Blood Dragon (Skyrim)



Blood Dragons are dragons found in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. They are a unique breed with their sideways slit eyes, a crest on their head, a sail that goes along their back, and a flap at the end of their tail. They become common at level 20, although on rare occasions as low as level 11.

Battle behavior
Don't bother running from these dragons as they follow you everywhere, even flying in circles over cities if you are inside. The only way to escape a Blood Dragon other than hiding in a hole, cave or similar crevice is to lead it to a small village or camp and flee as it destroys the village. You can also hide inside a cave for a few seconds then come out the way you entered.

Trivia

 * A Blood Dragon can breathe either Yol (fire), Fo (frost), or sometimes both at its enemies.
 * An easy way to spot a blood dragon from a distance is to look at its tail. The end of their tail is shaped like a leaf, unlike the spear tip shaped tail end of any other dragon.
 * If the player has a relatively prominent sneak skill, and hides, sometimes the Blood Dragon can be lured away by other ambient creatures/people (i.e. wolves/hunters) despite that the player has already engaged him/her, giving the player enough time to retreat to safety or escape the conflict in a whole.
 * These dragons become common at level 18; although players may come across them at lower levels. They can be easily confused with a normal dragon while in flight. It is a players bane to accidentally confront them at a low level, as a Blood Dragon can easily wipe out a low level character with as little as two hits with its breath attack.The best way for a low level player to kill the dragon is to avoid its face and it its side if the dragon turns to get you simply move with it staying away from its face.
 * Leading a Blood Dragon to a large city will cause the guards to attack it, giving you a chance to either run or help kill it.
 * If you find yourself running from a Blood Dragon as a low level character, you want to use whatever you have to make you go as fast as you can, such as Whirlwind Sprint and sprinting in general. Make your way to the nearest location marked on your compass, as there will probably be an NPC there. Once the dragon is distracted, attempt to sneak away. If you are successful, congratulations. If not, then it would be wise to have healing equipped in both hands. If all else fails and you can manage to stay alive, find a major city. If you make it that far, then you simply need to duck into some cover and wait for the townsfolk to take care of your foe. Afterwards, you can collect the Dragon Soul and loot the body.
 * A tactic that has worked often is to simply hide behind a large object i.e. boulders, parts of alters or shrines, towers, etc. Make sure there is some space for the Dragon to land, or it will constantly do flyby's or hover attacks. When the Dragon lands, pop out and use a bow or magic (Fire/Ice, whichever is the opposite of what the Dragon is using) to attack it. You can usually get off one or two shots before the Dragon will take flight again. It usually takes a while, but it has been pretty effective starting at level 20. Also, once the Dragon's health is low enough, it wont be able to take off, and you can just trade shots with it until it's dead.
 * If you are a mage, the most effective spell to use on a Blood Dragon, is Frostbite, or any other Frost spell.
 * If you are a mage, it's best to have the perk that staggers if you use a spell with both hands, doing so means that you could beat it without taking a single bit of damage.
 * A Blood Dragon can be found attacking the College of Winterhold.
 * The Spellbreaker shield is very effective in blocking the Dragon breath
 * A Blood Dragon willl occasionally spawn in Riverwood.
 * Blood Dragons will often spawn at NightGate Inn.
 * A Blood Dragon resides at Northwind Summit, near Mistwatch. It guards the Word Wall containing Aura Whisper.

Bugs

 * Sometimes a Blood Dragon's texture won't load properly until it's killed. (X360)
 * It is possible to have two Blood Dragons spawn at Dawnstar. Since this would be nigh on impossible for lower level characters, it is presumably a bug. A good tactic in the fight is to retreat back into the lanes in Dawnstar to get maximum protection from the guards. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that neither dragon will alert the nearby Giant to their presence, so this fight can prove to be exceptionally challenging. The one upside is that the Giant will help with the fight against the Dragons and then get killed or wounded by one of the Dragons
 * Sometimes the Blood Dragon will not burn up upon death and you will not be able to absorb their souls.