I like having dragons in the game, but I'd really prefer there were not that many, and the ones that do exist are really tough. A mod to eliminate random dragons and buff the quest dragons would be awesome.

Maybe after the main quest is finished, as then it makes less sense the dragons are still randomly attacking.

The problem with a mod like this is that some people say that dragons are too frequent, and others say they are too rare. I myself am level 12, and have seen maybe five dragons. I know others who are level 30 and have seen less than I have - but know some people who have seen three times as many as I have by level six.

I think the dragons are a completely random thing.

i am level 23 and until now i encounter only 5 or 6 dragons and i didnt finish main quest yet

Me too. I saw only 5 or 6 while working on the main quest, but now that I've finished the MQ I seem to encounter them more frequently, lol. That seemed a little backwards to me. Honestly, after finishing the main quest I didn't think I would see them again at all. So I was pleasantly surprised when they started showing up again as they did. It's pretty fun to use the Dragon Call shout and watch the show!

by the way only 2 of them quest related other 2 from word wall that i discover. other 2 while i was traveling and 2 of them that i didnt kill but one of them killed by npc collage of winter hold
another one when i was morthal dragon land on hill so i run up to hill to kill it but i find that dragon dead killed by giant.

Even if dragons were limited to just quests or keyed locations in the wilds would be big improvement.

I just hate having them pop up when I step outside of a building. Then they kill important NPCs. It's stupid.

I'm level 35 and have only run into one dragon who couldn't fly and has no soul.

Hmm. Not a bad thought. Perhaps they are too random and maybe need a bit more control in that regard.

lv 41, only seen about 8 random dragons (elder dragon, blood dragon etc) 3-5 named ones

I haven't seen a dragon in ages on my game. I'm almost thinking I bugged it somehow

It depends if you use fast travel or not. I could go from Falkreath to Solitude and see that many dragons, it's too much.

The thing is that even if they're not *that* common, they still get old if they're not rare. I've logged almost 70 hours playing, and I've taken down probably 18 random dragons, plus a few named/quest ones (still haven't finished the MQ yet), and even though I'm only averaging a dragon every three hours or so, they've still become something of a hassle. I'd really like to see them rarer and stronger. The first ancient dragon I fought was brutal...it killed me probably 7 or 8 times before I finally managed to kill it. I feel like all dragon fights should be like that. And consequently, they should only show up once in a blue moon.

But it's definitely a different strokes thing...there are clearly people who like the current frequency (or want more). But yeah, I'd definitely use a rarer/harder dragons mod.

I concur, I'm about tired of random dragons appearing while I'm fighting quest dragons, only to have an undead Draugr pop out of a crypt and blast me to hell from 500 feet away. I'm level 25, have 26 hours of playtime, and have unlocked every single word I've learned (16) and still have 8 dragon souls left over. About an hour ago I had an intense battle with a troll, and felt pretty accomplished until a fire dragon and blood dragon popped up and started doing strafing runs. Seriously? I went back there twice and still haven't managed to make it through. I have a friend who plays on 360 and encountered THREE dragons at the same time. What he ended up doing was running into a cave and out the other end. I'd love to think there's some percentage modders could tweak real quick once the Construction Kit gets released, but something tells me it's going to be more complicated than that.

I am level 11 (I like to take my time lol) I have run into 8 dragons (non-quest), that does seem alittle bit high to me. I of course didnt kill them all.

The proper solution is a mod which edits various aspects about dragons (strengths, activities, and frequency, specific to dragon types if necessary, and maybe other options), but allows you to control every aspect of each option, including completely turning anything on or off (including completely turning off random dragons if someone wants to), allowing all of this to be adjusted in a well-commented .ini file, similar to how some more complex Oblivion mods were done, like Supreme Magicka and the like.

If someone wants to disable dragons, I believe I can do that in a (relatively) quick mod. As far as reducing them, I can look into it. No promises, everything I can access without the CK is a bit experimental.

Yeah, too many dragons, especially if your character isn't very well equipped for fighting them.

Archer character? You're good to go!

Warrior? You'll probably be alright.

Mage? Any last words?

Archers aren't well-equipped until late game really to handle the elders and ancients that show up... unless there is copious amounts of cover. The main issue is vulnerability. Companions help but not 100%. Sword/shield works better, esp w/ resists on your equip / potions. Late game vanilla destruction is of course weaker...

If anyone's interested -

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=644

Can't really go in-depth for editing without the CK, but I can do this.

I think if you severely nerfed the dragon spawns then collecting dragon souls for words of power would turn out to become an unpleasent chore of trying to hunt them down. But then again, it would be a mod after all, so DLin' it would be purely optional. I would DL it of course to see how it's done and tweek it to my liking.

I've reached level 75, and have encountered 30+ dragons. Half of them were in towns.

I'm a level 37 and have run into at least 30 dragons (I've got 17 Dragon Souls absorbed as of now, and have used at least ten on Shouts).

While I do agree that they pop up quite frequently, they shouldn't be absent from the world to a significant degree.

Sure, once the Main Quest is done, you should be seeing them less and less. That'd be a worthwhile mod.

But I think the uber-random nature of the dragon spawns is what's the problem here. That, and there are sometimes very few ways to avoid direct conflict with a dragon. Sneaking doesn't appear to help, and yet sometimes a dragon will just fly right by me without a care in the world.

I think if there was more player choice in deciding "Yes, I will fight this dragon" or "No, I'll hide under this waterfall/log/tree and let this dragon pass me by", then that would be a worthwhile mod to pursue.

Thanks!