How To Get To Malenia in Elden Ring

This post was last updated on September 1, 2023

In a game of difficult bosses, it is no exaggeration to say that Malenia, Blade of Miquella, is the hardest boss in Elden Ring. It’s a good thing she’s an entirely optional fight, as you can play the entire game without ever coming across her.

To find Malenia, the most important thing you need to do is get so far in the game that you have reached the Mountaintops of the Giants and find the two halves of the Haligtree medallion. With these, you’ll just have to solve a puzzle and fight your way through the toughest legacy dungeon in the game. 

So if you did want to test your skill or just learn why she has never known defeat, read on as we look at all the steps you need to go through to get to this tough boss, as well as some tips when you finally get there. 

How to Get The Haligtree Secret Medallion

Malenia Blade of Miquella is designed to be a boss that you face when you have 100+ Rune levels, so it’s fair that there are several steps to finding her. The first and most important thing is to find the two sides of the Haligtree medallion so that you can activate the Grand Lift of Rold.

The first half of the medallion can be obtained without killing a single demigod; however, the second half requires you to have entered Leyndell, the Royal Capital, defeated Morgott, and gained access to the Mountaintops of the Giants.

Haligtree Secret Medallion, Right

The easier half of the Haligtree Medallion to find is the right side. It is in the Village of the Albinaurics, west of Liurnia of the Lakes. You can get to this location without facing any demigods by walking around Stormvale Castle on the cliff edge.

Once in the Liurnia of the Lakes region, simply stay on the western edge of the swamp until you find a slope leading to the village (the nearest site of grace is Folly on the Lake). Follow the slope up to the bleak village, where you will find the Village of the Albinaurics grace. 

Ahead of the grace you will see a Depraved Perfumer playing a flute. You can sneak around it, but if you fight it, be aware that Perfumers can give themselves buffs. Once past the enemy, go straight towards the village’s cemetery with a suspicious looking pot (you don’t need to cross the rope bridge).

Hit the pot a few times until the NPC hiding, Albus, appears, begging for his life. All you will need to do then is speak to him until he gives you the right half of the Haligtree Secret Medallion (you can also kill him if you are feeling bloodthirsty).

Note: Once you get the medallion and return to the Round Table Hold, you will get invaded by an NPC, so be prepared.

Haligtree Secret Medallion Left

To get the left side of the Medallion you will need to wait until you have reached the Mountaintop of Giants.

Here is a quick summary of how to get to this stage:

1. Defeat any two demigods and activate their runes at their respective towers.
2. Reach Leyndell and travel to the entrance of the city.
3. Defeat the Draconic Tree Sentinel Boss at the door. 
4. Work your way through the city, up the dragon, past Godfrey, First Elden Lord Golden Ghost, defeat Morgott the Omen King, and then try to enter the Erd Tree to get the Rold Medallion.
5. Then travel back through the city to the lift to Forbidden Lands, which you will need to travel through to get to the Grad Lift of Rold, which you will take up to get to the Mountaintop of Giants.

In the Mountaintop of Giants, you will need to travel to Castle Sol to get the left half of the medallion. It is a relatively straightforward route, you need to travel north until you get to a valley filled with Golems. In the Valley you will take the west path until you reach a slope taking you up then continue north until you see a lightning striking the ground.

At the lightning you should be able to hear/see a Walking Mausoleum which is just next the the Castle Sol Main Gate entrance site of grace.

Castle Sol has several tough enemies including:

• Spectral Banished Knight 
• Bladed Talon Eagle
• Spectral Castle Guard
• Slug
• Wolf
• Lion Guardian

But it is possible to run straight through the castle to the point of grace inside if you are quick enough.

From the main entrance, make your way to the wooden walkway directly east of the main gate. Head up the walkway and continue along to the building in the north, which connects to a walkway in the east. Head up the wooden stairs on the left, watching out for the guards that teleport in. Then, head on south to reach the Church of the Eclipse, where you will find a Site of Grace. 

It is strongly advised that you activate the Site of Grace, then head out of the church using the eastern exit, follow the walls to the southern side, and continue moving forward to the building ahead. Head up all the stairs and exit the building to arrive at the upper level of the castle’s eastern section. You should see the boss door as well as a lift that will activate a shortcut. 

When you are ready, walk through the boss door to get to the last obstacle of the left side of the medallion.

Note: If you spirited here and agroed all the enemies, once you step through the door, move one extra step forward; otherwise, you can still get hit by people chasing you.

Defeating Commander Niall

Commander Niall is one of the toughest bosses in the area, mostly due to the fact that he is accompanied by two Spectral Banished Knights. At the start, you will only have to worry about the knights, but if you have any bewitching branches, you can use them to get the knights on your side.

Once the knights are dealt with, Niall will start to attack you directly. A spirit summon can be a great help in this fight as they can help draw his attention away from you, but beware that a lot of his attacks are AOE.

Defeating Niall gives access to the Site of Grace in his arena, as well as access to the northeast tower, where you can find the other half of the Haligtree Secret Medallion in a chest.

Consecrated Snowfield

With the complete medallion, you need to return to the Grand Lift Rold. When you arrive, you will be given the command to hoist secret medallion. Taking the lift will take you to the Consecrated Snowfield area. This zone has poor viability, so be careful of enemies as you progress through the region, as well as several NPC invaders.

Your goal here is to travel north until you eventually find Ordina Liturgical Town. In this town, there is a puzzle you need to solve in order to get access to a portal that will transport you to Miquella’s Haligtree, where Malenia is located.

The puzzle is relatively simple, but unfortunately there are several strong enemies lurking in the shadows waiting to take you down as you attempt it. To start the puzzle, you will need to activate an evergaol copy of the town. Here, you need to light four candles scattered around the town.

They aren’t that hard to find, as even the ones on the roofs can be seen from the ground, and there aren’t really any jumping puzzle segments to it. The most difficult aspect is that there are four invisible Black Knife Assassins roaming the town who can cause massive damage, even at full health, depending on your vitality level. There are also several Albinauric Archers positioned around the roofs waiting to snipe you.

The bright side is that the candles will remain lit after each death, so you can suicide in to get all the candles lit if you don’t want to bother facing the enemies. The other option is to invest in the Sentry’s Torch, which will allow you to see invisible enemies and sprint between cover to get close to the archers.

Once all the candles are lit, you will be teleported back to the starting location. Then you just need to head up the tall stairs, where you will find the waygate to Haligtree.

Miquella’s Haligtree

You will be in the upper canopy of Miquella’s Haligtree when you arrive. To get to Malenia you need to get to the roots. 

The biggest threat in the canopy is falling, as the branches are not super wide and a fall is instant death, unless you are extremely lucky and fall on a lower branch. As well as the scarlet rot flowers dotted about.

In terms of enemies, you will also need to be cautious of the Oracle Envoys, as they are deceitfully tough. They have slow ranged attacks, which you should be able to avoid if you keep moving, and you can knock them off the branches, so try to have knockback ashes of war or spells equipped. 

Starting at the site of grace, proceed through the treetops until you get to the lower branches closest to the trunk of the tree. There you will find buildings on the side of the trunk and a ladder. Climb down to get to the Miquellas Haligtree Gazebo site of grace.

You want to continue on the path that leads downward, just be wary of the fact that Demi Humans like to jump out at you. Eventually, you will reach Haligtree Town, Site of Grace, and the Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree, boss fight. 

This fight in itself isn’t too hard, but her attacks deal a high amount of damage, so try to have more than 10 vitality regardless of your other stats unless you are a Dark Souls veteran. Her defeat unlocks the Haligtree Promenade Site of Grace and the lift, allowing you to reach Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.

Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree

From this point onwards your biggest threat is going to be the heaps of enemies in the area. Eplhael can be split into two areas, the outer wall and the rotten inner wall.

In the outerwall area the easiest you will face are the Haligtree soldiers which fight like all the other standard soldiers in the game just stronger. Then you need to be cautious of the Cleanrot Knights which are dotted around the area. They unleash powerful attacks and can be a knightmare to kill if you are attacked by multiple.

As you continue on your downward path into the inner wall the area will start to become more and more afflicted with Scarlet Rot (there is even a lake of it you will need to traverse). You will find a Giant Flower that spew it as well as multiple Kindred of Rot.

Note: When you get to the Lake of Rot do not dodge roll through it as it will only cause you to get it quicker.

As you keep heading down you will soon get to the lowest level and a graveyard filled with Haligtree Soldiers and Haligtree Knights. There will be a large church with some Kindred of Rot inside leading to a lift that will take you down to the Haligtree Roots Site of Grace.

You should see the fog door right ahead leading to the toughest boss fight in Elden Ring.

Malenia Blade Of Miquella Boss Fight Tips

Defeating Malenia is not an easy thing to do and you will probably die on your first attempt as she will rush you with a grab attack and most likely insta kill you. It also doesn’t help that she has two phases with individual health bars.

First phase

After your initial attempt at Malenia she will start from further away from the door. This is a useful time to get buffs ready or prepare ranged attacks. Getting hit by her attacks will restore her health and the two big things you need to watch out for is her thrust attack and the waterfowl dance.

The thrust can be easily avoided, but the waterfowl dance is where you might face trouble. You will know she will do it because she will jump into the air. When she does run in the opposite direction for the first two parts, then when the second attack is done and she is about to attack the third time, simply roll towards her. It might take a few attempts to get the timing right.

It is possible to stagger Malenia with heavy attacks as well as the freezing pot, so keep this in mind if you are having problems.

Note: Spirit summons will restore her health, so it can be worth holding on to them until she is in phase 2.

Second phase

In this phase, she becomes the goddess of rot and will open with the devastating Scarlet Aeonia, which will not only eat away at your health but also inflict you with rot. Otherwise, the attacks are the same, so watch out for that jump.

Note: This phase will always start with the same attack so be prepared

Final Thoughts

Fighting Malenia is no easy feat, and it is one of the rare occasions where even using a spirit summon to help won’t make much of a difference. But if you want to face this optional boss, find the medallions, traverse the Consecrated Snowfield, and descend the Haligtree to find her at the roots below.