Malenia (LVL1 NG+7)

Just another Malenia fight, but the RNG here was a bit more dynamic. I had a lot of fun fleshing out this strategy even though there was already a meta around it. I'll continue the no-talisman run after this.

playlist:    • Elden Ring | Level 1 NG+7 - Main Bosses  

Malenia can assemble her combos arbitrarily from a wide pool of moves, and she'll generally stay committed to them until she uses a combo-ending attack or until you go out of melee range, but even then, she will often use a gap closer like the poke or grab attack. If you patiently dance around in front of her, you will get a very high payoff when she uses a combo ender like the flip slash, which is a good opportunity for a powerful Ash of War like Giant Hunt or Lion's Claw (I imagine the Claw Flick is fun as well). On the other hand, if she keeps continuing her combos, or if she uses the grab or poke, the relative payoff is lower, so you might as well interrupt her attacks more often.

With a slower weapon, it's convenient to attack when she hops to the left (0:22), or especially when she rushes in to kick (1:28), but I let her continue her combos any other time. Of course, there are different ways to approach this, but I think this method is reasonably efficient because it allows her to finish her combos with a good payoff, while you also get the easy opportunities to attack in between. Besides, it's much easier to avoid Waterfowl Dance when you knock her in the air or pancake her to the ground beforehand, so that's good.

Also, when Malenia readies her prosthetic and dashes in, pay attention to her posture during the dash animation. If she leans in very far (1:32, 2:28), she will do a slow slash afterward which is a nice combo ender, but if she is a bit more upright (0:46, 1:06), she will do a quick slash that can either be followed by the flip slash or some other moves. Again, there are many ways to approach this, but I like to circle to the side as I anticipate her next attack.

As far as Waterfowl Dance is concerned, you should never have to deal with the notorious close-range dodge. Just preemptively run away whenever she can use it. If you're a bit too close, you can run and jump over the first flurry (2:05, 2:53), but only if your hands don't get clipped, so make sure to two-hand a heavy weapon over your shoulder.