Ancient Dragon Senessax is the final ancient dragon in the game, and the only one in the Shadow Realm. Between powerful lightning attacks, and expanded move set, and a huge health pool, Senessax is no pushover, requiring you to prove your mastery in fighting ancient dragons. Thankfully, we can help with that mastery; this guide should help you defeat Senessax (hopefully while keeping your eyebrows).
General Tips
Torrent is a must in this fight, as the extra mobility he provides helps you avoid the majority of Senessax’s attacks.
It is generally unwise to stay under Senessax, as many of his attacks will still damage you, especially with the added lightning splash to many attacks. Instead, staying behind Senessax and damaging its feet is usually the best strategy.
Similarly, almost all of Senessax’s moves attack in front of it. While you do have to back away often enough to deal with these attacks, you should wait to move in and get behind it until after an attack.
Like the base game Ancient Dragons, Latenna is a good choice for a summon, or Drake Warrior Igon if you have already acquired it. Their constant damage output can ensure you are still getting damage and stance pressure even as you are forced to back away.
Strategy
As you approach Ancient Dragon Senessax, you will be given plenty of chance to summon and buff before it awakens. By summoning Latenna or Igon and then giving yourself a damage buff, you will be setting yourself up for success. By the time Senessax awakens, you should already be on Torrent and riding up in order to take advantage of Senessax’s starting roar. Just make sure you are ready to start jumping if one of the initial lightning strikes is too close — all of Senessax’s lightning attacks have huge spreads after the initial blow, requiring you to either run away or jump over.
Torrent-jumping over lightning is almost essential to this fight
In general, Senessax can be quite an annoying fight. You want to get behind Senessax in order to deal damage to its legs, while Senessax has a variety of moves that can let it reposition or force you to back away. Between avoiding swipes, jumping over lightning, and Senessax’s flying moves, most of the fight will be chasing Senessax down and moving in order to get one or two hits behind the dragon (or maybe a lucky shot at the head).
That said, so long as you play patiently and avoid Senessax’s fastest moves (its Bite Attack, Lightning Slam, and Lightning Slam, all in front of it), you should be able to slowly whittle away at Senessax’s health.
You should always be trying to get behind Senessax
Beyond patience, Senessax is a relatively simple fight, and thankfully Senessax has a fairly limited amount of moves that are usually telegraphed quite immensely. If you are using Latenna, then you will also be able to keep up stance pressure, which should let you get a few critical strikes in. Between these strikes and the few hits you can get directly on Senessax’s legs, you should be able to finish off the Ancient Dragon before moving on to its master, Bayle the Dread.
Moveset
Lightning Roar: Senessax will always start with this attack. It roars into the air, causing lightning to hit several spots in the arena, with red sparks briefly showing before. After striking, lightning will spread in a wide area. If you are close to these sparks, get away from them, and be prepared to Torrent-jump over them.
Lightning Spear: Senessax will lift up, holding either one or two spears of red lightning in his hands. He will then crash down, dealing damage and causing a wave of lightning to spread out. This attack has a long telegraph, so you should run away. If you find yourself close enough after the lightning lands, be ready to Torrent-jump over it.
Lightning Swipe: Senessax will swipe in front of it, following by a burst of lightning shooting out over a long distance in front. You should immediately back away when you see this attack coming, and be ready to Torrent-jump over the lightning.
Lightning Slam: Senessax will quickly raise his hand and then slam it down right in front of him, also causing a burst of lightning to shoot out from it. You should avoid being close to Senessax’s front, and if you are, be ready to shift your movement to get to the opposite side of Senessax’s attack and to Torrent-jump over the lightning burst.
Huge Lightning Slam: Senessax will lift its front legs into the air, then smash down with them, dealing huge damage and causing a burst of lightning. When you see Senessax back onto its hind legs, run, and then be ready to Torrent-jump over the large lightning burst.
Fire Breath: Senessax will breath fire toward you. Like most dragons, simply running to the side ahead of the fire will keep you away from it.
Aerial Fire Breath: Senessax will fly into the air, then shoot fire in front of it while backing away. Simply ride in the opposite direction to avoid the fire, and when it stops you can manuever around it to close the distance.
Bite Attack: Senessax will bite twice in front of it. Riding away or dodge-rolling when it bites will save you from damage. Senessax uses this as a “get off me” move.
Aerial Attack: Senessax will leap into the air, hover for a moment, then crash down. Watch where Senessax goes in the air and simply run in the opposite direction, as this will cause it to miss.
Tail Swipe: If you are behind Senessax, it may attempt to tail-swipe you. If you notice Senessax winding up, run away. If you are too close when it is about to attack, a Torrent-Jump can sometimes save you.
Wing Buffet: Senessax will flap its wings three times, buffeting the ground. This move can stun a player below Senessax, but not damage them. Avoiding being underneath Senessax in general is the most useful strategy.
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Graves
Graves is an avid writer, web designer, and gamer, with more ideas than he could hope to achieve in a lifetime. But, armed with a mug of coffee and an overactive imagination, he'll try. When he isn't working on a creative project, he is painting miniatures, reading cheesy sci-fi novels, or making music.
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