Elden Ring DLC: Miquella’s “Heart Stolen” message and what it means 

In their countless attempts at fighting Shadow of the Erdtree’s final campaign boss, Elden Ring players might have noticed a unique “Heart Stolen” game over screen that pops up when Radahn, Consort of Miquella (the boss’s second phase) grabs the player two times during the fight. The Tarnished stops attacking Miquella and Radahn, and gets on one knee to swear fealty to the lord and consort. This act ties heavily into Miquella’s lore, as does the rune needed to prevent his influence. 

Miquella the Kind is known as the most fearsome Empyrean 

Born to Radagon of the Golden Order and Marika the Eternal, Miquella is an Empyrean cursed with eternal youth. To compensate for his curse, Miquella is blessed with the ability to compel affection from others. Miquella’s ability to charm others to fight for his cause can be seen in Shadow of the Erdtree, particularly through Needle Knight Leda and Miquella’s other followers who have been called from far-off lands to serve the Empyrean. 

The Tarnished being grabbed by Miquella during the Radahn, Consort of Miquella boss fight could hint at how Miquella was able to charm his followers. If a simple touch from Miquella is all it takes for others to do his bidding, then it’s a wonder why he wasn’t able to get an army to follow him to the Land of Shadow. Miquella stripping himself of his flesh may have contributed to the Empyrean’s weakness and limited him to charming only a few people, which might be why he reserved using his powers for those he deemed worthy of following him. 

Miquella’s Great Rune is the only thing that can prevent having your heart stolen 

There are two ways players can prevent the “Heart Stolen” game over screen. They can either avoid Radahn, Consort of Miquella’s grab attacks altogether, or use Miquella’s Great Rune that drops from the Scadutree Avatar located at the base of the Scadutree. With this item, players can remove the debuff that appears over their characters’ heads whenever they get grabbed by the boss for the first time. Miquella’s Great Rune can be used as many times as needed during the fight, preventing the “Heart Stolen” game over screen from occurring.  

While Radahn, Consort of Miquella’s grab is by far the boss’s easiest move to dodge, it was nice a nice touch by FromSoftware to add more depth to Miquella’s character and the boss fight. Considering how hard Miquella tries to get the Tarnished to abandon their cause and fight for him, one wonders whether the player character should have ended up becoming Miquella’s consort instead of Radahn.