In Elden Ring, Patch 1.04 has improved and buffed many spells and summons. However, there were also bug fixes that additionally fixed the most annoying enemies but also made one of the hardest bosses nearly unbeatable. We show you the details.
What has changed with Patch 1.04? The new Patch 1.04 for Elden Ring was released on April 19 and brought many adjustments regarding magic, summons, as well as weapons and their associated skills and some bug fixes.
However, two changes are particularly important:
- One concerns the fix of the bloody dogs that could destroy you in a combo.
- The other buffs one of the hardest bosses and makes him almost unbeatable.
We show you what has changed and what the changes mean for you in the game.
Bloody Dogs Finally Bite Hard
What was wrong with the dogs? These bloody dogs were feared throughout the Lands Between. They could make you bleed with their bites, resulting in instant deaths. This was due to a broken animation that caused you to receive the bleeding effect twice as fast.
The best way to deal with them was either to block their attacks with the shield or to engage in ranged combat to eliminate them from a safe distance. A special torch could also keep these beasts at bay from a distance.
After the patch, YouTuber “Zullie the Witch” tested the bloodthirsty beasts and found that they have finally been fixed. Here is the test embedded for you:
Do the dogs no longer pose a threat? Despite the fix, these dogs are still dangerous. If you are careless and get caught in a combo, you could lose a lot of health points. However, after the patch, you have a higher chance of coming out alive from an encounter.
Malenia Has Been Buffed – Is It a Bug?
What happened to Malenia? After the patch, one of the hardest bosses has also received a buff. Malenia, the boss in the Haligtree, could gradually restore her health points with her sword strikes. However, after the patch, the game reports a disturbing change.
The skilled swordswoman can now heal her health points not only with strikes but simply being near you is enough for her to regain health. Here is proof from Reddit user Demoboy995:
This makes Malenia currently the hardest boss in the game. If you do not use the right strategy, Malenia could even be unbeatable.
Is the change intentional? Looking at the recordings from Demoboy995 on Reddit, the adjustment does not seem intended. Apparently, something has changed in the frames that causes this boss to not even need to hit you to heal.
It remains to be seen whether FromSoftware will address and fix this issue, as the boss could become a torture for melee players.
How should I fight now? Since Malenia is vulnerable to bleeding damage, you should also rely on blood summons. The summon “Swarm of Flies” tracks your boss and deals a lot of damage through the bloodthirsty flies.
You can send these flies from a safe distance without getting into the dangerous close combat.
What do you think of the changes? Do you think it’s good that Malenia has become even harder than before? Or are you glad you defeated her before the patch to secure your platinum trophy? Let us know in the comments!
