How to Dodge Malenia's Waterfowl Dance? - A Detailed Dodge Guide, Dodge the Undodgeable Super Attack

[@TPhGames]

I hope you find this dodge guide useful. It's really a complex boss. If you have further questions, feel free to ask. (New comments are (over time) easier to see in contrast to replies to an old existing comment). Also let me know if you defeated her and how your experience was. PS: 4K resolution is available now. I grinded the boss fight for like 15 hours and I still can't beat the whole fight no damage taken, but getting I'm close. First Phase I often complete no damage taken, but in phase 2 I always do some mistakes.

[@Chaoblahippo]

man this is realy bs. first time i got genuily tired of a boss after demon prince in ds3

[@spookyjohn6543]

The fact theres alot of guides just on how to dodge an attack really says alot about this fight.

[@TPhGames]

yes it's a terrible attack =/ They should reduce the tracking of the first dash at least.

[@backstab_bro]

if this attack could be interrupted with any jump attack, that fight would be a lot more balanced

[@giuseppecervelli3845]

At a certain point this attack becomes the only difficulty of the fight if you dont figure out how to avoid it

[@alexandergray5977]

Not fight, the fight is a 10/10, the attack ruins the entire thing tho :/

[@Ghorda9]

@@alexandergray5977 light and medium rolls got buffed, you can dodge at close range without messing with the tracking but there still is a trick to it.

[@IRaul]

this boss is so hard you need a 12 minute tutorial for 1 attack

[@TPhGames]

haha yes 😅 I practices dodging that stupid attack for hours. It's terrible

[@DNephilim]

Which is the only attack that makes this fight hard

[@daviddamasceno6063]

My first run I was faith/dex with Treespear and Fingerprint Stone Shield. At the time it was possible to reach 100 guard boost so I abused that a lot. But not only Malenia has high Holy damage reduction, blocking her attacks also grants her heal, so very bad strategy. Ended up beating her with help from other players. Never had to deal with Waterfowl Dance. Second playthrough, many months later, I played a high int full caster. Night Comet was my best friend, since enemies won't detect it. Double night comet with Mimic Tear was more than enough to keep a constant flow of damage while staying out of her reach. Also didn't have to deal with Waterfowl Dance. Third playthrough, faith/str build, end game equip being Blasphemous Blade and Haligtree Crest Shield. Taker's Flames knocks her down and deal a lot of damage. Double that with Mimic tear. She barely could fight at all. Had to deal with Waterfowl Dance maybe once and got lucky rolls. So yeah, maybe I'm just cheap, but I never got to actually have to learn how to dodge the damn move, and I'm fine with that. She is a total BS boss so whatever strategy you can come up to beat her is valid in my book. But I do admire a lot the effort of much better players than I that actually go to the lengths of learning every single move and fight her fair. To all you true legends, my most sincere congratulations!

[@JohnnysGoldenFiddle]

This is far and away the most useful guide on how to dodge waterfowl dance

[@paetrpeter]

Thank you for this - seeing the multiple stage breakdowns in different speeds is super helpful. I can get so close to beating her when I can interrupt this attack with a Hemorrhage, but it just deletes me when I don't.

[@TPhGames]

Happy you found this breakdown helpful. Good luck and much success in your fight!

[@rehkitz3583]

Thank you so much. I beated her after one week without any summons or ashes of war. For a complete beginner in the souls series, i am very proud of myself and you cant imagie how i was shaking the moment i got her! 😂 Thanks to your guide❤

[@TPhGames]

Sorry for the late answer 😅 Really well done and I'm glad my guide helped you. One of the toughest bosses (if not the toughest) in Souls for sure (it depends a bit on preference, situation and build, etc). So you can be proud to beat her like that. This attack is also not well designed. It should not take a guide like this (and me grinding this attack for 15+ hours) to overcome it. Playing without summons here is a huge challenge. I "recently" (few weeks ago) beat her in my Level 1 Run (also without parry, no shield, no summons, no ashes) on stream and it was quite tough 😂 I was completely out of training dodging it. As a result it took me 17 to 20 hours to beat her. So I can relate, that final try I had to dodge 5 Waterfowl Dances and nearly died a few times. I still want to grind Level 1 no damage taken.

[@ricardopillay5771]

This guide was super useful. I've seen many videos explaining the point blank dodge but never explaining it like you do.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^ I really tried my best to explain it. I also noticed at some point, that you can circle without sprinting if you start moving early enough, which is even very consistent for me. Only if you are very late on the dodge, e.g. because you were still in an attack animation, then you have to sprint to get behind her enough, it's really tricky then.

[@issacu7304]

Classic Fromosftware enjoyer: 6:52. Thank you for the guide 🖐️

[@TPhGames]

haha no problem, hope it was helpful 😄

[@maculagravy]

the fromsoft foot polygon count finally coming in handy

[@wilhelmesguerra7095]

Trying to beat her right now (version 1.07) and in phase 1 she literally did it 4 times, with her health not even having reached 50%. The first two times she did it in a row without any normal attacks in between. Maybe she got mad I completely dodged the first one 😂

[@steamedhamlet]

I felt that too! It's like if you have a high damage output or DPS she gets mad and does it until she breaks you and saps you of all hope!

[@cuterancesama628]

I think That she uses this attack at 70-80% health first time and if she is able to heal by hitting the player And again reach that 70-80% mark, she will do it again

[@bajroslatina496]

First of all, thank you for explaining it in such detail, I've tried it, and successfully felled her after a few hours. I'm also very glad you're not acting in a gatekeeping way like some of the people I asked for the advice. I'd just like to add to the discussion about the waterfowl dance. This is my first ever "soulslike" game and my 1st playthrough. I have decided to play 100% blindly except for the quests, since I've been missing some NPCs in Limgrave. Basically, I didn't skip any bosses, downed them all by myself with no summons or co-op, after more or less time, but the essence is - it is manageable with trial and error, even the whole Malenia fight, except only for this single move. That tells a lot about how out of place it is, that I have to watch KZbin videos for a single attack.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you, glad you liked it and that it helped you ^^ Yes I completely agree. It's out of place. To find out how to dodge it when the game came out, I practiced and experimented for like 15 hours, including recording the attack and looking at it in slow motion. It's just unnecessary.

[@bajroslatina496]

@@TPhGames That's an admirable dedication to a goal and I'm very appreciative of your kindness to share your hard earned knowledge with us. People who downed her when the game was fresh are the true gigachads xD

[@Raxerm]

I like the multiple solutions and tips granted in this video. I already switched out Radagon's Soreseal on my own, but I'm sure someone needed to hear that, so I think it was a good inclusion.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^ Yes for sure. I tried some different talismans and noticed that I suddenly survived her grab attack and received far less damage overall. Soi thought it's a good hint for this video too.

[@marcuslaurence8528]

Thank you so much! I'm at 195 tries and having a ton of fun! That first dash is really tough to dodge, so this in-depth guide is very helpful. Now I'm prepared for even more fun

[@TPhGames]

glad it helped you ^^ Much fun with your further playthrough

[@BobaTheFett_zak]

I played a game where she literally did waterfowl dance 5 times in a row without any other attacks in-between. I couldn’t believe it.

[@TPhGames]

haha OK that is unfortunate. I have seen it 3-times in a row, but it#s extremely rare - at least if you play melee. She does not far more often, if you attack her with ranged attacks.

[@mister_anomaly]

I have almost 10 playthroughs under my belt by this point but I never fought her 1V1 seriously before because of this move, it wasn't worth it for me, but now I'm trying to do it just for the experience. She is my favorite character and part of the lore and it made me sad to see how the devs handled her as a boss because she's so close to being great. Oh well, thank you for this guide friend, I'll continue practicing until I get it done!

[@basvangeest5485]

Good thing then that she’s probably not dead yet and you’ll likely have another chance to fight her as a true godess of rot.

[@thecrasher4142]

Really helpful guide ❤✌️ even though i managed to beat her this morning legit for the first time 🥳

[@TPhGames]

Congrats and thank you ^^

[@NatePerdomo]

Thorough info communicated with excellency. This is perfect. Thank you.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you as well. Glad you liked the guide 👍

[@roizvoid7843]

Thank you so much for this guide, i had a hard time trying to beat malenia solo using only the star fist solely due to this attack.

[@TPhGames]

no problem, glad it was helpful 😄 Yes Waterfowl Dance is a terrible attack. They should reduce the tracking of the first dash.

[@jaykelley103]

Tysm for showing how to dodge the attack close up without doing the turn off lock on trick like the other guides do. I probably died to waterfowl three dozen times trying to do it by locking off, but i would freeze up or take too long and not be able to get around her. With your strat i dodged it up close first try. Thank you again bro ❤

[@TPhGames]

Glad to hear ^^ Yes I feel running away can be also a bit inconsistent. You often still get hit lightly and you need to be on low equip load I think. Very impressive, that you got the close range dodge first try 😮 It's imo quite tough timing wise. Though the later you start moving, the more difficult it becomes. I guess i explained it well 😂

[@keithv2]

Thank you so much for doing this guide! It's easily the most complete explanation I've found, where most guides just explain your first method and assume you're at a safe distance when the attack starts. I've been fighting her for 2 hours at this point and I'd say 75% of my deaths so far involve me being in right under her when she initiates this attack. Your descriptions of other dodging methods might just carry me to victory. Well, that and Tiche.

[@TPhGames]

Glad to hear that you found it helpful. I wish you much success and good luck! I assume most people who made a guide did not grind this fight for 20+ hours 😂

[@DeadManProp]

This actually works quite well once you practice for a bit. Thank you.

[@p90590]

This is the most complete guide to this dance I’ve seen yet.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^ A few things are I found out since I made this guide are missing though: - There is a weird back roll dodge, that is possible; not sure how consistent it is yet. - And you can cancel Waterfowl Dance with one Freezing Pot (as long as Malenia has no frostbite state). This works 2 (or 3?) times instantly, then you need an additional pot to freeze her. - Also there is this lock the camera out and circle around her move to close range dodge WFD. It seems to be more consistent than my method.

[@alric8940]

This attack made what would have been a perfect fight into what might be the worst fight in the game

[@TPhGames]

Yes agreed =/ I guess once you get it down, the fight becomes cool, but the way to that point, is just too long and frustrating even for Souls.

[@alric8940]

@@TPhGames agreed I am able to pretty consistently cancel her dance with my frost bombs (which I also do with her clone attack I don’t like that one either but not as much as waterfowl) but you have to have really good timing 1 extra roll or drink form your flask and you are screwed You may be happy to hear that I have successfully beat her legit twice as if this comment

[@TPhGames]

Oh that is an interesting technique as well. Nice to hear. Congrats and well done ^^ (Unfortunately I look far too infrequent into the comments here, esp. over the holidays 😅)

[@supersaint385]

It always seems that the game can sense when your doing good because i had an excellent attempt and taken pretty much no damage except from a few minor attacks but nothing huge then she done Waterfowl 3 times in a row i mostly dodged them all and then followed up with nonstop attack chain for near on 20 seconds and i didn't even get a hit in she eventually killed me due to me running out of stamina while in the nonstop attack chain dude like that is nuts

[@kotok9236]

Your detailed explanations clarified my mind. Thank you! There were a lot of "how to dodge" videos on the internet easy to watch, but it was really hard for me to get the idea of what input is actually required until now, especially right before the third swirl. I appreciate it. I'm struggling in this boss fight because of the dances. The camera spins too much. I get panicked, scratch damaged and killed. I hope it saves me.

[@TPhGames]

Good luck! Hope my videos helps. Yes the camera spin really is a problem. It often had me dodging in thee wrong direction when I started practicing this. Waterfowl Dance is really annoying and has too much tracking on the first dash. Also when you fighter on higher terrain in the boss arena, you can also get into trouble during her last dash.

[@GothicEU]

This helped me beat Malenia on a RL1 run! Thanks so much for this guide

[@TheIceMan9304]

Best explanation I've found on KZbin so far.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^ Glad you found it helpful.

[@eduardoconde5134]

This is the best explanetion of this attack, I have seen many videos but gooosh, your advices are so good and You are very goood teaching all the details of her attack

[@TPhGames]

Thank you much appreciated :) I hope it helps people dealing with this annoying attack.

[@djukafox]

You can also block the first string of attacks and then roll into her and then roll back immediatelly. I did it like that because I was rarely out of her range to be able to just avoid the first string of attacks.

[@meatballs9327]

My man you need to get highlighted, the quality of this video is surprisingly S tier

[@TPhGames]

Thank you much appreciated ^^ (sorry for eh late answer)

[@mac-ec8do]

Another downside to blocking is she still manages to heal from all the hits you're taking

[@snaccpacc651]

This will be super helpful, really struggling with waterfowl on my current challenge run. I've had her hit 3 of them in first phase at one point.

[@hakimonn]

Actually cold proc cancels her Flurry as well. Throw a Freezing Pot at her and she goes down lol. However this works only 2 times per fight. Also you don't have to use Turtle Shield at RL1. There are other %100 physical negation shields like Brass Shield. Use that instead if you want to use Barricade Shield. Another AoW you can use for your shield is Vow of Indomitable. Can be used to avoid all the flurries and she won't get healed as if you would block with Barricade Shield.

[@TPhGames]

Good to know ^^ I assumed it worked too, but did not remember (also tried her early on with a cold proc sword). The reason I picked the turtle shield was that it gives Stamina Regeneration (so a lot of people might find it interesting) and it's really easy to get, so I went with that. But ofc other shields would work as well. Vow of Indomitable is a good hint too.

[@hakimonn]

@@TPhGames Turtle Shield was a good pick pre-nerf. But since the physical negation is lower now, i think it's better to go with a %100 physical negation shield if your intend is to block the first flurry. Can always craft Pickled Turtle Neck for stamina regen if you are into that. But obviously you can keep it offhand just to get stamina regen if you are not gonna use it for blocking.

[@gwynbleidd1917]

@@hakimonn thats a terrible strategy because she gains health every time you block, regardless if you take damage. You're better off using bloodhound step, or vow of indomitable

[@hakimonn]

@@gwynbleidd1917 I didn't mean to block the entire combo. You can block the first flurry and dodge the second and third. As demonstrated in this video. It's not a bad strategy at all. Easy and accesible for most builds.

[@gwynbleidd1917]

@@hakimonn except that you're literally healing her every time you block. It's literally a bad strategy, regardless of your delusions.

[@thebluntcrab5407]

Can confirm that she can do 2 times in a row in second phase

[@TPhGames]

Really unfortunate 😅 As said in the video, I had it it almost 2 times in a row. I think she did a kick or something in between. Can be really unfun.

[@thebluntcrab5407]

@@TPhGames yeah me and buddy were trying to use anything besides RoB to kill her and we almost had it too but if she didn’t do the waterfowl dance twice we would’ve probably gotten it lol

[@TPhGames]

wow that sounds devastating =/ Yes Rob is basically her hard counter 😅 It's a ridiculously strong weapon

[@thebluntcrab5407]

@@TPhGames I just found out with a lot of buffs and the raptor feathers claw talisman, Millicent prothesis and rotten winged talisman, and lord of blood exultation with white mask while using dual godskin peelers one with frost and one with seppuku makes short work of her

[@jamesa1995]

she did it 3 times for me once

[@neaar.8504]

Really appreciate the effort you made on this video. Thank you.

[@TPhGames]

No problem, glad you liked it and found it helpful!

[@owenmaxwell734]

Melania is what it feels like to fight Isshin from sekiro without: deflect, shinobi tools, mikiri counter .......

[@michaelrasputin2048]

Even still year later, this is very helpful thank you so much. I find that with no summon just you and her fighting is way more fun :)

[@TPhGames]

no problem, glad people find the video so helpful ^^ Yes once you can deal with Waterfowl Dance it becomes a lot more fun fighting her

[@sixo743]

Really good video, extremly clear, precise and nice to the ears. Thank you lots !

[@nuclearether7485]

this is the best video on this attack I've seen, tysm

[@TPhGames]

Thank you :) Glad it was helpful ^^

[@DavetheNord]

I must say, it's been a lot of fun watching numerous youtubers getting severely beaten up over the last few months by this mighty lady! :D

[@KayLee-lw5iv]

Rebinding roll after a few minutes struggling with furled finger rolling just changed this whole game for me

[@mr.richard3715]

thx my man i did it 4x times close up while locked on i never thought i could pull it off now gotta practis to pull it off consistently !!

[@TPhGames]

nice, it was really tough for me to get somewhat consistent with it 😄 Hope it takes you less time.

[@FRuMMaGe]

best guide I've seen. your amount of subs is ridiculous. Fantastic work, well done mate

[@TPhGames]

Thank you, much appreciated! I unfortunately rarely upload videos here, so subs are hard to get. On my main channel I cover Lord of the Rings lore stuff and it's better there sub-wise (almost 45k), but that's also where most of my video output capabilities go 😅 Really need to make some gaming related content for this channel again.

[@dayabloom9634]

I think I’m currently at like 5 hours of only training on her and I’m now at a level where I dodge every of her attack easily and have a lot of fun fighting her, until she do this stupid attack, the first dash is the only thing that get me far away from victory against her, the only one. Even the second and third dash really are understandable but the first one, jeez…

[@TPhGames]

Yes they should reduce the tracking of the first dash. It's imo a terribly designed attack in its current form.

[@whiskeyandrum2504]

Thanks dude legit helped me , was doing a strength build great sword only no summons and man this was the only attack that would kill me everytime because I’d be too close and couldn’t dodge that first waterfowl the other 2 are easy to dodge but that first one up close is so annoying 😭 but the tracking of her feet detail was crucial. I’d see vids of this move but couldn’t understand how long I need to run under her , now I know it’s until she has her back facing you , I’d always run to much around her and she would track me killing me.

[@TPhGames]

Glad you found it helpful. Yes the hint with looking at her foot is really helpful. There is also this variant of this where you lock out the camera and circle around her very close and run out of it. Interestingly this only works when the camera is locked out. I have not learnt that technique yet, but plan on trying that out as well. Still "my" current technique works quite well too. Only If I'm a bit away from her, it gets really difficult to impossible.

[@gumihoez3016]

Thank you so much for this guide!!! Incredibly helpful

[@TPhGames]

Thank you too for commenting, glad you found it helpful! 😄

[@Bibzuda7]

This seems like an attack they accidentally left in from Sekiro. It's BS and ruins what would otherwise possibly be my favorite boss. When I beat her I had just started using Bloodhound Step eventually because I didn't feel like sitting there waiting forever for her to do it, and didn't know about the weird underneath manipulation at the time. It's the only time in this entire series I felt I HAD to change my approach in terms of equipment or gear in order to succeed. I guess if I knew about the underneath I could have done it without but I don't understand how people even figured that out, guess I'm just bad :) Anyways, good video!

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^ Yes this attack is really nonsensical. Could be a 12/10 boss fight without it, I agree. I guess it at times also feels a bit random (really hard to predict what she is doing next). I figured it out by accident that you can get behind her before she dashes and got less damage. From there I experimented with that a bit but I was highly inconsistent. I grinded this boss for 15 hours or something and after that I was decent, but still not consistent. By now I'm OK-ish, but for "no damage taken" I still need to practice some more. It's hard to believe that this attack is in the game at all. It feels really off. I think if they would reduce the tracking of the first dash, it would fit a bit more. I also struggle with her Phantom Spirits if I'm too close (or whatever this attack is called), but here I know it's my fault for messing up the timings.

[@Dre9six]

If you're reading this, I cant really offer any help or insight into this fight but i can tell you that she can do the flurry attack at least twice in a row on her 2nd phase, i know because i got her to 10% health and then she fucked me like a weird uncle with it

[@TPhGames]

Yes I have seen it phase two by now as well. Even 3 times in a row 😅 I think in theory it's possible in phase 1 as well, but it's extremely rare. Very sad when it happens.

[@Dre9six]

@@TPhGames if this absolute heathen of a boss did that move to me 3 times in a row then I'd uninstall before her last attack even hit me, 2 times had me questioning 27 years of life choices so 3 times and id probably quit my job to go be a rice farmer in Vietnam or something never to touch a videogame again

[@ryulis298]

Thank you for this awesome Guide! You could've just said that u have this on your channel in my stream haha! xD I'm very glad that i found you :D!

[@TPhGames]

I did not want to advertise without permission 😅

[@guilhermegigeck5946]

I see, so I truly need to run around her during singleplayer. I still need a friend to test but I believe for ping issues the game actually slows her down during waterfowl making for a easier dodge. I'll practice that, gotta impress my friends. Thanks, pal.

[@mohammedkamil5320]

I used s shield, where I was able to dodge most of her spinning attacks. The shield was fully upgraded. I used the rivers of blood with that, so....she did not take me that long at all, well less than 30 deaths. Malikath and Godfry took me way longer.

[@TPhGames]

Yes I guess the approach can make a difference. I didn't use a shield on my first playthrough, so Malenia took me the longest. The 2nd Godfrey/Hoarah Loux I got in like 10-15 tries (irrelatively fast). Maliketh also took a long time for me, but more because his timings are my Kryptonite (took for ever to learn them), but he dies very fast. I played with a normal straight sword (Lordsworn's Straight Sword ) for the most part and later just with the Uchi and glass cannon-ish, so some of the bosses took a lot of time 😄

[@MartussMartuss]

Studied this guide and learned this attack pattern thoroughly only for Malenia to use it once during the whole fight. Gg tho ain't complaining

[@TPhGames]

haha, well glad it still helped you that one time 😅 But yes can happen that she does not use it.

[@MrHammerofdoom]

This boss makes me forget all the fun I had with this game.

[@neo9336]

Very helpful I appreciate you TPh for making a detailed guide, thankyou.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you, glad you found it helpful ^^

[@Yzzlthtz]

great video. cold proc works twice. she sometimes will do an extra leap towards the player in the 3rd attack, but i’m not sure why. i think it has to do with player location/movement.

[@furtalance_x]

Thanks for this man. Already died to her like 20 times today

[@Hi-Im-Gib]

thank you SO SO SO much, I do decent against Malenia but I could never get past her first phase because I always end up dying to her Waterfowl, or I take too much damage and immediately get killed by a follow up attack or combo.

[@TPhGames]

Glad it helped you, much success ^^ Also the roll distance on light weight was increased in the current patch, which can for sure help against her.

[@eliwoodnguyen1505]

Fighting malenia with waterfowl is like walking under the storm with no protection. 💀

[@TPhGames]

Yes 😅

[@dorabyrne1518]

This was super helpful thank you! I feel like a god dodging her reliably now.

[@TPhGames]

awesome, well done ^^ And thank you, glad it helped :)

[@hazelthemcwitch]

Wow you’re such a good teacher here, so clear and precise! Thanks for sharing your tips, this is the fight I’m dreading the most…

[@TPhGames]

Thank you, much appreciated. Glad you found this guide helpful. I make videos explaining stuff on YT for some years now, so I have some practice I guess 😄 (also sorry for the late answer; busy on my main channel right now)

[@harry6270]

I have never had to watch a guide for a boss yet in this game and now I am having to watch it for ONE attack 😂

[@TPhGames]

Yes it's a nonsense attack 😅 The rest of her stuff is more straight forward to dodge though, but also very difficult.

[@harry6270]

@@TPhGames Yeah I am really enjoying countering her other attacks. Honestly, this would be one of my favorite bosses if it weren’t for this one attack.

[@cristianfonseca3914]

You helped me a lot! Thanks to you I defeated her solo.

[@TPhGames]

awesome congrats, glad my guide helped ^^ (sorry for the late answer)

[@infinityactually6166]

Just beat her today, I managed to dodge the waterfowl with minor damage cause of this video. Liked 👍

[@TPhGames]

congrats ^^ glad my video was helpful (sorry for the late answer)

[@questionablelifechoices7501]

This fight is great. Music, lore, atmosphere, mechanics, sound design, visual design, all on point. Except for fucking waterfowl dance. It is easily the most unfair and unfun mechanic of most any boss I’ve fought in a game. I can dodge through the first and second flurries fairly well while running, but I’ll still be basically guaranteed to get hit. I would be fine with this if it was consistent, couldn’t initiate in literally an instant, and couldn’t happen multiple times in the fight. Mohg has his blood rite which is cool, dangerous, and consistent in when it happens. He doesn’t do it multiple times in the fight, it doesn’t come out the moment you start a jump attack or as soon as he gets up from a stun, and most importantly it can be countered in a fair way. You can actually heal through it, which yes, wastes flasks but you have the option. Additionally there’s an item you can find that counteracts the effect, which I think is cool. He also has a shackle, much like Margit. Malenia has none of these types of counter items at all, while still having an attack that is, for most people, a guaranteed loss of a decent portion of their hp that can, mind you, initiate immediately after she recovers from being staggered or anytime after she passes 60ish percent health. If you could get something like blasphemous claw or the Purifying Crystal Tear for malenia, maybe even just for waterfowl, that might cheapen the attack slightly, but that’s fine imo because the dance ruins the fight anyways. Or, if she only used it once in both phases, and had some special dialogue about it like Mohg had, it could be cool and maintain difficulty. Hell, you could even do both and get some dialogue about how it was the same method Mohg used to steal Miquella. And maybe then she could open a new attack set from that as a trade off for waterfowl out of anger.

[@n0denz]

As is the usual, what makes this boss difficult isn't necessarily the moves but what they look like. If you could mod out the blade effects and just see her sword moving, it'd be much easier to see exactly when she's attacking and know when to dodge. Secondly is shock and awe. Waterfowl Dance is super flashy and thus both distracting and intimidating. The only thing I really take issue with is phase 2 and the butterflies clogging up the screen. It's effectively a smokescreen, and it falls into that category of fighting the game instead of the boss - similar to wrestling with bad camera angles or doing mini speedrun strats to shorten corpse runs. The same points still apply however: if the butterflies and anime slash FX were removed, the move would be easy to dodge. As far as intimidation goes, the best comparison I can think of is Orphan of Kos. I'm convinced that his screaming was included to unnerve the player and make him look more powerful than he actually is. The moment you stop fearing a boss, their moves don't seem as quick and hard to read.

[@konferansjer]

If you attack her with ranged spells cannot dodge, like night shard or frenzy burst, then she will spam waterfowl dance very frequently even in the first phase. If you can dodge this one attack then she becomes almost trivial with a spell like night shard.

[@meepk633]

Light rolling back and sprint backwards + jump are the most consistent for me. But they are still only like 80%. I can't figure out what makes the difference. She just catches me on flurry 1 sometimes. Especially if I start further away.

[@babybananawe]

your video is very good, however in method 2, i cannot dodge it because i'm too distracted looking at her feet.

[@TPhGames]

😂

[@husseinalbus9570]

Died 100 times, killed in the first try after watching this video. thanks

[@calamityalix_tfg]

Meanwhile the 1st one is the only one I can't avoid. I'm never quick enough to run away. As for the 2nd and 3rd wave, I just roll backwards at the right timing and it works every time. 1st wave is the only one that keeps me from beating her hitless Will try your close range method!

[@TPhGames]

Good luck. I also still have to grind a hitless try 😅 Usually I fail when she cats her phantoms in phase 2. I'm just too stupid to dodge that - I know it's my fault.

[@calamityalix_tfg]

@@TPhGames that's quite a cheesy strat but now i use crystal darts to trigger her AI from afar, and shield block if i'm too close, works pretty well. P2 wrecks me tho

[@samuel.jpg.1080p]

I lost so many times just because of waterfowl, it's insane. That move is so cheap and not needed in this fight. It's one of the only attack that makes this fight difficult (the other one is the clone attack) and how to dodge it is so unintuitive, it makes me think they don't test this enough. But now that the dlc is here, the dlc final boss is even more annoying than Malenia

[@TPhGames]

haha agreed :D It's a cheap attack. Clones (Spirit Phantoms) are OK-ish, but still the timing is tough and the damage brutal. I agree with the final DLC boss 😅

[@samuel.jpg.1080p]

@@TPhGames From's next game should give the players more speed and bloodborne quick step. They really pushed the limit of how broken some of these bosses can be in comparison to our speed

[@ricardodarcangelo2437]

​@@samuel.jpg.1080peh, I don't think any of the bosses are "broken". They all can be dealt with, simply by practicing. Waterfowl is the only attack in the game, that while I personally don't agree with the "unfair" or "broken" complaints, I can def see that opinion being reasonable. I totally agree with what (I think) you're trying to say here though. The player's abilities are so simplistic and limited, (and slow) while the bosses have entire arrays of attacks at every range and speed. That's why Nioh 2 will always be my favorite game for combat: because with enough knowledge and skill, you can both control every fight, and be stylish lol. That's def one of my complaints about ER as well. But the bosses are what elevates the game from a good game, that's great on the 1st experience, to a great game that's amazing on the 1st exp. Wouldn't want them to change a thing about any of the bosses. But yeah, it def would be better if the player was faster, had both roll and quickstep, and the combo potential was elevated.

[@samuel.jpg.1080p]

@@ricardodarcangelo2437 i don't think any attacks can be dealt with is the same as that attack being good. I have yet to see how Fromsoft intends players to dodge Waterfowl Dance on first try players. The attack is just intuitive. If that kind of attack comes from Sekiro, it would be great because it will be a moment to challenge your parry reflex. But in Elden Ring where the essential mechanic all players have is roll, it's not clear which direction should you roll to on first try fighting her, hence why I think that move is broken. Add to that her lifesteal ability and insane tracking. The problem is that her entire fight's difficulty is dictated by that move (and clone attack) alone. All of her other moves are clear but to base the difficulty of the fight to just one move is stupid imo. It feels to me that the designer can't make her other movesets complex enough that they went the cheap way of just making 1 super move that she can spam one after another. Really agree with you on Nioh 2. That game's combat is just awesome. The fact that you are arguably as fast as the bosses in that game is really good. Plus our moveset is deep with lots of mechanics from each weapon types. I am just bored of Fromsoft's Dark Souls/Elden Ring combat now. It's not deep enough to warrant a game with that many fights imo. Fromsoft really need to overhaul their combat system. At the very least, if the players can have Bloodborne's speed or Sekiro's parry by default, it would make the combat 10 times better.

[@ates423]

Dodging the waterfowl attack took me some time, but also stages in how I dodged her attack. When I first fought her I used bloodhound step, took me a few months of fighting her on and off to fight her without it. On my next set of attempts of fighting her, I stacked an absurd amount of health and damage negation in order to try to dodge her attack without it. I never dodged it properly, always took like 95% of the attack but I was tanky enough to survive. I got good enough to dodge the flurry by running away to avoid the first two flurries and trying to dodge the last flurry but failing. After that, I began getting pretty confident so did my next set of attempts on a light roll build stacking a decent amount of defense(ritual shield talisman and blue feathered branch sword, Melina cosplay.) I got good enough to dodge the attack by running far enough away for the first flurry, rolling towards the second flurry, but still getting clipped by the last flurry. Eventually I was able to flawless dodge it but I still needed to be far enough way from the first flurry. On my next set of attempts I did it on a build with not as much damage negation as the other builds, no poise, and medium rolling. At this point I was flawless dodging the move by avoiding the first of second flurries and dodging the rest. I thought I mastered it, but then I found out on youtube, you can dodge the entire thing up close, while medium rolling! I was astonished. So then, I went to ng+ to fight her again for the sole purpose of getting that movement down. After a days worth of attempts, I only did it successfully 3 times, and I still took chip damahe, I was frustrated! How the hell did they pull it off!? Eventually I got so zoned in I killed malenia. Now I can only learn in coop but it’s frustrating because hosts and other coops see that I’m so good at the boss that they let me solo her when I’m entering their world solely to learn how to dodge waterfowl up close. A lot of the times I die when the move comes out and it’s so embarrassing as the probably think I’m terrible at at the game lol. Well I guess I’ll keep trying to improve it. When you do it though it’s so satisfying!

[@TonyRezk-t9h]

thanks a lot for the great, detailed guide

[@TPhGames]

no problem, happy it was helpful and thanks for commenting 👍

[@wijayleon8159]

Very helpful guide my friend

[@TPhGames]

Thank you! Glad you found it useful 😄

[@MartynStanleyAuthor]

Sounds good. I should probably try my Darkmoon GS with Jellyfish Great Shield setup but block the first attacj.

[@aaaz319]

thanks man, best vid on the subject

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^

[@timac1991]

Best guide out there. Cheers!

[@TPhGames]

Thank you, much appreciated ^^

[@BlueAsterismSolstice]

I have spent enough days fighting Malenia to be qualified to confirm, she can use Waterfowl twice in a row directly. In fact she can do that in phase 1. And she can follow up attack after the 2nd and do yet a 3rd one. I've never been so pissed at the boss like that moment. She directed it at my spirit ash, then 2nd one at me, then a regular attack, then a 3rd one at me and I died. At the very least that was for sure true 1.03 and maybe 1.04. I haven't tried in 1.05. Phase 1 she initiates doing Waterfowl after certain amount health loss, so if you're breezing her health pool, you're going to notice significantly less than someone normal. This is extra true if you use frostbite and bleed proc to cancel it out.

[@eliasabbas8450]

She still does this as of 1.07 XD. Call me a masochist but this is my favorite fight in the game so far, not just because of the lore and the circumstances you fight her in, but also because she is fair, for me at least. She gets stunned by attacks just like you do, she is relatively small to other bosses just like you and her reach is relatively short as well (though it can be surprising if you get cocky). She can heal and sustain just like the player, and when she takes too many hits, she steps back and recovers just like you have to. You have your freeze and bleed buildups, she has scarlet rot. You have very strong spells and ashes of war, she has waterfowl dance. You have a brain, and she has clever, many might say unfair and cheating AI. She has a LOT of HP, and you have....significantly less. Maybe it isn't fair in that aspect haha.

[@eliasabbas8450]

Also, she has hyper armour at times and you have I-frames and shield block and parry. I think I've listed it all. Have a good day.

[@cheejun7719]

Nice guide !

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^

[@Art_Vandalay97]

I started a new game completely from scratch just because I was mad at myself for using summons on her and a couple other bosses on my first play through so I wanted to go back and do the whole game with no summons. The more I play this fight and Godfrey’s fight, the less bad I feel about using summons because unless you are an absolute pro at the game summons are the only way to compensate for these poorly designed bosses. Every other fromsoft game is way more balanced and with well thought out bosses. Most of the bosses in this game are just straight bullshit with insane attacks that get spammed leaving almost no windows for you to punish.

[@TPhGames]

Some boss fights are for sure far too annoying. Currently play a level 1 run (also with no summons) and some fights were incredibly frustrating, while others are very easy. Took me so much time and practice to beat Malenia Level 1. Mogh Lord of Blood was also very difficult. I think most bosses are well enough designed, but some are overtuned and Malenia is one of them. Waterfowl Dance is not a well designed attack.

[@Art_Vandalay97]

@@TPhGames yeah I’m definitely talking more about late game bosses. Earlier in the game everything felt like a pretty fair challenge.

[@liviu445]

I literally sold my soul to Malenia because I'm on track for the frenzied flame ending, i don't want the ending so I need the fucking needle.

[@bathmessengers]

hardest dodge ever. i fight close and im always getting spammed close by this move. im watching this guide. but i still cant do it. i just want this over with.

[@kishorab]

Your video helped me defeat Malenia

[@TPhGames]

Nice and well done, happy it was helpful for you :) Much fun on your further journey through Elden Ring!

[@alfredomanzano8436]

When I manage to dodge this combo Malenia will die, the rest of the fight is very easy, thanks for the tips

[@m.degroot6837]

Maybe they have changed it but she only ever uses the attack when I'm too close to run away.

[@TPhGames]

That is really unfortunate, but I always play more passive when she gets closer to the potential HP thresholds in Phase 2. If you play more active, she also in previous versions of the game had a tendency to do it when you are close.

[@galenburnett9791]

i heard somewhere that proc is short for ‘procure’, as in, the weapon’s special effect ‘procures’ a status ailment or extra damage on the opponent

[@TPhGames]

I guess also possible, but the other explanation is imo also plausible (sorry for the late answer) ^^

[@galenburnett9791]

@@TPhGames sure. i think it’s funny that the information isn’t readily available somewhere. as in, millions of people are using an abbreviation which they don’t even know from where it comes, yet still think they’re cool for using it. a bit like when people say ‘caP’

[@GodWarsX]

This is a fantastic video

[@TPhGames]

Thank you, glad you liked it 😄

[@GodWarsX]

@@TPhGames I've been using the outrun, roll thru, redirect strategy for months.. but man for the more advanced strategy I just could not figure out the close up circle around dodge for the first wave. Not until you pointed out the back of Malenia's foot. That was the one crucial piece of info. Now I can do it! You unlocked my potential hahaha

[@TPhGames]

haha yes I can see how this little hint is very helpful. Also helped me getting a lot more consistent with it. Glad it helped! (sorry for the late answer; was busy on the main channel covering LotR Rings of Power trailers 😅)

[@swordwalker59]

She use waterfowl dance not only at those percentages of health. I was just attached by that skill at around 80%, 50%, 10%, etc. today. Sometimes she casted 3 times of Waterfowl dance during phrase 1.

[@TPhGames]

there is a variety of reasons for that. I experienced that too. E.g. Sometimes she is stubborn and won't do it at 60-70%, and it happens at 50%, but that was in my experience more an exception, but it can happen (the 60% and 40% thresholds are hard coded triggers; the 60% threshold just "unlocks" the move and the probability of her using it increases significantly; the 40% one is similar, but it considers the cooldown of the attack). Maybe you were just before the threshold and she did an attack that you can punish a lot, so that she gets a lot of damage in a short time, so it looks like she did it at 50%. If you proc cold or bleed or stagger her, when she just wants to start with waterfowl dance (on the first few frames of the animation), you probably won't notice that it was interrupted and then it goes on Cooldown and she does it much later in the fight out of nowhere it seems (had this a lot with my bleeding g build). All can happen. If the fight takes to long she can do it a third time as well. I assume even more than 3 times.

[@swordwalker59]

@@TPhGames Thanks :) I just killed her with restrictions set by myself... melee only, no magic, no shield, no summon, no great rune. Timing of her waterfowl dance was still strange but finally I did it~ See you again in NG, Malenia :)

[@TPhGames]

congrats ^^

[@swordwalker59]

@@TPhGames Thank U :D

[@paoloh885]

I beat her without guides using mimic tear and getting lucky with her barely using the waterfowl dance. I felt bad for cheesing her, but in hindsight, if she has an attack that's so bullshit that tons of guides are made for it, going for a cheese strat it isn't that bad i guess.

[@TPhGames]

Yes this attack is really nonsensical. They should just reduce its tracking (also sorry for the late answer)!

[@jkracken358]

First off, super awesome video! I loved the in-depth analysis of every stage of the attack. On a personal note, it is really disappointing that the only way to completely dodge the first flurry (without any help from equipment or just running away) is so complicated and cheesy (cheesy in that you’re essentially breaking the ai to dodge the move). It makes me question how Fromsoft intended you to dodge this move, or if they intended you to be able to dodge it all. Having an undodgable move would certainly fit Melania’s “I have never known defeat” theme, but it might also mean that Fromsoft is starting to stray from the tough but fair philosophy that’s made them so popular.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^ Yes I'm also not a fan of this attack. Takes far too long to learn. They could simply reduce the tracking of the first dash and I think it would be a better attack.

[@jkracken358]

@@TPhGames Definitely.

[@daseportogas1885]

Thank you for this video it helps me allot❤

[@TPhGames]

no problem, glad it was helpful 👍 Good luck and much fun on your further playthrough!

[@TheBakerZen]

How is this possible when the lock on button is under the sprint button? You have barely 2 second to lock off, start sprinting (which takes a whole second for your character to begin the animation once you're holding B because of sprint delay) and run in circles underneath her. The controls are a nightmare in this game.

[@TPhGames]

I'm not locking the camera out and you can dodge with the camera locked. You can do this with camera lockout and circle, which is maybe more consistent. Some people place lockout on a different button. But it's possible to do with standard buttons. It's pure muscle memory grind. At some point you get fast 😅

[@Argos_RB]

Hey Chris, I was wondering if you were planning to post more videos on this channel soon? No pressure, I'm just curious

[@TPhGames]

In my min yes, I definitely want to do more stuff here, but I was so busy with the main lore channel the past few months, that I could not find the time/motivation. Currently I work a bit less, to recover from these two marathon months I had 😅 Are there topics you would like to see here?

[@Argos_RB]

@@TPhGames Yeah I get that, that was also my guess as to why, with the Elrond videos and Rings of Power and everything. I’d love to see more game reviews, I always think you have something interesting to say on whatever you talk about. I don’t know what you’ve played so I can’t really specify a specific game, and that doesn’t really matter to me as long as it’s a game you’re interested in talking about. So yeah I’d just love to see game review/discussions

[@muminaq9485]

how normal is this that after like 4 hours of trying to kill her with a colossal sword sometimes i can succesfuly dodge this attack 10 times in the row and then next 10 times she evaporates me with it not quite knowing what i did wrong like i would lose every piece of knowledge that i somehow managed to gather about it through this miserable time?

[@13576bard]

Great guide! Probably the most helpful one I've seen! 😁👍 Hardcore "git gud" Fromsoft fans are really odd. They'll say shit like, "it's not actaully a hard boss, you just need to put in a solid 10-15 hours practicing, swap out your entire build, and sell your soul to Shabriri!"

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^ Yes this boss really crazy. Ofc if you grind the boss for 15 hours, you make the progress and it becomes much easier, but I have to admit it should not take that long to learn one attack. It's really a nonsensical attack.

[@ricardodarcangelo2437]

​@@TPhGamesI really don't agree with the nonsensical, or "the attack doesn't belong" complaints. Other than maybe Isshin and the demon of hatred, From has never really made a truly "difficult" boss. The answer is always the same for all of them: learn the moves and punish accordingly. Sekiro elevated their boss designs, so that players that really click with the combat, can totally control every boss; rather than passively waiting for opportunities. ER kept that philosophy with the inclusion of stance damage/staggers, having most bosses be susceptible to flinching, and adding build crafting onto what Sekiro started; including dedicated status builds, elevated by a stat. All that, to say, there's literally dozens of options to deal with every boss. Don't want to learn every single move a boss has? Go full stagger, and they spend most the fight on the ground. DPS, AI manipulation in multiple ways, and many more. With Malenia, they wanted to make a boss, (supported by the lore) where the player HAS to learn how to deal the moveset. Can't just hold up a shield the entire fight, or get OP for an easy GG. And I'm on board with that decision. With all the tools the player has, there should be at least one boss that challenges EVERY player, not just some of the players. She's also entirely optional, gets flinched super easily, has predictable patterns (if played right), can be parried, and is very passive in P1 (to allow easy healing or buffing). Now, is Waterfowl a perfect solution? Hell no. Could it be cleaned up, as you yourself said, with something like slightly reduced tracking on the first flurry? Absolutely. But "BS" or "unfair"? No. Even without knowing how the move works, there's a few options that any player can use. Add in a good build and summon, and it's doable for any player. Is it unfair if the goal is to dodge it flawlessly, without summons, shields, BHS, or status? Possibly. But those are all self inflicted challenges. Which is what brought me here lol. At RL1, it was just safer to have a shield with barricade around, but I wanted to learn to do it with just dodging. And your video is a big help, well edited and scripted, and conveyed in a manner that any player, at any skill can find useful. I myself am not good enough to just blast through any boss, or dodge any move perfectly; but that's why I use resources like this video you do kindly made for us (yet another tool players have btw) to make up for the difference. Although I disagree on the above point, please don't let that take away from how grateful I am your hard work! I'm not trying to be confrontational, or subscribe to the "git gud" idiocy Your video is very much appreciated! Ty

[@NIKEONXX]

Beat her many times without summons but everytime i go for her i need a video to learn back the dodge. This boss is the most overated boss ever. People say the fight is good i don't agree. It's mid/trash at best.

[@TPhGames]

I would say this specific attack is trash, the rest is imo pretty decent. But Waterfowl Dance ruins the fight =/

[@NIKEONXX]

@@TPhGames you know what i actually agree with you

[@dyroth]

Can confirm cold procs stagger her out of waterfowl

[@frezzeir4033]

Brother you are the best thanks!

[@TPhGames]

Happy it helped 😄 It also helped me recently to defeat her rune level 1 without taking damage ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3y8gmaErM-EpMk ). So the close range dodge strat is still carrying me to this day ^^ Though I know there is a slightly different one, where you lock out the camera when you circle around her.

[@frezzeir4033]

@@TPhGames just beaten her (2. time but without summons so 1v1) your tutorial helped me and i could dodge it like 7/10 times but if she was colse i died faster than i walked into that boss room. The close dodge i just cant figure it out.

[@TPhGames]

Congratulations ^^ Yes the close range dodge is really really difficult. I practiced Malenia alone like 70-80 hours by now and I only get the close range dodge something like 8/10 times. The later you start circling around her the more precise it becomes. It's in that regard a stupid attack.

[@elliehugg]

cool to see you uploading more Elden Ring stuff :)

[@TPhGames]

Yes I'm still playing it, so it's a good opportunity to produce some content in parallel. Wanted to complete the video weeks ago, but producing content for the main channel takes up quite some time 😅 is there anything Elden Ring related you would like to see?

[@elliehugg]

@@TPhGames Hmm, I'm not a very creative person tbh, but I do find your voice pretty soothing, so maybe you could do boss reviews or in-depth tutorials, or maybe an overall game review (if you're finished). Maybe if you ever do a challenge run, like an SL1, you could record it and do a post-commentary where you just talk about the strategies used or something idk, I'm down to watch anything ^^

[@fradenxD]

thanks a lot such a good content and low subs. im perfectly avoiding this attack when i on a long distance from her but when i close its really insane and hard.

[@TPhGames]

Thank you ^^ Yes I upload almost never here, doing mostly Lord of the Rings Lore videos on my main channel, which eats a lot of time. Yes, when she is far away it's relatively easy, once you get the feeling for the dodges. But close range is really precise and difficult. Like trained 15 hours and I was still not 100% consistent. Not even close, but survivability on my level 1 character increased dramatically. I also beat her with that character at some point, but as said I still died to it. Just really over tuned attack. First dash needs a bit less tracking.

[@fradenxD]

@@TPhGamesthanks for answer)) im counting my tries now its 401. really funny

[@TPhGames]

Oh good luck then. Which weapon/build are you using? Do you have any limitations on what to use in the fight?

[@fradenxD]

​@@TPhGames its my first playthrough so i just using blood river and no armor. im reaaly think so its doesnt matter what weapon u are using cause its all about learn how to dodge punches

[@TPhGames]

forgot to answer, sorry. You probably beat her by now. I would have suggest maybe try the shield method, i showed in the video, it's the most reliable one if you are close.