Patrick Oconnell
Cheesing the Draconic Tree Sentinel in Farum Azula is a popular strategy among players looking to bypass the challenge of this formidable boss in *Elden Ring*. This method involves exploiting specific mechanics or glitches to defeat the boss with minimal effort, often using unconventional tactics or positioning. Players typically focus on luring the boss into a confined area or using ranged attacks to avoid direct confrontation, taking advantage of its limited mobility or AI behavior. While cheesing may not provide the same sense of accomplishment as a fair fight, it offers a practical solution for those struggling with the boss’s aggressive combos and high damage output. Understanding the layout of Farum Azula and the boss’s patterns is key to executing this strategy effectively.
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What You'll Learn
- Exploit Terrain: Use pillars for cover, forcing Sentinel to get stuck, creating easy openings
- Summon Strategy: Tanky summons distract, draw aggro, allowing safe ranged attacks
- Ashes Synergy: Use Ashen Remains for damage boost, combine with ranged cheese tactics
- Ranged Spam: Stay at max distance, use arrows/spells to chip away health safely
- Stunlock Combo: Use bleed/frost weapons to stunlock Sentinel, preventing counterattacks
Exploit Terrain: Use pillars for cover, forcing Sentinel to get stuck, creating easy openings
The Draconic Tree Sentinel in Farum Azula is a formidable foe, but its size and aggression can be turned against it. The arena’s pillars aren’t just obstacles—they’re strategic tools. By luring the Sentinel into these pillars, you can exploit its large hitbox and limited mobility, forcing it to get stuck or pause its attacks. This creates predictable openings for you to strike without risking retaliation. The key is positioning: stand just out of reach, bait an attack, and let the pillar do the rest.
To execute this tactic effectively, start by observing the Sentinel’s movement patterns. It tends to charge or sweep in wide arcs, making it vulnerable to pillar interference. Position yourself near a pillar, slightly to the side, and time your dodge to coincide with its approach. When it collides with the pillar, it’ll either pause or become momentarily immobilized. This is your cue to strike—aim for 2-3 quick hits before disengaging. Repeat this process, always using the pillar as a buffer to minimize damage.
One common mistake is overcommitting to attacks. The Sentinel’s recovery speed is deceptively fast, so prioritize safety over damage. If you’re using a melee build, keep your weapon sheathed until the opening is clear. For ranged builds, arrows or spells can poke from behind the pillar, but avoid locking on—manual aiming ensures you don’t accidentally pull the Sentinel away from the pillar. Patience is key; let the Sentinel’s own momentum work against it.
Comparing this strategy to direct combat highlights its efficiency. Without exploiting terrain, the fight relies on dodging complex combos and punishing narrow windows. By contrast, pillar manipulation simplifies the encounter, reducing it to a pattern of baiting, striking, and resetting. This method is particularly effective for builds with low poise or limited healing resources, as it minimizes exposure to damage.
In practice, the pillar exploit turns the arena into a puzzle. Treat the Sentinel as a predictable force of nature, and the pillars as your anchors. With consistent execution, the fight transforms from a test of reflexes to a test of patience and positioning. Master this technique, and the once-intimidating Sentinel becomes a methodical, even predictable, opponent.
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Summon Strategy: Tanky summons distract, draw aggro, allowing safe ranged attacks
In the battle against the Draconic Tree Sentinel in Farum Azula, one of the most effective strategies involves leveraging tanky summons to distract and draw aggro, creating a safe environment for ranged attacks. This approach minimizes direct engagement with the boss, reducing the risk of taking fatal damage while maximizing damage output. By carefully selecting and positioning summons, players can turn this encounter into a manageable, almost passive fight.
Step-by-Step Execution: Begin by summoning tanky allies such as the Black Knife Tiche or the Rivers of Blood summon, both known for their high health pools and ability to withstand sustained attacks. Position these summons directly in the boss’s line of sight to ensure they draw aggro immediately. Once the boss focuses on the summons, retreat to a safe distance and begin your ranged assault. Use high-damage spells like Comet Azure or charged arrows with a heavy bow to chip away at the boss’s health. Maintain a safe distance, avoiding the boss’s area-of-effect attacks, and reposition as needed to stay out of harm’s way.
Cautions and Adjustments: While this strategy is effective, it’s not foolproof. The boss’s sweeping attacks can occasionally hit summons from a distance, potentially breaking their aggro. To mitigate this, keep a healing flask ready to restore your summon’s health if necessary. Additionally, be mindful of the boss’s phase transitions, as it may temporarily ignore summons during certain animations. Use these moments to reposition or heal if needed. Avoid over-relying on a single summon; bring multiple tanky allies to ensure continuous distraction.
Comparative Advantage: Compared to direct melee combat, the summon strategy offers a significantly lower risk profile. Melee builds often struggle with the boss’s rapid, high-damage combos, whereas ranged attacks allow for consistent damage without exposing the player to danger. This approach is particularly beneficial for players with lower vigor or those using glass cannon builds. By letting summons absorb damage, players can focus solely on maximizing their damage output, turning a challenging fight into a methodical, controlled encounter.
Practical Tips for Success: Equip your summons with items that enhance their survivability, such as the Golden Seed for increased health or the Flask of Crimson Tears for passive healing. Time your ranged attacks to coincide with the boss’s slower animations, ensuring maximum damage without interruption. If playing in co-op, coordinate with allies to alternate aggro, giving summons time to recover. Finally, practice positioning to avoid accidentally drawing aggro back to yourself. With patience and precision, this strategy transforms the Draconic Tree Sentinel into a predictable, almost trivial opponent.
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Ashes Synergy: Use Ashen Remains for damage boost, combine with ranged cheese tactics
The Draconic Tree Sentinel in Farum Azula is a formidable foe, but with the right strategy, you can turn the tide in your favor. One overlooked yet potent method involves leveraging Ashen Remains to amplify your damage output while maintaining a safe distance. This synergy not only boosts your offensive capabilities but also minimizes the risk of taking damage, making it an ideal "cheese" tactic for this encounter.
To execute this strategy, start by acquiring Ashen Remains, a consumable item that temporarily increases your attack power. The key is to use it strategically—time its activation just before engaging the Sentinel from a distance. Pair this with a high-damage ranged weapon, such as a crossbow or a magic-infused bow, to maximize the effect. Aim for the Sentinel’s weaker spots, like its exposed roots or the gaps in its armor, to deal significant damage during the buff’s duration. A single Ashen Remains typically lasts for 30 seconds, so plan your attacks to coincide with its peak effectiveness.
While the damage boost is substantial, combining it with ranged cheese tactics ensures survival. Position yourself on elevated terrain or behind obstacles to avoid the Sentinel’s sweeping attacks. Use the environment to your advantage—for example, lure the boss near cliffs or narrow passages to limit its mobility. If you’re using a crossbow, consider equipping bolts with elemental damage (e.g., lightning or fire) to exploit potential weaknesses. For mages, spells like Great Glintstone Shard or Carian Slicer can be devastating when paired with the Ashen Remains boost.
A critical caution: avoid over-reliance on the Ashen Remains. Its limited duration means you must time your attacks precisely. Additionally, the Sentinel’s aggressive behavior may force you to reposition frequently, so practice your kiting skills to maintain distance. If you’re low on Ashen Remains, prioritize farming them from enemies in the surrounding area or purchasing them from vendors. A single well-timed use can drastically reduce the fight’s duration, making it a worthwhile investment.
In conclusion, the synergy between Ashen Remains and ranged cheese tactics offers a practical and effective approach to defeating the Draconic Tree Sentinel. By combining a temporary damage boost with strategic positioning and weapon choice, you can minimize risk while maximizing output. This method not only saves time but also reduces frustration, making it an invaluable tool for players tackling this challenging encounter.
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Ranged Spam: Stay at max distance, use arrows/spells to chip away health safely
The Draconic Tree Sentinel in Farum Azula is a formidable foe, but its size and aggression can be turned against it. By exploiting its limited range and predictable attack patterns, ranged spam becomes a viable, if tedious, strategy. Position yourself at the maximum effective distance for your chosen weapon or spell, ensuring you’re just out of reach of its melee strikes. This method requires patience, as the damage dealt per hit will be minimal, but the safety it affords is unparalleled.
For archers, use a high-damage bow like the Composite Bow or the Serpent-God's Curved Bow, paired with heavy arrows for maximum chip damage. Mages should opt for low-FP spells like Great Glintstone Shard or Carian Slicer, which can be cast repeatedly without exhausting stamina or mana reserves. The key is consistency—maintain a steady stream of attacks while avoiding the temptation to close the distance. The Sentinel’s attacks are devastating up close, so discipline is crucial.
One practical tip is to use the environment to your advantage. Position yourself near obstacles or elevation changes that force the Sentinel to adjust its pathing, creating brief windows of opportunity for uninterrupted attacks. Additionally, keep an eye on your stamina bar; dodging unnecessary attacks or over-extending can leave you vulnerable to a sudden charge. This strategy is not about speed but attrition—wear the boss down over time.
Comparatively, this approach contrasts sharply with more aggressive tactics like melee combat or summon usage. While those methods can yield faster results, they carry significantly higher risk. Ranged spam is ideal for players prioritizing survival over speed, especially those with lower vitality or limited healing resources. It’s a test of endurance, both for the player and the boss, but one that guarantees safety when executed correctly.
In conclusion, ranged spam is a methodical, low-risk strategy for defeating the Draconic Tree Sentinel. It demands patience, precision, and an understanding of the boss’s mechanics. While not the most glamorous approach, it’s a reliable way to secure victory without relying on luck or high-level gear. Master this technique, and even the most daunting foes can be reduced to a manageable challenge.
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Stunlock Combo: Use bleed/frost weapons to stunlock Sentinel, preventing counterattacks
The Draconic Tree Sentinel in Farum Azula is a formidable foe, but its aggressive nature can be turned against it with the right strategy. By exploiting its vulnerability to bleed and frost damage, players can execute a stunlock combo that minimizes the risk of counterattacks and maximizes damage output. This approach requires careful timing, the right equipment, and a clear understanding of the Sentinel’s attack patterns.
To begin, equip a weapon infused with either bleed or frost damage, such as the Rivers of Blood katana for bleed or the Icerind Hatchet for frost. These weapons not only deal consistent damage but also apply status effects that can stagger the Sentinel. Position yourself at medium range, just outside the Sentinel’s immediate strike zone, and wait for it to initiate an attack. As soon as it commits to a swing, dodge into its blind spot and unleash a combo of light attacks. The goal is to land 2-3 hits before the Sentinel can recover, triggering the bleed or frost buildup.
Once the status effect activates, the Sentinel will be momentarily stunned, providing a window for additional damage. Immediately follow up with another combo, focusing on light attacks to maintain pressure. Bleed weapons typically require 3-4 hits to proc the effect, while frost weapons may take slightly longer but offer a longer stun duration. Be mindful of your stamina bar, as overextending can leave you vulnerable to a counterattack. If executed correctly, this cycle of staggered attacks will keep the Sentinel off-balance, preventing it from launching its devastating area-of-effect or sweeping strikes.
A critical caution: avoid greediness. The Sentinel’s poise breaks are not infinite, and overcommitting to a combo can result in a punishing counterattack. After two successful stuns, disengage briefly to reassess its posture and regain stamina. Additionally, monitor your weapon durability, as prolonged use of status-effect weapons can lead to breakage. Carrying repair materials or a secondary weapon is advisable for extended encounters.
In conclusion, the stunlock combo using bleed or frost weapons is a high-reward strategy for defeating the Draconic Tree Sentinel. It leverages the boss’s aggression against it, turning its own attacks into opportunities for staggering damage. With practice, patience, and precision, players can dismantle this otherwise overwhelming opponent, transforming a trial of endurance into a calculated dance of offense and defense.
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Frequently asked questions
The easiest method involves using ranged attacks or spells from a safe distance, such as the rooftop near the boss arena. This allows you to avoid its melee attacks and chip away at its health.
Yes, summoning NPC allies or using a Spirit Ash can distract the boss, allowing you to deal damage from a distance or focus on dodging its attacks while your summon tanks.
Ranged weapons like bows or spells like Carian Slicer or Glintstone Pebble are effective. The Rooftop strategy pairs well with these tools to minimize risk.
From the Site of Grace near the boss arena, follow the path to the left and climb the ladder to reach the rooftop. Be cautious of enemies along the way.
While it’s possible to minimize damage using the rooftop strategy, the boss’s ranged attacks can still hit you. Staying mobile and timing your attacks carefully is key to avoiding damage.
