Elden Ring Player Discovers Easy Counter for Malenia's Worst Attack
The Elden Ring community seems to be in agreement that Malenia is the most challenging boss in the game, but whether you hate the fight or love it, there's one ability she has that feels particularly oppressive: The Waterfowl Dance. It's a move that leaves little room for error and even punishes those who manage to block every attack by healing the boss which leaves players with few defensible options. However, one player discovered this week a counter to that move that stops it in its tracks before it can even begin.
Malenia's Waterfowl Dance, for those who haven't beaten her yet to gain a weapon from her Remembrance and see the unique weapon skill, is the attack where the boss leaps into the air before swinging her blade wildly while rushing the player. She does one flurry of attacks, pauses, does another flurry, leaps into the air once more, and puts out one final, slightly longer string of attacks. Getting hit with even one of these swings can often mean death because it can stunlock a player, and even if you two-hand a shield to block the attacks, it still counts as a hit for the boss which means she heals.
If you're tired of trying to time your dodges correctly, just do what Redditor and Elden Ring player toxicBird7 did and throw Freezing Pots at Malenia to knock her out of the attack at the start. The player shared the video below to show how simple this is. You simply chuck a pot at Malenia the second you see her leap into the air, and she'll come right back down.
Simple, accessible counter for Malenia's Waterfowl Dance from Eldenring
These Freezing Pots are made from Ritual Pots, not the Cracked Pots, so you'll need the former along with other resources to craft the throwable. Thankfully for those who may not have all these pieces yet, the player continued the video afterwards to show where these resources can be collected. You may have been able to beat Malenia in the time it takes you to gather the recipe and ingredients anyway, but it's a helpful trick if you're really and truly stuck.
As others have pointed out, this is similar to fights in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice where you can sometimes negate an enemy's attack with a well-timed shuriken, though this one is triggered by status effects as opposed to a projectile simply striking at the right moment. Elden Ring players who've fought Malenia time and time again may have noticed that she's also able to be knocked out of this attack after taking bleed damage from something like the Swarm of Flies Incantation, but this method provides a much more visible cause and effect for understanding what stops Malenia's attacks and what doesn't.