Absolutely wild that I beat this boss hitless. It took me 3 hours to beat her for the first time, and at least another 4-5 for this hitless run. It looks spliced, but that’s because I edited in the cutscenes afterward (the attempt is legit). Let’s talk about Malenia, since she is a very controversial boss. Some people love her, some hate her, and some gave up on ever trying to beat her. I think Malenia is one of the best bosses in the game and my favorite base game boss. Yes, she is unbelievably difficult and feels unfair to a point, but that works in her favor. She’s so brutally difficult that learning her move set feels impossible, but once you do, it’s so incredibly rewarding. Even Waterfowl Dance, which is the single most overpowered move in the game, can be successfully dodged, and it feels GREAT. Her first phase balances aggression and healing, since she gives ample opportunities to regroup. She can cover a huge amount of distance quickly and her moves are overall very fast and difficult to react to. You need to know this fight perfectly to be able to avoid all of her stuff. Positioning and rolling are so critical, especially since rolling in a slight wrong direction is death. Her timings are fast and slow, so you need to learn them and know them flawlessly. As for phase two, it’s so cool. She’s basically just buffed from phase one and has a significantly increased amount of aggression. She stuffs out every heal opportunity and has gap closers that are nigh unreactable. Her clone move is tough, but her Scarlet Aeonia bomb move allows for buffs if you need them. Overall, this boss is flawless and requires perfection in all aspects of your gameplan, which I love.
Rating: 10/10
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