Help Center

I've been seeing this phrase around the forums quite a bit and, despite my account age, I'm still pretty much a noob, so I don't. What does it mean to "gene a dragon"?

@kaioumichiru8

The dragons you got when you started with and other gen1s like them (that is, dragons without parents) do not have genes, they're whats called basic. Plain. Genes, on this site, are the patterns your dragons have (or do not).

@kaioumichiru8 The term "gene a dragon" is generally used when someone is intending to change the markings on their dragons, most often for first generation dragons. This is done with the appropriate gene change scroll available in the Speciality section of the marketplace while the dragon is not nesting.

I'm going to go into more detail on genes, if you decide you want more information.
There are 3 types of genes: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Genes. Primary genes determine the marking on the main part of the dragon's body, their head, neck, back and tail. Secondary genes determine the pattern on the dragon's wings. Tertiary genes put a third colour on various parts of the body depending on the particular gene. You can get a good feeling for the markings that each gene creates by going into the Scrying Workshop and selecting Predict Morphology (make sure the different genes are set to different colours so you can tell them apart).

First generation dragons (such as progenitors and those hatched from found eggs) start with Basic genes. People who collect first gens often decide to gene them, which can become quite expensive depending on the genes chosen. How the genes look together and how they affect the colour's appearance are important consideration for most people. Often people consider the rarity of genes and how that will affect the offspring if they will be breeding the dragons. Some genes are less likely to be passed down (when the parents have different genes) than others. This seems to be related to the sales price of the gene, low cost genes are more likely to be passed down when paired with more expensive genes. For example basic is the easiest to pass down and is the cheapest to acquire (it's given free on first gens) whereas Gem genes (those that you need to pay gems for) are the least likely to pass down when they are not paired with another gem gene of the same main type (Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary). There are threads that discuss this more in depth in the Guides section of the forums.

Hope this helps... and wasn't too much info.

Edit: I could spend 45 minutes figuring out how to word something or I could have sent you to the encyclopedia which is super helpful. I'm taking the harder approach tonight it seems. :p

@ACWN @Cynictis @Praeses

Thank you! That's very helpful. I had always thought of basic as a gene in and of itself (and, well, it is, but, yeah, you know what I mean), so I didn't really understand the concept of geneing (or gening, whatever English) and hadn't connected the term with that encyclopedia page.

Wow, Praeses! Lol, you ARE the encyclopedia! Thank you so much!

@Praeses

Harder approach, yes... but major kudos for all the effort.

@ACWN Thanks

@kaioumichiru8 you're welcome. Apparently I'm happy to tell you all about genes... I like sharing information.