Elden Ring: How to Beat Maleina [Cheese Method]

One of the toughest encounters in Elden Ring is with Malenia, a Legend-type demigod boss that’ll give you a run for your life. This guide will show you the best cheese method to beat Malenia, Blade of Miquella in Elden Ring.

If you’ve not reached Malenia yet in Elden Ring, then watch the complete walkthrough video and reach Haligtree’s secret location in the game.

Cheese Method For Malenia Blade of Miquella

Many players face immense difficulties in beating Malenia and stay stuck on her for a long time. So, if you are tired of respawning, then check out my tips on how to cheese her below.

Use Mimic Tear

In Elden Ring, the ‘Mimic Tear’ allows you to summon an identical twin of your character. Your mimic tear mirrors your spells, armor, and weapons and even has its own flasks, making it useful in extended battles. Summoning doesn’t require FP but uses a portion of your health.

For maximum effectiveness, I would recommend you upgrade the mimic tear to level 9 or 10 before the fight. You can get the mimic tear in the Nokron, Eternal City.

Stagger Malenia

A method to cheese Malenia in Elden Ring is to exploit her susceptibility to staggering and use specific builds:

1. Heavy-Strength Weapon Build: Utilize an axe or a greatsword to stagger Malenia continuously, preventing her from using her deadly attacks.
2. Frost Build: Inflict maximum damage with a Frost-focused build. Malenia is more vulnerable to Frost attacks, so equip weapons and spells that deal Frost damage.
3. Bleed-Focused Build: Alternatively, go for a Bleed-focused build to exploit her vulnerability to Bleed.

Frost-Focused Build Against Malenia

To effectively stagger and defeat Malenia in Elden Ring, consider this build:

1. Hoarfrost Stomp Ash of War: Equip the Hoarfrost Stomp Ash of War, which provides the Cold Affinity and Hoarfrost Stomp skill. 
2. Intellect-based Weapon: Choose a weapon that scales with intellect to maximize your Frost damage.
3. Talismans: Use talismans that complement your build and playstyle.
4. Summon Mimic Tear: At the start of the fight, summon your Mimic Tear and let it attack first to divert Malenia’s attention.
5. Frost Damage: Inflict maximum Frost damage on Malenia by coordinating Frost Stomps with your Mimic Tear. 
6. Corner Control: If possible, get Malenia into a corner to further control the fight and make it easier to stunlock her.

I would recommend you follow the strategy as it is pretty helpful. You can get the Hoarfrost Stomp Ash of War southeast of Caria Manor in the Liurnia of the Lakes region.

Bleed-Focused Build

Another method to cheese Malenia, the Blade of Miquella in Elden Ring, use the ‘Swarm of Flies’ incantation and focus on bleed damage:

1. Swarm of Flies Incantation: Obtain the ‘Swarm of Flies’ incantation, which releases blood flies to attack your enemies.
2. Bleed Damage Weapons: Equip weapons that deal bleed damage to maximize your build’s effectiveness.
3. Dragon Communion Seal: Use the Dragon Communion seal, which scales with faith and arcane and complements the Swarm of Flies incantation.
4. Strategy: Follow a similar strategy as before by summoning your mimic tear and casting the Swarm of Flies incantation. 
5. Spam Incantation: Continuously use the Swarm of Flies incantation and attack when opportunities arise. Keep an eye on your arcane resources.

I actually like the bleed-focused setup more. Follow the exact strategy to defeat Malenia.

Malenia’s Second Phase

After you’ve dealt with Melania’s first phase, she transforms into her second phase, known as the Goddess of Rot. You can deal with this phase in a similar manner as described above, but you’ll have to be mindful of her Scarlet Aeonia move when she jumps and can inflict you with a devastating amount of Scarlet Rot.

This move can be dodged by running towards her and moving rightwards. She’ll try to come after you, but you’ll have to keep on moving to dodge her attacks successfully. Additionally, you can use a multitude of ranged weapons or spells after her Scarlet Aeonia attack, as she is unable to move for a few seconds after landing it. 

There is no shame in cheeseing Malenia, as I have decided to do it plenty of times, too. However, no matter how tough she is, I would advise you to fight her fairly and squarely. 

Malenia Location

To reach Malenia, the Blade of Miquella, in Elden Ring:

1. Progress through the game until you defeat Morgott and gain access to the Mountaintop of Giants region.
2. The Consecrated Snowfield is located in the lower plains of the Mountaintop of Giants.
3. Obtain both parts of the Haligtree Secret medallion:
   • The Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right) can be found in the Village of Albinaurics in the southern part of the Liurnia region.
   • The Haligtree Secret Medallion (Left) is located in Castle Sol, Mountaintop of Giants, where you’ll need to face Commander Niall to access it.
4. Proceed to the Grand Lift of Rold and use the medallion to open the magical barrier.
5. Continue through Ordina and the light of the four fires to reach Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree, where you can confront Malenia.

My Thoughts On Malenia

Malenia is the hardest boss in Elden Ring, in my opinion, so cheesing her seems reasonable. 

I have only found two bosses unfair in Elden Ring, the Godskin Duo and Malenia. While I managed to defeat both without cheesing, it was extremely challenging, especially Malenia. I defeated her with a Bleed Build, but it was still hard. 

Read Next:

• Elden Ring Best Melee Weapons
• Elden Ring Best Incantations
• Elden Ring Fire Giant Cheese
• Elden Ring Best Builds
• Elden Ring Radahn Cheese