**Caution you may want to backup your saved games.**
After installing patch 1.3, my random dragons disappeared. I played the main quest through twice and still no random dragon attacks.
They finally returned after I tried this:
After completing the Dragonstone Quest:

1. Bring up the console and type:

GetGlobalValue dragonsreturned

then hit enter, it should return:
GetGlobalValue >> 1.00

if it returns:
GetGlobalValue >> 0.00

then type:

Set dragonsreturned to 1.00

then hit enter.

Then type:

GetGlobalValue dragonsreturned

then hit enter, it should return:
GetGlobalValue >> 1.00

2. Then type:

GetGlobalValue dragonsenabled

then hit enter, it should return:
GetGlobalValue >> 1.00

if it returns:
GetGlobalValue >> 0.00

then type:

Set dragonsenabled to 1.00

then hit enter.

Then type:

GetGlobalValue dragonsenabled

then hit enter, it should return:
GetGlobalValue >> 1.00

After some wandering around, I started seeing random dragons again.

Excellent find. No idea why it would be 0 after you fight the 1st dragon in the Main Quest.

Wow... same I had the same issue. Random dragons were pretty much gone after 1.3. I was using a 32nd level mage that hadn't talked to Delpine about "the Attic room" yet, so I hadn't fought the resurrected dragon at Kynesgrove. Though before 1.3, I was still getting a butt load of random dragons. Once I hit level 40, I talked with Delphine and killed the dragon at Kynesgrove and magically the random dragons started up again.

I wonder if they did a change to dragons in the 1.3 patch that basically stated:
If Kynesgrove event = 0 then DragonsEnabled = 0
If Kynesgrove event = 1 then DragonsEnabled = 1

I hate that they don't list all the fixes in the patch notes. They only list things they want us to know. If they'd list everything they did, it'd sure as hell help track down WHY issues happen. Personally, I think they do it because they have incompetent QA and they don't want to have egg on their face like when Bethesda created the "Backwards Flying Dragons" and the "missing Resists", which also weren't on the patch notes.

I don't understand why they have such problems with minor things like this... it's like some Bethesda guy is just randomly changing stuff that they're not even supposed to be working on and *poof*, stuff breaks...

There, fixed that for you.

I hope they fix it with the next patch. It would svck if we had to use the console whenever you start another game.

Actually when I did "help dragons 3" I saw the global variable "MQ106TurnOffRandomDragons", and looking up the quest number in UESP.net indeed shows MQ106 is "A Blade in the Dark", the quest to kill the dragon at Kynesgrove. So it seems either before, during, or after (most likely during), dragons are not suppose to randomly spawn. This is probably due to...(spoiler)

Also, both "help dragons 3" and "GetGlobalValue dragonsenabled" shows "0", while I DO have randomly spawning dragons in my game (dragonsreturned is 1) Wonder what this variable is for...

Thank you, it saved my game from being reinstalled

LOL

Old thread, but I was wondering if it was possible to increase the random encounters through the console to above the default setting?

This is incorrect information. Setting dragonsenabled to 1 does the opposite of what the poster says.

Be warned

Hang on Greasy Dave, what do you mean...?


I appreciate the advice if it is based on something legitimate but without more details youre being a bit vague. Im having (or it seems i am) no more random dragon attacks and believed the OP fix to be the way forward on this matter - ive already reinstalled once, i really dont want to do for a second time. But im sure you can understand that myself and anyone else following the method in this post needs to be fully informed before i/we try it out. Do you mean it literally does the opposite - removes random dragons.. because isnt that the issue in the first place?

Im not being rude in any way but as i said, its a bummer of a bug and i would really like to remove it rather than break it further! Any help would be great,

Thanks

I also had that issue and I've tried to find out WTF. I have 4 characters; let them be Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4.
Ch1 is the oldest character. It was created few days after the release. It survived all the patches and still had no issues with random dragons.
Ch2 Was created just before the 1.2 patch. It was a mage and it had faced the issue of disappearing random dragons.
Ch3 & Ch4 were created after the 1.3.7 patch. Ch3 is a mage, Ch4 is an archer/warrior. I played them both one after another so recently they both reached the level 40. And then the problems began with Сh3. Random dragons disappeared once again. I tried to change the variable enabledragons. It doesn't help. If your random dragons are OK it doesn't make them dissaper. If they are broken it doesn't fix them.
Just because I had several characters on my PC which had no issues with random dragons, I realized that the uninstall/install would not help. I tried to load the previous saves of my Ch3. I had several of them: on lvl 37, lvl 33 and lvl 30. Because I had random dragons and suddenly they disappeared I decided to check the circumstances of that issue. I compared the progress on different quests with my Ch3 (lvl 30, lvl 33, lvl 37) to find out what’s wrong.
Just a few word about the test: I use the fast travel up to 20 times one after another. If your random dragons are OK, you will meet one of them within 10 +/- 1 fast travels. To be sure, I used fast travel up to 20 times.
That’s what I found. The saves on levels 33 and 37 for Ch3 were broken also. No random dragons. But the save on level 30 was OK. After 20 fast travels I’ve met 2 random dragons. I’ve compared the progress on different quests (also I tried to remember the progress of the Ch2). That’s what I’ve found:

1) Archmage. It is not essential for random dragons to disappear, but somehow important. Ch1 and Ch4 had not complete the College of Winterhold questline and do not have this sort of issue

2) J’zargo’s experiment. It is most likely to cause this issue! Ch3 lvl 30 killed only one undead with J’zargo’s scroll, while Ch3 lvl 33 has already 3 undead killed (but still didn’t report back). Also Ch1 and Ch4 didn’t even start this quest. Also as far as I remember Ch2 had complited this quest just after becoming the archmage.

3) The horn of Jurgen. The difference between Ch3 lvl30 and Ch3 lvl33 is in the progress on the main quest. Ch3 (33) has met the Greybeards while Ch3 (30) hasn’t. It may cause the disappearing dragons issue but only in certain conditions because Ch1 and Ch4 have met Greybeards, found the Horn and still had no problems with random dragons.

Anyone who had the same issue, please check the progress on these quests. It is possible that the problem is really in the progress on different kinds of quests and their combinations.

So the global variable MQ106TurnOffRandomDragons doesn't work anymore after patch 1.3? Apologies if I ask but I'm still running Skyrim 1.1 offline and I found this variable to control perfectly the spawning of random dragons (Dragons in fixed location, like ancient walls remain active all the time).

It was 0.00 in all the cases.
I checked the value of all the variables using the console command help dragons 3. The only difference was during the start of the new game. Variable dragonsreturned was 0.00.
I didn't have much time to check if MQ106TurnOffRandomDragons switches the random dragons off. But this action doesn't seem usefull at all.

I can assure you it works in my older build. It works both during the MQ (I turn it on right after slaying the Dragon at Whiterun, then again after the Kynesgrove dragon) and it continues to be effective after the MQ has ended. All the non scripted or 'static' dragons won't appear

I'm sure you're right but how can this solve the problem for those who didn't switch off the Steam updates?

I don’t like the idea that completing “wrong” side quests causes the random dragons to be broken but I still can’t see any other reason. And this can only be fixed by loading previous saves. That’s what I want to be checked by the others TES V fans.

1. Possibility... but haven't directly observed for this.
2. Nope... never did J'zargo's stuff on either toon. So, that wasn't the cause at all for my disappearing random dragons.
3. Please explain "found the horn"... do you mean you met Delphine and took the horn to the Greybeards or you went to Jurgen's cave and discovered the note and left it at that?

I'll have to work on a new character and see what the possible triggers are.

No. I mean the stage after you kill the dragon near Whiterun. You've got to go and meet the Greybeards then. That's it

I've done some more testing. I took the Ch3 level 40 (I finished The Blade in the dark just before) and complitied 51 fast travels. After 9 travels I've met the scouting dragon and on the travel 51 I was attacked by the dragon.
So It seems that the quest The Balde in the dark somehow repairs the dragons, but still their respawn period is quite long.

A while back I had noticed I had not seen nearly as many dragons as I used to. I remember complaining when the game came out that there were to many, and had seen many others do the same, so I thought maybe Beth changed something around the 1.3 patch. After seeing this thread, I decided to check my settings and I had dragonsenabled set to 0. Thinking back, I hadn't seen a random dragon in quite some time. I had seen Alduin rez a couple, outside of Kynsgrove or whatever it's called. I had seem some immediately after fast traveling. I had found the ones at the Dragon walls. But I don't recall ever seeing them after just wandering for a bit. As far as the main story line goes, I was at the last half to last third of it.

After changing the setting to 1 and testing for 2 days now, I've seen around 3-4 dragons now while just wandering around.

Yesterday I went on with the main quest playing the mage character who had suffered a certain problems with the random dragons. I started the quest Diplomatic Immunity: spoke to Delphine and went by foot to Solitude. Not very far from the Fort Sungard and the Bloated Man's Grotto I had suddenly seen in a distance a large dragon flying not very far above. It didn’t attack anyone, just was keeping it’s altitude. When I came closer I saw that it was Alduin resurrecting another dragon. They didn’t make speech as in Kynsgrove, but animation was the same. I don’t remember the name of that resurrected dragon, something beginning with W. Unfortunately for it it’s new life was not too long, actually it didn’t even had enough time to fly up.

After that I went on to Solitude and just a bit north of Rorickstead the random dragon attacked me.

Two dragons during one journey!

So it seems that there is another variable defining the amount of random dragons when they are enabled. And this variable is somehow connected to the stages of the main quest.

Probably won't add much to discussion but did Archmage and Horn (never did the crazy fire spell thing yet) .. got them and had random dragons quite often. But sometime in the last few levels (43)/quests they have vanished. Finished off Thieves Guild line and started to have all sorts of isues with dragons. In general what happened is did a fast travel and a random one shows at Winterhold, kill it, but got no soul absorbed just a dead dragon on the ground. Strange me thought but oh well. After that haven't noticed any random ones, got a few through Jarl/tavern quests and all showed but no souls to absorb. Playing tonight I now get the quest but no dragons are appearing at the locations given ... went back and ck'd some of the spots where killed but didn't absorb souls and the bodies are still there, not being cleaned up at all by game (yes enuf time has passed for them to go poof).
I'll try some of the above and see what I get .. but I think it might be a combination of broken quests that pile up and start to break things in the game, I have never had to use the setstage command so much in any of the games until this one to get past quest stages. Only other weird thing that comes to mind and would be strange if did it ... you only get so many dragons to kill and eat per chapter, some form of balance or such other weird thinin.

Ck'd and returned was set to 1.00, so I'd say my issue is something else. Fundamentally I can not absorb souls anymore and even though game says I have 10 available can no longer activate new shouts .. real bummer it is like the dragonborn thingee has been turned off by something, now what I wonder, more research needed

thx a million, after i have changed the value
i finally met two dragons after 10 fast travels