This Boss was Hiding the Largest Secret in Elden Ring

#eldenring #maliketh #lore
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This Boss was Hiding the Largest Secret in Elden Ring - Elden Ring Explained is about the journey of Destined Death! A comment has stood out to me for some time, resonating in how I think about Elden Ring, what concepts the game teaches and how even what is set in stone isn’t permanent, for permanence to exist, the story needs to be upheld to the very end and in Elden Ring, there is twists of the black blade. For what it destined in the lands between champions a demigods life to be the strongest warrior (General Radahn), what is destined is for a curse to spread and a queen to rise (Malenia), but above all, what is destined is always hidden, in front of you, in front of me, in front of all that stands in the way of it.. It’s time we talk about Malekith , the Black Blade of Queen Marika!
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Intro: 00:00
The Journey: 01:54
The Godskin Duo: 06:30
Maliketh, the Black Blade: 09:33
The Power of Destined Death: 17:46
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Video Credits/ Music Credits:
Creators
@Deus
@Smoughtown
@Rampage TV
@ModWalker
@Mike Fitzer
@ahmz1404
@Livalain
@Abyss Gaming
@Toadmiilk
@Reaction Reboot
@Gaming Nation
@Bushy
@Sin
@westtrade
@Alzio
@GameSpot
@Marz
@FXRain
Music used
Elden Ring - Leyndell Royal Capital
Elden Ring - Farum Azula
Elden Ring - Character Selection
Elden Ring - Limgrave
Elden Ring - Godskin Apostles
Elden Ring - Beast Clergyman
Spongebob - Jellyfish Jam
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Editor: Creator Studios

[@EvanExplains]

Really happy with how this one came out! Next project is back to Zelda, thanks everyone

[@peezieforestem5078]

I'm really not happy about the clickbait title.

[@EvanExplains]

@@peezieforestem5078 in what way is this clickbait? Maliketh was holding Elden Rings largest secret in his weapon, he was in disguise, he was the largest secret in the game

[@peezieforestem5078]

@@EvanExplains The context is relevant here. The video comes out more than a year after the game has been released and shares "the largest secret" that "we had no idea" about, when in reality it contains the information that has been known for a long time, is part of the main story line, and you largely discuss someone else's comment in the video. You have plausible deniability and can say that technically, it's not clickbait, if we ascribe specific meaning to the word secret, ignore the thumbnail and the context of when the video came out, and say it's subjective what is "the largest". But then, I can say that you look like a cow, and it's technically not an insult because in parts of Indian culture a cow is considered a divine animal, so I was really saying that you look divine. Technically true, but that's not how it is perceived, so you're either ignorant or intentionally doing this, I don't really care which it is, but letting you know in case it's the former.

[@EvanExplains]

@@peezieforestem5078 bro wtf are you on about, it doesn't matter what is "new" or "old" information, I'm presenting the story in my way and bringing people back into the story at the time it was new information, that's on you if you felt that way, get outta here with the snobby shit

[@Multi1]

You're excuse about why we should Subscribe sounds ridiculous to me. What do mean by Progression? It better not mean how many subscribers you can get for sake of more subs. It also implies you are arrogant and just want more subs for no reason. And more subs doesn't necessarily mean you are getting better at Video Quality. I'm guessing you mean Video Quality when you say Progress.

[@DijonFromage]

Gurranq is Maliketh. If you fed him deathroot, he will recognize you and wonder why you're there in Faram Azula.

[@NoirKirbi]

"The flow of time itself is convoluted-"

[@DijonFromage]

@@doughstroyergaming A) You fight Margit at least three times. 2) You fight Mohg twice. III) 2/3 of the bosses in the game are copy/paste. And Fourth) Crumbling Faram Azula is described as being outside time, so it's both true. But if you feed Gurranq all of the deathroot before meeting Maliketh, he has different dialog. Without, he says 'I will not have destined death stolen from me again'. If you gave him all the deathroot, he says "Tarnished, why wouldst thou... Why... Tis no matter. I hereby vow, that Destined Death shall not be stolen again.". And after you kill him he apologizes to Marika for having failed, which he does not do if you didn't feed it to him.

[@ThePomoAa]

​@@doughstroyergamingGurranq literally has the rune of death's locket on his hand. He IS Maliketh, the game just doesn't lock you out of the deathroot quest because one of them is in the last zone of the game, which is harder than Farum Azula.

[@Tres-K-47]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@doughstroyergamingno malekith is gurranq he goes to faruma azula after the game and farum azula is an area out of space and time

[@bryanteger]

​@@doughstroyergamingYes because in Farum Azula he exists out of time.

[@aidanru.2469]

The fact that the Maliketh we fought is not at the same strength he was at when he killed the Gloam-Eyed Queen is insane. And only one Elden Lord can kill Prime Maliketh. And his name is Ongbal

[@theinfernoburns]

Pretty sure Pre-Nerf Radahn could and would kill Maliketh

[@YR-jg1gk]

@@theinfernoburnsnope. He wouldn’t. And trust me I am a radahn fanboy.

[@killingjoker797]

Its an often theme in soulsborne games to fight beings that are very past their prime. Something about forgotten glory I suppose.

[@MrABNGoat]

Let me solo her and many other speed runners would still find a way to obliterate Maliketh. Trust me, I beat the Hollow Knight Pantheons and there are people right now beating impossible modded Any Radiance 2.0 etc. Plot armor or not the speed runners will find a way😂

[@highwind6309]

Because there is a window between "gameplay" and "lore", if the gameplay would match with the lore in every games then beings described as "impossible to kill" or flat out "immortal" would just live up on their reputation. If the game would have a coherence from the lore to the gameplay, Maliketh would just rip our head off and use it as a vessel to play with his doggy woggy but It's a game and we have 1. Plot armor and 2. A power that no bosses nor NPCs possess : we are humans with a logic and no script.

[@thepenismightier8120]

Over 1200 hours in elden ring and its been roughly 3 months since I've jumped back in...hearing the music for the capital gave me goose bumps and I'm hearing the sirens calling me back to the lands between.

[@DurgenzBallPeh]

Whats your highest level character? I just hit over 600 hours and my highest is 310. Hoping to grind and get all stats to 99

[@xfactor2094]

To the land of shadows soon

[@TheLsp2011]

If you read into the lore carefully though…. You can actually easily make an argument, that Malekith IS stronger than any other demigod. Think about it, it was already stated that all the demigods FEARED him. Powerful and power-hungry demigods who had no problem fighting one another FEARED the Black Blade himself.

[@Xgenstudioz777]

By the same logic, any sane police officer is afraid of an armed criminal, knowing that they poses a direct threat to him. But this does not make the opponent obviously stronger. Ranni didn't care about Maliketh at all when she tricked him and stole part of the Rune of Death from him, and then gave Rykard the claw so he could challenge Maliketh if needed. Considering that the first demigod died only after Maliketh was robbed, it becomes clear why he was feared. But that doesn't make him the strongest.

[@Florjb0rjTheFloorboard]

​@@Xgenstudioz777Thing is the demigods could "kill" each other, but Maliketh could *Kill* the demigods

[@Xgenstudioz777]

@@Florjb0rjTheFloorboard Tell Godwyn and the other demigods who buried in the mazoleums about this "kill". From the moment when Ranni scammed this hopeless dog, Maliketh lost his uniqueness. As Blasphemous Claw's existence shows, at the very least, Ranni and Rykard were ready to confront Maliketh.

[@Florjb0rjTheFloorboard]

@@Xgenstudioz777 Yeah, but beforehand he was to be feared

[@Florjb0rjTheFloorboard]

@@Xgenstudioz777 Also they are only missing their souls. As in still alive in all but spirit

[@jax2433]

When you realize that Limgrave is literally the ruins of Ferrum Azula that fell back towards the earth, which is why there are scattered ruins dotted throughout the map. One of the bosses in the starting area is also a beastman, almost confirming this. You could argue that the old kingdom and golden order resided in Limgrave which are largely ruins of said kingdom, aka Stormveil.

[@FellS3raph]

Faram Azula used to be North of Caelid. North of the Farum Greatbridge, where you find Gurranq, that used to be the southern outskirts of Faram Azula. The whole of the city was thrown into the air like the gravitational anomaly around the starfall after you beat Radahn.

[@sbccmichaelkelly]

Is there some Harry Potter series that I could read in my spare time to understand Elden Ring, or is it only through anons online?

[@mac1bc]

​@@sbccmichaelkellynah, they are separate stories

[@SyntheticShinobi]

@@FellS3raphthis. I was hoping someone would point this out before I did. It’s also why the bestial sanctum is in Caelid

[@blindbrailleable]

One of the bosses? Lol dude. There are A LOT of these beastmen kicking around. I think I fought some mobs like an hour ago just starting. NG++++ in the cave on the way to latenna I think. Pretty sure. Definetly seen some in calied the mobs name says farum azula beastman.

[@LovingTodaysCountry]

*SPOILER* Maliketh isnt LIKE the beast clergyman from Caelid He IS the beast clergyman from Caelid

[@Godseeker-Yharim]

As soon as I saw and fought Maliketh for the first time, I instantly knew that it would be a memory I would and could not forget. His power, his character, his backstory, everything about him radiates awe and fear. Just like how the demigods must’ve felt. Side note: A little nod to Destined Death is that when you fight the Baleful Shadow near the Lake of Rot as part of Ranni’s questline. Not only does it take the form of Blaidd, but the sword it wields is also coated in Destined Death.

[@thehoneycasper9260]

When Elden Ring came out initially, maliketh was actually broken. The Death rune didn't work properly, when it chopped your vigor, it also chopped into the health bar itself, doing more damage than it should've. There was also another part when the rune did wear off you didn't get the health back, the vigor yes, the health was still missing. Maliketh from the beginning was THE strongest character, and I find it weird that no one talks about it enough. You can even see older stream clips he used, they fixed the death rune.

[@dchat2k11]

I feel he was the hardest.. only reason he's not on top is because phase 1 was too easy

[@benevolentduck9598]

Ah, another Maliketh enjoyer. My favourite part of his boss fight's design is that, although his attacks are not that hard to dodge, his ability to two-shot pretty much every build makes people panic, as would any Tarnished or even a Demigod (armour description). His Destined Death attacks are legitimately scary and absolutely do the lore justice. On top of that, the Blasphemous Claw is by far the coolest and best implemented anti-boss item in the game as opposed to Margits/ Mohgs Shackle

[@vukkulvar9769]

How do you use it?

[@Florjb0rjTheFloorboard]

Two words: Git Gud

[@dogf421]

hes also so fucking fast that i find it really hard to get any hits on him

[@benevolentduck9598]

@@vukkulvar9769 Maliketh's sword glows white on certain attacks. Those attacks can be parried with the Blasphemous Claw. The timing is quite generous, so you can just press the button as soon as you see the glow

[@vukkulvar9769]

@@benevolentduck9598 Thanks

[@benevolentduck9598]

Maliketh is why Elden Ring needs a Boss Rush mode

[@ImWhyMortalsCry]

I just want a boss rush for the same reason I wanted it in sekiro Some bosses are just so fun to fight I don't want to play through the whole game again to fight them again

[@Fakensyit95]

Finally, other people that want a boss rush mode, I rarely if not ever, see anyone advocate for a boss rush mode, or maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough but either way, I do wish they'd add a boss rush too, they could make it as simple as a menu and then choose and fight whoever ooor they could do it the fromsoft way and make it too complicated like they always do, Beat a boss, acquire their remembrances, use it on some sacred altar or atleast a grace of site but to access a boss fight, you have to collect "dream-somethings" or whatever kinda like larval tears from a new enemy type spread accross the map lol

[@Fakensyit95]

​@@ImWhyMortalsCryyup, I was up to a point where isshin was like a sparring partner lol. Eventually, when I got a little bit bored of roaming in sekiro. Boss rush was pretty much my go-to. I even modded it make them even more harder.

[@cloud_2510]

It would kill co-op and invasions that's why it will never happen

[@hellwolf09]

Isnt ng+ just boss rush? I see people go ng+ and just go 1 boss to the next they already have a full build that point and dont need to explore

[@MrWojas92]

That 2nd phase cutscene..... No matter how many times i watch it, i will always get goosebumps. It's just too epic.

[@LordRazer3]

Maliketh was feared by all the demigods. And like Rahdon we are not fighting him in his prime. Not only is destined death missing a piece from itself but Maliketh himself has been tormented by the same death rune that he sealed into his flesh.

[@thelastgamer1]

Feeding him all ten deathroots and his voicelines change at the end he recognizes you

[@NicholasRiveroMassivekillerz]

Okay okay okay so maliketh STILL gives me the chills when he says “oh, death…” he is the coolest boss in the game hands down. Although i didnt have a super hard time with him though. Moonlight greatsword OP?

[@dyroth]

Yeah I melted him with the mgs too lol

[@TheKniteOwl2686]

Best line from the game… chills

[@valeriemann3553]

Maliketh is my favorite character out of the entire game. I was so sad and heartbroken when I fought and killed him.. I never wanted to hurt him, I wish I could pet him, he was such a good boy

[@henryhuynh3574]

What lmfao

[@RequiemL34]

​@@henryhuynh3574yeah... Happens that if you give all the dethroots to gurranq before the fight, he realize It's you and you can note the sadness and feeling of being betrayed on his voice. As well as most of us that did this our first run, felt sad because now we were killing our good ol friend.

[@ironmaiden93ofangmar]

Yeah he was a good boy. And when he's howling into the sky outside of his sanctum, it makes me sad

[@RecluseBootsy]

Felt that way about Blaidd. 😢 i had a soft spot for all the bloodhound knights and shadows.

[@matty-john7362]

"tarnished, why wouldst thou.. why?" broke my heart.

[@frostee6555]

Ah, Maliketh my beloved

[@LordDoom10]

Maliketh didn't steal Destiny Death, Marika gave it to him by removing it from the Elden Ring (an act that robbed the Gloom Eyed Queen of power). He then bound it inside his sword to wield against the Gloom Eyed Queen. After a fragment was stolen, he then bound his Black Blade within his body so no more could be stolen.

[@All-father4300]

Maliketh got destined death after defeat and kill gloam eyed Queen and almost all the godskins

[@ironmaiden93ofangmar]

True. The Gloam Eyed Queen only held the power of the black flame, which could kill gods. But without the rune of Death as part of the Elden Ring, its power was diminished. Then Maliketh went and killed her with Destined Death. If I remember correctly. I could be wrong

[@seratoxin3825]

GEQ didn't exist until the Night of Black Knives. Marika is the GEQ.

[@LordDoom10]

@@seratoxin3825 No. The Gloom Eyed Queen existed before the night of the Black Knives. Otherwise, Destined Death wouldn't be bound inside Maliketh's blade. And then Ranni wouldn't be able to steal a piece of it. Destined Death was specifically removed from the Elden Ring to depower the god slaying Black Flames of the Gloom Eyed Queen and her Godskinners.

[@seratoxin3825]

@@LordDoom10 ...no. you just made all of that up. Destined Death was removed from the Elden Ring to create the Golden Order - a world without death. before the Order was shattered, Maliketh alone commanded Death. presumably Marika gave it to him because he was her loyal shadow, and he bound it to his sword. there's no hint in the lore that he sealed it in his sword because of GEQ or anything like that. it's pretty clear GEQ is Marika and she had Ranni steal Death out of the Black Blade, then they had the Black Knives created (presumably by Hewg) and Marika combined the Rune of Death with the Flame of Ruin to create the Black Flame

[@puzzleheaded6195]

“A sacred seal given by Gurranq, the Beast Clergyman. A rare trinket which allows incantations to be scaled with strength. *The claw mark represents Gurranq's wrath*. Enhances bestial incantations learned from Gurranq.” I think there’s something to the conflicted nature of Maliketh and why so many item descriptions talk about his wrath and ferocity. We find out from Iji and Ranni that the shadowbound beasts are secretly sleeper agents for the Two Fingers as tools to control their Empyreans. There’s a lot of evidence that Marika might’ve pushed Maliketh to activate his kill switch and we see it happen firsthand with Blaidd…

[@Darien2016]

Malekeith is the beast clergyman from the cathedral. I think it's even in the same time as well. Because when you fully complete his quest he recognizes you and asks why you want destined death. After you give him all the death root he just goes to Farum Azula. Rani probably came back in a simaler way as sorceress sellen but only put her soul into a doll.

[@Wizord1]

He’s still alive after you kill Malekith, the cathedral clergyman is called Gurranq

[@xfactor2094]

@@Wizord1they are the same. Farum Azula is just in a different space time compared to everything else. You learn that from the secret boss in the area

[@BulldogFromHell]

This is the best boss in gaming. And the more I fight him, the more that fact is solidified for me. His lore, his fight, everything about him is insane. A hound born to be a sworn killer of his half-sister Goddess wielding the literal Concept of Death. The only problem with Maliketh is that he has 10k health, not 30k, and that he has 80 poise, not 120-160.

[@seratoxin3825]

fyi they aren't blood-related. the "half-brother" thing is a well-known mistranslation. with Blaidd & Ranni too.

[@BulldogFromHell]

@@seratoxin3825 Wrong. Blaidd was called Ranni's step-brother, not half-brother. They made a clear distinction on purpose. They are blood related. Nothing says or even just implies they are not. Half-brother means half related. Cope.

[@seratoxin3825]

@@BulldogFromHell you're completely wrong. you keep doing this lol, you just completely make something up, then dig your heels in and refuse to admit you're wrong

[@clurtzy]

@@seratoxin3825 Wait but where is the proof that they aren't though

[@seratoxin3825]

@@clurtzy "proof" is too strong a word, but look at the japanese versions. people have discussed it a lot, especially on reddit. i don't speak japanese, but from what everyone else is saying, the word translates most directly to "honor brother", i think? and it basically means someone who's considered family but technically isn't.

[@Gusonic-bg7kp]

I think Godfrey is in the top 5 strongest in elden ring lore because unlike all the others, godfrey does not have any special power, and even so he fought in several wars, practically extinguished the race of giants, went 1x1 against the storm lord, attracted the attention of queen marika who was a goddess and everything that and he was just a human, he must have other feats too but I don't remember now, and even so in the fight against him, he can cause earthquakes with just his bare hands

[@s8theninjawarrior916]

Godfrey aint no normal human... I don't know where poeple got that idea, he's titled a "legend" which only 3 other bosses were titled the same; Maliketh, the Fire giant and Placidusax... which are all literally godlike beings.

[@mannytprimeministerofthemanate]

Pretty sure Rennala is also titled legend

[@TheRisky9]

Well, he's a Tarnished. And part of the reason I think people distrust Tarnished is because a single Tarnished with enough ambition and the right equipment, can take out an entire castle and fell a demigod. That's what you literally do in the game. To say he's just a "normal" person is not quite true. And there's some evidence that Queen Marika was fond of Godfrey. She refers to him as "My Lord" which with Boc's dialogue is a title of grand respect and adoration. This is different than what she calls Radagon which is, the "Leal hound of the Golden Order."

[@Writh811]

@@s8theninjawarrior916 More than "ain't no normal human" the game outright says in an item description, he is the first Demi-god. @Gusonic 2004 It's actually more likely that Hourah Loux won Marika's favor before she ascended to godhood, since her divinity is attached to the Erdtree and Hourah Loux and his Crucible Knights came up during the Crucible era. This is why their first set of kids (Morgott and Mohg) were Omen. Once the Erdtree was replaced with the Crucible we got Godwyn. @TheRisky9 I fully agree. I imagine the beginnings of their relationship likely echo/rhyme with our relationship with Ranni in her quest. Godfrey clearly made sure to sit down at the extra grace for more dialogue so Marika would call him "Dear Consort Eternal" while I guess Radagon skipped the extra grace dialogue and is just the "fair consort eternal." lol --- I think Godfrey is outright stronger than Maliketh. Maliketh just has a weapon that runs counter to life. Basically, saying Maliketh is strongest is like saying a Black Widow is more powerful than a human. Yeah they can kill humans with their venom but we can do so much more.

[@Gusonic-bg7kp]

@@s8theninjawarrior916 normal i mean different from others who have some kind of power or weapon that makes him strong like malenia is a semi goddess and an excellent swordsman and she has the scarlet rot and she becomes the goddess of rot radah another demigod very strong and has his gravity spells which are powerful enough to hold the stars in the sky malliketh is a beastman and the shadow of the eternal goddess marika and possesses literal death itself as a blade As for godfrey, he is not a demigod or has some kind of magic or power that makes him known or something like that, he just has his fury and strength and even so he is one of the most powerful and known in the elden ring world (I I think this is just below the external gods)

[@morrissallick8003]

I’ve wanted a lore video about Maliketh for the longest time. So thank you

[@swordshark3903]

My favorite boss and character in the game so much so that I made a whole character build around him. first playthrough him asking why I was there because I gave him all the deathroot had me asking all kinds of questions then when he turned into the black blade I lost it, had goosebumps the whole time fighting him.

[@perpetualponder6851]

Nobody talks about Malikeths multiplayer bug. If you die at the same time as Maliketh while you're in another player's world, it bugs out your save file and you can't progress the story. I'm sure somebody can mix that into the game lore somehow 🤔

[@EvanExplains]

🤔

[@KD-_-]

He should be able to delete your save file lore wise

[@WinterLight00]

It’s a cannon event, buddy😭

[@aceundead4750]

Gurranq is Maliketh, you can learn this by the fact that if you give Gurranq all the deathroot completing his little fetch quest then face Mali he'll recognize you as the Tarnished who fed him and ask why wouldst thou seek destined death.

[@DurgenzBallPeh]

I do agree Maliketh is Gurranq. But isn't the crumbling Farum Azula in an alternate timeline or where time is different? If that's the case, then how did gurranq get to Azula before you to fight you?

[@landfillao4193]

That cinematic tells us Radahn and Malenia were the mightiest demigods left in the war of the shattering. Maliketh was not a part of the war nor was he a demi-god. My power tier guess: Outer Gods > Marika/Radagon = Maliketh = Miquella > Radahn = Malenia = Gloameyed Queen = Godfrey > Margit = Mohg = Ranni = Renalla etc.

[@nugget-zf5by]

Miquella wasn't a fighter from what we have seen tho, But who knows maybe he is in the dlc.

[@josephtidwell4845]

Regardless he is infact being mentioned the greatest of the empyreans.

[@landfillao4193]

@@nugget-zf5by Yeah, Miquella is not really portrayed as a fighter and tbh I hope he's not come time for the DLC. I would actually be disappointed if he was just relegated to being some super boss. I think he'd be more interesting in a support/background role, personally. But Marika is never shown as a fighter, either. Radagon handled that side of things. Miquella is called the most fearsome of all empyreans, though.

[@ironmaiden93ofangmar]

​@landfillao4193 I agree, tho it'd be interesting if Miquella was something like Lothric in the sense that Lothric was weak and cursed but also had certain abilities, plus the help of his brother.

[@landfillao4193]

@@ironmaiden93ofangmar something like that could work since miquella can basically make anyone love him and fight for him. One cool idea I saw someone bring up was if he was a boss fight and he turned your summons against you. While brutal as hell that would be really cool and fit his lore. I'm very interested in learning more about him amd Godwyn in the DLC.

[@evanf1997]

Maliketh is the best good boy out there

[@fobbitoperator3620]

Remember your top-shelf videos from Destiny 1 & 2, had no idea you made videos from Elden Ring. This was fantastic as usual. Keep the videos coming!

[@anonymousnate678]

Awesome video but I'm sorry how did you in your right mind call Fire Giant From's most annoying boss... I would put Bed of Chaos, and Dragon God in that spot easily.

[@Kat-nd5fq]

There are bosses in Elden Ring that are more annoying than the Fire Giant

[@shipwreckedonapopulatedisland]

That's probably how he feels personally as in that's his opinion.

[@ironmaiden93ofangmar]

I think the issue with Fire Giant is that he's an actual fight rather than a gimicky fight such as Bed of Chaos or Dragon God. So Fire Giant is an actual boss fight that is also annoying. If that makes sense. Anyway, I hated that fight so much 😂

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Fire Giant is a fantastic fight. Stick to his front, bait attacks, crush the legs, arms, face, and chest. It feels incredible.

[@Veldazandtea]

Name me another boss that can easily roll on the player and spit homing balls of fireballs.

[@BulldogFromHell]

You were right on the money up until that last section, where you said Maliketh has nothing on the Demigods without Death. You got a lot of reading to do. How do you think he got Death in the first place? It wasn't always his. The name ''Maliketh'' literally means ''Death of The Demigods''. He crushed Marika's Empyrean rival when she had an army of Godskins and wielded Death against him in its full force. Imagine fighting Malenia and a few dozen Godskins, except they all wield Destined Death and deal double the damage with it since the Destined Death we face in game is fragmented. Maliketh did the rough equivalent of that, and won. He curbs any Demigod. The game says that they fear HIM, not his blade. Maliketh > Godskins > Gods > Demigods Proof? The Godskin Swaddling Cloth says this: ''The Gloam-Eyed Queen cradles newborn apostles swaddled in this cloth. Soon they will grow to become the death of the gods.'' They wear the skin of Gods they slay, and even have the Noble Presence, which says this: ''Once a sign of the gods' wrath, this incantation became a trophy of the Nobles' god hunt.'', proving beyond all doubt that they were stronger than Gods back when they were at their strongest since they hunted them and took their skin and spells as trophies. Maliketh was the one who beat the Godskins. Scouring Black Flame says: ''The black flame could once slay gods. But when Maliketh sealed Destined Death, the true power of the black flame was lost.'' And we know how he did this thanks to the Godslayer Greatsword, which says: ''Sacred sword of the Gloam-Eyed Queen who controlled the Godskin Apostles before her defeat at the hands of Maliketh. The black flames wielded by the apostles are channeled from this sword.'' So the Godskins were birthed and raised by the Gloam-Eyed Queen. She wielded Destined Death in her blade, and from that blade, her Godskins drew their Black Flame, which due to being infused with Destined Death was able to slay Gods. Maliketh defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen singlehandedly, took her blade, and sealed Destined Death, removing the Godskins' ability to draw from it. So Maliketh > Godskins > Gods is now confirmed. So where are the Demigods placed? Well, Marika (through Melina) has dialogue making it pretty damn clear: ''In Marika's own words. Hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices...'' So Marika essentially inspires them to strive for lordship or even Godhood, but informs them that if they fall short, they will be forsaken, a sacrifice. So it is clearly an immense struggle for a Demigod to achieve Godhood, which we know for a fact thanks to the trailers. The entire reason The Shattering Wars took place is because the likes of Radahn and Malenia began butting heads over Great Runes in order to acquire enough power so as to become Elden Lord and attain Godhood by replacing Marika. So it is beyond a shadow of a doubt: Maliketh and the Elden Beast are the strongest beings in the game. And that is no coincidence. Both are/wield Concepts, the only two Concepts in the game (so far). Concepts are borderline omnipotent, and completely omnipresent. They are about as powerful as anything gets in fiction. They transcend dimensions such as space, time, etc. Maliketh wields the literal Concept of Death which allows him to control Death, while the Elden Beast is described as such: ''It was the vassal beast of the Greater Will and living incarnation of the Concept of Order.'' Who would win between these two is very difficult to say. I lean towards Maliketh since Death > any other Concept, and since his individual skill is already so great in and of itself that he was the one who beat Death in the past. His own dialogue strongly implies that he knows this too. Whether you've done his quest or not, he makes it pretty clear that once we beat him, we will succeed in our quest. Probably because he knows that if we beat him, we can beat Marika, Godfrey, Radagon and the Elden Beast. Nothing can stop us now. That's why he pleads with us in dread if we're a stranger, and asks for forgiveness from Marika if he’s at peace with it because we’re a friend, outright saying the Golden Order cannot be restored now that he has fallen. He knows it has nobody more capable than him left to protect it. His cut dialogue even says this: ‘’This (wo)man, a slayer of Gods (referring to himself), most impressive. Armed with Death, thou mayest choose the throne of thy desire.’’ It’s on KZbin, fully voiced and all. It’s even in the game files, just doesn’t have a trigger. But yeah, it confirms that he’s the strongest.

[@ConsiderFirstCnE]

Go outside please😢

[@MorbidGames666]

I actually almost started crying when I saw the clergyman transform into maliketh. After struggling the first half I knew my fate was sealed.

[@kian5339]

You can see the medallion on gurranq’s hand under his sleeve at the beastial sanctum + he recognises you if you feed him all the deathroot

[@MrTmm97]

Love to see your Elden Ring content… your style of narration and content is absolutely perfect for Elden Eing lore, story, and discussion. Definitely keep it up! Sekiro was my first official FromSoft Souls. Elden Ring was my second. They both opened my eyes and helped me to appreciate the Souls-like genre more than I already had. All of that to say it’s awesome to see one of my favorite Destiny content creators carving out a niche in Souls content. Definitely consider making similar content for Sekiro! I would definitely watch that content.

[@Lordparable]

After I beat maliketh I beat the game This was the first time I immediately regretted beating a boss (first souls game)

[@sunbreakerqueenofbronze621]

Why do you regret beating him?

[@Lordparable]

@@sunbreakerqueenofbronze621 it didn’t feel like a victory, I ended the fight feeling like the bad guy

[@sunbreakerqueenofbronze621]

@@Lordparable witless Tarnished… why covet Destined Death? To kill what?

[@Lordparable]

@@sunbreakerqueenofbronze621 at the time of me playing through for the first time, I didn’t know I was going to kill her

[@pawntune]

No joke, I fought him like 10 times, then my wife got there and beat him first try.

[@neilpittman8351]

That 1st run changed my life!! I was able to understand beauty in death and decay, I never knew it was possible but elden ring will open your mind to things in life, though death and decay. Pure masterpiece!

[@BranniganCarter]

I’m gonna have to start an entirely new game of Elden Ring cuz if I’ve learned anything, it’s that trying FromSoft DLC on NG+ is an exercise in absolute horrifying torture

[@eetfuk3571]

aight lad, I just discovered your channel literally today. I gotta say that this is an amazing video, I am entertained. subscribed!

[@ironstark917]

Very solid video, though worth mentioning the Two Fingers are not the equivalent of Great Ones, they only convey the will of the Greater Will, which is then translated to common tongue by the Finger Maidens. The Outer Gods are closer to the Great Ones.

[@EvanExplains]

Thanks for clearing that up, so they’re more messengers that then the finger maidens are translating? Is Elden beast the only outer god we have slain?

[@ironstark917]

@@EvanExplains Sure thing! And yes, the two fingers are mostly similar to the messengers, conveying the ideas of the Greater Will. As for the Elden Beast, it is not an Outer God either rather like the Two Fingers, it is meant to be a representative of the Greater Will. Pre the item description of the Elden Remembrance: "It was the vassal beast of the Greater Will and living incarnation of the concept of Order." Basically, the Elden Beast is a physical servant of the Greater Will, but not the Greater Will itself or at least that's what I'm thinking the item description is getting at since a Vassal in medieval times was a holder of land on behalf of a feudal lord. But, that does feel like a contradiction to the "God Slain" message. Unless of course, the "God" slain in question was Radagon/Marika and the Elden Beast was only meant to be a last line of defense or even final test for us to prove our worth of becoming Elden Lord.

[@afro.sensei]

I remember seeing somewhere that when translated from the Japanese version of the game the outer gods aren't gods at all in a sense that they aren't actual beings but rather they represent aspects of the world/life. So the god of rot would represent decay and how everything eventually well decays.

[@ironstark917]

@@afro.sensei That sounds like the work of Tarnished Archeologist and/or SmoughTown. Good stuff!

[@basharkema4684]

Almost every minute of this vid was a gift to watch. Sensational!

[@smokinggnu6584]

I did the Godskin duo fight in one try, mainly because i utilized, what souls veterans would consider coward tactics and yell at me if they could, by using a summon that would be largely immune to most of their damage (the Crystalian +10) and hiding behind cover, only popping out to deliver some massive damage when their attention was off me, specifically with the Spiral Shard spell. See, this was my first souls game, and with other games i am a Blaster Caster at heart, so i gravitated to sourceries. I have learned very little of the actual combat but had an absolute blast of a time (hehe) finishing the game. Next playthrough i will be doing a melee run just so i can actually learn all that good stuff.

[@SwedishLatino]

Bro this is one of the best ER videos i've seen. I'm glad algorithm worked for once. You funny af dude and have a talent for explaining stuff in a interesting manner.. I'm starting a new playthrough tomorrow haha Liked and subbed bro keep em coming hope all is well cheers

[@EvanExplains]

I appreciate that! More videos coming soon

[@Jai_dinn]

this game is just incredible

[@ImTrans-Former]

Great video my man

[@thehotd0g8]

The beast clergyman attacking me despite me supplying him with drugs

[@tacticallemon7518]

8:47 the funny thing is, they’re supposed to be able to wake each other up but for some reason, the enemies nearby (mainly the one under the floor) bug that out

[@matthieubreton2627]

Gurang is maliketh , if you finish gurang quest line before fighting him in the arena he will say something along the line that he wished it was not you because you helped him.

[@crumplepunch312]

"In front of you, in front of me, in front of all it stands in the way of it." So it's in front of everything that's in front of it? That's deep.

[@Orwaha]

Lmfaooo had to hit subscribe so you can feel something since the wife and kids. Had me rolling bro. Awesome videos on this channel.

[@tavastian3288]

Bosses are hard in all souls games unless you realise they are designed like Mega Man bosses and each one has a profound weakness. Like sleep spell and weapons put godskins in coma for easy victory

[@man-emania]

Bravo, great editing, great video, made me laugh and informative, love Elden Ring lore! You earned my sub.

[@TheRealCrowOkatagi]

So long time soulsborne fan, and can verify godskin duo was one of the few bosses I could not first try solo, had to use mimic tears, and farm up another 15-20 levels in order to win.

[@arnieanime2792]

I used Minic to distract him while I lvl 90 Arcane Reduvia L2'd him to Smithereens.

[@warlord5295]

I see a common thing with alot of the bosses in elden ring is that not all the bosses are not entirely malicious while only a few are just plain evil like godrick and mohg while others such as malenia morgot godfrey radahn and maliketh are tragic characters who just happen to be in your way of becoming elden lord.

[@tylermatthew378]

the gloem eyed queen follows you throughout the game. you can see the burn scars on her hands.

[@bunklypeppz]

I wonder if there is some lore-based justification for why you can still be brought back by grace after Maliketh kills you with destined death. I would speculate that it has something to do with how time passes in Farum Azula, since that place seems to have a weird relationship with the passage of time, allowing you to go back and fight Placidusax or the fact that you can defeat Maliketh there, but the Beast Clergyman will still remain in his usual spot outside of Farum Azula etc. Maybe Maliketh kills you in the fight with destined death, but dying in that coliseum at the top of Farum Azula causes you to go back in time, rather than simply being brought back in the usual manner by the site of grace.

[@NerdOracle]

My first playthtrough solidified my love for the game. I just played as long and as hard as I could at base level Prisoner without Melina's offer of help. It was so hard, but so much fun. I just love Souls games to no end

[@Nhokc35]

I think my favorite thing about this game is how hard some bosses are for some people and easy for others. I beat the godskin duo first try in literally 2minutes, but I've been getting my ass prolapsed by elden beast for a week

[@Alloveck]

Yeah, I agree. All that talk of the godskins being tough just seemed weird to me because in my experience, Malenia is sooooo much worse. And it's not just for me. I've been summoned tons of times, and the godskin duo loses every single time. Meanwhile, about 1 out of 4 attempts on Malenia succeed in my experience. In all the rest, she kills the host with a waterfowl combo, either in phase 1 or more likely, 2. I don't care what people say or apologize for anything: That combo is just too powerful. At this point, whenever I'm getting summoned I hope it specifically isn't for Malenia because it's probably just going to be a disappointing waste of time when the host most likely dies a few minutes in.

[@PinkTuskedMammoth]

I legit didnt know about the sleep pot method until I watched Carbots cartoon fighting the God Damn Duo

[@chrisvargas2469]

Did you guys know that in the Spanish version of the game Marika is named Marida because Marika means f*ggot?

[@30Cal-Cam]

Lmao really

[@IsidorTheNordicGuy]

And Margit and Margot are old ladies names in sweden.

[@jax2433]

Everyone goes through all the souls games and has their defacto "best boss ever" and Maliketh is my favorite hands down. His music is also absolute gas

[@Wowzersguy22]

The beast clergyman has the medallion on his hand so it must be him

[@cbgray]

Time to grab the popcorn 🍿

[@FTZPLTC]

When I heard Miyazaki was going to work with GRRM I just assumed Konami would find some way to cancel it.

[@mariospoldi243]

The funny thing about the sleeping pot method on godskin duo is that it shouldn't even work, they technically have the ability to wake each other up but because of a bug it doesn't work

[@Joldrath]

Some great content there m8. Subbed.

[@svenstevenson2245]

Not only does miazaki love his poison swamps, he invented an entirely new form of poison just to torment us.

[@anoofhaikalmohamed825]

The godskin duo fight might actually not be just two of them but a few dozen of them sent to kill maliketh since the fight doesnt really end when you kill both of them, you have to wait till more spawn

[@scottouimet2865]

I had more trouble with the god skin duo and the tree sentinel than I did with Maliketh. I think I got him 2-3rd try... Guess builds just make different things different difficulty

[@j3nki541]

Ranni is legit the most badass character in Elden Ring. Only played it once and since I had already seen the endings online I felt like going for Shabriri, because I felt it was pretty cool. But when I saw Ranni in her little cave after slashing her Fingers to death I ended up doing hers. And every time I hear about her I'm reconfirmed she is just the coolest character in Elden Ring.

[@deepstop4207]

Love this keep going!!!

[@Blade23445]

Destined death isn't a permanent thing. In fact, like craigblade, it lasts for ~60 seconds (1 minute) before the effect goes away. This is my favorite fight in the game, and after 1,000+ times beating him (32 of those are actual playthroughs, the rest is helping people). You learn a lot of stuff. Also, his strongest attack is also his must vulnerable. When he's using the actual skill titled destined death, run behind him, and you can get 2 heavy attacks or 1 heavy and 2 light attacks (with greatsword or colossal swords.) Literal favorite boss in the game. And fun fact. If you die from destined death, you'll respawn with 20% of your health missing. It can still be refilled don't worry it's not an old king Allant situation from Demon Souls.

[@Tenebra_Resonat]

I’ve been playing the souls games since dark souls, most of them 100% except for Bloodborne. But the Godskin due was pretty easy for me and I was under leveled at that point, I was at least level 70 with a +8 somber and 12 regular weapon which were Nagakiba (long katana) and RoB. I died twice while learning their patterns and once that was figured out I killed them. But Maliketh was killing me over and over because of his deathblight effect, even Placidusax wasn’t hard for me (lvl 90 at Placidusax) but Maliketh was just too difficult for me which is when I level grinded to 90 and then beat him.

[@KaB3314]

5:04 She chopped off his feet. When I fought Radahn, I wondered where his feet were.

[@iggswanna1248]

If Marevel's Mysterio and a lollipop had a son, it would be your character

[@Voitan]

"This would be one of the most frustrating boss fights in all Elden Ring" LOL **Ding, Ding, Ding!** [Shoots Kamihameha at Godskin Apostles]

[@Kaleb._]

I love how he is feared by every Demi god. That's how powerful he is.

[@sidielkarchi199]

the middle of his arena looks like a lift, did anyone else notice that!?

[@RaDicAL808]

Even that tree sentinel before Maliketh is a problem lol

[@PerEnding]

God I always hated that helmet so much, but It's stats made it hard not to use. Don't take the lack of subs personally , my brother has a smaller youtube channel and gets tons of positive feedback , likes, shares, etc and his sub rate is about the same as yours. People just don't use the sub button, most people use KZbin more as a video search engine, which is really what it is. But since you asked I subbed, you make good stuff, and I appreciate the effort.

[@anthonyveasey4273]

godskin duo made me change my OG build

[@mionfel1350]

Not ashamed to say that Maliketh was a steel wall I just couldn't overcome on my 1st char and damn near made me give up on ER, but thankfully months later with a pure strength build, +10 ruins great sword and +10 great shield ghost summon for added cheese, I was finally able to beat him and let me tell you that victory was oh so very sweet.

[@jackeriksen6753]

What's up with destined death and the black/white combo though? Ranni's Divine tower is unique not just by the missing two fingers, but the "elevator room" got white and black lingering in it. Malakith's hair and tail is black and white. And should you "betray" Melina, her hair turns Black and white to, in the ending sene. It's kind of odd as destined death itself is red/black.

[@MarkWilson-ij9jd]

Two years in, and I am still a novice with the storylines. This game gives as much as you're willing to let it. A true masterpiece.

[@IamtheSubSandwich]

I bet full powered destined death Maliketh before ranni took a fragment. I bet maliketh looked like a ying yang that would whoop ass and bark.

[@Cooper-fu9kv]

I LOVE MALIKETH. HE IS MY FAVORITE BOSS IN THE ENTIRE GAME. YALL WANA KNOW WHY? Because of the fact that his attacks actually have lore in them, are shaped pretty well, and just his character in general is the greatest invention ever. Maliketh the black blade is a bad ass name to. I just cant imagine dark souls making him any better.

[@tylerhawksmoor9601]

the shadow lands are obscured, "hidden" as you say as well. I think obfuscation is definitely one of the core themes in the game.

[@ravenbloodommo]

I think that maliketh might be twins or same species of beast that worshiped death from the ancients just he was able to control the death blade. Because there's also the dragon lord here that might have something to do with maliketh being part dragon maybe.

[@Mulag91]

Maliketh is my favorite boss. I love the fight so much. I hope they'll add a new Destined Death Ash of War in Shadow of the Erdtree. A Sacred Blade DD AOW would be awesome.

[@scotshabalam2432]

The Godskin apostle fight is the ER version of Ornstein and Smogh.

[@wurstbrotchen2135]

A dunk straight in da face!

[@billh2567]

Next to Malenia he's my most hated boss. Although Radahn on phase 2 is berzerker mode when he hits you from his Patriot missile attack from the next state!

[@keithschaefer3765]

Bruh, the end of this video killed me 😂

[@manniesamuels5547]

Jokes on Maliketh, I died to destined death about 100 times. Came back every time.

[@belial1821]

Maliketh is indeed the strongest

[@Dastardly_Duo]

18:45 He does. It's the Rune of Death

[@SEXCOPTER_RUL]

Idea for a mod: anytime you die to destined death it makes a copy if your character in its entirety, including inventory, and its randomly placed in the game world and is continually hunting you in real time. That would be amazing, especially if it has some way of keeping track of all of your inputs and then starts mimicking your patterns when they fight you, theoretically using your cheapest tactics AGAINST you!

[@zakugt5098]

Fromsoft did something like that in one of the games in the Armored Core series. You could record your data from your fights in the arena and use it to train an ai operated companion that you could take with you to missions

[@Phyrrx]

I didn’t find the skin twins all that difficult actually, I beat them first try. Now fighting maliketh, that was actually fun

[@NotThatGuyPal.]

There was a random coop summoning for my fight with godskin duo. That’s the only way I beat them because before that I had failed for a week.

[@smcfadden1992]

this was my favorite souls game, not saying i wouldn't go back knowing what i know today