The Tree Sentinel, an imposing optional boss in Elden Ring, can be one of the most challenging boss fights in the game, especially if you’re not adequately prepared.
When you first see him, he is slowly riding around Limgrave, slightly north from the First Stem — right in front of the first site of grace outside the tutorial area. If you get too near to it, he will relentlessly hunt you down. The Tree Sentinel is even able to get inside the Church of Elleh, breaking its walls if he needs to end you for good.
If you decide to fight the Tree Sentinel when you first see him, you might get disappointed or even shocked by how hard it can be at first. His massive weapon can kill you with a single swing, and since he fights on the back of a giant horse, even hitting him is much more complicated than it seems.
The Tree Sentinel is deceivingly fast, powerful, relentless. Even the powerful parry, the one tool that can quickly end bosses in souls games, is not the best weapon against this boss.
I know that he sounds terrifying, but it is possible to take him down with the right gear and intelligent tactics. In our guide to defeating the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring, we’ll go over how best to equip yourself before you fight the Tree Sentinel and how to use the Tree Sentinel’s own attacks against it.
Besides, we’re going to give you a hint that will instantly make this battle ten times easier. If you are having a hard time trying to take down one of the most annoying bosses from the Lands Between, here’s how to defeat the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring.
How to Beat the Tree Sentinel
Beating the Tree Sentinel is no easy task when you first meet him, but with the right gear, it can be done, and it becomes significantly easier.
First, you need to get your horse, Torrent. This creature is your loyal, spectral steed and will take you on its back throughout the Lands Between for the entire game. However, in order to ride on its back, you need to get the whistle that summons it.
Once you get the spectral steed whistle, you’re halfway ready to fight the Tree Sentinel. Although you most likely can fight him on your mount and using spells, depending on your class, there are ways to make your battle a bit easier if your character can’t cast spells. To compensate for your lack of magic, you can try using certain weapons against this boss, like throwing consumable items or arrows. If you’re running a strength build or have at least 20 points in Strength, I strongly recommend that you get the lance to fight Tree Sentinel.
The lance will provide you with some moves that have many active frames and deal lots of damage. This item makes it much easier to fight on Torrent’s back. It’s better to aim in front of you than wait for the right moment to swing a sword to the side of your mount.
Before the fight starts, make sure to hop on Torrent’s back and get your weapon ready. You might want to rest in a site of grace turn all your flasks into the type that recovers HP — unless you are playing as a spell caster.
Once you see the Tree Sentinel, run towards it but try to get to his shield side. He will try to spin around to hit you, so just make sure you hit him once and get out of the way.
This battle can be a bit long and repetitive, but if you proceed to use this hit and run tactic until the fight is over, defeating this boss is just a matter of time and patience.
What Do You Get From The Tree Sentinel?
The Tree Sentinel is a hard, punishing, and challenging boss. However, it’s also an optional boss. In case you didn’t know, you can actually skip the encounter completely and never return to deal with this knight.
So why would you try to defeat it? Some players do it for fun, others do it for the glory, and there are also those, like me, who are only interested in what the optional boss drops when he bites the dust.
So if you manage to defeat the Tree Sentinel’s, the rewards are 3200 runes and a Golden Halberd.
The runes might help you level up a bit if you take him down early in the game, but it’s not an enormous amount later on.
Now, the Golden Halberd is a very interesting item. It’s a weighty halberd forged of gold. Wielded by the Order of Tree Sentinels, heavily equipped knights. It’s a weapon that deals holy damage. A masterfully crafted weapon that lives up to its heft but is difficult for one mere human strength to wield.
The Golden Halberd scales primarily with Strength, Faith, and Dexterity, working very well for that good old Paladin build. Its weapon skill is the Golden Vow. Due to being a unique weapon, it can’t be infused with Ashes of War, but it can be upgraded by using smithing stones.
Final Thoughts
FromSoftware is keeping the tradition of adding optional bosses to their games. This time, they trick us into thinking we have to defeat an impossible enemy until we get frustrated and try to avoid him.
The Tree Sentinel is here to teach the players that they will wake up at sites of grate countless times when playing this game because the Tree Sentinel and the other creatures won’t have mercy on you. Also, it is here to let you know that it is okay to avoid a fight that you can’t win and return later if you so wish.
In my humble opinion, the Tree Sentinel is a masterfully placed enemy that, by design, teaches the player that this is not a linear game. However, although it is hard, it is not impossible to defeat. Players who manage to take him down when the game is first starting are rewarded with a decent amount of runes and a powerful weapon.
Also, you feel badass for ending this giant knight’s reign of terror. It motivates you to keep going. It makes you want to find the next challenge. After I got the Golden Halberd, I couldn’t stop thinking about what else was out there for me to see in the Lands Between.
If that is not masterfully designed, I don’t know what is.
