Extra tips because I feel like it: ► Ekzyke's Decay and Scarlet Aeonia are good against just about everything, really surprised me how many bosses are vulnerable to rot ► Mad Pumpkin Head duo in Caelem Ruins is weak to ground-crawling skills (Hoarfrost, Beast Claw, etc.) because it reaches below the head and passes through enemies ► Any boss that begins the fight by walking towards you slowly is asking for a dragon breath incantation ► The tip vs Nox bosses are also useful against any enemy in the game with a dodge, and you can fire it anywhere you want pls join my Discord, we're lonely: discord.gg/tsf-rusty
I want to personally thank you for mentioning that the God skins can be put to sleep. Too many people don't use pots, but I hope they finally start releasing the value.
I don't even care if your tips aren't 100% on point for anyone saying so, you alphabetically ordered and timestamped. That's worth a sub. And maybe a favorite to reference.
I missed plenty of stuff in my first playthrought, so I went back in NG+7 for a "kill everything with a boss healthbar with a regular sword" run. Took about a week with a guide for the location of everything, then I capped it off with a hitless malenia fight th-cam.com/video/6wP6LNjyFsY/w-d-xo.html
One thing about Malekith, there is an item called the Blasphemous Claw that allows you to parry some of his attacks. The attacks you can parry are telegraphed with a yellow glow and the reward is a solid 5 seconds of free damage.
@@gabadaba5436 I only try to parry one of his attacks: where he jumps, launches 2 projectiles and then flies towards you. Dodge the 2 projectiles and then right as he lunges use the Claw.
I've noticed she tends to do that if you make her AI stepdodge by throwing a projectile at her. Not all projectiles do this though, for some odd reason.
Yep, I soaked in all the dialogue on my first character which was str/fai, but then on my int character I ran in there, slapped down a terra magicka, drank my brew and comet azur'd him to death before he could even get halfway done with his monologue
One tip with the watchdogs is that you can "confuse" then in any multi boss fight by throwing crystal daggers at them. This also effects the stone imps as well. Yes it is hilarious to see the two watchdogs beat each other up
Crucible Knights are some of the best boss enemies for parrying. Many bosses can by parried, but Crucible Knights are rather predictable, and get opened to a riposte with just one parry unlike many others, so just a bit of practice can let you neutralize half of their moveset.
inescapable frenzy is op and works against Vyke, and literally every NPC from volcano manor queats, in case you feel like cheesing them. But make sure you have plenty of poise so you don't get interrupted while casting it you probably know about bloodhound step, it's very useful against dragon bosses like placidusax for dodging attacks and closing distances at the same time
Tip for Radahn: When he does his long combo attack (the one where he stomps his horse into the ground and jumps forward doing a bunch of slams) you should stay under him. This way, he can't hit you and you can basically get a whole bunch of hits in for free. Roll the last part of his attack for an extra punish window
I killed Radahn on my second time with Godfrey’s Icon and Loretta’s Longbow. I summoned all the helpers and outside a couple times I had to resummon it was a cakewalk. But that is cheesimg the ish out of him
Gcp. Giant circumcision position. Been a thing since demon’s souls. All veterans know they’re safer on top of the boss rather than far away. Their attacks go over your head and you don’t need to dodge. This game tried to account for it by making all the bosses able to put distance on the player quick. That’s why they all feel so fucking jumpy. But it still works.
I've got an additional tip for Commander Niall that I learned from dealing with the Sharks in the well from the Old Hunters DLC of Bloodborne. You can use a Bewitching Branch or a spell that turns enemies into allies on his summons to have them fight by your side.
I also wanted to add something onto the ulcerated tree tip, if you dodge to the left when it starts it’s grab attack (roar and then sling backwards, upwards and then charge) then you’ll travel with the spirit and have a free damage opportunity right afterwards as it’s breathing fire
What are you stuck on because this is honestly the first game I've bothered ever getting a platinum. So ask away and you shall receive knowledge either useless or useful.
@@GildedSentinel Heya Escanor! I have also been dabbling in this great game and currently doing my 3rd character! Level 60 and in the fire giant fight. Just clearing everything so I have a good base for invasions 🙂
@@T4coTV oh same mate couldn't beat the tutorial boss in ds3. There's a ton of tools and allies to help you fight in elden ring trust me if I can beat it you can.
I've found that the crucible knights and ancestral followers make for great parry practice. Most of their attacks are telegraphed well enough. The followers don't have much hp so you can clear most of them easily before practicing and crucible knights are almost always by themselves.
Great video. Another tip for the Crucible Knights, they actually have very consistent attack patterns and telegraphed attacks. If you learn it for one of them, you'll learn when to dodge and punish and it works on every iteration of them in the game.
They are tricky because they are one of the only "OG Souls" type enemies in the game. Killing most enemies relies on staggering or aggression, but these guys require patience and taking the opportunity when it's presented like the black/silver knights in DS1
Yes the crucible knights are so easy to parry it's funny. Pretty much all of their attacks can be parried except for the aerial attack and the few special attacks that they have. Even the heavy thrusts/large two handed swings can be parried.
Draconic Tree Sentinel is super weak to sleep. I chuck a sleep pot at him to start the fight. This is also a viable tactic against most double boss encounters, make it 1v1. Actually, my number one tip is pray to St. Trina. Edit: Just like the Godskin Duo!
I haven't watched the video, and Rusty sorta mentioned it in the pinned comment, but I found rot breath to be pretty helpful too. If you have a summon, or possibly time it right, you can get it off more than once too. Interestingly, where Tree Sentinel had me feeling like using torrent was the way to go, I actually found fighting Draconic Tree Sentinel on foot was better because he can just one-shot Torrent (and it's harder to dodge the tracer-lightning on him too.)
Tip for Malenia: Once she gets down to about 70% hp, you can toss a throwing knife at her. She will dodge it and do a waterfowl, and not do a waterfowl for a short while after that, allowing you to control when she uses it so you're not right in her face when she does.
For the crucible knight, there was one attack I found pretty reliable to get some hits in. It starts when he two-hands his sword, stomps the ground and then does a slash (not be confused with his regular stomp while he holds onto his shield). Now, if you're too far away from him, he will just go back to holding his shield again which is an opening for if you're ranged since it takes time for him to do the animation (if you're melee, you can't really exploit this as much). If you're close to him after the slash, he will then spin round with his sword twice, doing two more strikes. It may take a bit to get the timing down but if you dodge both of those, he'll then have to go through the animation again of equipping his shield and this allows for a good few clean hits uninterrupted. Now, in second phase, this strat still works but, after he completes the animation of putting his shield on, there's a chance he'll combo into one of his skills (most likely the tail whip). You'll have to keep on your toes but you can also get some hits in after his skill is complete.
Although Mohg is weak to bleed, I’ve seen that it also gives him around a 20% damage buff similar to the Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman so bleed him at your own risk lmao
I killed him with three jump attacks in NG+, using the dual curved sword bleed build. That 20% damage buff didn't do him a whole lot of good. This is how I discovered that he is *obscenely* week to bleed.
The most amazing thing I got out of this video is that you were not just using the strongest weapons in the game and just summoning a +10 mimic for everything.
Malenia is weak to both frostbite and bleed damage. For bleed stuff, Rivers of Blood is obviously op as hell right now but you can use other bleed weapons against her if you want to make an already insanely challenging boss fight even harder. For frost, Dragonice and Borealis Mist are great options against her. When the second phase starts run underneath her, it's a lot easier to dodge the Scarlet Aeonia attack that way. Also apparently her Waterfowl Dance attack can be interrupted while she's charging it by throwing a Freeze Pot at her. Ongbal did it in his recent video against her. Otherwise, follow the tip in this video. Lastly, if you have a weapon/shield that can parry, she'll be stunned and open for a crit after 3 successful parries in a row.
Alecto can stagger easily if hit by Flame of the Redmanes twice, it's unavoidable hit 100% success rate and the cast it's pretty fast those assassins' don't have a chance cuz they don't have roll included in skill set, just run back use gets hit and a small stun effect on the first hit run a bit more back use again gets staggered, after this you have 2 options 1 come close for critical, or stay far use flasks, than redo again, ez if i say so my self, tbh i got a video doing only this not even need to roll or avoid any attacks so i put it as the "Best Stagger Build" for now
My biggest tip for almost every boss is to roll into them instead of away or left or right. Towards them and to the side can work to. I feel like it messes with the ai pretty good, and most attacks hit in front of the boss. They use auto target too, so most ranged attacks will miss close range if you move around them enough. This mainly applies to rot girl and gold hammer boi, especially on the big attacks
Yeah, sometimes I think they should just remove the parry mechanic, it totally trivializes the game and makes it too easy. Too many enemies can get parried, and it looks silly...
Carian retaliation AoW on Brass shield is way better than Buckler, it has more active frames and you can also use shield for blocking some unparriable attacks.
@@sneakydestroyer7804 have you tried parrying all enemies though? The videos of people trivialising bosses with parries is because the players are really good, not because parrying is really easy
@@MC_Grenada I have tried (and succeeded) in parrying most enemies in the game, and one thing I can say is that parrying is very forgiving compared to dark souls. I've also seen people trivialize boss fights with parrying, which is not a good thing. If any fight in the game can be trivialized by a certain mechanic, that mechanic needs to be nerfed if not removed. Parrying and to some extent guard countering is no exception. They need to remove or nerf golden parry, and straight up remove buckler parry. The parry timing needs to be much stricter if they plan on keeping it in imo.
One little detail I noticed all the way back in the network test (that I haven't really heard anyone talk about) is that the beastman's combo follows the same general movements as Gael's combo in DS3. I love that fight and the DS3 animation plays in my head every time I see that combo.
the ash of war, flame of the redmanes is really really great for staggering enemies. it only takes 2-3 (sometimes more depending on the enemy) hits with it to stagger and it has a pretty fast cast time with good range. I use this ash of war almost any time I fight a crucible knight since I fucking hate them, also it only takes 2 hits as long as those hits aren't when they are blocking. if you pair this with the crimson dagger talisman you basically cannot die assuming the enemy doesn't take like 4 hits to stagger. also its great for tree spirts and avatars since they take increased fire damage. hope this helps! also never feel bad for summoning or using anything in this game. a dub is a dub no matter what.
A thing to note for any night cavalry fight: stay on *their* left side while on Torrent. You will never get hit if you do it right. I don't know why, but the AI will do everything in their power to get you away from their left side. The horse has no "shoulder check" move for that side and I'm half convinced the rider can't even attack from that side.
also when fighting the halberd variant, a successful parry will kill the horse and open the rider to a riposte, and then force the fight to be on foot for a while. the horseless attacks are even easier to read than horseback ones, so if you can knock him off the horse with a parry, thats your sign that the fight will be over within the minute. not sure how well known this is but i didnt figure it out until extremely recently
pretty sure it's cause they are right handed. seriousl i'm not joking, they wield their halberd in the right hand, so attacs n the left are harder to do... or to put in gaming terms: they couldn't(wouldn't?) figure out different attacks ust for his left side, making him less likely to hit yuo when you're there.
@@iota-09 I mean, the player can just as easily use the same swipe on the left as the right. Next time you fight one, dont even attack. Just stay on their left side. You'll be surprised how long you last without even dodging, just moving torrent to stay on that side. You'll notice pretty quickly the AI *hates* you being there and will do some of the craziest u-turns just to come at your from their right side. I havent seen this type of behavior in really any other enemy.
Hmm, I just noticed now that Crucible knights of Ordovis’s regiment have a special spin attack at the end of a combo. This attack is also shared with the Misbegotten warriors albeit faster. 5:09 Watch as the Misbegotten stomps, he’ll use it just like his buddy in the back.
For tree sentinel duo after resetting them with the grace you can seal behind one of them wait for him to walk all the way down the stairs then go up to the other one and beat the shit out of them and the other one won’t intervene
I haven't watched the video yet, but you can also just hit one with a ranged attack (throwing-dagger, bolt, arrow, probably whatever) and that will bait him in to fight behind the doors. (It has the same effect, but you don't have to wait for the one to go down, lol.)
You didnt mention it, so: When Putrid Avatar does the jump that spreads rot everywhere, just dodge thought the jump towards him. The rot is only spread in front of him, leaving everything behind nice and clean. More than half the times when i do this, he will also turn to face me afterwards and do another rot jump, so you could potentially just dodge behind him and attack till you win.
A tip for the first stone digger troll. Exploring the cave you’ll find quite a few glintstone scraps that you can spam to knock him down for a crit. Depending on starting Int there are enough scattered around to kill him without having to do anything.
Tip I have for bosses: Don’t sleep on golden parry: its huge parry hitbox makes parrying bosses that attack in wide arcs like the crucible knights, bell bearing hunter and even Malenia trivial. Parrying also helps in the duo fights (especially those with the crucible knight) as the i-frames from riposting can help you dodge attacks. If you are facing a boss with an obvious telegraph before a wide sweeping attack, you should give golden parry a shot, even if you think you suck at parrying.
Here is my tip for mostly every boss in the game: Use fire of redmanes on your preferred weapon(best would be the ultra great sword for more posture dmg). Congratulations 2-3 casts of the weapon art breaks almost all of the bosses's posture and gives you free visceral. Wide cone makes it easy trash mob killer and very easy to land if used in the general direction of your target. Beat raddan without him getting to second stage by stun looking him to death also makes dragons a cake walk. Best part you can get both the sword and weapon art as soon as you get Torent.
I just 100% the game for the first time and i cant overstate just how usefull any summon is in any fight. Having a boss distracted, even for a little while allows you to just shit out damage. I used a dragon incatation build and having a boss distracted allowed me to use dragonmaw and various breaths without the fear of being smacked in the middle of animation for half my health by endgame bosses
There's two tips I know of for two bosses. If fighting the thorn guy with the hovering blade that has a huge range. If you're melee, watch his left arm and dodge accordingly to him moving it. Dodging according to his left arm's movements has been way more reliable than watching anything else on him. (For Me) I read a message once for the Ulcerated Tree Spirit, and it has helped me a lot. Just stay on its left side as melee, and almost nothing hits you. Most of his strikes don't really hit there, and you'll either be moved around when he swipes his tail or have to dodge normally. Left Side of it somehow very much a safe zone from what I gathered.
i felt so much pain hearing him talk bad about ulcerated tree spirit. wormy might be overused as heck as a boss, but his hitboxes are so good that they're the exact reason this strat works!
I've just managed to finally kill him like a week ago, but after years of failed attempts, like several thousands. Soldier of Godrick is beyond ridiculous. I still think i probably just got lucky on the victorious attempt. His dodge timings are too precise to get consistently.
Totally disagree about Fire Giant. His attack wind-ups are so slow that staying on Torrent throughout the fight and dashing away whenever they wind up is a viable strategy. And in the second phase it's far easier to evade his attacks on horseback than on foot.
1 thing i like do against Maliketh is actually runs straight towards him. Since most of his beast incantations leaves a space between him and the actual hitbox of the attack, standing right in front of him will result with the stone and the shotgun to miss completely. I also really like to stay aggressive and spam tf out of the running attack with a heavy weapon to stagger him after like 4 hits to get free damage. That's how i always get him to phase 2 in less than 30s just to get my ass handled to me right after.
Wow, all of that is just... so different to how I play the game. a lot of those strategies wouldn't work for me at all because I don't have the build for it. I guess it just goes to show the variety of playstyles available in this game.
Tips for Burial Watchdogs: Throw a couple of crystal darts at them and they will go haywire and attack any other enemies in the area. Not useful if they're alone though. Also as an effect on the stone imps in the catacombs
As a content creator, I have to say - MAD respect for all the work you put into this video. Very well done. This must have been quite a daunting topic to cover. And a LOT of hard drive space + project size. Very well done sir. Subscribed fo sho.
Theodorix's Magma or Magma Breath incantations work extremely well on Erdtree avatars because they do big damage on the initial hit and leave a lingering pool of burning magma on the ground to deal fire over time.
On Crucible Knights: Every single one of their melee attacks can be parried, with the exception of the shield bash and the move where he drags the sword along the ground, and you can get in a free hit or two with a quick weapon while they're standing up. The rock stomp can also be jumped over
I’ve defeated Melina over 30 times and here’s my tip: swarm of flies. The incantation is cheap, has almost no faith requirement (I think around 10) and not only staggers her but does ~4,000 HP in damage. The one downside is that she will be more likely to do her ash of war attack, but as Rusty says in the vid, dodge (I prefer to run) for the first two and then do a 180 for the third. Also, her bleed meter still goes up after the incantation ends/she moves out of it AOE and if triggered during the ash of war it’ll stop her in her tracks
Don't forget the bell bearing Hunter's grab attack is inconsistent in the range he can grab you. Sometimes rolling twice is enough, sometimes rolling once and you're out of range. Or often, you can roll 3-4 times and he can still grab you during the I frames of your 4th roll because the Japanese still want to get revenge for the first two bombs. Should have dropped s third
For darriwil, just taking off all your armor also works, since on a lightweight modifier, walking backwards makes you fast enough to just outjog some of his attacks
Another tip for Rykard, When he does that skull rain attack, the sorcery "Eternal Darkness" can draw in the skulls toward the black hole you cast making other skulls easier to dodge.
Despite having wings, the Death Rite Bird can't fly and has virtually no tolerance for fall damage. You can exploit this by running off the nearby ledge with the stone brazier. You won't take fall damage, but the boss will instantly die if it follows you. Hilarious and effective.
A better tip for O'Neil is to use Bewitching Branches on his help. Maybe not in the rot swamp cause you won't have many by then, and the help is weaker and won't clump, but you can.
The watchdog duo in the minor erdtree catacombs is trivialized by charming the other one with crystal darts. One of them will die and the remaining one will be in bad shape, or dead if you participate and even out their hp while they're busy.
A tip for Malenia is she has low poise so she can be staggered with things like Eleanoras pole blade and other high stagger weapons can melt her health bar at high enough levels
Crazy how I've played the game multiple times, gotten all the trophies available, am now playing on a brand new character, and I have seen a good chunch of these bosses. Some of these probably require stonesword keys. Which I almost always have none when I wanna use it.
MASSIVE RYKARD TIP: You can literally just spam the first part of the spear's special attack and not do the second part to stunlock him. The first part will stagger him, but if you don't do the second part then he doesn't get knocked out of range. (second phase only)
My Best tip is use flame of red mane that ash is one of the most powerful break poise skill it work almost with anything, the only downside is the cast and range could leave you vulnerable sometimes but in overall is still good
Best tip I can give for Niall is bringing 2 Bewitching Branches, one for each knight. Make a dash for the right (dual sword) one, and bewitch it. Get the sword&shield one next. They'll keep Niall busy a while while you can summon or wail on him from a safe distance.
That was a great video that taugh me quite a few things (I didn't know you could put the stone troll to sleep, for example). If I may add a few more advices to the list based on my personal experience: Malenia is extremely weak to bleed effect and using River of blood essentially sets her into journalist mode (I mean, I'm pretty sure the vast majority of people know this by now but just in case, it could be useful for whoever don't and struggle against her). Also, you can indeed, negate some of the healing from Mogh during his phase 2 if you have the right tear in your physic but it worth mentioning that he gains an insane amount of defense during the animation so, you may prefer to use that window to reapply buffs and heal instead. Not saying it's better, it's just a matter of playstyle and preferences. Finally, for Radanh: Use Torrent. Like, seriously, that fight is a million times easier on horse back.
Rusty, the waterfall on the right of the entrance to Valiant Gargoyles can be used to instakill them. Bait a flying attack with your back against the edge and dodge when they're close. Or, have D do it and watch as he jumps down with them
1 amusing tip against encounters with multiple bosses at once or bosses with 'friends'. Grab a Bewitching Branch, wack one or more of them with it and cackled with glee as they begin to murder eachother for you. Do be careful though, your new 'allies' attacks can still kill you if you get in the way.🤣
to be fair i expected at malenia that you say a frostpot cancels her waterfowl or just linked to the jarcannon vs malenia video for malekith you can count his projectiles in the air when he makes his last you instantly use the clawitem to stun him.
An even better strategy to beat Gideon is to run up to him and smack him in the face with a jumping double greatswords power stance. It'll knock him flat on his face. My first time fighting Gideon, Oleg and I destroyed him in fifteen seconds. It was a regular curb stomp. This method also works for Renalla
FINALLY someone who actually acknowledges how insanely weak the Godskins are to sleep (and also slash damage + bleed ofc). I know they don't advertise it at all but i genuinely don't understand how people struggle with them, especially the Duo. Heck, you don't even have to wait for them to finish the animation since they have enough poise that wailing on them with a slash weapon will almost never break enough poise to knock them out of the long af animations for falling asleep and then waking back up, and unlike most other bosses, if you don't hit them they stay asleep the entire 60 seconds like normal enemies do.
I'm at 180 hours and just unlocked the secret path to the haligtree. My strategy has been to dodge around and learn their moveset then spam Sword of night and flame when there's an opportunity to punish. Doesn't always work and sometimes I change out the weapon for dark moon great sword or a reduvia, Rogers rapier combination. I love how many options I have to fail with. 🤣
Tip for all ulcerated tree spirits. Using a shield is not actually a bad idea. Their hitboxes are massive but they only ever do 1 attack before doing something else. You can block damage and then counter enough times with a bleed weapon to get out some high damage and eventually guardbreak for a riposte. When they enter phase 2 and gain elemental attacks, that's when you need to think and choose what shield blocks elemental attacks well, or start using heal over time incantations. While you'll take chip damage with their spells, you won't die and can win the attrition battle. Also dodge their grab attack, that can't be blocked. Everything else circle strafe, block and counter. Boring, but safe.
I ran into sages cave without knowing about the black blade and after awhile, I found the room. didn't have my sentry torch though. I just spammed ancient dragons lightning spear everytime I saw water splash around me. And onetime, I ran into rykards room without the spear and beat him with just ancient dragons lightning strike. Didn't think it would work out until I saw the damage on the first cast.
Also crucible knight's attacks are very "deliberate" and there's usually no delay meaning parrying him is super free and lets you get ripostes in like crazy
Commander Niall's soldiers can be enchanted to fight for you using some flower I think (I forget what it is). They don't hurt him much but it's better than them fighting you
for the alabaster & onyx lord, as soon as u see him plunge his sword to use meteorite, get up close to him and roll dodge it, it he just puts his sword away and continues the fight
I have to say that the crucible knight is definitely beefy but very easy to parry if you track his attacks like I swear I can just parry him all the way and it's a cake walk, so for people trying to kill him just parry him if you can
Extra tips because I feel like it:
► Ekzyke's Decay and Scarlet Aeonia are good against just about everything, really surprised me how many bosses are vulnerable to rot
► Mad Pumpkin Head duo in Caelem Ruins is weak to ground-crawling skills (Hoarfrost, Beast Claw, etc.) because it reaches below the head and passes through enemies
► Any boss that begins the fight by walking towards you slowly is asking for a dragon breath incantation
► The tip vs Nox bosses are also useful against any enemy in the game with a dodge, and you can fire it anywhere you want
pls join my Discord, we're lonely: discord.gg/tsf-rusty
Rusty, a tip for flacid nutsack is to use the blackflame tornado WA it shreds his health incredibly fast and turn the fight around in an instant
I want to personally thank you for mentioning that the God skins can be put to sleep. Too many people don't use pots, but I hope they finally start releasing the value.
@@smallguy2 I'd say a few people willfully wouldn't use them bc it's seen as cheese
@@Rusty._ I see two types of cheese, there's learning a boss's weaknesses and exploiting them, and then there's rivers of blood.
I don't even care if your tips aren't 100% on point for anyone saying so, you alphabetically ordered and timestamped. That's worth a sub.
And maybe a favorite to reference.
The biggest thing I learned from this video is that after 200 hours in Elden Ring, I've still only fought like 60% of the bosses in the game...
I played about the same and just started playthrough #2. I explored a ton and now I'm like... ahhh crap.
I've also only fought about half the bosses in the game and it sucks that most of them are just reskins of eachother lol
@@Dantarn whoahhh you mean commanders don’t you? 😉
I missed plenty of stuff in my first playthrought, so I went back in NG+7 for a "kill everything with a boss healthbar with a regular sword" run. Took about a week with a guide for the location of everything, then I capped it off with a hitless malenia fight th-cam.com/video/6wP6LNjyFsY/w-d-xo.html
Same, like I’ve explored so much and some of these are just things I’ve never encountered
One thing about Malekith, there is an item called the Blasphemous Claw that allows you to parry some of his attacks. The attacks you can parry are telegraphed with a yellow glow and the reward is a solid 5 seconds of free damage.
I almost put that in, but I just felt like a lot of people might be looking for tips without it
I was excited about using it but parry timings were less forgiving than I thought and I got one shot whenever I missed one so I dropped it altogether.
The claw is hard to use correctly, especially if you don't have good reactions (like me)
@@gabadaba5436 I only try to parry one of his attacks: where he jumps, launches 2 projectiles and then flies towards you. Dodge the 2 projectiles and then right as he lunges use the Claw.
@@Rusty._ Solid reasoning, that's the reason I subscribed to you all those years ago friend
12:43 Did she just follow up Waterfowl with another Waterfowl? Incredible tactics, would have never thought of that
Yeah she got mad I dodged it so she started WA spamming. Typical dex player
Lmao that’s how my rng with most bosses go: they’ll just spam that one move that’s bs and a chore to handle
When you get the triple Waterfowl you know it's time to just straight-up uninstall the game.
I've noticed she tends to do that if you make her AI stepdodge by throwing a projectile at her. Not all projectiles do this though, for some odd reason.
@@Rusty._ I had that with the magma wyrm to get the moonveil katana it just kept spamming the magma vomit attack
If you have high enough dps and don't care to listen to him, Gideon can be killed during his monologue and he won't do anything
You have to listen to the all knowing how could you not heathen
Almost happened to me. I still don't even know what attacks he has.
Yep, I soaked in all the dialogue on my first character which was str/fai, but then on my int character I ran in there, slapped down a terra magicka, drank my brew and comet azur'd him to death before he could even get halfway done with his monologue
I never let him finish once I saw I could target him. Super easy
the frenzy grab attack will probably one shot any npc that can be grabbed, like invader npcs etc
One tip with the watchdogs is that you can "confuse" then in any multi boss fight by throwing crystal daggers at them. This also effects the stone imps as well. Yes it is hilarious to see the two watchdogs beat each other up
Crucible Knights are some of the best boss enemies for parrying. Many bosses can by parried, but Crucible Knights are rather predictable, and get opened to a riposte with just one parry unlike many others, so just a bit of practice can let you neutralize half of their moveset.
Yeah I've found that if you can parry well they can do basically nothing
inescapable frenzy is op and works against Vyke, and literally every NPC from volcano manor queats, in case you feel like cheesing them. But make sure you have plenty of poise so you don't get interrupted while casting it
you probably know about bloodhound step, it's very useful against dragon bosses like placidusax for dodging attacks and closing distances at the same time
Thanks man just used it to beat vyke
it also oneshots Gideon, is basically a free kill as he does his monologue at first, giving you plenty of time to cast it
That jump attack timing at 1:01 was fucking nuts
Tip for Radahn:
When he does his long combo attack (the one where he stomps his horse into the ground and jumps forward doing a bunch of slams) you should stay under him. This way, he can't hit you and you can basically get a whole bunch of hits in for free. Roll the last part of his attack for an extra punish window
I killed Radahn on my second time with Godfrey’s Icon and Loretta’s Longbow. I summoned all the helpers and outside a couple times I had to resummon it was a cakewalk. But that is cheesimg the ish out of him
@@AbrasiveTea lol no i just applied scarlet rot 2 times and watched naruto the rest of the time xd
@@theoneandonly3435 I didn’t have rot items but ya rot is kind of awesome
Gcp. Giant circumcision position. Been a thing since demon’s souls. All veterans know they’re safer on top of the boss rather than far away. Their attacks go over your head and you don’t need to dodge. This game tried to account for it by making all the bosses able to put distance on the player quick. That’s why they all feel so fucking jumpy. But it still works.
I've got an additional tip for Commander Niall that I learned from dealing with the Sharks in the well from the Old Hunters DLC of Bloodborne.
You can use a Bewitching Branch or a spell that turns enemies into allies on his summons to have them fight by your side.
I also wanted to add something onto the ulcerated tree tip, if you dodge to the left when it starts it’s grab attack (roar and then sling backwards, upwards and then charge) then you’ll travel with the spirit and have a free damage opportunity right afterwards as it’s breathing fire
Knowing this was so nice I just roll attacked every time they would do it, and I have starscourge greatswords so it’s rly nice dps :p fr a good tip
I think I can't beat this game, no matter how many tips I get haha
The work you are putting into these videos is insane tho, great job 👍
What are you stuck on because this is honestly the first game I've bothered ever getting a platinum. So ask away and you shall receive knowledge either useless or useful.
@@GildedSentinel Heya Escanor! I have also been dabbling in this great game and currently doing my 3rd character! Level 60 and in the fire giant fight. Just clearing everything so I have a good base for invasions 🙂
@@GildedSentinel I gave up on Dark Souls 3 after the tutorial boss, so I haven't even tried Elden Ring haha
@@T4coTV oh same mate couldn't beat the tutorial boss in ds3. There's a ton of tools and allies to help you fight in elden ring trust me if I can beat it you can.
@@GildedSentinel Thanks for the encouragement. I might try it :D
I've found that the crucible knights and ancestral followers make for great parry practice. Most of their attacks are telegraphed well enough. The followers don't have much hp so you can clear most of them easily before practicing and crucible knights are almost always by themselves.
3:29 the sentry’s torch works even if you two hand your weapon, so go hog wild while dealing extra dame because of two handing your weapon
Great video. Another tip for the Crucible Knights, they actually have very consistent attack patterns and telegraphed attacks. If you learn it for one of them, you'll learn when to dodge and punish and it works on every iteration of them in the game.
I killed them with Scarlett rot rotten breath can be useful if you wanna use summons
They are tricky because they are one of the only "OG Souls" type enemies in the game. Killing most enemies relies on staggering or aggression, but these guys require patience and taking the opportunity when it's presented like the black/silver knights in DS1
Yes the crucible knights are so easy to parry it's funny. Pretty much all of their attacks can be parried except for the aerial attack and the few special attacks that they have. Even the heavy thrusts/large two handed swings can be parried.
Yup parry them is the easiest way to deal w/them
Learn to parry thats the answer
Draconic Tree Sentinel is super weak to sleep. I chuck a sleep pot at him to start the fight. This is also a viable tactic against most double boss encounters, make it 1v1. Actually, my number one tip is pray to St. Trina.
Edit: Just like the Godskin Duo!
I haven't watched the video, and Rusty sorta mentioned it in the pinned comment, but I found rot breath to be pretty helpful too. If you have a summon, or possibly time it right, you can get it off more than once too.
Interestingly, where Tree Sentinel had me feeling like using torrent was the way to go, I actually found fighting Draconic Tree Sentinel on foot was better because he can just one-shot Torrent (and it's harder to dodge the tracer-lightning on him too.)
Tip for Malenia: Once she gets down to about 70% hp, you can toss a throwing knife at her. She will dodge it and do a waterfowl, and not do a waterfowl for a short while after that, allowing you to control when she uses it so you're not right in her face when she does.
For the crucible knight, there was one attack I found pretty reliable to get some hits in.
It starts when he two-hands his sword, stomps the ground and then does a slash (not be confused with his regular stomp while he holds onto his shield).
Now, if you're too far away from him, he will just go back to holding his shield again which is an opening for if you're ranged since it takes time for him to do the animation (if you're melee, you can't really exploit this as much).
If you're close to him after the slash, he will then spin round with his sword twice, doing two more strikes. It may take a bit to get the timing down but if you dodge both of those, he'll then have to go through the animation again of equipping his shield and this allows for a good few clean hits uninterrupted.
Now, in second phase, this strat still works but, after he completes the animation of putting his shield on, there's a chance he'll combo into one of his skills (most likely the tail whip). You'll have to keep on your toes but you can also get some hits in after his skill is complete.
Although Mohg is weak to bleed, I’ve seen that it also gives him around a 20% damage buff similar to the Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman so bleed him at your own risk lmao
it makes sense, the lord of blood just wants to see blood, whether it's yours or his. NIHIL!!
I killed him with three jump attacks in NG+, using the dual curved sword bleed build. That 20% damage buff didn't do him a whole lot of good. This is how I discovered that he is *obscenely* week to bleed.
Same thing for esgar and the sanguine nobles
doesnt matters, cause if he hits you are dead anyways.
thanks for this video! this is great, so many good tips and i realised i missed a lot of bosses!
The most amazing thing I got out of this video is that you were not just using the strongest weapons in the game and just summoning a +10 mimic for everything.
Right?
*Says boss seems unfair*
The gatekeepers: It's not hard. You're just bad. Summon Mimic.
Me: -_-
Malenia is weak to both frostbite and bleed damage. For bleed stuff, Rivers of Blood is obviously op as hell right now but you can use other bleed weapons against her if you want to make an already insanely challenging boss fight even harder. For frost, Dragonice and Borealis Mist are great options against her.
When the second phase starts run underneath her, it's a lot easier to dodge the Scarlet Aeonia attack that way.
Also apparently her Waterfowl Dance attack can be interrupted while she's charging it by throwing a Freeze Pot at her. Ongbal did it in his recent video against her. Otherwise, follow the tip in this video.
Lastly, if you have a weapon/shield that can parry, she'll be stunned and open for a crit after 3 successful parries in a row.
"I'm being as serious as possible when I say it's attacks are designed to look cool than deal some damage "
I feel called out
2:04 "It is an insta death attack"
Holy shit Jerma was right!
get the meat grinder ready
Only an eyeball left…
Alecto can stagger easily if hit by Flame of the Redmanes twice, it's unavoidable hit 100% success rate and the cast it's pretty fast those assassins' don't have a chance cuz they don't have roll included in skill set, just run back use gets hit and a small stun effect on the first hit run a bit more back use again gets staggered, after this you have 2 options 1 come close for critical, or stay far use flasks, than redo again, ez if i say so my self, tbh i got a video doing only this not even need to roll or avoid any attacks so i put it as the "Best Stagger Build" for now
Leaving a like for that alecto jump. That was pure disrespect.
"if youre looking for a jsut use magic, you wont find that here"
proceeds to reccomend magic/elemental incantations for half the bosses
Sleep the duo if you wish to retain sanity
Finally someone who doesn't gatekeep or says "just git gud". Some legitimate advice, thank you!
another tip regarding the niall boss, use bewitching branch on adds
My biggest tip for almost every boss is to roll into them instead of away or left or right. Towards them and to the side can work to. I feel like it messes with the ai pretty good, and most attacks hit in front of the boss. They use auto target too, so most ranged attacks will miss close range if you move around them enough. This mainly applies to rot girl and gold hammer boi, especially on the big attacks
Crucible knights are totally trivialized by parrying, just equip a small shield and it's very easy
Yeah, sometimes I think they should just remove the parry mechanic, it totally trivializes the game and makes it too easy. Too many enemies can get parried, and it looks silly...
Carian retaliation AoW on Brass shield is way better than Buckler, it has more active frames and you can also use shield for blocking some unparriable attacks.
@@sneakydestroyer7804 you never played souls games, didn't you?
@@sneakydestroyer7804 have you tried parrying all enemies though? The videos of people trivialising bosses with parries is because the players are really good, not because parrying is really easy
@@MC_Grenada I have tried (and succeeded) in parrying most enemies in the game, and one thing I can say is that parrying is very forgiving compared to dark souls. I've also seen people trivialize boss fights with parrying, which is not a good thing. If any fight in the game can be trivialized by a certain mechanic, that mechanic needs to be nerfed if not removed. Parrying and to some extent guard countering is no exception. They need to remove or nerf golden parry, and straight up remove buckler parry. The parry timing needs to be much stricter if they plan on keeping it in imo.
"Also, you are supposed to jump over the rings. Not dodge through them" bro you just blew my fucking mind. I feel so stupid.
Dude when I play Elden Ring every time I enter a fight I completely forget that I can jump and just try to dodge through everything
Idk if I’m the only one who knowingly duelled the mimic tear with matching gear because it felt wrong to abuse the poor lil guy
Agreed, it's basically like fighting an NPC invader but it's your character. Pretty fun concept!
One little detail I noticed all the way back in the network test (that I haven't really heard anyone talk about) is that the beastman's combo follows the same general movements as Gael's combo in DS3. I love that fight and the DS3 animation plays in my head every time I see that combo.
Entertaining and informative. 11/10 would recommend. Watched 1 video and I subscribed.
4:37 Alternative: lure him out to the Aeonia swamp geysers, and weaponize them.
for the stone watchdogs and imps, you can spam crystal darts at them and they will "short circuit" and attack each other.
Now that’s a cool feature. Definitely noted.
the ash of war, flame of the redmanes is really really great for staggering enemies. it only takes 2-3 (sometimes more depending on the enemy) hits with it to stagger and it has a pretty fast cast time with good range. I use this ash of war almost any time I fight a crucible knight since I fucking hate them, also it only takes 2 hits as long as those hits aren't when they are blocking. if you pair this with the crimson dagger talisman you basically cannot die assuming the enemy doesn't take like 4 hits to stagger. also its great for tree spirts and avatars since they take increased fire damage. hope this helps! also never feel bad for summoning or using anything in this game. a dub is a dub no matter what.
A thing to note for any night cavalry fight: stay on *their* left side while on Torrent. You will never get hit if you do it right.
I don't know why, but the AI will do everything in their power to get you away from their left side. The horse has no "shoulder check" move for that side and I'm half convinced the rider can't even attack from that side.
They can attack from the left but usually if you spend too long right on that side.
also when fighting the halberd variant, a successful parry will kill the horse and open the rider to a riposte, and then force the fight to be on foot for a while. the horseless attacks are even easier to read than horseback ones, so if you can knock him off the horse with a parry, thats your sign that the fight will be over within the minute. not sure how well known this is but i didnt figure it out until extremely recently
@Yakul tree sentinel has a shield so can shield bash, not a very safe place unfortunately. Loretta I think has too many magic/jump attacks.
pretty sure it's cause they are right handed.
seriousl i'm not joking, they wield their halberd in the right hand, so attacs n the left are harder to do... or to put in gaming terms: they couldn't(wouldn't?) figure out different attacks ust for his left side, making him less likely to hit yuo when you're there.
@@iota-09 I mean, the player can just as easily use the same swipe on the left as the right. Next time you fight one, dont even attack. Just stay on their left side. You'll be surprised how long you last without even dodging, just moving torrent to stay on that side. You'll notice pretty quickly the AI *hates* you being there and will do some of the craziest u-turns just to come at your from their right side. I havent seen this type of behavior in really any other enemy.
Hmm, I just noticed now that Crucible knights of Ordovis’s regiment have a special spin attack at the end of a combo. This attack is also shared with the Misbegotten warriors albeit faster.
5:09 Watch as the Misbegotten stomps, he’ll use it just like his buddy in the back.
For tree sentinel duo after resetting them with the grace you can seal behind one of them wait for him to walk all the way down the stairs then go up to the other one and beat the shit out of them and the other one won’t intervene
I haven't watched the video yet, but you can also just hit one with a ranged attack (throwing-dagger, bolt, arrow, probably whatever) and that will bait him in to fight behind the doors. (It has the same effect, but you don't have to wait for the one to go down, lol.)
You didnt mention it, so:
When Putrid Avatar does the jump that spreads rot everywhere, just dodge thought the jump towards him. The rot is only spread in front of him, leaving everything behind nice and clean. More than half the times when i do this, he will also turn to face me afterwards and do another rot jump, so you could potentially just dodge behind him and attack till you win.
"I won't say use magic" "Use glint blades" Seems like super specific magic to me. Haha
A tip for the first stone digger troll. Exploring the cave you’ll find quite a few glintstone scraps that you can spam to knock him down for a crit. Depending on starting Int there are enough scattered around to kill him without having to do anything.
That's an impressive list of bosses. I'm just starting this game and feel like I'm going into a long journey.
Tip I have for bosses:
Don’t sleep on golden parry: its huge parry hitbox makes parrying bosses that attack in wide arcs like the crucible knights, bell bearing hunter and even Malenia trivial. Parrying also helps in the duo fights (especially those with the crucible knight) as the i-frames from riposting can help you dodge attacks. If you are facing a boss with an obvious telegraph before a wide sweeping attack, you should give golden parry a shot, even if you think you suck at parrying.
Tip for Gideon Ofnir: while hes monologuing, simply run up and cast inescapable frenzy on him for basically an insta kill
Torrent trivializes Bell-Bearing Hunter if you're a ranged build. You run circles baiting the ranged attack while flinging arrows or spells
Here is my tip for mostly every boss in the game: Use fire of redmanes on your preferred weapon(best would be the ultra great sword for more posture dmg). Congratulations 2-3 casts of the weapon art breaks almost all of the bosses's posture and gives you free visceral. Wide cone makes it easy trash mob killer and very easy to land if used in the general direction of your target. Beat raddan without him getting to second stage by stun looking him to death also makes dragons a cake walk. Best part you can get both the sword and weapon art as soon as you get Torent.
I just 100% the game for the first time and i cant overstate just how usefull any summon is in any fight. Having a boss distracted, even for a little while allows you to just shit out damage. I used a dragon incatation build and having a boss distracted allowed me to use dragonmaw and various breaths without the fear of being smacked in the middle of animation for half my health by endgame bosses
There's two tips I know of for two bosses.
If fighting the thorn guy with the hovering blade that has a huge range. If you're melee, watch his left arm and dodge accordingly to him moving it. Dodging according to his left arm's movements has been way more reliable than watching anything else on him. (For Me)
I read a message once for the Ulcerated Tree Spirit, and it has helped me a lot. Just stay on its left side as melee, and almost nothing hits you. Most of his strikes don't really hit there, and you'll either be moved around when he swipes his tail or have to dodge normally. Left Side of it somehow very much a safe zone from what I gathered.
i felt so much pain hearing him talk bad about ulcerated tree spirit.
wormy might be overused as heck as a boss, but his hitboxes are so good that they're the exact reason this strat works!
I'm extremely thankful for your tips for Soldier of Godrick, I've been stuck on him for three days now.
I’ve been fighting him since release and I still haven’t gotten him to half health
I've just managed to finally kill him like a week ago, but after years of failed attempts, like several thousands. Soldier of Godrick is beyond ridiculous. I still think i probably just got lucky on the victorious attempt. His dodge timings are too precise to get consistently.
Totally disagree about Fire Giant. His attack wind-ups are so slow that staying on Torrent throughout the fight and dashing away whenever they wind up is a viable strategy. And in the second phase it's far easier to evade his attacks on horseback than on foot.
1 thing i like do against Maliketh is actually runs straight towards him. Since most of his beast incantations leaves a space between him and the actual hitbox of the attack, standing right in front of him will result with the stone and the shotgun to miss completely. I also really like to stay aggressive and spam tf out of the running attack with a heavy weapon to stagger him after like 4 hits to get free damage. That's how i always get him to phase 2 in less than 30s just to get my ass handled to me right after.
Wow, all of that is just... so different to how I play the game. a lot of those strategies wouldn't work for me at all because I don't have the build for it. I guess it just goes to show the variety of playstyles available in this game.
Tips for Burial Watchdogs: Throw a couple of crystal darts at them and they will go haywire and attack any other enemies in the area. Not useful if they're alone though. Also as an effect on the stone imps in the catacombs
As a content creator, I have to say - MAD respect for all the work you put into this video. Very well done. This must have been quite a daunting topic to cover. And a LOT of hard drive space + project size. Very well done sir. Subscribed fo sho.
Theodorix's Magma or Magma Breath incantations work extremely well on Erdtree avatars because they do big damage on the initial hit and leave a lingering pool of burning magma on the ground to deal fire over time.
On Crucible Knights: Every single one of their melee attacks can be parried, with the exception of the shield bash and the move where he drags the sword along the ground, and you can get in a free hit or two with a quick weapon while they're standing up. The rock stomp can also be jumped over
“Fia’s tier 3 subs” 🤣🤣🤣
I’ve defeated Melina over 30 times and here’s my tip: swarm of flies. The incantation is cheap, has almost no faith requirement (I think around 10) and not only staggers her but does ~4,000 HP in damage.
The one downside is that she will be more likely to do her ash of war attack, but as Rusty says in the vid, dodge (I prefer to run) for the first two and then do a 180 for the third. Also, her bleed meter still goes up after the incantation ends/she moves out of it AOE and if triggered during the ash of war it’ll stop her in her tracks
Another tip for commander o Neil bewitching branches use them on his summons for some top 10 anime betrayals.
They do a lot of damage
Don't forget the bell bearing Hunter's grab attack is inconsistent in the range he can grab you. Sometimes rolling twice is enough, sometimes rolling once and you're out of range. Or often, you can roll 3-4 times and he can still grab you during the I frames of your 4th roll because the Japanese still want to get revenge for the first two bombs. Should have dropped s third
this guy honestly makes the highest quality elden ring content of anyone out there
For darriwil, just taking off all your armor also works, since on a lightweight modifier, walking backwards makes you fast enough to just outjog some of his attacks
Another tip for Rykard, When he does that skull rain attack, the sorcery "Eternal Darkness" can draw in the skulls toward the black hole you cast making other skulls easier to dodge.
Despite having wings, the Death Rite Bird can't fly and has virtually no tolerance for fall damage. You can exploit this by running off the nearby ledge with the stone brazier. You won't take fall damage, but the boss will instantly die if it follows you. Hilarious and effective.
"What, are you waiting for an endcard or something? I'm done, get the fuck out of here-"
Rusty, you're a godsend! Now I finally have a chance against the Soldier of Godrick!
17:34 instructions unclear. still stuck at soldier of god. rick
A better tip for O'Neil is to use Bewitching Branches on his help. Maybe not in the rot swamp cause you won't have many by then, and the help is weaker and won't clump, but you can.
The watchdog duo in the minor erdtree catacombs is trivialized by charming the other one with crystal darts. One of them will die and the remaining one will be in bad shape, or dead if you participate and even out their hp while they're busy.
A tip for Malenia is she has low poise so she can be staggered with things like Eleanoras pole blade and other high stagger weapons can melt her health bar at high enough levels
Crazy how I've played the game multiple times, gotten all the trophies available, am now playing on a brand new character, and I have seen a good chunch of these bosses. Some of these probably require stonesword keys. Which I almost always have none when I wanna use it.
MASSIVE RYKARD TIP: You can literally just spam the first part of the spear's special attack and not do the second part to stunlock him. The first part will stagger him, but if you don't do the second part then he doesn't get knocked out of range.
(second phase only)
My Best tip is use flame of red mane that ash is one of the most powerful break poise skill it work almost with anything, the only downside is the cast and range could leave you vulnerable sometimes but in overall is still good
I've noticed not a lot of people talk about Mohg's shackle as an easy way to stop the Ritual of Blood
Best tip I can give for Niall is bringing 2 Bewitching Branches, one for each knight. Make a dash for the right (dual sword) one, and bewitch it. Get the sword&shield one next. They'll keep Niall busy a while while you can summon or wail on him from a safe distance.
Something else about the Beastman is that a heavy attack can instantly interrupt whatever he's doing, no matter what it is.
That was a great video that taugh me quite a few things (I didn't know you could put the stone troll to sleep, for example).
If I may add a few more advices to the list based on my personal experience:
Malenia is extremely weak to bleed effect and using River of blood essentially sets her into journalist mode (I mean, I'm pretty sure the vast majority of people know this by now but just in case, it could be useful for whoever don't and struggle against her).
Also, you can indeed, negate some of the healing from Mogh during his phase 2 if you have the right tear in your physic but it worth mentioning that he gains an insane amount of defense during the animation so, you may prefer to use that window to reapply buffs and heal instead. Not saying it's better, it's just a matter of playstyle and preferences.
Finally, for Radanh: Use Torrent. Like, seriously, that fight is a million times easier on horse back.
Rusty, the waterfall on the right of the entrance to Valiant Gargoyles can be used to instakill them. Bait a flying attack with your back against the edge and dodge when they're close. Or, have D do it and watch as he jumps down with them
He probably didn't include it just bc it's cheese... but then again I guess the mimic tear tip wouldn't have made it in lol
1 amusing tip against encounters with multiple bosses at once or bosses with 'friends'. Grab a Bewitching Branch, wack one or more of them with it and cackled with glee as they begin to murder eachother for you. Do be careful though, your new 'allies' attacks can still kill you if you get in the way.🤣
For the elden beast when you see him starting the elden ring nuke attack go backwards since that's always where he'll re appear
Mohgwyn lord of blood. He can draw blood from an ethereal God but can't keep his own goddamn blood in his body
to be fair i expected at malenia that you say a frostpot cancels her waterfowl or just linked to the jarcannon vs malenia video
for malekith you can count his projectiles in the air when he makes his last you instantly use the clawitem to stun him.
Good info and no filler. Great vid, thanks
An even better strategy to beat Gideon is to run up to him and smack him in the face with a jumping double greatswords power stance. It'll knock him flat on his face.
My first time fighting Gideon, Oleg and I destroyed him in fifteen seconds. It was a regular curb stomp. This method also works for Renalla
Commander Niall- Use the bewitching branch on the spectral knights. He'll kill them so you don't have to.
Tip for Leonine Misbegotten. Use the Whip you got in Castle Morne, It stuns hit every hit. Trivialized the fight honestly
FINALLY someone who actually acknowledges how insanely weak the Godskins are to sleep (and also slash damage + bleed ofc).
I know they don't advertise it at all but i genuinely don't understand how people struggle with them, especially the Duo. Heck, you don't even have to wait for them to finish the animation since they have enough poise that wailing on them with a slash weapon will almost never break enough poise to knock them out of the long af animations for falling asleep and then waking back up, and unlike most other bosses, if you don't hit them they stay asleep the entire 60 seconds like normal enemies do.
I'm at 180 hours and just unlocked the secret path to the haligtree. My strategy has been to dodge around and learn their moveset then spam Sword of night and flame when there's an opportunity to punish. Doesn't always work and sometimes I change out the weapon for dark moon great sword or a reduvia, Rogers rapier combination. I love how many options I have to fail with. 🤣
Tip for all ulcerated tree spirits. Using a shield is not actually a bad idea. Their hitboxes are massive but they only ever do 1 attack before doing something else. You can block damage and then counter enough times with a bleed weapon to get out some high damage and eventually guardbreak for a riposte.
When they enter phase 2 and gain elemental attacks, that's when you need to think and choose what shield blocks elemental attacks well, or start using heal over time incantations. While you'll take chip damage with their spells, you won't die and can win the attrition battle.
Also dodge their grab attack, that can't be blocked. Everything else circle strafe, block and counter. Boring, but safe.
I ran into sages cave without knowing about the black blade and after awhile, I found the room. didn't have my sentry torch though. I just spammed ancient dragons lightning spear everytime I saw water splash around me. And onetime, I ran into rykards room without the spear and beat him with just ancient dragons lightning strike. Didn't think it would work out until I saw the damage on the first cast.
Also crucible knight's attacks are very "deliberate" and there's usually no delay meaning parrying him is super free and lets you get ripostes in like crazy
Commander Niall's soldiers can be enchanted to fight for you using some flower I think (I forget what it is). They don't hurt him much but it's better than them fighting you
"I'm not going to tell you to just use magic"
Half of the entries on the list:
"Use this spell or incantation."
Aye aye, cap'n!
for the alabaster & onyx lord, as soon as u see him plunge his sword to use meteorite, get up close to him and roll dodge it, it he just puts his sword away and continues the fight
I have to say that the crucible knight is definitely beefy but very easy to parry if you track his attacks like I swear I can just parry him all the way and it's a cake walk, so for people trying to kill him just parry him if you can