Many Elden Ring players were left traumatized by their encounters with Malenia, Blade of Miquella but there’s a strong chance she’s going to return in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
FromSoftware fans have long debated over which boss is the toughest. Some might say that the Demon of Hatred from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the hardest due to its enormous health bar. Others will point to the Orphan of Kos or Ludwig from Bloodborne: The Old Hunters. A vocal group will counter that Dark Souls’ Ornstein and Smough remain the most brutal of the bunch. Few will deny that Malenia is in the conversation, though.
For many, the sigh of relief after defeating the hardest boss of Elden Ring is the most memorable moment of the entire game. But what if she isn’t actually defeated?
Bosses returning for a rematch or two isn’t unusual in FromSoftware games and Elden Ring does this regularly. Players fight Godfrey, Loretta, and Morgott on multiple occasions but with different explanations and iterations for each encounter. Malenia could be joining that lot.
Is Malenia in the Elden Ring DLC?
There are numerous suggestions in Elden Ring that Malenia is returning in the DLC.
As is often the case, Elden Ring developer FromSoftware hints at what Malenia is truly capable of in item descriptions. The Scarlet Aeonia spell suggests that a new and even stronger version of the Rot Goddess is waiting to ruin players’ days.
“Each time the scarlet flower blooms, Malenia’s rot advances. It has bloomed twice already. With the third bloom, she will become a true goddess,” the description reads.
The first “bloom” for Malenia came in her fight against Starscourge Radahn, a key battle in the game’s lore that left Radahn partly zombified and turned Caelid into a rotten wasteland. The second comes after clearing the first phase of her boss fight. The fact that the spell references a “third bloom” that will transform her into “a true goddess” certainly hints that she’s coming back even stronger.
Not only that but Gowry also specifically references Malenia being reborn once again, possibly in an entirely new body. Gowry can actually be killed during Millicent’s questline, but he will be reborn through a Kindred of Rot and go back to his shack after. It’s possible that Malenia could be reborn through Millicent or one of her sisters, and come back even stronger that way.
Finally, Miquella is seemingly set to be at the center of the DLC. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was revealed with a piece of artwork that shows a character riding Torrent, with that character likely being the long-lost sibling of Malenia. It would be somewhat anticlimactic to not see the “Blade of Miquella” appear alongside the actual character. Unfortunately or fortunately, the Elden Ring DLC release date won’t be any time soon so players will have to wait before this potential round two with Malenia.
