How to make Needle Knight Leda build in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Needle Knight Leda is easily the most memorable character in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree's story, right alongside the likes of Moore and Sir Ansbach. As a loyal knight of Miquella the Kind and the leader of his band of followers, Leda initially appears only to be interested in things that concern her lord and his plans to establish a gentler, kinder world.

However, as you progress through Shadow of the Erdtree's story, she slowly starts to reveal layers of her personality. The once proud leader slowly becomes doubtful of those who swore allegiance to her. You face off against her and get a taste of her combat prowess right before the DLC's finale.

Leda is one of the most powerful NPCs you will face in Shadow of the Erdtree, far surpassing the likes of Thiollier, Dryleaf Dane, and even the Ancient Dragon-Man. Using her weapons, you can make an incredibly powerful Faith build.

Here's a comprehensive guide on how to make the Needle Knight Leda build in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

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Breakdown of the Needle Knight Leda build in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

The Needle Knight Leda build in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is essentially a Strength-Faith hybrid. The weapon of choice for this setup is Leda's Sword, with the Fire Knight's Seal for Incantations. Since most of your points will go into Faith, you will be able to make use of some high-level Incantations, including the Frenzy Flame ones.

The Needle Knight Leda build in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Image via FromSoftware)

Apart from the weapons, another major aspect of this build is the armor set. We're going with the Oathseeker set, albeit with Leda's Armor for the chest piece. The Oathbreaker set can be obtained fairly early in Shadow of the Erdtree, within the Gravesite Plains itself.

However, for Leda's Armor and her Sword, you will need to complete a significant portion of the main story and also make your way to the final area of the expansion - Enir Ilim.

Additionally, the Fire Knight's Seal is also obtained fairly late into the DLC's main story, inside the Shadow Keep, right before you make your way to the Scadutree Avatar.

You can choose a different Seal like the Clawmark Seal or the Dryleaf Seal. However, the increased affinity of the Fire Knight's Seal to Messmer's Flame Incantations makes it the best choice for this particular build. Lastly, for the Talismans, we're going with defensive and attack power buffs.

Here's a breakdown of the Needle Knight Leda build in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree:

Weapons:

• Leda's Sword +10
• Fire Knight's Seal +25

Talismans:

• Erdtree's Favor +2
• Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
• Twinblade Talisman
• Two-Handed Sword Talisman

Incantations:

• Golden Vow
• Black Flame's Protection
• Beastial Vitality
• Fire Serpent
• Messmer's Orb
• Unendurable Frenzy

Armor:

• Oathseeker's set
• Leda's Armor

As for the stats, here's the breakdown:

• Vigor: 60
• Mind: 30
• Endurance: 40
• Strength: 50
• Dexterity: 20
• Intelligence: 9
• Faith: 67
• Arcane: 8

The Twinblade Talisman is mandatory for this build, as it allows you to deal bonus damage on the final hit of Leda's Sword's combo (Image via FromSoftware)

While the Messmer's Flame and Frenzied Flame Incantations are not mandatory, they do give you offensive options over simply Leda's Sword.

Since you're investing a ton of stat points into Faith anyway, there's no harm in keeping a few additional Incantations in your arsenal just to give you some ranged options apart from the Needle Piercer Ash of War.