How to Beat Ulcerated & Putrid Tree Spirits - Elden Ring

Rewards:
- Fringefolk Hero’s Grave (Limgrave) – Banished Knight Oleg, Golden Seed, 15000
- Mt. Gelmir – Leaden Hardtear, Cerulean Hidden Tear, 18000
- War-Dead Catacombs (Caelid) – Redmane Knight Ogha, 67200
- Grand Cloister – Golden Seed, 11193
- Mountaintops of the Giants – Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [2], Golden Seed, 48000
Summons Available: Yes

These bosses are found throughout the Lands Between, and seem to be some of the most loathed enemies in the game. They move fairly slowly and telegraph their moves, and there are long windows to heal and attack between each move — but their propensity for clipping through walls and being put in far-too-small rooms makes them a serious challenge. In this guide, we’ll go over a few techniques and strategies for defeating Ulcerated Tree Spirits.

General Tips

The safest place to be is as close to the boss as possible.
If you’re struggling, don’t hesitate to come back later once you’ve gained a few more levels.

Melee Strategy

While the melee strategy is pretty straightforward, it’s not going to make the boss a pushover. Most of what you will be doing is sticking close, slightly to the side of the boss, and using jumping heavy attacks to break its stance. However, the boss is on the larger side and the area you’ll often be fighting it in is a fairly small room, which means that visibility will be an issue throughout the fight.

By sticking close to the boss, some of this boss’s bigger attacks where it uses its whole body, will simply nudge you along with it. Additionally, while the boss has several hand attacks to try and punish you for sticking close, those are much easier to see than the boss twisting its whole body to attack you while you’re away from him.

ulcerated tree spirit limgrave close elden ring gif

Additionally, if you’re sticking close to the boss while he’s using the breath attack, it will be safe to use a heavy charged attack which will further help break his stance.

One issue you might run into is the boss using its tail to attack a large area around him, which might hit you even if you’re close in front of the boss. To prevent that from happening, try to stick closer to the front of the boss than the back, which will bait him into using hand attacks or just slithering away, both of which are preferable to being tail-slapped.

Whenever the boss starts glowing yellow, do not try to dodge and just run away from the boss. You will have enough time to run back into melee range and hide next to the boss’s grotesque body. And while the boss’s charge attacks and attacks using its whole body may look threatening, most of them are easy to roll through, and some are even prone to missing you if you’re sticking close enough to the boss. Until you figure out which attacks are dangerous and which aren’t, rolling several times in a row as the boss starts moving away from you will generally keep you safe. If you have a hard time getting used to rolling through this boss’s attacks, use a shield to block before you start rolling. This way, if your timing is off, you might be able to reduce the attack’s damage instead.

Ranged Strategy

Unfortunately for ranged users, being far away is much more dangerous, while being close might not afford you much time to cast longer spells. There is however one moment that leaves the boss open for punishment, if you position yourself well prior to them using their breath attack.

ulcerated tree spirit breath elden ring gif

Other than that, it will be far easier to follow the melee strategy and using your FP on weapon skills or weapon buffs. If you do decide to rely on spells, avoid using spells that require a long cast time, since the boss will rarely allow you to do so.

Moveset

There are two types of tree spirits: Holy and Rot — their special attacks will vary in the damage they inflict.

Phase 1

Lunge Forward: The boss twists itself upward before using the momentum to lunge forward.
Slither Into Grab: After a scream directed at you, the boss will slither along the walls before coming down towards you and attempting to grab you with its mouth.
Breath Attack: The boss moves forward while breathing holy damage in front of him. Sticking close to the boss’s side is the safest way to dodge it.
Head Swipe: The boss twirls its head around while moving forward, before using it to attack horizontally.
Reverse Hand Swipe: Close range attack using one of its arms.
Head Slam: The boss slams the area in front of him by slamming his head against the ground.
Hand Swipe: Frontal hand swipe that comes after the boss moves a small distance forward.
Hand Strikes: Two consecutive strikes on the ground.
Tail Swipe: After bringing his tail in front of him, the boss spins around while attacking with his tail all around him.

Once the boss reaches ~50%, he will unleash a Holy/Rot Explosion (depending on variant), which will imbue his attacks with holy or rot damage.

Phase 2

Holy Explosion: After a short buildup, inflicts area of effect damage. As soon as the boss starts glowing yellow, run out of melee range to dodge it.
Rampage: The boss lunges several times around the room. Can be followed up by a Breath Attack. Stick close to the boss’s side and move towards the boss to avoid most of his lunges, and to be able to quickly get close to him to avoid the Breath Attack.