How to get perks in dragon city

Summary

Every 3 levels a dragon will gain a new perk. When a dragon gains level 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 you have the chance to pick one of two randomly-chosen perks. You may stack perks to achieve a greater effect. Perks can be reset by paying 5 crystals, giving you a choice of 2 new random perks for each perk the dragon had already gained.

In order to gain more than 3 perks you must evolve your dragon at the Temple of Evolution, increasing their maximum level. Additionally, some perks are only available to evolved dragons.

Perk Chances

Whenever your dragon achieves a certain level, a random roll is performed to determine which 2 perks will be available to choose from. The chance of each perk appearing is equal to the weight of the perk divided by the sum of the weights of all available perks at that level.

Using Perks

Perks are cumulative when a task requires more than 1 dragon to perform. When breeding, the "+ % chance of a rare dragon" perks from BOTH dragons used in the breeding are added together to give you the total increase for that breeding. The same is true for "+ % breeding speed" perk.

April 1, 2014 update

Prior to the April 1 2014 update, a total of 5 of the same perks could be stacked on a dragon.
This makes the maximum total for breeding perks while breeding 50% and the maximum total clearing speed perks 75% while opening the elemental chest or clearing obstacles.[1]

After to the April 1 2014 update, a total of 3 of the same perks could be stacked on a dragon.
This makes the maximum total for breeding perks while breeding 30% and the maximum total clearing speed perks 45% while opening the elemental chest or clearing obstacles.

All perks are listed below with a description on them.

List

	Name	Description	Weight	Requirements
	+ 5% satisfaction	Decreases the amount of food required to feed the dragon by 5% per perk (up to 15%[1] total).	10	None
	+ 5% chance of a rare dragon	Increases the chances of breeding a rare dragon by 5% per perk (up to 15%[1][2]).	10	None
	+ 5% breeding speed	Increases breeding speed by 5% per perk (up to 15%[1]) when breeding with the dragon.	10	None
	+ 5% gold	Increases the speed at which the dragon earns gold by 5% per perk (up to 15%[1] total).	10	None
	+ 5% clearing speed	Increases the speed to clear an obstacle by 5% per perk (up to 15%[1]) when using the dragon.	10	None
	+ 1 level	Increases the dragon's level without feeding (+1 level per perk).	5	None
	+ 5% speed of evolution	Decreases evolution time by 5% per perk (up to 15%[1] total) when evolving the dragon.	5	Evolved once
	+ 1 essences	Increases the number of essences by 1 per perk (up to 3[1] max) received when exchanging a dragon.	3	Evolved once
	Cancellation of the negative effect of the amplifier	Cancels the negative effect of the opposing elemental amplifiers.	3	Evolved once
	+ 5% chance to double essences	Increases the chance to double the number of essences gained when exchanging a dragon by 5% per perk (up to 15%[1] total).	2	Evolved twice
	+ 3% gold from dragons	Increases the speed at which gold can be earned from other dragons in the habitat by 3% per perk (up to 9%[1]).	2	Evolved twice
	+ 5% habitat capacity	Increases the maximum amount of gold that can be stored in a habitat by 5% per perk (up to 15%[1]).	2	Evolved twice

1. ↑ The April 1, 2014 update limited the number of identical perks available to any dragon to +3 / +15%. Dragons that had acquired higher perk levels (up to +5 / +25%) prior to that update did not have their perks reset and maintained the higher levels. Resetting perks on a dragon will limit it to the current maximum levels.
2. ↑ After the "Star" update on December 11, 2014, Rare includes all dragons that are not listed as Common (1 bronze star). Therefore all Uncommon-Legendary dragons receive the benefit of this perk, limiting it's usefulness.

Strategy

Most people agree that when trying to breed new and exciting rare dragons, breeding together two dragons with as high a +% chance of rare dragon perks as possible is the best course of action.

In the event you are raising a dragon to level 10 to split its essence, however, you will want to pick any +level or +%satisfaction perks when possible, as this will decrease the cost of raising that dragon. Note that if you are given the choice of +level vs. +%satisfaction at level 6 or 9, you should choose the instant level up to save yourself a greater amount of food than with the satisfaction perk.  See the Food page for numerical comparisons.

All the other perks have a few drawbacks you may wish to consider. +% breeding speed does not change the incubation time of an egg - only the time it takes to breed two dragons in a breeding cave. +% clearing speed only comes into play when you have obstacles to remove or if you luck upon a magic chest that can be opened, but is useless otherwise. And lastly, +% gold may be wasted on dragons that can only reside in habitats with a small max capacity or if you do not check your game often enough, so that the extra gold goes to waste.

How do you reset your perks on Dragon City?

Is it possible to have every dragon in Dragon City?

What does a breeding perk do to a dragon in Dragon City?