Can we discuss the absurdity of the lack of dragonfire protection provided by the Dragon Square and Kite shields? It's easy to overlook the significant gap in equipment, especially considering that you can simply purchase a Dragonfire Shield/Ward on the Grand Exchange. However, in my group ironman experience, I've come to realize how mind-boggling it is that the gear progression for fighting dragons goes like this:

- You start with a basic, free-to-play quest item, the Dragon Square shield, which has the same stats as an iron square shield and can be obtained at level 3. In theory, you could use this shield indefinitely without access to the Grand Exchange.

Then, to upgrade, you have three options, each of which is relatively endgame, incredibly rare, and obtained as a drop with drop rates ranging from 1/5,000 to 1/12,000. These options are:

- The Dragonfire Shield, which is the second best melee shield in the game (excluding Dinh's Bulwark). It is only surpassed by the Elysian Spirit Shield, which lacks any strength bonus and comes from an endgame (group) PvM boss with a 1/5,000 drop chance.

- The Dragonfire Ward, which is the second best ranged shield in the game, narrowly surpassed only by the Twisted Buckler, an ultra-rare item from a (group) endgame raid.

- The Ancient Wyvern Shield, which is the second best mage shield in the game, only narrowly beaten by the Arcane Spirit Shield. The Arcane Spirit Shield has a 1/5,000 drop chance and is obtained from an endgame (group) PvM boss.

In summary, you transition from using a free-to-play quest item with stats comparable to an iron-tier shield to acquiring the best available shield (excluding solo endgame content). There's nothing in between.

Yet, we have the perfect opportunity for intermediary items: the Dragon Square shield, which can be comfortably obtained in the midgame for 750k gp, and the Dragon Kite shield, which can only be made from a drop that's even rarer than visages (Dragon Metal Slice, obtained with a 1/5,000 drop chance exclusively from Adamant Dragons). Creating the Dragon Kite shield requires completing Dragon Slayer 2, investing 1.8m gp, and possessing the aforementioned Dragon Square shield.

To add to the frustration, you actually need to make a Dragon Square shield if you want to complete the Ardougne Hard (or Elite) diaries. Players are forced to pay 750k gp for a shield half, assemble it, and then promptly alch it to recoup some funds because the shield itself is useless.

What purpose do these Dragon shields serve if not for dragonfire protection? With a slight adjustment, they could serve as excellent midgame anti-dragon equipment, but as it stands, they are essentially unused content.

It's truly infuriating.

Thank you for reading on RSgoldfast.com!