Maliketh, the Black Blade, is Elden Ring’s relentless guardian of the Rune of Death, a boss fight that tests every ounce of your skill and strategy. With lightning-fast attacks and two brutal phases, this encounter in the crumbling ruins of Farum Azula demands precision, patience, and the perfect build to survive. Ready your strongest weapons, summon your allies, and learn the deadly patterns-only then can you hope to claim victory and step closer to becoming Elden Lord.
In this Elden Ring guide, we cover where you find Maliketh, plus all the preparations you should go through before facing him, and an explanation of (both) phases of the fight.
Maliketh, The Black Blade location in Elden Ring
Maliketh, The Black Blade is located in the late-game area called Crumbling Farum Azula in Elden Ring. After defeating the Fire Giant boss, players can rest at the Forge of Giants Site of Grace, which will automatically transport them to Crumbling Farum Azula. Maliketh can be found inside a colosseum-like temple to the right of the Beside the Great Bridge Site of Grace. Defeating Maliketh is mandatory to progress the main story, as he blocks the path to Leyndell, Ashen Capital.
You’ll find Maliketh in the Crumbling Farum Azula at the southeast side of a great bridge. The Beside the Great Bridge site of grace is the only one close by. There aren’t prerequisites to enter the fight besides getting to Crumbling Farum Azula and finding the arena. To learn the paths within this area, you can check our Crumbling Farum Azula walkthrough.
Maliketh weaknesses and how to prepare
Maliketh, the Black Blade, is particularly vulnerable to Frost damage, making weapons or Ashes of War that inflict Frostbite, like the Hoarfrost Stomp, highly effective against him. However, since this Ash of War has been nerfed, weapons with Bleed damage or strong Sorcery attacks such as the Blasphemous Blade are also recommended. Maliketh is a relentless melee fighter who closes distance quickly, rendering ranged attacks less effective, so preparing for close combat with a sturdy shield and melee weapons is crucial. Summoning allies or spirit ashes, especially the Mimic Tear, can help distract Maliketh and provide openings for attack. Being at a high level (ideally around 130-150) with maxed weapons and investing in physical defense and stamina can significantly improve survivability. Utilizing the arena’s pillars for cover during his heavy sword attacks is a strategic way to avoid damage. Overall, careful timing of dodge rolls, staying behind Maliketh when possible, and exploiting his Frost weakness are key to preparing for and overcoming this challenging boss.
Exploiting the Maliketh’s weaknesses is the best way to win. To do so, preparing yourself for the fight is key.
Maliketh’s attacks take considerable chunks of your health when you’re underleveled for the fight. In order to survive long enough to learn his moves, we suggest being at least level 120 before the face-off.
One of the best ways for you to cause a lot of damage to Maliketh is with physical attacks. In other words, strong weapons are the best way to go in this encounter. Bleeding also works pretty well against him. If you don’t have a weapon with the capacity to cause Bleed, you should consider using Blood Grease.
In case you want to focus on breaking his posture as a general strategy, then massive weapons are what you will need.
One way of preparing yourself for this fight is by acquiring the Blasphemous Claw. By using this item, you can parry specific attacks and momentarily stun Maliketh in the second phase of the fight.
You get the Blasphemous Claw by defeating Knight Bernahl, who invades you in Farum Azula if you have killed Rykard in Volcano Manor.
How to beat Maliketh in Elden Ring
To beat Maliketh, the Black Blade in Elden Ring, focus on learning his attack patterns and staying close to avoid his deadly frontal cone AoE attacks. During the first phase, fight the Beast Clergyman form by rolling into his attacks and striking from behind to avoid his long swings and ground slam. In the second phase, Maliketh’s sword attacks reduce your max health temporarily, so dodge towards him rather than away to get quick counterattacks. Use the arena pillars for cover against his ranged moves, and summon Spirit Ashes like Mimic Tear to distract him. Equipping the Blasphemous Claw to parry his golden-aura attacks can provide openings. Patience, timing your dodges, and aggressive but cautious melee strikes are key to overcoming this relentless boss.
While you can prepare for the fight with useful consumable or powerful incantations, nothing beats studying the fight and getting used to Maliketh’s movements when it comes to defeating him. The overall strategy that you want to apply to this fight is to take your time, wait for the right window, and attack.
There are two aspects of the arena where you fight Maliketh that you should take into consideration. First, you can fall off it, so avoid getting too close to the edges. Second, the arena has large pillars that you can take advantage of to heal:
For this fight, there aren’t NPCs to summon, but you can evoke Spirit Ashes – a good idea, since they can draw Maliketh’s attention, giving you the chance to hit him.
Maliketh boss fight phase 1: Fast and Furious
Maliketh’s first phase, where he appears as Beast Clergyman, might scare you a little bit because of his quick blows. He is fast, so don’t let his size fool you. However, once you learn his moves and variations, finding the right time to attack him is not that difficult.
One of the attacks Maliketh constantly performs in the first phase is a vertical, top-down attack, which has three variations. In one, he raises his right and thrusts it at you.
A second version of this attack is similar but he follows it up by moving backwards and throwing rocks at you. While you can see him scraping the floor, it’s too difficult to dodge. Since you can’t see whether he is doing the regular or the second version before it happens, the best strategy is to roll to your side and avoid staying in front of him.
The third variation of the top-down attack is easier to see, thus easier to avoid. This time, Maliketh raises his right arm even further than normally – you can see his left foot lifting from the ground, like in the screenshot above – and thrusts his knife on the ground. After this attack, he won’t move for a brief period of time, making this the perfect time to hit some blows on him.
From time to time, Maliketh does a sweep attack, slashing whatever is in front of him with his giant knife. Most of the time, he’ll perform two to three sweeps from one side to another. Dodging them is easy but you must roll to the opposite side from which he is attacking.
In one particular sweep attack, Maliketh sticks the knife on the ground and rotates from right to left. Taking some distance will prevent you from getting hit by his attack. However, this is a great moment to attack him. So, try to get closer to Maliketh and roll – or run – toward the direction indicated in the image below. This is a safe spot from where you can hit him once or twice.
Maliketh might use the throwing move even if it’s not preceded by a top-down attack. The basic version is similar to the one we’ve already mentioned. He scrapes the ground and throws spikes of rock at you. In another version, he takes a larger rock, holds it above his head, and throws it at you.
Because of how slow the animation is, dodging the second version is way easier. In both cases, Maliketh might try to bait you by getting the rocks but holding them a little longer. Pay attention and roll toward him or to the sides in any of these scenarios.
The last type of attacks that you need to escape from in the first phase are Maliketh’s AoE moves. During the fight, Maliketh might raise his left arm and perform two attacks. If you’re close to him, he will probably use a circular attack in which blades move toward all directions around the point where his hand was.
But, in case you are a little bit far from him, he will send four blades in your direction. While it’s possible to avoid the blades in both scenarios by jumping at the right moment, the most safe option is to get away from him and stand in a safe spot.
The third type of AoE attack is the easiest to escape from. With this attack, he explores part of the ground around here and after some time the debris comes down. You can get hit when the explosion happens or by the debris. Run away from where he is and pay attention to the ground to know where it is safe. Luckily, you will know that Maliketh is about to use it because he stands up, puts his knife in his mouth, and charges up for a bit.
Once you’ve made it through the first phase, it’s on to the hard part. After you reduce Beat Clergyman’s health bar to half, a short cutscene will play, marking the transition of phases.
Maliketh boss fight Phase 2: Slow but still furious
Now, you will face Maliketh, the Black Blade. He has a new set of moves and deadlier magical attacks with his Black Blade.
If you got the Blasphemous Claw, this is the moment to use it. You can parry some of his Black Blade moves by using the item at the right moment. You will know when he is about to use these abilities because his sword will emit a yellow glow.
Throughout the whole phase, if you’re hit by the Black Blade abilities – which use black fire – your total HP is temporarily reduced and the fire stays on you, causing damage over time. Avoiding these attack should be your main concern while learning the fight.
Maliketh always starts the second phase by jumping at you and performing three large sweep attacks. Dodge to the sides, hit him a few times, and get far from here. Unlike the first phase, this time Maliketh has fewer moves for you to learn. He regularly uses basic frontal and sweep attacks that aren’t too much of a challenge. These are the best windows you have to attack him.
The first move you should get used to is the initial sweeping sequence, which is all horizontal slashes, and its variation, which begins with a horizontal attack, then Maliketh jumps in the air and performs a sequence of vertical slashes. Rolling to the sides is the best way to prevent getting hit by these attacks but distancing yourself from him is also a valid option.
The third version of the sweep attack is similar to the first one, but, this time, Maliketh does two 360º attacks around him. Doding them is not difficult, but it takes time to get used to the three attacks and identify which one he is about to use.
One of Maliketh’s new moves is a jump attack in which he sticks the swords on the ground and a magical explosion happens around it. This is a little tricky to avoid since timing the dodge is difficult when he is in the air. Wait until he is almost landing, otherwise the sword will hit you. After that, get out of where he is to avoid the follow-up.
A variation of this attack is when he jumps to a pillar before jumping at you.
In addition to all these moves, Maliketh also attacks you using his Black Blade. The first type is a sequence of magical slash attacks performed in the air. He shoots blades of black fire at you. Time your dodge based on the glowing emitted by his sword. In the first variation, Maliketh shoots two blades then jumps at you, sticking his sword on the ground which is followed up by an area magical attack around it.
The other variation is when he shoots three blades and finalizes with a horizontal slash attack. For this last one, you should also pay attention to the glowing light from the sword to know when to dodge.
While his sword is burning with black fire, he might also perform a sequence of slashes and finish it sticking the sword on the ground followed up – once more! – by an explosion.
While there aren’t as many windows for you to attack Maliketh in this phase, take advantage of periods between his attacks or after he finishes a sequence to hit him.
With that done, you can now visit Leyndell, Ashen Capital and make your way to the final boss run of the game, which includes Sir Gideon Ofnir, Hoarah Loux, Radagon, and the Elden Beast.
What hidden tricks can help me survive Maliketh’s deadly slices
To survive Maliketh’s deadly slices in Elden Ring, several hidden tricks can give you a crucial edge:
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Stay Close and Dodge Forward: Instead of rolling away, dodge toward Maliketh’s legs to avoid many of his attacks safely and create openings for counterattacks. Rolling backward often leads to punishing follow-ups.
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Use the Blasphemous Claw to Parry: This special item allows you to parry Maliketh’s golden-glowing sword attacks, creating a valuable window for heavy damage. It can be found by defeating an NPC invader near the boss arena.
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Utilize Pillars for Cover: The arena’s pillars can block Maliketh’s ranged aerial slashes and give you safe spots to heal, buff, or reapply buffs during the fight.
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Learn His Jump Attack Follow-ups: When Maliketh jumps on his sword, your positioning determines his next move. Standing in front at a short distance triggers a vertical spin and blade flurry, which you can run behind to attack. Standing elsewhere causes him to backflip, allowing you to get behind him as he lands.
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Use Fast Weapons Like Katanas: Their speed helps land hits quickly and build bleed, which is effective against Maliketh.
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Avoid Locking On Too Rigidly: This can make dodging harder; instead, keep moving and use spirit ashes or cooperators to help manage the fight.
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Dodge Diagonally in Phase Two: When Maliketh jumps and lands, a diagonal dodge helps avoid his follow-up side-step blade swing, positioning you for powerful counterattacks.
Mastering these techniques will significantly improve your chances of surviving Maliketh’s relentless assault and turning the tide in this challenging Elden Ring boss fight.
How does parrying with the Blasphemous Claw open up Maliketh’s attacks for counter
Parrying Maliketh’s attacks with the Blasphemous Claw works by timing the parry specifically when his sword briefly glows yellow, signaling a parryable melee attack, such as the ending slash or dive of his Black Blade attack. When timed correctly, the Blasphemous Claw deflects the power of Maliketh’s strike, stunning him for a few seconds and dealing minor damage-this stun window also lowers his damage resistance by about 20%, opening him up to significant counterattacks.
The key to success is to parry as Maliketh’s glowing sword passes through the red light during his swing, which can be tricky due to his speed and positioning. For example, after his projectile attacks, parrying is easier if you are closer or right beneath him as he lands, rather than at medium range where he moves faster. One of the most reliable moments to parry is during his pillar jump attack, where he hangs briefly in the air with the sword glowing before plunging down-parrying just as he starts the plunge yields a good window.
Successfully landing a parry with the Blasphemous Claw temporarily stuns Maliketh, allowing you to unleash heavy damage or stagger him, effectively trivializing parts of the fight. However, the timing is sensitive, and parrying too late can still result in taking damage despite the parry attempt. This mechanic is unique to Maliketh and is designed to balance the fight by giving players a powerful but skill-dependent tool to counter his most dangerous attacks.
