Honestly, if you’ve played a FromSoftware game before, you knew this was coming. You step into the Land of Shadow, meet a group of interesting NPCs at a golden cross, and think, "I'll just talk to them whenever I pass by." Big mistake. Huge. Elden Ring dlc questlines are basically a giant, invisible spiderweb. You pull one thread in the Shadow Keep, and suddenly three people are dead, two others hate you, and you’ve missed out on a top-tier incantation.
It's brutal.
The game doesn't tell you that simply walking into a certain room or crossing an invisible line on a bridge can "break" the world state. One minute you're just exploring, and the next, you hear a loud crack and a notification that a "Great Rune has broken." That's the sound of half your quest progress potentially going down the drain if you haven't been paying attention to the specific order of operations.
The Breaking Point: Miquella’s Great Rune
Everything in the early game revolves around the breaking of Miquella’s charm. Before this happens, your band of "misfit followers" is all buddy-buddy. They’re standing around Sites of Grace, sharing lore, and acting like they’re on a fun group hike.
Then you approach the Shadow Keep.
Once you get close enough to the entrance—specifically near the Highroad Cross or the bridge leading to the village—the Great Rune breaks. This is the "Point of No Return" for several early interactions. If you haven't talked to Moore to get the Black Syrup, or given that syrup to Thiollier, you're already in a bit of a pickle.
Thiollier is a perfect example of how weird these steps are. He’s obsessed with St. Trina, the goddess of sleep. To even start his journey to find her, you have to play courier between him and Moore. If you miss this before the charm breaks, Moore might get too depressed to talk to you, and Thiollier might just sit at his cross forever, never venturing south to the Stone Coffin Fissure.
Sir Ansbach and the Storehouse Headache
If there is one character you absolutely do not want to fail, it’s Sir Ansbach. He is arguably the coolest NPC in the expansion, a retired servant of Mohg with a voice like velvet and a scythe that shreds. But his quest is a literal minefield of "if/then" logic.
Once you’re in the Specimen Storehouse, you find him in a small library on the first floor. Nearby, on the seventh floor, is Redmane Freyja. She’s confused about Radahn’s soul and Miquella’s plans. To progress her story properly, you have to act as a go-between for her and Ansbach.
- You find a Secret Rite Scroll on the fourth floor.
- You could give it to Ansbach immediately.
- But wait! You need to talk to Freyja first to learn she's stuck.
- Then you tell Ansbach about her.
- Then you give him the scroll.
If you mess this up or side with Needle Knight Leda later when she decides to "weed out" the traitors, you lose out on the Obsidian Lamina. That's a reaper with one of the most stylish Ash of War moves in the entire game. You also lose Ansbach as a summon for the final boss, and trust me, you want him there for the moral support alone, let alone the damage.
Leda’s Purge: Choosing Sides
Leda is... intense. Once the charm breaks, her "loyalty" turns into paranoia. She starts looking at her friends and wondering who isn't sufficiently devoted to Miquella. This is where the Elden Ring dlc questlines get really interactive.
She’ll ask you who should be eliminated. Usually, the choice is between Hornsent and Ansbach.
If you side with Leda and invade Hornsent in the Shadow Keep, you get a unique talisman (the Lacerating Crossed-Tree), but you lose Hornsent’s help during the Messmer fight. If you help Hornsent fight off Leda, you get the Swift Slash Ash of War. This is arguably the most "broken" PvP move in the DLC's history, though it's been patched a few times since launch.
The complexity here is staggering. If you ignore the signs entirely, the game progresses anyway, but you miss the gear. Most people end up siding with the NPCs over Leda because, frankly, she’s a bit of a zealot.
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The Tragic Tale of St. Trina
Thiollier’s questline is probably the most "hidden" because it requires you to actively kill yourself. Multiple times.
Once you find the Stone Coffin Fissure at the very southern tip of the map (you have to jump down a giant hole in the Cerulean Coast), you eventually reach the Garden of Deep Purple. There lies St. Trina. To hear her speak, you have to "Imbibe Nectar."
The first time you do it, you die.
The second time, you die.
The third time... you guessed it.
You have to do this four times before she finally whispers to you. If you don't keep doing it, Thiollier won't believe you when you say she spoke. He’ll actually get so jealous he invades you. You have to beat him, then keep drinking the nectar (six times total usually) until he finally accepts the truth. It’s a lot of loading screens for a very depressing ending, but the Thiollier’s Hidden Needle weapon is a fun niche pick for poison builds.
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Don't Forget the Martial Artist
Finally, there’s Dryleaf Dane. His quest is the shortest but the easiest to miss. You find a note at the Highroad Cross telling you to "seek me to the east." You find him at the Moorth Ruins. He won't talk to you.
You have to use the "May the Best Win" gesture (found at the Highroad Cross) right in his face. This triggers a duel. If you beat him, you get the Dryleaf Arts, which lets you fight with your bare hands and feet like a monk. If you don't do this before you burn the Sealing Tree later in the game, he just disappears.
Actionable Tips for a Perfect Run
To actually see these stories through to the end, you need to be methodical. The game won't hold your hand, so you have to hold the game's.
- Talk to everyone before the Great Rune breaks. This means visiting the Three-Path Cross and the Main Gate Cross as soon as you land.
- Exhaust dialogue. Keep pressing the talk button until they start repeating themselves.
- Check back after every major boss. If you kill the Divine Beast or Rellana, go back and see if anyone has moved.
- Don't burn the Sealing Tree too early. This is the ultimate "fail state" for almost every NPC quest in the game. Once that tree burns, the NPCs move to their final positions in Enir-Ilim, and any middle-steps you missed are gone forever.
Basically, play slow. These Elden Ring dlc questlines are designed to reward the curious and punish the rushed. If you want that Ansbach scythe or the St. Trina flowers, you've got to be willing to play the part of the meddling Tarnished.