Malenia - Closer Look

[@nobuffer101]

So basically in her second phase she does what hardcore souls players do, strip off all armor, buff up, and one shots you...

[@TheMrrccava]

I want to argue. But I simply cannot and I'm okay with that

[@VanGoHAF]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@VanGoHAF]

Seen someone lvl 1 with the talisman that gives you attack damage while naked beat the end boss taking no dmg

[@oosb112]

🤣👍

[@magicalhobo2001]

red tearstone ring users be like

[@xRevTheoryx]

Her goddess form could easily be a painting hanging in a museum and no one would be able to tell she's just a character from a videogame. But again, that's very true for a lot of soulsborne designs

[@TimmyTurner421]

WHO are the men behind the art?

[@queenvictoriann]

@@TimmyTurner421 The list of concept artists in the credits are probably the geniuses.

[@queenvictoriann]

I totally agree. I am taking Art history at the moment, and I have come across plenty of beautiful sculptures and paintings that remind me of her. My favorites are Nike, the winged goddess of Victory and some of the paintings of Germania. Malenia is very similar in bearing and design.

[@skyarecki]

All Fromsoftware games are like paintings

[@ratshave4748]

That scene of the moon presence coming down towards your character in Bloodborne will always be one of the most beautiful scenes in ANY game

[@Ofdensen]

I love how she says "prepare to face true horror" while butterflies rush out of her.

[@Lardo137]

Judging by the rage and fear from her boss fight, she wasn't kidding lmao

[@boogabuga7657]

she is both beautiful and terrifying

[@fulgurobaboon1321]

Androgyny=horror

[@virtualmartini]

@@fulgurobaboon1321 She isn't androgynous at all.

[@HuyGaming96]

It's basically what every girls said when they think they are so hot shit lol

[@scarlettanguyen2182]

What an absolution of creativity in the beauty of rot.

[@justicesellers241]

Papa Nurgle would be proud 🥲

[@aethanbeaudry4787]

@@justicesellers241 now there’s an idea. AoS red nurgle army with grafted arms and limbs, get that real elden ring-y feel

[@rexlumontad5644]

@@aethanbeaudry4787 Nice

[@voodooozo3755]

Now I want to see Malania inspired lord of nurgle army. All in scarlet colours instead of yellow or green and without organs falling out but with aeonian butterflies and white tree branches instead.

[@Omnywrench]

I read somewhere that Hidetaka Miyazaki told the design team that the more rotten-looking enemies like Malenia and Ekzykes should look more tragic than gross; like they're these ancient entities that were once beautiful and majestic but countless years of decay and stagnation have taken its toll on them, and even then they refuse to succumb.

[@screaminginagony]

The game works so hard to paint Caelid has an unmitigated nightmare, but this fight shows you what the future there could look like; the giant brambly fauna blooms into massive Aeonia flowers, the butterflies gathering in swarms to drink the liquified rot in the swamp (butterflies routinely drink liquified, rotting flesh for nutrition). Caelid gives you the cosmic horror of being confronted with a vision of a future that feels truly alien; Malenia as the Goddess of Rot embodies the full scope of that future by showing you not only the decay of the world you know, but the flowers that will bloom afterwards.

[@vanci3449]

biiig stretch

[@asgharabbas9885]

Nicely said

[@Argonian0727]

I also want to give foot rub

[@likeanOVERLORD]

This sounds very nurgle like which I approve of. Nice!

[@yoavsnake]

Not far fetched to guess that there were endings such as the age of rot or age of blood that were cut out

[@reesejohnson2788]

She’s like a fallen Valkyrie to me. She’s so elegant, but suffered from a tragic backstory. A true warrior.

[@splunkmastah4609]

Interesting that she isn’t immune to her own rot, as suggested by the prosthetics. As much a Sekiro nod as it is Fride and Maria.

[@SwitchFeathers]

Not only that, all her gear has been blessed an anointed as much as possible so that it can widthstand being attatched to her. That's why the Cleanrot Knights are all dressed in holy looking Paladin armour and use holy magic attacks - it's literally a safeguard against the rot, and even then it's only partially successful.

[@thethundergod159]

Her leaping 1000 hit combo came straight out of Sekiro, ngl I was mashing L1 to deflect all those attacks out of reflex, and instantly died

[@Ale-ey3xv]

@@thethundergod159 it’s funny tho because if her first phase was a boss in sekiro it would be around the same level of challenging as genichiro. Thank god they didn’t put an isshin-similar boss in this game.

[@nickfrost8746]

actually im pretty sure the rot didnt take her arm - its the fact that she and miquella were "born of one god" due to marika and radagon essentially being the same person. it's implied that the twins were deformed as a result of being a product of incest (selfcest?) so its not necessarily the rot that took away her arm

[@SwitchFeathers]

@@nickfrost8746 The rot may not have been the culprit for taking her arm, but the lore remains that all her gear has to be consecrated so that it can survive being attatched to her - again, same with the Cleanrot Knights and their holy-attuned paladin stuff, they need it just to contend with the fact that Malenia is a walking biohazard.

[@pinkythewitch2830]

She is a living renaissance and abstract painting, like a reinterpretation of the birth of Venus with the long red hair I love her design in all aspects

[@lapelcelery42]

That shot at 2:02

[@orion3237]

"Abstract"? Bruh.

[@LordBackuro]

I like how she looks like a broken doll that over time was torn apart, but then was put together, using the pieces of other dolls.

[@darkofdespair]

I remember getting to her second phase for the first time. I truly felt SCAROUSED!

[@MementoMori_2070]

You died within seconds I bet. 😅

[@DrunkGnu]

@@MementoMori_2070 I came within seconds, and then died. nothing beats my one stroke choke!

[@Ayixlia]

Simp to the end huh?

[@gaymer2698]

@@DrunkGnu respect

[@diltz_8955]

I literally died instantly my first time getting to her second phase 😂

[@potatocat112]

Malenia: "Tarnished why art thou not fighting?" Tarnished: *Mesmerized*

[@pamelotms5867]

Tarnished: Its HARD to fight with only one hand

[@reusko4288]

@@pamelotms5867 try with 0 hands

[@darknero5788]

Tarnished: jaw dropped and in a daze

[@Enryu_uyrnE]

@@pamelotms5867 It took me a second but I got it lmfao.

[@borisaustria4301]

Tarnished: *awooga*

[@GeremyG]

I hate her but I also love her. Aesthetically, her design and boss arena are perfect. On the other hand, screw that stupid leaping thousand hit combo she does. The only fight in a Souls game to give me this much of a headache. Update: I finally beat her :)

[@jaketherien9607]

Agreed. Fortunately, its dodgeable. Just need to be cautious when she's below 60%. As like as you weren't right under her when she jumps into the air, you can outrun her first and second barrage and roll towards her for the third. You can even set up a dagger with the bloodhound ash to make dodging way easier.

[@LeetTron5000]

once you deal around 50% hp of damage to her she will be looking to do this move. took me way too long to realize it wasnt random, fight is much easier when you know when to expect it. do another 50% and she will loook to do it again. thats 50% damage dealt not her at 50%health since she can heal

[@vasa1412]

First hit is basically undodgeable if you are too close to her, but shield can block the first combo, then just roll through the next two slash. still get hit sometime, but at least survive is not a big issue.

[@atlas4837]

@@LeetTron5000 good catch. Noticed that last night when I spent 3 hours on her.

[@Gemi-]

I tell everyone to equip a dagger in their 2nd slot so when they see her charge up, start spamming quickstep out of there and for her last combo dodge left or right instead of back

[@Me1onPan]

She’s fighting us handicapped, blind?.. That’s beyond impressive.

[@Kratos34975]

And we are fighting her with one hand

[@malacaimar2271]

We fight rhadhn braindead while using his power to hold back starts and meteors 😅

[@K11NNGG]

@@Kratos34975 she’s fighting us with one arm lol

[@KeiosKod]

@@K11NNGG Well, it’s fair to say that we’re both wielding a sword in hand...

[@mrxxsesshomaruxx9642]

Yeah but it's the anime type of blind so she has better reflexes and can see better than most people.

[@queenvictoriann]

Malenia is such a beautiful homage to From’s previous “elegant dance fight” bosses like Lady Maria, Sister Friede, Abyss Watchers, Gehrman, etc. She carries it all. A flurried duel to start, and then a stunning transformation when we reach the second half of the fight that leaves us all in awe but raging at the same time. All the while, a tragic theme plays in the background and we bleed amidst a field of white flowers. Genius.

[@jmoak14]

Thematically yes but gameplay wise she fails to live up to those fights i'm afraid. /= your typical strategy to beating her is to stunlock her to death and pray to rng gods she doesn't use her one shot attack

[@Genindraz]

@@jmoak14 Same could be said for Lady Maria and Friede.

[@kamerongreen5696]

Can’t believe you forgot the Dancer of the Boreal Valley.

[@DthepopeP]

Or we could just git gud. Like we did for everything else.

[@thecandlemaker1329]

And same bullshit one shot combos as Friede as well.

[@hectorbeck4350]

In terms of aesthetic, she's absolutely amazing. Mechanically, she's a bit of a nightmare

[@AnnE-dj9iw]

Oh pwease already 15% of people who owned this game have beaten her. I had harder time getting pass what guarding her lol (im a mage)

[@BorderFreak]

@MoMo Plays idk being someone that ran around thwacking people with a big stick its a pretty difficult fight as opposed to being able to sit 50 meters away and hurl space rocks or whatever other fancy things mages do

[@Justin-Thyme]

@@BorderFreak That's just how Elden Ring is: it can be a very challenging game, but it's filled with ways to make it easier. In the case of Malenia, ashes make the fight a breeze since you can just stunlock her to death.

[@AnnE-dj9iw]

@@Justin-Thyme exactly. The game doesnt force you to do absolutely one thing, i can stand sure afew meters away further but the boss can also lung at you with every atk to close that gap in less than half of a second and you will be 1 shot from most enemies let alone bosses. There is always a trade off, so i dont like it when someone discrediting other people for something they like :v

[@BorderFreak]

@@Justin-Thyme I barely squeezed by using mimic (post nerf) don't really want to think about how rough it would've been without it

[@ravensolrac8406]

Beautiful, exotic and unique, one of the best designs ever imo.

[@PR1ME98]

I have a friend that uses a prosthetic leg and he loves everything about this boss. He’s happy to see a disabled character be so strong and powerful.

[@peterhoffmann2231]

what is to love about an prosthetic leg?

[@PR1ME98]

@@peterhoffmann2231 He’s happy that there is a character that’s somewhat like him and shows that being disabled shouldn’t be a hindrance.

[@Moadar]

@@PR1ME98 Did he love Sekiro?

[@PR1ME98]

@@Moadar he never played it but i did tell him about the shinobi prosthetic and he thought it was really cool

[@hot_soup4319]

Malenia is the definition of handicapable.

[@UnitMiaExe]

I can only Imagine how she looked on her prime, my god, FromSoftware boss design is a combination of epicness and sadness at the same time.

[@OrigamiPhoenix]

The items Blue Dancer Charm and Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom reveal that Malenia's swordmaster was blind, suggesting that she may have been blind before she even trained under him.

[@genbeuden2114]

She Always was rotten tho, it's a curse from birth

[@azeael8429]

If we are lucky we will meet her prime self in the dlc or next game. Gideon said to attain true goddess status she need to bloom 3 times. She bloom once during her fight against Radahn. Once after the first phrase.

[@arthurian4033]

@@azeael8429 it also mentioned that she blooms once before radahn fight, that be easily cured with miquella's needle, then she blooms once again during radahn fight, breaking the needle, then on the third time she blooms on us, then she attained the goddess status

[@azeael8429]

@@arthurian4033 I have literally never heard about that first bloom. Source?

[@jeromesears285]

As a visual arts major, I've always been fascinated by Souls game designs. From the characters to the environments, they make us all fantasize about other possible realms out there. You never know. Our universe has many secrets yet to be uncovered.

[@malosprime4910]

Agreed

[@eligee6955]

I discovered in an alternate universe and timeline I’m said tarnished guy on his quest to become elden lord.

[@ferusrafaelamsel4091]

The begining of her second phase is quite reminiscent of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. It will be great if someone makes a painting of her in that style.

[@alexthesugoikid3206]

Holy shit,I was wondering if I was the only one that noticed that! She really looks like she was inspired by that painting,even though she is horribly malformed but still beautiful in a sick way.

[@partobakhtiary7954]

Some lore break down for yall 1:02 those metal looking things are called unaloyed gold. Its a metal used by miquella, melanias twin brother. It stops the connection of outer gods with the user. So it slows down the rot on malenias body. 1:08 the reason malenia holds her sword from the blade is because her sword was never meant to be held. In the trailer, we see that her sword was attached to her fake arm. But after radhan broke her fake arm, she had to hold the sword from the balde since it never had a handle

[@talon1084]

Yeah it's so cool. And I love how in-game the sword isn't stuck in a static position that's 90 degrees to her elbow, we see it switch to extending straight outwards whenever she uses a thrust attack. It looks super mechanical, and also gives helpful cues to us as to what she's about to do. If you see the sparks you know the angle of the blade has switched and she's probably about to stab you

[@brosephmyth]

Wow, nice. I never noticed that.

[@fakechloe207]

It does have a handle that can be switched on and off. You can see her switching her grip when doing different attacks.

[@jacquelinejones7760]

She’s the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my entire life

[@Cheesymud]

2 years later, she still is.. isn't she?

[@scipio2074]

Haligtree is the hardest area of the game for me, considering how under-levelled I was when I pursued her Katana. It was all worth it for this boss fight and Milicent's quest. This is my favorite part of the game + her weapon is majestic.

[@bubastis6306]

Fuck that bridge with the two mages

[@InsanityFactor]

@@bubastis6306 I have absolute hateful feelings remembering the fight against the rot worm thing for the Millicent questline.

[@dvdzvc]

@@InsanityFactor lol i just stood on the tree thing with a bow and ez kill 0 dmg

[@luckyrice672]

I hated the ants on the haligtree

[@scipio2074]

@@bubastis6306 and of course after those two mages will be FUCKING LORETTA

[@DOUBleDooM1]

I think this is one of the coolest boss design From has made and further reinforces how amazingly inspired Elden Ring is. Fighting this boss truly was a dance of blades and once I got over how many times I died I began to really appreciate her design. Does anyone else feel as though she would have been awesome to fight in Sekiro maybe? She honestly feels like she could've been the DLC we were looking for!

[@electronicmusicofjapan-emj9882]

Maybe not from an aesthetic design standpoint but definitely from a technical one. Sekiro is the "dance of blades: the game" and this fits in there.

[@alexwenger9655]

This wasn't a dance of blades at all. This was a "if she hits me with anything I'm dead" fight.

[@Aestas06]

@@alexwenger9655 that's sekiro 101

[@averagesoul8256]

Maybe then you could actually do something about that fkurry

[@scipio2074]

She's the Lady Tomoe that we never had.

[@williamchavez41]

One of the hottest but hardest bosses in the entire game. Not gonna lie

[@prinzvonoba3032]

she's rotted it makes it look gross but i'm sure before she rotted like that she was beautiful

[@MR.DRIPKNIGHT3335]

Very true

[@asiagroavacadro8973]

Out of everything this game has, it's the scarlet rot that interests me most. It's so fascinating

[@chronix7946]

I assume it's cursed gods blood since following along with Millicent's questline and assuming it originated in alphael(?) I can only assume it's Miquella's blood after he turned himself into the Hilagtree. The rot could have still existed before the events of the shattering but it's still possible that it's cursed blood of the gods. Can't wait for a lore channel to cover it

[@asiagroavacadro8973]

@@chronix7946 Melania was born with the scarlet rot, it's her curse. Miquella's curse is him being a child forever

[@chronix7946]

@@asiagroavacadro8973 ah gotcha. It just seemed like with the lake of rot being out of the way and the only other place you saw rivers of rot was at the tree I assumed that it had to deal with something older than the current gods (being that there was an age of stars the rot could be the old gods blood)or deity's blood being tainted and that Melania was the only one who was "tainted" but was able to control it since she developed the scarlet rot from birth. But like I said, I need some loremaster to piece it together cause I've only been stopping occasionally to read some of the lore

[@asiagroavacadro8973]

@@chronix7946 nah Melania is believed to be the start of the rot, the water that has rot in it was tainted by Melina blooming, sending rot all over and she's done that 3 times I think, twice at the haligtree and once in caelid.

[@AbelMusa]

@@asiagroavacadro8973 Yep, the third is against the player and its what causes her to ascend into her godess form as stated in her spell.

[@rickkcir2151]

Crazy to think how she’s missing her entire right arm, entire left leg, and half her right leg. Yet she can still thoroughly kick our ass. Spoilers: Makes sense, she is the offspring of Marika and Radagon. Which is to say she’s the offspring of Marika with herself. Which would technically mean Malenia and Miquella are gods rather than demi-gods.

[@OmegaTrooper1]

Also since Malenia and Miquella are Radagon and Marika's only children it really feels like their curses are more of a cause of inbreeding. Considering theyre born of an asexual relationship. The Empyrean status also makes them seem more like actual gods too. Ranni being the odd exception.

[@crybirb]

@@OmegaTrooper1 Isn't kinda implied that Ranni is adopted by Rennala? I dunno why but this lingers in my head.

[@michaandrzejsigismundfreih7900]

@@crybirb No, Ranni is 100% the daughter of Rennala and Radagon, and her status as Carian royalty is mentioned time and time again.

[@dyvawn]

Offspring of Marika and Radagon's Red Wolf where?

[@invarkul7831]

She is also technically Radahn step sis. So it makes sense. Her bro holds freaking stars with his magic

[@caibra88]

She gives me goosebumps just looking at her. She just exudes power. More so than many of the other bosses. Fighting her is a hellish time too. They kept her design simple but glorious. Like when she said she had never known defeat, I believed her! I feel like it would be wicked to see Malenia and Sephiroth fight, yall know that would be insane 😳

[@TheMrrccava]

I may love her goddess form, because it's lovely hauntingly beautiful id say...BUT. her regular Blade of Miquella form is so striking to me that I fell in love with the design. The second form is absolutely stunning and so Valkyrie that I can't help but love it as well. But something as simple as her "Warrior Maiden" first form...idk man. She has a fantastic design all around. As do 99% of the enemies/bosses

[@moshtran]

Am I the only one that thought, "I don't wanna fight her, she's been through a lot of pain already"?

[@municipalorrery]

second phase is one of the greatest designs from FromSoft.

[@Ayixlia]

Actually it's George Martin's character design by Miyazaki.

[@looots1320]

@@Ayixlia where you read this, I'd like to read the whole

[@municipalorrery]

@@Ayixlia what do you mean? i thought GRR only did foundations of the lore and stuff

[@Ayixlia]

@@looots1320 George Martin helped with the lore, the characters as well as a bit of their design too

[@godcaoss]

@@municipalorrery GRRM created the mythos, the lore. The rest is Miyazaki.

[@bagsbugs3024]

[Spoiler alert] I wonder if the butterfly motive is also connected with Miquella since apparently he's in a cocoon of sorts after Mohg took him. A butterfly doesn't make cocoon to metamorphosize, a butterfly caterpillar will just shed their old skin and pupate. Moths on the other hand, spins cocoon to protect them when they are transforming from caterpillar and they pupate inside the cocoon. I also feel like the rot flower animation is inspired by pupa, because malenia is at her weakest when she's using the attack. And the animation look like a pupa for a brief time.

[@cloberlobster2276]

Butterflies are also a symbol of rot and rebirth. Fun fact- butterflies can suck blood just like mosquitos

[@Simon200o]

I think mohg tries to age miquella. His curse prevents him from growing up.

[@imrighturwrong3629]

@@Simon200o mogh kidnapped and murdered miquella due to his unwillingness to become the vessal for the formless mother outer god so that mogh could be his consort (similar to how queen marika is the vessal for the greater will and the elden lord is her consort). mogh tries to rebirth him tho as mohgwyn so that he can forcefully make miquella the vessal himself. hope that clears things up :)

[@rizkyabdulrahman8027]

@@imrighturwrong3629 Miquella is a lady? I thought he was a boy

[@dragondaddykushala7133]

@@rizkyabdulrahman8027 he is

[@eunoia7178]

I'm not professional artist or writer but usually do arts, and from the moment I saw her, omg she is everything, i cant tell how much I'm adore her even she is not real

[@sasuke21153]

So I never in my life played any DS games, and this Elden Ring in some ways sparks my curiousity to try it. I'm not really good with this kind of games, especially with its eerie vibes ( I DON'T PLAY HORROR GAMES EITHER) but damn man, this game is absolutely beautiful. It's hard yes, but it's open world, you have like 15 other things to do, if you are stuck, plus the freedom you get in both deciding and understanding the game, it doesn't even give you mission marks or pointers, just do what you want find the path you want and I love that. Malenia, must be the hardest boss I ever fought, but I think I have a crush on her.

[@watrousalex]

You really should go and play them dark souls one and demons souls have both been remastered dark souls 2 is a little clunky but it is old and dark souls 3 is still pretty popular. Also Bloodborne is a really good game in the series it heavily inspired by HP Lovecraft

[@sasuke21153]

@@watrousalex I'll add them in my backlog for now. As I'm not really into the creepy ambience of this game, but the mechanics are addicting as hell.

[@SolemnVisitor]

I would recommend Sekiro- it has tons of beautiful imagery like this game. It's a steeper learning curve and is really difficult at first but once it clicks, it's hard to put down.

[@mas_yaris]

you had a crush on her, and she crushed you what a lovely story

[@AbelMusa]

DS2 and 3 are complete shitshows story-wise because of their hellish developments. They are good games nonetheless but don't take their stories too seriously. Demon Souls, DS1, Bloodborne, Sekiro and now Elden Ring are consistent

[@cabates0114]

Weirdly, I see some parallels with Darth Vader here. The prosthetics, their reputations as a fighter, a majestic and foreboding presence, plus a helm that is both unique and synonymous with their respective franchises. Where Vader was burned and maimed, she has been rotting away, yet both are still so powerful in their own right. They both serve a higher power, too. IDK…maybe it’s just cuz I’m a big Star Wars fan. Wouldn’t be surprised if Vader provided some inspiration, even if a little. Anyway, can’t wait to learn more about the lore surrounding her and Miquella.

[@popkhorne5372]

Now that you say it, i can totally see it. Both lost about the same limbs and are essentially cyborgs. Tho her fighting style is more graceful and fast while his is slow, brutal and efficient.

[@84jesterx]

"PS3 graphics" Man, shut the hell up already. Clearly those people don't remember or know of those graphical days. There's so many details on this character model alone that it's a miracle it animates really well. FromSoftware are literally masters at this craft.

[@TehSymbiote]

Yeah, don't let those idiots get to you. The only people complaining are the ones who don't understand the game and get salty.

[@1thevm1]

Funnily enough, it seems that it's the westoid devs who complain about "no quest markers" and "bad graphics" the most, the jealous talentless hacks that they are. They should be pointed and laughed at.

[@TimmyTurner421]

@@1thevm1 wow these critics really upset you

[@psychicmane7636]

@@TimmyTurner421 yeah fuck them I respect miyazaki immensely a man that meticulously works on every game as an artist they can’t criticize the beautiful art and creativity so the nitpick the graphics are phenomenal for what they are meant for and quite frankly even game developers who are jealous of elden rings success have begun to say the same it is toxic

[@1thevm1]

@@TimmyTurner421 Ooh, "who hurt you?" Cry me a river.

[@Omnipotentmonkey]

She's missing both eyes, both legs, and one arm... and is still maybe the toughest boss in the entire series... imagine her without the handicaps....

[@beastmotoz]

Thanks to Radahn who destroyed her body. And we don't have to fight her without being handicap.

[@Omnipotentmonkey]

@@beastmotoz and vice versa. imagine fighting Radahn or Malenia at the peak of their power...

[@hot_soup4319]

@@Omnipotentmonkey we should be thanking them for the fact they aren't.

[@titel9870]

@@beastmotoz I don't think It was Radahn who destroyed her body and made her so handicapped. I'm pretty sure she had those prosthetics before Radahn.

[@jamesnesran2348]

@@Omnipotentmonkey thatd get in the way of the lore. no way a lowly tarnished could take them prime.

[@RommelStorm]

I fucking love Malenia. Her design, her phases, her swordplay, that Bulbasaur aoe thing, hell, EVERYTHING. From managed to combine beauty and rot into one amazing boss fight.

[@TheLexere]

From Scarlet Aeonia item description : "Each time the scarlet flower blooms, Malenia's rot advances. It has bloomed twice already. With the third bloom, she will become a true goddess."

[@baltzy1616]

I Just Realised This But Malenia is Literally What Tomoe From Sekiro Would Have Been Like If We Did See Her. Malenia Literally Has The Tomoe Dance as Her Special Move.

[@karabirb]

Quite possibly my fav boss in the entire Souls franchise. Fromsoft’s artists never disappoint, she’s absolutely incredible

[@teresamaquez6789]

shes a good boss but not that good

[@user41413]

@@teresamaquez6789L malenia is the greatest ever made

[@karminevt]

She literally is the soul of this game

[@angelolagrutta4679]

Quelag is been dethroned

[@crestfallenwarrior5719]

You dare abandon the true queen?

[@franciscodetonne4797]

Quelaag is still hotter though :P

[@sodreir.8666]

The game Collector ‘s Edition (which costs an insane amount of money) contains an replica of the helmet and an statuette of her. And even a post on Reddit showed an live-sized statue of her on a game store. So since E3, FromSoftware knew Malenia was a big deal

[@ΠΗΝΕΛΟΠΗΚΟΛΟΖΟΥ]

She’s a mixture of excitement and intimidation. Truly a piece of Art.

[@Bigdog-yz4hw]

i can tell why she was cursed with rot, if she wasnt she would be the finest thing to walk the lands between

[@vey_4227]

I just like how they made her posture looks amazing and then we have our character who have a neck issue

[@jub8891]

this is so beautiful.. thank you for doing the magical edit

[@KaiZo6609]

Whoever designed her you have all my respects 100/10 character design

[@ToxicSoul03]

Fighting Malenia with no summons is an absolute nightmare.

[@МихаилСаханевич-п2к]

espetualy with greataxe without bleed)

[@bubastis6306]

It's basically impossible unless you're like Level 200

[@ToxicSoul03]

@@bubastis6306 I did it at level 150

[@alexwenger9655]

Dude yeah I hate my damn mimic tear with her. All it does is feed her hp

[@dman644]

After like an hour of the flurry killing me I decided to use my mimic and beat her in like 5 tries but you need to be lucky cause the mimic can just give her regen if there’s bad rng, kind of feel bad using the mimic though woulda felt more satisfied doing it solo but couldn’t do anything about he flurry attack

[@noth1ingoriginal535]

The design of this boss is beautiful, i love how they choose a butterfly as her second form, ussually represents decay and rot, just like her pride whenever she uses the scarlet rot to defeat an opponent(according to millecent in her quest line). Now his fight mechanics are other story... Long story short, they are bullshit

[@xRevTheoryx]

I actually loved the bossfight, it's the best in Elden Ring in my opinion. She had some one shotting moves but they were very easy to dodge and aside from that it's one of those fights that you just need to learn and you can win easily. Just like Friede, Gael or the Orphan of Kos. You have a bunch of bullshit enemies in Elden Ring (looking at you stupid bird of death) but Malenia is an excellent design

[@plank9456]

@@xRevTheoryx bird of death is 1000x easier than malenia

[@KimeriX]

@@xRevTheoryx Gael is the most readable boss ever, one of the best, never unfair and his fight is terrifyingly good.

[@ragingexodus]

the only real "bullshit" moveset i saw was that crazy three stage cmbo, but its fairly easy to run out of the way. or run out of the way for the first two and dodge under for the third

[@noth1ingoriginal535]

@@xRevTheoryx excellent design? lmao. Massive damage and healing 500 hp with each blow. Plus, well, that infamous anime attack, you need to be really lucky to dodge one of those. if she just decide to to it in mid hitstun, you are dead and there is nothing you can do. That is NOT fair. And im not even mentioning the scarlet rot she can afflict in her second phase

[@Mausyboi]

Miyazaki with the feet once again

[@crestfallenwarrior5719]

Its disgusting. It really is. Its unnerving, uncanny. I dont understand, i physically cant understand how some people are able to like this "concept".

[@queenvictoriann]

I think people make too big of a deal out of that lol. Literally the majority of his characters, male and female, human and monster, are not wearing shoes. It’s clearly just a design thing or whatever. I’ve never seen it as specifically attributed to his female characters.

[@Mausyboi]

@@queenvictoriann im just doing it for the meme tbh

[@queenvictoriann]

@@Mausyboi I figured you were so I was responding more to the guy above me who seemed concerned lol

[@deadmeme902]

@@crestfallenwarrior5719 what, the feet?

[@VladLipF1]

She is hardest boss I've ever beated in my entire life. I thought Issin was tough then i spent on him about 5 hours and about 100 tries. But how i was wrong. This.. Lady took from me 7~8 hours straight and over 215 tries. But I still love this boss Incredible design, soundtrack and boss arena

[@98maplestory]

How do you have 7 hours to 8 hours to spend just on one boss in one game???? In a WHOLE DAY! il be lucky if I get 3 hours of spare time. Man some People just live life on easy mode

[@DthepopeP]

I mean I work a full time job and own my own place. And I can find a day to just have fun. Just because someone isn't busy all the time doesn't mean they're "on easy mode".

[@VladLipF1]

@@98maplestory so... I'm a sort of young man and don't have job, but have collage And i had a weekend that time, when i started to fight her

[@laynerowland1497]

@@VladLipF1 congrats on beating her! i'm not gonna lie i love the souls series but i'm close to giving up on this boss. i just can't beat her. what build were you using? maybe my build is just really bad

[@VladLipF1]

@@laynerowland1497 so, at firts times i was using Ruins Greatsword (not sure it is called like this in English, I'm using other localisation) but it is very slow and deals to little damage since she can heal. So I decided to dualwield straightsword of night and flame and lucaria straightsword (from Lucaria knight set), upgraded them to +10 and i started deal about 1200~1500 damage per combo. I had to respec my stats and after rebirth i had stats like 60 health, 25 mana, 30 stamina, 30 str, 30 dex, 35 faith, 35 int, and like 7 arc And at the second phase i was usung shard of great rune or something (item that slightly increasing your stats) and radan great rune Thats it i think

[@naka3339]

Her wings are actually her hair mangled with rot butterflies. amazing

[@Tylendel_]

the wings of butterflies is such an enchanting image - such a deadly but beautiful design

[@Samoramt]

Malenia is one of the most beautiful bosses ever

[@galandrea3404]

Wow....her lips are so pretty...

[@tcdtboc8551]

Never realized that her hair is what spreads out as the butterflies intertwine with it to form wings.

[@just_cade]

She’s like a Valkyrie meets Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”, I love her design

[@biguy223]

Damn Miyazaki, You really had to put up a decent "distraction" in the second phase too huh.

[@Kirokill1]

Difficulty

[@manuelmateo3392]

The Bloom is quite possibly the coolest visual motif in the game.

[@danielz6177]

If there's a field of flowers in a Fromsoft game, prepare for one heck of a boss fight.

[@FimbongBass]

Malenia is by far my favourite character

[@unitoftemp]

Almost everything in this game is wallpaper worthy.

[@robertpowell1464]

Truly Fromsoft has graced us with a great gift, one elaborated on beautifully here. Redhead badasses are my weakness. :)

[@naxergss2625]

cringe

[@noiwontsignyourarmpit5263]

@@naxergss2625 Nobody with more than a few braincells uses the word "cringe" anymore.

[@naxergss2625]

@@noiwontsignyourarmpit5263 you used it 4 weeks ago

[@noiwontsignyourarmpit5263]

@@naxergss2625 I never claimed to be intelligent.

[@Vinnini]

I love how from a distance the hair and butterfly wings look like roots and mold

[@darksider2903]

She brings all the emotions on the plate. I love her because of her design, hate her for what she did to beloved Radhan and i feel bad for her, the rot took away her limbs, plus she lost her beloved brother. Sucks to be her

[@danglez18]

i need an ending where we can skip her fight and she becomes my wife

[@ValGuard4801]

Stunning. I love how even with a withering body she's still the most powerful character in the game thanks to the very thing rotting her. Very cool details. Do Malekith next PLEASE. He's one of the coolest character designs ever made to me.

[@marylandlax3]

I won’t even lie when I heard some people saying she was the hardest in the game I was excited but wow she lives up to hype, her design, the cutscenes, the music, but above all, the fight! I’ve always loved those dance of death fights FromSoftware makes, Sister Friede and Lady Maria are 2 of my absolute favorites in souls, guess I have a new waifu. Tiny side not and I don’t know why but her design reminds me so much of poison ivy from the Arkham games,

[@konstantinkachanovsky2960]

designs in elden ring are so good, the best fromsoft designs to date

[@Konpekikaminari]

it's so beautiful and vibrant a culmination of all those years they spent shackled to working with sad, monotone colour palettes

[@CelestialDraconis]

It's like they put Lady Maria and Orphan of Kos in a blender and this angel of death emerged.

[@LordBackuro]

Can we talk about how her 2nd phase body is extremely well built, it’s a pretty strong tall built body frame yet still preserves a very feminine, look and doesn’t look grotesque by being too masculine or being too much muscle at all. Her very body also resembles something like a broken porcelain doll, that was put back together piece by piece and her combat invokes a almost ballerina, esque dance with a clear Japanese sword fighting style influence. Definitely one of my favorite character designs, she embodies the beauty that you can always find in something as negative as Decay. Arguably imo one of the 10 most beautiful female character designs from an aesthetic standpoint imo, doesn’t rely on actively sexualizing her even when she is bare bones naked in the 2nd phase.

[@fraiverperez5685]

I love Her design. I agree with you, it's one of the best designs I've seen on a woman.

[@Shinn_NB]

The story behind her and her design model shows that Japanese can take something like Norse mythology and think out side the box to create a masterpiece.

[@wi0.24se]

i thought i was the only one thinking that this boss looks like Valkyrie Norse mythology especially that helmet

[@genbeuden2114]

@@wi0.24se it's a pretty obvious inspiration

[@popkhorne5372]

@@wi0.24se no, everyone thought of valkyries when they saw her, the helmet is iconic. Same as Godfrey clearly being heavily inspired by herakles.

[@hot_soup4319]

@@wi0.24se you realize her arm is called the "valkyrie's prosthesis" right?

[@prudish2584]

She’s one of my favourite designs in a From game. I love the helmet. I wish she was a mainline boss just because how cool she is, but I guess because she’s so hard they made her an optional which is a shame!

[@ygnizemcenia6059]

was hoping we can alter the helmet where it can be her hairstyle only. imo tho even if she is an optional boss and many others, most of us are hunting every single one of em :P

[@jysseri]

the helmet is actually from berserk manga

[@twins2936]

@MrGamebus looks more like farnese helmet

[@hot_soup4319]

Not only optional, but pretty secret as well. Don't forget that to even face her you have to hit a guy hiding in a pot to get half a medallion, find a lady through a cave who tells you to make it to castle sol and beat the boss there to collect the second half, go back to the lift of Rold and hold up the secret medallion, then work your way through 2 whole levels and 1 boss and only then can she whoop your ass 34 times.

[@KratosisGod]

We all know no boss is optional for souls fans lol

[@musketgolfer4326]

"I am Malenia, and I have never known defeat-" "Malenia, sister, we've been over this: those weren't opponents, they were *suitors* that mother chose to court you!" "I did not misspeak."

[@sagivalia5041]

The closest we got was Millicent, most likely how Malenia looked before the shattering considering their relation

[@catatonic8313]

most coolest design every i mean seriously iam not even turned on.. thats how good the designs is

[@SaikoX95]

She was, without a doubt, the hardest boss fight on the entire souls series. I hated her with a passion, died a lot of times and had to get a summon for the first time (who, admittedly, crashed), it was a very stressful experience and definitely the most enjoyable and meaningful fight I've had since Artorias. I'll see you in NG+, Scarlet Rot Queen.

[@tonyadamson8144]

That is what I love in this game, every boss is easy for some and murder for others... I watched a shield build Destroy Melania, simply by being so heavy the could block her entire combo and out damage her heal... I on the other hand resorted to black Tiche +10 and combination or moonveil, whip with Bloodhound Step, and black blade dagger deal damage at midrange and dash out of her special...

[@SaikoX95]

@@tonyadamson8144 I should probably add that it was that hard for me because I used the Greatsword throughout my entire first playthrough. I was essentially making a tribute for Kentaro Miura, and let me tell ya, it was one hell of a struggle.

[@tonyadamson8144]

@@SaikoX95 also note that a majority of the time, Guts got the shit beat out of him in his fights... But still kept swinging his big as sword until they fall... I wish we had an armor equivalent to his berserk armor in the game.

[@ROCKSTAR3291]

no doubt the most beautiful character design in the game

[@ShrubRustle]

I love love love the body type From gave her, broad shoulders, lean muscle, not a super thin waist. It's not a body you see on a lot of female characters, so it really makes her stand out

[@yharnambeast9132]

yes! i love her body type, she looks like a true muscled warrior

[@ReasonablySizedChungus]

@@yharnambeast9132 IMO she could've used some more muscle, but I'm just glad they gave her some regardless.

[@yharnambeast9132]

@@ReasonablySizedChungus her abs are really nice.

[@skirdus367]

the only thing i dislike about malenia is how there's no option to marry her

[@thecallofnine]

The fact that Pippa Bennett Warner a black woman was her voice actress made me so happy the best voice for her 🥰

[@samanthaw.8560]

happy pride to malenia and cleanrot knight finlay

[@orichalchem]

Now we just need an armor set of her phase 2 form

[@WhiteKnightFlameZero]

just play naked then XD love her wings though

[@dman644]

What armour? lmao

[@shadowblueshuriken7387]

Exactly

[@hot_soup4319]

What would that armor even be lol? Maybe rot covering your privates and a big set of wings, it'd have a collective 1 resistance across the board, but greatly boost rot DoT.

[@rexlumontad5644]

0:01 Maleina: "Oh thou're approaching me? So instead of running away, thou come to me." Tarnished: "I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer!" Maleina: "Then come as close as thou like!" *transforms to her final form*

[@xxx_jim_the_reaper_xxx]

Tarnished: "Hmmmm... *Omoshiroi!"*

[@Leo-ym5xn]

*obliterates her with Comet Azur*

[@xxx_jim_the_reaper_xxx]

@@Leo-ym5xn You can shoot a Comet Azur after she lands her Scarlet Rot Eruption in her Phase 2 though. She's vulnerable to long range attacks because the recoil from her attack is too great.

[@danielhofmann233]

The rot took her arm, then her legs and finally her eyes. Imagine her power if miquella managed to restore her.

[@PrimalElf]

Despite her scarlet rot that is destroying her, she is still beautiful.

[@justjorge341]

such elegance and beauty in her pain and missery

[@applepie2806]

Most good looking boss in all soulsbourne game

[@fulgurobaboon1321]

Beauty mixed with the unsettling horror of androgyny and rot, perfectly cursed design

[@TehSymbiote]

She could have just told me she was a Sephiroth main

[@Konpekikaminari]

no, no she couldn't it's a thing to be _shown_

[@TehSymbiote]

@@Konpekikaminari hahaha love it!

[@ValbrandrLeonhardt]

Oh thats cool, I didn't even notice during the actual fight, that her wings are just long hair covered in the Aeonian butterflies.

[@woundwort2831]

Ladies and gentlemen: the Anakin Skywalker of this world. 10/10

[@Sudit404]

During my fight with her when she became goddess of rot I was so trapped in her beauty that I didn’t notice I died

[@Redguard4]

This Boss is a Pain,but she is a 10/10 Boss design and lore is cool

[@Big_Chico]

This is honestly one of the best if not the best games of all time

[@peasantking2622]

As strong as the scarlet rot makes her, imagine how strong Melania would be if she weren't falling apart and had real eyes.

[@rodrigowild]

Malenia is Absolutely Perfect!! The most beautiful boss fight ever… and the most hardest!

[@a1184079]

The single most aesthetically gorgerous character in this game.

[@sveta96533]

looking at her i recalled Teresa Faint Smile)) ultimate beautiful and graceful fighter

[@HavokYT]

2 Winged Angel