Dragonfire ward

“A light shield with a haunting, skeletal visage.”

The Dragonfire ward is a ranged shield built from an anti-dragon shield and a skeletal visage from Vorkath. It needs 70 Ranged and 75 Defence and has the second-best ranged attack and ranged strength in the shield slot, behind only the twisted buckler. What sets it apart is that it also blocks dragonfire like an anti-dragon shield, so rangers fighting dragons keep their damage and drop the extra shield swap.

Equipment bonuses

The table shows the uncharged ward, which is the tradeable version: +15 ranged attack, +8 ranged strength and +28 magic defence, but negative melee defences. Each dragonfire charge adds +1 to its melee and ranged defences, up to 50 charges, so a full ward has positive melee defences and +68 ranged defence.

Attack bonuses
−10
−10
−10
−10
+15
Defence bonuses
−25
−20
−22
+28
+18
Other bonuses
−2
+8
+0%
+0
Slot
Shield

Requires 70 Ranged and 75 Defence · shield slot · members · you must have started Dragon Slayer I. Shown uncharged: charges raise melee and ranged defence by up to +50.

Grand Exchange price history

Grand Exchange daily average
11M
90-day high—
90-day low—
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Grand Exchange daily average prices (source: prices.runescape.wiki). Tap the chart for any day’s price.

How to get the Dragonfire ward

The ward is built from an anti-dragon shield and a rare drop from Vorkath. Both building steps use up the parts for good.

Ways to obtain it
Skeletal visage — a very rare drop from Vorkath, and the only source of the visage.
Smith it — use the visage on an anti-dragon shield at any anvil with a hammer. This needs 90 Smithing (it can be boosted) and gives 2,000 Smithing experience.
Oziach — without 90 Smithing, Oziach in Edgeville makes it for 1,250,000 coins once you have completed Dragon Slayer I.
Grand Exchange — the uncharged ward is tradeable, with a buy limit of 8 every 4 hours.

Charges and the dragonfire blast

The ward stores dragonfire. Each dragonfire or wyvern breath attack it absorbs adds one charge, up to 50. The fastest way to fill it is to use a powered bottled dragonbreath on it. Metal dragons in the Catacombs of Kourend also fill it quickly if you stay out of melee range with an antifire potion active.

In combat you can activate the ward to spend one charge on a dragonfire blast of roughly 25 damage at a target up to 10 squares away. It has a two-minute cooldown, each use lowers the defence bonus by one, and it does not work on chromatic dragons, skeletal wyverns and some bosses.

The ward also gives partial protection against the icy breath of wyverns. That protection does not cover similar attacks from other dragons such as Vorkath. To sell the ward, use Empty first, because it can only be traded with no charges.

Dragonfire ward vs the alternatives

The Twisted buckler is the better pure ranged shield: +18 ranged attack and +10 ranged strength against the ward's +15 and +8. Use the buckler where there is no dragonfire.

Against dragons, the ward lets a ranger skip the anti-dragon shield and keep most of the buckler's offence. The Dragonfire shield, made from a draconic visage, uses the same charge system but has a ranged attack penalty instead of a bonus. For full ranged setups by level, see ranged gear.

Dragonfire ward FAQ

What are the requirements for the Dragonfire ward?
70 Ranged and 75 Defence to equip, and you must have started Dragon Slayer I.
How do you make a Dragonfire ward?
Use a skeletal visage from Vorkath on an anti-dragon shield at an anvil with 90 Smithing, or pay Oziach in Edgeville to do it after completing Dragon Slayer I.
Does the Dragonfire ward protect against dragonfire?
Yes. It works like an anti-dragon shield against dragonfire, and it also gives partial protection against wyvern icy breath.
Dragonfire ward or Twisted buckler?
The Twisted buckler has higher ranged attack and ranged strength, so it wins anywhere without dragonfire. The ward is the pick when you need dragonfire protection.
Can you trade a charged Dragonfire ward?
No. Only the uncharged ward is tradeable. Use the Empty option to release all charges before you sell it.
How do you charge the Dragonfire ward?
Let dragons or wyverns breathe on it, one charge per breath, up to 50. A powered bottled dragonbreath is the quickest way.
Does the Dragonfire ward have a ranged strength bonus?
Yes, +8. It was +0 until the ranged rebalance on 30 June 2021 raised it.

Update history

7 Feb 2024Blasts from draconic shields now give only Defence experience, not Magic and Hitpoints.
30 Jun 2021Ranged strength bonus raised from +0 to +8.
13 Sep 2018Logging out no longer skips the special attack cooldown.
2 Aug 2018The uncharged ward was made darker to tell it apart from the charged one.
25 Jan 2018Melee defences raised by 10 and magic defence by 6.

Source: OSRS Wiki — Dragonfire ward (Changes).