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This article has a strategy guide. All information on mechanics, setups, and strategy are on the subpage.
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| Release | 27 February 2002 (Update) | |||||||||||||||||
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| Members | Yes | |||||||||||||||||
| Examine | ||||||||||||||||||
| A fierce dragon with black scales! | ||||||||||||||||||
| Combat info | ||||||||||||||||||
| Level | LP |  XP |  XP | |||||||||||||||
| 100 | 7,000 | 714 | 235.6 | |||||||||||||||
| Equipment XP (2H/MH & Armour/OH) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 42 / 28 / 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Aggressive | Poisonous | |||||||||||||||||
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| Slayer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Level | XP | Category | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 245 | Black dragons | ||||||||||||||||
| Assigned by | ||||||||||||||||||
   | ||||||||||||||||||
| Offensive | ||||||||||||||||||
| Max hit | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  |  | |||||||||||||||
| 475 | 0 | 475 | 2000 | |||||||||||||||
| Style | Speed | |||||||||||||||||
   | 4 ticks (2.4s) | |||||||||||||||||
| Combat levels | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Defensive | ||||||||||||||||||
| Armour |  | Weakness | ||||||||||||||||
| 1566 | 72 |   | ||||||||||||||||
| Affinities | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| 90 | 45 | 65 | 55 | |||||||||||||||
| Immunities | ||||||||||||||||||
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Black dragons are powerful level 100 monsters. An anti-dragon shield, a dragonfire shield, an antifire potion, or a combination is highly recommended when fighting them, as it can reduce the maximum hit of their breath from about 5000+ to around 500. Players can also use super antifire, as it blocks the dragon fire breath attack completely. They are not as popular as the weaker blue dragons and green dragons, but their chance of dropping the much coveted draconic visage and their guaranteed drop of black dragonhide makes them worthwhile to kill. Players must kill a black dragon during the Freeing Sir Amik Varze part of Recipe for Disaster quest. A black dragon slayer task can also be completed by killing baby black dragons, the King Black Dragon, or the Queen Black Dragon.
The hide and bones give each black dragon kill a guaranteed drop value of 5,618 coins, in addition to their possible drops of runes and rune equipment.
Locations[]
Black dragons can be found in the following locations:
- Taverley Dungeon - two dragons, requires dusty key or level 70/80 agility for use of shortcuts.
- Lava Maze Dungeon in level 45 Wilderness - two dragons, Members only.
- Evil Chicken's Lair after starting the Sir Amik Varze subquest of Recipe for Disaster - four dragons, a raw chicken is required to enter the Evil Chicken's lair, but there are two chickens right outside the entrance, and a rope to access the baby black dragon.
- Daemonheim - Warped floors.
- Dragonkin Laboratory - several black dragons are located along the path between Astellarn and Verak Lith.
Taverley Dungeon[]
This location is usually not crowded, because there are only two dragon spawns, and it is also a considerable distance from the dungeon entrance, unless the player has 80 Agility to navigate a spike floor shortcut (can be boosted). However, if a player has yet to complete the Sir Amik Varze subquest of Recipe for Disaster, which is needed for the Evil Chicken's lair, they will have to either choose between Taverley or the Lava Maze (the latter being extremely dangerous).
Lava Maze[]
This location is almost always empty, as like in Taverley Dungeon, there are only two spawns. Players must also navigate through medium-high level Wilderness through the Lava Maze. While PKers are rarely, if ever seen in the dungeon because of its lack of noticeable features, there can be some outside due to the presence of lava strykewyrms right outside the Lava Maze, which is a hotspot for PKers.
The nearest bank is Darren, though players have to leave the dungeon and make their way out of the Lava Maze in order to reach him.
Evil Chicken's Lair[]
This location is the best and most recommended area to kill black dragons, as unlike the other two locations, there are four black dragons to kill here. The lair is accessible during and after the Sir Amik Varze subquest of Recipe for Disaster quest and requires a raw chicken to access. There are two chickens near the altar for players who forget to bring a raw chicken. This is the best location to hunt them because Zanaris bank is close by.
Even for players who haven't finished the subquest, they can still kill the black dragons as many times as they wish, though they will continually obtain the dragon token until it is picked up and used.
Strategy[]
Drops[]
100% drops[]
| Item | Quantity | Rarity | GE price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dragon bones | 1 | Always | 2,136 |
 | Black dragonhide | 1 | Always | 3,482 |
Charms[]
| No charm |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56–57% | 8–9% | 26–27% | 7% | 1% |
| Represents a 90% confidence range based on a sample of 29,053 kills. 3 charms are dropped at a time. Add data to the log (requires JavaScript). | ||||
Main drop[]
| Item | Quantity | Rarity | GE price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mithril hatchet | 1 | Uncommon | 5,242 |
 | Mithril battleaxe | 1 | Uncommon | 3,550 |
 | Off-hand mithril battleaxe | 1 | Uncommon | 2,954 |
 | Mithril 2h sword | 1 | Uncommon | 3,569 |
 | Adamant platebody | 1 | Rare | 8,975 |
 | Rune longsword | 1 | Rare | 17,883 |
 | Off-hand rune longsword | 1 | Rare | 18,210 |
 | Adamant dart | 16 | Common | 704 |
 | Adamant javelin | 30 | Common | 1,950 |
 | Rune knife | 2 | Uncommon | 790 |
 | Fire rune | 50 | Common | 7,950 |
 | Law rune | 10–12; 20; 45 | Common | 5,700–25,650 |
 | Air rune | 75 | Uncommon | 6,750 |
 | Blood rune | 5; 8; 9; 15 | Uncommon | 3,390–10,170 |
 | Nature rune | 67–79 | Very rare | 27,135–31,995 |
 | Death rune | 5–50 | Very rare | 1,160–11,600 |
 | Coins | 196; 330; 690 | Common | 196–690 |
 | Chocolate cake | 1 | Uncommon | 890 |
 | Adamant bar | 1–2 | Uncommon | 1,761–3,522 |
 | Black dragon egg (unchecked) | 1 | Very rare[1] | 388,818 |
 | Rare drop table | 1 | Rare | Not sold |
Tertiary drops[]
| Item | Quantity | Rarity | GE price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Black dragon tail-bone | 1 | Uncommon[2] | Not sold |
 | Perfect black dragon scale | 1 | Common[3] | Not sold |
 | Sealed clue scroll (hard) | 1 | Uncommon | Not sold |
 | Black dragon egg | 1 | Rare[4] | Not sold |
 | Court summons | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Starved ancient effigy | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Draconic visage | 1 | Very rare[5] | 1,187,911 |
Rare drop table[]
- This monster has access to the rare drop table.
Luck-enhancing items such as a ring of wealth or luck of the dwarves are not required to access the table.
| Show/hide rare drop table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Quantity | Rarity | GE price | |
| Coins | 250–500 | Common | 250–500 |
 | Uncut sapphire | 1 | Common | 809 |
 | Uncut emerald | 1 | Common | 2,555 |
 | Uncut ruby | 1 | Common | 1,842 |
 | Uncut diamond | 1 | Common | 4,843 |
| Uncut diamond | 45–55 (noted) | Rare | 217,935–266,365 |
 | Loop half of a key | 1 | Common | 11,053 |
 | Tooth half of a key | 1 | Common | 11,538 |
 | Uncut dragonstone | 1 | Uncommon | 12,077 |
| Uncut dragonstone | 45–55 (noted) | Rare | 543,465–664,235 |
 | Dragon longsword | 1 | Common | 56,212 |
 | Dragon spear | 1 | Rare | 35,861 |
 | Battlestaff | 180–220 (noted) | Rare | 542,160–662,640 |
 | Rune javelin | 5 | Rare | 905 |
 | Rune platebody | 1 | Uncommon | 37,480 |
| Rune platebody | 15–25 (noted) | Rare | 562,200–937,000 |
 | Shield left half | 1 | Rare | 64,399 |
 | Dragon helm | 1 | Uncommon | 58,601 |
 | Rune arrowheads | 113–137 | Common | 14,916–18,084 |
 | Onyx bolts | 135–165 | Very rare | 1,003,725–1,226,775 |
 | Chaos talisman | 1 | Rare | 1,923 |
 | Nature talisman | 1 | Rare | 1,473 |
 | Water talisman | 65–82 (noted) | Rare | 164,320–207,296 |
 | Earth talisman | 65–82 (noted) | Rare | 12,025–15,170 |
 | Fire talisman | 25–35 (noted) | Rare | 5,225–7,315 |
 | Raw lobster | 135–165 (noted) | Common | 47,655–58,245 |
 | Raw shark | 225–275 (noted) | Uncommon | 321,075–392,425 |
 | Big bones | 68–82 (noted) | Uncommon | 13,804–16,646 |
| Dragon bones | 180–220 (noted) | Rare | 384,480–469,920 |
 | Coal | 200–1,100 (noted) | Uncommon | 22,400–123,200 |
 | Gold ore | 90–110 (noted) | Common | 52,830–64,570 |
 | Adamantite ore | 180–220 (noted) | Uncommon | 40,860–49,940 |
| Adamant bar | 14–16 (noted) | Common | 24,654–28,176 |
| Adamant bar | 135–165 (noted) | Rare | 237,735–290,565 |
 | Runite ore | 90–110 (noted) | Rare | 127,710–156,090 |
 | Rune bar | 3 (noted) | Common | 8,955 |
| Rune bar | 45–55 (noted) | Rare | 134,325–164,175 |
 | Grimy torstol | 90–110 (noted) | Uncommon | 485,010–592,790 |
 | Grimy snapdragon | 90–110 (noted) | Uncommon | 161,010–196,790 |
 | Super restore (4) | 45–55 (noted) | Uncommon | 125,910–153,890 |
 | Prayer potion (4) | 45–55 (noted) | Uncommon | 130,950–160,050 |
 | Lantadyme seed | 14–16 | Uncommon | 10,164–11,616 |
 | Dwarf weed seed | 14–16 | Uncommon | 11,508–13,152 |
 | Magic seed | 4 | Uncommon | 209,856 |
 | Palm tree seed | 10 | Rare | 396,000 |
 | Flax | 450–550 (noted) | Common | 43,200–52,800 |
 | Molten glass | 45–55 (noted) | Common | 27,585–33,715 |
 | Soft clay | 450–550 (noted) | Uncommon | 188,550–230,450 |
 | Yew logs | 68–82 (noted) | Uncommon | 11,356–13,694 |
| Yew logs | 675–825 (noted) | Rare | 112,725–137,775 |
 | Teak plank | 45–55 (noted) | Uncommon | 16,740–20,460 |
 | Mahogany plank | 270–330 (noted) | Rare | 356,670–435,930 |
 | Blurberry Special | 1 | Uncommon | 12,008 |
 | Vecna skull | 1 | Very rare* | 124,871 |
 | Hazelmere's signet ring | 1 | Very rare* | 1,432,268,388 |
 | Brawling gloves (Melee) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Magic) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Ranged) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Agility) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Cooking) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (FM) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Fishing) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Hunter) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Mining) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Prayer) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Smithing) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (Thieving) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Brawling gloves (WC) | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Crystal triskelion fragment 1 | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Crystal triskelion fragment 2 | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
 | Crystal triskelion fragment 3 | 1 | Very rare | Not sold |
Universal drops[]
- Universal drops are dropped by nearly every monster outside of Daemonheim.
- These drops are dropped alongside main drops.
| Item | Quantity | Rarity | GE price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Key token | 1 | Rare | Not sold |
 | Mimic kill token | 1 | Very rare | 5,575 |
Trivia[]
- In RuneScape Classic, black dragons were the strongest monsters in RuneScape until the release of the King Black Dragon.
- They are the only chromatic dragon to drop the draconic visage.
- Like all other dragons in RuneScape, besides the King Black Dragon, the black dragons received a graphical update on July 5, 2010.
- Prior to 17 June 2013, these monsters were weak to arrows. The update changed their weakness, along with those of other chromatic dragons, to bolts, enabling players to exploit their weakness without need for super antifire potions or the Protect from Magic prayer.
