Needle Knight Leda is one of the key NPCs you'll meet in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. She's the leader behind the group of the characters who follow Miquella into the Shadow Realm, and the first new face you'll see when first start Shadow of the Erdtree. She's also the linchpin holding all of the Elden Ring DLC sidequests together, and as a result, Leda's questline is one that runs the entire length of the expansion.
Below, we explain how to complete Leda's questline in Shadow of the Erdtree, and how your decisions in other NPC questlines can affect Leda's behaviour, and what that means for your playthrough. So read on below to find out everything you need to know about Needle Knight Leda's sidequest.
On this page:
- First meeting - where to find Leda
- Second meeting - Scadu Altus
- Third meeting
- Fourth meeting - Shadow Keep
- Fifth and final encounter
First meeting - where to find Leda
You'll first meet Needle Knight Leda in Elden Ring's base game, inside the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum once you've completed the requisite steps to start the DLC (defeating Starscourge Radahn and Mogh, Lord of Blood). She'll be standing near the Site of Grace 'Cocoon of the Empyrean'.
Speak with Leda, and she'll introduce herself as someone who, like you, was "guided by faith" to follow along Miquella's "honourable path". She'll suggest you touch the withered arm hanging from the cocoon, which will transport you to the Shadow Realm to begin Elden Ring's DLC.
Do so, and you'll find yourself in Gravesite Plain, the opening area of Shadow of the Erdtree. It will be some time before you meet Leda again, so feel free to explore the area to see what Shadow of the Erdtree has to offer (we've got some pointers on what to do first if you need them), and start the questlines relating to some of the other NPCs, such as Redmane Freyja, Hornsent, Ansbach and Moore.
Many of their questlines will point you toward the game's first legacy dungeon, Belurat, Tower Settlement. At the end of this dungeon, after you've defeated Divine Beast Dancing Lion, you'll also find a note from Leda called the Tower of Shadow Message, which states the following:
"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 gives you a clue about where to head next - through Castle Ensis to the second main region of Elden Ring's DLC, Scadu Altus, which is where you'll find Needle Knight Leda for your first proper Shadow Realm meeting.
Second meeting - Scadu Altus
In Scadu Altus, Needle Knight Leda is found at the Site of Grace 'Highroad Cross', which you'll come to immediately after finishing Castle Ensis and defeating Rellana, Twin Moon Knight. For Leda's exact location, see the map below:
Speak to her here, and she'll reveal that all of her compatriots have been bound by a charm, created by Miquella. "This is what allows us to serve together," she says - which totally won't backfire in any way whatsoever...
You can also ask her to reveal more about Hornsent at this point, who will also appear at this Site of Grace as part of his respective questline.
After this, Leda won't have anymore to say, so feel free to continue your journey in Scadu Altus, and head toward the Shadow Keep in the distance.
Third meeting
The next milestone in Needle Knight Leda's questline comes once you've received the message "Somewhere, a great rune has broken...". This will occur when you approach the Shadow Keep, or enter Rauh Base for the first time, and it marks a major progression point in all NPC sidequests. Before you do anything else, return to Leda (and all the other NPCs) to progress to the next part of her questline.
Fast travel back to 'Highroad Cross' and speak with Leda again. Here, she will tell you that the charm binding everyone together has now broken, which has unsurprisingly caused some ruptures to appear within the group. Leda herself remains fiercely dedicated to Miquella, but she's grown more suspicious of everyone else.
But she also sees this as a blessing in disguise, as it will give her the opportunity to root out some of the weaker members of the group. You have a choice here: to suggest Thiollier or Hornsent (or simply leave) for Leda to go after.
Here are the outcomes for each decision:
- Suggest Thiollier: Leda will quickly conclude that Thiollier poses no real threat, and will ask you choose again.
- Suggest Hornsent: Leda will say she needs time to ponder this decision, but after resting at a Site of Grace and speaking with her again, she'll agree that Hornsent's commitment to the cause is unclear, and Leda will start making preparations to target Hornsent.
- Leave: You can save your decision to make another time, but if you leave it too long, Leda will target Hornsent regardless, whether you suggest him or not.
In other words, whatever you choose to say to Leda, she'll have it in for Hornsent no matter what. This won't have any impact on her own questline, but it will have consequences for Hornsent's questline. Luckily, you can save Hornsent from Leda's advances by summoning him as a collaborator in the boss fight against Messmer the Impaler. After this, however, Leda will begin to target Ansbach, which will of course impact his questline.
Still, for now, there's nothing more to do here. It will take some time for Leda to put her plans into action, and so whether you make a suggestion to her or not, your next destination will be the Shadow Keep.
Fourth meeting - Shadow Keep
Once you've made it inside the Shadow Keep, you'll find a lot of NPCs will have moved here as well. Needle Knight Leda will also appear here, but she doesn't have her own physical location. Instead, she only appears here as via a summoning tablet, but interacting with these tablets will have important consequences for some of the other NPC questlines.
Again, Leda's own questline will continue no matter what happens here, but read on below for a summary of how each decision will impact other questlines.
Targeting Hornsent
The first place you'll encounter Leda is on the southern ramparts of the Shadow Keep after you've completed the Golden Hippopotamus boss fight (before you reach the Shadow Keep's Specimen Storehouse).
You'll see two summoning tablets on the ground here - a red one for Leda, and a golden one for Hornsent. You can choose to help Leda fight against Hornsent, or help Hornsent fight against Leda - or just skip the fight entirely. Leda's questline will continue regardless of which option you pick, but your decision will have other implications for Hornsent's questline. Below, we'll outline what happens with each option:
- Help Leda: Choosing this option will end Hornsent's questline, but you'll receive Hornsent's Armor Set and Flax weapon. Leda will also give you the Lacerating Crossed-Tree Talisman as a reward as well. She'll then begin targeting Ansbach.
- Help Hornsent: Choosing this option will continue Hornsent's questline, and you'll receive the Ash of War: Swift Slash and Leda's Rune as a reward.
- Skip the fight: If you miss the summoning tablets, or end up defeating Messmer first before you get to this part of the Shadow Keep, don't worry. Hornsent's questline will continue, and you'll have the option of summoning Hornsent during the boss fight against Messmer - which will convince Leda of Hornsent's worth.
Targeting Ansbach
If Leda ends up shifting her focus to Ansbach, you'll find more red and golden summoning tablets in Ansbach's Shadow Keep location, which is on the first floor of the Specimen Storehouse:
Again, your decision here won't have any effect on Leda's questline, but it will determine whether Ansbach's sidequest will continue or come to an early end. Below, we'll outline what happens with each option:
- Help Leda: Choosing this option will end Ansbach's questline, and you won't be able to summon him later in the game to fight alongside you just before the final boss. You'll receive Ansbach's Armor Set and Ansbach's Longbow weapon as your main reward, but if you speak to Leda afterwards, she'll give you the Retaliated Crossed-Tree Talisman as well.
- Help Ansbach: Choosing this option will continue Ansbach's questline, and you'll receive Ansbach's Longbow and Leda's Rune as your main rewards.
- Skip the fight: Again, if you miss this fight, don't worry. Ansbach's questline will continue, as will Leda's questline.
In my playthrough, I ended up defeating Messmer with the help of Hornsent before I even saw any of these summoning fights, but I was still able to finish both Hornsent and Ansbach's questlines. In my case, Leda remained at the 'Highroad Cross' Site of Grace throughout the rest of the game. It was only when I reached the end of the game, where her and many other NPCs' sidequests conclude, that she eventually left this location.
Fifth and final encounter
Regardless of whether you engaged in any of the Shadow Keep fights, you'll next meet Leda in Enir-Ilim, just before the final boss of the expansion. After resting at the Site of Grace 'Cleansing Chamber Anteroom', you'll enter a large sandy arena, where Leda will will be waiting for you.
She'll realise that it wasn't ever Miquella that guided you here to the Shadow Realm, but your own desire to become the Elden Lord. To punish you for such selfish ends, she'll challenge you to a duel. When she finishes her speech, she'll fade away, leaving a summoning stone for you to initiate the battle ahead.
This is where all your NPC sidequest decisions will come to a head, as the choices you've made in various questlines will impact who you fight against, and who you can summon as allies to help you. See below for a full list of which NPCs will appear in the fight with Leda (spoilers, obviously):
Leda's Allies:
- Dryleaf Dane: will always fight against you, no matter what.
- Moore: will fight against you if you tell him to "Put it behind you" in his questline.
- Redmane Freyja: will fight against you if you give her Ansbach's letter in the Shadow Keep.
- Hornsent: will fight against you if you don't summon him for Messmer and kill him in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh.
Your Allies:
- Ansbach: can be summoned as an ally if you give him the Secret Rite Scroll and don't kill him by helping Leda in the Shadow Keep.
- Thiollier: can be summoned as an ally if you complete his questline by revealing the words of St. Trina to him.
You'll need to defeat both Leda and all of the companions she summons throughout the fight before you can continue. You'll be rewarded with Leda's Sword on completing the fight, and once you've been transported back to your own world, you'll be able to loot the following additional rewards from her body, which is located just beyond the area where you fought her:
- Leda's Armor
- Oathseeker Knight Helm
- Oathseeker Knight Gauntlets
- Oathseeker Knight Greaves
This brings Needle Knight Leda's questline (and all the other NPC questlines) to a close - congratulations for seeing so many through to the end! Now all that's left is to defeat the final boss. Good luck!
Need more help? Improve your stats by finding all of Shadow of the Erdtree's Scadutree Fragment locations and Revered Spirit Ash locations. Alternatively, see which Erdtree bosses you've still got left to beat, and track down some great new early weapons to help you on your adventure.
