Paytable breakdown
01Symbols, Wild and Scatter Explained
Ten symbols, one wild lion and a yin-yang scatter drive every combination on the 5 Lions Megaways reels.
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- Megaways ways-to-win system
- Volatility rating
- high
- Return to player
- 96.50%
- Top win
- 5000x
Five card ranks (10, J, Q, K, A) form the low-pay tier, five Asian-themed icons (turtle, koi fish, frog, phoenix, dragon) form the premium tier, a golden lion works as the wild on reels 2 to 5, and a yin-yang emblem is the scatter that triggers free spins.
- Dragon is the top regular-paying symbol
- Wild does not appear on reel 1 or reel 6
- Scatter can also pay directly for 3 or more landings
How the symbol tiers are structured
The low-pay tier is built from five card ranks. 10, J and Q share identical values across the 3-to-6-of-a-kind range, while K and A sit slightly above them. This flat structure is typical for Megaways titles and keeps base-game wins modest, since these ranks appear most often on the reels.
Premium symbols split into two bands. Turtle and koi fish form the lower premium band, paying roughly double the top card-rank values for the same combination length. Frog and phoenix sit above them, with phoenix approaching the value of a small dragon win at 5-of-a-kind.
Dragon is the clear top-paying regular symbol, and most paytables agree it caps out well above every other icon at 6-of-a-kind. Exact multiplier figures for dragon vary between the sources reviewed for this page, likely reflecting different paytable configurations rather than a single fixed table, so treat any specific dragon multiplier as indicative rather than final.
The golden lion wild is restricted to reels 2, 3, 4 and 5. It substitutes for every card and animal symbol but not for the scatter, so it cannot help form the 3-symbol combination needed to launch free spins on its own.
During free spins, the lion wild can carry a multiplier value that applies to any win it takes part in. In the base game the same wild can appear, but its multiplier behaviour is governed by the game engine rather than a player-facing selection screen.
The yin-yang scatter pays independently of the wild and free-spin trigger: landing 3, 4, 5 or 6 scatters anywhere on the grid can award a direct payout in addition to opening the bonus round, when 3 or more are present.
5 Lions Megaways key specifications
- Provider
- Pragmatic Play
- Reels
- 5
- Paylines
- Megaways ways-to-win system
- Volatility
- high
- RTP
- 96.50%
- Max win
- 5000x
- Bet range
- 0.2 – 125
- Released
- 2021-06-24
Symbol mechanics that shape every spin
- Golden lion wild substitutes for all card and animal symbols on reels 2 to 5
- Yin-yang scatter lands on any reel and can pay directly for 3 or more symbols
- Multiplier wilds apply their value to any win formed during free spins
- Tumble mechanic removes winning symbols and refills the grid, letting the same symbol set contribute to consecutive wins in one spin
- Ante Bet option raises the scatter trigger chance for free spins alongside the higher stake
Paytable strengths and limits
| Upsides | Downsides |
|---|---|
| Clear five-tier structure separates low card pays from mid and top animal symbols | Wild cannot appear on reel 1 or reel 6, limiting how often it completes left-side combinations |
| Wild covers four of the six reels, giving it broad reach across the Megaways grid | Wild multipliers in the base game are not player-controlled, so their contribution to a spin is unpredictable |
| Multiplier wilds add variance to free-spin wins beyond the base symbol values | Low card-rank symbols dominate the reels, keeping many base-game wins close to the minimum payout tier |
Symbol set and release context
- 2021 – 5 Lions Megaways launches with its current symbol set: card-rank low pays, five animal premiums, a lion wild and a yin-yang scatter, according to third-party listings (release date not confirmed on the provider's own page).
Symbol and paytable questions
Which symbol acts as the wild, and where does it land?
A golden lion works as the wild. It only appears on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5, so it cannot show up on the outer reels.
Does the yin-yang scatter pay if it does not trigger free spins?
Some paytables list direct payouts for 3, 4, 5 or 6 scatters in addition to the free-spins trigger, so a scatter hit can pay even alongside or instead of launching the bonus, depending on the count landed.
Can the lion wild land on reel 1 or reel 6?
No. Its position is fixed to the four middle reels, which is a common Megaways design choice to keep the wild from oversaturating every combination.
Why do dragon symbol payout figures differ between casino paytables?
Independent sources list different multiplier values for the dragon symbol, likely reflecting different bet-configuration presentations rather than a single universal table, so treat exact dragon figures as approximate.
Do wild multipliers appear in the base game or only in free spins?
The lion wild can carry a multiplier in both the base game and free spins, but only in free spins is this multiplier central to the feature; in the base game it is not selectable by the player.
Which symbol pays the least in the base paytable?
The 10 and J card ranks sit at the bottom of the paytable, paying identical values to each other across the 3-to-6-of-a-kind range.
Does the tumble feature change how symbols are counted for a win?
Tumble removes symbols from a paid win and drops new ones into their place within the same spin, which can create additional matching combinations without a new spin being triggered.
See the full symbol set in action
Review the wild, scatter and premium animal symbols on the reels before wagering real funds. Play is restricted to 19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC).
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