Elden Ring is far from easy, and one of the first foes you will face is the Tree Sentinel. The Tree Sentinel is a golden knight on horseback who will probably kick your butt. No shame here, he also killed me several times. If you’re like me, a total newb at “Souls” games, then you will need all the advice you can get so you defeat the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring without throwing your controller at your TV.
You’re probably wondering why you should even consider fighting such a mighty foe early into the game. There are a couple of reasons why you should take on the Tree Sentinel even if you think it’s impossible. The first is that you will get his weapon, the Golden Halbert.
Second, there are a lot of buffs that this weapon grants. Suffice it to say, the Tree Sentinel’s Golden Halbert is a powerful early game weapon.
Now, this isn’t to say that you should book it to the Tree Sentinel fight. Before you consider fighting this mini-boss, you should do some light preparation. Once you are prepared, you can start battling this boss. It may take a few tries, but eventually, you will defeat this knight and claim your reward. Go tarnished, and get ready to kick some butt.
Preparing to Defeat the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring
The first thing you need to beat the Tree Sentinel is Torrent. If you don’t know what Torrent is, then you are too early in the game to be facing the Tree Sentinel.
Torrent is the name of a horse that you unlock after a few hours in the game. Since the Tree Sentinel is on horseback, you should also be on horseback when you face it. You can face the Tree Sentinel without Torrent, but this will require a much higher level of skill. So, unless you are a longtime Fromsoftware fan, you probably want the advantage Torrent gives you.
So how do you unlock Torrent? Well, the good news is that this is surprisingly easy. All you need to do is visit a few Sites of Grace and then a mysterious woman named Melina will visit you. During this cutscene, she will give you a Whistle to summon Torrent. This cutscene seemingly happens randomly because of the open-world nature of the game. Above is a picture with a bunch of Sites of Grace that you can unlock early in the game. After visiting a few, Melina should appear.
Having a trusty steed is only one part of the equation. You will also want a better weapon to do more damage to the Tree Sentinel. You can find the Lordsworn Greatsword in a chest near the Gate Front Ruins. This chest is on a cart near the Stormgate guarded by a soldier. Silently take out the Guard and loot the chest to get this weapon.
You can only level up after Melina gives you Torrent, so while you are searching for Lost Sites of Grace, take out some weaker enemies to gather as many Runes as you can. You don’t have to face the Tree Sentinel immediately, so if you want, take some time to grind out some Runes and level up. We recommend you level up a few times before facing the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring. The fastest way is to grind out some Runes by killing the guards around the Gate Front ruins.
Where Is the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring?
The Tree Sentinel is near the Church of Elleh. You will have likely already run into the Tree Sentinel as he is one of the first enemies you see when you enter the open-world portion of the game. Approach the Tree Sentinel on horseback and lure him into an open field near the church.
How to Defeat the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring
This battle will take you of few tries to get right, but don’t get discouraged. An important note here is to remember the Tree Sentinels attack animations and stay as far away from them as possible when you see that they are about to attack.
The first tip is to lock on to the Tree Sentinel. This auto-targeting will make it much easier to track its movements.
You will want to treat this battle like a jousting match. After the Tree Sentinel’s attacks charge at the boss on your horse. You can go faster on horseback if you press and hold the dodge button. While heading towards them, charge up your heavy attack (using the Lordsworn Greatsword) and let go as you pass the Tree Sentinel. This attack will do a good chunk of damage.
Press the dodge button again to run away from the Tree Sentinel before they attack. Get some distance and repeat your attack maneuver when it is safe to do so.
Keep doing this until you defeat the Tree Sentinel.
Rewards for Defeating the Tree Sentinel
You will get 3200 Runes for defeating the Tree Sentinel.
You will also unlock the Golden Halberd. The Golden Halberd comes with the Golden Vow skill that boosts your attack and defense stats while in combat.
The full list of stats for the Golden Halberd:
| Attack Type | Attack Stat | Guard Stat |
| Physical | 134 | 58 |
| Magic | 0 | 41 |
| Fire | 0 | 41 |
| Light | 0 | 41 |
| Holy | 87 | 56 |
| Critical | 100 | 43 |
| Other Stats | Points |
| Focus Points | 40 |
| Weight | 13.5 |
To use the weapon to its full potential you need these base level stats:
| Skill Type | Skill Level |
| Strenght | 30 |
| Dexterity | 14 |
| Faith | 12 |
That’s all you need to know for how to defeat the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring. Are there any tips you might have for defeating this boss? Or perhaps you have some other tips for players?
Let us know in the comments below. Good luck, Tarnished.
