How to Kill the Dragon in Dragon Rising in Skyrim

Last Updated: May 1, 2017

The “Dragon Rising” is the fourth quest in the main storyline of Elder Scroll V: Skyrim. During this quest, you will encounter, fight, and have to defeat your very first dragon. Mirmulnir is the name of the first dragon you’ll face, and it can be found in the Western Watchtower. Killing your first dragon sounds very difficult at first, but with proper strategy, you can take down Mirmulnir rather easily.

Steps

1
Head back to Whiterun. After completing the “Bleak Falls Barrow” quest, quickly go back to Whiterun—the first city in the game—and talk to Irileth, the Housecarl of the city. You’ll find her inside Dragonsreach, the main and largest building in the northern part of the city.
2
Follow Irileth. Irileth will tell you that a dragon has been spotted in the western area of Whiterun. Follow her, along with other guards, as they head out of the city towards the Western Tower, a broken down watchtower a few miles southwest of Whiterun.

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3
Climb the tower. Once you get to the area, Mirmulnir will start attacking you and the other guards. Enter the tower through the open door at the bottom and make your way to the top using the staircase inside.
4
Use range attacks on Mirmulnir. Use bow and arrows or range spell attacks like Firebolt, Lightning Bolt, or Ice Spikes to damage the dragon. He will be flying around out of your reach at first. Damaging him is the key to bringing him down. Keep firing range attacks at Mirmulnir until his health nears half.
5
Use melee attacks on Mirmulnir. Once he takes sufficient damage from your range attacks, Mirmulnir will land and attack you or the guards (whoever is closest). Once he’s on ground, you’ll now be able to reach him. Use whatever melee weapon your Dragonborn has to attack and damage the dragon.
6
Avoid its fire breath. Mirmulnir will also be randomly blowing fire breaths at you or the guards while its on land. This attack is pretty hard to dodge at close range since dragons are quick at breathing flames. Once you notice that Mirmulnir is about to open his mouth, quickly jump out of his way to avoid the breath of fire.
7
Repeat steps 4 to 6 if necessary. Depending on the strength of your main character, you can kill Mirmulnir in one landing. On the other hand, if you fail to finish him off, he’ll take to the skies again. Simply repeat steps 4 to 6 until you kill the dragon.