Elden Ring: How To Beat Malenia Easily Using The Glintstone Craftsman’s Cookbook

Anyone who has encountered Malenia in Elden Ring knows that she is easily one of the toughest bosses in the game. She is incredibly fast, has two stages, and regenerates health whenever she hits you. One of her most dangerous attacks is the Waterfoul Dance, where after floating in the air for a brief moment, she flies into you rapidly swinging her sword. If this attack doesn’t kill you, it will regenerate a ton of Malenia’s health bar. However, someone has discovered a hard counter to the Waterfoul Dance that anyone can use.

Use the Freezing Pot to stop the Waterfoul Dance

Reddit user toxicBird7 shared a video of the strategy, which shows Malenia charging up the Waterfoul Dance when they throw the Freezing Pot at her. The Freezing Pot cancels her attack, which will increase most people’s chances of beating her significantly. Since you can carry up to 10 Freezing Pots–assuming you have the materials–you can stop Melania from using the attack during the entire fight. Since this strategy involves using a throwable item, it doesn’t matter what kind of build you have. Anyone can use the Freezing Pot, but you might need to go out of your way to gather the materials to make them.

Glintstone Craftsman’s Cookbook (6)

The first thing you will need is the Glintstone Craftsman’s Cookbook, which can be found in Caria Manor in the northwestern part of Liurnia. From the Manor Upper Level Site of Grace, head south and take the elevator down. Head down the stairs and jump down to the rooftop on the left side. From here jump down to ground level and head south until you find a room. The Glintstone Craftsman’s Cookbook is found on a dead body inside the room.

Crafting materials

To craft Freezing Pots, you will need a Ritual Pot–the reusable larger version of the cracked pot–and two Rimed Crystal Buds. Ritual Pots can be found throughout the game, especially in some of the later game regions. If you managed to make it to Malenia without picking any up, you can buy some for 3,000 Runes from the Isolated Merchant in Caelid.

As for the Rimed Crystal Buds, they can be found in cold regions of the Lands Between. toxicBird7 shared a farming location in the western part of the Mountaintops of the Giants, Southwest of the Inner Consecrated Snowfield.

The Rimed Crystal Buds spawn around the large white trees in this area. It takes two to make a Freezing Pot, along with a Ritual Pot. While this item will make the Malenia fight much easier, you might still need a few attempts to defeat her, so grab a few dozen extra while you are in the area.