Needle Knight Leda is the most important NPC in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC of Elden Ring. She commands the legion of Miquella’s faithful and is devoted to protecting her lord at all costs.
Even when the effect of the charm wears off and she gets to know the truth, Leda still decides to help Miquella obtain Godhood by eliminating any resistance in his path.
In this guide, we will help you locate Leda in Elden Ring and show you how can follow her across the Shadow Lands to complete her twisted yet entertaining quest.
Meet Leda in the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum
Once you defeat Mohg, lord of blood, inside the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum, rest at the Cocoon of the Empyrean site of grace.
This will make Needle Knight Leda appear near Miquella’s Cocoon. Talk to Leda, and she will encourage you to touch the withered arm to be transported to the Shadow Lands.
Read Leda’s Letters in Gravesite Plains
Once you start the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, you won’t meet Leda for quite some time. Progress through the game until you reach the Belurat tower Settlement in the northwest region of Gravesite Plains.
Once you kill the Divine Beast, Dancing Lion boss, go through the door to the east and use the elevator to go up. Open the door to the north and use the ladder to go further up. There you will find a dead end and a letter by Needle Knight Leda in Elden Ring. This letter is called the Shadow of Tower message, and it reads.
“The Gate of Divinity lies in the tower sealed by shadow. That is surely where Kind Miquella is headed. We are no Empyreans, but we must locate the path that will lead us there. I will follow the crosses east.”
This is a hint to go east to the next main dungeon, Castle Ensis. Once you reach Castle Ensis, progress through the area until you reach the Castle Ensis Cross site of grace.
This place can’t be missed if you decide to attempt Castle Ensis. Collect the second from near the cross. It reads.
“Kind Miquella seeks the tower sealed by shadow, and the Gate of Divinity found there. If we are to reach him, we must burn the tree that seals the path. And for that, we require a flame.”
Summon Leda to Kill Rellana
This is an optional step, but we recommend completing it for the full experience of Leda’s quest in Elden Ring.
Go through the entire Castle Ensis until you reach its end. This is where you will face Rellana, Twin Moon Knight. Use Leda’s summon sign outside the boss door to summon her for the fight.
We have a detailed guide on how to defeat Rellana in Elden Ring. Once defeated, you can go through Castle Ensis to reach Scadu Altus, the area where you will meet Leda for the first time physically since entering the Shadow Lands.
Meet Leda near Highroad Cross Site of Grace
Travel northwest from Castle Ensis to find the Highroad Cross site of grace. Here you can find Leda and Hornsent. You can also collect an important gesture here required to complete Dryleaf Dane’s quest in Elden Ring.
Talk to Leda, and she will tell you about the group of people following Miquella. She will also give you some insight on Dryleaf Dane, Hornsent, and Moore. However, you must talk to these three before talking to Leda to initiate those dialogues.
Break Miquella’s Great Rune
As a part of the main quest, journey to the Shadow Keep in the center of the Scadu Altus area. As soon as you reach the entrance of Shadow Keep, you will hear a loud cracking sound with the text.
“A Great Rune has been broken somewhere.”
This is a pivotal moment in Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. All the questlines will progress at this point, and Leda is no exception. Return to Leda near the Highroad Cross site of grace and talk to her.
She will tell you that she still wants to follow kind Miquella despite being no longer under his influence.
Talk to Leda, and she will give you two options at this point.
- Investigate Thiollier
- Investigate Hornsent
If you ask her to investigate Thiollier and return to the grace a bit later, she will tell you that Thiollier is not a suspect.
Upon choosing Hornsent, she will find him guilty and tell you that Hornsent managed to get away. She will ask for your help to take him down.
Help Leda kill Hornsent
Go to the Shadow Keep and kill the Golden Hippopotamus Boss. Enter the door to the left and go up the stairs until you reach the Dining Room with three knights.
Leave the room to reach the rooftop with burning ships. Near the stairs, you will notice two invasion signs. Red one to help Leda kill Hornsent, and Gold to help Hornsent defeat Leda.
If you decide to help Leda, Hornsent will be killed, and his quest will end at this point. You will receive the following items as a reward.
- Falx
- Caterpillar Mask
- Braided Cord Robe
- Braided Arm Wraps
- Soiled Loincloth
- Lacerating Crossed-Tree Talisman (upon talking to Leda at the Highroad Cross site of grace).
However, if you decide to help Hornsent, Leda will be defeated but not killed. However, you will be locked out of the next encounter. You will get the following rewards for this fight.
- Leda’s Rune (40,000)
- Ash of War: Swift Slash
You can skip both fights, and both quests will continue as normal. However, you will end up missing all the rewards.
Help Leda Defeat Ansbach at Shadow Keep
Progress through the Shadow Keep until you reach the Specimen Storehouse First Floor. Go left and then climb the stairs to the right.
Follow the narrow path until you reach the dissection room. Talk to Sir Ansbach, standing in the corner. He won’t talk to you much at this point.
Continue through the Shadow Keep until you reach the Seventh-Floor site of grace. Talk to Redmane Freyja and find the Secret Rite Scroll from the fifth floor.
Return to Ansbach and give him the Scroll. Also, tell him of Freyja’s decision. He will give you a letter for Freyja and leave.
Return to Leda near the Highroad Cross site of Grace and talk to her again about Ansbach. Go to the room once more where Ansbach was, and you will notice two summon signs here.
Use the Red summon sign to help Leda kill Ansbach. This will give you the following rewards.
- Wise Man’s Mask
- Ansbach’s Attire
- Ansbach’s Manchette’s
- Ansbach’s Boots
- Ansbach’s Longbow
- Retaliatory Crossed-Tree Talisman (upon talking to Leda near the Highroad Cross site of the cross).
However, this will kill Sir Ansbach’s quest, and you can no longer summon him to fight Leda and Promised Consort Radahn. We strongly recommend against it.
If you help Ansbach by using the Gold summon sign, you can defeat Leda to get the following rewards.
- Leda’s Rune (40,000 Runes)
- Ansbach’s Great Bow
This is the recommended path as it will allow you to continue both Leda’s and Ansbach’s quests. However, you will miss out on a unique talisman.
Defeat Leda and her Allies
Defeat Messmer (we strongly recommend summoning Hornsent for this fight) and acquire his Kindling. Go to the Ancient Ruins of Rauh and burn the sealing tree after killing Romina, Saint of the Bud.
As you reach the end of Enir-Ilim, Leda will invade you alongside her allies. These include.
- Dryleaf Dane
- Moore (if you select the “Leave it behind you” option)
- Redmane Freyja (if she receives the letter for Freyja from Ansbach)
At this point, you can also summon some allies to help you if the conditions are met.
- Hornsent (if you summon him during Messmer, the Impaler fight)
- Ansbach (if you give him the secret Rite Scroll and help him against Leda)
- Thiollier (if you complete his quest and tell him St Trina’s words)
Once defeated, Leda will drop the following items.
- Leda’s Sword
- Leda’s Armor
- Oathseeker Knight Helm
- Oathseeker Knight Gauntlets
- Oathseeker Knight Greaves
This will mark the end of Needle Knight Leda’s quest in Elden Ring. You can now talk to Sir Ansbach and progress through the fog gate to take on the mighty Promised Consort Radahn.
