Metal dragons

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Metal dragons are dragons whose armour are metallic. They generally have a high Defence against Melee and Ranged attacks though they are relatively weak against Magic attacks. Metal dragons drop metal bars when killed, which correspond to the type of metal dragon the player killed. For example, a Steel dragon will drop steel bars, and an Iron dragon would drop iron bars.

Mithril dragon attacks — The powerful mithril dragon on the attack.

Unlike chromatic dragons, metal dragons will attack with a long-ranged dragonfire attack if the player moves away from Melee distance and stays out of melee range. For this reason, it is strongly advised to use Antifire potions, and have either an Anti-dragon shield or Dragonfire shield equipped while fighting them.

It should also be noted that Protect from Magic will not give any protection against dragonfire as they do against chromatic dragons, though players may fully protect themselves from any dragonfire damage by wielding either an Anti-dragon shield or Dragonfire shield and drinking a dose of Antifire. This will allow players to completely immunise themselves from all dragonfire.

All metal dragons except for Bronze dragons have a chance of dropping the rare Draconic visage. In addition, all metal dragons except for Mithril dragons have a chance of dropping Dragon platelegs and a Dragon plateskirt. However, mithril dragons are the only of the metal dragons to drop the Dragon full helm, which is a coveted drop.

Types

Type	Combat Level	Attacks	Locations	Notes
Bronze dragon	131	Melee, Dragonfire (long-ranged)	Brimhaven Dungeon/Stronghold Slayer Cave	This is the lowest-level metal dragon; however, killing it is difficult since the dragons are never by themselves. They are found along with Wild dogs and a Black demon in their Brimhaven location. Because of the annoyance of killing them as well as the fact that they drop Dragon platelegs and plateskirt much less commonly than other metal dragons, and that they do not drop the Draconic visage, they are not often killed by players. Killing them is simply not sensible unless given as a Slayer task for hustle points.
Iron dragon	189	Melee, Dragonfire (long-ranged)	Brimhaven Dungeon/Stronghold Slayer Cave	Iron dragons are among the most commonly killed metal dragon because they are assigned in large numbers by many Slayer masters. Their Defence is also low enough that they can be melee'd with little problem, and their drops are consistently good, which include Dragon platelegs, skirt, and the visage.
Steel dragon	246	Melee, Dragonfire (long-ranged)	Brimhaven Dungeon/Stronghold Slayer Cave	Steel dragons are found in the same locations as Iron dragons, but they are killed less frequently due to their much higher Defence, and the fact that they are assigned in much fewer numbers by Slayer masters. They still drop Dragon platelegs, skirt, and the visage though, but their high Defence and rarity of the drops make killing them less feasible.
Mithril dragon	304	Melee, Magic, Ranged, Dragonfire (extra long-ranged)	Second level of the Ancient Cavern	Mithril dragons are the highest-level dragons of any type and are extremely dangerous. They are the only type of dragon apart from the King Black Dragon where it is impossible to negate all damage, due to their multiple attack styles. They are also the only metal dragon that does not drop Dragon platelegs or Dragon plateskirts even though they are also the only metal dragon to drop the extremely rare Dragon full helm.