How to Breed the Sun Dragon in DragonVale (Cold + Lightning, Daytime Only)

The short answer: breed any two dragons that carry the Cold and Lightning elements between them, and start the attempt between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on your device’s clock. Breeding takes 48 hours (38h 24m in an Upgraded Breeding Cave), and the chance per attempt is low — about 3%. If you would rather skip the wait, the Sun Dragon is sold in the Market for 2,000 gems and has appeared in event markets for 1,300.

This guide explains why that rule works, which parents are quickest to set up, how many attempts to expect, how to read the timer, and when buying makes more sense than breeding.

Quick facts

Rarity	Epic
Element	Sun
Level required	12
Breeding rule	Parents carry Cold + Lightning between them
Time window	Start between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (device clock) — the Twilight Tower removes this
Breeding time	48h · 38h 24m upgraded
Incubation	48h · 36h upgraded nursery
Odds per attempt	About 3% (wiki estimate)
Availability	Permanent
Price	2,000 gems in the Market; 1,300 in several event markets
Quest	Solar Controller (16 hours)
Released	5 November 2011, together with the Moon Dragon

About the Sun Dragon

DragonVale’s lore casts the Sun Dragon as one half of an ancient pair: the first sun dragon is said to have crossed an empty night sky until it met the first moon dragon, and together they made a world to share. In the game that story shows up as a mechanic — the Sun and Moon Dragons use the same breeding rule and are separated only by the time of day.

It was the 32nd dragon added to the game, released on 5 November 2011 alongside the Moon Dragon to introduce the Sun and Moon elements. More than a decade later it is still one of the most useful Epics to own, because a long list of newer dragons need it as a parent.

How the breeding rule works

The Sun Dragon uses an element rule: the game checks whether the Cold and Lightning elements are both present between your two parents. It does not care which dragons provide them. That gives you a lot of freedom:

• Cold Dragon + Lightning Dragon — two primaries, the simplest possible pair.
• Cold Dragon + any Lightning hybrid — for example a Firefly (Lightning + Fire) or Quake (Earth + Lightning).
• Crystal Dragon + Blue Fire Dragon — Crystal brings Lightning, Blue Fire brings Cold; this pair can also roll a Rainbow because it carries four different elements.

The catch is the clock. If an attempt starts at 7:01 p.m., the Sun Dragon is not in the pool at all. That is why “I tried 30 times and got nothing” is so often a timing problem rather than bad luck.

Getting the parents ready

The cheapest route uses two primaries. Lightning is particularly convenient because its own breeding time is only 30 minutes.

Parent	Elements	How to get it	Breeding time	Level
Cold Dragon	Cold	Primary — buy in the Market or breed Cold + Cold	12h	9
Lightning Dragon	Lightning	Primary — buy (75,000 coins) or breed Lightning + Lightning	30m	12

• Cold Dragon: Opposite element: Fire.
• Lightning Dragon: Opposite element: Water.

Both parents must be level 4 or higher before they appear in a breeding cave, so feed them a few treats as soon as they hatch.

Step-by-step plan

1. Reach level 12 (needed for the Sun Dragon) and own a Cold Dragon (level 9) and a Lightning Dragon (level 12).
2. Feed both parents to level 4 or higher so they appear in the cave list.
3. Check your device clock: start every attempt between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
4. Use an Upgraded Breeding Cave if you have one — each attempt drops from 48h to 38h 24m.
5. Watch the timer the moment the egg appears (see below) and clear failures quickly.
6. If you also want a Moon Dragon, run the same pair at night — one pair, two Epics.

The odds: how many attempts should you plan for?

The DragonVale Wiki lists the Sun Dragon at about 3% per attempt. That number is a community estimate, but it is useful for planning. On average you would expect to need around 33 attempts — and because every attempt is independent, some players need far more and some get lucky on the first try. The table shows your chance of having at least one success after a given number of attempts, and how long that many attempts takes with one cave working non-stop.

Attempts	Chance of at least one	One cave (48h each)	Upgraded cave (38h 24m each)
10	26%	20 days	16 days
25	53%	50 days	40 days
50	78%	100 days	80 days
100	95%	200 days	160 days
150	99%	300 days	240 days

Two caves running the same pair halve the calendar time. Results here assume you clear or hatch the other eggs promptly so the cave is never idle.

Reading the timer

A 48-hour timer (38h 24m upgraded) after a daytime Cold + Lightning attempt is a strong sign of success, but it is not unique: the Rainbow and Moon Dragons share it. A plain Cold + Lightning pair started in daytime cannot make Rainbow (it only has two elements) and cannot make Moon (wrong time of day) — so with that pair, 48 hours really does mean Sun. Our Egg Timer lists every shared timer.

Breed it or buy it?

At about 3% per attempt and two days per try, breeding a Sun Dragon is a project of weeks to months with one cave. Buying is instant but costs 2,000 gems — or 1,300 when it appears in an event market, which it has done regularly (for example in Deepest Depths II in 2025 and Dunes of Magic II in 2026). A sensible approach is to keep one cave on Cold + Lightning during the day as background work, and only buy if you need it urgently for another combination.

Recent event-market appearances

The Sun Dragon is always in the Market, but these events offered it at a lower price:

From	To	Event	Price
13 May 2022	20 May 2022	The Dragon Bandwagon	1,300
9 May 2024	26 Jun 2024	Upheaval of the Medieval	1,300
4 Jul 2024	21 Aug 2024	Deepest Depths	1,300
8 May 2025	25 Jun 2025	Deepest Depths II	1,300
21 Aug 2025	8 Oct 2025	Gardenia’s Garden	1,300
11 Jun 2026	29 Jul 2026	Dunes of Magic II	1,300

What it earns and why it is worth having

The Sun Dragon earns DragonCash: about 40 per minute at level 1, 256 at level 10 and 496 at level 20, according to the wiki’s earning table.

The Sun Dragon is also a required parent for: Dawn, Dusk, Kann, Midday, Nubis, Pharaoh, Righteous, Solis. Owning one, levelled past 4, keeps those combinations open to you.

The Twilight Tower shortcut

The Twilight Tower lets you fix the in-game time of day, so you can breed Sun (and Moon, Dawn and Dusk) at any hour. It has been offered in many events, typically for around 8,000 gems. If you play mostly in the evening, it turns the Sun Dragon from a scheduling problem into an ordinary breeding project. More in our Day and Night Dragons guide.

Common mistakes

• Starting attempts after 7 p.m. The Sun Dragon is simply not possible then.
• Changing the device clock to cheat the window — it can put timers and events into odd states.
• Parents below level 4. They will not appear in the cave.
• Assuming any 48-hour egg is a Sun. With four-element pairs it could be a Rainbow.
• Ignoring the cheaper event price. If you plan to buy, 1,300 gems in an event beats 2,000 in the Market.

Frequently asked questions

What two dragons make a Sun Dragon?

Any two that carry Cold and Lightning between them — Cold Dragon + Lightning Dragon is the simplest — started between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

How long does the Sun Dragon take?

48 hours to breed (38h 24m upgraded) and 48 hours to incubate (36h upgraded).

Can I breed the Sun Dragon at night?

Only with the Twilight Tower, which overrides the time-of-day rule.

Why do Sun and Moon use the same parents?

Both need Cold and Lightning; the only difference is the time the attempt starts.

What are the odds?

About 3% per attempt according to the community wiki — roughly 33 attempts on average.

Related guides and tools

• Moon Dragon guide
• Day and Night Dragons & the Twilight Tower
• Lunis Dragon (Moon + Galaxy)
• Breeding Sandbox — check any pair
• Egg Timer

Facts checked on 26 October 2026 against the in-game rules as documented by the community DragonVale Wiki. Breeding odds are community-documented estimates, event dates and prices change, and the odds tables are simple arithmetic from those estimates — not guarantees. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.