So I'm trying to take care of these giant tree things in the eastern forest before proceeding with the main quest, and it's going... poorly. I have yet to have an encounter in which the tree doesn't one-shot me with Tremor I, even if I take down his Concentration buff first.
EDIT: Found a way to approach the tree from behind, which helps, but still doesn't solve the problem with them one-shotting me... :/
EDIT2: WTF, it regenerates its saplings?! AND heals every turn?!
Hm? I'm pretty sure as long as you route around it there shouldn't be a quest that's directly tied to the White Oak. If you are talking about the Darkness In The Woods quest, that's for a Low Demon that's further back in the forest. White Oak's pretty dang strong (and not necessary for progression), I wouldn't really recommend fighting him unless you can 1 or 2 shot the saplings with a critical Slash.
I haven't gotten that quest yet, I was just trying to explore side areas before progressing with the main quest. Good instinct as it turns out, I found another star metal. I don't think I can take on the demon or the tree yet, though... is there anything else I need to do before crossing the big scary point that says "This will irreversibly progress the story"?
Eastern Forest is a mid/lategame area and the tree monsters walk slowly out of combat so you can sneak around them.
Also, unless it's a boss, a humanoid enemy, or necessary to clear a path, it's generally better to avoid fights since combat doesn't award EXP and non-boss non-humanoids don't drop anything to my knowledge.
That damn tree is also a good collar target to build tempo on a run.
