July Dragon of the Month review and breeding guide: the Firestar Dragon

Hello Dragon Ladies and Lords! Gameloft has just surprised us all with the update that, besides the hotfix solving recent problems, brought another brand-new legendary dragon: the Firestar Dragon, who has light and energy elements. It has been officially announced as the Dragon of the Month for July with the required elements being fire, wind, earth and plant. It is another surprise, as three of those elements were also elements for Furnace, and no other DotM this year have had more than two elements in common with the previous one. So, all my hard work to predict the combination was in vain, but luckily, we know the elements required for sure now and I can write a detailed breeding guide (and a dragon review as well). So, let's start!

How to breed Firestar Dragon?

To have a chance of breeding the Firestar Dragon, you must breed dragons that have fire, wind, earth and plant elements. If the parents have more elements than needed (i. e. when you breed the Elemental Dragon with the Venom Dragon), or some elements duplicated (i. e when you breed the Elemental Dragon with the Sunflower Dragon), you still have a chance to obtain the Dragon of the Month, but it's lower due to the higher number of possible outcomes. So, I will only list the combinations that have precisely the given element set, nothing more and nothing less and one additional combination that I have a reason to mention here.

Some tables contain *Mystic Dragon* who is VIP-only dragon and you will have a chance of getting one if you have an active VIP status of level 4 or higher. 

No 1. Plant + Tribal

Breed the Tribal Dragon (or one of: Prairie Dragon, Owl Dragon, Mystic Dragon, Orc Dragon, Elephant Dragon) with the Plant Dragon

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Tree Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Seed Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Leaf Dragon			8 h 00 min (6 h 48 min)	11 h 20 min (9 h 04 min)
Orange Dragon			16 h 00 min (12 h 48 min)	23 h 30 min (18 h 48 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

No. 2. Fire + Painted

Breed the Painted Dragon (or one of: Scribble Dragon, Palm Dragon, Academic Dragon) with the Fire Dragon.

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Smoke Dragon			0 h 30 min (0 h 24 min)	0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)
Bee Dragon			0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)	1 h 20 min (1 h 04 min)
Lava Dragon			1 h 00 min (0 h 48 min)	1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)
Salamander Dragon			1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)	2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)
Tribal Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	0 h 05 min (0 h 04 min)
*  Mystic Dragon*			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Orange Dragon			16 h 00 min (12 h 48 min)	23 h 30 min (18 h 48 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

Remember when I mentioned in the Painted review that you might need this dragon one day for breeding Dragon of the Month? The time has come!

No. 3. Wind + Orange

Breed the Orange Dragon (or one of: Armadillo Dragon, Werewolf Dragon, Maple Leaf Dragon, Champion Dragon, Warden Dragon, Pumpkin Dragon) with the Wind Dragon

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Smoke Dragon			0 h 30 min (0 h 24 min)	0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)
Bee Dragon			0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)	1 h 20 min (1 h 04 min)
Dust Dragon			2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)	3 h 00 min (2 h 24 min)
Seed Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Leaf Dragon			8 h 00 min (6 h 48 min)	11 h 20 min (9 h 04 min)
Tribal Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	0 h 05 min (0 h 04 min)
*  Mystic Dragon*			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

No. 4. Earth + Bloom

Breed the Bloom Dragon (or the Kangaroo Dragon, or the Ash Dragon) with the Earth Dragon

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Lava Dragon			1 h 00 min (0 h 48 min)	1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)
Salamander Dragon			1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)	2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)
Dust Dragon			2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)	3 h 00 min (2 h 24 min)
Tree Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Tribal Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	0 h 05 min (0 h 04 min)
*  Mystic Dragon*			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Orange Dragon			16 h 00 min (12 h 48 min)	23 h 30 min (18 h 48 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

No. 5. Lava + Seed

Breed the Lava Dragon (or the Salamander Dragon, or the Shooting Star Dragon) with the Seed Dragon (or the Leaf Dragon, or the Li'l Chick Dragon)

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Smoke Dragon			0 h 30 min (0 h 24 min)	0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)
Bee Dragon			0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)	1 h 20 min (1 h 04 min)
Dust Dragon			2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)	3 h 00 min (2 h 24 min)
Tree Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Tribal Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	0 h 05 min (0 h 04 min)
* Mystic Dragon*			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Sunflower Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	16 h 50 min (13 h 30 min)
Orange Dragon			16 h 00 min (12 h 48 min)	23 h 30 min (18 h 48 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

No. 6. Sunflower + Dust

Breed the Sunflower Dragon (or one of: Ceremony Dragon, Amber Dragon, Ladybug Dragon, Golden Green Dragon) with the Dust Dragon (or the Goblin Dragon, or the Tick Tock Dragon)

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Smoke Dragon			0 h 30 min (0 h 24 min)	0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)
Bee Dragon			0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)	1 h 20 min (1 h 04 min)
Lava Dragon			1 h 00 min (0 h 48 min)	1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)
Salamander Dragon			1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)	2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)
Tree Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Seed Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Leaf Dragon			8 h 00 min (6 h 48 min)	11 h 20 min (9 h 04 min)
Tribal Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	0 h 05 min (0 h 04 min)
* Mystic Dragon*			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Orange Dragon			16 h 00 min (12 h 48 min)	23 h 30 min (18 h 48 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

No. 7. Smoke + Tree

Breed the Smoke Dragon (or the Bee Dragon, or the Fireball Dragon) with the Tree Dragon (or one of: Faun Dragon, Farmer Dragon, Referee Dragon, Avocado Dragon). If you are breeding Bee + Tree, make sure at least one of them is unenchanted or your breeding den isn't upgraded.

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Lava Dragon			1 h 00 min (0 h 48 min)	1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)
Salamander Dragon			1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)	2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)
Dust Dragon			2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)	3 h 00 min (2 h 24 min)
Seed Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Leaf Dragon			8 h 00 min (6 h 48 min)	11 h 20 min (9 h 04 min)
Sunflower Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	16 h 50 min (13 h 30 min)
Tribal Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	0 h 05 min (0 h 04 min)
* Mystic Dragon*			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Orange Dragon			16 h 00 min (12 h 48 min)	23 h 30 min (18 h 48 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

No. 8. Bee + Tree

Breed enchanted Bee Dragon with enchanted Tree Dragon in an upgraded breeding den.

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Lava Dragon			1 h 00 min (0 h 48 min)	1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)
Salamander Dragon			1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)	2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)
Dust Dragon			2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)	3 h 00 min (2 h 24 min)
Seed Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Leaf Dragon			8 h 00 min (6 h 48 min)	11 h 20 min (9 h 04 min)
Sunflower Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	16 h 50 min (13 h 30 min)
Amber Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	16 h 50 min (13 h 30 min)
Tribal Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	0 h 05 min (0 h 04 min)
* Mystic Dragon*			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Orange Dragon			16 h 00 min (12 h 48 min)	23 h 30 min (18 h 48 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

No. 9. Sunflower + Tribal

Breed the Sunflower Dragon with the Tribal Dragon, both enchanted at least to level 2 in a breeding den upgraded at least to level 3. 

Possible outcomes are:

Dragon	Elements	Rarity	Breeding time	Hatching time
Fire Dragon			0 min 30 s (0 min 24 s)	0 min 30 s (0 min 24 s)
Smoke Dragon			0 h 30 min (0 h 24 min)	0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)
Bee Dragon			0 h 45 min (0 h 36 min)	1 h 20 min (1 h 04 min)
Lava Dragon			1 h 00 min (0 h 48 min)	1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)
Salamander Dragon			1 h 30 min (1 h 12 min)	2 h 00 min (1 h 36 min)
Tree Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Seed Dragon			6 h 00 min (4 h 48 min)	8 h 30 min (6 h 48 min)
Leaf Dragon			8 h 00 min (6 h 48 min)	11 h 20 min (9 h 04 min)
Tribal Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	0 h 05 min (0 h 04 min)
Sunflower Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	16 h 50 min (13 h 30 min)
* Mystic Dragon*			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Owl Dragon			12 h 00 min (9 h 36 min)	19 h 20 min (15 h 28 min)
Orange Dragon			16 h 00 min (12 h 48 min)	23 h 30 min (18 h 48 min)
Firestar Dragon			48 h 00 min (38 h 24 min)	57 h 40 min (46 h 08 min)

Which combination to use?

What is the best combination for you depend on two things: how active you are and what is your primary goal. Breeding a Dragon of the Month almost always takes a lot of time, thus I usually recommend that new players pick rather a combination that may have lower chances of getting DotM, but meanwhile would most likely result in a few dragons that they don't have yet. This way breeding a desired legendary takes a little bit longer, but they aren't stuck with no new dragons for weeks. However, we have been promised a new, exciting type of event starting July 9 and Egyptian divines are on the horizon. If the divine event takes place in July (though it seems to be planned for August), having Firestar before it starts will be very, very important. We don't know anything about the new type of event yet, so it's hard to say whether we'd benefit from having DotM during it or if it will occupy out breeding dens. However, it seems a wise idea this time to ignore other potentially wanted offspring and focus on getting Firestar possibly quickly this time. 

The combination No. 1 obviously has the highest chance to breed the Firestar. However, it is not listed as the first recommended on the Wiki page. The reason why the combination No. 2 is listed as first on Wiki is that most of its outcomes have really short breeding time, and estimated expected value of time needed to breed Firestar with No. 2 is lower. The problem with it is that we are not robots. We need sleep, we have to go to the work, and we should go outside sometimes to enjoy a summer! Not to mention spending time with family and friends or home duties. Even if you have access to the Internet wherever you go, it's really not good neither for your mental health nor for your relations with other people to look into your phone/tablet every half an hour just to move another Smoke's egg to the hatchery. That's why I've put Plant + Tribal on the first place. I can't say this for sure, as the actual chances of getting specific offspring aren't publicly known, but I really think that considered all the time that we do not play DML so we don't rebreed, the combination No. 1 indeed is better. 

If you are super bored, the weather is terrible etc. and you actually plan to play Dragon Mania Legends a lot, then it is a good idea to switch to other combinations. If possible - to No. 2. I know there is an Orange with 16 h breeding time there, but on the other side - all commons and uncommons in that table have very short breeding time. Most of the misbreeds will be commons and uncommons, so it's better to have a lot of timers under 2 h and a 16 h timer sometimes, than a lot of timers about 6 - 8 h and a 12 h timer sometimes. No. 2 also have slightly higher chances of getting Firestar than No. 3 and No. 4 (thanks to higher rarities of possible offspring). Unfortunately, you need one limited-time dragon for the No. 2 thus it may be impossible for you to use it.

When choosing between No. 3 and No. 4, No. 3 almost always wins. It has a little bit lower chances to get Firestar, however, substantially lower breeding times. The only situation when the No. 4 is better than No. 3 is when you aren't going to play for about 2 hours after tapping "breed" (for example you are about to go to the cinema ;), and 12 h from that moment falls in the middle of night. 

If you are unable to use combinations 1-4, then use No. 5 if you can. If no, use No. 6 if you will play soon or No. 7 if you aren't going to play for about next 6 h. 

If you want to breed Sunflower, Tribal, Mystic or Orange Dragon and it is more important for you than getting Firestar quickly, then just follow above rules treating all the combinations that don't give a chance of breeding the dragon that you want like if you were unable to use them. But always keep in mind that you aren't using the best possible for you combination and whenever you feel that time is running short, switch to the better one. 

You should have noticed that I have also put here two combinations of enchantment breeding. Why would I do that? They have so many possible outcomes, if you try to get a Firestar with them, you will probably get many, many misbreeds... The point is that if you are going to breed Amber or Owl soon, you are going to use this combinations anyhow, and get all those misbreeds anyhow. So if you don't feel rush towards Firestar, it may be better idea to get all those misbreeds now, when it also gives you a chance to get the Dragon of the Month. However, if you have no luck, as above switch to another combination whenever you feel that time is running short. 

When you already know what combination you are going to use, always pick dragons at the highest level. For example, if you have a level 12 Painted and a level 23 Palm, for combination No. 2 always pick Palm. Parents rarity (like rare Palm vs epic Painted) and order in the den (like Fire+Painted vs Painted+Fire) don't matter. This has been officially confirmed by Gameloft. Enchantment level does only matter for the case of determining whether a dragon from enchanted breeding can be bred. 

Dragon review

Unless the upcoming events are really extreme, obtaining Firestar should be rather easy. But will it be useful? Let's see!

As a battle dragon

The Firestar Dragon has got actually really great stats. Base attack of 80 is more than most of the legendaries and even divines! It looses to Chang'e, Taiyi Zhenren, Zeus and only four legendaries (of which only Sumo has got also higher base health) and draws with another four legendaries (half of them have the same base health, and the other half - lower). Out of those 8 legendaries, Vortex, Plushie and Sumo are unlimited time (and Furnace, having the same

element and stats as Plushie, is current Dragon of the Month to be replaced by Firestar soon). Sumo obviously wins with Firestar, but is also far harder to get than a Dragon of the Month. Plushie has much lower health and just by one point higher base attack damage, but Plushie is totally different dragon (in terms of elements and skills) and could in my opinion work really nicely in one team with Firestar.
Vortex has got the same base attack Firestar, and shares the energy element with it. It has void instead of light - which means two less element strengths, lower base health and less useful skill. So it looks like the Firestar is a really amazing battle dragon. And indeed it is before you reach very high levels on your dragons. Players with many level 80**** dragons are currently having lots of troubles with fights, mostly in dungeon and it has been observed that damage-over-time skills are more useful when dealing with those battles than area damage skills. 

So I don't recommend Firestar as a battle dragon to you if you are really advanced player (unless light and energy elements are the only two you miss to balance your team for the case of castle events) - but if you are rather new one, don't worry about it. Meta will probably change before you reach this point.

Having two area damage sills isn't a perfect thing for it narrows down the variety of possible movements, but all dragons must have their disadvantages, don't they? Firestar can perform a strong attack against 6 different elements, including metal, which is really great. It can also benefit from triple (energy), sixfold (light) or septuple (legendary) Damage Boost potions, which is enough of choice for most of the situation (though I'd really be happy if my battle dragon could also use a double damage potion, but it's minor inconvenience). 

If you need light and energy elements to balance your team, there are 13 epics with those two elements. However, only one of them isn't a limited-time and it's the VIP-only Tiki Dragon. Two of them have been available to us recently: the Bubble Dragon was a prize in Dragon's Delight about a month ago, and the Butterfly Dragon that I have described in my previous post is the current Dragon of the Week. Bubble and Butterfly could be reasonable epics for a secondary team. Tiki, despite rather high attack damage seems just too monothematic with its area damage, area damage and.... area damage (!) skills. So, Firestar Dragon isn't indispensable for the team balance regardless what other dragons you have - but it's a great dragon however and in many, many cases it's worth being considered as a team member. Whether you should add Firestar to your team or not depends on your overall situation, if you aren't sure, feel free to ask in comments :)

Other usages

Firestar is actually one of the few legendaries that are likely to be ever used as parents - if the divine event comes in July or Gameloft surprises us with another breeding couple including DotM in the event announced for the July 9. 

If you need a legendary dragon to upgrade the Legendary Temple to be able to level up your another dragon, Firestar is also a good pick. It seems pretty easy to obtain and it has light as the secondary element, so may also help you with the problematic Light Temple. 

Legendaries are never the best gold generators due to the low gold capacity of legendary habitats, but compared to other legendaries, Firestar does really well - base of 930 gold/hour is a lot! It's more than most of the legendaries and even over half than the divines. Which is another reason to use this dragon when you are planning to level up your temples. 

Conclusion

Just get this dragon - quickly and with rush, or slowly and grabbing a bunch of other dragons you miss on your way. To use it in your team now or just in case you need ut later. But get it, really. No matter if you are a new player or a veteran, it's better to be prepared to whatever Gameloft would bring us soon.

I hope this guide was useful. Please tell me in comments what do you think about this dragon :) And have a wonderful day at your Dragonlandia!