- Dragonwilds dungeon locations are spread across Ashenfall as Dragonkin Vaults tied to each region
- Vault cores are the top reward: three per vault, used to build lodestone fast travel points
- Traps can be weaponized: lure enemies into fire and spike traps to melt tough groups
- Loot respawns: enemies, chests, and resources reset after a few days, making vaults ideal farm routes
- Explore every side path: hidden walls and dead ends often hide chests, recipes, and extra cores
Dragonwilds Dungeon Locations: Where to Find Every Vault
In RuneScape Dragonwilds, dungeons take the form of Dragonkin Vaults — the ruined remains of dragonkin research scattered across the continent of Ashenfall. Each vault is packed with deadly traps, servitor guardians, treasure chests, and region-specific resources. Every player must physically discover a vault's location before it appears on the map, so knowing where to look saves hours of wandering.
Video Highlights:
- Full vault walkthrough covering traps, hidden rooms, and boss fights
- How to use traps against enemies and pull groups one at a time
- Vault cores explained and how to convert them into lodestone fast travel
- Chest audio cues ("chiming") used to locate hidden loot
- Why enemies and loot respawn, making vaults repeatable farm content
If you die inside a vault, a gravestone is placed at the outside entrance — not where you fell. Plan your recovery run accordingly before attempting deeper rooms.
Confirmed Vault Locations
| Order | Vault | Power Level | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crasorak Kara | 2 | Temple Woods |
| 2 | Thishepen Kara | 2 | Bramblemead Valley |
| — | Vertentis Kara | — | (Clay-rich region) |
| — | Takla Kara | — | Fractured Plains |
| — | Kalistrakthen Kara | — | Fellhollow |
| — | Skekven Kara | — | Fellhollow |
| — | Vekchenven Kara | — | Fellhollow |
| — | Two new vaults | — | Umbral Sands |
Most vaults do not need to be completed in a set order, though some gate progression into higher-level regions. Full regional details are tracked on the Dragonkin Vault wiki page.
Enemies and Bosses Inside the Vaults
Vault difficulty scales with the region that hosts it. Early vaults throw giant rats and goblin runts at you, while later ones field dedicated vault guardians and a boss in a sealed final room.
| Vault | Common Enemies | Unique / Notable Enemy |
|---|---|---|
| Crasorak Kara | Giant rat, goblin runt | Vault Overlord |
| Thishepen Kara | Giant rat | Vault Archon |
Guardian variants come in two standard categories:
Vault Archon
- Standard guardian type
- Guards boss approaches and cores
- Vulnerable to melee parries after charge attacks
Vault Corruptor
- Standard guardian type
- Higher threat in later regions
- Watch for ranged spell casts
Walk close enough to catch a single enemy's attention without fully aggroing the squad, then retreat to a side corridor. Splitting groups into one-on-one fights — or baiting them into fire traps — is the safest way to clear crowded rooms.
Vault Mechanics: Traps, Levers, and Hidden Paths
Vaults are built as deliberate obstacle courses, not straight corridors. Expect to navigate environmental hazards, operate levers, and hunt for concealed passages.
| Mechanic | How to Handle It |
|---|---|
| Fire arrow traps | Watch the timer; cross just after a volley finishes |
| Spike traps | Time your run, or lure enemies into them for free damage |
| Levers | Usually open a shortcut or unlock the boss door back to the main room |
| Hidden caves | Some are fully sealed — break rock walls with pickaxe or rock explosion magic |
| Chest chimes | Audio cue confirms a hidden chest is nearby even when out of sight |
Vault resources vary by region. Vertentis Kara contains clay nodes because clay dominates its host region, and Takla Kara is the only place to find a blurite ore node. You can gather ores inside vaults that don't spawn in your current region yet.
Vault Rewards: Cores, Chests, and Recipes
The main long-term reward loop is the vault core — a 50-weight item placed on pillars near key progression points. Three cores are typically available per vault, collected by interacting with scenery, not from chests or monsters. Cores are used to build lodestones, permanent fast travel points you can place almost anywhere on semi-flat ground using stone, rune essence, and one vault core.
| Reward | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vault core (x3) | Scenery pillars | Weighs 50 each; travel light |
| Treasure chests | Scattered, respawn | Region-specific recipes and skill books |
| Blueprint recipes | Dragonkin effigies | Interact to learn new crafting blueprints |
| Skill books | Chests | Fishing, farming, woodcutting, anti-poison boosts |
| Rune essence | Mineable nodes | Break down with pickaxe or magic |
Recipes drop frequently enough that duplicates are common — stash extras in communal storage for co-op partners.
Travel Light
Enter with a minimal inventory. Vault cores and vault shards are extremely heavy, and you'll also be hauling stone, ores, and loot.
Clear and Explore
Work through each corridor systematically, take alternate routes, and break suspicious rock walls to find hidden chests and extra cores.
Defeat the Boss
The final room is sealed until cleared. Expect the boss plus adds; stay defensive, dodge charges, and punish cast animations.
Exit and Place a Lodestone
Once outside, combine stone, rune essence, and your vault core to place a lodestone at the entrance for instant return farming.
Enemies, chests, and resources inside vaults respawn after a couple of in-game days. A lodestone at every vault entrance turns each one into a repeatable recipe and skill book farm.
Boss Room Strategy
Boss rooms lock the doors and usually add multiple enemies alongside the boss. Survival favors defense over offense: block, parry, and roll through attacks to trigger invincibility frames, then punish windows like charge wind-ups and spell casts.
Drop replaceable stacks (like excess stone) inside the vault before grabbing the final guarded core. Water weighs 1 per unit and is another easy sacrifice when your inventory fills up.
Vault Run Checklist:
- Empty inventory of heavy non-essentials before entering
- Listen for chest chimes in every room
- Break all suspicious rock walls with rock explosion magic
- Collect all three vault cores from scenery pillars
- Defeat the boss and loot the final room
- Place a lodestone outside the vault entrance
FAQ
Q: Do Dragonwilds dungeon locations appear on the map automatically?
No. Every player must physically discover each Dragonkin Vault before it shows up on their map, so exploring each region of Ashenfall thoroughly is required.
Q: Can vaults be farmed repeatedly?
Yes. Enemies, chests, and resources inside vaults respawn after a couple of days, making them one of the best sources of region-specific recipes and skill books.
Q: What are vault cores used for?
Vault cores are combined with stone and rune essence to build lodestones — permanent fast travel points you can place throughout Ashenfall, ideally outside each vault entrance.
Q: Do vaults have to be completed in order?
Most vaults can be tackled in any order, though some are tied to general game progression or accessing higher-level regions.