How to beat Ancient Dragon Senessax in Elden Ring Shadow of Erdtree DLC

Ancient Dragons in Elden Ring are no joke on the battlefield. Ancient Dragon Sennessax in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is an absolute house, with red lightning and powerful claw attacks in spades. Let’s take him down a peg.

Where to find Ancient Dragon Senessax in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Ancient Dragon Sennessax is waiting for you near the top of Jagged Peak in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, specifically close to the Dragon Peak Mountainside Site of Grace. He has his own chamber about halfway up to the mountain, making it hard to miss as you climb toward Bayle.

If you haven’t gotten to the mountain yet, go through Moorth Ruins and keep heading east. This area below the ruins is filled with plenty of upgrades for Dragon casters, as well as a large dragon-focused questline.

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

Ancient Dragon Sennesax has a few major problems, making him a very difficult fight.

• Electric Shockwaves: On almost all of his attacks, electricity arcs through the water enveloping most of the battlefield. Depending on the strength of his attack, you can expect the ground-covering shockwave to even reach his rear legs.
• Quick spinning swipe: If you think you’re safe at his rear legs, think again. He can spin and claw you very quickly.
• Very high damage, especially to torrent: Ancient Dragon Sennesax hits very hard, even at higher Scadutree Blessing numbers. Making a single mistake can easily cost you half of your health bar. And, if Torrent takes the hit, it’s easy for your horse to get double-tapped and leave you writhing on the floor.

Here are a few ways to make the fight much easier for you.

• Joust him. While riding Torrent, get a fair distance from him so he starts power-walking toward you. Then, ride back in and strike his hind legs a few times. Coming at him from the front triggers him to do a front-facing attack, like a claw swipe, claw pound, or fire breath. If you don’t get hit on the initial ride-in by telling Torrent to sprint past, you can easily rack up 1,000 or more damage. Then, ride away before he turns with a swipe. Repeat this process while paying close attention to the ground for spare electric AoEs. It’s important to keep Torrent healthy to prevent you from dying if you eat a stray attack during this process.
• Use solid land to your advantage. There’s a small corner of non-wet land in the back of the fight. If you want, you can ride Torrent there, dismount, and deal with the dragon without worrying as much about the massive shockwaves. The attacks still blast outwards, but the Ancient Dragon’s back legs tend to be much safer during most attacks.
• Low-commitment jump attacks. Being able to hop lets you dodge the most dangerous part of most of Sennessax’s attacks. Especially if you plan on hitting back legs, a quick jump attack from a Katana or Fist weapon can let you get ready for his next move without worrying about stray lightning catching you.
• Close-ranged summons. If you choose to use summons, we recommend using ones that stay close to the dragon. If they pull aggro for you, you want Senessax to not use his massive Lightning Strike at a bad time, or using a diving flame breath that can chew through health. A close-range summon makes him significantly more predictable and makes it easier to get at his rear legs. Do be ready to endure more of his wing flaps if you choose to bring a summon along. We recommend bringing a dragon slayer, like Fire Knight Queelign or Jolán and Anna.

Rewards for killing Ancient Dragon Senessax

Once you chip away at Sennessax, you get rewarded with 200,000 Runes, an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, and a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. While you don’t necessarily need to take out Sennessax to get to the biggest and most vile dragon of the DLC, it’s a good warm-up for what a dangerous foe Bayle is.