Frost dragon/Strategies

Frost dragons are dangerous level 166 dragons residing in the Asgarnian Ice Dungeon resource dungeon. Frost dragons are often killed for their valuable frost dragon bones, worth coins, as well as the chance of other valuable drops such as the draconic visage.

Requirements
To access the Asgarnian Ice Dungeon resource dungeon, 85 Dungeoneering is needed. It is also suggested to have a good stab weapon, 80+ in all combat stats in your choice of combat class, 70+ prayer and 52+ summoning.

Strategies
The chaotic rapier, chaotic crossbow, chaotic longsword, as well as the lower powered brackish blade and korasi's sword are good for killing frost dragons because of their high stab bonuses. The Zamorakian spear is also effective.

Their magic attack is very accurate, making it incredibly dangerous for players not using Protect from Magic or Deflect magic. Frost dragons always stick to ranged or magic attacks throughout the fight. Use your prayers accordingly. However, when the frost dragon is killed, immediately switch to Protect from / Deflect magic if you have been using Protect from missiles or Deflect missiles, as their magic attack is far more dangerous.

The fastest method of hunting them is to use armour with high melee defence bonuses with the Protect from Magic or Deflect Magic prayers activated. Suggested for this is Verac the Defiled's armour because of the hefty prayer and defence bonuses it offers. Soul Wars cape or Fire cape are both excellent capes to choose, due to the Defence and Prayer and Defence and Strength bonuses, respectively.

Trying to tank their magic attacks and pray against melee is NOT advised as their magic attack is heavy hitting and highly accurate. Even with incredibly high magic defence stats, heavy damage will be taken. Players with lower than 70 defence should not use melee as the dragon can hit up to 220 with melee which requires significant food. Also, players with a large amount of lag should not attempt to kill them, because depending on your max hit and attack level, you can end up getting killed without you even knowing it.

Notes about the Orb attack


When fighting Frost Dragons, a small blue orb will occasionally appear and start circling the dragon. It is important that you do NOT attack while the orb is out, as it will rebound any damage you would've dealt 100%.
 * The Orb appears after you have hit the dragon 10 to 12 times, and keeps circling the dragon for 2 full circles which is 7-8 seconds.
 * The Orb attack only starts if the dragon is attacking you; hiding from its projectiles and letting your cannon kill it will prevent it from doing so, not the other way around
 * Damage from a cannon will be reduced to 0.
 * No XP will be gained from a successful hit
 * No armour soak. Players will need to be careful with powerful weapons such as a Chaotic rapier or any other useful weaponry used for PKing, such as Chaotic mauls and Godswords.

Melee
Recommended Melee Equipment:
 * Helm: Fighter hat > Verac's helm > Helm of neitiznot > Torag's helm > Dragon full helm > Full or regular Slayer helmet > Proselyte sallet
 * Body: Torva Platebody > Bandos chestplate > Verac's brassard > Torag's platebody > Dragon platebody > Proselyte hauberk > Karil's top (if not praying) > Fighter torso (not recommended due to low defence and prayer bonuses)
 * Legs: Torva Platelegs  > Bandos tassets > Verac's plateskirt > Torag's platelegs > Dragon platelegs > Proselyte cuisse or tasset > Karil's skirt (if not praying)
 * Boots: Steadfast boots > Dragon boots > Bandos boots > Rune boots
 * Amulet: Amulet of fury > Demon horn necklace or Split dragontooth necklace > Amulet of glory > Any god stole
 * Gloves: Goliath gloves > Barrows Gloves > Other RfD Gloves (Rune, Adamant) > Regen bracelet > Combat bracelet > Dragon gauntlets
 * Ring: Onyx ring (i) > Ring of wealth > Berserker ring (i) > Warrior ring (i) > Ring of life > Any Explorer's ring (for the prayer bonus)
 * Cape: Completionist Cape > Max Cape > Soul Wars cape > Ardougne cloak 3/4 > TokHaar-Kal > Fire cape > Any Skillcape (t)
 * Shield: Dragon defender (if using Super Antifire ) > Dragonfire shield > Anti-dragon shield > Illuminated unholy book (if using a Super antifire potion)
 * Aura: Master reverence > Greater reverence > Penance > Knock-out
 * Weapon: Chaotic rapier > Chaotic longsword > Brackish blade > Korasi's sword > Zamorakian spear (With super antifires only) > Dragon claws
 * Familiar: Best Beast of Burden you can use > Best Healer you can use
 * Quick Prayers: 1. Deflect Magic, Turmoil, Berserker 2. Piety/Chivalry, Protect from Magic 3. Protect/Deflect Magic

Items:
 * 1-2 Overloads or Extreme attack and Extreme Strength/Super attack and Strength
 * 4-10 (Super) Prayer potion, Prayer renewal
 * 1-3 (Super) Antifire
 * High-healing foods like Pineapple pizzas, Sharks, Rocktails, Cavefish, Summer pies, or Monkfish
 * House teletabs or Explorer's ring
 * Dwarf Multicannon
 * 2000+ Cannonballs
 * Beast of Burden filled with high-grade food (Little-to-no food is needed if Soul Split is accessible especially while attacking a ranging dragon with good defensive armour like full Verac's.)
 * 200 Winter Storage Scrolls if using Pack Yak
 * Healing Aura Scrolls if using Unicorn Stallion
 * (Elite) Enhanced Excalibur (only if combined with Super Antifire, however this method is rather inefficient)
 * Holy Wrench (optional)

Fixed protect from magic - melee setup - medium level As soon as you enter the dungeon you should activate and keep active protect from magic for your whole stay. The inventory, therefore, would require a significant amount of prayer potions, so keep this in mind when preparing. With this method 6-7 Prayer Potions (4) is easily enough for a single trip.
 * Chaotic rapier > Chaotic longsword
 * Torag's /Dharok's /Guthan's platebody
 * Verac's plateskirt
 * Helm of Neiti
 * A god cloak
 * Amulet of fury > Amulet of glory
 * Dragon defender (if using super antifires) > Anti-dragon shield
 * Dragon boots
 * Barrows gloves > Regen bracelet

Fixed protect from magic - melee setup - high level Again you will need a considerable amount of prayer potions, but to counter this you should bring some prayer renewal potions to counter the drain. The Reverence aura is also highly recommended for this setup to counter the high rate of prayer drain. Any stat boosting potions will significantly increase your kills per hour, but be careful when using overloads and being attacked by a dragon at the same time, as the two factors can easily down a player swiftly. An Enhanced Excalibur is recommended for players who are confident on their abilities and who wish to stay for far longer. PROTECT FROM MAGIC WILL NOT DEFEND AGAINST ALL THE DRAGONFIRE, ANTIFIRE POTIONS ARE STILL REQUIRED!
 * Chaotic rapier > Chaotic longsword
 * Dragon defender (if using super antifires) > Anti-dragon shield
 * Ardougne cloak 4 / 3
 * Amulet of fury
 * Bandos chestplate
 * Bandos tassets
 * Steadfast boots > Dragon boots
 * Goliath gloves > Barrows gloves
 * Helm of Neitiznot > Verac's helm

It is now advised not to use range. This is because ranged armour has a low ranged defence, and as of the Halloween 2011 update, Frost Dragons now use a ranged attack which hits up to 220 lifepoints. Players can still use range, if they choose, with strong ranged defensive armour, such as Karil's or Armadyl sets. However, prayer-boosting armour, such as initiate, is not recommended, as it has less ranged defence than Black d'hide.

Using Magic is also not recommended against Frost Dragons, as, like most chromatic dragons, they have high magic defence. Spells will splash very often, with the exception of Storm of Armadyl coupled with an Armadyl Battlestaff, which is slightly more effective. However, the coins per cast will significantly decrease profits. Also, ranged damage from the Frost Dragons will be significant due to the low ranged defence of Magic armour, unless a player wishes to use Ganodermic armour with the use of Protect/Deflect ranged, which is useful as it will give high magic defence and soak from their damage and you will block all Ranged attacks.

Using a cannon is also highly recommended or basically a necessity as it vastly speeds up kills. An excellent set-up and gear can yield upwards of around 140 kills per hour or more! Despite the expenses incurred (Cannonballs), the total money made per unit time is much larger with a cannon than without one. For the same reason, constant use of Piety or Turmoil is advisable. As a secondary consideration, the faster the dragons are killed, the less time they have to inflict damage and deplete supplies (if applicable). After the October 2011 update, cannons will instantly decay upon leaving the caverns. Also note, when the Frost Dragon uses its recoil attack, no cannon damage will be reflected back to you. Also, the cannon is recommended because other players will set cannons up, and those cannons can potentially steal your dragon, so using a cannon makes it show who is attacking it.

The best way to kill a Frost dragon without it using the orb attack too much is to place a cannon on the bottom area of the Frost dragons. Place your cannon, and begin to shoot cannonballs at them. The safe spot in this area is 1-2 steps from entering the resource dungeon, so all dragons will be unable to attack you. However, this will require a lot of cannonballs. Along with that, it can attack other dragons which are in another spot, and if it dies players will either have to ignore it or risk letting the dragon use the orb attack. This method is still recommended because it saves a lot of your BoB familiar time, up from 1/2 to 1/3 of its time length.

A decent way to bank frost dragon bones and replenish supplies is to use an Explorer's Ring 3 or 4 to enable quick banking at Draynor Village. Along with that, players coming from the north can use the small church nearby to recover any prayer points, if needed. An even better way is to use a Ring of Duelling or Ring of kinship paired with a Ring of slaying to give almost instant access to a bank and fairy ring. Since Mudskipper Point is the first on the fairy ring travel log, you can travel there very quickly. They can also use the Teleport to House tab if their PoH is in Rimmington. This is effective, but players will need to stock on Teleport to House tabs.

Possibly the best way as of March 2012 is to have a Tokkul-Zo equipped and bank using the [teleport]] on the, ring then lodestone back to Port Sarim while restoring prayer and summoning points as you run back to the dragons.

After the October 2011 update with the new ranged attack, the Frost Dragon will only use either its ranged or magic attack for the entire fight. The chance is random, so it is advised to change to the corresponding prayer depending on the first regular attack, whether it is a ranged attack (thin blue projectile) or a magic attack (Water spell), and you will not receive any damage from the regular attacks.

NOTE: Logging out in the Frost Dragon lair will put you outside of the resource dungeon entrance. If you die in the Frost Dragon lair, your gravestone will spawn outside the resource dungeon entrance. Your cannon will stay inside the lair. However, it will not be activated until the player returns and fires it.

Ranged method
This is recommended for players who want to get a dragon before another player/cannon gets to it. Even against their ranged attack, a good ranged setup can block most of the dragon's ranged attack, and it is rare to get hit over 200. The other good reason is because players cannot hit too high for the hit to kill themselves, unlike hitting too high with melee and killing yourself or wounding you badly.
 * Helm: Armadyl helmet > Helm of neitiznot > Any Blessed dragonhide coif
 * Body: Armadyl chestplate > Royal d'hide body > Karil's top > Black d'hide body
 * Legs: Armadyl Plateskirt > Royal d'hide chaps > Karil's skirt > Black d'hide chaps > Verac's Plateskirt
 * Shield: Dragonfire shield > Anti-dragon shield > Eagle-eye kiteshield > Divine spirit shield
 * Weapon: Chaotic crossbow > Rune crossbow
 * Ammo: Dragonbane bolts** > Broad-tipped bolts > Bolts mithril and lower
 * Cape: Completionist cape > Ava's device (Alerter > Accumulator > Attractor)
 * Boots: Glaiven boots > Ranger boots > Snakeskin boots
 * Ring: Tokkul-Zo > Explorer's ring 4 or Explorer's ring 3 > Archers' ring (i) > Ring of wealth
 * Amulet: Amulet of fury > Amulet of ranging > Amulet of glory
 * Gloves: Swift gloves > Mercenary's Gloves > Culinaromancer's gloves 10 > Black d'hide vambraces
 * Aura: Greater reverence > Penance > Knock-out
 * Familiar: Best Beast of Burden you can use > best Healer you can use
 * Quick Prayers: 1. Soul Split/Deflect Magic, Berserker/Sap Curses 2. Rigour/Eagle Eye, Protect from Magic 3. Protect/Deflect Magic
 * Dragonbane bolts require completion of The Ritual of the Mahjarrat

Items:
 * Cannon parts
 * 1000-3000 cannonballs
 * 1-3 Extreme ranging potions or Ranging potions
 * 3-6 (Super) Prayer potions, Prayer renewals
 * 1-2 (Super) Antifire
 * 4-6 high level food (Sharks, rocktails, cavefish, Pineapple pizzas, wild pies)
 * Enhanced excalibur

Your familiar should have: Keep all the other spaces for your frost dragon bones or any other valuable item/s.
 * 2-3 high level food

Cannon strategy
This method is highly valued by players who cannot kill Frost dragons in hand to hand or ranged combat, as their hits can hit very high against players. Players who do this can quickly kill Frost dragons with ease without taking too much damage from their basic and recoil attacks.

Helm: Armadyl Helmet OR Ganodermic visor > Helm of neitiznot > Blessed d'hide coif

Body: Armadyl Chestplate OR Ganodermic poncho > Karil's top > Black/Blessed d'hide body

Legs: Armadyl Plateskirt OR Ganodermic leggings > Karil's skirt > Black/Blessed d'hide body

Shield: Dragonfire Shield > Sacred clay shield (ranged/magic)

Amulet: Amulet of fury > Amulet of Glory

Boots: Snakeskin boots > Bandos boots > Dragon boots

Gloves: Black d'hide vambraces/spiky > lower dragonhide vambraces

Familiar: Pack Yak > Unicorn Stallion > War Tortoise > Spirit Terrorbird

Items: Familiar items This is the best way to take as little damage from the Frost dragons. Enter the frost dragon area and use the southern dragons for your cannon, as the northern ones will most likely cause problems with your cannon as you're reloading it. Go down the path to the southern batch of dragons and place your cannon as close as you can to the end of the path. Drink a dose of Anti/super antifire and use the respective protection prayer. Set your cannon up, load it and run back to the exit. At the exit, go up north from the door 2 spaces. You will not take any damage from the dragons, and you will constantly need to reload it. You might hit several dragons at unexpected areas; like one at the northern area and another very far from your cannon. If they die, you can either pick up the bones or leave them there. Once your inventory is full of bones, summon your BoB or store items in it and rebank, unless you have a Pack Yak with thousands of cannonballs in it. This maximises your kills without banking and the cost of little food used, rather then meleeing and ranging them which can occasionally cause damage to you by their attacks and rebound.
 * Cannon parts
 * 300-3000 cannonballs
 * 2 to 4 Super prayer or regular prayer potions
 * 4-6 High levelled food
 * Optional: Enchanted Excalibur
 * Hundreds of Winter Storage scrolls (Pack Yak only), cannonballs
 * 1-2 high level food