Elden Ring patch fixes Malenia's broken lifestealing attacks

Elden Ring Malenia boss fight blade miquella goddess rot cheese
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

A new Elden Ring update has restored Malenia's lifesteal ability to working as intended.

Earlier today, Elden Ring update 1.04.1 was pushed live on all platforms. Chief among the changes was a note about the Malenia, Blade of Miquella boss encounter, namely that the new patch had fixed an issue where the boss would heal even when her lifesteal attacks weren't connecting.

This all comes off the back of an error first noticed last week. Players reported that Malenia's lifestealing attacks were taking effect even when they successfully dodged her attacks, as normally this wouldn't allow the boss to heal if her attacks didn't actually land on a player.

The error appears to have come about from players co-operating to take down Malenia together. Now though, the new patch has fixed all this, and Malenia has thankfully been taken down a notch in difficulty, even though she remains one of the hardest bosses in all of Elden Ring.

Now, players can go venturing into Malenia's arena knowing that they're on even ground with the boss. Well, perhaps "even ground" isn't the correct phrase considering the boss has her lifestealing attacks, but at least the playing field has been levelled somewhat with the new patch.

Elsewhere, the patch seems pretty minor, but FromSoft says it should also stop the occasionally boss simply giving up the ghost at the wrong time. You can read the patch notes in their entirety here.

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Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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