Dragon Breath

The ability to breathe elements other than fire has been a part of the gameplay since Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly.

In the Original Series

Fire breath seems to be the most common element. However, other elements can be acquired by using Powerup Gates or magic spells. In the spin-off Advance series, other elements can be obtained by means ranging from spell scrolls to hot peppers.

Fire

The most common element. Fire has been Spyro's primary attack in every single game. It is usually used to melt ice or defeat enemies that are too big to charge, but it does not effect metal. In the spin-off game, Spyro 2: Season of Flame, it is said that the Dragons use fireflies to gain fire breath, and without them, the Dragons can only breath ice. Fire breath can be increased temporarily with a Super Flame Powerup.

Water

Water seems to be A Hero's Tail's replacement for bubble breath, as both attacks cannot harm enemies. Water breath was given to Spyro by the fairy Aqua after he saved her from Ineptune. It will only slow down most enemies but can kill fodder, Phoenixes, and Fire Imps. Water breath's primary use is to solve puzzles involving water wheels.

Bubble

This breath cannot harm enemies or kill fodder. In fact, the only purpose of the bubble breath is to capture dragonflies in bubbles. It can also break open butterfly jars. Spyro learns bubble breath in Enter the Dragonfly, but never uses it afterwards.

Electricity

File:Spyro electric breath.jpg

Spyro using electricity breath.

Spyro first learns this element in Enter the Dragonfly, where he uses it to power machinery and open a locked gate that blocked the way to other levels. In A Hero's Tail, Spyro regains this ability after unknowingly rescuing the fairy named Amp from Gnasty Gnorc. It serves much the same purpose in this game as in the last game. Electricity breath can be obtained in Season of Flame with a Powerup Gate. In Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs, Spyro gains this ability after Moneybags gives him a magic battery as a reward for saving him from Butler.

Ice

Spyro first uses Ice Breath in Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage, where he uses a Super Freeze Powerup to freeze trolls and ring the bells in Cloud Temples. In Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the Ice Fairies give Spyro ice breath while he remains in Frozen Altars. Later, in Enter the Dragonfly, Spyro gets a more permanent ice breath. Ice breath reappears in A Hero's Tail and Shadow Legacy. Ice breath's most common use is to freeze enemies to be used as stepping stones to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Frozen enemies can be defeated with a charge, no matter how big they are. In the spin-off game Season of Flame, Spyro's fire breath is replaced with ice and he has to collect fireflies to regain his fire. In Attack of the Rhynoc, a fairy gives Spyro a spell scroll that gives him ice breath for heating the Fairy Library.

Sheep

This breath is a joke in Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy. It can only be unlocked by entering a cheat code. Sheep breath is exactly the same as fire breath, only that a sheep flies out of Spyro's mouth.

In The Legend of Spyro trilogy

Normally, dragons can only breathe one element. The color of a dragon's scales seems to reflect that dragon's element. This is most prominent in Ignitus and the other Guardians. Purple Dragons, being a rare species, can breath all elements. Cynder is also an exception because she was exposed to Malefor's dark influence, giving her unique breaths such as Poison, Shadow, and Fear. If trained properly, a dragon can use "elemental melee" attacks such as comet dash.

There are several different elements throughout the series:

Fire

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Spyro using fire breath.

In A New Beginning, Fire breath was the first element Spyro realize that he isn't a dragonfly when he uses it to save Sparx from some apes. He later trains his abilities with Ignitus. In The Eternal Night, Spyro loses his abilities after fighting Cynder and has to re-learn fire breath from the Chronicler, also learning the move Comet Dash.

Ice

In A New Beginning, Spyro learns ice breath while rescuing Kane in Tall Plains. He later trains his ability with Cyril. The Chronicler helps Spyro regain his ice after losing it in The Eternal Night.

Electricity

In The Legend of Spyro, Spyro learns this ability while traveling through Dante's Freezer, and later trains it with Volteer. The Chronicler helps him regain electricity breath after losing it in The Eternal Night.

Wind

In Dawn of the Dragon, Wind is Cynder's natural element. It is noteworthy that in The Legend of Spyro, there is no Wind Guardian, and that Spyro never learns wind breath, even though he can control all the elements. In A New Beginning, some of the earth attacks involve wind, meaning that wind and earth may be interconnected. Cynder's wind breath seems to be a parallel to Spyro's ice breath.Cynder's wind breath can be used to blow in the mouths of big blow horns,the breath is first needed in the Catacombs.

Earth

This breath only exists in The Legend of Spyro series, where Spyro learns it in Munitions Forge. Like the other elements, Spyro trains his earth breath with Terrador, loses it briefly in The Eternal Night, and regains it from the Chronicler. Unlike the other elements, Earth breath isn't literally breathing earth. Earth breath is actually different in each game it appears in. In A New Beginning, it comes out of Spyro's mouth as a green energy that damages enemies. In The Eternal Night, it comes out as an "Earth Flail" that Spyro swings around to damage enemies. In Dawn of the Dragon, it encases Spyro inside of a boulder that can be rolled around to damage enemies, while the secondary earth attack is a sort of rock that shoots out of Spyro's mouth.

Convexity

The most powerful element, this breath only exists in The Legend of Spyro trilogy. It is a purple energy that can easily destroy most enemies. Convexity first appeared in A New Beginning, where Spyro used it to free Cynder from the Dark Master's control. Using Convexity caused Spyro to lose all other elemental powers temporarily and to become so weak that he could "barely lift his head." In The Eternal Night, Dark Spyro used Convexity again to defeat Gaul after falling into the Well of Souls. The force of the Convexity Fury was enough to cause the entire Mountain of Malefor to collapse. In Dawn of the Dragon, Spyro and Cynder can breathe Convexity temporarily after using a Fury. It can also be unlocked permanently by wearing a certain armor set. Convexity is referred to as "Fury Breath" in this game it may be the most powerful attack in gaming history!

Poison

The Dark Master gave Cynder this element using dark magic. It does not occur naturally in Dragons. Poison breath comes out as a thick, green poison that can be used to kill certain plants. It seems to be a parallel to Spyro's fire breath.

Shadow

The Dark Master gave Cynder this element through his dark influence. It does not occur naturally in Dragons. This element causes Cynder to turn into a shadow for a short time, making her able to get under certain doors and attack enemies without risk of being harmed. The secondary attack of this element is a more literal "shadow breath." Shadow breath seems to be a parallel to Spyro's earth breath. It can affect enemies by making them turn against each other and attack one another until the Shadow Breath wears off.

Fear

The Dark Master gave Cynder this element using dark magic. It does not occur naturally in Dragons. Fear comes out of Cynder's mouth as a red sound wave with a noise like a bat's screech. This attack scares enemies into blocking without attacking for a short time. It can also be used to solve certain puzzles. Fear breath seems to be a parallel to Spyro's electricity breath.