Elden Ring DLC: Scadutree Avatar location, weakness, and how to beat in Shadow of the Erdtree

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The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC hides quite a few of its major "Remembrance" bosses off the beaten path, and one you might miss entirely unless you explore the Land of Shadow thoroughly is the Scadutree Avatar. Though this gigantic sunflower entity isn't terribly difficult or complex compared to some of the expansion's other bosses, it still has a few moves that may catch players off guard.

In this boss guide, I'll go over everything you need to know about the fight with the Scadutree Avatar. This includes the location of the boss itself, a list of its weaknesses and some general tips that will help you prepare to face it, and a full overview of its entire moveset and how you can avoid taking damage as you bring it down.

Scadutree Avatar location

The location of the Scadutree Avatar in the Land of Shadow. (Image credit: Windows Central)

To fight the Scadutree Avatar, you'll first need to find it in Elden Ring. Luckily, once you know where it is, it's actually pretty easy to reach. The Scadutree Avatar is located beneath the Shadow Keep Legacy Dungeon in northern Scadu Altus, and can only be reached by going down an elevator in the northeastern part of its Church District section.

You can get to the Church District by going across the bridges east of Bonny Village, then north up the path towards the Shadow Keep. From the Site of Grace you'll get at its entrance, you'll then need to platform across the rooftops and rafters of the flooded buildings until you reach a ladder that leads to the mechanism that drains the water. Once that's done, you can safely drop down to ground level — make sure you grab the Sunken Chapel Site of Grace from the structure to the south — and head into the large church with the Marika statue in it, then take a right to find the room with the elevator.

Scadutree Avatar weakness and tips

Ice Spear is one of the best ranged Ashes of War to use against the Scadutree Avatar. (Image credit: Windows Central)

These general suggestions and tips will help you prepare for the fight with the Scadutree Avatar.

• As with all bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree, coming back later after you've collected more Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes can help quite a bit. The attack and defense boosts you and your spirit summons get from these make a huge impact.
• The Scadutree Avatar is weak to Fire and Magic, so try to incorporate these damage types into your strategy if possible. This can be accomplished with spells, both spell and consumable-based weapon buffs, throwables, and weapon infusions.
• Summoning one of the best Spirit Ashes or specifically one that uses Fire or Magic attacks is a good idea. Mimic Tear and Black Knife Tiche never fail, but Fire Monk Ashes, one of the new Fire Knight spirits from the DLC, or any solid glintstone sorcerer spirit will work great too.
• The boss primarily deals Physical damage, though also uses some Holy attacks too. Wear armor and use talismans that boost your resistances to these damage types like the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman or the Haligdrake Talisman, as well as spells and consumables that do the same.
• All of the boss' thorn-based damage also builds up the Bleed status effect. You can resist Bleed by wearing armor with high Robustness like the General Radahn Set, or by boosting this stat with certain talismans and consumables. Stanching Boluses can also be used to alleviate current Bleed buildup.
• The Scadutree Avatar's "head" is its weak point, and takes significantly more damage when hit there. Therefore, I strongly recommend focusing your offensive efforts on it.
• Having a good ranged Ash of War on your weapon like Ice Spear, Spectral Lance, or Beast Roar can help you hit the boss' weak spot if you're struggling to. This won't be a problem at all for casters, but can occasionally be for melee builds, so Ashes of War like these give you a fallback option.

Boss guide: How to beat Scadutree Avatar

Always make sure you're targeting the Scadutree Avatar's head.  (Image credit: Windows Central)

• The Scadutree Avatar typically tries to smash or sweep at you with its "arms," though may also try to jab at you with its head. Rolling in any direction will work for the arm swings, though you'll be caught by the head jabs if you roll backwards. Rolling forwards is the best way to ensure you'll be able to hit the head between attacks.
• When you first enter the arena, the boss will use its arms to swipe forward and send lines of thorns at you. Roll forwards just as these are about to hit you.
• A common combo the boss does involves it twisting its body and arms to the right to wind up, then swinging them at you in two wide 360-degree sweeps. Dodge through both swings and you'll be rewarded with a great opportunity to get hits on its head in.
• Another noteworthy four-hit combo sees the Scadutree Avatar lift its arms into the air and attempt to smash you with three consecutive slams, followed by a final delayed one that creates a small area-of-effect in the impact zone. Dodge forward for the first three, then wait a second before doing so again for the final strike. You'll end up right by the boss' head as it's recovering, making this another excellent attack to punish.
• One of the Scadutree Avatar's trickier moves is one in which it swipes at you with its right arm from its left side, then keeps that arm back behind it before attempting to smash you with it. The attacks themselves are easy to roll, but you may be tricked into thinking you can punish the first one, causing the second one to hit you while you're swinging your weapon or casting. The specific tell for this combo is the right arm swing from the left side, so watch for that and wait until you roll the second attack before going for damage.
• If the boss jabs both of its arms into the ground, it will create a field of thorns that burst from the ground after a short delay. Roll forward as the thorns come up; note that the ones closer to the boss emerge sooner than the ones farther away from it.
  • This move often combos into one in which the boss reaches its head extremely high into the air and charges it with Holy energy before it "blooms," spawning several Holy projectiles that then fly at you. Dodge horizontally several times just as these projectiles start to reach you to stay safe.
• If the Scadutree Avatar raises its head over you while it's glowing, it's about to try and land it on you to perform a powerful grab attack. Dodge left, right, or backwards as it does to save yourself, then follow up with a few hits while the head is on the ground.
• Once you reduce the boss' HP to zero, it will collapse and expose a weak spot; make sure you land a critical hit on this. I'll explain why below, because we're not done...

Scadutree Avatar Phase 2

When the boss rears its head back like this, it's about to perform its triple charge attack. (Image credit: Windows Central)

If you were like me and thought the fight was too easy as the boss fell, don't worry — that was just Phase 1. The boss will emerge from the arena's murky waters once more to begin Phase 2, though notably, a quarter of its health will be gone if you landed that critical hit at the end of Phase 1. In this phase, it upgrades one of its attacks and gains a new one.

• Phase 2 will begin with a new attack in which the boss pulls its head back, then surges forward and attempts to ram you three times. Dodge through the boss each time it's about to hit you to avoid damage.
• The double 360-degree sweep combo now ends with a slam similar to the one from the four-hit combo. Remember to roll this extra attack, and adjust when you go to punish this combo accordingly.
• Again, the boss will expose a crit spot when its health is depleted, so make sure you land the riposte. By doing this, you'll get the bonus damage on its third and final phase just like you did for this one.

Scadutree Avatar Phase 3

When the boss charges itself to this point, that's about when you'll want to dodge. (Image credit: Windows Central)

One last phase! In this final stage of the fight, the Scadutree Avatar will get one new Holy-based attack that's very deadly and tough to avoid. However, that move also gives you an absolutely massive opening for damage if you roll towards the boss while dodging it.

• The only new attack — likely the one Phase 3 will start with — sees the Scadutree Avatar stretch into the air and charge itself with Holy light before exploding when that light is at its brightest, sending out a massive Holy shockwave. Depending on how far away you are from the boss when it does this, you may be able to sprint out of the explosion's radius; the safest bet, though, is to roll towards the boss as the explosion happens to avoid damage with your iframes.
  • The boss will then collapse to the ground for several seconds, giving you a gigantic window of opportunity for follow-up damage.
  • If the blinding light covering the boss doesn't go away after the first explosion, it means two more quick blasts will occur momentarily. Be careful and watch for this telegraph that the attack isn't over yet each time the boss does this move.

Once you deplete the Scadutree Avatar's health a third time, it will fall and finally stay down, signaling the end of the fight and your victory. As a reward for your persistence, you'll receive the Remembrance of the Shadow Sunflower, as well as Miquella's Great Rune — an item that will come in handy later in your journey through the Land of Shadow.

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The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is finally here, and it makes one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of all time even better. It's out now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and Windows PC for $39.99.