After 1,200 hours and '6,000-7,000' Malenia kills, Elden Ring's greatest guardian angel is thinking about hanging up his jar hat: 'I've had my fill of fighting Malenias'

(Image credit: KleinTsuboi)

Bad news, folks: The imminent release of Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC might mean we all have to start beating Malenia by ourselves. Let Me Solo Her, the jar-headed, dual-wielding hero who's helped countless players overcome the game's toughest boss, says it might be time to call it quits.

Speaking to IGN, LMSH confesses that—having "probably defeated [Malenia] 6,000-7,000 times now"—he's "had [his] fill of fighting Malenias," and could be ready to bow out of his two-year career as a legendary rent-a-hero. With 1,200 hours of base Elden Ring under his belt, he wants to make time for Shadow of the Erdtree, and is confident that "Mr Miyazaki will give us another masterpiece to enjoy" when the DLC hits. You and me both, LMSH.

So it sounds like our hero's comforting, bejarred presence might no longer be a staple sight outside Malenia's boss room in the near future, but that doesn't mean you won't see his ghostly apparition taking on Shadow of the Erdtree on his own terms when the expansion releases on June 21. "I like to collect everything on one account," says LMSH, meaning that he'll likely continue playing his iconic character as he progresses through the DLC.

It's difficult to measure these things, but I suspect LMSH might be the world's foremost expert in defeating Malenia specifically, having distilled the process down to a science in his long career as an Elden Ring guardian angel. Now he's looking for a new challenge, and is hoping to find it in the form of Shadow of the Erdtree's Messmer the Impaler: "the new boss is especially exciting as he might be a lost sibling to Malenia and equal in terms of difficulty," said LMSH.

Is it just me, or do those sound like the words of a man who might be chucking in one soloing career just to start up another one? We'll have to wait and see. "I welcome the challenge," said LMSH, but added "I'm not too sure if I will solo the newest boss yet. I will have to see what the boss is like."

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One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.