League of Legends has changed dramatically in the past few weeks as we say goodbye to Season 4 and prepare for Season 5. One of the elements of the game that underwent drastic changes is the dragon.

Objective Changes

Our beloved dragon is no longer a source of scaling global gold. Instead, only 25 gold is granted to the player that obtains the last hit on the dragon. Now dragon grants a stacking buff called 'Dragon Slayer' to everyone on the team that lands the killing blow. Since the power of this buff increases with each successful dragon, there is more of an emphasis on effective dragon control. Having poor control over this objective is now more costly, as it will give the enemy team a buff that increases in power as the game goes on.

Experience Changes

The normal amount of experience gained by a team for slaying the dragon has been cut in half. On the other hand, if the average level of your team is lower than your opponents, then you will be awarded a bonus 25% experience per level difference. This means the more behind your team is, the more XP you will get for successfully slaying the dragon. In addition, you will be awarded bonus experience if your level is behind the dragon's level (which is simply the average level of all the players on the rift).

The bonus is 15% XP per number of levels behind the dragon squared, to a cap of 200%. This is a little hard to wrap the brain around so I have provided a table below. These values are extremely significant and should definitely be taken into consideration. If your team is behind, a successful dragon could be just the thing you need to get back in the game, whereas giving up a single dragon while ahead might allow your opponents to make a comeback.

# Levels Behind Dragon Bonus XP Granted 1 15% 2 60% 3 135% 4 200% 5 200%

Dragon Slayer

This is a 5 stage stacking buff gained by slaying dragon. The first 4 stacks are permanent, and all teammates acquire a stack when the dragon is successfully taken. Let's look at these 5 stages.

1. Dragon's Might: +8% Bonus AD and AP
2. Dragon's Dominance: + 15% damage to minions and monsters
3. Dragon's Flight: 5% Movement Speed
4. Dragon's Wrath: 15% damage to towers and buildings

Aspect of the Dragon: Doubles all previous buffs, and all of your attacks apply a dot which deals 150 true damage over 5 seconds. This stage lasts 3 minutes.

Keep in mind, all of these bonuses are percentages and will increase as you become more powerful, as opposed to being flat buffs. Once your team has obtained stage 4 of the buff, your team's siege and split push potential will be significantly stronger, and having stage 5 of the buff will give your team an incredibly powerful buff that will aid in objective rotations, team fights, and tower pushes. Aspect of the Dragon is so powerful because it is multidisciplinary and will enhance almost any team comp.

Dragon Attacks

There are three things to keep in mind when fighting dragon. First, when dragon first takes flight, any enemies near him will get knocked back. Second, dragon's basic attacks deal 50% of the damage in a splash to enemies near the target. Lastly, he will deal between 5-8% of your current health as physical damage if you are his target.

Wrapping Things Up

It is important to keep these dragon changes in mind when playing league. It may not be worth it to allow the enemies to take dragon in exchange for one of their towers anymore, knowing it will give them a permanent buff as well as bring them one step closer to a powerful temporary buff. Remember, being knowledgeable about these changes and other gameplay changes will improve your ability to make the right calls when deciding which objectives to prioritize. I hope this information has been useful to you all, and until next time, I'll see you on the new and improved rift.