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 Questline 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 to Leda by the Highroad Cross Approach the Shadow Keep Talk to Leda and Decide Who to Investigate Help Leda or the Hornsent Progress Sir Ansbach's Questline Help Leda or Sir Ansbach Fight Leda and her Allies in Enir-Ilim Defeat Leda's Group to Obtain Her Gear

1. Talk to Leda by the Cocoon of the Empyrean

After defeating both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood, refresh Mohg's boss room (by resting at the site of grace) to find Needle Knight Leda standing 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

Since Leda is following after Miquella, your next interaction with her will still be a ways off. For now, seek out her messages detailing where she's headed next. The first of these can be found in Belurat, Tower Settlement.

After defeating the Divine Beast, Dancing Lion (the legacy dungeon boss), an elevator should now be accessible inside the boss arena (south east of the site of grace). Use it to go up and reach a new level of Belurat. Follow the grand staircase up to find Leda's first message.

3. Obtain Leda's Message at Castle Ensis

Castle Cross Message Location

Leda's next message will be found midway through Castle Ensis, right next to the Castle Ensis Checkpoint site of grace. To reach this area, fight your way through the castle until you reach one of Miquella's crosses 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 on, you can either fight Rellana to access Scadu Altus or do the Fort of Reprimand skip to reach Scadu Altus without having to beat the boss of Castle Ensis.

Leda Appears as a Gold Summon for the Rellana Boss Fight

Leda Summon in Rellana Fight

If you do decide to fight Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, you can recruit Needle Knight Leda as a gold summon just outside the boss room door. This interaction is optional and Leda's questline will still progress even if you decide not to enlist her aid.

4. Speak to Leda by the Highroad Cross

After defeating Rellana (or doing the Fort of Reprimand skip), you should arrive in Scadu Altus. Seek out Needle Knight Leda beside the Highroad Cross site of grace to the north of Castle Ensis and speak to her there.

Exhaust her dialogue here to progress her questline. You can also ask her about both the Hornsent and Dryleaf Dane if you spoke to either of the two before talking to her.

Exhaust Hornsent's Dialogue and Pick Up the Monk's Missive

Before you leave the Highroad Cross to explore the rest of Scadu Altus, make sure to exhaust Hornsent's dialogue and pick up the Monk's Missive and gesture nearby.

Since the next step of Leda's questline will be a trigger for most NPC questlines in the DLC, getting these sorted before that happens should help prevent you from missing out on further NPC interactions.

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

From the Highroad Cross Site of Grace 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:

"Somewhere a great rune has broken. And so too, a powerful charm."

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 Freyja, Ansbach, Moore, Thiollier, and the Hornsent before exploring any further.

Somewhere a Great Rune has Broken Meaning

6. Talk to Leda and Decide Who to Investigate

After Miquella's Great rune Breaks, return to the Highroad Cross and talk to Leda again. Since Miquella's Charm has worn off, she'll tell you that she's started to doubt the devotion of some of Miquella's followers, asking you you who you think she should investigate.

Choice	Outcome
Suggest Thiollier	Leda will assure you that Thiollier is no threat. Thiollier will then be removed from the options.
Suggest the Hornsent	Leda will tell you she'll think about it first. If you reload the area (by sitting at the site of grace) and speak to her again, she will agree to pursue the Hornsent.
Make no suggestion	After speaking to Hornsent nearby and reloading the area, talking to Leda will have her tell you that she's made up her mind to go after Hornsent.

Should You Suggest Hornsent or Thiollier?

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

In order to trigger the next interactions between Leda and the Hornsent, make sure to exhaust their dialogue at the Highroad Cross before exploring the Shadow Keep. Otherwise, the summon and invasion signs in the next step won't appear.

7. Assist Leda or the Hornsent

Map Location	World View

Once Leda has left the Highroad Cross to pursue the Hornsent, return to the Shadow Keep and continue exploring. Your next destination will be the ramparts just before the main elevator that leads to the Specimen Storehouse, First Floor.

Along this stretch of wall with burning boats and Vulgar Militiamen, you will find the red and gold invasion signs for Leda and the Hornsent. Choose the gold summon sign to help the Hornsent, or choose the red summon sign to help Leda.

Should You Help Leda Against Hornsent?

Choice	Outcome and Rewards
Be Summoned to Assist Leda (Red summon sign)	Hornsent dies, ending his questline. Leda will target Ansbach next after talking to her back at the Highroad Cross. ・Hornsent's Armor Set ・Falx ・Lacerating Crossed-Tree
Be Summoned to Assist Hornsent (Gold summon sign)	Hornsent's questline continues. Leda will no longer invade Ansbach during his quest and you will see her next in the final encounter at Enir-Ilim. ・Swift Slash ・Leda's Rune

Ultimately, helping Leda or Hornsent boils down to what you want to get out of the invasion. The only missables from the rewards are the Lacerating Crossed-Tree Talisman (which you get for helping Leda), and the Swift Slash Ash of War (which you get for helping Hornsent).

For Backhand Blade users, we recommend helping out Hornsent since Swift Slash is a powerful ash of war for the weapon. However, if you want to collect all DLC talismans, then opt to help Leda instead.

8. Progress Sir Ansbach's Questline

Before 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

Map Location	World View

After you've confirmed that Ansbach is at the Storehouse, First Floor, speak with Leda at the Highroad Cross again and she will tell you that she will go after him 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?

Choice	Outcome and Rewards
Be Summoned to Assist Leda (Red summon sign)	Ansbach dies, ending his questline and making him unavailable as a gold summon against the two fights in Enir-Ilim. ・Ansbach's armor set ・Ansbach's Longbow ・Retaliatory Crossed-Tree Talisman
Be Summoned to Assist Sir Ansbach (Gold summon sign)	Ansbach's questline will continue, and he will be able to assist you in the Enir-Ilim NPC fight and the final boss fight. ・Leda's Rune ・Ansbach's Longbow

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

NPC	Faction	Summon Conditions
Ansbach	Ally	Will be available as a gold summon if you gave him the Secret Rite Scroll and helped him against Leda's invasion.
Thiollier	Ally	Will be available as a gold summon if you completed his quest and told him St. Trina's last words at the end of it.
Sanguine Noble Nataan	Ally	Replaces Ansbach as a gold summon if Ansbach dies during his quest.
Leda	Hostile	Always appears as hostile.
Dryleaf Dane	Hostile	Always appears as hostile.
Freyja	Hostile	Freyja joins Leda as an invader if you delivered Ansbach's Letter to Freyja to her during her quest.
Moore	Hostile	Moore joins Leda as an invader if you chose the Put it behind you dialogue option during his quest.
Hornsent	Hostile	Hornsent fights you if he was not killed during his quest-related invasions before before burning the Sealing Tree. He will also fight you if you do not summon him for the Messmer boss fight.

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.

Get Leda's Full Armor Set Near the Church of Benediction

Map View	World View

The Oathseeker Knight armor set completes Leda's armor. It can be obtained from a corpse hanging by a cliff near the Church of Benediction. You can get to this area by following the cliff edge south from the Main Gate Cross Site Grace, then continuing south past the Cliffroad Terminus Site of Grace.

How to Get the Oathseeker Knight Armor Set

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

Weapon	・Leda's Sword
Armor	・ Leda's Armor
Items	・ Leda's Rune

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

All NPC Guides
All NPC Questlines	DLC NPC Questlines

Shadow of the Erdtree NPCs

All NPC Guides
Needle Knight Leda	Hornsent
Redmane Freyja	Hornsent Grandam
Moore	Sir Ansbach
Dryleaf Dane	Thiollier
Fire Knight Queelign	Igon
Jolan	St. Trina
Dragon Communion Priestess	Ymir

All Elden Ring NPCs

All NPC Quests
Albus	Alexander
Bernahl	Blackguard Big Boggart
Blaidd the Half-Wolf	Bloody Finger Hunter Yura
Boc	Corhyn
D, Hunter of the Dead	Diallos
Dung Eater	Edgar
Enia, the Finger Reader	Ensha
Fia	Gatekeep Gostoc
Gideon Ofnir	Goldmask
Gowry	Great Horned Tragoth
Gurranq the Beast Clergyman	Hyetta
Iji	Irina
Jar-Bairn	Jerren
Kenneth Haight	Latenna
Master Lusat	Melina
Merchant Kale	Millicent
Miriel, Pastor of Vows	Nepheli Loux
Patches	Pidia, Carian Servant
Primeval Sorcerer Azur	Ranni the Witch (Renna)
Roderika	Rogier
Rya	Seluvis
Shabriri	Smithing Master Hewg
Sorceress Sellen	Tanith
The Great Jar	Thops
Three Fingers	Twin Maiden Husks
Two Fingers	White Mask Varre
Miquella	-

Other NPC Guides

NPCs Guides
All Merchant Locations	All Nomadic & Isolated Merchants
How to Make Hostile NPCs Friendly