What’s the Best Dragon Weapon in OSRS?

Dragon weapons in OSRS are powerful mid-tier equipment that is widely used by a variety of players, at a variety of levels, for a variety of activities. Of course, dragon is a tier of equipment including armor, weapons, and even some skilling tools. 

Even within those categories, there is huge variance between items considered dragon equipment, though most of them share a common detail: a requirement of level 60 in the corresponding skill to use. For example, dragon weapons require 60 Attack to equip.

That being said, there are a huge number of dragon weapons within Old School RuneScape. While they are all great weapons to equip and use for their level requirements, there are some that stand out from the rest. In this guide, I’ll address what’s the best dragon weapon in OSRS.

Dragon Dagger

One of the best dragon weapons in OSRS is the dragon dagger. In fact, any player you ask will cite the dragon dagger and its poisoned version as some of the most iconic weapons in the game. It is also one of the strongest daggers in the game, second only to the abyssal dagger. 

The dragon dagger also has a special attack that is a huge contributor to its popularity. The special attack is called Puncture, and deals two hits at the same time, both with a 15% boost to accuracy and damage. 

Your damage output with the dragon dagger can also be increased by using a vial of weapon poison on a clean dagger. Depending on the strength of the weapon poison, you can deal extra damage over time to enemies using the dagger. Keep in mind that some monsters and enemies are immune to poison, however. 

In order to equip the dragon dagger, you must have 60 Attack and have completed the quest ‘Lost City’. This is a relatively easy quest, often completed as early as possible for the sole purpose of unlocking the dragon dagger. 

You can start the quest by talking to the three adventurers near a campfire in the Lumbridge Swamp. You need 31 Crafting and 36 Woodcutting to finish Lost City, and if you play as an Ultimate Ironman, you should be aware that the quest will take you to Entrana.  

After the quest, the dragon dagger can be bought from shops in Zanaris, south of the Baxtorian Falls, Prifddinas (after Song of the Elves), and the third floor of the Myth’s Guild (after Dragon Slayer II.) It’s also dropped by a variety of enemies, such as the Chaos Elemental. 

Dragon Warhammer

Another one of the best dragon weapons in OSRS is the dragon warhammer. The warhammer is an incredibly important piece of equipment for higher level and endgame bossing as well as player versus monster encounters due to the properties of its special attack. 

Using the dragon warhammer’s special attack, Smash, will deal 50% more damage than a regular attack, and lower the target’s Defence stat by 30%, as long as you don’t hit a zero. This Defence reduction leads to significantly faster, and therefore significantly easier, kills on various bosses throughout the game. 

The dragon warhammer has no quest requirements to equip, but it does require 60 Strength instead of 60 Attack to use. It can also be used in place of a normal hammer in places like the Bandos stronghold in the God Wars Dungeon, the Chambers of Xeric, and the Tombs of Amascut. 

You can get the dragon warhammer as a drop from the Lizardman Shamans on Kourend. You will need 100% favor with the Shayzien house to fight them, and they drop the dragon warhammer at a rate of 1 in 5,000. 

Alternatively, you can simply buy the dragon warhammer (and other dragon items) from the Grand Exchange, if your account allows. However, its price tends to stay quite expensive due to the popularity of the item and the rarity of the drop. 

Dragon Scimitar

A third contender for best dragon weapon in OSRS is the dragon scimitar. Like the dragon dagger, the scimitar is often cited by longtime players as one of Old School RuneScape’s most iconic weapons. It’s also the best scimitar in the game. 

Most players tend to use the dragon scimitar for longer than most other dragon weapons, since it’s easy to train Strength on this weapon at higher levels. Higher tier weapons like the abyssal whip do not have an attack option that allows direct Strength training. 

The dragon scimitar can only be acquired and equipped after completing the quest ‘Monkey Madness I,’ one of OSRS’s most prolific and iconic quests. The only hard requirements for the quest are completion of the previous quests ‘Tree Gnome Village’ and ‘The Grand Tree.’

That being said, don’t even think about attempting Monkey Madness I with a combat level less than 65 and a Prayer level less than 43, since Protect from Melee is a necessity. It’s a very long and very difficult quest that you should expect to spend a few hours on. 

You can start Monkey Madness I by talking to the gnome King Narnode Shareen on the ground floor of the Grand Tree. After the quest, you can purchase the scimitar from Daga on Ape Atoll for 100,000 coins. Alternatively, it can be dropped by the boss Scorpia in the Wilderness, at a rate of 1 in 128. 

Dragon Claws

The next contender for best dragon weapon in OSRS is the dragon claws. The claws are unique to the others in this guide for two reasons: they are the only two-handed weapon in the guide, and they are the only weapon mainly used for player versus player combat in this guide. 

The dragon claws are highly sought after for player killing purposes due to their special attack, Slice and Dice. Similar to the dragon dagger, this special move performs four attacks that all hit at once. 

The maximum amount of damage you can do with the dragon claws to another player is roughly 89, if you get the best possible sequence of damage rolls. Burst damage (dealing high amounts of damage in a single instance of damage) like this is incredibly valuable in pking scenarios. 

Since player versus player combat in Old School RuneScape revolves around dealing burst damage to your opponent, while avoiding burst damage being dealt to you, the dragon claws are an invaluable addition to any pking arsenal. 

You can obtain the dragon claws from OSRS’s first raid, the Chambers of Xeric. While your reward potential depends on your performance during the raid, the dragon claws are dropped by the Ancient chest at the end of the raid, at a rate of 1 in 23, given you perform well enough to roll the unique drop table. 

Dragon Crossbow

The last candidate for the best dragon weapon in OSRS is the only dragon Ranged weapon on  this list, the dragon crossbow. In addition to being the only Ranged weapon on this list, it’s also the only weapon on this list that can be made from raw materials. 

The dragon crossbow can fire bolts up to and including dragon bolts, making it able to fire every type of bolt in the game. There are few crossbows in the game that can do this.

Additionally, dragon bolts can be enchanted with any gem in the game except amethyst, so you can leverage the powerful enchantment effects of various gems with the ranged strength provided by the dragon bolts themselves. 

In addition, the dragon crossbow is a one handed Ranged weapon, meaning you can use various items in the off hand slot, such as God Books for Prayer bonus, defenders for melee bonuses, and shields for defensive bonuses. 

You can wield the dragon crossbow with 64 Ranged, and you can equip dragon bolts for it at 61 Ranged. This shouldn’t be an issue, since you need a higher level to wield the crossbow itself. 

To obtain the dragon crossbow, you can cut a magic stock from a set of magic logs with 78 Fletching, then attach dragon limbs to the stock for an unstrung dragon crossbow. The dragon limbs cannot be made, they are a 1 in 800 drop from rune dragons, and a 1 in 1,000 drop from adamant dragons. 

Simply attach a bow string to the unstrung dragon crossbow to make a usable dragon crossbow. There are no NPCs that drop the dragon crossbow, so you need to fletch your own or buy one from the Grand Exchange. 

Final Thoughts

The question of what’s the best dragon weapon in OSRS is a highly debatable one. However, there’s a huge variety of great dragon weapons, including several that stand above the rest. 

For example, the dragon dagger is easy to unlock and obtain, while offering great damage output via special attacks and poison. Meanwhile, the dragon warhammer is coveted by many players to reduce the Defence of many high level monsters and bosses. 

Of course, the dragon scimitar offers one of the best weapons in the game for training Strength, since higher tier weapons don’t allow direct training of the skill. The dragon claws, however, are quite useful for pking due to the burst damage potential of their special attack. Finally, the dragon crossbow allows you to use any tier of bolt in the game with it.