Okay, so I'm noticing a pretty frequent trend of topics everyday. Either people say that dragons are too sparse, or that dragons are too plentiful. In the same topic I've seen one person claim to be level 30 and to have only fought 7 dragons, and another person claim to see them every 10 minutes.

I myself have fought (roughly) five. I'm level 12. The first one came from the first MQ mission, that presumably everyone did - and the other four came from finding the stones that have dragon shouts on them. I have NEVER been attacked by a dragon whilst just randomly walking around.


So I wonder, what causes dragons to be frequent for some and rare for others? I'm really curious if anyone knows.

Well like others have said, some progress in the main quest is required to activate the dragons. I'm guessing once you kill the dragon outside of Whiterun since that's when they showed up for me. Also people say your level affects how often you meet a dragon. No it doesn't. I'm level 10 and have had plenty of dragon fights. Your level only affects how strong the dragons are. Since dragons are completely unscripted and random, the frequency of the encounters will differ for every player.

i m level 17 and have encountered 4-5 so far, i was able to kill them too, others were just circling above me and where out of reach, try visit their lairs once in a while, they hang out there too, also some nice shouts can be found there... i think the frequency they appear in my game is pretty ok...

I think it also depends on perception. I've already sunk about 30 hrs into the game, am almost level 30 (i think I just got to level 28), and seem to see them all the time. I think I've killed around 15, so it really isn't all that much ,esp since several of those are ones I prosperously went after that were guarding words of power.

I was attacked by two at the same time earlier and had some epic 20 minute battle with them both.
I think there one of the best coded things i've seen on my xbox, just how random they are, the fact that two appeared at the same time, it felt like a big deal, the town I was in went nuts.
that lack of scripting means some will get more than others, would rather have it that way than lame scripted events.

i'm level 35 and i've done a fair bit of the MQ though not too much as i've been focusing on the companions and other stuff. I'vve killed 27 dragons which judging by your answers seems to be alot. Though they just attacked me at random, its always been near a dragon statue/shrine or sometimes a village, like riverwood. I like it, personally i think there is enough for fun but not too many to feel like there's a dragon army hiding behind every mountain.

I get attacked by random dragons all the time, and one time 2 attacked me at the same time i had to run for my life.

For me, I see at least three dragons each day I play, and I'll be on this game for a good six or more hours. They usually come when you're leaving a city, or moving around places and exploring. I think that they're fine to be as plentiful as they are for me, doesn't bother me at all.