How to beat Godfrey, Elden Lord, and Draconic Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring

We hope you’ve been enjoying your time at Elden Ring’s Royal Capital of Lyndell so far. For many, navigating the alleyways and rooftops of this gilded city has been tough, particularly as it’s quite easy to lose your way around.

Regardless of how your experience with the capital has been so far, you’re about to fight the first major boss of Lyndell: Godfrey, First Elden Lord. Technically, you’re going to fight the Golden Shade spectral version of Godfrey. The real (physical) Godfrey will be fought a little later into the game.

When should you fight Godfrey, First Elden Lord in Elden Ring?

Godfrey, First Elden Lord is not an optional boss, but because this is not the physical version of him, the fight is going to be surprisingly easy for how late in the game he is.

He does not drop a Great Rune when defeated, but he does reward you with a Talisman Pouch to increase the maximum number of Talismans you can have equipped.

You could sprint straight to the top of the castle and face Godfrey, but it might be better to familiarise yourself with the capital for a bit before taking him on.

How to make the Godfrey, First Elden Lord boss fight easier in Elden Ring

The Golden Shade version of Godfrey, First Elden Lord is not difficult, but it doesn’t hurt to get a little bit of extra help in the form of, you guessed it, summoning Spirit Ashes to take some of the heat off you.

With that said, you should be okay starting the fight at around character level 78-82, with a +16/+18 weapon level.

Given his spectral form, Godfrey is not particularly weak to any element, so focus on landing solid physical damage. This also goes for your choice of summon.

Godfrey is one of the easiest late-game bosses in Elden Ring. The majority of his attacks are slow and well-telegraphed. You only really need to be a little patient to deplete his health bar.

Generally speaking, Godfrey doesn’t delay his attacks too much, which is part of what makes this fight easier than other major bosses.

Godfrey, First Elden Lord phase one

Godfrey wields a giant axe, and he incorporates it into the majority of his moves. In this phase, you can expect overhead slams, ground swipes, and rising stabs. The key thing to note here is that most of these moves have long wind-ups, making them easy to dodge.

Whenever you create some distance, Godfrey will perform a stomp with his left foot (rarely his right) that sends out several ground spikes. This happens in a fairly narrow area in front of him, and only once – unlike Godrick’s spikes. Rolling into any direction will save you here.

He occasionally throws the axe, and the move is preceded by a massive leap in the air, so it’s easy to anticipate. Once thrown, Godfrey will fly towards it, but that can also be avoided with a simple roll.

Godfrey’s large height and small weapon hitbox put him at a disadvantage, as you’ll see him whiff a few of his moves even when you’re close enough that they should hit. Don’t rely too much on that, though.

Godfrey, First Elden Lord phase two

Godfrey barely adds any new attacks to his repertoire in the second phase. You can expect everything we talked about in phase one to return, with the addition of longer combos of the same moves.

He does become more aggressive in this phase, so some of the moves you’ve been easily dodging through in the first phase could hit you in this one if he decides to add one or more attacks to the chain.

The foot stomp likewise returns, with an even longer spike line that might catch you by surprise. If you continue putting space between you, he’ll boost towards you before performing the stomp, ensuring that you will be hit. You’ll have to dodge twice at that point.

When should you fight the Draconic Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring?

The Draconic Tree Sentinel is technically an optional boss, but it’s one many players will naturally run into as they attempt to access the Royal Capital of Lyndell from the Capital Rampart (north) direction.

The entirety of the Altus Plateau – where the capital is situated – is a challenging, high-level zone meant for players towards Elden Ring’s end-game.We recommend attempting the Draconic Tree Sentinel boss fight when you’re ready to face what awaits in the capital.

How to make the Draconic Tree Sentinel boss fight easier in Elden Ring
Despite his ornate gilded armour, the Draconic Tree Sentinel is ultimately just a human underneath. The boss takes poison damage, and though it’s not massive, every tick gets you ever closer to taking him down.

We always advise players to summon Spirit Ashes for help, and this remains true for this boss. We recommend bringing along the Spirit Jellyfish. It does pitiful damage, but is great at inflicting poison – particularly if you can upgrade it. You can get the Draconic Tree Sentinel poisoned even faster if you enchant your weapon with any kind of poison grease.

He also takes frost damage, though only temporarily. Afflicting him with this element will slow down his movement for a time. If you have it, the Icerind Hatchet (+4) is a great way to do this.

Unlike his earlier incarnation, the Draconic Tree Sentinel has two phases to his boss fight.

Draconic Tree Sentinel boss fight phase one

The Draconic Tree Sentinel is a challenging boss with hard-hitting melee attacks, as well as accurate and tracking ranged attacks. It’s a good idea to start the first phase of the fight on a horse, particularly if you brought a summon. Doing this lets you begin the fight faster, and allows you to land several free hits before he finishes his initial animation.

The first phase is generally easier, doubly so if you manage to stay on your horse for the entirety of it. In this phase, the boss relies on four main attacks. The first is a traditional swipe with his weapon, but and its direction and speed vary – so you need to watch out for that.

The other common attack is another one he’ll use when you get close, and it can be a shield swipe or an overhead slam, depending on where you are in relation to him. The Draconic Tree Sentinel will also occasionally perform a far-reaching jump with an overhead slam. This attack is easy to avoid if you dodge into him/around him. If you decide to dodge backwards away from it, however, you’ll likely get hit.

If you stay at range long enough, the horse will shoot fireballs at you. The wind-up for this animation is long enough that you can anticipate it, and the fireball itself travels slowly enough that you can either outrun it by spirting to the either side, or dodge into any direction.

Outside of that, you may see him perform a horse stomp, similar to the one the normal Tree Sentinels utilise, and it does around the same damage.

The boss’ hitbox is large, so be careful not to let him get you stuck into a corner, you likely won’t be able to get out of it.

Draconic Tree Sentinel boss fight phase two

Phase two is where things get much harder. The Draconic Tree Sentinel’s weapon is now imbued with lightning, which will not only up the damage of his normal attacks, it also adds a little bit of splash/AOE damage to the few of them that slam the ground.

The most devastating is also the hardest to dodge in this phase. The boss will raise his shield, allowing him to call down lightning. However, this could end in one of two moves, and one of which is hard to avoid.

The first combos into a swipe that creates a pool of lightning around him, which takes a couple of seconds before it spawns several columns of lightning. You can easily escape this zone once you see the ground is turning red.

The other attack he can combo into lets him call down a bolt of lightning that will hit you even if you’re moving/rolling. The only way to escape it is to dodge a split-second before it gets called. To do this, keep an eye on his shield and roll the instant he snaps it down. This is the only way to time your dodge correctly, otherwise you will take massive damage.

Finally, the Draconic Tree Sentinel will occasionally drag his weapon across the ground to produce a lightning wave. The arc of that wave is wide, but it’s fairly easy to avoid if you spot it coming.

If you find yourself whiffing, back off and reset. This is obviously easier to do in the first phase, but those few seconds could let you summon spirits (if you haven’t already), or heal up.

How to fight Godfrey?

No direct fight, however Serosh is fused to Godfrey’s back & serves as a huge buff following the boss’s war-cry. Continue to let him unleash his combinations and counter-attack when he’s vulnerable. His jumping assaults are predictable and avoidable. When he lands, attack him.

How to fight Godfrey?

What level to fight Godfrey?

Your fight against Godfrey, First Elden Lord, takes place later on in the game. You need to defeat him to advance to the Legacy Dungeon. The Godfrey boss fight will take place in Leyndell, Royall Capital. Before you take him on, you need to be equal to or above Level 80 if you want an easy time with this fight.

How to get jellyfish Elden Ring?

The first location is at Stormhill Shack, found just east of the main road heading towards Stormveil Castle. You’ll be able to see the dilapidated shack when sticking to the road. When you head inside, you’ll find a lonely woman wearing red. She’ll give you the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes if you talk to her enough times.