Malenia, Blade of Miquella

Lore & Background

Malenia was born as an Empyrean child of Queen Marika and Radagon, cursed at birth with Scarlet Rot. To ward off the rot god's influence, Miquella utilized Unalloyed Gold, a material capable of breaking such divine corruption. During the civil war known as the Shattering, Malenia led her knights in an undefeated campaign across the land, including a victory against at least one fellow demigod relative. Her path eventually crossed with her half-brother Starscourge Radahn. After heavy resistance from his army, the two met and dueled to a stalemate. At the battle's end, Malenia unleashed the Scarlet Rot and lost her Unalloyed Gold needle. Dragged unconscious by a remaining knight to the Haligtree—a holy tree created by Miquella—she slept while inadvertently causing the tree to rot from the inside. After Miquella was kidnapped, she awakened when the player encountered her at the base of the Haligtree's interior.

In Their Own Story

When the player reaches Elphael, Malenia engages them in battle after awakening from her slumber. If dealt enough damage, she is overcome by the rot once more, transforming into Malenia, Goddess of Rot. Upon defeat, her body fades while she compliments the player's strength, noting she had awaited a challenger who could face her in single combat and live to tell the tale. In her place remains a large red flower with powers of rebirth. If the player completed a specific NPC quest earlier, they can return the Unalloyed Gold Needle to this flower form. This act fulfills the quest's goal to "return something to Malenia; a means to restore the will and dignity that she lost after her battle with Radahn." The red flower grants another Unalloyed Gold Needle in return, which can suppress the Outer God of Frenzied Flame if inherited.

Reader's Guide

Malenia is widely considered the hardest boss in Elden Ring. Data from March 2023 showed she killed 10 players every second since launch and had been fought 329 million times. Her first phase was originally more aggressive, using Waterfowl Dance at any point before a patch required her to be below 80 percent health. A popular tactic, the Swarm of Flies incantation, was nerfed in a patch that erroneously made her heal "almost at will," later fixed. Players have employed extreme methods to defeat her: Twitch streamer MissMikkaa spent 15 hours and 53 attempts using a dance pad; Perri Karyal used an EEG machine trained on brain states; a player with a broken arm beat her at level one; and YouTuber PointCrow's goldfish, Tortellini, defeated her first phase via tank-position inputs. The community manager RS_Lionheart set the fastest speedrun record of 15 seconds as of April 2023.

Did You Know?

• The player "Let Me Solo Her" has professed to killing Malenia between 6,000 and 7,000 times as of February 2024.
• A goldfish named Tortellini successfully defeated the first phase of Malenia using a camera that selects inputs based on which part of its tank it occupies.
• Malenia's boss fight received massive media attention for its difficulty, leading to unique challenges like fighting with a dance pad or voice chat as a controller.
• In October 2023, S.H.Figuarts released a miniature figure of Malenia alongside other Elden Ring characters.
• A life-size statue of Malenia was exhibited across Japan in February 2022 to commemorate the game's release.