What is the Reward for Killing Malenia in Elden Ring?

Defeating Malenia, Blade of Miquella rewards you with a massive 480,000 runes, her Great Rune, the powerful melee weapon Hand of Malenia, the Scarlet Aeonia incantation, and an immense feeling of satisfaction for overcoming one of the toughest bosses ever conceived by FromSoftware.

480,000 Runes

The rune reward alone is enough to level up 10 times from level 125 to 135 for most builds. This helps a lot in the super late game to inch closer towards the max level cap and farm extra levels quickly.

As you can see in the table above, Malenia‘s rune reward massively outpaces other demigod shardbearers, even the infamously difficult Radahn. This makes her very efficient for rune farming in NG+ cycles when you can beat her consistently.

Remembrance of the Rot Goddess

Her remembrance can be taken to Enia at Roundtable Hold in exchange for two incredibly powerful rewards:

Hand of Malenia Katana

This Dexterity-scaling curved sword comes with the Waterfowl Dance ash of war, allowing you to unleash Malenia‘s flurry slash special attack. At +10 upgrade, it has an S-rank in Dex scaling with 131 critical, making it one of the best katana weapons for Dexterity builds.

The unique aspect is that successfully landing hits will build up scarlet rot status on enemies. Combining bleed, frost, or other effects with scarlet rot can melt bosses. It‘s particularly devastating in PVP against other players that struggle to avoid the full Waterfowl Dance combo.

Scarlet Aeonia Incantation

This unique skill conjures a massive bloodflower that explodes after a delay, dealing heavy scarlet rot buildup and damage. It costs 24 FP to cast and has an impressive 1300 range, allowing you to snipe tough enemies safely or initiate fights in PVP.

Below you can see the massive explosion radius of Scarlet Aeonia:

Scarlet Aeonia‘s explosion covers a huge area (Image credit: Wccftech)

The damage over time from scarlet rot really stacks up and can even stagger Malenia herself out of her Waterfowl Dance if timed properly.

Malenia‘s Great Rune

Activating Malenia‘s Great Rune at a Divine Tower provides the following buffs when used with a Rune Arc:

• Raises maximum HP by 20%
• Raises Strength by 10
• Raises Dexterity by 10

This great rune is particularly beneficial for melee builds focused on Strength, Dexterity, and endurance. The HP buff will let tank builds withstand more punishment while dishing out more damage. However, the requirement to use a rune arc to activate the buff may be tedious for some players.

Sense of Achievement

Simply beating Malenia, Blade of Miquella is itself the greatest reward. She is considered by many players and critics to be the hardest boss ever designed by FromSoftware.

IGN’s Elden Ring review states:

"Malenia, Blade of Miquella is the hardest boss FromSoftware has ever made – by far”

Her relentless aggression, incredibly fast thrust attacks, counters, huge HP pool, healing mechanics, and seemingly undodgeable Waterfowl Dance make her a truly daunting opponent.

But the immense satisfaction and relief from finally defeating her after countless attempts is unparalleled. Having the skill to overcome Malenia also represents a huge badge of honor in the Elden Ring community.

How Do Her Rewards Compare to Other Bosses?

The runes, great rune, and especially her remembrance weapons outclass rewards from all other shardbearer bosses besides the optional Dragonlord Placidusax. Here‘s a comparison versus some other challenging late game bosses:

While Radahn gives the very useful HP and equip load boosting great rune, his remembrance only unlocks gravity magic and greatswords. Malenia provides better DEX weapons and utility spells on top of her mighty great rune. Meanwhile, the ancient Dragonlord Placidusax gives a slightly higher rune reward but does not drop a Great Rune.

So Malenia outweighs them all for rewarding the most power, items, and flex potential for conquering the ultimate challenge Elden Ring has to offer.

Final Thoughts

Defeating the infamously difficult Boss Malenia nets you hundreds of thousands of precious runes, her HP & offense-boosting Great Rune, the versatile Hand of Malenia katana or ranged Scarlet Aeonia incantation, and supreme bragging rights.

Her loot table combined with that glorious wave of relief and adrenaline rush from finally beating her bloody Waterfowl Dance is a sweet, sweet reward for persevering Tarnished indeed. Hopefully this guide gives you fellow passionate gamers good insight into the mighty prizes awaiting you beyond Malenia’s fog gate of torment!

Let us know which reward you cherished most from besting Blade of Miquella down in the comments section.