How to Get Needle Knight Leda’s Gear in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

One of the most amazing images from the marketing for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was of Needle Knight Leda, a white-robed knight with an elegant straight sword. And true to form, you can get both her armor and weapon in the DLC. Here’s how.

How to Get Needle Knight Leda’s Armor and Weapon in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

The path toward getting Lady Leda’s armor set and weapon in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree can either be incredibly straightforward or equally convoluted. Which route you choose depends on how fast you want to get her gear. You can technically get it shortly after you enter the DLC, or you can wait until near its end, provided you follow specific steps. We’ll go over all the ways to get Leda’s armor and weapons here.

Kill Leda

The fastest (and probably easiest) way to get Leda’s weapon and armor is to simply kill her and take the gear from her corpse. The problem? Even if you fight her before even entering the Realm of Shadow, you shouldn’t expect an easy win. Leda’s weapon is a new type called Light Greatsword and has one of the most unique movesets in all of Elden Ring. Add in its Ash of War, which deals heavy damage and removes all buffs if it hits you. Her move list is tough to figure out, to say the least.

Oh, and did I mention that she’s got more HP than some bosses? Because she does. Leda also has a single Flask of Crimson Tears, which she’ll use at around two-thirds HP. As an NPC enemy, she also doesn’t fight the same as an enemy player. She’ll read your inputs, dodge your projectiles, and recover from stagger much quicker than a human ever could. Her movement and attack timings are slightly faster but also more predictable. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, she deals much more damage with her attacks than almost any player would and has infinite FP to spam her Ash of War, to boot.

Progress Through Leda and Ansbach’s Questlines, Then Assist Ansbach in Defeating Her

Part of Leda’s questline puts her at odds with Sir Ansbach, and if you follow the right steps, you can eventually choose to either invade Ansbach’s world with her or be summoned to the same to fend her off. I’m not sure which is the “good” ending here, but if you choose to assist Ansbach in fighting her, you’ll receive her armor and weapon following your victory.

Oddly, the same is true if she’s died elsewhere in the world and you already have her gear — you’ll just get a second set. When I first found the summon and invasion sign for her and Ansbach, I already had all the NPCs’ gear from finishing most of the story content in Shadow of the Erdtree, yet when I helped Leda (who I thought I’d killed) fight Ansbach (who I thought was dead), I got another set of his armor and a weapon of his I didn’t yet have: his bow.

Defeat Leda and Her Companions in the Final Dungeon

Defeating Leda and her companions is one of the final challenges you must overcome on your road to the final boss. Near the top of the really, actually final dungeon, you’ll meet Leda, and she’ll warn you not to go any further. If you want to take on the final boss of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, you’ll need to continue, and so you’ll need to invade her world.

If you’ve worked alongside Ansbach to this point and haven’t yet killed him, you can summon him into the fight, which pits you against Leda, Dane, Freyja, and Moore in a grand melee. Should you succeed in defeating Leda and her crew, you’ll find all of their gear in the arena, with Leda’s body holding her armor and weapons just outside it.

Note that once you defeat Leda in this final bout if you haven’t already killed her and her friends, they will, of course, be gone from the rest of your playthrough. Any quests or items of theirs you haven’t finished or acquired (besides their armor) will be impossible to complete without starting an entirely new run of the DLC on a separate character. Ask me how I know.

As with literally every other Elden Ring NPC, Needle Knight Leda’s story in Shadow of the Erdtree ends with her death and your acquisition of her gear. When and how that death occurs is ultimately up to you, and there are several ways for it to happen. Now go make a build with that elegant sword!

For more on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and the game in general, check out the Elden Ring guides hub, including how to use the Prayer Room Key and where to find Blessings of Marika.