Editing Green Dragon and Gold Dragon

{{Rampart creatures}}{{Creature
 | AI_Value  = 4872
 | Name      = Green Dragon
 | Growth    = 1
 | Attack    = 18
 | Defense   = 18
 | Speed     = 10
 | Damage    = 40–50
 | Health    = 180
 | Movement  = [[Flying]]
 | Size      = 2
 | Cost      = 2400
 | Res       = [[File: Resource Crystal 20x18.gif]]
 | ResCost   = 1
 | Special   = • [[Breath attack]]<br>• [[Spell immunity|Immune]] to level 1–3 [[spell]]s<br>• Counts as [[dragon]]
 | U_AI_Value= 8613
 | U_name    = Gold Dragon
 | U_attack  = '''27'''
 | U_defense = '''27'''
 | U_speed   = '''16'''
 | U_health  = '''250'''
 | U_cost    = 4000
 | U_ResCost = 2
 | U_special = • [[Breath attack]]<br>• '''[[Spell immunity|Immune]] to level 1–4 [[spell]]s'''<br>• Counts as [[dragon]]
 | No_shots  =
 | No_ushots =  
}} 

{{Cram|Dragon Cliffs|Green Dragon|Gold Dragon|no_dwelling=}}
'''Green Dragons and Gold Dragons''' are the level 7 creatures of [[Rampart]]. They are recruited from the [[Dragon Cliffs]].

''"Green and gold dragons deliver devastating damage in the form of poisonous or sulfurous breath. Green dragons are immune to spells below the fourth level and gold dragons are only affected by spells of level five."{{-}}<sup>[[Restoration of Erathia Manual Page 107|RoE manual]]''</sup>
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Placing Green and/or Gold Dragons (as well as any other living Dragons) in the [[Skeleton Transformer]] will give you [[Bone Dragon]]s instead of regular [[Skeleton]]s.

{{user commentary|
Gold Dragons first appeared in Heroes of Might and Magic III, while the Green Dragon was the base dragon creature of the [[Dungeon]] equivalent faction in Heroes of Might and Magic II, which was upgraded two times to Red and then Black Dragon. However, the equivalent of [[Rampart]] in the first two Heroes of Might and Magic games had the Phoenix as its highest tier creature. In a twist of irony, after the war with [[Mutare Drake|Mutare]], which happened right between the 3rd and 4th games in the series, all dragons went almost extinct, the Green and Gold Dragons being replaced by [[Faerie Dragons]] and [[Phoenix|Phoenixes]] (from the then-extinct [[Conflux]]) in the Rampart armies, according to Jennifer Bullard's development documents.
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* [https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/03496/cah-03496.html A Guide to the Jennifer Bullard Papers, 1999-2003]
* [https://www.celestialheavens.com/homam-iv/jennifer-bullard-lost-manuscript-files?showall{{=}}&start{{=}}3 Jennifer Bullard - Lost manuscript files (Celestial Heavens)]

=== Tactics ===
Because of the Gold Dragons' level 1-4 spell immunity, they are suitable to be used in tactics often called [[Dragogeddon]]. In dragogeddon, a hero with preferably high [[power skill]] and [[Armageddon]] spell attacks with an army only consisting of creatures immune or very resilient to the Armageddon spell. The tactics may be used in "hit-and-run" tactic, to advance through wandering creatures or even to slay enemy heroes. However, Armageddon spell is available only in [[alignment|evil alignment]] towns' Mage Guilds and thus not in Rampart, so make sure there is an [[Inferno]], [[Necropolis]], or [[Dungeon]] on the map, which you capture, getting a chance to learn Armageddon (you may edit settings of the game so that your enemy plays for an evil town, or, playing for an evil town, set Rampart for your enemy and hire Gold Dragons when conquered). Note that [[Conflux]] won't help in learning Armageddon, even though its creatures are often used for Dragogeddon. '''Note that Green Dragons are useless for Dragogeddon, since they are immune only to 1-3 level spells!'''

When using any of these dragons, dealing the highest possible damage by targeting enemy archers or important enemy troops is a crucial thing, which can also be done with the help of [[Breath attack]]. A good tactic is to attack a relatively weak enemy stack which stands next to an archer or other enemy troop, allowing the dragons to deal much damage while taking back as little as possible (or even none, if the targeted enemy stacks is killed). However, only the base creature can be [[Resurrection|resurrected]], so be sure to back up the dragons with [[Unicorns]] and/or [[Pegasi]]. '''Beware of breath attack which may kill your own troops as well.'''

When facing these dragons, one of the highest priority is to get rid of them, especially due to their offensive capabilities and high speed of the upgraded creature. Indirectly damaging Green or Gold Dragons via magic is possible by either buffing the own troops with [[Slayer]] (which yields +8 attack against level 7 troops) or other buff spells or summoning a creature with any of [[Summon Air Elemental]], [[Summon Water Elemental]], [[Summon Fire Elemental]] or [[Summon Earth Elemental]] spell. Green Dragons can be killed by [[Spells|4th level spells]], though, and quite easily if the hero has a respectable [[Spell Power]].
While they hit a bit harder and have a higher movement speed than [[Black Dragon|Black Dragons]], the Gold Dragons lack the full magical immunity, making them popularly targeted and dispatched by [[Implosion]], a fatal thing for them. It would be great to force Green and Gold Dragons damage their own troops via breath attack, e.g. hitting them with a weak stack and causing retaliation which will kill much more of their allies than of ours.

Due to the resurrecting part of the [[Sacrifice]] spell being actually a regular level 4 [[Resurrection]], Gold Dragons can not be brought back with [[Sacrifice]], despite it being a level 5 spell; but they can be sacrificed (while it's almost useless since you wouldn't sacrifice a stronger troop for a weaker one).

=== Toughness ===
The Green Dragons have lower defense than the [[Red Dragon]], but the same health value. However, the Gold Dragon has the third highest defense for a town-aligned creature, only surpassed by [[Arch Devil|Arch Devils]] and [[Archangel|Archangels]]. Its health is lower by 20% (50 health) than the [[Black Dragon]]'s, though, and equal to that of the [[Chaos Hydra]] and Archangel, which can both be [[Resurrection|resurrected]], unlike the Gold Dragons. Its defense upgrade bonus is the second highest in the game, a bonus of 9 defense, and only surpassed by the [[Angel]]'s upgrade bonus. Even with the high defense stat, the lower health makes a difference and the Gold Dragons shouldn't take too much damage or will start to lose their numbers.

=== Offense ===
Both Green and Gold Dragons have the same damage value, together with the [[Red Dragon and Black Dragon|Red and Black Dragons]]. The Gold Dragons have their attack stat higher by two than the Black Dragons, though. Together with the [[Breath attack]], these dragons can deal high amounts of damage to enemy troops. Still, beware that the enemy can make them kill your own units indirectly, so be careful with their placement. Its attack upgrade bonus is the second highest in the game, a bonus of 9 attack, and only surpassed by the [[Angel]]'s upgrade bonus.

=== Efficiency and cost ===
Since they won't be dying too easily and can also be resurrected, the Green Dragons are worth their gold until the [[Dragon Cliffs]] sees an upgrade, but should be bought only in quantities you need, as to be able to upgrade their dwelling later on. However, even the base dwelling requires much ore {{o}} and gold {{g}} to build, together with the fact that it requires all other base creature dwellings to be built (except [[Dwarf Cottage]]) and also a level 2 [[Mage Guild]], makes the recruiting of these dragons something obtainable only in the second or third week from the start of the game, depending on how many resources and mines you find. The upgraded dwelling for them requires Mage Guild level 3 and also a high amount of ore {{o}} and gold {{g}}.

A Green Dragon costs 100 gold {{g}} less than a [[Red Dragon]], but a Gold Dragon has the same cost in gold {{g}} as a [[Black Dragon]]. In terms of raw stats, the Rampart's and the Dungeon's dragons are roughly equal. But considering the towns' particular qualities, the Dungeon is better suited for using its Dragons. First, the Dungeon itself is outright better for Dragogeddon (see below). Second, the Warlock hero class usually has considerably more Spell Power than the Druids (not to mention the Rangers), thus making Dragogeddon performed by the Dungeon even stronger. Finally, the Dungeon player can pick [[Alamar]] or [[Jeddite]], who are extremely powerful when using ''"Resurrection + Red Dragons"'' tactics, while the Rampart can only obtain it randomly with 20% chance (and after spending a lot pf resources for the Mages Guild). The only thing the Rampart has to offer in return is a 10% chance to have a [[Prayer]] spell, which can boost the base Dragons dramatically and is blocked in Dungeon, and [[Mephala]]/[[Giselle]] heroes, whose specialties are quite useful for both Gold and especially Green dragons. In summary, when composing an army, the Rampart player (unless some lucky spells/heroes are unlocked) would usually have his Dragons as sidearm or heavy fire support, unlike the Dungeon player, who has an option to make the Dragons the main (and sometimes the only) fighting force intentionally.

=== Skill bonuses ===
While not getting such an immense bonus from skills, like creatures as [[Titans]] do, there are still some good skills to take in consideration. [[Armorer]] is a very good to choice to keep the dragons' numbers up, while [[Tactics]] allows more friendly troops to assist the dragons easily, even if not a necessary skill to have for a [[Rampart]] army, due to its high speed. [[Offense]] is, as usual, a nice skill to have, especially with the dragons' [[Breath attack]]. Resistance is of little use for dragons.
}}{{end of user commentary}}

{{creature 'see also'}}
* [[Comparison of Level 7 Creatures]]

[[Category: Creatures]]
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