Pretty much. Poisons + Bow with a magic effect. I've not yet been able to actually sneak up on a dragon thats fighting someone on ground, become undetected (although I do use Invisibility potion) and stab it in the foot for 30x damage. Whole reason why I'm leveling alchemy now, really.

EDIT: Well, all of the above and what was known back in WoW as pillarhugging. Run around any structure playing hide and seek with the damn thing until it stops spewing fire and ice.

Even with a Dragon Scale Shield? I am also a stealthy/light armoured character but I find with a shield and Dragonsbane, I can take them down (elder dragons).

Regular Dragon = 1 arrow
Ancient Dragon = 3-4 arrows (depends on number of crit shots)

Dragons are easy to kill once you get a few points in Archery.

Marked for death is amazing. Also, shooting the dragon's knee can do the trick of course.

Corrected the estimates. After reloading and running a few more tests, I understand better why the dragon's last 20% of its HP dropped instantly. Fortify destruction pumped up my fire81/frost81 bow to fire212/frost212, while a Marksman potion raised the damage of bow to 700+, that's a combination of 1000+ per arrow. That's why it died in one hit when it was near death. Next I'll try this on a full health elder dragon.

Also, pillarhugging is an awesome tactic when its breath weapon brings down 560 HP to near zero.

edit: Managed to get it down to 4~5 arrows against an ancient dragon at Riverwood. 1st arrow - weakness to magic, dragon gets baited into landing on some perch, could be a pillar high up in the mountains, could be a small bridge in Riverwood. Snipe it, 2nd arrow - weakess to frost/fire, hit up Marksman potion + fortify destruction. 2~3 more arrows by baiting it to land on elevated ground and this will reduce it to below 50%, where it will land for good and another 1~2 more arrows from a stacked fire/frost bow will end its terror.

This needs some tight execution since the poisons and potions last 30 seconds.

Fighting dragons in patch 1.2 is good practice.

You could just use the shadow warrior perk. I killed an ancient dragon with 2 sneak attacks this way up close and personal.

Killing dragons as archer is really easy.

When you spot it, run into cover, usually a tree or a rock if in the wilderness. If you're great with slowing down time while aiming, just shoot at it while it flies above. If not, wait till it lands. Stay behind the tree while it breathes on you, shoot, go back behind the tree. Rinse and repeat.

Shadow Warrior is a variant of Invisibility right? While I do not have this perk yet, as far as my experience tells me if any foe is already engaged even if the PC is hidden there will be no SA bonus to attacks. Does Shadow Warrior work differently?

It is possible to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIjJVhi8BC4&feature=related. I was doing the quest for Mehrunes' Razor (near the Lord's Stone) when I recalled watching this video, and decided to try it. It is possible to OHKO it on masters with just an elven dagger of 65 rating using Shrouded gloves. I'm not sure if elemental damage is stacked for backstab damage, but I do know that a single *30 backstab only did 75% of damage; it requires dual wield power attack backstab to OHKO it.

However other Skyrim altars do not always provide this type of environmental advantage. Elderbloods Peak is one prime example of that, though I've since learned to use the archways leading up to it as cover. The dragon at Shearpoint can be killed in 2 hits with stacked potions (weakness to magic + fortify destruction = fire212/frost212 + Marksman potion on elven bow of strength 300+) using 2 bow SA *3 multiplier attacks, but once again since it is an open space with no ground above the altar to jump from, it is pretty difficulty to SA it with daggers.

I'm really loving the fully powered Marked For Death. That's an awesome alternative to hunting ingredients for potions! Thanks for the suggestions, killing dragons just became fun on this build.

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I use a bow (with zoom) at a distance but I found using THE VOICE (mainly unrelenting force and Marked For Death) really helps, too.

UNRELENTING FORCE is like a massive shock wave that damages the dragon and MARKED FOR DEATH will weaken the power and armor (even the dragon's scales) of ANY opponent, even the dragons, causing your attacks to do more damage.
If I get close enough I get to it's side (NEVER the front or back) & go at it with my single-handed sword & FIRE BOLT.

I've worked hard getting my single-handed sword's perks upgraded that it's now more powerful than any two-handed weapon. At first it took maybe 15 hits to kill a bear or troll but it ony takes 2 hits, 3 at the most to kill them. This leaves my other hand free to use the FIRE BOLT and it's VERY effective, even against dragons.

I have a different question..

what does a NON archer do?

I just started a second character that is mage. not fought a dragon yet. I have ONLY killed dragons through arrows.

wonder what people do.....i would like experienced comments by mage or melee people

edit: so far, no shadow warrior attack on a dragon has worked for me. in comment to above post. however, I have had sneaks work on dragons at night who were resting when I found them

To kill a dragon without shooting it, hide behind some terrain or structure till he lands (dragonrend once you get it) then sprint up and whack him till he flies away. Expect to chug a healthy number of potions if on master difficulty.

If you're light on potions, use heal while running behind stuff. Magic resist REALLY, REALLY helps you out.

Honestly I got lucky with shadow warrior working after like 30 minutes of trying. When it finally worked I was literally face to face with it attacking its head. So it does work but I don't know how to make it work consistently.

Best method I have found for taking dragons down at range is to try and sneak up on them from behind. Once you are behind them, start looking for a good outcropping of rock that offers you a fairly decent bit of overhead cover. Shadows are good, but if you don't have that overhead cover, your stealth gets blown fast. The dragon will fly around for a bit trying to locate you but if you have good overhead, you should be able to stay in stealth until it lands and then you can shoot it again.

As for killing dragons in melee? I like to keep the shield up and give them a good bash in the face when they start to get frisky with their breath attack. If you stay out in the open and give them enough room to land beside you, they will do that. When they take to the air again, that's when you heal up and get ready for the next landing. I'm certain the 25% magic resist Bretons have helps quite a bit as does any elemental resistance from gear, spells, etc.

Happy hunting!

Shoot arrows then duel daggers when it lands. My bows do around 40 damage and I'm at a low level, yet I can still get the dragons down relatively quickly. Also, fire breath shout.