Let’s do the monster mash! In honor of Halloween, I thought now would be a great time to take a closer look at the Monster Lair and the array of monsters that we have at our disposal to strengthen our accounts. The Monster Lair is not a throwaway feature within the game. I have found it to be a great feature that allows me to customize my account depending on my build. Honestly, the Monsters contained within the Monster Lair allow players great flexibility for both attack and defense configurations and should not be overlooked as a critical key to your success in the game. In this guide, we will cover everything there is to know about the Monster Lair and give you critical insight into which monsters work for defense, attack, fortresses, and the Wonder.
The “only because my editor made me do it” Disclaimer: The stats and monster selections presented in this article are current as of the date of publication. As anyone who plays Dragon Dimension knows, MZ is always releasing new components to the game and sometimes even changes stat functionality without notice. With every release that occurs, the information contained in this article will become staler (unless updated, of course!). Use this information at your own risk!
Monster Lair Basics
As of this writing the Monster Lair can be raised to Level 30. Once you have obtained an unlock for the foundation you can then use upgrade badges and improvement upgrade badges to raise the building to its maximum level. Shown below are all of the items you need to take your Mobster Lair to Level 30.
For those of you who only recently started playing, or are still upgrading your Monster Lair, you can obtain the upgrade materials from the Weekly Black Market if you do not see them in the Gold Store. If you are curious as to how many badges you need to reach the next level, Cinder covered this in a past article that you can read here. The article does not show upgrade costs for Levels 21 through 30 but my memory is that it tracks the costs you see for Levels 11 through 20.
The next thing that you need to be aware of is that while the Monster Lair houses your monsters, you actually use the monsters via your Wall (for defense) or your Barracks (by adding monsters to your attack presets). From a defense perspective, you can add up to 5 monsters to your wall (if you have unlocked 5 wall slots). Attackers, on the other hand, are limited to only 2 monsters in a given march. I know, blatantly unfair for you attackers but it is what it is! One thing to remember is that monsters placed on your wall for defense cannot be used in an attacking march. As some monsters have dual uses, you will need to be vigilant and be sure to add defensive monsters back to your wall if you have used them to attack Barbarian Fortresses (yes, I have burned because I forgot to do this!).
Unfortunately, if you are looking for a quick, cost effective injection of stats in your account then you will need to look somewhere other than the Monster Lair. It remains cost-prohibitive to unlock and level up monsters quickly as MZ usually limits the materials needed to upgrade monsters when new levels are first released. Additionally, the cost to level monsters is higher now than it was in the past. For higher levels, expect to gain one or two levels per pack, at best. If you are playing on a budget, your better approach is to wait until you start seeing higher amounts of upgrade materials for your monsters in packs and level them up at that point.
Now that we have the basics out of the way let’s take a closer look at our monsters.
You Get a Monster! You Get a Monster! You Get a Monster!
You would think Oprah was running this game as there is a monster for everyone in the Monster Lair. Are you a Wonder fighter? We have monsters for you! Attacking a stronghold? We have a lot of different monsters for you! Are you a trap? Choices galore! With so many choices, how do you know which monster to use and when to use it? Generally speaking, the monsters are broken down into three broad categories: Attack, Wonder, and Defense. Some monsters, however, play a dual role or are best used in a limited role. Let’s take a look at what I mean by reviewing the different ways you can use monsters to strengthen your gameplay.
Attack Monsters
Broadly speaking, the concept of attack monsters for this article is limited to attacking strongholds via solos or rallies. I cover Wonder monsters in a later section. In the graph below you will find all monsters that can be used for an attack configuration of your choice.
Realistically the monster you select will likely depend on your attack configuration and what you are seeing in your reports. Based on what we have seen in DRK, your top three monster choices will include Timeless Dragon, Scorpio, and Cerberus. The other three monsters, Waterlord Forest Dragon, Were Polar Bear, and Reaper, may be relevant against some accounts you are attacking (single type defense) but you will probably be better served with two of the primary attack monsters.
Defense Monsters
As you can imagine, when I refer to Defense monsters, I am speaking of the five potential monsters that you can add to your wall to protect your stronghold from attack. The monsters available for defense are more varied than what we see for attackers and not just because you have up to five to place on your wall! At present, there are ten monsters that I believe are appropriately categorized as defensive in nature. These ten monsters, and their defensive stats, are shown in the graph below.
The absolute strongest monster available for defense at this time is the Stone Golem. If you are able to raise your Stone Golem to Level 60 then you will see significantly higher stats than are presently available for a maxed Bone Ice Dragon. For my wall, I use each of the Empire Defender monsters, Stone Golem, Bone Ice Dragon, and Golem. From there, my choice is between the Turkey Drake and the Frost Giant, for the added Empire Defender Attack stats. Personally, I round out my wall with one of the trio of type monsters that are available – Waterlord Forest Dragon, Were Polar Bear, or Reaper – depending on which troop type I am currently running. Of course, you could sacrifice type defense and health by substituting one of the trio for the Serpent Dragon and increase your type attack to 312,000% if you are struggling to kill the attacker’s march.
Wonder Monsters
Anyone that knows me knows that I am not a Wonder lead. That being said, I did rely on input from leads within DRK who participate in Wonder battles for this part of the article. I thank each of them for their input and continued guidance in an aspect of the game that bores me to death! Below you will find the monsters that contain Wonder stats or are otherwise appropriate for attacking and holding Wonders.
Wonder battles can be broken down into what used to be relevant and what is relevant now. In the past, Wonder fighters relied heavily on monsters that contained Wonder stats when engaging in Wonder battles during Kingdom events or Kingdom of Dragon. At that time the monsters used primarily included the Tempest, Centurion, and Troll monsters. While there are three additional monsters which have monster stats, the Minotaur, Cyclops, and Alicorn, the stats available for these monsters are so low that they are not presently relevant.
As many of you know, Wonder fighting has evolved thanks to MZ’s focus on strengthening Siege stats of late. This being so, Wonder battles are now typically fought using the Chaos Dragon and Siege troops, which we cover under Specialized Monsters in the next section. Thus, your better options for Wonder battles are now Cerberus, Bone Ice Dragon, or the Timeless Dragon. Of these three, the Bone Ice Dragon has the highest Siege stats and should be your go-to choice for Wonder battles where Siege troops are being used.
Specialized Monsters
When we talk about “specialized” monsters, we are primarily referring to monsters that contain Siege stats and are best-suited for Fortress battles and against Barbarian Fortresses or in the Wonder. There are only 3 monsters that I include in the “specialized” category – Cerberus, Bone Ice Dragon, and the Timeless Dragon – as they are the best monsters to use in the Wonder, Fortress Wars, and against Barbarian Fortresses. I have included a chart showing the stats for these monsters, below.
I recently wrote a guide to Fortress fighting and covered the monsters you should use for those battles and the choices remain appropriate now. The absolute best monsters for Fortress Wars are Scorpio and either the Turkey Drake or the Troll.
Now for Barbarian Fortresses or, more appropriately this week, the Pumpkin Patch and Haunted House for those of you participating in the Halloween events. As we have discovered, the absolute best troops to use for attacking Barbarian Fortresses are Siege troops. Thus, the best monsters to use when attacking Barbarian Fortresses have significant Siege stats available and include the Bone Ice Dragon, Timeless Dragon, and Cerberus. If you are a trap or filler, be sure to add your Bone Ice Dragon back to the wall after the event is over!
My Final Thoughts on Monsters
Monsters are a critical part of competitive play in the Dragon Dimension and allow you to adjust your approach quite expansively. Ensuring you are knowledgeable of which monsters work with your playstyle will give you an edge against your opponent and will help to ensure success on the battlefield! Remember, though, monsters are just another tool to ADD stats to your account. Your focus should always be on building a strong base by completing the research relevant to your style of play FIRST.
Where to go for Additional Information
Team Real Tips has guides for pretty much all aspects of Game of War. Remember, our beloved game is constantly changing. Thus, the burden remains on YOU to educate yourself on those changes. Read the blogs released by MZ! Ask questions of RealTips writers in our Line rooms! Remember, there really is no stupid question and we are happy to help you understand the stats that you are working with!
Join the Conversation on our community sites!
I am active in many of the Game of War Line rooms (Line Display Name: FinsUp / Line ID finsupgow) and I am always willing to answer player questions in the rooms or via Direct Message. If I do not know the answer to a question, I am always happy to find the answer or to test your theories to determine the best practices one can take in building their account. Don’t forget to sign up for our Email Subscription that will automatically notify you when we release new content! Finally, join us in our Line channel and engage with the writers here at Real Tips!
