How to Beat Ancient Dragon Senessax in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

High up on the Jagged Peaks in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is the mighty dragon, Senessax. This ancient dragon is no pushover. Here’s how to beat Ancient Dragon Senessax in Elden Ring.

How to Beat Ancient Dragon Senessax in Elden Ring

Before you begin the fight against Senessax in Elden Ring, there are a few things to note. First, because it takes place outdoors, you can use Torrent to fight him. This is a double-edged sword since, while you’ll be able to evade this dragon, when Torrent inevitably gets hit and dies, you’ll almost certainly be killed in the aftermath. Also, you can summon Spirit Ashes in this fight, so consider if you want to bring one in since splitting Senessax’s aggro is immensely helpful.

Senessax, like other Ancient Dragons from the main game, has a whole host of fire and lightning based attacks. If you decide to stay in front of him or under him for too long, he’ll unleash either two lightning spears to pierce the ground or summon a whole host of lightning bolts around him to push you back. If you decide to stay too far away from him, then he’ll used long-ranged fire moves to punish you. It seems that no matter where you go, he has some kind of move to inflict plenty of pain, leading to panic rolling.

For that reason, we recommend using the Flamedrake Talisman +3, which can be found in Fort Reprimand, the Boltdrake Talisman, or the Pearldrake Talsiman. The Boltdrake and Pearldrake Talsiamn can both be found in the Shadowkeep.

While this is by no means an easy fight, one of the most essential things you need to ensure victory is to not fight him in his cave. While this is an outdoor arena, there is a cave behind him that if he pushes you into, you’ll have no way to escape, and it’ll lead to a quick death. You want to stay out as much as possible and try to game him into using certain moves.

The easiest moves to dodge are when he flies into the air to attack you. He’ll either pounce on you or fly overhead and use a fire breath. In both instances, start dodge rolling towards him and he should whiff both of his attacks, allowing you to get in some easy hits on his tail and legs. While hitting his head will do a fair bit of damage, the amount of risk associated with it makes it a dangerous proposition, so focus on his legs. Those are going to be the spots you’ll want to target, as he doesn’t have many moves that utilize his hindlegs, and his tail swipe is easily telegraphed. If you can bait him into those moves, then it’s easy to score some free hits. While hitting his head will do a fair bit of damage, the amount of risk associated with it makes it a dangerous proposition, so focus on his legs. Equipping a weapon that inflicts bleed, like Bloodhound’s Fang or the newly added Beast Claw, is also a good choice, as it will remove a large chunk of his health if you’re able to land several successive hits.

The problem with beating Senessax in Elden Ring is that most of his moves usually end with an AOE attack, so you’ll want to dodge even if you think you’re a safe distance away from him. Trust me, you’re not. Whether it’s his claw smashes or the lightning strikes, you’ll have to dodge roll a handful of times to ensure your survival. If you decide to use Torrent, be aware you can’t dodge roll, so have Torrent run away as quickly as possible.

It’s a long fight and probably one of the hardest dragon fights in the game, but by playing it cautiously and not being greedy, Senessax will eventually go down.

Elden Ring is available now on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.