How to Beat the Burial Tree Watchdog - Elden Ring Boss Guide

The Burial Tree Watchdog is the boss at the end of the Stormfoot Catacombs dungeon in Limgrave.
While the boss himself is slow, he has access to some quick attacks, and can be fairly challenging. Summons are available during this encounter.

Rewards: Noble Sorcerer Ashes
Summons Available: Yes

Melee Strategy

In melee, the best way to deal with the boss is to keep baiting his leaping attack. You can do so by either standing in mid-range of the boss, or by using a ranged attack.

Every time the boss brings his sword down after leaping towards you, dodge to the side towards the boss, and give him a quick tap before starting to move away from him. If you’re lucky, he will begin another leaping attack, and you just have to repeat the process.

One thing to look out for will be the boss starting a different attack while you’re still in melee range, or using a lunge attack instead of a leap. Additionally, he might also start breathing fire, which is easily avoidable if you’re in melee or at range.

If you decide to use summons, keep in mind that whenever you attack the boss, he might turn towards you in the middle of an attack and hit you instead of your summons. Also, be careful when using Lone Wolf Ashes, as the wolves attacking from several directions at once might entice the boss to use wide attacks, that might inadvertently hit you.

Ranged Strategy

While this boss’s attack speed might surprise you, his movement speed will not.
Every time you go far enough away from the boss, he will start very slowly moving towards you. This gives you ample opportunity to unleash any spell or ranged attack. Whenever you deal damage from range, the boss will initiate a leaping attack, which is easily avoidable with a few rolls.

Attack from one side of the room until the boss charges towards you, then reposition to the other side of the room, and repeat until he’s dead. The FP you would otherwise use on summons, is better spent on ranged attacks with how easily avoidable the boss is.

Moveset

While standing in melee range, the boss has a few ways to try and kill you:

Downward Slam: The boss will bring the flat side of his sword down to the ground, sometimes with a second hit as a follow up. Roll to the side towards the boss, or backwards, to safely avoid it.
Frontal Swipe: This swipe attack has two different versions. One will be a frontal swipe that will cover a wide area in front of the boss. while the other will be a double swipe instead. You can either roll through the boss, or do a couple rolls backwards in order to avoid the occasional double swipe.
180° Swipe: The boss will initiate a frontal swipe, but will turn around during the swing, bringing his sword all the way around him. He will mostly initiate it while you’re standing behind, so to avoid it, dodge out of melee range.
Full Spin: The boss will point his sword towards the ground, and do a quick spin around him. Roll out of melee range to avoid it.

While standing out of melee range, the boss has access to the following attacks:

Fire Breath: When his mouth starts glowing with fire, the boss is about to start spewing flames in front of him, all while rotating around to follow your movements. The range is fairly limited, so it’s fairly easy to outrange it. If you’re in melee range, you can simply run around the boss. Do note however that if you stop for a swing, it will leave you very little time to dodge the approaching flames.
Lunge Attack: Mid-range attack, where the boss does a small forward lunge bringing his sword forward. While the attack is fairly quick, it’s also easily dodgeable by rolling to the side or backwards.
Leaping Attack: The boss floats above, towards you, before unleashing a downward thrusting attack. While you don’t want to get hit by this one, it’s also an easy one to dodge. Wait for the boss to be at its maximum height before dodging either backwards, to the side, or to the side towards the boss.