Learn how to defeat the Draconic Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring
Looking for an Elden Ring Draconic Tree Sentinel boss fight walkthrough?You may have foundLimgrave’s Tree Sentinelhard, but that was merely a walk in the park compared to the Draconic Tree Sentinel. Found guarding the main path leading intoLeyndell, Royal Capital, the Draconic Tree Sentinel is a formidable opponent that’s sure to cause some trouble. Fortunately, we’re here with a few top tips to make this boss fight a breeze.
In this walkthrough, we’ll break down our five top tips that you should use to defeat the Draconic Tree Sentinel inElden Ring, so that you can get into Leyndell and continue your quest. If you’re unsure where to go once you reach the capital, check out ourfull Elden Ring walkthroughfor more help.
How to beat the Draconic Tree Sentinel: tops tips for success
Here are our top tips for defeating the Draconic Tree Sentinel:
One of the key differences between the Draconic Tree Sentinel and other variants you may have previously encountered is its ability to deal lightning damage. It unlocks a range of lightning-based attacks in the second phase which are hard to avoid, so you’ll want toboost your lightning damage negation for this fight.
TheBoltdrake Talismanis apowerful talismanthat you can find near theDivine Tower of Limgrave in Stormveil Castle. Wearing this talisman will increase your lightning damage negation, helping you soak up some of the Draconic Tree Sentinel’s thunder attacks. You can also use theLightningproof Dried Liverconsumable if you’ve found any, but you won’t be able to actually craft this yourself until much later.
Before entering the fight, we also recommend equipping weapons or spells thatinflict either the bleed or rot status effects. The Draconic Tree Sentinel has a lot of HP, so using these effects to your advantage is an easy way to chip away at its health.
Weapons likeReduviaand theMoonveilkatana, both of which appear in our list ofthe best weapons in Elden Ring, deal bleed damage. If you’d rather use scarlet rot, take a Dragon Heart to theCathedral of Dragon Communionand purchase the Rotten Breath incantation. This has lowattributerequirements of 15 Faith and 12 Arcane, and will quickly apply the rotten effect to this boss.
The Draconic Tree Sentinel isn’t hidden behind a fog wall, so we recommend usingTorrenttorush in at the start of the fight. The boss will tend to start with a slow swing of their weapon, which you can easily dodge. Follow up with astring of easy hitsbefore the battle really kicks into gear.
After landing your initial flurry of attacks,we recommend circling around the Draconic Tree Sentinel while you keep dealing damage. Your instinct might be to get some distance from the huge Dragon Greatclaw that it wields, but this will actually make the Draconic Tree Sentinel use powerful ranged attacks.
If you notice the Draconic Tree Sentinel firing out fireballs or bolts of lightning, try getting closer. This should make the Tree Sentinel use close-range melee attacks instead, which are much easier to dodge.
As you circle around, you should be able to keep the boss on one side, making it easy to just continuously swing your weapon. If you see the Greatclaw rise into the air, do a little dash with Torrent to avoid damage and then get back to hitting. The first phase isn’t very dangerous, so you should be able to keep this up until it reaches half health.
As we mentioned earlier, a host of powerful lightning attacks come into play during the second phase. Two of these in particular - an AOE attack that brings beams of lightning down and a move that sends a wave of lightning across the field - are particularly troublesome. UsingTorrent’s dash might give you a better chance of escaping unscathed, but there’s a high chance they’ll still hit.
Fortunately, Torrent should still save the day, asyour spectral steed will soak up the damage from these attacks. You should notice that a lot of the Draconic Tree Sentinel’s hits will damage Torrent instead of you, making it easier to survive this fight than it might first appear. If Torrent dies, simply get some distance and use a Flask of Crimson Tears to revive your horse when you get the chance.
That wraps up our Draconic Tree Sentinel boss fight walkthrough. If you want to increase your defence for this fight, take a look at our list ofthe best armor sets in Elden Ring. To upgrade your character further, check out ourElden Ring Golden SeedsandElden Ring Sacred Tearslocations guides. After defeating the Draconic Tree Sentinel, see what other challenges await in Leyndell and throughout the Lands Between with ourElden Ring boss locations guide.
