User blog:Sgt. S.S./Are dragons possibly too much of a challenge?

Last week, I decided I was going to fulfil my role as Dovahkiin, and slay me a dragon. A guard in Windhelm told me about one of the scaly brutes causing trouble from atop Mount Athnor, so I decided to teach him a few manners.

I stock up on armor and potions, and set off for Mt. Athnor with my trusty iron greatsword. After a long slog, I eventually reach the mountain. There, atop the word wall, the dragon sits imperiously, looking as arrogant as a very arrogant thing indeed. I take a shot at him with a poison-tipped arrow... and miss. And... oh crap, he's seen me. He takes off into the sky (dragons can move pretty quickly for such big critters, can't they?), and comes straight at me, filling the screen with fire as he goes screaming past.

At this point, I realise I may have bitten off more than I can chew.

I look skywards to see him circling back around. As he comes in close, I try bringing him down with a Sparks spell, but it's no good. He roars at me, and I just escape being incinerated. I try desperately to line up a shot, but he's taken off again with the speed of a damn lightning bolt!

Eventually, I succumb to the dragon's flame breath. I thought I was prepared, but the dragon has - for want of a better word - pwned me. The fight lasted all of three minutes.

I decide that maybe I should learn some new Shouts before I take a dragon on again. Great plan, right? Wrong. Because just reading the words isn't enough - you have to unlock them with a dragon soul. Dragon souls can only be obtained by... slaying dragons. Splendid. My most powerful potential weapon is effectively closed off to me, because I cannot kill a dragon.

Okay, what's happening here? I want it on record that this all took place on Novice difficulty. I knew dragons would be a challenge, but I didn't expect to be massacred in three minutes by one - especially not on the lowest difficulty setting!

I pray that Bethesda has not made the fatal error that so many developers make - failing to notice the boundary between "challenging" and "frustrating". Hopefully I'll do better if I level up, because a Dragonborn that can't kill dragons is not much of a Dragonborn.

Leaving that little rant aside, does anyone else here think the dragons in Skyrim might be a bit too hard to kill? I know I do!