During your early hours of gameplay, you will likely encounter the Endtree Burial Watchdog, or a variation of it — a humanoid-looking feline of some sort, with an unnerving aura in both its physical appearance and rigid movements.
Each non-boss variant will have different setups and HP, but they all look and behave identically to the boss variants. The Endtree Burial Watchdog, alongside its many boss and non-boss variations, acts as a guardian for the various catacombs in The Lands Between.
Defeating any Endtree Burial Watchdogs, found in Stormfoot Catacomb, Impaler’s Catacombs, Wyndham Catacombs, Cliffbottom Catacombs, and the Minor Erdtree Catacombs, is optional. However, the experience of defeating the boss and the rewards that follow make it a worthwhile boss fight.
Endtree Burial Watchdog Overview
Hit Points:
On your first playthrough, all boss variations of the Endtree Burial Watchdog will have around 1185 HP.
Types of Damage:
Endtree Burial Watchdog deals Standard, Slash, Strike, Magic, Fire, and Lightning Damage.
Weaknesses:
Endtree Burial Watchdog is weak to striking weapons.
Weapons:
The Endtree Burial Watchdog wields a large sword in its right hand, using its tail as a weapon now and then. It also breathes flames out of its mouth, albeit occasionally. The Lightening variant of the Endtree Burial Watchdog hauls large balls of electricity out of its mouth instead of flames, while the Staff variant wields a staff instead of a sword.
Parrying the boss:
All of Endtree Burial Watchdog’s sword attacks can be parried. Since its attacks are mostly slow and can be easily telegraphed, it would be best to dodge and block rather than parry. The caveat, however, is that to do so, you will have to place yourself within an inch of the boss at all times, making you vulnerable to a potential quick horizontal swing attack.
Main Attack Pattern:
Endtree Burial Watchdog will alternate between thrusting, slashing, swiping, and spinning its sword violently towards you. It will mix up its attacks with frequent fire breaths, tail slams, and ground slams, which can deal devastating damage if you are caught in the Area of Effect.
Combos:
Most of Endtree Burial Watchdog’s combos are sluggish and easily avoidable. It will often opt to float and slam the ground three times in quick succession. Other than that, its combos typically consist of a mix of its standard sword or staff attacks, performed at a slightly quicker rate.
Special Attacks:
- Spinning Attack: Endtree Burial Watchdog places its sword on the ground and furiously drags it across the ground in a spinning motion, resulting in a surprisingly long-range attack.
- Electric Blast: The Lightning variant of Endtree Burial Watchdog can launch large balls of electricity at you or your summoned spirits.
- Sorcery of the Crozier: The Staff variant of Endtree Burial Watchdog can summon many magic projectiles that lock onto targets and deal lethal damage if they connect.
- Levitating Cleave: While this attack’s normal and Lightning variants are fairly dangerous, they are no match to the explosive Staff variant. In this attack, the Endtree Burial Watchdog levitates for a few seconds, then plunges its sword or staff into the ground, creating a massive Area of Effect.
- Flaming Breath: While it sounds dangerous, it is abundantly easy to avoid due to the slow rotation speed of Endtree Burial Watchdog during this attack. The boss will continuously, albeit slowly, spin around as it breathes flames directly in front of him.
Pre-fight Preparation
Ranged Builds Should Summon Spirit Ashes with a High HP
Since you will be keeping your distance at all times, you will want a spirit that can keep the Endtree Burial Watchdog preoccupied for as long as possible before perishing, allowing you to comfortably strike from afar with little to no risk of retaliation. Spirit Jellyfish would be our ideal pick for this boss fight since it has a high HP and can deal major damage.
You can find Spirit Jellyfish in Stormhill Shack. Find the lady in the red hood inside the shack and talk to her a few times.
The Jellyfish is also immensely helpful in defeating Margrit, The Fell Omen, one of the first “Great Enemies” you will encounter in the game.
Melee Builds Should Apply Glintstone Arch to Titir Weapon
Ranged ashes of war, such as Glintstone Arch, will allow you to strike the Endtree Burial Watchdog from afar, even as a melee player. It removes a good chunk of the risk that comes with melee builds without altering the very core of the build itself.
Melee Builds Should Summon Fast or High Damaging Spirit Ashes
High damaging spirit ashes, such as Northern Mercenary Ashes, will quickly chip away at the Endtree Burial Watchdog’s HP, hopefully accelerating the overall damage dealt with the boss. Whereas fast spirit ashes, such as Lone Wolf Ashes, can keep the Endtree Burial Watchdog distracted for longer, as they can dodge and maneuver around its attacks.
Melee Builds Should Equip a Good Shield
Some of Endtree Burial Watchdog’s close-range attacks are rapid and can catch you off-guard during the fight. It is best to be prepared for the worst and equip a decent shield, hopefully negating any potential high damage the Endtree Burial Watchdog has.
Casters Should Use Glintstone Stars
While it takes longer to cast, Glintstone Stars should come in very handy for your fight with Endtree Burial Watchdog, as it can deal a lot of damage at once. As long as you do not spam it, it should make defeating the Endtree Burial Watchdog a bit easier.
Fight Strategy
Melee Players
Bait into Ground Slams
Endtree Burial Watchdog will spend a second or two standing still after every ground slam attack, making him highly vulnerable to a single heavy attack or a couple of quick attacks.
Focus on Performing Heavy Attacks
Heavy attacks will eat away rapidly at the Endtree Burial Watchdog’s HP, making them a highly efficient and effective form of attacking.
Do Not Be Greedy
The consequences of sustaining damage from the Endtree Burial Watchdog can be devastating at times. Therefore, you should limit yourself to a hit or two once you find an opening and immediately retreat.
Be Wary of When the Boss Stands Up on Its Hind Legs
When the Endtree Burial Watchdog stands up on its hind legs, it usually means that it is about to perform a 5-hit combo with its sword or staff, meaning that you should immediately step out of its reach but not too far, as you will have a prime opportunity for a heavy attack right after the end of the combo.
Be Wary of When the Boss Faces Away from You
This will typically spell the start of the Endtree Burial Watchdog’s tail slam attack, so make sure to dodge away as soon as it turns away from you.
Be Patient
You can easily defeat the Endtree Burial Watchdog in three or four heavy attacks if you bide your time and strike during opportune moments. It might take a while, but it is a safe and sure way of defeating the Endtree Burial Watchdog with no discernible hassle.
Ranged Players
Keep Your Distance
As a ranged build, you will want to maintain a good distance between you and the boss to avoid potential damage.
Refrain from Blocking the Boss’ Attacks
If you find yourself at the mercy of one of the Endtree Burial Watchdog’s devastating attacks, dodge away from it rather than attempting to block it, as it will chop off a large chunk of your stamina and can easily bypass your shield.
Use Your Powerful Casts or Projectiles Sparingly
If you find yourself unable to line up a good shot with your powerful cast or projectile, refrain from potentially wasting your valuable ammo and opt for a standard shot. Any wasted powerful shots will further elongate your fight with the Endtree Burial Watchdog.
Spam Your Standard Projectiles or Casts
You will want to maintain a near-constant stream of shots directed at the Endtree Burial Watchdog, especially while preoccupied with the spirit ashes. This is a highly efficient way of chipping away at the boss’ health that it cannot counter quickly enough due to its slow and cumbersome movement.
Rewards
Depending on where you encountered and defeated the Endtree Burial Watchdog, you will receive a set number of Runes, as low as 1,300 and as high as 12,000 Runes.
Defeating the non-boss variant of the Endtree Burial Watchdog, the Lesser Burial Watchdog will grant you 3,712 Runes and a meager chance of obtaining a Watchdog’s Greatsword.
Again, depending on where the Endtree Burial Watchdog was encountered and defeated, you’ll receive one of many items. They are as follows:
- Noble Sorcerer Ashes in Stormfoot Catacombs;
- Demi-Human Ashes in Impaler’s Catacombs;
- Kaiden Sellsword Ashes in Cliffbottom Catacombs;
- Clovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [1] in Wyndham Catacombs;
- Mad Pumpkin Itad Ashes in Minor Erdtree Catacombs;
