Is Maliketh‘s Black Blade Any Good? An In-Depth Look at This Devastating Weapon
In short – yes, Maliketh‘s Black Blade is absolutely one of the top colossal swords and boss weapons in Elden Ring for players investing heavily into Strength, Dexterity, and Faith.
Wielded by the notorious boss Maliketh the Black Blade in Farum Azula, this ominous jet-black sword impresses with its sheer attack power and deadly Destined Death skill. While slow to swing, in the right hands, Maliketh‘s Black Blade can totally wreck even the hardest bosses and PVP opponents.
Let‘s dive deep into why this weapon has earned S-tier status across community tier lists and see if it deserves a spot in your arsenal.
Maliketh‘s Black Blade Shreds with Colossal Strength and Holy Damage
With B-rank scaling in Strength, Dexterity, and Faith, Maliketh‘s Black Blade scales fearsomely well across three offensive stats. Fully-upgraded at +10, it boasts a staggering 644 attack power – outpacing all but the mightiest colossal weapons.
The split between physical and holy damage also makes this an adaptable threat versus different enemy types. Compared to pure physical colossal swords, the 142 holy damage gives you a serious edge against demonic and undead foes in PVE.
According to community tests by prominent YouTuber IronPineapple, the Destined Death skill hits for around 1800 damage on a quality build at 60 Vigor, annihilating bosses in just a few uses. The death blight buildup also inflicts percentage-based damage for even more pain.
Simply put, if you‘re looking for massive damage from a colossal sword, Maliketh‘s Black Blade is easily one of the hardest hitters out there.
Wielding This Blade Takes Serious Investment
Now for the catch – successfully equipping Maliketh‘s Black Blade requires a staggering 50 Strength, 40 Dexterity, and 40 Faith. Very few builds can meet those stat requirements without serious min-maxing and rune farming.
Here‘s how the requirements compare to other top colossal swords:
| Weapon | Strength Req | Dex Req | Faith Req |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maliketh‘s Black Blade | 50 | 40 | 40 |
| Ruins Greatsword | 50 | 18 | – |
| Guts Greatsword | 55 | – | – |
| Starscourge Greatswords | 55 | – | – |
As you can see, you need to spread your attributes wider for Maliketh‘s Black Blade while still hitting the massive Strength threshold. This weapon truly demands an Elden Lord worthy of its power.
My recommendation would be a level 150+ character with at least 60 Vigor focusing on Strength/Dexterity quality. Some minor Faith investment then lets you wield the blade while primarily leaning on melee damage.
Slow, Punishing Swings Make Timing Critical
Despite outrageous potential damage, Maliketh‘s Black Blade does have one glaring drawback – an abysmally slow swing speed. The strong attack wind-up in particular leaves you extremely vulnerable. Miss a swing or get greedy mid-combo and you‘ll pay the price against agile enemies.
See 25 seconds into this clip where popular player MissMikka attempts a long wind-up strong attack and promptly eats a boss combo as punishment. Ouch!
You‘ll really need to master spacing, timing, and punish windows to use this blade safely compared to quicker colossal swords. Or, use a faster secondary weapon to cover the gaps and switch into the Black Blade specifically for destroying staggered or slow bosses.
How Does Maliketh‘s Black Blade Stack Against the Meta?
While beloved early on, Maliketh‘s Black Blade has lost some popularity in recent months to faster, less stat-hungry alternatives. Weapons like the Blasphemous Blade or Golden Order Greatsword offer healing, ranged holy projectiles, and less risky movesets.
However, I believe Maliketh‘s Black Blade still deserves respect – it can totally shred in the right hands and builds. Very few colossal swords can compete with its raw damage output thanks to the unique split physical/holy damage profile. Plus, that Destined Death skill outright demolishes certain major bosses weak to holy damage.
So while it‘s a niche, specialized pick, Maliketh‘s Black Blade can still excel and put the game on easy mode against certain enemies. I personally love pairing it with a strong shield and defensive armor to balance out the slow swings.
others, but offers absolutely monstrous damage potential with its split physical and holy damage plus a deadly weapon skill. With practice, this sword can destroy and stagger even the mightiest Elden Ring bosses.
References and Additional Reading
Let me know what you think or if you have any other questions in the comments! I‘m happy to discuss more Elden Ring builds and tactics.
