That Elden Ring is a difficult game is well known. Yet even absolute experts can struggle in it. Such is the case with Lobos Jr., who is regarded as an absolute Souls expert. He spent over 14 hours of gameplay just fighting a single boss – again and again.
The streamer and YouTuber Michael “Lobos Jr.” Villalobos has been a fixture in the Souls community for years. In all FromSoftware games, from Dark Souls to Sekiro, he has made a name for himself as a speedrunner and with insane challenge runs.
A look at his YouTube channel shows videos where he plays through Dark Souls with completely random items, or uses an electric guitar as a controller (via YouTube). Lobos Jr. knows the Souls games as well as hardly any other player in the world.
However, even the long-time Souls expert struggled with the challenging difficulty of Elden Ring. An optional boss had him sweating, cursing, and on the verge of despair for over 14 hours.
Experts consider Malenia to be “the hardest boss in a Souls game”
Which boss is it? The boss that has caused Lobos Jr. so much trouble is Malenia. A statue of this character comes with the Collector’s Edition of Elden Ring, and she was also a prominent part of the trailers for the game.
That she would be a tough challenge as a boss was already suspected by many fans ahead of time. Nevertheless, she pushes even the best players of the Souls games to their absolute limits. And significantly more than for example Margit has done.
What makes the boss so difficult? For Lobos Jr., Malenia is the “hardest boss in a Souls game so far.” He has spent over 14 hours of gameplay over 2 days focused solely on this one boss. While he was simultaneously practicing tricks that he needs for his already planned challenge runs, the boss was nevertheless no walk in the park.
Malenia has 2 challenging phases, along with multiple attacks that can instantly kill even highly leveled players. While there are larger and more grotesque enemies in Elden Ring than Malenia, no other boss requires such a high level of gameplay perfection from you.
This is what the entire boss fight looks like when you summon the incredibly strong Mimic Tear for support:
How did the player react to the success? When Malenia finally fell, Lobos Jr. felt no overwhelming euphoria. Instead, he was mainly relieved to finally be able to do something else in Elden Ring.
Here you can see the victory moment in the video:
Shortly after Malenia died, Lobos Jr. also completed the game. For his first playthrough of Elden Ring, the Souls expert took a total of 93 hours (via Twitter).
This is significantly more than the 30 hours of gameplay that FromSoftware announced in advance. He invested almost half of that time in the fight against Malenia – and this as one of the best and most experienced Souls players out there.
Soul expert gives general tips for Elden Ring
What strategy did the player use to succeed? The weapon that Lobos Jr. was successful with is the Greatsword of the Replanting. This powerful blade, which occupies the A-rank in our tier list, is obtained from the boss in Castle Morne. This is located way in the south of the giant world of Elden Ring.
Moreover, the expert used a very small shield that is particularly good for parrying.
In general, parrying is a tactic that Lobos Jr. recommends to all Elden Ring players. With good timing, you can counter even the strongest attacks from your opponents and deal a lot of damage.
However, many bosses require 2 – 3 successful parrying maneuvers before they are staggered and can be critically damaged. This is significantly more difficult than in previous Souls games. However, the expert finds that the feeling of success is all the sweeter then (via Twitter).
Jump attacks are also very strong, which is why the expert recommends using them often. Together with the new shield counters, you can quickly break your opponents’ posture, making them very vulnerable.
These and other tricks and tips can help you from the first hour of gameplay in Elden Ring. We have compiled the 12 most important tricks in the following article:
Beginner’s guide for Elden Ring – Easier start with 12 tips and tricks
