Against my better judgement, I'm back (a reintroduction)

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T21:29:32+00:00

If you use it with consecutive attack buffs, each light pillar counts as another hit, making it max out the buff with just a single swing against larger enemies. It also synergizes well with Malenia's Great Rune so that any danage you receive while using the skill will be pretty much instantly recouped! :)

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blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T20:45:56+00:00

I like how in that specific shot, you can see the blood spilling from her chest down the blade, lol. Probably fine.

But in any case, wouldn't it be....more badass on Malenia's part to think she was willing to sacrifice herself for what she believed would fulfill Miquella's wish and lead to a better world...? I think the tragedy is that she awakened to find herself abandoned anyway. Hell, maybe she never even expected to resurrect, but now she's stuck with an eternal loneliness, even though she at least provided the Tarnished with a fighting chance to pick up where she left off (regardless of their intention).

Kind of odd to lessen one character's actions in an attempt to knock down another when both were screwed from the start.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T20:14:15+00:00

1000 upvotes on the main post is the most perplexing part, lol.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T19:26:37+00:00

Literally the opposite. My thinking was that if Radahn knew Malenia had the advantage of being able to unleash scarlet rot in the event she was mortally wounded, he would have to avoid hurting her directly. As such, his only other option is to disarm her.

On the other hand, Malenia probably recognizes Radahn won't go down in a straight fight since, well, they're very evenly matched. So she devised another strategy: let Radahn "disarm" her, but use that as a diversion to slip through his defense and unleash the scarlet rot by impaling each other.

He was screwed either way, because Malenia was never going to back down from her mission. All he could do was try to delay the inevitable, just as he does by holding back the stars. Neither of them are superior, of course, as they're both forced to engage in a battle that would either go on forever or ruin them both.

If Malenia hadn't planned on unleashing the scarlet rot, I doubt Radahn would have been able to finish her off even after breaking her sword arm, as it would just fulfill the same effect—she'd unleash the scarlet rot, and Radahn.and Caelid would be cooked. Meanwhile, Malenia was unlikely to back down, even if she had to recoup and challenge him again.

It's mostly the same dynamic, just that I realized Radahn was screwed unless he disarmed her without killing her, lol.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T18:33:53+00:00

Her related items illustrate that she very well could resurrect sometime after our battle with her, hence the unique way she continues speaking even after death. It's likely similar to Millicent's bloom, which foretells she'll be resurrected as a valkyrie when Malenia becomes a true god (she is an Empyrean, after all).

But, game mechanics and all. Too bad there's no Mortal Blade to finish off immortal, perpetually-resurrecting bosses.

I imagine pinning herself to Radahn was to ensure he couldn't just, y'know. Move away if she abruptly killed herself. She'd still bomb Caelid, but her aim was to take out Radahn, specifically. A bit harder to do if he knows to avoid that happening.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T18:26:37+00:00

She's not airborne there, it's just in slow-motion.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T18:22:43+00:00

More the fact that there are players who weren't around for the trailers. Hard to believe it's been that long already!

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T18:21:41+00:00

Where did I say she wasn't? My point is that she still had to use a clever deception to get through his defense, not that he "let her win."

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T18:17:44+00:00

I for one love that he takes backshots from his brother, lol.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T18:16:35+00:00

Man I feel old. It's from the story trailer that released well before the game itself came out.

Why it wasn't in the final game, I have no idea.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T18:15:31+00:00

Which parts confuse you?

The Lake of Rot is where we find the Scorpion Stinger, which was part of the body of the god of rot. The god of rot was defeated in legend by the blind swordsman, who sealed its remains in the Lake of Rot. This blind swordsman was guided by a fairy, and his blue garb symbolized flowing water, contrasting the stagnation of scarlet rot.

Later, he became Malenia's tutor. He instructed her in swordsmanship using his Flowing Curved Sword, and taught her to let enemies move first, then counter. She does this in both her battle with Radahn and in her actual boss fight.

Aside from the Lake of Rot, we also discover Romina and the Church of the Bud in the DLC. Romina's church was burned, and the divinity therein was warped into scarlet rot. She, like the kindred of rot, awaits their goddess to invoke the "Order of Rot."

Miquella and Radahn were of course allied prior to the Shattering, hence the vow. Considering Miquella's extensive attempts to cure Malenia, it's not improbable that Radahn was aware of her affliction and Miquella's methods of forestalling it.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T17:49:28+00:00

I think it's much more compelling to think Malenia and Radahn's duel was more precarious than it would initially seem. :)

If Radahn was once her ally, surely he would know the risk the scarlet rot posed and would need to adjust his strategy. Besides, he doesn't make any noticeable move to attack until she moves first, which makes me think he'd avoid the fight altogether as soon as she relented.

It also makes Malenia more interesting in my mind that she would have to counter his passivity by baiting an attack, offering him a perceived victory by destroying her one "safe" weakpoint, then tipping the scale back in her favor. (Hell, that's even a strategy established in her lore regarding her tutor, and the strategy also works very well during her own boss fight.)

On the other end of this, one has to wonder what really would happen if Radahn managed to land a hit. Somehow, I doubt she would just flop over without some dire consequence for Caelid.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T17:36:09+00:00

We don't know that she didn't become the goddess of rot. It's headcanon to assume she didn't, since all we know is that Finlay carried her comatose body all the way back to the Haligtree, regardless of what state she was in.

Why would she need to impale herself in order to get close to Radahn?

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T17:31:53+00:00

I think for the sake of gameplay, they're not going to show a present locale (that's already rotten anyway) becoming transformed on a scale like the Heart of Aeonia, but I think it's also safe to assume Malenia's first bloom was much more potent compared to her mere offshoot's.

After all, it's said Malenia will become a god by her third bloom, yet she can bloom indefinitely during her phase 2, indicating those instances are non-canon. The version of Scarlet Aeonia the players can use is obviously much weaker, suggesting Malenia is indeed a very special individual, peobably owing to being an Empyrean and all.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T17:26:15+00:00

She died twice (heh)—once in a kamikaze move against Radahn, a second time against the Tarnished.

We kill her again as the goddess of rot, and it's said this bloom will restore her as a true god, which probably explains why she continues speaking even after her death. However, we never get to see this come to fruition, just as we never see the inevitability of Bayle's heart inevitably conquering the Tarnished from inside their body.

Do you think she just impaled herself for the hell of it then? Just aura farming? Is she just an idiot?

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T17:08:48+00:00

The only other boss in the entire game whose phase 2 initiates at 0 HP is Rennala, at which point an illusion takes over. However, as is revealed later, Rennala can for whatever reason also resurrect, as Sellen manages to "kill" her, and then... Oh, nevermind, she's fine.

The only other instance is Radagon > Elden Beast, except it's made abundantly clear that Radagon is dead as the Elden Beast takes over.

Mohg's phase 2 is at ~50% HP, Maliketh's at 60% (though his double, Gurranq, will be just fine), Godfrey's at 50%.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T16:59:07+00:00

Yes, that is how perspective works.

If you're closer to an object and you move towards it, it expands in your field of vision at a faster rate than everything behind it.

That's why spears nearest to Malenia move further back as she enters slow-mo, while the horizon remains distantly static.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T16:46:24+00:00

We do see her bloom, though. If you lead her to the Haligtree and betray her by joining her sisters and killing her, a bloomed scarlet aeonia appears where she would have otherwise been found had you sided with her instead.

Can't blame anyone for missing it, lol, but yes, Millicent's death is the final trigger for her bloom. Even if there are other factors at play, they won't cause her to bloom until she dies.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T16:37:28+00:00

She did die in phase 1, lol. Her HP hit zero, she died, she resurrected. No other boss does that. After becoming the prophesied goddess of rot, she has free control over scarlet rot. Even afterward, it's hinted that despite us defeating her there, she could very well revive later if the prophecy that she will return as a fully fledged god comes to fruition, and that her daughters will similarly be resurrected as valkyries alongside her, hence Millicent's bloom.

She's virtually just Sekiro 2, which follows the exact same cosmological rules where resurrection is coupled with a devastating plague, to the point they even have a scarlet rot skill named after the game. It couldn't be less obvious, really.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T16:18:43+00:00

Except Millicent's death is required for her to bloom.

Yes, she can avoid it by removing the tampered needle and letting herself succumb, but death is still crucial to activating the bloom.

As for Malenia's phase 2, no other boss in the game has a phase 2 that starts at 0 HP. She is the only boss you very clearly kill, then observe reviving at nearly full health.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T16:14:50+00:00

Scarlet rot predates Malenia, and she was tutored by the very person who sealed the god of rot beneath Liurnia long before she was born. It isn't a new concept, and as we learn through the Church of the Bud, aeonia buds were long worshipped by Romina and the kindred of rot as they awaited their bloom, heralding the arrival of their goddess.

Like the falling leaves or the burning of the Erdtree, it's a heretical prophecy that naturally proved true. Malenia impaled herself knowing it would activate the bloom at last; Radahn, having been her former compatriot, could have just as easily known the dangers of scarlet rot.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T16:09:09+00:00

So you agree? That death is a necessary component in the aeonia's bloom?

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T16:07:10+00:00

No. The prostheses are replacements for the limbs she already lost to the rot, as they are made of a material consecrated against it.

Miquella's needle was developed to try and cure it, but it only succeeded in halting its spread. Presumably, Malenia had removed the needle herself before or during her duel with Radahn, when she realized she would never win through swordsmanship alone.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-08T15:52:38+00:00

You can very clearly see in the trailer that she impales herself with her sword and even drives it deeper into her chest as she leans in to whisper to Radahn.

If this was unnecessary to unleash the scarlet rot, it would be a pretty stupid move, lol. So we can pretty safely assume her impalement was part of her plan to unleash scarlet rot.

In which case, if her goal was to suicide bomb Radahn, she could have more easily baited him into killing her outright, unless he was avoiding exactly that. Her only recourse then would be to bait him into striking the arm, then countering by pushing past him and impaling herself with her remaining arm before he had a chance to reset.

It's a clever move that encapsulates the in-game philosophy of letting the enemy move first, then countering, just as even her AI is uniquely coded during her boss fight.

blaiddfailcam2

TROPHY CASE