Elden Ring: Tips To Complete The Haligtree Legacy Dungeon

The Haligtree in Elden Ring is not just the most difficult level in the game, but it's also quite possibly the hardest area in a Soulsborne game. Lore-wise, it's supposed to be some kind of sanctuary for the outcasts. But the Tarnished are not welcome; too power-hungry and opportunistic, apparently. So everyone in the Haligtree from insects to even gravity agrees that the Tarnished are to be killed on sight.

To make matters worse, the enemies in this game were probably scientifically handpicked by a scheming and smirking Hidetaka Miyazaki to have the most brutally sadistic combination of death trap synergies in the game. Thankfully, that's not enough to stop a foul Tarnished with foolish ambitions. To make those ambitions a little less foolish, here are some tips on how to get to the Haligtree finish line alive and sane.

8 Use A Stamina Buff & Run

That's right, "finish line". Forget about fighting fairly and gaining a few meters of progress in the Haligtree and Elphael just to be stomped by some Revenants. Most enemies here hit too hard and have too much HP, meaning they basically have little to no weaknesses.

The best bet is to just pop a Stamina buff either through the Wondrous Physick or a consumable and then run past everyone, hopping from Grace to Grace. Once all the Graces are touched and shortcuts unlocked, players can just backtrack for revenge. That's the fastest and most clever way to do it.

7 Use Stealth

Elden-Ring-Miquellas-Haligtree-Site-of-Grace

There is one problematic zone in Miquella's Haligtree where running fast can be dangerous. The branch canopy area has platforms and pathways that are too narrow for sprinting. For that part of the Haligtree, players can simply employ stealth. Crouching's not enough here sadly, players ought to augment their sneaking with these items and spells:

Black Knife Armor (eliminates footstep sound)
Unseen Form Sorcery (partial invisibility)
Mimic Veil

Those should at least make ranged enemies less likely to target players while they're on the branches. Again, it's best to not fight the enemies here unless the players need the items they're guarding (which aren't that rewarding anyway).

6 Have At Least 50 Vigor

elphael shortcut to malenia in elden ring

The recommended level for the Haligtree is around 120 to 150. Higher is better, of course, but regardless of the level, players will do well to have 60 Vigor. That's almost mandatory in this area not just for the regular enemies but also for the final boss in the Haligtree.

60 Vigor measures up to around 1700 HP which is enough for players to not die in one or two hits against the heavy hitters of the Haligtree. That's assuming the players are on full HP. A better deal is to pump up that Vigor to 60 which is the de facto soft cap for comfy HP levels. Because has to always consider bad luck in Elden Ring, such as random invaders or a regular enemy getting too lucky with the hits.

5 Don't Fight Enemy Placements Head-On

There are lots of notorious enemy mini-camps in the Haligtree but perhaps the worst among them is that huge terrace area near Elphael Inner Wall with a Putrid Avatar, two Haligtree Knights, and four Ballistas waiting for any maidenless runt to appear on the horizon. Suffice to say, there is no more foolish ambition than taking on them head-on— even with a Mimic Tear.

Instead, players can find an alternate route that lets them avoid that killzone. There's one on the upper right side of the aforementioned area. It's a good alternate route if running past the Erdtree Avatar head-on is too dangerous. The same approach is also applicable to several other death traps.

4 Use Bloodhound's Step In The Rot Area

After getting past the Elphael Inner Wall Grace, it's time for Malenia's bathwater, Scarlet Rot swamps! As sure as the sun will rise, poison swamps will always be a Soulsborne game's favorite sadist designs. But at least players get more tools to counteract them now. Bloodhound's Step is a godsend for hampered traversals such as these.

It has more range than Quickstep and is certainly faster than running. The best part is that it's also a two-for-one movement; it's also a generous dodge maneuver and a gap closer all in one skill. This way, players can deal with those discount Xenomorph enemies and their Pest Threads.

3 To Head Straight To Malenia, Jump Down To The Elevator Switch In One Of The Towers

Turns out players can head straight to Malenia as soon as they step into Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. This way, they can avoid all the tedious and discouraging death traps and the running needed just to get to Malenia. There's a bell tower with an elevator past the Prayer Room Site of Grace.

It's the third tower to the right upon exiting the Prayer Room. Players will have to jump down the narrow beam and enter the tower. There's an inactive elevator there stuck at the bottom. Players can just jump down and make sure their corpse hits the elevator's switch below. This will bring the elevator up despite their death. Once they have respawned, they can just take the elevator back down for easy and quick access outside Malenia's boss room.

2 Summon Players Against Malenia & Hope For 'Let Me Solo Her' As A Co-Op Partner

No one is ever ready for Malenia in the first encounter. She's the toughest and most dangerous Soulsborne boss right now. Players can take on her solo, but that's a biblical effort and estimates range from three hours to three days before players learn her moves well enough to beat her purely solo (no summons of any kind).

One person did that and is now helping others after mastering Malenia's moves for several days. His name is 'Let Me Solo Her' and true to his title, he fights Malenia for others in co-op all solo. Other players were inspired by his example and copycats have popped up like mushrooms so anyone summoning a co-op partner against Malenia might get lucky.

1 Use These Tactics Against Malenia

Of course, there might be players who only want to play offline or there might be some who want the honor and esteem tied to defeating Malenia by themselves. To make that suicide mission less suicidal, these tried and tested tactics will help immensely: