Am I Being Too Stubborn Trying to Beat the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring?

[Snoraa]

I’m a total noob when it comes to Souls-like games, but I really want to experience the full challenge of Elden Ring. The first tough enemy I ran into was the Tree Sentinel, and instead of moving on or making it easier on myself, I got really stubborn and kept trying to beat him. I want to go through the struggles and feel like I earned every victory.

But now I’m wondering—am I taking the right approach, or am I just getting stuck on a wall that’s preventing me from enjoying the rest of the game? Should I power through and keep trying, or am I missing something by not exploring and leveling up first?

Would love to hear how you all approached this. I’m all for the grind, but I want to make sure I’m not setting myself up for frustration either!

[Fineous🔥]

You are not supposed to kill him right after you leave the Chapel of Anticipation. Of course its possible! Even as a wretch, considering he is just a big, imbecilic slow and predictable boss but you have to do it hitless.

Go elsewhere! You will have enough tree sentinel action later......Or keep going if you are so hell bent killing him but know you are just "forcing" things.

[Persona Au Gratin]

Originally posted by Snoraa:

I’m a total noob when it comes to Souls-like games, but I really want to experience the full challenge of Elden Ring. The first tough enemy I ran into was the Tree Sentinel, and instead of moving on or making it easier on myself, I got really stubborn and kept trying to beat him. I want to go through the struggles and feel like I earned every victory.

But now I’m wondering—am I taking the right approach, or am I just getting stuck on a wall that’s preventing me from enjoying the rest of the game? Should I power through and keep trying, or am I missing something by not exploring and leveling up first?

Would love to hear how you all approached this. I’m all for the grind, but I want to make sure I’m not setting myself up for frustration either!

I chose to fight that enemy until killing it and it took me about 1.5 hours. I got a sense of how enemies behave, but it took me a while for that experience to really yield anything useful. Enemy behavior is dynamic and fighting the Tree Sentinel can be a good lesson in how to understand and utilize that aspect of the game...

Or it can just be an exercise in frustration. I'm glad I did it, but it wasn't "fun." It just ultimately paid dividends hundreds of hours later into the game. Same with Grafted Scion. Now I fight them right away, I have no regrets about it and I like how they're tuned. It really just depends on your playstyle and what you're trying to do. If you're just trying to win, it's gonna suck and I highly recommend not doing that.

In Elden Ring, there is more than one way to beat something. You can easily put that Tree Sentinel in its place with abilities and gear in the surrounding area. Don't feel trapped or forced into a challenge set before you, it's an open world game.

[Snoraa]

Originally posted by csand:

Yes you are setting yourself up for frustration!

The tree sentinel is there to teach you that it's a huge land and exploring is the way to go. Come back later and beat him down.

You will encounter other situations just like this too where it seems impossible. Just go out and explore.

I recommend hitting the church behind him first, then heading south and completing the area down there. but exploration is a huge part of this game!

Oh I get it now! I was just being stubborn and wanted to feel like I earned it by beating the Tree Sentinel. I’ll take your advice and explore more before coming back to him. The church and heading south sound like a good plan. Thanks for the help, I’ll give it a shot!

[Snoraa]

Originally posted by Fineous🔥:

You are not supposed to kill him right after you leave the Chapel of Anticipation. Of course its possible! Even as a wretch, considering he is just a big, imbecilic slow and predictable boss but you have to do it hitless.

Go elsewhere! You will have enough tree sentinel action later......Or keep going if you are so hell bent killing him but know you are just "forcing" things.

hehe mb

[Dizzy Ladybug]

at least upgrade your weapons before seriously trying to kill him, it takes a bit long to kill him with base weapons. some extra levels would help a lot too

explore Limgrave, level up a bit and you can come back to try him again later. have fun with the game

[Burns]

Originally posted by Snoraa:

I’m a total noob when it comes to Souls-like games, but I really want to experience the full challenge of Elden Ring. The first tough enemy I ran into was the Tree Sentinel, and instead of moving on or making it easier on myself, I got really stubborn and kept trying to beat him. I want to go through the struggles and feel like I earned every victory.

But now I’m wondering—am I taking the right approach, or am I just getting stuck on a wall that’s preventing me from enjoying the rest of the game? Should I power through and keep trying, or am I missing something by not exploring and leveling up first?

Would love to hear how you all approached this. I’m all for the grind, but I want to make sure I’m not setting myself up for frustration either!

I can assure you that you have much better chances to kill your first dragon (Agheel) in the lake early on than you have by killing a beefed up knight who will drop a weapon you don't have the stats to use.

Csand is absolutely correct about the game giving you hints that some things are best left for whenever you re ready. No need to kill a boss just because you encounter him.

Probably better start looking for caves and catacombs in the first area and then moving south. You will find some useful items, bosses that are more suited for your current level and also get some XP to start working on your build.

In fact deciding your build is kind of a priority, cause it ll become more expensive as you level up and you really don t want to waste points in stats your build won't need.

You ll only be able to respec your character a dozen times or so per cycle (if u find all the necessary items), so choose wisely. I.E. something you like and feel comfortable with.
Leave sir beef for later, it ll taste better....and most of all, have fun!

[Snoraa]

Originally posted by Persona Au Gratin:

Originally posted by Snoraa:

I’m a total noob when it comes to Souls-like games, but I really want to experience the full challenge of Elden Ring. The first tough enemy I ran into was the Tree Sentinel, and instead of moving on or making it easier on myself, I got really stubborn and kept trying to beat him. I want to go through the struggles and feel like I earned every victory.

But now I’m wondering—am I taking the right approach, or am I just getting stuck on a wall that’s preventing me from enjoying the rest of the game? Should I power through and keep trying, or am I missing something by not exploring and leveling up first?

Would love to hear how you all approached this. I’m all for the grind, but I want to make sure I’m not setting myself up for frustration either!

I chose to fight that enemy until killing it and it took me about 1.5 hours. I got a sense of how enemies behave, but it took me a while for that experience to really yield anything useful. Enemy behavior is dynamic and fighting the Tree Sentinel can be a good lesson in how to understand and utilize that aspect of the game...

Or it can just be an exercise in frustration. I'm glad I did it, but it wasn't "fun." It just ultimately paid dividends hundreds of hours later into the game. Same with Grafted Scion. Now I fight them right away, I have no regrets about it and I like how they're tuned. It really just depends on your playstyle and what you're trying to do. If you're just trying to win, it's gonna suck and I highly recommend not doing that.

In Elden Ring, there is more than one way to beat something. You can easily put that Tree Sentinel in its place with abilities and gear in the surrounding area. Don't feel trapped or forced into a challenge set before you, it's an open world game.

That’s really inspiring! I love how you stuck with it and learned from the Tree Sentinel fight, even if it wasn’t fun. It makes me realize Elden Ring is more about learning and adapting than just winning. Thanks for sharing this perspective... it’s definitely giving me a new approach to the game!

[Snoraa]

Originally posted by dizzy ladybug:

at least upgrade your weapons before seriously trying to kill him, it takes a bit long to kill him with base weapons. some extra levels would help a lot too

explore Limgrave, level up a bit and you can come back to try him again later. have fun with the game :mhwgood:

Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely focus on upgrading my weapons and exploring Limgrave to level up a bit before taking on the Tree Sentinel again. Appreciate the advice and the encouragement... I’ll have fun with it for sure!

[Snoraa]

Originally posted by Burns:

Originally posted by Snoraa:

I’m a total noob when it comes to Souls-like games, but I really want to experience the full challenge of Elden Ring. The first tough enemy I ran into was the Tree Sentinel, and instead of moving on or making it easier on myself, I got really stubborn and kept trying to beat him. I want to go through the struggles and feel like I earned every victory.

But now I’m wondering—am I taking the right approach, or am I just getting stuck on a wall that’s preventing me from enjoying the rest of the game? Should I power through and keep trying, or am I missing something by not exploring and leveling up first?

Would love to hear how you all approached this. I’m all for the grind, but I want to make sure I’m not setting myself up for frustration either!

I can assure you that you have much better chances to kill your first dragon (Agheel) in the lake early on than you have by killing a beefed up knight who will drop a weapon you don't have the stats to use.

Csand is absolutely correct about the game giving you hints that some things are best left for whenever you re ready. No need to kill a boss just because you encounter him.

Probably better start looking for caves and catacombs in the first area and then moving south. You will find some useful items, bosses that are more suited for your current level and also get some XP to start working on your build.

In fact deciding your build is kind of a priority, cause it ll become more expensive as you level up and you really don t want to waste points in stats your build won't need.

You ll only be able to respec your character a dozen times or so per cycle (if u find all the necessary items), so choose wisely. I.E. something you like and feel comfortable with.
Leave sir beef for later, it ll taste better....and most of all, have fun!

Thanks a lot for the advice! I’ll definitely focus on exploring caves, catacombs, and figuring out my build first...

You’re right, there’s no rush to take on Sir Beef right now. I’ll come back when I’m more prepared. Appreciate the help and encouragement!

[Darth Invader]

These games are notorious for putting tough enemies right at the beginning for this reason specifically, to make noobs bang their head on a cement wall for hours straight.

My recommendation Is to leave him alone for a while and do some exploring. Good luck, and keep us posted on your adventures, skeleton.

[Burns]

Originally posted by Snoraa:

Originally posted by Burns:

I can assure you that you have much better chances to kill your first dragon (Agheel) in the lake early on than you have by killing a beefed up knight who will drop a weapon you don't have the stats to use.

Csand is absolutely correct about the game giving you hints that some things are best left for whenever you re ready. No need to kill a boss just because you encounter him.

Probably better start looking for caves and catacombs in the first area and then moving south. You will find some useful items, bosses that are more suited for your current level and also get some XP to start working on your build.

In fact deciding your build is kind of a priority, cause it ll become more expensive as you level up and you really don t want to waste points in stats your build won't need.

You ll only be able to respec your character a dozen times or so per cycle (if u find all the necessary items), so choose wisely. I.E. something you like and feel comfortable with.
Leave sir beef for later, it ll taste better....and most of all, have fun!

Thanks a lot for the advice! I’ll definitely focus on exploring caves, catacombs, and figuring out my build first...

You’re right, there’s no rush to take on Sir Beef right now. I’ll come back when I’m more prepared. Appreciate the help and encouragement!

[Yal]

The #1 thing you need before tackling this fight is your own horse (explore a bit until you meet a certain character), as a rule of thumb any mounted enemy is a LOT easier to fight on horseback. Just keep in mind you can't dodge or block while mounted, it's all about positioning yourself.

(Also if you can get a poison-infused weapon it'll also help, most Erdtree-aligned bosses are weak to it. There's poison consumables too but a weapon that naturally has a poison effect won't run out so you don't need to worry about wasting it)

The southern edge of Limgrave has an area called the Weeping Peninsula which is considered to be the easiest part of the game, if you feel things are too hard you might wanna start off there.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and as a rule of thumb: the most important stat to level up early on is your health because being able to make more mistakes before dying lets you learn tough fights faster.
Don't worry about increasing attack power by pumping points into offensive stats in the early game, only level up STR/DEX/INT/FTH/ARC if you find a really cool weapon/spell you want to use and don't currently have the stats for it.

[Welbert Asker]

took me 35-40 tries as starter vagabond with no horse. no prior souls-like experience, Elden Ring was my first proper souls-like I ever commited to playing.

kinda think of it, my friend had literally the same number of tries and same conditions


but to answer your question - tree sentinel is a boss that teaches you to not fight everything you see

[Tarik Torgaddon]

Keep in mind that Tree Sentinel is just an optional minor boss that doesn't yield any massive rewards for beating him, and you have SO MUCH game ahead of you that it's almost inconsequential.
Go explore and upgrade first and then come back and beat his ass. There are also lots of more Tree Sentinels in the game.

[Shālivāhana]

I am just like you xD, i spent atleast 2 hours trying to kill him, didnt move an inch until i got him lel ... but it was fun in the end even though the first half of the time i was getting mad that i didnt dodge roll at the right time or i missed the slash xD its all about staying alive if u wana defeat him right at start :p dont go all out war trying to dmg him the most... focus on staying alive and not taking damage and chip him down whenever u can :p