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

Ancient Dragon Senessax is one of the toughest dragon fights in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and it also serves as a benchmark for the kind of challenge you will face with the next boss, Bayle the Dread. Senessax, in terms of its movesets and attacks, is pretty similar to Ancient Dragon Fortissax, one of the optional bosses in Elden Ring's base game.

However, where Fortissax was easy to defeat due to his highly telegraphed attacks and easy-to-avoid AOEs, Senessax is relentless and incredibly ferocious with access to powerful lightning AOE attacks. Thankfully, if you unlock the Dragon Hunter's Great Katana before the boss fight, you can easily defeat Senessax, even without a summon.

Here's a comprehensive guide on how to defeat Ancient Dragon Senessax in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

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How to easily defeat Ancient Dragon Senessax in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Ancient Dragon Senessax can be found on the Foot of the Jagged Peak, which is technically an end-game section of the Elden Ring DLC. However, if you want to, you can access it pretty early in the game by completing the Dragon Pit dungeon. Additionally, it's in this dungeon that you will get the Dragon Hunter's Great Katana, which is an excellent weapon.

Anceint Dragon Senessax location in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Image via FromSoftware)

Not only does the Dragon Hunter's Great Katana scale very well with both Strength and Dexterity, but it also deals additional damage to Dragon/Drake-type enemies. The Ash of War on the weapon, the Dragonwound Slash serves as an excellent way to both dodge lightning attacks and immediately retaliate with an attack of your own.

Although Senessax doesn't have the Death Flame ability of Fortissax, it makes up for it with its sheer strength as well as resistance to damage. However, much like other Dragons in Elden Ring, Senessax is extremely weak to Bleed, which you can work into your build if you're having a hard time with the boss.

Here are some tips that should help you defeat Ancient Dragon Senessax in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree:

• While it is possible to avoid most of Senessax's attacks if you're on foot, being on Torrent is extremely helpful if you aren't confident with your dodge timings. You will, however, need to dismount occasionally, to deal a reposte or use your weapon's Ash of War, but for the most part, you can easily avoid all of Senessax's attacks by staying on Torrent.
• Unlike the usual Drakes that you've fought so far in Shadow of the Erdtree, the Ancient Dragons take quite a lot of damage on their hind legs and also the tail. Although the head is still the weakest part of the boss, you can get by completely fine if you stick to attacking its legs instead.
• Senessax always starts the boss fight with a short-range lightning AOE. Make sure you have some form of lightning resistance, be it via a Talisman, Crystal Tear, or any other consumable. This attack can be dodged quite easily by double jumping with Torrent or rolling inwards as soon as the lighting wave reaches you.
• Another big attack you need to look out for is the Lightning Spear, which releases two shockwaves, usually followed up by a fire breath volley. To avoid this, either use Torrent or you can dodge it by jumping right before the lighting wave reaches you.
• Another big tip that I can give you for this battle is to not lock onto the Ancient Dragon. The camera in Elden Ring, especially when it comes to giant bosses, has never been perfect, and it's still sadly the same case with Shadow of the Erdtree.

The build I used to defeat Ancient Dragon Senessax (Image via FromSoftware)

Once Ancient Dragon Senessax is defeated, you will be rewarded with 200,000 Runes, an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, and also a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. Additionally, defeating Senessax opens up the way to completing the final step of Igons' questline and the battle against Bayle the Dread.