The encounter against Malenia, Blade of Miquella in Elden Ring is easily the hardest fight that FromSoftware has developed so far, for all the positives and negatives that fact brings to the game. While the pacing of the fight, and the risk/reward of engagement, are top-notch for the bosses of Elden Ring, there are a handful of aspects that can make Malenia a frustrating encounter that some players don't even find satisfying to defeat.
It should be noted that it can be easy for some players to write off Malenia as too hard and never fully engage with the fight or learn her moveset, therefor considering the difficulty itself a negative on Elden Ring. However, there are some positive aspects that even players who couldn't defeat her should be able to appreciate in this otherwise daunting fight.
Malenia Gives Players Control of Pace
The best thing that Malenia brings to the boss design of Elden Ring is something that players might not even realize she is doing until they stand back and hesitate on trying to put the pressure on her. This is in the way that the boss tends to walk slowly towards the player and wait to attack until the distance has already been closed, instead of having a bevy of distance closing attacks. Some players have even managed to use this pacing in order to defeat Malenia with unoptimized builds, since that level of control takes some of the advantage out of the boss' favor.
This pacing can be helpful for the Malenia encounter, especially when compared to other bosses in Elden Ring that can keep the pressure on the player relentlessly with ranged spells and attacks that can close impressive distance. To further push her fight, however, Malenia stalking around from a distance doesn't mean that she isn't just as fast, with as many long combos to string together as any other enemy. The only difference with the pace is that players can back off and take a breather against Malenia, unlike bosses like Maliketh who zip across the boss arena and send slashes through the air constantly.
Malenia's Lifesteal Limits Build Choice
On the more negative end of Malenia's encounter, her ability to steal health from the player is an incredible idea for a boss that is executed poorly. The state that the lifesteal is currently in is unfortunately, because the idea of a boss healing at all can be a devastating thing to see, as a mistake on the player's part can mean the loss of progress. It adds a whole new dynamic to the risk/reward that can be even more exciting in the moment. However, even without the glitch allowing Malenia to heal off the air, the version of the ability that the boss shipped with still allows her to heal from what feels like unfair attacks.
Namely, it's the way that Malenia can heal from hitting a shield that makes the fight drag for some builds that rely heavily on blocking or guard countering. In most cases, players often choose instead to ignore their shield altogether and have to re-evaluate their build in order to come out on top. The need to look back at any build in Elden Ring and see if it is the most effective on any given boss isn't a terrible idea on its head. Instead, it's the fact that some shield builds are incapable of beating Malenia and not just disadvantaged, that makes the current lifesteal so unfair.
Malenia's Broken Moveset
To not bury the lead, Malenia's Waterfowl Dance attack is beyond unfair and is outright broken. While it might be true that the Waterfowl Dance can be dodged, the timing and spacing for actually getting out of the way of the attack requires such pinpoint precision that most players won't be able to execute without hours of practice. This one attack is so overpowered that it alone can make players want to quit fighting her forever. It feels like a cheat, rather than an advantage, when Malenia can pull out a move that instantly kills players through max HP and while wearing the strongest armor.
Some other issues crop up in Malenia's second phase as well, such as when she is able to counter being hit with an attack, rather than by being staggered the way she normally is. This can leave players with seemingly no windows to inflict any real damage. However, even beyond the lack of attack opportunities, the Waterfowl Dance is rough enough to bring down what could have been FromSoftware's best optional boss to date.
Elden RIng is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.