Elden Ring recycles its minor bosses a little too much, it's one of its faults. It's all the more painful when this recycling concerns one of the most unbearable bosses, the tree spirit. Its size does not allow to see well what action it is preparing and above all, the developers like to place it in small rooms, which makes dodging its attacks very difficult, with the camera which does not help either. We'll help you out here.
Ulcerated Tree Spirit and Putrid Tree Spirit
There are two versions of this boss, much like the World Tree Avatars. We're dealing with both here, since the fundamentals of combat don't change. They have the same strengths and weaknesses to damage as well as to alterations. The main difference is that ulcer tree spirits deal holy damage instead, not condition. While the Putrid Tree Spirit deals massive Scarlet Putrefaction damage with all of its attacks. This second version also tends to be much more powerful in terms of pure stats.
You can easily tell them apart by their name and color. The ulcerated tree spirit has golden flames, the putrid tree spirit has a dark red hue and red flames.
Preparations
- If you face the putrid version, plan Immunizing Pellets (pink) to cure the scarlet putrefaction.
- A Robust Spirit Summon is highly recommended for this fight, such as the Tear Imitator.
- This boss is extremely vulnerable to fire damage , and it is also very susceptible to all types of physical damage . The different types of elemental damage are also relatively effective, except for the sacred ones, which he resists well . Using a coating that ignites your weapon will greatly help you.
- Both versions of the tree spirit are vulnerable to all types of afflictions, including Bleeds and Scarlet Rot , though that might seem odd. They are particularly vulnerable to the effects of Freeze .
- This boss hurts a lot, and the small rooms make it difficult to position yourself correctly, so we strongly advise you to use and abuse the Ashes of War No Hound Knight.
Defeat the Tree Spirit
- To start, you will have to avoid abusing the target lock on this fight, it can backfire, given the erratic movements of the boss and its large size which will block your field of vision.
- Prepare to dodge immediately when entering the boss room (if any), he loves to start the fight with his long range charge, then he will dive at you, grab you in his mouth and chew you up which is often fatal.
- This boss is horribly annoying and its attacks tend to cover a large area of the room (if any), ironically you tend to be safer in melee than ranged. Sticking to his chest and rolling to pass on the back of his flanks allows you to reach a relatively safe area. You still have to be careful with its paw and tail kicks, but at least you have a chance of it missing.
- When the spirit spits fire, you can usually dodge it to the left and take the opportunity to get under it to attack its chest.
- Avoid finding yourself in front of him halfway, he will then crush his head on the ground. This attack happens very quickly, so be prepared to dodge laterally if you try to approach the boss while he is facing you.
- The tail slam is certainly the most difficult attack to dodge, since its range is immense, and it strikes 360°. Your best option is to roll towards the tail when it comes at you. This will minimize the contact period, and give you a better chance of dodging it.
- The boss's two dive variants are the most dangerous attacks. It will move away, direct its mouth towards your position, then dive on you while trying to catch you. There are several ways to handle this. Ideally you want to run underneath him and to the side, so you get completely out of his angle of attack and he's bound to miss you, allowing you to attack him as a bonus. If you're too far out or stuck in an animation and a dodge is the only option left, timing is going to be everything. This time it takes a side dodge. If you're really having a hard time avoiding it, the Knight Step limit will really work wonders .
- Around 50% health, the boss will ignite and trigger a huge explosion . It is vital to prepare immediately to flee, because the damage is very important. Columns of flame will also come out of the ground, which can further increase the damage received. Get as far away as possible. After this attack, the boss is much more aggressive.
- This boss is quite vulnerable to heavy attacks and jump attacks. If you have suitable weapons, you can quite easily break his posture and land a critical hit on his head. It can even break his explosive attack if you're lucky, it will also break his AI on the way, if the bug we encountered is still relevant.
Elphael's Putrid Tree Spirit
The worst version of this boss is the one in the putrid swamp near the end of the sacred tree corset, a little before Malenia. You have to kill him to advance in Millicent's quests. The presence of a pool of putrefaction, in the middle of the zone, and of vacuum all around makes this fight really horrible. We advise you to make it appear, then to flee on the roots by which you had arrived. There is a high root which is ideal for attacking it with impunity with arrows, pots and spells.
This guide has been translated from MGG France by bxakid and was originally written by Raiden Robin.
