Dragon Slayer

The Dragon Slayer is widely regarded as the most difficult free-player quest available in RuneScape. It is usually the last quest that free players embark upon, and upon successful completion, players may equip the ultimate free-to-play Melee and Ranged body armours: the rune platebody and green dragonhide body. It was also the last quest in RuneScape to be released before the addition of membership.

Development team

 * Developer: Paul Gower
 * Conversion: James B
 * Audio: Ian T
 * QuestHelp: Nishal K

Rework

 * Developer: John A
 * Graphics: Paul B, Kavi M
 * Quality Assurance: Kevin D, Christopher E
 * QuestHelp: Gillan M

Walkthrough
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To start the quest, speak to the Guildmaster in the Champions' Guild. After asking him for a quest, he will tell you to talk to Oziach, who is located north-west of Edgeville in a tiny house situated just south of the Wilderness. Oziach says that to be able to purchase a rune platebody from him, you will have to slay Elvarg, the mighty female dragon, who is located within Crandor Isle. He will tell you to visit the Guildmaster for information on how to kill Elvarg.

Go back to the Guildmaster. Talk about the map pieces to get the key, about protection against dragon breath, and about buying a boat. If you do not talk to him about all three things, you will not be able to move on.

Obtaining an anti-dragon shield
Travel to Lumbridge and speak to Duke Horacio on the of the Lumbridge Castle. Ask him about "a shield that will protect you from a dragon's breath," and when he asks you which dragon you're going to use it to fight against, tell him that you will be slaying the fearsome Elvarg of Crandor.

He will then give you an anti-dragon shield and tell you a bit more about the story of Elvarg and the fall of Crandor. Note that if you lose your current shield, you can always talk to him again to obtain another. It is also possible to receive multiple shields by getting one from the Duke just by talking to him again; there is no need to use the drop trick as he'll be happy to give you multiple shields.

Obtaining the Map Pieces
Once you have all three pieces of the map, use any of the three pieces on any one of the other pieces to form the complete Crandor map. You can also get more than one of each map piece by dropping one and getting another. You do not have to do these in this order; it does not affect the quest.

First Map Piece
''For this section, it is recommended that you have a combat level of at least 35 and a substantial amount of food. Prayer of 43 would be beneficial as it would allow the player to completely avoid all damage. ''

The first piece is found in Melzar's Maze, south of the Crafting Guild. Bring some food and armour for the fight with the lesser demon. To enter, use the maze key on the door.


 * Kill the smallest zombie rat with the long tail, and it will drop the red key. Use this on the north-west door, then go up the ladder. It is a good idea to get several keys from it.


 * The orange key is dropped by ghosts. You must kill ghosts that wear the hooded shirt without cape until the orange key drops, then go through the middle door, second from the north, on the east wall and climb the ladder (Note: occasionally the ghost that drops the key spawns behind a door. If this happens, just log out and log back in on another world).


 * Kill the skeleton with the small round shield (buckler) which drops the yellow key (not the skeleton with the square shield or no shield). Use the key on the south-west door and keep climbing down until you get to the zombies.


 * Kill the zombies to get a blue key. Make sure to open the BLUE door, NOT the exit door. If you go through the exit door you'll have to repeat the above steps again.


 * You must now fight Melzar the Mad. He primarily uses melee attacks but be cautious of his magic, mainly Fire Strike and Weaken. While you are fighting him cabbages will pop out. This indicates a next magic attack after the battle. Taking the cabbages is advised during the battle if you have low life points, although it only heal 10 life points it's worth it. When killed, he drops the magenta key. Use this key on the magenta coloured door (a word of caution: IF you decide to rest in the room where you fought Melzar the Mad, he will revive and attack you again, so resting is not recommended).


 * You now have to fight a lesser demon, which drops the final green key you need. If you plan to use melee attacks, it is recommended that you use Silverlight or a rune longsword. Lower-levelled players can defeat the demon using magic or ranged from a safespot (though you would have to move around a bit). It is recommended that you have a reasonable amount of food if you are a low-level (for example, quite a few lobsters or other foods that are one-times). If you need to escape you can run through the brown door on the left of the entrance, the demon is unable to attack you 3 paces away from the door. Pick up the map piece before you use the exit ladder. If you don't think you can do it, then get some higher level player to attack it, and leave it with low health. Then you can finish it off.


 * NOTE: If you have a Magic level of at least 15, you can collect bones from zombie rats then cast Bones to Bananas, bananas heal 20 LP.

Once the demon is defeated, open the final green door, take the map piece from the chest, climb ladder and exit the building through entrance. Return and speak to the Champions' Guild Guildmaster once more before speaking to the Oracle(this step is unnecessary if you have already spoken to the Guildmaster earlier about the Oracle.)

Second Map Piece
Ascend to Ice Mountain and speak to the Oracle. She will tell you a riddle which holds the answer to the location of the second map piece:

"'''The map's behind a door below, but entering is rather tough This is what you need to know, You must use the following stuff:

First, a drink used by a mage, Next, some worm string changed to a sheet, Then, a small crustacean cage, Last, a bowl that's not seen heat.'''"


 * To obtain this piece of the map, you'll need an unfired bowl, a Wizard's Mind Bomb which can be bought in Falador for 3 coins, a lobster pot or a crayfish cage which can be purchased in Port Sarim's fishing spot (or if you don't have enough money you can kill goblins just outside the shop, or you can obtain a free crayfish cage in Lumbridge ) and a piece of silk, which can be located in any of the shops within Al Kharid or in Varrock.


 * Once you have obtained all these items, venture down into the mysterious and damp Dwarven Mine. Inside the mine is a room with a sealed door in the northeast part of the mines, just north of the scorpions. When you've found it, use all the items on the "Magical Door." Be sure to use the Wizard's Mind Bomb with the door, as the left-click action for it is to drink it. The items will disappear after usage.

Trying to use the items on the door without consulting the Oracle results in the message "I have no idea what I should put in the opening of this door. Maybe I should just leave it for now."

When you open the chest inside, the following message is displayed:

"Here I rest the map to my beloved home. To whoever finds it, I beg of you, let it be. I was honour-bound not to destroy the map piece, but I have used all of my magical skill to keep it from being recovered. This map leads to the lair of the beast that destroyed my home, devoured my family, and burned to a cinder all that I love. But revenge would not benefit me now, and to disturb this beast is to risk bringing its wrath down upon another land. I cannot stop you from taking this map piece now, but think on this: if you can slay the Dragon of Crandor, you are a greater hero than my land ever produced. There is no shame in backing out now."

Note: The chest found within the room contains the second map piece.

Third Map Piece
The Champion's Guildmaster can tell you about how to get the third map piece.

First, you can speak with General Bentnoze or General Wartface in the Goblin Village. He will explain to you that one of his goblins has it. The third, and final, map piece is apparently in the possession of a goblin named Wormbrain, who is being held in the Port Sarim Jail. Head to Port Sarim jail and talk to Wormbrain.

Note: The game glitches sometimes and General Bentnose will keep arguing with General Wartface. So you might have to keep doing it over and over until you can finally get the answer. If you are caught in the glitch, it can take up to 60 minutes to get the answer. (If you finish Goblin Diplomacy this will not happen.)

Note: You can kill Wormbrain and Tele-Grab the map piece without first talking to the generals.

There are two ways to obtain this map piece:

NOTE You can obtain multiple copies of each piece of the map, however, when you put the map together, the extra pieces will all disappear and leave you with only one complete map. It is possible to drop the additional pieces, assemble the map, drop the assembled map, pick up the dropped pieces and assemble them, resulting in one (or more) additional maps. These serve no purpose, however. Remember to only use a Wizard's Mindbomb if you are level 31 or over as effects don't stack.
 * Beat up Wormbrain using Ranged, Magic or a halberd and cast Telekinetic Grab on the map piece (requires 33 Magic, or if your Magic level is not high enough, a Wizard's mind bomb can be used accordingly to acquire 33 Magic).
 * Speak to him and pay him 10,000 coins for the map piece.

Obtaining a Ship

 * Return to the Guildmaster and ask him about acquiring a ship (this is not necesary if you asked him about acquiring a ship before). He tells you that there's probably a ship for sale in Port Sarim. You buy it from an NPC by the name of Klarense. He can be found on the second dock from the Port Sarim jail. The ship will be damaged, so you will need 90 steel nails, 3 regular wood planks (other variations, such as oak, won't work), and a hammer (to drive the nails) to repair it. You can craft the steel nails with level 34 smithing (6 steel bars makes 90 nails.) If you don't have a hammer, you may purchase one from a nearby general store or take the one found in the upstairs room of the Falador forge. A golden hammer can be used as a substitute for a regular one.


 * After obtaining and bringing all the aforementioned items, along with 2,000 coins, head over to Port Sarim and look for Klarense at the southern docks. Buy his boat, the Lady Lumbridge, for 2,000 coins. Board the ship and descend the ladder. Make sure to repair the opening in the hull by using the planks with the hole. Using each plank consumes 30 steel nails. Do this three times to repair the hole completely.


 * Venture forth to Draynor Village and converse with Ned. He sells and crafts ropes. Bring your map and ask him to pilot the ship and assist you in sailing to Crandor. He agrees and tells you to meet him on your ship in Port Sarim.

The Fight

 * Before setting off for Crandor Island, stop at the Draynor Village bank. Withdraw your anti-dragon shield, your best armour suited for your fighting style, your one-handed weapon, any potions you may need, runes/bolts (if maging/ranging, however if you are note that there are no safespots and Elvarg can hit up to 120 lp worth of damage with her firebreath attack, even if an anti-dragon shield is equipped and far more if it is not; ranging is especially inadvisable for non-members due to the lack of any decent one-handed weapons), teleport runes, and fill the rest of your inventory with food (lobsters or better). Member foods, such as sharks and sea turtles will heal you if you have low life points easily; make sure your health is at least 121 because Elvarg can deal up to 120 life points even if you are wearing rune armour. This also means it is strongly advisable to bring food which heals at least 120 life points per bite, otherwise Elvarg may defeat you even if you are continuously eating.
 * Elvarg deals the most damage when she is using her dragon breath, which she will fire about 5-7 times at you before proceeding to meele. It is recommended you focus on healing when she attacks you with dragonbreath and attack when she meeles.

WARNING: If you die, you will most likely lose your items as there are rarely other players in Elvarg's lair. And you will need to fix the boat again, but you wont need to find the map or captain. If you find yourself losing health points, teleport. Don't run out of the lair as the skeletons will attack you.
 * If possible, try to avoid bringing food that is eaten in more than one bite, such as pizzas. They may heal more life points over time, but the extra time needed to eat them could mean defeat in the battle with the dragon.

NOTE: Elvarg can be killed in more than one trip, so if you run out of food you can always re-bank, come back and Elvarg's Life Points will still be the same as when you left off. However, this only applies if no other players do the quest simultaneously. If you leave and someone else enters the dragon's lair while you are gone, and succeeds in slaying the dragon, it is likely to regenerate with full life points. Likewise, if someone fails to kill the dragon, you can enter and continue to attack it, and its life points will be as the other player left them. If you are a lower levelled player, it is recommended that you do so.

*Board your ship, and talk to Ned. Tell him you're ready to sail to Crandor Isle. A short cutscene will play, during which Elvarg flies over your ship in circles and sets it on fire! Cabin Boy Jenkins will start to panic. He will catch on fire, receive damage of 100 life points and, sadly, dies. After crashing on the island shore, make your way across the island to the peak, avoiding the progressively stronger monsters (Skeletons level 24, then Moss Giants level 42, and lastly two Lesser Demons level 82 on the summit). Run past the lesser demons at the top and take the stairs into the heart of the island.
 * Another cutscene plays, showing Elvarg's lair, full of bones, skeletons, and a silhouette of a warrior that came before (and was burnt-down) on the wall, before moving the camera angle to Elvarg, showing her as if she was slowly moving towards you. A music track, (Attack 2), starts playing in the background. Your Prayer will drain upon entering the lair.
 * Move past the skeletons until you see Elvarg behind a short wall of spikes protruding from the ground on the east. Climb over it, making sure that your anti-dragonfire shield is equipped, and begin the fight. If in the middle of the fight you leave Crandor Island, via teleport or any other means, you don't need to repair the Lady Lumbridge or convince Ned again, you can just use the secret passage way through the Karamja Volcano dungeon, after you unlock it first, of course. To do this, you must have first walked through the secret passage wall at least once from Crandor heading to Karamja Volcano, and it will always be open for you, so you can use it to travel underground from Karamja to Crandor and vice versa. However, if you do leave mid-battle and have not opened the secret passage way, you will need another three planks of wood and 90 nails to repair the vessel, Ned will already be on board ready to sail again.


 * It helps to unlock this passage before fighting Elvarg, to provide a fast escape route should the battle go wrong. For obvious reasons, you can't use this passage from Karamja if you haven't reached this point during or after the quest before, as you can't reach Crandor before doing so.
 * After unlocking this passage, it becomes the only way to reach Crandor, as Klarense won't let you board the ship again under the excuse that it is another ship (he supports this by painting Klarense's Cruiser on top of Lady Lumbridge).

General
Whatever your fighting style, as stated before, an anti-dragon shield (or a dragonfire shield for higher level members) is a must. Members can make use of antifire potions to completely negate the damage from Elvarg's dragonbreath attacks, if used in combination with a shield; members with level 85 Herblore and utilise super antifire to completely negate dragonfire without using a shield. If your Prayer level is high enough, Protect from Melee will block Elvarg's melee attacks; a combination of Protect from Melee and an anti-dragon shield will negate melee damage and reduce fire breath damage to a maximum of 120. However, prayer points are drained during combat, so a prayer restoration method (such as prayer potions) may be necessary if you choose to rely on prayer heavily.

Elvarg's dragonbreath can hit up to 600s without an anti-dragon shield! Keeping your health above the 200s, just to be safe, is a good strategy in case Elvarg hits multiple times in a row. Her melee attacks can hit up to 100, so wear the best armour possible. If you are a ranger, use a crossbow, as you will need your anti-dragon fire shield.

WARNING: If you die, you will most likely lose your items as there are rarely other players in Elvarg's lair. However a grave will appear as normal.

If you run out of food (and don't have an emergency teleport), members can enter TzHaar, via the nearby cave entrance, and use the bank there. In addition, TzHaar will be come the spawn hub, incase of death, making it much easier to reach your grave. Teleporting away when low on food and lifepoints is wise, unless you can kill Elvarg in one or two more hits. Elvarg is extremely strong, therefore, bring foods which heal plenty of lifepoints, such as lobster or swordfish for free players, or monkfish or shark for members. A higher Constitution level will increase the success for all parts of the combat triangle.

The members may also want to make use of a ring of life, or a teleport tablet of some description, for a quick getaway in emergencies.

Also note, if you have a higher level friend willing to help you whom is also on the Dragon Slayer quest (If they are not on Dragon Slayer they cannot reach her and aid you in any way.), they can lower the dragon and allow you to get the final blow, giving you the dragon's head in your inventory and completion of the quest.

Melee
Being a dragon, Elvarg is weakest to stab attacks, thus the best weapons to use are a rune (short)sword or rune longsword - the shortsword is one tick faster, however has less strength; the long and short swords have equal accuracy. If you use a slashing weapon, such as the popular rune scimitar, you can still defeat Elvarg but keep in mind that you will not hit her as often. Crush attacks perform moderately well against Elvarg, but not as well as stab attacks. Avoid using Silverlight (or Darklight), as they do little damage and are very inaccurate unless used against a demon. You are advised to wear either adamant or rune armour (with a chainbody).

Use of Protect from Melee is advised when food supplies dwindle, to give the best chance of winning. A member can bring prayer potions as to be able to use the prayer the entire battle, in combination with antifire potions and a shield to take no damage from Elvarg.

If you have a Strength level of about 40+, you can easily hit 100 with a rune longsword. Using corrupt dragon equipment will further increase the chance of success, but it comes at a much larger cost. The best corrupt dragon weapon to use is the longsword. Members who have completed Lost City can use a dragon dagger (p++) special to poison Elvarg, then follow up the rest of the battle with a dragon longsword to kill the dragon quickly and very efficiently.

Keep in mind that while the battle may seem tough, many players have been able to defeat Elvarg with a combat level lower than 50. If you attempt to beat her with a low level, make sure you bring plenty of swordfish or lobsters (if a free player), or monkfish or shark (if a member).

Ranged


If you use ranged on the dragon, make sure you are using a crossbow since it is one-handed, unlike a bow which is two-handed. With the crossbow, you are still able to equip the anti-dragon shield necessary for the final battle; it is also recommended to use enchanted bolts if you are a member. Bring plenty of bolts as the battle will not be easy, and wear your best leather or dragonhide equipment.

A good outfit is rune chainbody, green d'hide chaps, green d'hide vambraces, rune full helm, power amulet, anti-dragon shield, crossbow and about 300-500 bronze bolts. And fill your inventory with swordfish only. It is a good idea to be close to the dragon, because the dragon breath can cause more damage than the melee attacks. Members can make use of the much better crossbows and bolts, as well as various other one-handed ranged equipment (though the crossbow is still the better choice).

As your armour will most likely not have high melee defence, make use of the various obstacles located within the south-east area of her lair (also amongst other places) behind the wall of stalagmites. This won't protect you from her dragonbreath, which can hit at a distance, but will keep you away from her melee attacks, which can be devastating to you since you will most likely have poor melee Defence.

A member may also use super antifire potions, which act as substitutes for an anti-dragon shield. This allows the use of a bow - though in members, crossbows are far superior to bows in most situations, this included.

Magic
Magic is not a common approach to the fight with Elvarg and will hit almost nothing on the dragon unless you have at least 50 Magic. If using magic, Fire Blast is highly advised, however the other blast spells, as well as Fire Bolt, can work.

Mages will need to keep away from Elvarg, by hiding behind stalegmites, as her melee attack will hit very accurately on the robes the mage will need to wear to be able to hit accurately enough. A large amount of food will likely be required. Members should use antifire potions, to completely negate her attacks.

Suggested equipment include: an air staff, a wizard's robe top, a wizard's hat, and an explorer's ring. Using combat robes or druidic robes from Fist of Guthix or Runecrafter's robes from the Great Orb Project is advised, but more time consuming to obtain.

Conclusion


Once you kill Elvarg, a cutscene will play during which you cut off Elvarg's head. It will appear in your inventory. Elvarg respawns but as a non hostile enemy if you stay for too long. Leave Crandor and take the head to Oziach, who will declare you a worthy champion of the champion guild and give you your reward.

There are several ways to leave Crandor after the fight:


 * Teleport away using methods such as Lumbridge Home Teleport, an Explorer's ring 3 or a teleportation spell. The Ring of Kinship provides a free teleport to Daemonheim so players can quickly recover LP.
 * Exit Elvarg's lair and continue along the dungeon, avoiding the skeletons and lesser demons, until you come to a wall. If you push that wall you will pass through a secret door and end up inside the Karamja volcano. From there on you can pay 30 coins (which you can bring with you or raise on the island by selling items to the general store or working for Luthas) to sail to Port Sarim.
 * If you have not yet opened the secret door, which is a passageway connecting the lair and the rest of the Karamja Volcano, it is advised that you teleport out because if you are on low health from the fight then the various monsters outside the lair might kill you.
 * Members can use an Amulet of Glory to teleport to Edgeville for the quickest turn in method.

If you lose the head, you cannot go back and kill Elvarg for another. Simply return to Oziach and the quest will end as normal. Note: You can bank the head, but it will disappear after you receive your reward.

Congratulations! The quest has been completed.

Reward



 * 2 Quest points
 * The ability to equip a rune platebody and a green dragonhide body.
 * 18,650 Strength experience
 * 18,650 Defence experience
 * Access to all of Crandor Island
 * Free anti-dragon shield (given by Duke Horacio in the beginning, or whenever you want another)
 * Access to Melzar´s Maze (with key)

Music unlocked

 * Attack 2 (under Crandor)
 * Melzar's Maze (music track) (Melzar's Maze)
 * Dangerous Road (under Karamja Volcano)
 * The Shadow (Crandor)

Required for completing
Completion of Dragon Slayer is required for the following:


 * Heroes' Quest
 * Karamja Diary Medium Tasks
 * Lumbridge and Draynor Diary Medium Tasks (You need to reach the part Obtaining an anti-dragon shield)
 * Varrock Diary Medium Tasks

Trivia

 * After completing the quest, your Adventurer's Log will say, "To prove my worthiness to wear rune armour and join the Champion's Guild, I travelled to Crandor and slew the dread dragon Elvarg."
 * It used to be that when Elvarg died, the player would be teleported outside with the Quest Complete banner without cutting off Elvarg's head. There was no need to return to Oziach afterwards.
 * Elvarg used to be locked in a cage with a door to pass through, rather than a wall to jump over.
 * In RuneScape Classic, Telekinetic Grab was the only way to complete the quest after some quest items were made untradeable, as there was no option to buy the map piece from Wormbrain. Thus the quest carried a requirement of 33 Magic.
 * After completing the quest, if you talk to Juna, your character will say, "...So with Elvarg the dragon dead, the master of the Champion's Guild let me in, and I was able to wear a Rune Plate!"
 * Dragon Slayer was the first quest to be released with an Experienced difficulty.
 * After completion of the quest, when trying to board the Lady Lumbridge, Klarense will tell you that the ship is not yours, but his new ship. Your player will point out that it has Lady Lumbridge painted out and another name on it. Klarense will deny your accusation and the conversation will be over. If looked at the right angle in the ship you can see the holes you repaired in the hull.