Best Characters in the Elden Ring DLC

Summary

Count Ymir is a fascinating merchant at Cathedral of Manus Metyr with valuable items, but may disappear occasionally, offering unique drops.
Dryleaf Dane adds a fun mini-boss fight in Moorth Ruins Enir-Ilim, best fought at higher levels for better rewards like Dane's Footwork.
Hornsent, an amicable NPC and invader NPC, is a great ally to fight challenging bosses like Messmer, dropping valuable items upon defeat.

Elden RIng's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has been taking the world by storm for a while now. With the new weapons, enemies, areas, bosses, and questlines introduced, veteran players and newcomers can experience a refreshing new sense of fun while exploring the Land of Shadow.

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By Gerardo Molina

Like in other FromSoftware games, Elden Ring's NPCs are well crafted, intriguing, and have worthwhile questlines that are typically rewarded with valuable items for players to test and enjoy. Luckily, the DLC doesn't stay behind in this regard, presenting players with new NPCs to discover and talk to.

6 Count Ymir

Interesting Merchant With Valuable Items

The player character in front of Count Ymir in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

Location	Cathedral of Manus Metyr
Role	Merchant

As a High Priest and overseer of the Cathedral of Manus Metyr, Count Ymir is a very interesting NPC and one of the finest additions to Shadow of the Erdtree. Along with his loyal servant, Jolan, he sells all sorts of items that the Tarnished can purchase to add to their inventory. While not recommended, Ymir can drop several items upon being fought and defeated. Some of them are:

Ymir's Bell Bearing
Maternal Staff
High Priest Hat
High Priest Robe
High Priest Gloves
High Priest Undergarments

Players mustn't worry if Ymir sometimes disappears from his throne, as this seems to be quite common. After waiting a little while, Ymir should be back in his usual location.

5 Dryleaf Dane

Introduces A Fun Mini-Boss Fight

Location	Moorth Ruins Enir-Ilim
Role	Mini-Boss

As a master of hand-to-hand combat who enjoys fighting any contenders in the Land of Shadow, Dryleaf Dane is one of the best new characters in Shadow of the Erdtree. He can be summoned in the fight against Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, and Romina, Saint of the Bud.

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By Gerardo Molina

Dryleaf Dane can be fought as a mini-boss; however, players shouldn't expect the fight to pose a serious challenge, especially if they're at higher levels. When defeated, Dryleaf Dane will drop several items, including Dane's Footwork. It's strongly recommended to delay killing this NPC until after defeating the bosses he can help fight.

4 Hornsent

A Helpful Summon Against Messmer

Shadow of the Erdtree Hornsent Questline Quest

Location	Three-Paths Cross
Role	Amicable NPC, Invader NPC

With one of the coolest NPC designs in the DLC; Hornsent had to make the list for several reasons. He can be found next to Redmane Freyja at the Three-Path's Cross in the Realm of Shadow. Hornsent is a really helpful NPC, as he can be summoned to fight Messmer the Impaler, and the Golden Hippopotamus at the Shadow Keep, both of which are challenging boss fights.

Once players have defeated Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, and Hornsent will move locations, appearing at the Highroad Cross Site of Grace from that point forward. This NPC can be fought by invasion outside of Romina, Saint of the Bud's arena, or in the Leda and Allies Boss fight. When defeated, Hornsent will drop:

Falx
Hornsent Set
Soiled Loincloth

3 Sir Ansbach

A Former Pureblood Knight With A Great Questline

Location	Outside Belurat Tower Settlement
Role	Pureblood Knight Captain (former), Quest-related NPC

When players hear Sir Ansbach's story and that he used to be a servant of Mohg, it's natural that they automatically assume that he's evil. Especially if they struggled to defeat the Lord of Blood to unlock the DLC. However, as he explains further down the road, Sir Ansbach has realigned his beliefs towards something more "noble", shifting from being a faithful follower of Mohg to one of Miquella's.

Sir Ansbach is located in a small camp outside Belurat, Tower Settlement. He can be summoned to fight against Leda and her allies at the Cleansing Chamber Anteroom in Enir Ilim. Sir Ansbach can also be summoned to fight against Promised Consort Radahn. Players can also choose to fight this NPC, which will be rewarded with the following drops:

Wise Man's Mask
Ansbach's Attire
Ansbach's Manchettes
Ansbach's Boots
Ansbach's Longbow

All in all, Sir Ansbach's items aren't as valuable as one would expect, so it's recommended to avoid fighting him if at all possible.

2 Needle Knight Leda

The DLC's First NPC Encounter

Elden Ring shadow of the erdtree needle knight leda quest 4

Location	Mohgwyn Palace (first encounter)
Role	Leader of the Followers of Miquella

Needle Knight Leda is notorious in the Land of Shadow for many reasons, but probably the most important one is that she's the leader of Miquella's Followers. Leda is the first interaction players have with the DLC, as she will appear in the room where Mohg's boss fight happened. After players defeat Mohg, they can reload the area, and they will see Leda standing in front of the Cocoon of the Empyrean.

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By Rohan James Hill

Once in the Land of Shadow, players can meet Leda again at the Highroad Cross Site of Grace after defeating Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, a boss fight which she can be summoned for. Players can also choose to fight Needle Knight Leda in an invasion in the Shadow Keep area; when defeated, she will drop:

Ash of War, Swift Slash
Leda's Rune

Leda can also be fought in the Leda and Allies boss fight. Once defeated, she'll drop Leda's Sword, and Leda's Armor, which can be looted from her corpse.

1 Redmane Freyja

Introduces An Amazing Greatsword

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Freyja's Armor Set

Location	Three-Paths Cross, Gravesite Plain
Role	Cooperator, Questline NPC

Redmane Freyja has got to have one of the most astounding changes of loyalty in the history of Elden Ring. Once a devoted follower of Radahn, she now stands a fierce follower of Miquella. She can be found for the first time at the Three-Paths Cross and will move to the Shadow Keep, specifically near the Storehouse, Seventh Floor Site of Grace, as the story progresses.

Freyja can be summoned to fight the Divine Beast Dancing Lion and the Golden Hippopotamus, and she can be of great help to any players struggling with either one or both. She can be fought in the Leda and Allies boss fight, and will drop Freyja's Greatsword and Freyja's Set when defeated. She also seems to have a strong sense of loyalty towards Needle Knight Leda, which suggests an interesting backstory for the two of them.

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