Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree introduces us to new NPCs never before seen in the base game, most of whom are followers of Miquella. Arguably, the most loyal of Miquella’s followers is Needle Knight Leda. This is how to beat her.
Fighting Needle Knight Leda
You might end up fighting Needle Knight Leda in Elden Ring‘s DLC in multiple instances. The character has a storyline with quests that run from the base game through the end of the Shadow of the Erdtree. The easiest way to duel Leda is by progressing her questline until you reach a point of conflict, of which there are two.
No matter how you progress Leda’s questline, you’ll eventually be forced to fight her. Be prepared before you do so; Leda is a skilled fighter, and defeating her will not be easy.
Defeating Needle Knight Leda
There are things to keep in mind while fighting Leda. The first is her high attack damage combined with her quick attacks. Finding openings against Leda can be difficult, but once you do, wail on her with everything you have, including summons. Leda has relatively low poise, allowing you to stagger her easily if you keep up your offense.
If you’re facing Leda with a numbers disadvantage, such as the Enir-Ilim battle, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by her relentless pursuit. If you don’t finish off her allies, they can box you in and make short work of you before you react. For best results, try to defeat every ally before you attempt to take on Leda.
Having an ally by your side will help you tremendously. During the first battle with Leda, you can have the Hornsent or Sir Ansbach help you. In the final fight, you should rely on your most powerful summon to draw Leda’s attention away from you while you focus on staggering her.
Now that you know how to fight Leda, you must know how to start the battle against her. Along her quest line, you will find two instances where you can trigger combat with Leda.
First battle with Leda
The first battle will have you begin Leda’s questline from Mohgwyn Palace. Once you defeat Mohg and Radahn before getting here, you will meet Leda in front of Miquella’s cocoon. Talk to her here to access the Realm of Shadows.
After teleporting, you should be at Gravesite Plain. Move northeast across the Ellac Greatbridge and pass through Castle Ensis, defeating Rellana along the way, to get to Scadu Altus. You will meet Leda at the Highroad Cross Site of Grace. From here, make your way northeast to the Shadow Keep, where you can have your first potential encounter with Leda.
Once Miquella’s Charm breaks, talk to Leda before returning to the Shadow Keep. After defeating the Golden Hippopotamus, activate the Main Gate Plaza Site of Grace and head to the connecting bridge above. Out here, you should see a summon sign allowing you to invade Leda with the Hornsent.
Defeating Needle Knight Leda here will net you the Ash of War: Swift Slash and Leda’s Rune.
Final battle with Leda
The second battle will have you not invade Leda but ally with her to defeat the Hornsent. Doing this will progress Leda’s questline and tie into Sir Ansbach’s questline. Continue the main storyline until you gain access to Enir-Ilim. Before you can access the final boss, Leda will block your progress, leading to one final battle with the Needle Knight.
Except this time, you will be fighting Leda and her allies. This will be a battle gauntlet where you fight several enemies, including Redmane Freyja, the Hornsent, Moore, Dryleaf Dane, and finally, Needle Knight Leda. Every time you take one enemy down to half health, the next ally will appear to fight you, making this fight quite tricky.
This battle is a test of endurance, but you should be well-equipped to win at this point in the game. Regardless of which NPCs decide to take up arms against you, Leda will always fight you last.
Defeating Leda here will net you 300,000 Runes. If you check Leda’s corpse, you can loot Leda’s Sword and Leda’s Armor as additional rewards.
