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Skyrim is a world full of different creatures, from trolls to mammoths and even ice wraiths. But the ones that stand out from the crowd are dragons, obviously. The dragons of Skyrim have their own language and are among the most intelligent races in all of Tamriel. As the Dragonborn, your character interacts with these flying lizards quite often. In fact, the final boss of the game is a dragon.
While the dragons you fight from random encounters are unnamed, there are quite a few named dragons who are vital to the story. Some of them are friendly, but many of them are aggressive and fight back. These are the toughest named dragons in Skyrim.
14 Mirmulnir
Mirmulnir is the first dragon you’ll encounter after Alduin burns Helgen to the ground. When you begin the quest Dragon Rising (shortly after talking to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater in Whiterun), you’ll be sent with a group of guards to the Western Watchtower. Here, you’ll fight Mirmulnir.
The battle isn’t difficult at all since you’ll have plenty of support. Just make sure you have some armor and health potions. After defeating Mirmulnir, you’ll learn that your playable character is the Dragonborn and the story truly kicks off.
13 Paarthurnax
While Paarthurnax may be one of the coolest characters in the game, he’s a surprisingly easy dragon to slay if you choose to go down that path. If you decide to fight Paarthurnax, he acts like a normal dragon who deals frost or fire damage.
Considering you’ll already have the Dragonrend shout and the Dragonbane sword, this battle is a piece of cake. It’s a shame they didn’t make Paarthurnax put up a fight, but he’s one of the oldest dragons in Skyrim so it makes sense.
12 Kruziikrel And Relonikiv
Kruziikrel and Relonikiv are dragons from the Dragonborn DLC. While they are fairly strong dragons, it’s difficult to actually fight them. These two dragons fly around the Summit of Apocrypha until the main antagonist of the DLC, Miraak, defeats them and takes their souls.
That being said, there is a way to fight them. As long as you stay mounted on the dragon Sahrotaar, you’ll be able to attack Kruziikrel and Relonikiv, but it’s best to just let Miraak absorb their souls so you can get on with the boss fight.
11 Sahrotaar
Sahrotaar is Miraak’s dragon. But he vows to help the Dragonborn in the quest At the Summit of Apocrypha if tamed by using the Bend Will shout. If you choose not to use Bend Will on Sahrotaar, then he’s actually one of the toughest dragons in the game with very powerful fire or frost breath attacks.
It makes more sense to tame Sahrotaar, but doing so causes Miraak to slay Sahrotaar and take the dragon’s soul. Thankfully, you can get your revenge by defeating Miraak and getting one of the best dragon priest masks in the game.
10 Odahviing
Odahviing is one of the more well-known dragons in Skyrim because he is the right-hand dragon to Alduin and an important part of the main quest. In the quest The Fallen, the Dragonborn must summon Odahviing to Whiterun’s Dragonsreach. Doing so will start a battle, but there’s no point in fighting since he cannot be defeated.
Simply lure Odahviing to the spot and trap the dragon so you can start interrogating him. It turns out that he’s not very loyal to Alduin after all.
9 Nahagliiv
Nahagliiv is one of the few named dragons who don’t play an important part in the story. He’s one of the dragons that get resurrected by Alduin. Nahagliiv can often be found around Rorikstead, where he will circle the village and attack.
The fight with Nahagliiv isn’t particularly difficult since you’ll have some guards to help you, but you’ll want to be quick to make sure he doesn’t take out any civilians. You can use your Bend Will shout to mount Nahagliiv, so he’s far from the most threatening dragon in Skyrim.
8 Sahloknir
Sahloknir can be found at the Kynesgrove dragon burial mound and is the boss of the quest A Blade in the Dark, where you learn that Alduin is resurrecting dragons to help his cause. Sahloknir’s level scales with your character. So the higher your level is, the more difficult the fight will be.
Thankfully, you’ll have Delphine to help you out in the battle so you won’t have to do it all on your own. With the additional help considered, Sahloknir is a fairly easy foe to take care of.
7 Vuljotnaak
Vuljotnaak is a dragon that can be seen flying circles between Fort Sungard and Broken Fang Cave. He’s an easy dragon to defeat and doesn’t have any unique abilities, but what can make him somewhat challenging is the fact that you fight this dragon solo.
Unlike many of the other fights against named dragons, you’re on your own against Vuljotnaak. If you come unprepared for the fight, this dragon could catch you by surprise.
6 Viinturuth
Viinturuth can be found being resurrected by Alduin west of Anga’s Mill during the quest Elder Knowledge. If you don’t go to the area during this quest, Viinturuth will go around searching for the Dragonborn. So really, he could be encountered anywhere in Skyrim.
Viinturuth has the same attacks as every other dragon and scales with your player’s level. Seeing as the fight will likely be a random encounter, you might get caught out by bad timing.
5 Krosulhah
Krosulhah can be encountered after completing the quest The Path of Knowledge in the Dragonborn DLC. He’s found just outside the Dwemer ruin of Nchardak. Krosulhah was ordered by Miraak to defeat the Dragonborn.
It’s clear that Krosulhah means business from the get go because his frost breath attack is no joke. Combine his powerful attacks with the fact that he scales with your level and you have yourself a tough dragon to slay.
4 Durnehviir
Durnehviir is one of the more interesting dragons in Skyrim. He is tasked with guarding Valerica in the Soul Cairn, but it turns out that she’s an immortal vampire so he’s stuck with this job for eternity.
Durnehviir is fought in the Boneyard, a coliseum in the Soul Cairn. His unique shout, called Soul Cairn Summon, can summon a Boneman, Mistman, and Wrathman. It’s a fairly tough battle because of all the additional enemies that get in your way.
3 Alduin
There are many hidden details you may not have known about the World-Eater, but what we do know is that Alduin is the final boss of the game and an incredibly tough one at that. He looks like the perfect villainous dragon.
His powerful fire or frost breath attacks can do a whole lot of damage. Alduin also has unique shouts, such as Unrelenting Force, Dragon Fireball, and Alduin’s Roar, which summons a meteor storm from the sky. Taking down the final boss is no easy feat.
2 Vulthuryol
There is a whole lot for players to do in Blackreach, including fighting the dragon Vulthuryol. How a big dragon like Vulthuryol even got into an underground city is not explained, but the fight is very difficult so you’ll need to be over-prepared.
By using Unrelenting Force on the Blackreach Orb, you’ll summon Vulthuryol. He’s a level 50 dragon and you’ll want to make sure you’re at a similar level before you engage. Not only will you be avoiding dragon fireballs, but you’ll also have to fight chaurus, Falmer, and Dwemer animunculi. There’s a reason why many players are scared of Blackreach.
1 Naaslaarum And Voslaarum
Naaslaarum and Voslaarum are the toughest dragons in Skyrim because you have to fight both of them at the same time. They can be encountered on a large frozen lake in the Forgotten Vale, an area accessible in the Dawnguard DLC.
These dragons will break through the ice and immediately start attacking you. It’s best to focus on one at a time since they have the exact same stats. Naaslaarum and Voslaarum use Drain Vitality to slowly drain your stamina, magicka, and health. They can even dive back under the ice and resurface, so you’ll have to keep your wits about you to take these two down.