The Dragon Defender is an iconic off-hand item that provides incredible offensive-melee bonuses. Unlike shields in the game, defenders are meant to maximize melee-DPS in situations that call for it, typically for high-level PvMing.
Therefore, Old School RuneScape players who are looking to improve account progression eventually go through the process of getting a defender.
Recommended Read: Where to Buy Graceful Equipment in OSRS
While getting a Dragon Defender is straightforward, it can be an annoying grind to go through, like many other combat-based untradable items.
Here, we will break down what you need to get a Dragon Defender and other tips and tricks to shorten the process in Old School RuneScape!
You can obtain a Dragon Defender in OSRS by slaying the Cyclopes in the basement of the Warrior’s Guild. However, you need to unlock all the previous defenders before you are able to get it.
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How to Get a Dragon Defender in OSRS
To get started, you first need to be able to enter the Warrior’s Guild.
The Warrior’s Guild is home to the Attack and Strength skillcapes, a bank, a food shop, a couple of combat-training minigames, and the cyclopes that drop defenders.
To enter the Warrior’s Guild, your Attack and Strength levels need to add up to at least 130 or higher.
As mentioned earlier, the defenders are dropped by Cyclopes in the attic and basement level of the Warrior’s Guild.
Before you are able to access the Cyclopes in the basement (which drop the Dragon Defenders), you need to have at least one of a Rune Defender in your bank.
Gather Warrior Tokens
First, you will need to collect a bunch of Warrior’s Tokens. This is because for every minute you spend in the room with the Cyclopes, 10 Warrior Guild Tokens will be removed from your inventory.
If you are out of Warrior Guild Tokens, you will be kicked out of the room and need to get more to continue.
Despite all of the other minigames in the Warrior’s Guild offering tokens, the one that gives the most involves fighting animated armour sets.
Depending on your combat level, bring a set of armour (Full Helm, Platebody, Platelegs) of the same metal and go to the room right next to the bank.
Here, you can use the armour pieces on one of the stands, causing it to come to life.
- Animated Rune: Level-138
- Animated Adamant: Level-113
- Animated Mithril: Level-92
- Animated Black: Level-69
- Animated Steel: Level-46
- Animated Iron: Level-23
- Animated Bronze: Level-11
From here, you simply defeat the Animated Armour, pick up your armour pieces and Warrior Guild Tokens, and repeat until you gather a suitable amount.
Use the best armour possible (Rune, Adamant, Mithril) as they drop 40, 30, or 25 Warrior Guild Tokens each, drastically reducing the time you need to collect tokens.
If you complete the Easy Tier Combat Achievement Diary, you will get double the base amount of Warrior Guild Tokens per kill, or triple the amount if you completed the Medium Tier.
Collect The Bronze-Rune Defenders
Once you have a decent amount of Warrior Guild Tokens (about 800-1000 would be best), go up the staircase by the bank to the attic, where you will see an NPC named Kamfreena in front of a room filled with Level-56 and Level-76 Cyclopes.
Be sure to have your best DPS gear and decent supplies (combat potions, food) to kill the Cyclopes as quickly as possible.
Talk to Kamfreena until she talks about defenders, then enter the door and start killing them. 10 Warrior Guild Tokens will be removed from your inventory every minute you are inside.
The Bronze-Rune Defenders all drop at a 1/50 drop rate, and the goal is to obtain at least one of each before you are allowed to get a Dragon Defender.
Once you get a Bronze Defender, the next ones you will look out for are Iron, Steel, etc., until you get a Rune Defender.
Getting the Dragon Defender
With a Rune Defender in your inventory, go back downstairs and outside down the ladder. Talk to Lorelai about the Level-106 Cyclopes here and start killing them the same way you did upstairs.
The Dragon Defender drops at a 1/100 drop rate from only these Cyclopes.
It may be worth grabbing a second one in the event you lose your first one/your Rune Defender; otherwise, you will need to go through the entire process to get it again.
If you run out of tokens for this room or the Cyclopes upstairs, it is not a problem!
Do the animated armour method to get more tokens and come back down when you think you are ready.
The Dragon Defender
Previously covered in our guide for best shields in Old School RuneScape, the Dragon Defender is one of the best off-hand items to use for Melee DPS.
Boasting +25, +24, and +23 to both offensive and defensive Stab, Slash, and Crush, this is the second best-in-slot for melee stats in the off-hand category.
Combined with the +6 Melee Strength bonus, the Dragon Defender is an item that all mid-end game players eventually obtain.
The Dragon Defender can also be combined with the Avernic Defender Hilt to create the Avernic Defender, which boosts the stats to +30, +29, +28, and a +8 to Melee Strength.
The Avernic Defender Hilt can either be rewarded from the Theatre of Blood or bought from the Grand Exchange for around 90m (at the time of this article).
That is how to get a Dragon Defender in Old School RuneScape!
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