Shadow of the Erdtree’s story revolves around Miquella and many of her loyal followers. Needle Knight Leda is one of Miquella’s earliest and most loyal followers in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. You will encounter her throughout the course of the main storyline.
Leda will have a whole quest of her own and an interesting one, for that matter. There are boatloads of choices you will have to make, and with this guide, we are going to help you with an in-depth explanation of how you complete Needle Knight Leda’s quest in Elden Ring.
Needle Knight Leda First Encounter in Elden Ring
Here is how you can complete Needle Knight Leda’s quest in Elden Ring, starting from the first encounter to the final battle.
You will be introduced to Leda once you have defeated Mohg, Lord of Blood, and also fulfilled all of the necessary conditions to start Shadow of the Erdtree DLC in Elden Ring. Needle Knight Leda will be standing in the Mohgwhn Palace near Miquella’s Cocoon.
You can initiate a conversation with Leda. She will first introduce herself as a follower of Miquella. She will then tell you that if you want to travel to the Realm of Shadows, you must touch the Withered Arm.
In the end, she will also include that, along with Miquella, some of her followers are also in the Shadow Realm, all of whom will help you when the time comes.
This will conclude your first interaction with Miquella. From this point onwards, you won’t see a whole lot of her until you are quite far ahead in the main storyline.
Clear the Belurat, Tower of Settlement Dungeon (First Letter)
Continue on with your main storyline in Shadow of the Erdtree until you reach Belurat, Tower of Settlement. There is going to be tons to explore in this Tower. Make sure to sweep every corner of it. Near the end, you will encounter a legacy dungeon with a boss, Divine Beast Dancing Lion, waiting for you.
After taking it down, you can activate the Theater of Divine Beast Site of Grace located within the arena. To the East of the room, there will be an elevator. Take the elevator to the top. At the top, there will be a closed door on the other side of the bridge.
You can push the door open. To your left will be a rather extensive set of stairs. At the top, you will find Leda’s First Letter, Tower of Shadow Message.
The letter states:
"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."
Castle Ensis Site of Grace (Second Letter)
In the letter, Leda suggests that she is going East. If you have acquired the map showing the site of three crosses, you will be able to determine that she is talking about the one marked at the Castle Ensis. That is the only possible location east of Belurat.
Enter the castle, and you will find the second letter next to Castle Ensis Site of Grace. The second letter states:
"Kind Miquela is bound for the tower of shadow. If we are to reach him, we must go to the ancient ruins beyond the high bridge from Shadow Keep, and then burn the tree that seals the path. I make for that keep"
Defeat Rellana, Twin Moon Knight
Don’t exit the castle just yet. Proceed to explore until you reach Castle-Lord’s Chamber Site of Grace. This is where you will face Rellana, Twin Moon Knight.
Just outside the door where you are supposed to fight her, you will find two summons. One will summon Needle Knight Leda and the other will summon Dryleaf Dane. You have been running around finding Leda, and this could be an opportunity to put her to some good use.
Once you have taken her down, the castle’s back door leading towards Scadu Altus will open up giving you access to that part of the map.
Needle Knight Leda Second Encounter
Once you have access to Scadu Altus, you will finally be able to meet up with Leda. Once you exit the castle door, take the road northeast of the castle. Follow along the path and you will find Leda along with Hornsent. Don’t forget to explore the area. There are tons of items to be found nearby.
This is how you should proceed:
Step 1: Talk to Leda
Approch Leda and talk to her. She will inquire about all of Miquella’s followers you have met until now. She will explain that Miquella has some sort of spell cast on all of her followers. The spell is making them all work together; otherwise, everyone would be out for blood.
Further in the conversation, you will have the option to discuss Hornsent. Leda will explain his lore, but she will leave things midway.
Step 2: Talk to Hornsent
Hornsent is not all words, but he will provide you with information about four more of Miquella’s Crosses, concluding the conversation.
Step 3: Talk to Dryleaf Dane
Travel to Moorth Ruins (marked on the map). This is where you will another one of Miquella’s loyal followers – Dryleaf Dane. He won’t say a word, but this interaction will unlock more of Leda’s dialogue options.
Step 4: Return to Leda
You can return to Highroad Cross Site of Grace, where you just met Leda and Hornsent. Talk to Leda and ask about Dryleaf Dane. She will tell you his story of loyal and devoted service to Miquella. This is where the conversation will end and you will have to move forward in your main storyline.
The Breaking of the Great Rune
From this point onwards, you will continue your story as normal until you reach the Shadow Keep. When you get near the main entrance of the Keep, two notifications will appear on the screen. The first one will state that:
"Somewhere, a great rune has broken..."
Another notification will immediately follow it:
"and so too has a powerful charm."
While these notifications won’t affect your immediate state or show any signs of drastic change in the scenery, there will significant changes in how the story will unfold. There will be the following changes:
Unlocking Stone Coffin Fissure
If you have already ventured south of the map, you will notice that there is a place called The Fissure. It is a deep pit in the Earth with a Yellow Barrier blocking the entrance to a Dungeon. If you walk up to it before and examine it, you will see a sign that says, “Sealed and Obscured by Miquella.”
After the breaking of the great rune, you will be able to enter and explore the massive dungeon behind it.
Breaking of Miquella’s Enchantment
Previously, Leda mentioned that Miquella has a magic spell on all of her followers that makes them all work together. Since the great rune has now been broken, and so has the powerful charm, her followers are no longer bound by her charm.
Suggesting A Target
Return to the Highroad Cross Site of Grace to find Leda. This time, during the conversation, she will reveal that she is no longer Miquella’s enchantment, but she still chooses to be a loyal follower. She now wants to eradicate any of the disloyal followers. She will ask you for your opinion about who should she target first.
You will be presented with three choices:
- Thiollier
- Hornsent
- No One
Suggest Thiollier
If you suggest Thiollier, Leda will mention that Thiollier has been loyal and was also helpful to St. Trina, another NPC. Hence she will not be pursuing her as of now.
Suggest Hornsent
Suggesting Hornsent will put Leda in a fix. She will be forced to consider Hornsent as a threat but will still want to make sure she is making the right decision. She will ask for some time to herself to weigh the pros and cons of the situation.
You can rest at the Site of Grace and return to find Leda ready to take down Hornsent.
Suggest No One
If you playing the safe game here and don’t want to point any fingers, you can choose to do so. Regardless, Leda’s mind is set to take down Hornsent.
It doesn’t matter what option you choose. Leda will go after Hornsent in every case.
Choosing Between Leda and Hornsent
At this point, you should understand that you will need to follow Hornsent’s questline along with Leda’s. If you have been keeping up, you will return to the Shadow Keep, and at the bridge with burning boats, you will find two summoning signs.
- Red: Help Leda Fight Hornsent
- Golden: Help Hornsent Fight Leda
You can also choose to skip the fight.
Fighting Leda
If you choose Hornsent as your ally and fight against Leda, you will no longer encounter her during Ansbach’s questline at the Shadow Keep. She will no longer be present at the Highroad Cross Site of Grace, and you will be rewarded with the following items:
- Swift Slash (Ash of War)
- Leda’s Rune (Equal to 40,000 Runes)
Fighting Hornsent
If you decide to help Leda in her attempt to take down Hornsent, you won’t be able to summon him when you fight Messemer, The Impaler. Defeating Hornsent will shift Leda’s focus toward Ansbach. You will the following rewards for your efforts during the battle:
- Falx
- Caterpillar Mask
- Braided Cord Robe
- Braided Arm Wraps
- Soiled Loincloth
- Lacerating Cross – Tree Talisman
Skipping The Fight
Once again taking the neutral path will open up a bundle of options. Progress the story and defeat Messemer by summoning Hornsent. This will make Leda stop targeting him. You will be able to help or fight Leda when she decides to take down Ansbach.
Choosing Between Leda or Ansbach
The branch of the story only opens up if you either choose Leda during the previous encounter or you choose to fight against neither. After Hornsent, next on Leda’s list of extermination is Ansbach. You will find a similar summon situation as previously in Storehouse of Shadow Keep, First Floor.
There will be two summoning stones:
- Red: Help Leda against Ansbach
- Golden: Help Ansbach against Leda
You can also choose to skip the fight.
Fighting Leda
If you fight Leda, it will sum up Ansbach’s quest and won’t have a huge impact on the rest of the storyline. You will receive the following rewards for the battle:
- Ansbach’s Longbow
- Leda’s Rune (Equal to 40,000 Runes)
Fighting Ansbach
If you choose to fight Ansbach, you will lose the ability to summon him in your upcoming final battle against Leda. You will receive the following rewards:
- Wise Man’s Mask
- Ansbach’s Attire
- Ansbach’s Manchettes
- Ansbach’s Boots
- Anbach’s Longbow
Skipping The Fight
Taking the easy way out and skipping the battle will end Ansbach’s quest without any of the rewards. However, you will still have the option to summon him as your ally during your battle against Leda.
To end Leda’s questline, you first need to have defeated Messemer, obtain Messemer’s Kindling, burn the Sealing Tree, enter the Tower of Shadow, and teleport to Enir-Ilim.
Defeat Leda (Final Encounter)
Depending upon the choices you make during your adventure, you will be able to summon allies, and Leda will be, too.
Here are the choices and how they will affect your battle:
| NPC | Ally | Enemy |
|---|---|---|
| Dryleaf Dane | – | Will always be an enemy |
| Moore | – | Will only be an enemy if you choose “Put it Behind You” during his questline |
| Redmane Freya | – | Will only be an enemy if you choose “Put it Behind You” during his questline |
| Hornsent | Will be an ally if you choose to side with him to fight Leda or skip the fight during the invasion at the Ancient Ruins of Rauh | Will be an enemy if you choose to side with Leda and fight him during the invasion at the Ancient Ruins of Rauh |
| Thiollier | Will be an ally if you complete his questline. | – |
| Ansbach | Will be an ally if you choose to side with him and fight Leda during his questline. | – |
| Noble Sanguine Nataan | Will be an ally if you give him the Scroll during the quest at the Shadow Keep. | – |
The fight itself is pretty easy. When you enter the arena, Needle Knight Leda will make a small speech about taking down anyone who chooses to stand against Miquella. Then she will disappear. There will be three stones on the ground.
Two golden stones will allow you to summon your allies and the third red stone will initiate your fight with Miquella. As soon as the battle starts and the first adversary appears, use your summons and start attacking. More of your summons will keep appearing over time.
You might not even have to lift a finger, but if you take part in the fight, it will all be over in a jiffy. The moveset of Leda and her allies is basic and can be countered with ease. Take all of them down to wrap up Leda’s questline.
Rewards For Defeating Needle Knight Leda in Elden Ring
After the long and arduous questline and finally taking down Leda, you will be rewarded with the following items:
- Leda’s Armor
- Oathseeker Knight Helm
- Oatheseeker Knight Gauntlets
- Oathseeker Knight Greaves
- Leda’s Rune
- Swift Slash (Ash of War)