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DragonVale uses in-app purchases to generate revenue. Usually called freemium games, the game itself is available to download for free, but the player can pay real money to purchase items to be used in-game.

Acquiring Treasure From In-App PurchasesEdit

In DragonVale, the items available for purchase in the Treasure section of the Market are:

DragonCash(): The currency used to purchase eggs, habitats, decorations, islands and buildings.
Gems (): The currency used to speed up breeding, hatching, building, and obstacle clearing. Gems can also be used to purchase dragons and upgrade habitats.
Treats ():Treats are fed to the dragons to increase their level, which in turn alters their appearance and increases their DragonCash.

The purchases range from $0.99 (€0.89) to $99.99 (€89.99). Additionally, the treasure section allows players to exchange 50 for increasing amounts of (amounts increase as the game levels up). As there are no third-party ads used in the game, all revenue for DragonVale development is generated by in-app purchases. It is important to note that it is NOT necessary to make in-app purchases to experience and enjoy full gameplay in DragonVale.

There is nothing available via in-app purchases that is not available during normal game play. The purchase of treasure simply accelerates game progress for the player.

Acquiring Treasure During GameplayEdit

DragonCash is earned in-game in many different ways. The player can collect DragonCash by tapping on a Habitat, and then tapping the "Collect" icon on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. When a Habitat has filled one third of its earnings cap, a small icon depicting a treasure chest will appear above it. At that point, the player can simply tap on the Habitat to collect the DragonCash. Players also earn DragonCash through the Colosseum, or from the Dragon Track races if the player's dragon ends in the top three.

The most coveted of the three treasures are gems. You can obtain gems in a lot of ways within the game:

Entering dragons in the Colosseum will allow you to win five gems if you get the Gold Medal and two if you get the Silver Metal, but none for Bronze Medal.
Obtaining gems from Gamecenter or Facebook Friends.
Acquiring Gemstone Dragons, which each earn one gem per week at level 10.
Winning races in the Dragon Track; the gold wheels include gems among the rewards.
Achieving certain goals that reward gems ranging from 1-5 gems.
- Sharing your achievement through Facebook or Twitter also gives you a 1 gem bonus for each medium.

Treats can be grown in your park on Treat Farms.

Treats, ranging from 1,750 to 5,000 can be won in the Dragon Track.