Does Malenia Heal When She Hits You? Unraveling the Mystery of the Blade of Miquella
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Yes, Malenia, Blade of Miquella, heals herself on hit. This is a core mechanic of her boss fight in Elden Ring. Every time her blade connects with you, a spirit ash summon, or even a shield, she regains a portion of her health. Understanding the nuances of this healing mechanic is crucial for devising effective strategies to defeat her.
Understanding Malenia’s Healing Mechanic
Malenia’s ability to heal on hit is perhaps her most infamous trait. It significantly increases the difficulty of the encounter, forcing players to adopt aggressive strategies or rely on specific builds to mitigate her constant health regeneration. Let’s delve deeper into the specifics:
The Basics of the Heal
The article provided and general consensus is that Malenia heals roughly 200 health per hit. This might not seem like a lot individually, but when she unleashes her devastating Waterfowl Dance attack, the cumulative healing becomes substantial, often undoing large chunks of player-inflicted damage. This is true even if she is hitting your summons or you are blocking with a shield. If she is hitting you, she is healing.
Impact on Summoning
As the initial article excerpt points out, summoning in Elden Ring can inadvertently make the Malenia fight harder. While summons provide valuable distractions and additional damage output, they also serve as healing targets for Malenia. A summon that is constantly being hit and barely dealing damage will effectively be feeding Malenia’s health bar. This forces players to carefully consider their choice of summon and ensure it is capable of consistently dealing damage while minimizing the number of hits it takes.
The Shield Dilemma
Using a shield against Malenia is a double-edged sword. While blocking her attacks reduces the damage you take, she still heals for each blocked hit. The only way to minimize the healing is to perfectly block every attack. Partial blocks or letting even a few hits through will result in her healing a significant amount of health over time. The trade-off becomes deciding whether the reduced damage is worth the constant healing she receives.
Strategies to Counter Malenia’s Healing
Despite her formidable healing capabilities, Malenia is not invincible. Certain strategies and builds can effectively counter her healing and ultimately lead to victory.
Status Effects: Bleed and Frostbite
Malenia’s biggest weakness is her susceptibility to bleed and frostbite. Weapons and skills that inflict these status effects can significantly damage her and interrupt her attacks. Bleed chunks her health in large bursts, while frostbite reduces her damage resistance and inflicts a smaller burst of damage. Building around these status effects allows you to outpace her healing and deal substantial damage consistently.
Aggressive Playstyle
A purely defensive playstyle is rarely effective against Malenia due to her constant healing. Aggression is key. Aim to stagger her, interrupt her attacks, and deal as much damage as possible in short windows of opportunity. This requires learning her attack patterns, recognizing openings, and capitalizing on her vulnerabilities.
Mimic Tear and Other Effective Summons
Choosing the right summon can make or break the fight against Malenia. The Black Knife Tiche is an excellent option because she is agile enough to dodge many of Malenia’s attacks, minimizing the healing she provides. Furthermore, Tiche’s cursed blade deals significant damage and can help offset Malenia’s healing. The Mimic Tear is also viable but requires the player to have a strong build and effective weapons to maximize its damage output.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions about Malenia’s healing mechanic and how to deal with it:
1. Does Malenia heal on hits even if I use a 100% physical damage reduction shield?
Yes, Malenia heals on every hit, even if you block with a 100% physical damage reduction shield. The shield only mitigates the damage you take; it does not prevent her from healing.
2. Does Malenia heal on hits with her scarlet rot attacks?
Yes, any attack where her blade connects with you or a summon will trigger her healing, regardless of whether the attack also inflicts scarlet rot.
3. Does summoning increase Malenia’s health pool?
No, summoning does not increase Malenia’s health pool. However, as mentioned before, the extra targets for her attacks mean she gets to heal more often if they are taking hits.
4. Is Malenia immune to any status effects?
Malenia is not immune to any status effects, but she has high resistance to scarlet rot and poison. Bleed and frostbite are her primary weaknesses.
5. Can I prevent Malenia from healing altogether?
No, you cannot completely prevent Malenia from healing. The best you can do is minimize the number of hits she lands and maximize your damage output to outpace her healing.
6. What is the best weapon type to use against Malenia?
Weapons that can rapidly inflict bleed or frostbite are generally the most effective against Malenia. Katanas, curved swords, and weapons with frost buildup are all good choices.
7. Does Malenia heal from hitting spirit ashes summons?
Yes, Malenia heals from hitting spirit ash summons. Choose summons that are aggressive and can evade her attacks to minimize the healing she gets.
8. How much health does Malenia heal per hit in co-op?
The amount of health Malenia heals per hit remains consistent even in co-op. However, with multiple players, she has more opportunities to heal, making the fight potentially more challenging.
9. Does Malenia heal if I use parry?
Even if you perfectly parry Malenia’s attack, you will not take damage. She is still going to heal though, so she will heal on every successful parry.
10. What are Malenia’s other weaknesses besides bleed and frostbite?
Malenia is also somewhat vulnerable to fire damage and can be staggered with heavy attacks. However, bleed and frostbite are her primary weaknesses and should be the focus of your build.
11. Does using the “Bloodflame Blade” incantation help against Malenia?
Yes, the “Bloodflame Blade” incantation can be very effective as it inflicts both fire damage and bleed buildup, taking advantage of two of Malenia’s vulnerabilities.
12. Does Malenia heal during her Waterfowl Dance attack?
Yes, Malenia heals during her Waterfowl Dance attack for every hit that connects. This is one of the primary reasons why this attack is so dangerous.
13. Is it possible to beat Malenia without using summons?
Yes, it is entirely possible to beat Malenia without using summons. However, it requires a high level of skill, mastery of her attack patterns, and an optimized build.
14. Why does Malenia have such a high resistance to Scarlet Rot?
Malenia is afflicted with Scarlet Rot from birth, and it is speculated that this inherent connection to the rot grants her increased resistance to it.
15. What level should I be when fighting Malenia?
It is generally recommended to be around level 120-150 with a fully upgraded weapon when facing Malenia. This will give you the necessary stats and damage output to stand a chance against her.
Understanding Malenia’s healing mechanic and employing effective strategies to counter it are crucial for overcoming this challenging boss in Elden Ring. Experiment with different builds, learn her attack patterns, and don’t be afraid to adapt your approach. With perseverance and the right tools, you can ultimately emerge victorious against the Blade of Miquella.
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