A FAIR ARENA

"Fair" is easy to write on a web page and hard to build into a game. Here is what it means in Dragons League, rule by rule – and what we deliberately chose not to do.

1. The server is the referee

In many browser games, your computer works out what happens and tells the others. That is convenient, but it means your computer can lie. In Dragons League it works the other way round:

• your browser sends only your intentions: the direction you want to fly, whether you boost, when you start and release a Breath;
• the game server runs the simulation many times per second and decides everything that affects score or survival: movement, collisions, slices, headshots, loot, the Crown and your rewards;
• your browser then draws what the server decided.

A modified browser can draw whatever it likes on its own screen, but it cannot change what the server decides – so it cannot win a fight it did not win.

2. One number for strength

Strength in Dragons League is Might, and only Might. It is your size, your health and your score at once. There is no hidden stat, no level that makes you hit harder, no item that adds armor. A level-50 veteran and a first-time guest with the same Might are exactly as strong. Experience makes you better, not stronger.

3. No pay-to-win, anywhere

Everything you can unlock – dragons, gadgets, access to modes – is cosmetic or a way to play. Might, Spirit, speed, damage and hitboxes are identical for every dragon and every look. We also made a few rules that keep it that way in the future:

• Coins are only earned by playing. They are never sold for real money.
• No gadget may hide or reshape the head, because the head is the headshot target.
• No gadget may look like a game signal – an orb, a Breath, the Crown or the golden glow of Ascension – so nobody gets an unfair visual trick.

4. Elements are a style, not a stat

Every dragon breathes one of four elements: Inferno, Glacier, Thunder or Gale. In an earlier design, each element had its own damage and side effects – burning, slowing, stunning, pushing. Measured over many matches, that made some elements simply better than others. Today the elements are 100 % cosmetic: the same damage, range, width, cost and headshot rules. The difference is in how they look and sound, and we work hard to keep all four equally impressive.

5. Attacks you can see coming

Fairness is also about information. Every charged Breath shows a dashed aim line to everyone nearby before it fires. Charging also slows the attacker down. You always get a chance to react – which means when you are hit, you can see why, and do better next time.

6. Protection for newcomers

A new dragon spawns with a short shield and away from other dragons when there is room. A giant cannot be ended by one lucky shot from a tiny dragon either: big dragons have armor that cracks on the first headshot instead of breaking. Small dragons have a chance to grow, and big dragons have a chance to react.

What fair does not mean

Fair does not mean equal outcomes. Good players will win more, and that is the point: the only edge in Dragons League is the one you earn by playing well. If you ever see something that looks unfair, tell us – with the time, the mode and your player name, we can look into it.