rarity (🔵 Rare / 🟣 Epic / 🟡 Legendary).

So a dragon can have plenty of stars but few Habits actually raised. Habits weigh heavily in a dragon's power (up to 5 stacked effects at lvl 5).

Prioritise the set Habits ⭐ and the 5th Habit:

• The 5th Habit is the strongest one on every dragon (the Habit Growth event confirms it pays more than the others).
• Set Habits ⭐ (the ones that read "[Order] grants") reinforce the dragon's active Order: they multiply what its command already does instead of adding a small isolated bonus.

Another smart angle: Habits that lower an enemy defensive stat (Instinct / Initiative / Intelligence) are team multipliers — they lift your whole army, not just one dragon. Concentrate your Legendary Cores on the Legendaries you actually field instead of spreading them thin.

To raise a Habit by one level you need two items from chests:

• a Breedmark tied to the dragon's breed (Champion / Warrior / Sentinel / Hunter),
• a rarity Core matching the dragon's rarity:
• 🔵 Rare Core → Rare dragons
• 🟣 Epic Core → Epic dragons
• 🟡 Legendary Core → Legendary dragons

An observed cost is 100 Breedmarks + 100 Cores per tier, but that cost rises at higher levels (the exact curve is still to be confirmed).

Cores can also be bought at the Market (with Relic Shards). Since Habits are permanent, these investments never reset.

Yes for unlocking the slot, no for leveling it. That's the important nuance:

• The Habit slot unlocks at a star tier. Locked screens say it plainly: "Reach N star(s) on [dragon]". Count on roughly one Habit every 2 ranks.
• But leveling the Habit (1→5) does NOT depend on stars: that's done with a Breedmark + Core from chests.

That's why a dragon can show plenty of stars but few leveled Habits: the slots are open, but you haven't yet spent the chest items to level them.

So two separate levers: Relics (stars) open the slots, chests (Breedmark/Core) fill them.

Habits follow two constant ladders between level 1 and level 5:

• ×2.0 ladder: level 5 = double level 1. Multipliers `[1 · 1.2 · 1.4 · 1.7 · 2.0]`. Used for stat buffs/debuffs (Strength/Instinct/Intelligence/Initiative), damage-taken reductions, and the low-chance effects (Weakened, Advantage, Vulnerable, Resistance).
• ×2.5 ladder: level 5 = ×2.5 of level 1. Multipliers `[1 · 1.3 · 1.6 · 2.0 · 2.5]`. Used for strong control (Stun, Overwhelm, Stagger, Confuse, First-Strike, Mimicry).

A ×2.0 example: 25 → 30 → 35 → 42.5 → 50%. A ×2.5 example: 40 → 52 → 64 → 80 → 100%.

So leveling a ⭐ set Habit (control, ×2.5) pays more in raw value than a standard stat Habit.

A ⭐ set Habit is one whose text reads "[Order] grants" (e.g. *Blazing Fury grants*, *Bloodscale Terror grants*, *Breath of Fire grants*). Instead of adding an isolated effect, it directly reinforces the dragon's active Order.

Why they're strong:

• they multiply the dragon's main ability (a synergistic effect, not an additive one),
• they're often the 5th Habit, already the most powerful slot,
• a "complete" dragon (its Order plus its 5 leveled Habits, ⭐ included) is far stronger than its raw 🔥 Power suggests.

Tip: if you have to choose where to spend your Breedmarks + Cores, go for the ⭐ Habits of your main dragons first.

No, Habits are permanent. Like Star Rank, they never reset between Reigns (the 8-week seasons). Everything you invest in Breedmarks and rarity Cores to level them is won for good.

That's what makes Habits one of the best long-term investments in the game:

• they stay leveled Reign after Reign,
• their materials (Breedmarks, 🔵🟣🟡 Cores) are permanent in your inventory too,
• they weigh enormously on a dragon's real strength.

By contrast, your dragon level and your research reset every season. So late in a Reign, putting your resources into Habits and stars is always more durable than into levels or buildings.

A dragon's Star Rank only goes up by stacking its own relics (Hatchery). No gold, no resources: it's the relics of that exact dragon that make it grow.

The known costs climb steeply:

• 1★ (hatching): 15 relics
• 2★: 40
• 3★: 100
• 4★: 180
• 7★: 800

5★ and 6★ aren't confirmed yet (the curve can't be deduced without them). The good news: Star Rank is permanent — it never resets between reigns. Every star you buy stays yours for good, which makes it one of the best places to put your relics.

Put your stars into the dragons that unlock a key breakpoint, not just the ones with a big power number. Two criteria:

1. Your key Legendaries: at +20% stats per star, they turn every relic into the most value.
2. Dragons whose big effect is asleep at 6★ or 10★. Pushing such a dragon to 6★ can switch on a whole engine for your roster — Panic, for instance, is worth ×1.5 damage across several dragons.

Don't trust raw Power 🔥 on its own: on our reference account, Jagadrix has the lowest power of the roster and is still one of the best dragons in it, thanks to its stars (10★, effects live). Aim for the breakpoints that switch effects on, not for the number.

Relics are what hatch a dragon and then raise its stars. You mainly get them from:

• Hatchery chests, opened with Dragonbone, Dragonglass or Dragonfire Keys (or gold). Every chest gives 3 guaranteed rewards.
• The premium Conqueror's Chest: epic/legendary relics only; its first reward is 75% epic / 25% legendary.
• Event chests, which boost the relics of the dragons featured at the time.
• The Market, which sells relics for a specific dragon in exchange for shards.

Relics are permanent: they don't reset between reigns. Claim them at the Hatchery.

Dragonfire has a pity system that guarantees rare content even when luck abandons you, by counting your pulls:

• A guaranteed epic elite bundle every 130 pulls
• A guaranteed legendary every 250 pulls

On top of that, inside a Hatchery chest, reward 2 can drop a legendary + an elite bundle (100 relics), or even a mega bundle (1,000 relics).

What to take away: if you're closing in on a pity threshold, chaining pulls becomes mathematically worth it to cash in the guarantee. It's a predictable system — plan it around your events and your key stock.

Relic Shards is the currency that stops relics going to waste. You get it whenever you pull relics for a dragon already at maximum Star Rank: instead of being lost, they convert into dust.

You then spend that dust at the Market on:

• targeted relics (for the dragon you actually want to raise)
• Cores (rare / epic / legendary, for Habits)
• keys (Dragonbone, for instance)

So it's a safety net: your surplus relics become a way to steer your progress where you want it. The Market lists a price per dragon, so you can aim your dust at one specific project.

You need 15 Relics of the same dragon to hatch it immediately (= bring it to 1★, its starting rank). Once hatched, continuing to accumulate its Relics raises its Star Rank.

A useful detail: Relics often drop as "eggs" of 5, so 15 Relics = 3 eggs for a hatch.

After hatching, the star tiers cost (in that dragon's Relics): 40 (2★), 100 (3★), 180 (4★)… up to 800 (7★). All of it is permanent. Hatching is therefore the very first milestone: go for 15 Relics of a dragon you actually intend to play rather than scattering them.

You lose nothing: Relics for a dragon already at maximum Star Rank automatically convert into Relic Shards.

You spend those shards at the Market on:

• buying back Relics for another dragon you want to raise,
• buying Cores (🔵 Rare / 🟣 Epic / 🟡 Legendary) to upgrade Habits,
• buying Hatchery keys.

In other words: the surplus from a "finished" dragon funds another one's climb. That's why you should never fear pulling duplicate Relics — they feed your progression elsewhere. Just remember to swing by the Market now and then to reinvest your shards.

The Conqueror's Chest is a premium, high-end chest: it only contains Epic and Legendary Relics (no Rares). Its reward 1 is 75% Epic / 25% Legendary.

The appeal: if your goal is to star up Epic/Legendary dragons (the ones that pay the most stats per star, +15% and +20%), it's a targeted source with no Rare "filler".

Compare it with the standard Hatchery chests (Dragonbone / Dragonglass / Dragonfire keys), which are broader but less targeted. Beyond that, keep in mind that the Pity System applies too (an Epic every 130 pulls, a Legendary every 250) — a factor in any value calculation.

Heirlooms are a system of permanent upgrades laid out in 2 trees:

• Dragon Growth (dragon stats)
• Realm Expansion (economy + territory)

How it works:

• You buy upgrades in any order.
• At the centre of each cluster, Amplifiers boost every upgrade connected to them (they advance with Amplifier Seals).
• Every upgrade rank grants a permanent Mastery bonus that is always active, independent of your House Level.

Unlocked upgrades are permanent (cross-reign), BUT their buffs are only active if your House Level (which does reset) is high enough. Four currencies feed the trees: Runic Fragments, Valyrian Tablets, Dragonlord Scrolls, Amplifier Seals.

The Heirloom trees run on 4 currencies, each with its own source:

• Runic Fragments → by killing Hedge Knights
• Valyrian Tablets → through your Alliance and events (and the daily login)
• Dragonlord Scrolls → by holding Dragonlord Sanctums
• Amplifier Seals → on high-level map nodes (they're what advances the central Amplifiers)

Because Heirlooms are permanent, these currencies are a long-term investment: everything you spend stays yours reign after reign. The daily login hands out Valyrian Tablets regularly — a cheap daily reflex that feeds either Dragon Growth (stats) or Realm Expansion (economy/territory).

House Level goes up with House EXP, earned mostly through:

• the daily login (steady House EXP),
• Chapter Quests,
• events.

Its role is crucial and often misread: House Level decides which Heirloom buffs are ACTIVE. Your Heirloom upgrades stay unlocked forever, but you need a high enough House Level for them to actually work.

⚠️ House Level resets every reign. So at the start of a season it's one of the first things to re-grind, just to switch back on the buffs you've already paid for. The daily login also hands out Valyrian Tablets (a Heirloom currency), which makes it a daily habit worth keeping.

It's nuanced, and worth understanding properly:

• Unlocked Heirloom upgrades are PERMANENT — they never reset. The gold and currency you put in are kept for life.
• The Mastery bonus (one per upgrade rank) is always active, independent of everything else.
• BUT: a Heirloom buff is only active if your House Level is high enough, and House Level resets every Reign.

So in practice: you never lose a Heirloom you bought. However, at the start of each new season, some of its buffs are "switched off" until you've re-grinded your House Level. The right practice: invest in the Heirloom once (permanent), then climb House Level quickly each Reign to switch the buffs back on.

Legendary Cores 🟡 only upgrade the habits of Legendary dragons — they're rare and precious. Don't spread them around.

Concentrate them on your key Legendaries, the ones you actually play and whose habits weigh the most:

• go first for their set habits ⭐ (the ones that reinforce the Order) and their 5th habit (the strongest one),
• favour a dragon you field at the Center (the aura hub) or a team amplifier.

Why concentrate everything: a finished Legendary — stars plus raised ⭐ habits — is far stronger than its raw Power 🔥 suggests, and it's permanent. One finished Legendary beats three half-built ones. Rare 🔵 and Epic 🟣 Cores go to dragons of the matching rarity.

This is THE thing to know. The game runs in 8-week Reigns.

🔴 RESETS every Reign (re-grind each season):

• Dragon level (Reign Level)
• All buildings and research (Infrastructure, War Tactics, Dragon Care)
• Tile ownership, Territory Influence
• Base resources (Wood, Stone, Iron, Food), Meat, Resolve
• House Level

🟢 PERMANENT (cross-Reign capital):

• Gold, dragons, dragon eggs
• Stars (Star Rank), Habits
• Relics, Relic Shards, Breedmarks, rarity Cores
• Keys (Dragonbone / Dragonglass / Dragonfire)
• Unlocked Heirlooms plus their Mastery bonus

Golden rule: every bit of Gold, key, Relic, Breedmark, Core or Heirloom you invest is kept for life.

Put your resources into the permanent, never into the disposable late in a Reign. The permanent crosses the reset:

• Stars (Star Rank) — via Relics
• Habits — via Breedmarks + 🔵🟣🟡 Cores
• Relics, Relic Shards, Breedmarks, Cores, keys — stored, never lost
• Unlocked Heirlooms (plus the always-active Mastery bonus)
• Gold, dragons, eggs

Conversely, at the very end of a Reign, avoid over-investing in: buildings, research, dragon level, base resources and Meat (all of it resets or is lost).

A transition tip: just before the Reign ends, spend your remaining Meat (it disappears) and convert what you can into permanent gains. At the start of a Reign, re-grind your House Level fast to reactivate the Heirloom buffs you've already paid for.

Several things reset at the Reign change, which feels like "losing everything" — but it's normal:

• Your dragon level goes back to zero → re-raise it through combat/Meat.
• Your buildings and research (Dragon Care, War Tactics, Infrastructure) have to be redone → your stat/damage bonuses start low again.
• Your House Level resets → and it's House Level that activates your Heirloom buffs.

The key point about Heirlooms: the upgrades stay unlocked (permanent), but they're only active if your House Level is high enough. So early in a season, re-grind House Level first (daily login + chapter quests + events) to switch back on buffs you've already paid for.

What hasn't moved: your stars, Habits, Relics and gold.

Master rule: the permanent first, the disposable second.

A recommended priority order:

1. The permanent (crosses Reigns): Stars (Star Rank) via Relics, Habits via Breedmarks + Cores, Heirlooms. That's capital that never evaporates.
2. Concentrate your Legendary (gold) Cores on your key Legendaries rather than scattering them — they're worth +20% stats per star, the best return.
3. Combat XP on high-level beasts and knights to quickly rebuild the level that matters this season.
4. At the start of a Reign, re-grind House Level to reactivate the Heirloom buffs you've already paid for.

Don't sprinkle: one complete dragon (stars + 5 leveled Habits) beats five half-built ones.

Yes, the permanent first — that's the basic principle of progression in Dragonfire, because the game resets an enormous amount every 8 weeks (one Reign).

Put your effort into what stays:

• Stars (Relics) and Habits (Breedmarks + Cores) → they never reset.
• Unlocked Heirlooms → permanent too.

Your dragon level, buildings and research reset every season: useful to be strong now, but not worth over-investing in, since you'll have to redo it all. The right balance:

• keep a level that's "good enough to play" this season,
• but steer your gold/Relics/Cores toward permanent capital.

And at the start of each Reign, quickly re-grind House Level and your key dragons' levels to get operational again.

Finish one dragon rather than half-raising five. A dragon's strength doesn't come from its raw 🔥 number but from the combination of stars + leveled Habits + its Order.

Why concentrating wins:

• Habits weigh heavily (up to 5 stacked effects at level 5), and a ⭐ set Habit multiplies the dragon's ability.
• Stars unlock effect tiers (e.g. effects dormant until 6★/10★, like Crimson's 40% stun).
• A "complete" dragon is far stronger than its raw Power suggests — proof: Jagadrix, the lowest Power on the roster, stays the best thanks to its 10★.

So pick 2-3 pillar dragons (ideally including a good Center/Champion), push them all the way, and only then widen. All of that capital is permanent.