How Should I Approach (Killing) Dragons?

I succeeded in my first real attempt at fighting a dragon (after getting to a level closer to the dragon, that really helped) but I feel like I can improve in my performance. It didn't help that my game bugged out and I couldn't heal with potions, but I felt like I was scrambling the whole time and really the game let me kill the dragon because it felt sorry for me. Just looking for tips or techniques that I over looked that would help with my future battles.

So as I said I really felt like I was scrambling the whole time with the fight. I never used the tactical view before the fight so it was a learning experience for that tool, but I felt like my AI companions weren't listening to me. Do I really need to tell them to move to a spot, wait till they reach the spot and tell them to hold there? I thought that it would be best to keep my team apart so they couldn't all be taken down from one attack, but in switching to different people they wound up all in a cluster fuck that was just crazy and less effective than it could've been. Some tips on how I should use the tactical view effectively would be appreciated.

During the fight I ended up attacking the front left leg of the dragon the whole time. It worked, barely, but I felt like I was missing something. I didn't feel like I hindered the dragon's movement at all or if it did I didn't notice it really. Near the end of the battle I thought the leg looked like it was bleeding, but again I didn't notice it affecting anything. So how should I approach the limbs of the dragon? Is a bleeding limb going to take more damage? Once one limb is damaged, should I focus on another body part? Should I have looked at attacking the head more? It would've helped if the limbs had there own health bars but they don't so I....I just don't understand giving multiple attack points for an enemy and not explaining why it would benefit to attack one over the other and so on.

I really just felt lost in the fight and felt like a total idiot. I have my own problems with how the AI fights (why would an archer and mages be hanging out right next to the warriors?) but regardless I am enjoying the game a ton and want to adjust my tactics so I can be more effective. I know there are many more dragons in the game and as I advance through the story I will have/want to use the tactics view to ease those moments. A lot of what I enjoy about the Dragon Age (and BioWare games in general) is the feeling of being a badass, and that fight felt like dumb luck really as the cluster fuck that was my team attacked the same leg over and over. Any tips would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Well, make direct eye contact and smile. Maybe open with a joke or something as an ice breaker then offer a drink..... oh you want to kill the dragon. Oh well, I got nothing then.

Express dominance. Look it dead in the eye and kill a member of your party. Show it you mean business.

I killed the dragon in the Hinterlands yesterday - I was one level above it, so the rest of my party was exactly its level. Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what targeting a limb does, I don't think I got one of those health bars down to zero by the end of the fight - honestly, I just kept hacking away at it and chugging potions until it died. I'll try the Storm Coast one later and see how that goes.

Touch her shoulder.

This would have made more sense if I posted before you edited your thread title.

Also I think taking out one of the legs causes it to fall over? Not sure. Basing this on almost nothing.

Both for dragons and giants if you inflict enough damage on the legs they end up resting on one side (dragons) or kneeling down (giants). It's very clear when that happens. They don't move in that case and you can dish out a lot of damage without fear of being attacked with the proper positioning. After a little while they go back to their normal state, so it's possible that, since dragons love to fly away and come back, the *status* was resetted or interrupted by such sequences

Stab them a bunch.

Shoot them a bunch.

Magic them a bunch.

Repeat as necessary.

Not to reiterate what other fine advice has been given in this thread but... try and start with some small talk, talk about the weather (preferably if it is good), but try and find some common denominators so you can have an engaging conversation.

go fight one and die, and make note of the element attack its using. Custom make armor protecting against that element

Three heavy armor persons with as much anti-dragon runes and weapons in them as possible.

One person with a Bianca to throw jars of bees for laughs.

Hack and slash.

Potions of regen.

Profit.

Stick them with the pointy end.

Just a short question: The dragon in the Storm Coast is not the one fighting the Giant, right? Because the giant killed that one and it would suck if he was just gone.

Yes it's him, but he just flies away as soon as you approach. You're gonna meet him later after you unlock the red lyrium thaig and take a boat to the Dragon island. He's lvl 19 tho (i ran away when i met him because i was lvl 16 :D)

Knight Enchanter.

Proceed to solo.

Focusing big damage on a leg would fairly often get the dragon to wince and hop away. I found it best to have the heavy hitter target one leg while the other three characters target another, keeping attention away from the heavy hitter.

Killing the dragonlings as they come in was essential for dealing with the dragon I fought. They can quickly fuck things up if allowed to swarm in on a character.

Potion management is also really important. Crafting some regen potions for each character will give you some leeway there.