How to defeat the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring

As soon as you leave the tutorial area and enter the Lands Between in Elden Ring, you’ll be greeted with the first boss of the game. This boss goes by the name “Tree Sentinel” and he certainly looks intimidating, especially for low-level characters. This isn’t a mandatory boss by any means but players might be tempted to take him on to see what they’re up against in Elden Ring.

While you might be tempted, we recommend waiting for a little bit to start a fight with the Tree Sentinel. While you can certainly try and succeed to defeat him in the first few minutes of Elden Ring, the chances of this are low. Instead, you can try to advance the story slightly and then come back for a much higher chance of defeating him.

Defeating the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring

The one major thing you’ll need to successfully go up against the Tree Sentinel is Torrent, the horse mount. This is given to you by Melina after you reach the Stormgate Site of Grace, which is found just north of the Gatefront Ruins in Limgrave.

Once you speak to her, she will give you Torrent, allowing you to ride around on horseback all across the map. With Torrent, you can attempt to go back to the Tree Sentinel.

This boss has two major attacks, each able to deal a ton of damage. The first one you’ll see is when he charges up on his horse and comes at you with his giant axe. He will deliver an uppercut with this axe and if you’re anywhere near him, this will connect with you. His other attack requires you to be a little closer, as he will make his horse stomp on you.

In order to avoid both of these attacks, you want to bait out his uppercut axe attack. You’ll need to be on Torrent for this to work. Once he does that attack, swoop in with Torrent and deliver a couple of swings yourself. If you’re a mage character, then hit him with a couple of spell attacks while his axe is on the ground or when he’s in a holding pattern with his horse. You don’t want to try to attack when he’s charging at you, as you probably won’t be fast enough to avoid his uppercut after you’re done with your attack.

The best advice with this fight is to wait for his uppercut attack and then go in with Torrent. Don’t get too close to the Tree Sentinel or else you’ll be at the mercy of his golden horse. Just attack once or twice, back up with Torrent, wait for his attack and then swoop back in. After enough time and attacks, the Tree Sentinel will be down.

As a reward for beating the Tree Sentinel, you will receive a Halberd that requires 30 Strength to use in Elden Ring.