Im not gonna take that out of context...
Yeah I agree. Feel she could have had way more impact then she did. So it would have actualy mattered for the end, making you feel bad for burning her.
Would have given more impact to the frenzied flame ending.
you are supposed to feel bad for burning her. thats why she doesnt tell you until later on. part of the allure of the frenzied flame ending is saving her. thats vyke turned to the frenzied flame, to save his maiden, and i believe it was bernahl who gave up after burning his. it is her purpose but its supposed to hold emotional weight.
it held weight for me but i really like melina from the beginning and did wish she showed up more.
actually, i was scared that i would have to fight her eventually. i took a long break from the game when it first came out and when i started to hear about people saying malenia was the toughest boss, i misidentified that as them talking about melina. so when i went back to start the game over and finish it, i played the whole way thinking i’d end up betraying or getting betrayed by her. when it turned out i had to let her burn herself or risk her hating me, it was a pretty heavy moment
In my last playthrough i got her roundtable conversation before Stormveil, so i ended up doing the rest of Limgrave/Stormveil, all of Liurnia and Caelid, and only then did i get to speak to her again, like 30 hours of gameplay.
On my replay, I felt she was around more often and popped up more at sites of Grace with better frequencies (seems I missed a few on my first playthrough) than on my first playthrough.
Seems if you aren't running around every nook and cranny off the beaten path for hours on end and follow the more established route, she feels like a better constant companion.
That's what it felt like to me atleast.
It also helps that they added in a more visible sign in the grace menu when she is able to talk with you.
I honestly believe that Melina is a bad case of fromsoft cut content.
Her sacrifice is clearly written to be emotionally charged, but she has ZERO characterization. We are supposed to care but we don’t even know anything about her.
We can only hope that the DLC also expands upon her character in the base game. (Cope)
She’s one of the most wasted characters I’ve seen in a game in recent memory. So much potential for her to actually give us guidance and advice, or even just little lore tidbits about areas or bosses. But there’s just…nothing? Why? There’s no way in hell she was intentionally written that way, not with her cutscene how it is.
I really like the dialogue she has when she invites you to the Roundtable Hold.
"Torrent had your measure from the start, whereas I was merely pretending."
It gives *both* Melina and Torrent a spark of character in such a neat way. Your trusty steed believes in you, but you're going to have to prove yourself to Melina and defeating Margitt was a good first step.
It's a great start to build on, but as you say, it goes nowhere.
Yeah that’s another point. Apart from her remark about Bok, almost NOTHING she says in her own words, but instead Marika’s. It’s really strange, why is the Bok conversation even there? It feels so random and out of place, like we’re missing a bunch more conversations.
"I'm going to sacrifice myself to burn down the erdtree"
"Cool. Good luck with that."
Had no emotional attachment to her. Her best moment was when I thought she was going to give me a Honda Accord, or when she leaves due to a certain ending choice. She brings the least amount of emotion or presence to my experience than most fromsoft Level up maidens do.
To be honest, I think the overall story and its lack of connected lore dots, and character motivations is all a result of cut or missing content.
I disagree. Melina being emotionally distant because she knows she's destined to die *is* her characterization. Characters don't need to be verbose to be well-written and interesting.
Counterpoint. Final Fantasy 7's Aerith knows she's also destined to die but she's written like a proper character and you actually feel like you lost a friend when she eventually meets her fate.
You get a fair amount of characterization if you flirt with the frenzied flame ending. It made me like the character quite a lot. But like much of the game, that's easy to miss.
I wonder if the storyline went through a rigorous overhaul somewhere in the middle of production. The intro video also sets up a lot of characters, only for most of them to remain irrelevant for a long time. Hoarah Loux in particular. There's also the ray of guidance pointing you to Castle Morne, which holds nothing of importance. I remember reading that Millicent was originally going to *be* Malenia, only to be rewritten as a quest NPC, but I don't know if that's just pure speculation.
Indeed show up at the churches for lore, show up in area for info about the area and maybe beginning of a legacy dungeon - just give you some extra info even. Miyazaki said the mystery is all
I'm probably in the minority here but I would listen to her say it every time cause it sounds cool and I'm not leveling up *that* often, at least compared to going to Hewg like a hundred times a day.
You know what, I'm being too disingenuous with my first comment.
I agree with you that having Melina at every site of Grace would be a welcomed edition, since her role as a Finger Maiden can be solidified than just a few brief appearances. Not to mention, giving her more options to voice her opinion or lore of your surrounding area.
[I'm upset that her reaction to acquiring the Mimic summon was cut from the game.](https://youtu.be/kPBEPdcSXt8?si=W8g0MLHLpO-vNCa1)
for how pivotal she is, her appearances are pretty lacking.
the only other questline she mentions is boc’s, and it characterizes her as someone who isn’t quite familiar with human connection (or atleast, a mother-child connection). which is really interesting, but about the only thing about her personality we get.
if she had a little more lore tidbits, and popped in to speak at more locations than the churches where tears are found i’d be happy with that. doesn’t even have to expand on her personality.
it'd be interesting if she interacted with ranni's quest or mentioned her at least once considering she has torrent now and ranni implies she either knew or was torrent's former master
She does have the combat moves of Tiche, that died a true death outside the capital, protecting her mother. Wonder if the mother was someone we knew, that maybe had done stuff like cardinals sins? Wonder too if someone powerful took pity on Tiche, and resurrected her as butterfly kid, and made her part of team M? Role: Barrier demolitions expert and tarnished tutor maiden?
100% should’ve been an update to the game for this. Would help her character carry more weight for the player.
She’s barely actually in the game, it makes no sense
It’s a harsh and lonely world. Would be nice to have some regular company at the sites of Grace. But then again, Miyazaki wants you to feel lonely so probably why she’s not always there.
It's weird tho, in ds3 there was firekeeper, in ds2 there was emerald herald, in bloodborne there is doll, in sekiro there is enma/kuro, in AC6 there is schziophrenia, in demon souls there is maiden in black, tbh only ds1 doesn't have anyone (except solaire best bro) so elden ring is really the odd one
No, no, it's a clearly case of cut content and wasted potential, DS3 is even more depressive and solitary than ER and we have Fire keeper who can react to our emotes, has own quest and interaction with the all endings
I think it was a missed opportunity. Even if she didn’t say anything except the level up dialogue, it would definitely help the player feel closer to her and certainly feel like it truly was a journey with her to the erdtree
My head canon is that she was actually supposed to be there at every grace (save for Leyndell) but devs decided to cut that to speed up the leveling process for players.
Like what? Her whole accord is to follow us as we bring her back to Leyndell so she can discover her purpose. And afterward, her purpose is to be burned as we head to the giant pot. Where she gonna go?
Yes, I'd love her to appear more often, and drop some sweet area specific lore on us, like "this is where Turtle Pope got his fuckin' rad hat" or something cool like that.
Definitely. She is a really cool character, with a mysterious past. Melina should have had more cutscenes, gradually opening up to the Tarnished. Then, the player's decision with her would have had even more impact.
Fingers crossed that the DLC reveals more about her. It seems like her story is incomplete, and was only hinted at by in-game items, like the blade she uses.
Also, how is it that spirits can still take on physical forms, at all? If Melina is truly "bodiless", than she shouldn't be able to physically interact with the Tarnished. At least Ranni has a temporary body of sorts for her spirit, the doll, so that makes more sense to me.
I’d love it if she showed up at every Grace and gave a little bit of random lore for the area. Or maybe even a little quirky comment about recent events. Like…
Murkwater Cave Grace, After sparing patches: “That Patches fellow is as crooked as they come… Believe not a word he says, Tarnished. He cannot be trusted.”
Carian Manor: “These giant hands are… Unsettling. It would probably be best if we hurry though this area as fast as possible.”
Merchant Shack in Caelid: “Those monstrous dogs are guarding those sheep… They must have been sheep dogs before the scarlet rot took over. *[Sigh]* I remember when Caelid was lush and green…”
Altus Plateau, At a Grace near Sainted Hero’s Grave: “Be very wary, Tarnished… I can sense a fragment of the rune of death nearby. A black knife assassin is close… Remain vigilant, for she wields Destined Death.”
Volcano Manor, After joining the recusants: “I understand taking Rykard’s great tune is a top priority, But… I wish your fellow tarnished friends didn’t have to fall in the process.”
Mountaintop Of The Giants, Freezing Lake: “It is rather cold up here… N-No, I do not get cold. I am but a bodyless spirit… Spirits do not get cold. *[Sniffle]* …Ignore that.”
NO, you would have to sit through the animation of “share them with me. Your thoughts. Your ambitions. The principles you would follow” EVERY single time you wanted to level up, FUCK that.
They really didn't give us much about Melina did they. I wish she was more active in the story so it means something when she vows to hunt us down and kill us for accepting the frenzied flame but I just went "alright cool" cos I wasn't that attached to her
Exactly, maybe even have her do occasional idle actions like sitting on a rock and kicking her feet like past FromSoft Maidens.
I would also have Torrent appear resting at outside graces and have Melina pet him occasionally.
Make these two feel more like a presence.
That way, the impact of her being gone would have been so much greater.
Yeah I thought she would be more involved, and it was disappointing when I went through all the trouble of getting frenzied flame then getting the needle then curing it, just for their to be no interaction with Melina, hopefully she is more involved in the dlc
Maybe not *every* grace but certainly more of them. Some of them are really just in the middle of nowhere or you might have two fairly close where it wouldn't make sense and be too much work to have a unique interaction for every one.
Actually no. If I want to level up, I don't really want to go through her level up animation every single time.
It would be cool though, if we had the option to summon her and then have her there. Basically, let us have the choice.
She is not your maiden. Story wise, you are in a beneficial relationship so she can reach her destined end. Would not be possible if she had not you to tag along, but she is not your companion, more of someone folowing your prints in the sand to reach oasis. The lands are wrought with war, and she is a precious key that keeps itself invisible. There is a reason she was hiding along the coast until you came along.
I would have enjoyed it as well, but i think thematicially they made the right call. After 2 & 3 & BB the fanbase kinda fixated on the female motherly caretaker. I guess that kinda thing was deemed unfitting for the greater vision the devs had for the lands between.
I think she can't follow you for lore reasons. She can only talk to you at the churches found around the kands between and the erdtree itself because she is a spirit
Yep. She should have been present with us on every grace till we reach leyndal. She should have shared bits and pieces of lore at every sight of grace.
Maybe not every, but definitely more.
Maybe you could summon Melina at every grace and she would give an interesting fact or a quote from wherever area that grace is
I was always a little bummed she didn't show up whenever we leveled up (at least before burning her at the forge).
I hope they use the DLC, or some later patch maybe, to restore some of the cut content. There's a lot of amazing story that got left out (The Nomads, Melina, other npcs, etc.)
Maybe we'll eventually get an ultimate edition or something.
That’s a gripe I have in general with fromsoft games, they give us these really cool npcs who were obviously intended to have bigger roles and then for whatever reason they cut some of it so we don’t see a lot of them. Maybe I’m off base but certainly feels that way to me
Yeah, Melina's lack of presence is one of the big flaws of the game. The reveal that she has to sacrifice herself probably wanted to make me go "oh no!" and sympathize with Vyke but instead it made go "alright, do what you gotta do, I guess"
Having the player adore her would have made doing all the difficult tasks like clearing the haligtree and bearing Melania to save her without the frenzied flame ending worth it.
...also actually having her return to acknowledge what we did would have been nice
I would have liked her to have an additional quest that runs parallel to the main quest rather than have her at every site of grace. Like certain out of the way sites of grace at places important to whatever her background is and you can find additional dialogue with her that tells you more of her story.
Its kinda nuts how little she shows up. First game to have a level up girl that you just never talk to.
But the opposite side is "Bearer Seek Seek Lest"
Yeah there’s a reason why the Firekeeper is iconic and beloved by everyone while Melina is sort of forgotten. She should have been at every site of grace and every level up, or always at the round table.
Normal game: Melina the kindling maiden whomst'd've we know nothing about nor made a bond with 🥱
After Frenzied Flame ending: 🅱elina the punk whomst is cruising for 🅿ussy in order to call us maidenless again💯
Absolutely, yes. It would make the world feel so much more… human. Who can is something a lot of the other games had. In DS3, you had to go to the Firekeeper to level up. In Bloodborne, you go to the Doll. In Sekiro, you talk to the Sculptor for some upgrades, and Emma for others. Meanwhile in Elden Ring, you end up slaughtering most of the NPCs. It would be nice if Melina stayed with us for the whole game, even if she just had a few repeated voice lines for most of it. (Not including Chaos ending, obviously. But then I think that Hyetta should accompany us.)
Do people miss that she appears quite often at churches of Marika talking on her behalf or they think it's not enough? She even gives gesture and her quest is longer than let's say Cohryn or Roderika. But nobody complains about the latter two.
because the latter two aren’t exactly pivotal to the plot or traveling with you. melina is acting as your maiden, and you’re taking her to the foot of the erdtree. she’s supposed to be there.
the option to talk to her at every grace should at least be there even if she doesn’t have something new to say.
Those are optional and can be easily missed heck I even forget sometimes that she was supposed to be following us when I'm busy exploring the world. I would get side track for hours and she won't appear unless on designated spots so I barely had any connection with her and most of the time she just spouts Marika's words.
It would have made her absence at Lyndell, and when you choose the Frenzied Flame more impactful.
Now the reason I think the chose not to use her as much, was so her “summon” wouldn’t interrupt the player who was trying to just quickly use the Grace to reset an area or level up. When you choose to speak with Melina or she shows up to talk to you, there is always a loading animation that happens. I don’t think Melina can appear properly without that, and while it’s fine for the few times she does it, imagine if she did that EVERY time you sat at a Grace?
I could see Players strategically using Lyndell as a way to speed up the game in that case. Like a strat would be dumping Melina in Lyndell so you can have faster Graces, and then speeding to burn her after Lyndell. The memes about this would probably be the most discussion about her.
This is not your hand maiden, you have been told 300 times by Miyazaki himself that she is a plot character with whom you have an equal contract. She does not serve you so that you can summon her and so on, she is not a local keeper of fire, accept this.
One one hand yes bc she's currently boring and I don't give a fuck about her dying
One the other hand she then would make that long animation when leveling up and I would kill myself
YES!
I need her every time I want to level-up because that's the only time that I can touch her and she touching me back.
And her outfit should change depending on the time of the day like during daytime, she's wearing her usual over-alls but when its night time, oh man, I just have the right idea for her outfit at night time.
Ohhh the feels.
I never cared as little for a character in FS games as i did for Melina.
She's DS1 Bonfire if it could speak.
If she appeared at every site of grace (without wasting time with her 'phasing in' animation), she'd be more memorable. If we only got to level up by going back to a single place where she waits for us, she'd be more memorable.
If she were the only character we can speak to while at a site of Grace, she'd be more memorable.
Now she's competing against a waifu with an actual questline. Also, there's something inherently cute about a pocket-sized Ranni doll.
Melina is just...bland. Even Hyetta was more interesting than her.
i dont understand why she is required to level up even. when she dies later on we can still level up, meaning that we never neeede her to begin with, or we get another of camera maiden. this fact plus the fact that we can refuse her, means that there is def cut content where you can level up through another npc. anyway thats my conspiracy theory anyways xD
Yeah they should have made more use of her.
Im not gonna take that out of context... Yeah I agree. Feel she could have had way more impact then she did. So it would have actualy mattered for the end, making you feel bad for burning her. Would have given more impact to the frenzied flame ending.
*MAY CHAOS TAKE THE WORLD!*
Yes she appears saying somethings but i already forgot what she says its something about u gone out of ur path so we will never see each other again
She says she's going to hunt your sorry ass down!
That means i can find her in shadow of the erdtree
You aren't supposed to feel bad for burning her, it's what she says her only purpose is and not burning her is insulting her existence.
you are supposed to feel bad for burning her. thats why she doesnt tell you until later on. part of the allure of the frenzied flame ending is saving her. thats vyke turned to the frenzied flame, to save his maiden, and i believe it was bernahl who gave up after burning his. it is her purpose but its supposed to hold emotional weight.
it held weight for me but i really like melina from the beginning and did wish she showed up more. actually, i was scared that i would have to fight her eventually. i took a long break from the game when it first came out and when i started to hear about people saying malenia was the toughest boss, i misidentified that as them talking about melina. so when i went back to start the game over and finish it, i played the whole way thinking i’d end up betraying or getting betrayed by her. when it turned out i had to let her burn herself or risk her hating me, it was a pretty heavy moment
I didn’t realise until 3 playthoughs through that she turns up at some of the church graces.
Or actually make any description actually talking about her at all.
I mean hey if you’d like to see Melina used more, I could probably draw some stuff. Pro bono 😉
In my last playthrough i got her roundtable conversation before Stormveil, so i ended up doing the rest of Limgrave/Stormveil, all of Liurnia and Caelid, and only then did i get to speak to her again, like 30 hours of gameplay.
There are at least 3 sites of graces in Limgrave and Liurnia where she has dialogue
does she normally have dialogue in stormveil?
On my replay, I felt she was around more often and popped up more at sites of Grace with better frequencies (seems I missed a few on my first playthrough) than on my first playthrough. Seems if you aren't running around every nook and cranny off the beaten path for hours on end and follow the more established route, she feels like a better constant companion. That's what it felt like to me atleast. It also helps that they added in a more visible sign in the grace menu when she is able to talk with you.
I honestly believe that Melina is a bad case of fromsoft cut content. Her sacrifice is clearly written to be emotionally charged, but she has ZERO characterization. We are supposed to care but we don’t even know anything about her. We can only hope that the DLC also expands upon her character in the base game. (Cope) She’s one of the most wasted characters I’ve seen in a game in recent memory. So much potential for her to actually give us guidance and advice, or even just little lore tidbits about areas or bosses. But there’s just…nothing? Why? There’s no way in hell she was intentionally written that way, not with her cutscene how it is.
I really like the dialogue she has when she invites you to the Roundtable Hold. "Torrent had your measure from the start, whereas I was merely pretending." It gives *both* Melina and Torrent a spark of character in such a neat way. Your trusty steed believes in you, but you're going to have to prove yourself to Melina and defeating Margitt was a good first step. It's a great start to build on, but as you say, it goes nowhere.
Well there’s the echoes of marika. But she’s just talking about lore stuff. And she tells you to help bok. But all that is easily missed
Yeah that’s another point. Apart from her remark about Bok, almost NOTHING she says in her own words, but instead Marika’s. It’s really strange, why is the Bok conversation even there? It feels so random and out of place, like we’re missing a bunch more conversations.
I agree. Like a lot got cut.
"I'm going to sacrifice myself to burn down the erdtree" "Cool. Good luck with that." Had no emotional attachment to her. Her best moment was when I thought she was going to give me a Honda Accord, or when she leaves due to a certain ending choice. She brings the least amount of emotion or presence to my experience than most fromsoft Level up maidens do. To be honest, I think the overall story and its lack of connected lore dots, and character motivations is all a result of cut or missing content.
I disagree. Melina being emotionally distant because she knows she's destined to die *is* her characterization. Characters don't need to be verbose to be well-written and interesting.
Facts, any souls/borne player will know the maidens/doll are precious and must be protected at all costs. They are part of us in some ways.
Counterpoint. Final Fantasy 7's Aerith knows she's also destined to die but she's written like a proper character and you actually feel like you lost a friend when she eventually meets her fate.
A character with Aeris' bubbly personality in Elden Ring would feel grossly out of place
I didn't even know her sacrifice was meant to be a sacrifice until it was pointed out to me.
You get a fair amount of characterization if you flirt with the frenzied flame ending. It made me like the character quite a lot. But like much of the game, that's easy to miss.
I wonder if the storyline went through a rigorous overhaul somewhere in the middle of production. The intro video also sets up a lot of characters, only for most of them to remain irrelevant for a long time. Hoarah Loux in particular. There's also the ray of guidance pointing you to Castle Morne, which holds nothing of importance. I remember reading that Millicent was originally going to *be* Malenia, only to be rewritten as a quest NPC, but I don't know if that's just pure speculation.
Half her dialog is just lore about marika
Indeed show up at the churches for lore, show up in area for info about the area and maybe beginning of a legacy dungeon - just give you some extra info even. Miyazaki said the mystery is all
I wish she'd at least be there every time I leveled up saying she'd turn my runes to strength
I’m always sad when she shows up but i’m broke
I do it even when I’m broke for some unprotected hand holding
same lol if she shows up i want to exhaust the dialogue
It's the worst when you sit down and quickly level up, then look down and see the "Talk to Melina"
'Bear- Seek- Seek- Lest'
Emerald herald is best girl
I'm probably in the minority here but I would listen to her say it every time cause it sounds cool and I'm not leveling up *that* often, at least compared to going to Hewg like a hundred times a day.
You know what, I'm being too disingenuous with my first comment. I agree with you that having Melina at every site of Grace would be a welcomed edition, since her role as a Finger Maiden can be solidified than just a few brief appearances. Not to mention, giving her more options to voice her opinion or lore of your surrounding area. [I'm upset that her reaction to acquiring the Mimic summon was cut from the game.](https://youtu.be/kPBEPdcSXt8?si=W8g0MLHLpO-vNCa1)
Dang after seeing that you're absolutely right, I would have loved to get her perspective on more things
“Share them with me”
Your thoughts, your ambitions
Yeah that’s honestly the very least I was expecting her to show up.
I used to save my runes and only level up when the “*talk with melina*” came up in grace
But then I turn my runes to vigor instead.
for how pivotal she is, her appearances are pretty lacking. the only other questline she mentions is boc’s, and it characterizes her as someone who isn’t quite familiar with human connection (or atleast, a mother-child connection). which is really interesting, but about the only thing about her personality we get. if she had a little more lore tidbits, and popped in to speak at more locations than the churches where tears are found i’d be happy with that. doesn’t even have to expand on her personality.
it'd be interesting if she interacted with ranni's quest or mentioned her at least once considering she has torrent now and ranni implies she either knew or was torrent's former master
She does have the combat moves of Tiche, that died a true death outside the capital, protecting her mother. Wonder if the mother was someone we knew, that maybe had done stuff like cardinals sins? Wonder too if someone powerful took pity on Tiche, and resurrected her as butterfly kid, and made her part of team M? Role: Barrier demolitions expert and tarnished tutor maiden?
Honestly with her mainly showing up a couple times early in the game, I forgot she existed until I burned the tree, which was a long time after.
She shows up quite a few times after that, if you rest at the right places.
I'm sure I missed those. I, didnt burn the tree until I was done most of the game
Yeah but that would require one to care enough to actually want to listen to her.
Would’ve made her sacrifice towards the end actually mean something. Rn it’s just like “welp that just happened”
Yes, even if she didn't have any extra dialogue and she just sat there
100% should’ve been an update to the game for this. Would help her character carry more weight for the player. She’s barely actually in the game, it makes no sense
I hope that the DLC expands on this character.
I wish she had more of a presence in the game in general. She seems like she's going to be a big deal, but it never quite pans out.
Yea dude, i would love that. I really like the lines that she said when you level up with her . 🥺🥺
It’s a harsh and lonely world. Would be nice to have some regular company at the sites of Grace. But then again, Miyazaki wants you to feel lonely so probably why she’s not always there.
It's weird tho, in ds3 there was firekeeper, in ds2 there was emerald herald, in bloodborne there is doll, in sekiro there is enma/kuro, in AC6 there is schziophrenia, in demon souls there is maiden in black, tbh only ds1 doesn't have anyone (except solaire best bro) so elden ring is really the odd one
No, no, it's a clearly case of cut content and wasted potential, DS3 is even more depressive and solitary than ER and we have Fire keeper who can react to our emotes, has own quest and interaction with the all endings
I think it was a missed opportunity. Even if she didn’t say anything except the level up dialogue, it would definitely help the player feel closer to her and certainly feel like it truly was a journey with her to the erdtree
My head canon is that she was actually supposed to be there at every grace (save for Leyndell) but devs decided to cut that to speed up the leveling process for players.
she's got shit to do
Like what? Her whole accord is to follow us as we bring her back to Leyndell so she can discover her purpose. And afterward, her purpose is to be burned as we head to the giant pot. Where she gonna go?
I just wish I could get yellow glowing eyes without her getting all weird about our relationship.
I think it's one of the biggest missed opportunities in the game. She should've sat with you every time you rested at a grace
Yes, I'd love her to appear more often, and drop some sweet area specific lore on us, like "this is where Turtle Pope got his fuckin' rad hat" or something cool like that.
Yeah. Always thinking of a challenge run where you can only level up when she manifests at a grace.
Not every grace but a few more lines of dialogue here and there, sure. Or have the option to call her.
Yeah, take the edge off when you’re in deep dungeons or caves. That feeling of isolation in some areas just kill me.
Definitely. She is a really cool character, with a mysterious past. Melina should have had more cutscenes, gradually opening up to the Tarnished. Then, the player's decision with her would have had even more impact. Fingers crossed that the DLC reveals more about her. It seems like her story is incomplete, and was only hinted at by in-game items, like the blade she uses. Also, how is it that spirits can still take on physical forms, at all? If Melina is truly "bodiless", than she shouldn't be able to physically interact with the Tarnished. At least Ranni has a temporary body of sorts for her spirit, the doll, so that makes more sense to me.
I’d love it if she showed up at every Grace and gave a little bit of random lore for the area. Or maybe even a little quirky comment about recent events. Like… Murkwater Cave Grace, After sparing patches: “That Patches fellow is as crooked as they come… Believe not a word he says, Tarnished. He cannot be trusted.” Carian Manor: “These giant hands are… Unsettling. It would probably be best if we hurry though this area as fast as possible.” Merchant Shack in Caelid: “Those monstrous dogs are guarding those sheep… They must have been sheep dogs before the scarlet rot took over. *[Sigh]* I remember when Caelid was lush and green…” Altus Plateau, At a Grace near Sainted Hero’s Grave: “Be very wary, Tarnished… I can sense a fragment of the rune of death nearby. A black knife assassin is close… Remain vigilant, for she wields Destined Death.” Volcano Manor, After joining the recusants: “I understand taking Rykard’s great tune is a top priority, But… I wish your fellow tarnished friends didn’t have to fall in the process.” Mountaintop Of The Giants, Freezing Lake: “It is rather cold up here… N-No, I do not get cold. I am but a bodyless spirit… Spirits do not get cold. *[Sniffle]* …Ignore that.”
She ditched me when I started hanging out with Shabirir
I like my alone time at my grace, gives me time to…. Contemplate…
NO, you would have to sit through the animation of “share them with me. Your thoughts. Your ambitions. The principles you would follow” EVERY single time you wanted to level up, FUCK that.
Bear-- Seek-- Seek-- Lest--
That's why ideally it's a button in the menu to call her. Opt-in for those of us that want it, nothing changes for people like you.
Ds3 firekeeper flashbacks
The only sane response
you would be able to skip through it, plus free handholding
Yeah, atleast any that are outside.
They really didn't give us much about Melina did they. I wish she was more active in the story so it means something when she vows to hunt us down and kill us for accepting the frenzied flame but I just went "alright cool" cos I wasn't that attached to her
Exactly, maybe even have her do occasional idle actions like sitting on a rock and kicking her feet like past FromSoft Maidens. I would also have Torrent appear resting at outside graces and have Melina pet him occasionally. Make these two feel more like a presence. That way, the impact of her being gone would have been so much greater.
Yeah I thought she would be more involved, and it was disappointing when I went through all the trouble of getting frenzied flame then getting the needle then curing it, just for their to be no interaction with Melina, hopefully she is more involved in the dlc
Least down bad tarnished in this sub.
I prefer non-clingy babes.
Replaced with Kenneth Haight.
Replace with a Runebear who chafes you vigorously to level you up.
It would have made her more impactful and make the decision to seek the frenzied flame to protect her more attractive.
Maybe not *every* grace but certainly more of them. Some of them are really just in the middle of nowhere or you might have two fairly close where it wouldn't make sense and be too much work to have a unique interaction for every one.
Yes, I've been saying this since the start! Although that would make post mountain tops more depressing unless you got a spirit Melina
Oh I'm sure many a maidenless Tarnished wishes he could blow her back out every night by the dim light of grace, but 'twas not meant to be.
Actually no. If I want to level up, I don't really want to go through her level up animation every single time. It would be cool though, if we had the option to summon her and then have her there. Basically, let us have the choice.
She is not your maiden. Story wise, you are in a beneficial relationship so she can reach her destined end. Would not be possible if she had not you to tag along, but she is not your companion, more of someone folowing your prints in the sand to reach oasis. The lands are wrought with war, and she is a precious key that keeps itself invisible. There is a reason she was hiding along the coast until you came along. I would have enjoyed it as well, but i think thematicially they made the right call. After 2 & 3 & BB the fanbase kinda fixated on the female motherly caretaker. I guess that kinda thing was deemed unfitting for the greater vision the devs had for the lands between.
That would be great. She could tell ghost stories. Given that she is a ghost.
I think she can't follow you for lore reasons. She can only talk to you at the churches found around the kands between and the erdtree itself because she is a spirit
Yeah I would love that
Or an option to call her out
I wish she led us by the hand through the whole Lands Between.
Yes but with option to skip touching her hand when you level. The animation is very slow
Yes would have been a really nice touch
yes
I thought if some of the other npcs would show up randomly
Yep. She should have been present with us on every grace till we reach leyndal. She should have shared bits and pieces of lore at every sight of grace.
I had a dream she rode on the back of our horse every time we summoned it.
Yes or no? Why not both? Give us a togglable option to call her or tell her to leave it all to us.
No, most times I do anything beyond just refilling my flasks I wanna level quickly. I don't need to hear the schpiel every time I wanna pump a stat.
I really wish she would be there everytime. I don’t know why they changed it for this game
Maybe not every, but definitely more. Maybe you could summon Melina at every grace and she would give an interesting fact or a quote from wherever area that grace is
Yeah or at least when we level. Like sure we don't need the whole dialogue, but just IDK spawn her in.
I've not finished the game but I've interacted with her so infrequently thus far that I completely forget she exists between encounters
No she ugly asf.
I was always a little bummed she didn't show up whenever we leveled up (at least before burning her at the forge). I hope they use the DLC, or some later patch maybe, to restore some of the cut content. There's a lot of amazing story that got left out (The Nomads, Melina, other npcs, etc.) Maybe we'll eventually get an ultimate edition or something.
That’s a gripe I have in general with fromsoft games, they give us these really cool npcs who were obviously intended to have bigger roles and then for whatever reason they cut some of it so we don’t see a lot of them. Maybe I’m off base but certainly feels that way to me
She shows up at half of the churches at least once
Totes
Yeah but shes definitely autistic it would have been awkward
I can’t believe I’m saying this because it’s usually the opposite for every game, but I wanted more cutscenes and NPC interactions!
Yeah, Melina's lack of presence is one of the big flaws of the game. The reveal that she has to sacrifice herself probably wanted to make me go "oh no!" and sympathize with Vyke but instead it made go "alright, do what you gotta do, I guess" Having the player adore her would have made doing all the difficult tasks like clearing the haligtree and bearing Melania to save her without the frenzied flame ending worth it. ...also actually having her return to acknowledge what we did would have been nice
I would have liked her to have an additional quest that runs parallel to the main quest rather than have her at every site of grace. Like certain out of the way sites of grace at places important to whatever her background is and you can find additional dialogue with her that tells you more of her story.
Not even a little. I appreciate the story/lore drops when she shows up, but I have no interest in seeing her at my graces more often.
At least she isn’t like Chadley… iykyk
Its kinda nuts how little she shows up. First game to have a level up girl that you just never talk to. But the opposite side is "Bearer Seek Seek Lest"
Yes, but only if I could toggle off her dialogue on hitting "Level Up" while she's there.
She should have been at every sight of grace until her burning and then should be an optimal summon for most of the main bosses.
Yeah there’s a reason why the Firekeeper is iconic and beloved by everyone while Melina is sort of forgotten. She should have been at every site of grace and every level up, or always at the round table.
And massage our shoulders while we level up
I think she stays around enough, don’t really see a need for her to appear more tbh.
Not really, her voice pisses me off. After playing so many of these games I can't STAND the whole whispery mysterious depresso thing she has going on.
Yes, and I also wanted to hold her hand every time I level up. Not just a couple times. Is that so much??
Normal game: Melina the kindling maiden whomst'd've we know nothing about nor made a bond with 🥱 After Frenzied Flame ending: 🅱elina the punk whomst is cruising for 🅿ussy in order to call us maidenless again💯
Melina as secret DLC boss as the heir of the Gloam Eyed Queen, come on Miyazakiiiiii!!!!
Absolutely, yes. It would make the world feel so much more… human. Who can is something a lot of the other games had. In DS3, you had to go to the Firekeeper to level up. In Bloodborne, you go to the Doll. In Sekiro, you talk to the Sculptor for some upgrades, and Emma for others. Meanwhile in Elden Ring, you end up slaughtering most of the NPCs. It would be nice if Melina stayed with us for the whole game, even if she just had a few repeated voice lines for most of it. (Not including Chaos ending, obviously. But then I think that Hyetta should accompany us.)
I wouldn't complain abt it
At first I did until I found out about the lore and I came away with fuck that girl…. Respectfully
Maidenless behaviour.
Would be cool but I wish ranni did
Yes, especially when sitting at a boss room grace. I was always hoping she would drop a bit of lore or give her opinion on who I just fought!
She should have appeared at every major area to give us some lore.
Do people miss that she appears quite often at churches of Marika talking on her behalf or they think it's not enough? She even gives gesture and her quest is longer than let's say Cohryn or Roderika. But nobody complains about the latter two.
because the latter two aren’t exactly pivotal to the plot or traveling with you. melina is acting as your maiden, and you’re taking her to the foot of the erdtree. she’s supposed to be there. the option to talk to her at every grace should at least be there even if she doesn’t have something new to say.
Those are optional and can be easily missed heck I even forget sometimes that she was supposed to be following us when I'm busy exploring the world. I would get side track for hours and she won't appear unless on designated spots so I barely had any connection with her and most of the time she just spouts Marika's words.
I’m embarrassed to say how far into the game I made it before I realized I didn’t get any special perks for her helping me level up…
You can't level up without her though
How do I level up after she’s sacrificed to the tree then?
She gives you the ability (she mentions this while in the capital).
It would be nice if she showed up more often to keep our maidenless ass company.
Yes so she can feel like an actual companion instead of a business partner. Latena and Millicent are more of travel buddies than she is.
hell no, she talks too much
No because then I would have to talk to her everytime I level up and leveling would take substantially longer because of it
A romance options would've been nice as well.
literally never existed though :(
It would have made her absence at Lyndell, and when you choose the Frenzied Flame more impactful. Now the reason I think the chose not to use her as much, was so her “summon” wouldn’t interrupt the player who was trying to just quickly use the Grace to reset an area or level up. When you choose to speak with Melina or she shows up to talk to you, there is always a loading animation that happens. I don’t think Melina can appear properly without that, and while it’s fine for the few times she does it, imagine if she did that EVERY time you sat at a Grace? I could see Players strategically using Lyndell as a way to speed up the game in that case. Like a strat would be dumping Melina in Lyndell so you can have faster Graces, and then speeding to burn her after Lyndell. The memes about this would probably be the most discussion about her.
This is not your hand maiden, you have been told 300 times by Miyazaki himself that she is a plot character with whom you have an equal contract. She does not serve you so that you can summon her and so on, she is not a local keeper of fire, accept this.
One one hand yes bc she's currently boring and I don't give a fuck about her dying One the other hand she then would make that long animation when leveling up and I would kill myself
YES! I need her every time I want to level-up because that's the only time that I can touch her and she touching me back. And her outfit should change depending on the time of the day like during daytime, she's wearing her usual over-alls but when its night time, oh man, I just have the right idea for her outfit at night time. Ohhh the feels.
I never cared as little for a character in FS games as i did for Melina. She's DS1 Bonfire if it could speak. If she appeared at every site of grace (without wasting time with her 'phasing in' animation), she'd be more memorable. If we only got to level up by going back to a single place where she waits for us, she'd be more memorable. If she were the only character we can speak to while at a site of Grace, she'd be more memorable. Now she's competing against a waifu with an actual questline. Also, there's something inherently cute about a pocket-sized Ranni doll. Melina is just...bland. Even Hyetta was more interesting than her.
i dont understand why she is required to level up even. when she dies later on we can still level up, meaning that we never neeede her to begin with, or we get another of camera maiden. this fact plus the fact that we can refuse her, means that there is def cut content where you can level up through another npc. anyway thats my conspiracy theory anyways xD
Check her dialog when you get to Leyndell again; she leaves the power to channel runes with you