Needle Knight Leda is the first NPC you meet in Fire ring‘S Shadow of the Earth Tree Additional content.
Her story and accompanying questline stretch from the opening moments of the DLC to just before the final battle, more or less encompassing the entire story. The choices you make in dealing with her will determine some battles you may or may not have, and some allies you may or may not call upon for help later in the game.
Our Fire ring The DLC guide will guide you through Where can I find Leda?and all the steps you need to take to complete their questline, including the Hornsent or Leda Election and the Ansbach or Leda Selection.
Needle Knight Leda Locations
You’ll first meet Needle Knight Leda in the Lands Between after defeating Mohg – she’ll lead you to the Shadow Realm, where the DLC takes place. It’ll be a while before you speak to her again – after you’ve completed Belurat and Castle Ensis. Once you reach Shadow Keep, things change with Leda and you’ll have to make some difficult decisions.
First meeting with Leda in the mausoleum of the Mohgwyn dynasty
Needle Knight Leda is the first NPC you will meet in Shadow of the Earth Tree Technically, you meet them Before You even start the DLC. After you have defeated Mohg, Lord of Blood
Find Leda’s notes
The next two times you hear from Leda are technically just notes she left you. You can find the Tower Shadow Message after defeating the divine beast, the dancing lion in Belurat, Tower Settlement and then the Message from Leda next to the Checkpoint of Ensis Castle, Place of Grace Inside Ensis Castle.
Leda, second meeting at the Highroad Cross Site of Grace
You can summon the Needle Knight Leda to fight with you against Rellana, the Twin Moon Knight in Castle Ensis, but this is optional for her quest line. After the fight, head to Scadu Altus where the first site of grace you will find is the Highroad Cross Site of Grace.
At Highroad Cross you can chat with both Leda and Hornsent, but you won’t get much out of them yet.
Lift the spell and return to Leda
Before anything else can happen to Leda, you must Approach Shadow Fortress. Just before you reach the entrance door, you will receive two messages – “Somewhere a large rune has broken…” And “And it also has a powerful charm.” Both refer to Miquella and the NPCs you have met so far.
It continues to the Main Gate of Shadow Fortress, Place of MercyBut not start the Golden hippo Boss fight yet – especially if you want to continue Hornsent’s questline. Instead, head back to the Main Gate Cross Site of Grace to speak to Moore, then to the Highroad Cross to ask Leda.
Support Leda against Hornsent (or not) – optional
When you speak to Leda after the spell is broken, she will be a little more bloodthirsty than before. She will turn her attention to the other NPCs she can no longer trust. She will ask you to help her decide whether to kill Thiollier or Hornsent. What you choose here doesn’t matter – she doesn’t consider Thiollier a threat and will choose Hornsent even if you never suggest it.
Back in Shadow Keep, on the wall above the Main Gate Plaza Site of Grace, you can support either Leda or Hornsent. Hornsent is the safer ally here – he will fight with you during the boss fight against Messmer the Impaler, you will receive a special drop from Leda ( the Quick Strike Ashes of War
Assist (or not) for Leda against Ansbach — optional
While you are in the Shadow Fortress, you should definitely talk to Sir Ansbach and Redmane Freyja. Ansbach is located in a back room in the northeast of the Warehouse, Ground Floor, Place of Grace. Freyja is up next to the Warehouse, seventh floor, place of grace.
To complete the steps:
- Talk to Ansbach.
- Talk to Freyja.
- Talk to Ansbach again.
- Find the Scroll of the Secret Rite and give it to Ansbach.
- Rest in a place of grace.
- Talk to Ansbach and get the Letter for Freyja.
- Deliver the letter to her (and receive the Golden Lion Shield).
- Deliver your message back to Ansbach.
- Rest in a place of grace so that Ansbach leaves the warehouse.
Once all that is done, exit Shadow Keep and defeat Messmer the Impaler (with or without Hornsent’s help).
Return to the Highroad Cross Site of Grace in Messmer and speak to Leda. She will now have her attention turned to Ansbach.
Return to Ansbach’s room on the first floor of the Sample Camp. He will be gone, but there will be two summoning tokens there – a red one for Leda and a gold one for Ansbach. Your choice is the same as with Hornsent – support one of them against the other. And again, the safe choice is to ally with Ansbach against Leda.
Defeat them to get the Ansbach’s longbow Weapon.
Burn the Seal Tree
Before you can complete Leda’s questline, you must traverse the Rauh Ruins, defeat Romina, Saint of the Bud, in the Church of the Bud, and then finally use Messmer’s Kindling to burn the Seal Tree.
This will open the Tower of Shadow and teleport you to Enir-Ilim.
Defeat Needle Knight Leda and her allies
After crossing Enir-Ilim, you’ll enter a large arena and have your final showdown with Needle Knight Leda and her allies. Depending on how your game went, you’ll have to face Redmane Freyja, Dryleaf Dane, possibly Sir Moore, and then Leda herself.
After the fight you will receive Leda’s Sword. A little behind the arena you will find Leda’s body in the hallway, where you can pick up Leda’s armor.
Looking for more Shadow of the Earth Tree Guides? Check out our guides to the NPC quests of Count Ymir, Dryleaf Dane, Hornsent Grandam, Sir Ansbach and Redmane Freyja or read our interactive Fire ring DLC map.
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