The Shadow of the Erdtree NPC questlines and quest objectives you get given lead to some of the richest content in Elden Ring, but it's easy to miss your chance, or just not know where to look for all these various characters. Travelling icons like Ansbach, Thiollier, Hornsent, Leda and my personal favourite, Igon the Drake Warrior, all have questlines attached to them. Some are short, some are long, some have choices and some - most importantly - can be missed altogether if you don't do them before certain points in the main story and your progress through doing all the Shadow of the Erdtree main bosses in order.
With that in mind, we've put together a spoiler-free guide on where to start all the NPC questlines in Shadow of the Erdtree below, as well as marking what point in the main story you have to have completed them by, so you can go out and find them for yourself.
All Shadow of the Erdtree NPC Questlines and locations
By our count, there are 14 questlines in Shadow of the Erdtree. You can use the map below in conjunction with the list to find the starting points for all of them.
- Ansbach. Waiting at the "Main Gate Cross" Site of Grace in front of the steps leading up to Belurat.
- Count Ymir. Sitting at the back of the Cathedral of Manus Metyr.
- Dragon Communion Priestess. Next to the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion in South Jagged Peak.
- Dryleaf Dane. Find the Monk's Missive message at the "Highroad Cross" Site of Grace.
- Freyja. Waiting at the "Three-Path Cross" Site of Grace in Gravesite Plain.
- Grandam. Inside the Storeroom near the "Small Private Altar" Site of Grace in Belurat. The key to the Storeroom is at the top of the waterfall further into Belurat.
- Igon. Shouting loudly on the road near the "Pillar Path Waypoint" Site of Grace.
- Jolan. Leaning against a pillar in the Cathedral of Manus Metyr.
- Hornsent. Waiting at the "Three-Path Cross" Site of Grace in Gravesite Plain.
- Leda. After meeting at Mohg's Palace, she's waiting at the "Highroad Cross" Site of Grace.
- Moore. A merchant at the "Main Gate Cross" Site of Grace in front of the steps leading up to Belurat.
- Queelign. First encounter is an NPC invasion where you turn right and head towards the courtyard after Belurat's "Small Private Altar" Site of Grace.
- St. Trina. Waiting at the end of the Stone Coffin Fissure region in a dead end after fighting one of the Shadow of the Erdtree Remembrance bosses.
- Thiollier. A merchant at the "Pillar Path Cross" Site of Grace in East Gravesite Plain.
It's worth clarifying that a lot of these quests can overlap with each other and intersect at key points, while some are standalone questlines that never infringe on anyone else's. This means that any players who are intent on completing them all may want to bounce between them, so as to keep progress on all of them up to date. And more importantly…
What is the point of no return for questlines in Shadow of the Erdtree?
Most NPC Questlines in Shadow of the Erdtree have to be completed by the time you first enter the Tower of Shadow North of Belurat. You'll probably walk up to the entrance of the Tower before that point after beating the Shadow of the Erdtree Divine Beast Dancing Lion, but it's inaccessible.
Well, at some point in the main story you'll make the Tower accessible and go there by burning the Sealing Tree that blocks it off - and that's the cut-off point where many NPC quests have to be completed by, otherwise they can't be done at all. If you reach the Sealing Tree, now is the time to start progressing all those NPC questlines to their conclusion.
It's also worth mentioning that at some point the mysterious Shadow of the Erdtree Somewhere a Great Rune has Broken message will come up. Don't worry, that doesn't lock off any of the questlines, but it does mark a flag wherein many of them will have progressed to the next stage. Our guide attached will tell you more, but that's a good time to go and interact with some key characters to see if the quests have changed.
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