Right from the start of Guild Wars 2, you will learn about the presence of dragons in Tyria. Dragons in this game are a bit different than the typical, flying creatures that appear in other video games. In the world of Guild Wars, dragons are tied to the magic that exists, and are rumored to be older than the world itself.

Related: Guild Wars 2: End Of Dragons - Who Is The New Dragon?

We are going to take a look at what exactly an Elder Dragon is, as well as all the Elder Dragons that exist in Tyria. This will contain some spoilers if you have yet to play through the story, so be cautious.

What Is An Elder Dragon?

Elder Dragon origins are a bit of a mystery; there is no information about their origin, and they seem to be ever-present.

What we do know about Elder Dragons is their habits. In Tyria, this is known as the Dragon Cycle. This is essentially the awakening of a dragon, followed by destruction, and then falling into slumber again. While awake, dragons feed on magic, which can cause chaos in the world.

These dragons seem to have god-like powers, but don't get them confused with the actual gods. Elder Dragons have little regard for the citizens of Tyria; most of these dragons don't feel the urge to help the inhabitants of the land.

Each Elder Dragon is present in certain areas of the map and embodies a different nature. With this nature, Dragons have the power to alter the land and nature. For example, prior to the start of Guild Wars 2, Jormag was awakened, causing the Dragonstorm, which is a massive blizzard that displaced the Kodan.

Elder Dragon Champions And Minions

Elder Dragons don't do all of their fighting alone. Each Elder Dragon has Champions, that function as leaders of their armies. These Champions are incredibly strong, and can often be faced in meta events with other players. Champions will use a portion of the Elder Dragon's power. Additionally, a dragon can have more than one Champion at a time.

Minions, on the other hand, are similar to a disposable army. These enemies have a smaller portion of the Elder Dragon's power, but if you are strong enough, you can kill them.

Next, let's look at every Elder Dragon that we know of.

Zhaitan

First, we have Zhaitan. This Elder Dragon is the central figure in the main Guild Wars 2 story.

Zhaitan is associated with death, and has the ability to raise the dead to create minions. This is also a weakness for Zhaitan, since they cannot use living people.

During the main story, Zhaitan is killed with the help of Destiny's Edge.

Jormag

Jormag is an icy Elder Dragon that is important to the history of the Norn. The Norn were originally from the Far Shiverpeak area, but a previous awakening of Jormag caused the race to move to the central Shiverpeak area, where you can find Hoelbrak.

This Elder Dragon has the ability to whisper into the minds of individuals. For example, while playing through the Icebrood Saga story, you will often hear a voice whisper to you. This is Jormag attempting to influence you.

Interestingly, Jormag has followers. The Sons of Svanir are a cult that worships the Elder Dragon, although they are not technically his minions.

Jormag is defeated during the Icebrood Saga, at the same time as Primordus, who we will go over next.

Primordus

Primordus is responsible for the displacement of the Asura. This race had once lived underground, but the Great Destroyer forced them aboveground.

Up until Icebrood Saga, Primordus is not as relevant to the main story. Characters will mention this Elder Dragon, but you don't get the chance to see or fight against him until the Icebrood Saga.

Primordus' minions are created out of rock and fire, rather than living creatures. Although they may take on living forms, they are mindless creatures made of rock.

During the Icebrood Saga, Primordus is killed at the same time as Jormag.

Kralkatorrik

Kralkatorrik, also known as the Crystal Dragon, is the father of Glint, as well as the grandfather of Aurene. This Elder Dragon is first introduced in Path of Fire, but remains active until Living World, where they are defeated with the help of Aurene.

Along with the ability to make sandstorms, Kralkatorrik can crystalize enemies with his breath, turning them into Branded.

During Living World Season 4, Kralkatorrik's body fell to the ground, which created Dragonfall. This is a map that consists of an 'island' made from the body of Kralkatorrik.

Mordremoth

The Jungle Dragon Mordremoth lurks in the Heart of Maguuma. This Elder Dragon has plant-based minions, however this dragon also has the power to influence Sylvari and the Pale Tree. The Pale Tree is a living tree that rules over the Sylvari, but the origins of this tree are linked to Mordremoth.

Blighted Trees are corrupted trees meant to create minions for Mordremoth. Originally, the Pale Tree was blighted, but the tree became purified. Sylvari born from the Pale Tree aren't minions to Mordremoth, but if they are vulnerable to the Elder Dragon's call if they stray too far from the tree.

Mordremoth is defeated at the end of the Heart of Thorns story.

Soo-Won

Soo-won is the most recent Elder Dragon that we were introduced to. With the knowledge of Soo-won, we also developed a better understanding of Elder Dragon history.

During End of Dragons, it's learned that Soo-won existed before Tyria came to be. Soo-won was alone in the world, so she created the other dragons as her children.

Prior to creating other dragons, Soo-won was known as the All. This is essentially a representation of everything in the world. Rather than being the All, Soo-won split this among her children.

As time passed through, these dragon children developed personalities and soon left Soo-Won.

Unlike other Elder Dragons, Soo-won is said to watch over Cantha and protect them. After witnessing her children cause destruction, Soo-won chooses to be contained to avoid the same destruction in Cantha. Soo-won also turns to Aurene in order to end the Dragon Cycle.

Aurene

Lastly, we have Aurene. Aurene is not an original Elder Dragon created by Soo-won. Instead, Aurene replaced Kralkatorrik, who was her grandfather.

Aurene is a benevolent Elder Dragon, working with the Commander to save those that live in Tyria from Destruction. Due to Aurene's good nature, Soo-won wishes for her to be in control of all the magic in Tyria.

Non-Elder Dragon Glint

Glint is not an Elder Dragon, but she is mentioned quite often. Originally, Glint was born from Kralkatorrik, serving as his Champion. Unlike other Champions though, Glint was free from the Elder Dragon's corruption, and empathized with the suffering that the Elder Dragon's caused.

When Destiny's Edge planned to defeat Kralkatorrik, they were met with Glint. Rather than battling, the guild and Glint made a plan to defeat Kralkatorrik together. This backfired and ended up in the death of Glint.

Prior to her death, Glint created two scions to continue on her legacy; these scions were Aurene and Vlast. Vlast devoted his life to fighting against Kralkatorrik in honor of his mother, but during the Path of Fire Story, Vlast was killed by Balthazar.

Eating Magic

As mentioned above, Dragons eat magic. Additionally, when Elder Dragons are defeated, they release magic into the world. This means that once an Elder Dragon dies, the current living dragons will consume their magic. Below, you can check out the order that the Elder Dragons were defeated.

• Zhaitan
• Mordremoth
• Kralkatorrik
• Primordus and Jormag
• Soo-Won

When Zhaitan was defeated, Mordremoth consumed this magic, as well as some of the powers, of the slain Elder Dragon. This continued, with each dragon becoming increasingly stronger. Once Soo-Won was the only hostile Elder Dragon remained, she had gained an incredible amount of power.

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