Shadow of the Erdtree Character Questlines: Complete Elden Ring Guide

Before entering the Realm of Shadow

Shadow of the Erdtree requires the base game. To enter the expansion, defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood, then interact with the withered arm in Mohgwyn Palace. The official entry instructions are available from Bandai Namco.

The expansion launched on June 21, 2024, and uses very few conventional quest markers. NPCs commonly advance only after you exhaust their dialogue, rest or reload an area, discover a new Miquella Cross, break through a story checkpoint, or reach a particular location. If a character seems to have stopped progressing, return to every known location, talk until the dialogue repeats, and reload the area before assuming the quest is over. PowerPyx’s quest overview and GamesRadar’s NPC location guide corroborate the expansion’s movement-based quest structure.

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The four rules that prevent most missed quests

1. Exhaust dialogue at every meeting. Talk repeatedly until the NPC repeats themselves. Rest at a nearby Site of Grace or reload the area if nothing changes.
2. Complete the opening conversations before pushing far into Shadow Keep. Visit Leda, Freyja, Hornsent, Ansbach, Moore, and Thiollier at their early locations before progressing deeply into the legacy dungeon.
3. Do not treat the breaking of Miquella’s Great Rune as a universal lockout. It advances several conversations and relocates followers, but it does not automatically fail every quest. Use it as a reminder to revisit the NPCs.
4. Finish the quests you care about before burning the Sealing Tree. Burning the tree at the Church of the Bud is the major late-game cutoff. Most unresolved follower quests become unavailable afterward. Fire Knight Queelign, Count Ymir and Jolán, and Igon and the Dragon Communion Priestess are notable exceptions, but completing everything first is still the safest plan. See the documented cutoff warnings.

Safest one-playthrough order

1. Enter the Realm of Shadow and activate the first nearby Sites of Grace.
2. At Three-Path Cross, speak with Needle Knight Leda, Redmane Freyja, and Hornsent.
3. At Main Gate Cross, speak with Sir Ansbach and Moore.
4. At Pillar Path Cross, speak with Thiollier.
5. Find additional Miquella Crosses and report them to Ansbach and Freyja whenever their dialogue allows it. Visit the Forager Brood peacefully for Moore’s path.
6. Explore Belurat, speak with Hornsent Grandam, and complete Fire Knight Queelign’s first invasion.
7. Find the Monk’s Missive at Highroad Cross and defeat Dryleaf Dane at Moorth Ruins.
8. Start Count Ymir and Jolán’s quest at the Cathedral of Manus Metyr.
9. When Miquella’s Great Rune breaks, revisit the followers and exhaust their new dialogue.
10. Handle Moore’s available choice before beginning Thiollier’s major St. Trina sequence.
11. In Shadow Keep, discuss Freyja’s problem with Ansbach and speak with Freyja before giving Ansbach the Secret Rite Scroll.
12. Deliver Ansbach’s Letter for Freyja, then resolve Leda’s invasion branch. Help Ansbach if you want the most extensive Ansbach/Freyja route.
13. Complete Hornsent’s Messmer-related sequence and use his summon when available. Complete Queelign’s second invasion and the remaining Shadow Keep dialogue.
14. Finish Thiollier and St. Trina.
15. Finish Ymir and Jolán, then Igon, the Dragon Communion Priestess, and Bayle.
16. Only now burn the Sealing Tree. Complete the Enir-Ilim follower battle, the final boss, and the post-battle reward cleanup.

Phase 1: the first crosses and follower introductions

Three-Path Cross: Leda, Freyja, and Hornsent

Your first important stop is Three-Path Cross. Speak with Needle Knight Leda, Redmane Freyja, and Hornsent. Exhaust all available dialogue from each character. Leda is associated with the follower group and later appears at Highroad Cross, so do not assume she has vanished if she is no longer at the first cross.

Continue finding Miquella Crosses as you explore Gravesite Plain. Reporting discoveries to Ansbach and Freyja can unlock additional dialogue and help stage their later movements. These interactions are easy to miss because the game does not provide a conventional checklist or quest marker.

Main Gate Cross: Ansbach and Moore

At Main Gate Cross, speak with Sir Ansbach and Moore. Ansbach’s early conversation sets up the later Freyja branch. Moore is both a merchant and a quest character, so exhaust his dialogue before treating the cross as a simple shopping stop.

Moore’s quest also requires a peaceful visit to the Forager Brood. Do not attack the brood members if you want to preserve Moore’s intended dialogue and reward path. Handle this early, before beginning Thiollier’s major sequence or advancing too far into Shadow Keep. Moore’s later dialogue presents an emotional choice: tell him to put it behind him, tell him to remain sad, or leave the decision unresolved. The choice affects whether he later appears as an enemy or disappears from the active story; it is not a cosmetic line change.

Pillar Path Cross: Thiollier

Speak with Thiollier at Pillar Path Cross before committing to later story progress. His quest eventually leads to St. Trina, but its important early conversations can be displaced when other follower events advance. Leave the major nectar sequence for after Moore’s early path has been handled.

Phase 2: Belurat, Hornsent Grandam, and Queelign

Hornsent Grandam

Hornsent Grandam is in the Storeroom near the Small Private Altar Site of Grace in Belurat, Tower Settlement. The Storeroom Key is found deeper in Belurat. Speak with Grandam, then return after obtaining the Divine Beast Head from the Divine Beast Dancing Lion boss. Wearing the head enables the next important conversation and reward sequence. The Grandam thread is brief, but it is easy to overlook because it is not attached to a large quest marker or a major hub icon.

Fire Knight Queelign

Fire Knight Queelign begins with an invasion in Belurat. A second invasion occurs later in the Church District of Shadow Keep. After both encounters, find Queelign in the Prayer Room.

Use the appropriate Iris item there to choose the final reward branch. The outcomes are mutually exclusive: the Iris of Grace leads to Fire Knight Queelign Spirit Ashes, while the Iris of Occultation leads to Sword of Queelign. Decide which reward you want before using an Iris. Queelign is one of the threads that may remain completable after the Sealing Tree is burned, but there is little reason to postpone it if you are already exploring Shadow Keep.

Phase 3: Dryleaf Dane

At Highroad Cross, find the Monk’s Missive. Read it, then respond to Dryleaf Dane with the May the Best Win gesture. This starts the duel at Moorth Ruins. Defeat Dane to receive his martial-arts-related rewards and continue the follower storyline.

Dane later participates in the follower battle at Enir-Ilim. His opening trigger is easy to miss because the gesture, rather than a conventional interaction, is the quest action. The NPC location references identify Highroad Cross and the opening sequence.

Phase 4: the Great Rune checkpoint and Moore’s choice

At a story point associated with Miquella, the game announces that Miquella’s Great Rune has broken and his charm has ended. Several followers receive new dialogue or move to new locations. This is a checkpoint, not a blanket failure state. Return to the crosses and other known NPC locations after the message appears.

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For Moore, speak with him again and resolve the available conversation. The broad choices are:

• Tell Moore to put it behind him.
• Tell Moore to remain sad.
• Leave the decision unresolved.

These options lead to different later appearances and outcomes. Choose based on whether you want Moore to remain involved in the follower conflict, become an enemy, or leave the active story. The important completion rule is to speak with him early and make the choice before starting Thiollier’s nectar sequence or pushing too far into Shadow Keep.

Phase 5: Hornsent, Leda, and the Messmer branch

After the Great Rune breaks, continue Hornsent’s dialogue at his new location at Highroad Cross. Leda also receives new dialogue and eventually selects one of Miquella’s followers as a target.

Hornsent’s quest is linked to Leda’s target selection and to his revenge against Messmer. If your goal is to preserve the most content in one playthrough, do not prematurely eliminate Hornsent through Leda’s invasion. Advance Hornsent toward his Messmer-related sequence instead, and speak with every relevant NPC before selecting an invasion sign.

Hornsent can be summoned for the Messmer encounter if his quest has been staged correctly. Start his branch before completing the Messmer sequence; leaving the boss defeated before beginning the relevant NPC events can remove the intended opportunity. His quest also intersects with the later Ansbach/Leda branch, which is why it is safer to handle the dialogue before committing to either invasion.

Phase 6: Ansbach, Freyja, and Leda’s invasion

Ansbach and the Secret Rite Scroll

Return to Ansbach at Main Gate Cross after the Great Rune breaks and exhaust his new dialogue. He later relocates to the Specimen Storehouse in Shadow Keep, where he can be found on the First Floor.

The order here matters more than it first appears:

1. Speak with Freyja in the Specimen Storehouse and learn about her problem.
2. Return to Ansbach and discuss Freyja’s situation with him.
3. Find the Secret Rite Scroll in the Specimen Storehouse.
4. Give the scroll to Ansbach only after the Freyja discussion has been staged.
5. Receive Ansbach’s Letter for Freyja and deliver it to Freyja.

Giving Ansbach the Secret Rite Scroll too early can prevent the letter from reaching Freyja and can end her intended reward path. This is the single most important ordering detail in the follower quests. The Ansbach quest reference documents the dependency, while the Letter for Freyja reference covers the delivery step.

Freyja’s reward

Freyja’s Shadow Keep dialogue concerns Radahn and Miquella’s vow. Once she receives Ansbach’s letter, she understands Miquella’s intention to revive Radahn’s soul. Completing the sequence produces her intended quest rewards, including the Golden Lion Shield.

Leda’s Ansbach invasion

After the Ansbach and Freyja conversations are correctly staged, Leda targets Ansbach at his Storehouse location. You will find two signs:

• Gold summon sign: aid Ansbach.
• Red summon sign: invade Ansbach.

For the most extensive quest content, use the gold sign to help Ansbach. This route awards Ansbach’s Longbow and Leda’s Rune, preserves Ansbach’s later quest and summon availability, and keeps Leda alive for later content. Siding with Leda produces a different reward path and can remove Ansbach as a later ally. Review the branch before choosing a sign.

If Ansbach’s quest is completed, he can be summoned for the Enir-Ilim follower battle and the expansion’s final boss. After the final boss, reload the area and inspect his body for Ansbach’s Set, Obsidian Lamina, and Furious Blade of Ansbach.

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Phase 7: Thiollier and St. Trina

Before beginning this sequence, make sure Moore’s available dialogue and Forager Brood interaction are complete. Then continue Thiollier’s story from Pillar Path Cross and follow his concern with St. Trina.

1. Advance Thiollier’s dialogue after the Great Rune checkpoint.
2. Follow the quest through the Stone Coffin Fissure.
3. Reach St. Trina’s location.
4. Consume St. Trina’s nectar repeatedly.
5. Do not panic when your character dies. Death is the intended progression for this interaction.
6. Continue speaking with Thiollier until he understands St. Trina’s message and accepts his role.

The repeated nectar deaths are not a failed attempt or a punishment for using the wrong item. Keep repeating the interaction and return to Thiollier when his dialogue changes.

Once the quest is sufficiently advanced, Thiollier becomes available as a summon for the follower battle at Enir-Ilim and against the final boss. His summon condition is separate from ordinary local boss assistance: it depends on completing the St. Trina sequence. The DLC cooperator data confirms the Enir-Ilim and final-boss summon conditions.

Phase 8: Count Ymir and Jolán

Begin this quest at the Cathedral of Manus Metyr by speaking with Count Ymir. He gives you the Hole-Laden Necklace and a Ruins Map. Each map directs you to a Finger Ruin and a hanging bell.

The three Finger Ruins

1. Finger Ruins of Rhia: follow the first map and ring the bell. Return to Ymir for the Crimson Seed Talisman +1 and the next map.
2. Finger Ruins of Dheo: ring the second bell, then return to Ymir for the Cerulean Seed Talisman +1 and the next stage.
3. Finger Ruins of Miyr: after the third return to the cathedral, collect Beloved Stardust and use the hidden passage beneath Ymir’s throne to reach the final ruin.

At the Finger Ruins of Miyr, defeat Swordhand of Night Anna, ring the final bell, and defeat Metyr, Mother of Fingers. Return to the cathedral, defeat Jolán, then defeat Ymir and reload the area. Ymir’s conclusion grants access to the Remembrance of the Mother of Fingers. The Ymir quest reference lists the map, bell, boss, and cathedral sequence.

Jolán’s Iris choice

Jolán’s final reward is determined by which Iris you use:

• Iris of Grace: Swordhand of Night Jolán Spirit Ashes.
• Iris of Occultation: Sword of Night.

You cannot collect both rewards in the same playthrough through this choice. If you take Jolán’s ashes, visit the puppet in Rabbath’s Rise to combine Jolán with Anna for an alternate spirit-ash configuration. Check the Jolán reward branches before spending the Iris.

Phase 9: Igon, the Dragon Communion Priestess, and Bayle

Igon is found shouting on the road near the Pillar Path Waypoint. Exhaust his dialogue, then follow the route through Jagged Peak. At the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion, speak with the Dragon Communion Priestess and exhaust her dialogue as well.

The two threads converge on Bayle the Dread. Igon’s quest is primarily tied to this boss: follow the route, complete the available conversations, and use Igon’s summon sign for the fight. The Priestess has her own reward and transformation-related branch involving the Ancient Dragon Florissax item, so do not treat her as merely a one-time NPC at the altar.

This pair of quests remains available later than many of the follower quests, and it is reasonable to leave it until you are ready to explore Jagged Peak. For a clean completion run, finish it before final cleanup and before moving into the ending sequence. Both characters are among the major DLC questline starts documented in the NPC location guide.

Phase 10: Sealing Tree, Enir-Ilim, and the final boss

Before burning the Sealing Tree at the Church of the Bud, confirm that you have finished the desired versions of:

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• Moore and the Forager Brood
• Hornsent and his Messmer sequence
• Ansbach, Freyja, and Leda’s invasion branch
• Thiollier and St. Trina
• Fire Knight Queelign
• Hornsent Grandam
• Dryleaf Dane
• Count Ymir and Jolán
• Igon and the Dragon Communion Priestess

Burning the tree opens the late-game route and normally ends unresolved NPC content. Queelign, Ymir/Jolán, and Igon/Priestess can be exceptions, but relying on an exception is riskier than completing the quest first.

The Enir-Ilim follower battle changes according to which followers you preserved, which invasion signs you selected, and how far you advanced each quest. Ansbach and Thiollier can appear as allies if their respective questlines were completed far enough. Their presence is not automatic simply because you met them earlier. The cooperator list confirms their summon requirements.

After the follower battle, continue to the Shadow of the Erdtree final boss. If Ansbach and Thiollier were properly advanced, both can be summoned for the encounter. Once the boss is defeated, reload and inspect the arena entrance and nearby NPC locations. Ansbach’s body provides Ansbach’s Set, Obsidian Lamina, and Furious Blade of Ansbach; other completed NPC threads also place their end rewards or bodies in their final areas.

Complete questline checklist

The following table covers the 14-character roster commonly used for the DLC’s major NPC quests, including the linked Ansbach/Freyja/Leda, Ymir/Jolán, and Thiollier/St. Trina threads. Locations and the grouped quest structure are corroborated by GamesRadar and PowerPyx.

What can and cannot be collected in one playthrough?

A single playthrough can preserve most of the character stories, but it cannot produce every branch reward at once. The clearest mutually exclusive choices are:

• Jolán: Iris of Grace for Swordhand of Night Jolán Spirit Ashes, or Iris of Occultation for Sword of Night.
• Fire Knight Queelign: the Grace and Occultation outcomes provide different rewards.
• Leda’s invasion branch: helping Ansbach and invading Ansbach produce different rewards and alter who survives for later content.
• Moore: the post-charm dialogue changes his later fate and appearance.

If your priority is maximum story participation and late-game summons, help Ansbach, preserve Hornsent for the Messmer sequence, complete Thiollier and St. Trina, and postpone the Sealing Tree until every other desired conversation is done. If your priority is a particular weapon or spirit ash, make that choice before using an Iris or selecting an invasion sign.

Troubleshooting: an NPC is missing

1. Return to the character’s last known location and exhaust every line of dialogue.
2. Rest at the nearest Site of Grace, then reload the area.
3. Check whether Miquella’s Great Rune has broken; if it has, revisit all early crosses.
4. Check the next linked location: Shadow Keep for Ansbach and Freyja, Stone Coffin Fissure for Thiollier and St. Trina, the Cathedral of Manus Metyr for Ymir and Jolán, and Jagged Peak for Igon and the Priestess.
5. Check whether you have already burned the Sealing Tree. That event is the most common reason an unresolved follower quest can no longer advance.

Do not assume that an NPC has failed merely because they repeat a line or relocate without explanation. These quests are deliberately opaque, and several stages are triggered by reloading or by completing another character’s conversation.