In the last post, I was talking about Malenia, the Blade of Miquella. They are twins, but Miquella never really grew up or something? I’m not entirely sure because FromSoft lore is very dense and opaque. I haven’t watched many lore vids, but I will at some point. I do know that…
*SPOILERS*
Marika and Radagon are the same person. But Radagon is also the consort of Marika. They have the twins, Malenia and Miquella. Because they were one person, their children were cursed. Or something. Marika was also married to Godfrey and had three children, Godwin, and the twins, Mohg, Lord of Blood, and Morgott, the Omen King. Morgott is the actual form of Margit, the Fell Omen, who is an early boss. Optional, but most people will face him as the first boss.
Fun fact: George R. R. Martin was brought in to write the lore of the worlds. Many of the characters have names that start with G, R, and M. Make of that what you will. It’s hard to tell what is under his influence in the game, but it’s not unreasonable to wonder why invite him in to do what Miyazaki is brilliant in?
Anyway. The finding out that Radagon is Marika is supposed to be upsetting and a shock. But, honestly, I just nodded and accepted it because why the hell not? It’s no more unrealistic than any of the other lore in the FromSoft games. That’s similar to when people say that you know you’re not supposed to fight the Tree Sentinel at the beginning of the game because he’s so hard. You don’t have anything to judge it against so you just accept that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
It’s like with the first game. After you fight the Asylum Demon, you get dropped off at Firelink Shrine. There are three ways you can go. One is the graveyard with hard-as-nails skellies. Another is down to New Londo Ruins with ghosts you cannot attack*. The third is the right way to go with Hollows who are manageable.
From fans argue that it’s the genius of Miyazaki on display because the first two ways are demonstrably too hard. The third way is hard, but not impossible. But, and this is something you forget over time, you have nothing to judge it against when it’s your first time playing. I’ve gone into this at length several times, even in the last post, but it bears repeating. This game is marketing as being extra-hard. That’s their whole schtick! The complete version with DLC is called the Prepare to Die Edition. What do people who’ve never played the game know about it? It’s fucking hard! So, yeah, going up against skellies who can kill you in one hit or bleed you out before you can do chip damage to them? Sure, why not? Ghosts you can’t touch without a certain item, which is never explained to you? Why wouldn’t you think you weren’t supposed to run through the area?
It’s all obvious once you’ve played the game, but when you have no barometer for what is reasonable and what isn’t, well, you’re going to just assume that you’re supposed to die a million times and not just a thousand. Everyone forgets how difficult it was the first time through. That’s normal and human.
Ellen from Outside Xtra played through Dark Souls for the first time with Luke guiding her every step of the way. Sh made a comment in the middle of the series that it’s not that hard. You just have to be methodical and deliberate about what you do. Well, yes. But if you have someone telling you where to get the best strength weapon straight off (or second-best. I think Claymore in her case) and how to upgrade it to +5 before the Bell Gargs fight, yeah, it’s going to mitigate a lot of the damage.
It’s the same when Rory of RKG (then Prepare to Try) said in the beginning of the Dark Souls III series (right after doing the original game) that anyone can do it with enough patience. That was their whole reason for doing the first series, but, again, Krupa was guiding him almost every step of the way. Not so much as to get the best gear from the start, but any time Rory got frustrated, Krupa was there with the helpful tip. Whether Rory would listen or not was another story. It’s funny because later on, Rory said that he found Dark Souls III much harder than the original and Ellen has had more difficulty in DS III than in the original as well. In Rory’s case, it’s because Krupa was much more hands off in the second series than the first, which meant Rory had to make more mistakes on his own. In Ellen’s case, it’s not as big a difference, but she’s gotten stuck on the Nameless King. He’s just hard. Real hard. Hardest both in those two games up to that point. But it’s been interesting to watch her fight a boss for dozens of time when she’s never had to do that before. She does not get as frustrated as I do in that situation, but she’s not quick with the quip or joke, either.
Let’s talk Malenia. She is known to be the toughest boss in the game. She gets health back every time she hits you or your Spirit Ash (or human summon, I’m guessing). There’s a legend named Let Me Solo Her who goes around, laying down their summon sign for the sole purpose of helping others beat Malenia. You can guess why they have the name they do. I have included a video of them above, kicking Malenia’s ass. They said that they died to this boss hundreds of time before realizing they had to learn her moveset perfectly in order to beat her. Once they did that,, they moved to helping others while naked and only wearing a pot on their head. No idea why the fuck it’s age-restricted. Probably because the boss is mostly naked. Her bits aren’t drawn in detail, though.
Anyway, this may be the actual Let Me Solo Her or may not be. But someone is and it’s pretty amazing.
Malenia has something called the Waterfowl Dance attack which is a flurry of attacks, four in total, that are not blockable. At all. And it’s so fast, I can’t even count them when I watch her do it. And she does two or three of them in a row sometimes. Or more. She has a second phase that is even worse–she inflicts Scarlet Rot, which is a deadly status effect. The second phase is gorgeous, but my god. So fucking hard. Her flower bomb could kill me in one hit as could the Waterfowl Dance.
I went in thinking I would have to fight her for hours or call in some humans to help me out. I am not good at these games. At all. And since my medical trauma, I just don’t care about proving that I’m hard. My goal in playing the game was to explore a new land of Miyazaki and to enjoy myself. That was it. No needing to beat the bosses solo or not use the Ashes of War that are OP (Hoarfrost Stomp. It’s mad OP and my favorite.) I was going to level up as much as I wanted. And when my Vigor was sorely lacking, I bumped it up as fast as I could.
I’m not hating on people who want to dual-wield or do a one-bro run, but I also don’t need to hear them piss and moan about others being punks for deciding to ‘kamahameha’ (a really powerful magic spell that takes 60 Int. to cast) or using a shield or tanking it or using a Spirit Ash or human summons. It doesn’t make you any better for doing it ‘pure’ or whatever. If it’s something that makes you feel good, have at it! But don’t dump on others who find joy in other ways.
You want to know how I beat her? I used my Mimic Tear and Swarm of Flies (after it got nerfed, I believe). I walked backwards from her Waterfowl Dance, never letting it touch me, while spamming Swarm of Flies. When she did her flower bomb, I rolled TOWARDS her (instead of away), missing the Scarlet Rot, and getting in a few more pulses of Swarm of Flies. This was before I knew that blood loss was the meta for beating her.
This is one fight in which you are absolutely rewarded for fighting her ranged. Since I did not have to get close to her, I did not have to worry about her getting her health regain by hitting me. By the way, I never even knew she did a clone attack while I was fighting her. Why? Because I was just focused on spamming Swarm of Flies. Watching videos of her, I’m like, “Huh. I never knew she did that.”
The hardest boss in this game according to almost everyone. The hardest boss in any From game according to many. I beat her in under 20 tries, and probably closer to 15. Honestly, I barely remember fighting her. I’ve only done it once, though. I probably would have much more difficulty with her in NG+ (where I am right now). We’ll see. I may try her again with my character who does not have 70 faith to see if it’s as doable. For now, though, I’m happy enough that I beat her once.
*Of course there is a way to attack them, but you don’t know that the first time you go in.