Anti-dragon shield



The Anti-dragon shield is an item used in the Dragon Slayer quest, which can be kept afterwards. It is obtained from Duke Horacio in Lumbridge Castle.

Other than the shield's regular defensive bonuses, which are roughly the same as an Iron square shield's, the Anti-dragon shield prevents a great amount of damage from the magical fire-breath of dragons. When used in combination with an Antifire potion, the wearer will not take any damage from dragon breath until the potion runs out (except for the special attacks by the King Black Dragon).

Under typical circumstances, a player can only get one shield as the Duke will not give a shield to players who already have one in their possession. More than one can be obtained, however, by using the Drop trick. Some players obtain multiple shields for the convenience of having them in the bank in case they die and lose one. Others get multiples so that they can sell them for a profit later on. Some higher-level Slayer players obtain multiple shields so that they can run past the Blue dragons in Kuradal's Dungeon without taking dragon breath damage. They then switch to a better shield and drop the anti-dragon shield to free up an inventory slot so that a more valuable drop can be taken. Some players believe the recent, significant price rise in the shields is because of this tactic in Kuradal's Dungeon.



Dragon Slayer
In the Dragon Slayer quest, the player will need this shield. If it is not used, Elvarg can hit upwards of 300 life points. It can be combined with a draconic visage via the Smithing skill or by paying Oziach to be smithed into a dragonfire shield.



The anti-dragon shield was named the dragonfire shield or "df shield" among many long-time RuneScape players because it was formerly named the dragonfire shield until its name was changed for an unknown reason sometime in late 2005 or early 2006. It is speculated that the reason for the name change is that Jagex was beginning development of the dragonfire shield, the powerfully modified anti-dragon shield, and renamed it to avoid confusion. The "df shield" nickname for the anti-dragon shield mostly died out soon after the release of the dragonfire shield, and the nickname was passed on to the newly released dragonfire shield. It also changed to a stained and clawed look prior to the dragonfire shield update. Now, you don't need an anti-dragon shield if you have a super anti-fire potion, as it eliminates all firebreath from dragons regardless of equipping any shield or not.

Dungeoneering
An alternate form of the Anti-dragon shield was released along with the Dungeoneering skill. It has a completely different look than the traditional shield and can only be used within Daemonheim.

Decoration
Players with a Construction level of 47 or more can mount the shield in the quest hall of their house by using it, and three teak planks, on the guild trophy hotspot. This is not very common, as most players decide to put an Amulet of Glory there, instead, for the free transports it grants.

Trivia

 * Pure low-level mages and many F2P mages also use this shield in player versus player and magic combat training situations because it offers some protection from most attack forms, but it also has no penalties for using magic while wielding this shield.
 * The original name of the anti-dragon shield was the "Dragonfire" shield, and was changed before the release of the dragonfire shield.
 * Sir Vant used to wield an anti-dragon shield along with a white two-handed sword while fighting the dragon during the old quest Learning the Ropes.
 * The anti-dragon shield is also used as a background in the FunOrb game "Armies of Gielinor".
 * In the past, some scammers would say that this was an extremely rare item and sell it for hundreds of thousands of coins. It is still common to see this antic today, albeit less frequently employed. Some players try to scam others saying they will enchant it and give it back afterward, taking advantage of the fact that it is an unusual item. Players who do this should be reported, as this is against the Rules of RuneScape. This can no longer be done due to the trade limit, not to worry.
 * It is unknown how it is enchanted against dragon fire. The enchantment might include dragon fire (which explains the slash on the surface of the shield).
 * There is a graphical error involving the wall-mounted anti-dragon shield in POHs. The shield is mounted upside down, this can be noticed when you compare it to the position of the shield when blocking a attack.