Summary
As far as difficult bosses go, none quite matchElden Ring’s Malenia, Blade of Miquella. Boasting incredible speed, frustrating healing mechanics, and one of the most devastating attacks in gaming, Malenia is an incredibly difficult boss. Malenia is so challenging, in fact, that a player by the name ofLet Me Solo Herbecame globally famous for being able to defeat her with nothing but a pot on his head and in a full team, no less, which scales the difficulty considerably. Thankfully, Malenia is an optional boss, but that hasn’t stopped theElden Ringcommunity from challenging her, thanks in part to being inspired by Let Me Solo Her’s dedication.
Now,Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has introduced Messmer the Impaler, the face who has been at the forefront of most of the expansion’s marketing. While all of Shadow of the Erdtree is difficult, it’s still possible for committed players to reach the fight with Messmer in a decent amount of time and without too much hassle. Once they reach him, however, the story changes, as Messmer is such a challenging boss that he gives even Malenia a run for her money. Some players might still find Malenia to be much harder than Messmer, but Let Me Solo Her nonetheless raised the bar for difficult boss fights, and it seems FromSoftware has responded with yet another significant challenge for players to overcome.
The Difficulty of Shadow of the Erdtree’s Messmer Fight Rivals Elden Ring’s Malenia
Messmer Is Incredibly Fast and Can Kill Players in One Hit
As if the fight with Messmer wasn’t already difficult, considering he is hardly ever aggroed by aMimic Tear, he is incredibly fast, just like Malenia. Messmer’s first phase sees him rapidly moving around the arena, frequently spinning through the air and then diving at players for an explosive fire-based attack. The polearm that he wields is massive, and this, combined with the long reach of his arm, can end the fight abruptly if players don’t stay light on their feet.
Every once in a while,Messmer the Impalerwill charge at players with his polearm out as though he is jousting. If players don’t evade this attack at the proper time, he will impale them on his polearm, often one-shotting them in the process. When he is not using his polearm for this, he is lunging at players with it, with one lunge covering nearly a quarter of the arena’s diameter. If this weren’t enough, the fight gets even more difficult during his second phase.
Messmer’s Second Phase Sees Him Become Much Larger and More Dangerous
During Messmer’s second phase, which occurs around once he reaches half of his health, he transforms intoBase Serpent Messmerand can move faster with a wider reach. In this phase, his attacks are much more difficult to avoid and are much more explosive. While he is in his serpent form, he can lunge almost across the entire arena. However, he occasionally leaves his serpent form to fight players on his feet again, only his attacks with his polearm swing much wider than they did before and can inflict much more fire damage.
Messmer is a very aggressive and challenging foe and one that many players have been commenting on since the DLC’s release. It’s unfortunate that, unlike Malenia, Messmer is a required boss for players who wish toprogress Shadow of the Erdtree’s story. Even so, it makes it all the more rewarding once players finally defeat him, whether it be on their own or with a full team of cooperators. It’s clear that FromSoftware wanted to go above and beyond the Malenia fight with Messmer, even though some players will always find Malenia to be the most difficult boss in any video game.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
WHERE TO PLAY
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware’s groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
