HELP! dragons aren't coming down(they just spin & leave!)

[Thirsty]

having a bit of a problem...whenever theres a dragon encounter when i fast travel to say riften or anywhere the dragon just circles around and leaves after a short while!

whats going on? is my game bugged or theres a reasonable explanation like dragons can't attack the same town or something like that?

[76561198133591931]

You are supposed to be getting an average of 1 dragon for every 3 in-game days. It's not unusual to see a dragon circling in that intermediate time. And notice I said average. They don't come like clock work. I once went an entire month without a single dragon fight and then it was nothingm but one dragon after another for about 3 hours my time. So, in short, yes, your game could be glitched. On a couple of files I had reached level 35 and only had 3 dragon souls from random dragon encounters. That was definitely a glitched file. Maybe yours is too. But It's more likely that the averages are just messing with you.

[Dexter]

What I usually do is quick save my game immediately when I see the dragon.

Then what I do is shoot magic at it so that the dragon swerves and then I try to get it with a fus ro dah. If I miss I quickload the save and try again.

It is really annoying having to resort to that, but the dragons sometimes won't land and I need to unlock a shout so I don't want to waste the opportunity.

It is almost impossible to hit them with arrows or magic because the dragons have an avoidance system while in flight. Shouts are the best chance because it covers a large area. Once you hit the dragon, it will attack you and will eventually land.

[Thirsty]

ah so its just game mechanics :D

[azxcvbnm321]

The dragon circling is supposed to be Alduin raising up new dragons. He doesn't attack and can't be attacked. You get a close up view of this during the main story quest when you visit the town near Windhelm and see Alduin in action.

[Scrotum Snatcher]

I typically just use Unrelenting Force, and it usually lands and starts attacking.

[Sozii]

Originally posted by Krishal:

having a bit of a problem...whenever theres a dragon encounter when i fast travel to say riften or anywhere the dragon just circles around and leaves after a short while!

whats going on? is my game bugged or theres a reasonable explanation like dragons can't attack the same town or something like that?

They will leave sometimes if you or it dont start combat.

[Clever Monkey]

Dexter has the right idea. unless you get its attention or if you are at its base(wordwall, etc.) it will circle around and get bored flying off. if you are near a town or city the guards can get its attention as well. once you have its attention to make it land either wait for its magicka to drain because it is using its breath weapon or drain its magicka yourself(easier said than done). progress along the main story line far enough and you will get a shout to help you.

azxcvbnm321 also is right. if you happen to be at certain places at the right time after completing certain parts of the main story Alduin can be seen raising other dragons also as a main quest you will see this up close and personal.

Happy dragon hunting.

[Thirsty]

do shouts really have that much of a reach? thought they only had like a 10-20m range and btw should i shout a lil ahead of it like leading arrows or does it hit instantly?

[Clever Monkey]

Originally posted by Krishal:

do shouts really have that much of a reach? thought they only had like a 10-20m range and btw should i shout a lil ahead of it like leading arrows or does it hit instantly?

shout ahead of it and once you have its attention wait for it to hover. the dragonrend shout tends to get its attention even when you are not close to hitting it

[Calivess]

Yeah, it's just part of the mechanics. The dragon shows up, and it's up to YOU (most of the time) to initiate combat with it. Like others have said, sometimes the guards start shooting, which helps.

A smart idea would be to start using some ranged abilities, such as a bow or destruction magic.

[mpd1958]

I have actually chase after several and used Lightning or chain Lightning to get it's attention. Then the real fun begins. And YES, sometimes it is Alduin flying overhead and he will just ignore you and fly off.

[darinbob]

Dragons don't always become aggressive towards the player. If they don't see anything of interest they will fly off. That's not always a bad thing, especially at low level where any dragon fight is challenging (especially if you have no significant ranged damage abilities).

[MageThis]

Riften, outside past the stables, seems to be very active fairly often. Dragons, and more.