Needle Knight Leda Quest and Location

Needle Knight Leda is an NPC in the Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, initially found in Mohgwyn Palace. Learn about Needle Knight Leda's questline walkthrough, should you help or kill her in both encounters, location, drops, and lore in this guide!

Needle Knight Leda Quest Walkthrough

Quest Objectives
Talk to Leda by the Cocoon of the Empyrean Obtain Leda's Message at Belurat Obtain Leda's Message at Castle Ensis Speak With Leda by the Highroad Cross Approach the Shadow Keep Talk to Leda and Decide Who to Investigate Assist Leda or the Hornsent Progress Sir Ansbach's Questline Assist Leda or Sir Ansbach Fight Leda at Enir-Illim Defeat Leda's Group to Obtain Her Gear

1. Talk to Leda by the Cocoon of the Empyrean

After defeating Mohg, Lord of Blood and refreshing the area (by fast traveling away and returning), you will find Needle Knight Lena in front of the Cocoon of the Empyrean.

Talk to her and she will tell you to touch the withered arm in front of you to be transported to the realm of shadow, starting your journey through the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

2. Obtain Leda's Message at Belurat

Tower of Shadow Message Location

Head to the lift east of the Divine Beast, Dancing Lion boss area and follow the path until you reach the top of the stairway. On the right, you'll find Leda's message about her location.

Follow the crosses east from the Hornsent's map and it should lead you to the cross at Castle Ensis where another message from Leda is located.

3. Obtain Leda's Message at Castle Ensis

Castle Cross Message Location

Fight your way through Castle Ensis until you reach the cross past a Black Knight enemy. You'll see Leda's message by the cross that informs you that she's bound for the Shadow Keep.

From this point, simply progress Castle Ensis until you defeat Rellana and reach Scadu Altus.

Can Be Summoned for the Rellana Fight

Leda Summon in Rellana Fight

Leda can be found next as a gold summon sign before the fight against Rellana. This interaction is optional and Leda's questline will progress even if you decide not to seek her help in this fight.

4. Speak With Leda by the Highroad Cross

You will reach the Scadu Altus area after defeating Rellana and exiting the castle. Follow the road north and you will soon find the Highroad Cross along with Leda.

Talk to her again and exhaust her dialogue to progress the questline. You can even ask her about the Hornsent nearby who will give you another map of crosses if you previously spoke to him back at the Three-Path Cross site of grace.

5. Approach the Shadow Keep to Break Miquella's Charm

After exhausting Hornsent's dialogue, continue following the road north until you reach the Shadow Keep. As you get closer to its gates, a message will appear on your screen saying:

This message references Miquella finally shedding his Great Rune (you'll find it in the possession of the Scadutree Avatar). When this triggers, NPC questlines will advance, so make sure to speak to everyone before exploring the Shadow Keep and the rest of Scadu Altus.

Somewhere a Great Rune has Broken Meaning

6. Talk to Leda and Decide Who to Investigate

Return to the Highroad Cross and talk to Leda again. She will tell you that she's starting to doubt the devotion of Miquella's followers and ask you who you think is to be investigated.

Should You Suggest Hornsent?

You can respond with any of the three choices: Thiollier (if you've already met him), the Hornsent, or no one. Regardless of your choice, Leda will still go after the Hornsent.

Take note that both Leda and Hornsent should move from the Highroad Cross to trigger the Shadow Keep encounter, which can be done by repeatedly reloading the area and exhausting their dialogue.

Now, rest at the site of grace and talk to Leda again to learn about her next move. This step is necessary to trigger the next interaction with both Leda and the Hornsent.

7. Assist Leda or the Hornsent

Return to the Shadow Keep by fast traveling to the Storehouse, First Floor site of grace. Take the lift and head to the room at the bottom left of the Shadow Keep icon on the map and you will find two summoning signs.

Should You Help Leda Against Hornsent?

Your decision here will heavily affect Hornsent, as siding with Leda ends Hornsent's questline. However, he does drop all his gear after the fight for you to loot.

However, the only things this choice skips in Hornsent's questline are his gold summon sign for Messmer and the fight against Hornsent in the Church of the Bud.

Leda won't die if you choose to answer Hornsent's summon sign. The next time you see her is at Enir-Ilim. This fight can also be skipped if you want to, switching Leda's focus to her next target—Ansbach.

8. Progress Sir Ansbach's Questline

For the next step, you'll have to progress Sir Ansbach's questline until he appears in the library area of the Shadow Keep's Storehouse, First Floor (Specimen Storehouse). Exhaust his dialogue to continue both his and Leda's story.

Sir Ansbach Quest and Location

9. Assist Leda or Sir Ansbach

Speak with Leda at the Highroad Cross again and she will tell you that he will go after Sir Ansbach next. Return to the library where you previously found Sir Ansbach to find two more summon signs—Leda's and Ansbach's.

Take note that these signs will only appear if you assisted Leda against the Hornsent. Regardless of whose side you choose, Leda's questline will continue.

Should You Help Leda Against Ansbach?

In this fight, we recommend assisting Ansbach (gold summon sign) against Leda to get the best rewards from both questlines.

Leda's quest will progress regardless of who you choose to side with, but killing Ansbach here will lock you out of the rest of his questline, including his gold summon sign in the Enir-Ilim fights, the Obsidian Lamina, and the Furious Blade of Ansbach.

After making your choice, you will then need to continue the DLC's story until you burn the Sealing Tree for the next interaction.

10. Fight Leda at Enir-Illim

Progress the DLC's story until you reach Enir-Illim. Once you find the Cleansing Chamber Anteroom site of grace, proceed to the large room ahead to find three summon signs.

You can ask Sir Ansbach and Thiollier's help through the gold signs before starting the fight against Leda and the other followers through the red sign.

Enir-Ilim NPC Summon Conditions

11. Defeat Leda's Group to Obtain Her Gear

Defeating Leda and the other hostile NPCs in the Enir-Illim fight allows you to retrieve Leda's Armor and Leda's Sword from her body.

Needle Knight Leda Location

By the Cocoon of the Empyrean

Map Location	World View

Your first encounter with Needle Knight Leda is at the Cocoon of the Empyrean after defeating Mohg, Lord of Blood.

Needle Knight Leda Armor and Weapon Drops

Leda Drops her Weapon and Chest Armor

Leda's Sword and Armor are only obtainable by winning the final encounter against her and the other Miquella followers at Enir-Illim, while Leda's Rune is rewarded if you side against her in either of the Hornsent's or Ansbach's events.

The rest of Leda's armor is part of the Oathseeker Knight armor set, and is looted separately from Leda's corpse.

Elden Ring Related Guides

Shadow of the Erdtree NPCs

All Elden Ring NPCs

Other NPC Guides