Esbern has spent decades reading about dragons, and now that the Blades are hunting them again he finally has the chance to study a real one. Dragon Research is a short Blades side quest at Sky Haven Temple in the Reach: hand Esbern a few dragon remains and he brews you a potion that makes dragons hit you less hard, permanently.
How to start
- Progress through the main quest to Alduin’s Wall so that the Blades are based at Sky Haven Temple.
- Complete Rebuilding the Blades. Delphine then sends you to Esbern, who has located a dragon lair.
- Complete that hunt, travelling with the new Blades recruits and killing the dragon Esbern points you to.
- Afterwards, Esbern can be asked about his dragon research. Once you are back at the temple carrying dragon scales and dragon bones, he asks for a sample of each.
Walkthrough
1. Collect the materials
You need one Dragon Scale and one Dragon Bone. Both drop from any slain dragon when you loot its remains. If you have been killing dragons already, you probably have them in your pack or stashed at home. If not, the dragon from Esbern’s hunt will supply them.
2. Give them to Esbern
Talk to Esbern in Sky Haven Temple and hand over one scale and one bone. He turns them into a brew and, with an obscure saying about using the scale of the Argonian that bit you, encourages you to try it.
3. Drink Esbern’s Potion
The quest rewards you with Esbern’s Potion. Drinking it grants the permanent ability Dragon Infusion, which reduces damage from dragons’ melee attacks by 25%. There is no reason to hold onto the potion, so drink it right away.
Rewards
- Esbern’s Potion, which grants Dragon Infusion: 25% resistance to dragon melee attacks, permanently
Tips and notes
- Dragon scales and bones are valuable smithing materials for Dragonscale and Dragonplate gear, but this quest only costs one of each, so it is well worth it.
- The ability protects against bites and tail swipes, not against breath attacks, so you still need elemental resistances for fire and frost.
- Esbern may send you after a dragon even if you already killed it before receiving the request; in that case the quest may stall until the dragon respawns.
