How to defeat the Followers of Miquella in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

As you approach the final boss in the Elden Ring DLC, you’ll be confronted by some familiar faces. Here’s how to beat the Followers of Miquella in Shadow of the Erdtree. Spoilers for various quests lurk below.

Those following Needle Knight Leda, and her ally’s, quests in Shadow of the Erdtree may have noticed some cracks starting to show in the group. Leda has become paranoid and may have already tried to kill Hornsent and later Ansbach, due to his former allegiance to Mohg, Lord of Blood.

Just as you manage to catch up to Miquella, Leda will block your path and a red summon sign will allow you to settle your score with her and her underlings. However, the fight against the Followers of Miquella can be different from one player to another, depending on what you did throughout the various questlines.

Essentially, the difficulty of the battle and who takes part is determined by what you do throughout the DLC. Below, we’ll detail who you may have to battle, how you can reduce the number of enemies earlier, and who can join in and help you in this battle.

Preparing for the Followers of Miquella battle

Unlike any other optional boss in Shadow of the Erdtree, the battle with the Followers of Miquella fight can vary depending on which characters are still alive, and who you befriended along the way.

The battle can be between you and five Followers of Miquella, those being:

• Dryleaf Dane
• Redman Freyja
• Needle Knight Leda
• Hornsent
• Moore

Leda and Dane will always join this fight. However, you can remove Hornsent, Freyja, and Moore from the battle by making decisions certain earlier in the story.

Eliminating Moore early

For Moore, tell him to “Remain sad forever” when he asks you for your opinion. This awful advice leads to Moore’s premature death, but it also prevents him from taking part in the battle later.

Ignoring his dialogue has also been reported as a way to keep him from taking part in the battle, but he’s joined in in other cases. The safest way to eliminate him, though, is to give him the bad advice.

Moore will leave his gear behind for you to loot and you can take his Bell Bearing to the Roundtable Hold to continue to have access to his shop.

If you give Moore good advice in this interaction, he’ll tell you how much he likes you and continue to live. However, he’ll later be manipulated by Leda into attacking you, forcing you to kill him.

Should you ignore Moore’s quest and not engage him in conversation, he’ll be drafted by Leda by default. You can also simply attack Moore and his allies, ending their questlines and declaring war on them early.

Eliminating Hornsent early

Hornsent can also be removed from the battle early by assassinating him for the increasingly paranoid Leda. Or by siding with him, fighting off Leda and effectively betraying the faction, then summoning him to help you fight Messmer later.

Alas, even though you helped him against his unhinged former ally and slew a demi-god together, Hornsent is unable to forgive you for being a follower of the Erdtree.

He’ll later invade you as you explore the Rauh Ruins. This forces you to kill him, ending your alliance, but it also prevents him from aiding Leda later.

If you go to the Rauh Ruins before killing Messmer, or refuse to take a side in Leda and Hornsent’s feud, she’ll eventually turn her focus back to Ansbach. This will mean that Hornsent remains loyal to the Followers of Miquella and will attack you alongside the rest of them.

Available NPC summons

There are two allies you can recruit for the battle against the Followers of Miquella:

Recruiting Pureblood Knight Ansbach

Once Leda decides that Ansbach is an enemy of Miquella, she’ll ask you to aid her in attacking him. If you use the Storehouse, First Floor Site of Grace in the Shadow Keep, and visit Ansbach in the library, you’ll have the option to either invade him or defend him.

To invade him, use the red summon sign, but to save him from Leda, use the gold one and help him defeat her. This battle is relatively simple as it’s two of you against Leda. It only took us a few slashes of Corpse Piler to end the battle.

After exhausting his dialogue after the battle, you’ll then be given the option to summon Ansbach when Leda lays down her challenge. To get his aid, use his gold summon sign, and Ansbach will join the fight soon after it begins. The old Blood Knight will also help you against the final boss.

If Ansbach has died before this, you’ll be able to summon an ally known as Sanguine Noble Nataan to aid you against Leda and her crew. Presumably, this is another former follower of Mohg who seeks revenge on Miquella for what’s being done to his master’s remains – you’ll find out soon enough.

Recruiting Thiollier

While not part of Leda’s group, Thiollier can also join you in the battle against the Followers of Miquella. To recruit him, simply complete his quest that starts when you meet him at the Pillar Path Cross Site of Grace.

From here you’ll need to visit the Stone Coffin Fissue, defeat the Putrescent Knight, and meet St. Trina. Once this quest is complete, you’ll be able to summon Thiollier to help you and Ansbach fight off the deranged Followers of Miquella.

Thiollier will also aid you against the final boss, just like Ansbach. Remember, you’ll need to recruit Thiollier before you reach Enir-Ilim, otherwise, his quest will be locked and the NPC will disappear.

Followers of Miquella location

From the Cleansing Chamber Anteroom Site of Grace, approach the vast round room and you’ll see a figure in the distance. This is Leda and she’ll begin taunting you and engaging in her usual paranoid accusations. She’ll then vanish leaving a red summon sign behind for you to follow her.

While you can just ignore Leda’s challenge, you didn’t buy the DLC not to take part in boss fights. There are also some nice rewards to find after this battle and it’ll allow you to progress both Ansbach and Thiollier’s quests, ensuring they can be summoned for the final boss.

If you want to have allies, and we’d recommend bringing them as you’re about to be outnumbered, then use the gold summon signs first, one for Thiollier and another for Ansbach. Then use the red summon sign to invade Leda. The Followers of Miquella will then invade one by one until they’ve all entered the battle.

If you wish to have more support, now is the time to call your Spirit Summons. They will help you fight until your NPC allies arrive and prevent you from being ganged up on. Our Mimic Tear kept one of Leda’s allies busy for most of the battle and even survived it.

How to beat the Followers of Miquella

For this guide, let’s assume that all of the Followers of Miquella are alive and that you’ve recruited both NPC allies. That way we can predict who’ll enter the battle in order.

If he’s alive, Hornsent will invade first, shortly followed by Redmayne Freyja. If Hornsent died before this battle, then Freyja will invade you first instead. Whoever enters the battle first, try to get an early advantage by cutting them down quickly before their backup arrives.

We were able to gang up on the first NPC with our Mimic Tear, inflict bleed, and kill them before they were able to make use of their reinforcements. You’ll only be able to do this once though, as things will soon become chaotic. But killing the first invader quickly will give you an advantage as other combatants arrive.

If he’s alive, Moore will be next to arrive, bolstering the enemy forces. Shortly after, Ansbach will arrive to support you, leveling the playing field or putting the opposing team on the back foot, especially if the first invader is already dead. Dryleaf Dane will arrive seconds after Ansbach, so your advantage won’t last for long.

Needle Knight Leda will arrive next. Our advice is to ignore her and focus on those who are already weakened. It’s wise to finish them off and remove them from the field while they’ve already got a reduced health bar. Try to focus on one NPC at a time, picking them off methodically.

Finally, if you recruited him, Thiollier will then enter the fray to support you. If you only have to face Freyja, Dane, and Leda, this battle will be relatively easy, especially with your two allies and Spirit Summons. But if you need to face all five NPCs it will be considerably harder.

Ganging up on each enemy, one at a time is a helpful strategy. This will overwhelm each enemy and soon only Leda will be left. In our playthrough, Leda was cut down by our whole team, who were all still alive by the end.

Be warned though, that if you go into this boss fight without allies and with Leda’s team at full strength, it’s a very challenging battle. Those who scoff at Spirit Summons and NPC allies may soon choose to re-think their position.

Followers of Miquella weaknesses

As the Followers of Miquella isn’t a traditional Elden Ring boss fight, it’s more of a battle between NPCs, each combatant doesn’t have a confirmed list of weaknesses, at least in terms of elemental weak spots.

However, we found that every NPC was very susceptible to Hemorrhage (Bleed), Scarlet Rot, and Poison. Bleed build-up did massive damage to some, allowing us to take them down very quickly.

Rewards

As this is an optional battle, the main draw is the rewards on offer – which are plentiful after all five NPCs have died. Once Needle Knight Leda falls, you’ll be rewarded with Leda’s Sword before being transported back to your world.

Once you do arrive back in your world you’ll be greeted by the grisly sight of your enemy’s bodies strewn all over the battlefield. Take a moment to appreciate their tragic fate, then merrily loot their corpses for the following rewards:

Redmane Freyja:

• Freyja’s Greatsword
• Freyja’s Helm
• Freyja’s Armor
• Freyja’s Gauntlets
• Freyja’s Greaves

Hornsent:

• Falx
• Caterpillar Mask
• Braided Cord Robe
• Braided Arm Wraps
• Soiled Loincloth

Dryleaf Dane:

• Dryleaf Robe
• Dryleaf Arm Wraps
• Dryleaf Cuissardes
• Dane’s Footwork

Moore:

• Moore’s Bell Bearing
• Verdigris Greatshield
• Verdigris Helm
• Verdigris Armor
• Verdigris Gauntlets
• Verdigris Greaves

Needle Knight Leda:

• Oathseeker Knight Helm
• Oathseeker Knight Gauntlets
• Oathseeker Knight Greaves
• Leda’s Armor

After the battle, make your way to the next area and talk with Ansbach. He’ll confront you about the death of Mohg, but fear not, he won’t attack you. Instead, you’ll find his and Thiollier’s summon signs outside the final boss arena.

Need more advice on beating Shadow of the Erdtree’s difficult bosses? Check out our guides on the Dancing Lion, Rellana, Messmer the Impaler, and the mighty Bayle the Dread.