Important NPCs in Elden Ring sometimes have questlines you can complete to gain new allies against difficult enemies in The Lands Between, including a character named Sir Ansbach in the new Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC. This noble scholar has an interconnected tale with another figure you meet in the game's only expansion. By following the right steps, you can gain much-needed help against some powerful opponents.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.]

A hidden point of no return in the DLC prevents you from pursuing an NPC's storyline once it has been done. While you have to progress through story elements of Shadow Of The Erdtree to continue Sir Ansbach's questline, you should still be careful. Choosing to burn the Scadutree causes many characters to disappear, making it impossible to finish their stories before challenging the expansion's final boss.

How To Start Sir Ansbach Questline

Find Both Sir Ansbach And Freyja In The Land Of Shadow

The only way to start Sir Ansbach's quest is to first find another NPC named Redmane Freyja at the Three-Path Cross Site of Grace within the Gravesite Plains. The Plains is a section of the new map introduced in Shadow Of The Erdtree where your Tarnished character can explore a world similar to the open world of the base game. This knight is a ive character who won't attack as you approach them.

Whenever you talk to any important NPC during a questline, make sure to exhaust all their dialogue when speaking to them. When someone starts repeating parts of a conversation, you can move on to the next step in their story.

Once you talk to Freyja, go west until you find the Main Gate Cross Site of Grace, defined by the large gate archway constructed near a cave's entrance. Sir Ansbach is wearing long blue robes, with a mask covering most of his face. Look for one of the few characters not attacking your character with a big white beard, then talk to them until they run out of lines of dialogue.

Sir Ansbach will describe how he was once in service to Mohg, Lord of Blood, the optional boss you had to defeat to reach the DLC. Speaking with Sir Ansbach starts the sequence of events connected to his storyline, but only if you also talk to Freyja. Make sure to interact with both characters before progressing through sections of Shadow Of The Erdtree's main story.

Every Step In Sir Ansbach's Questline

Trade Notes In The Shadow Keep Between Two Characters

Go through the story of the DLC until you unlock the Shadow Keep as an explorable area in the Land of Shadow. Although powerful bosses like Messmer The Impaler in Elden Ring can be fought by progressing through this palace, you'll want to reach the Storehouse, First Floor Site of Grace first. You can search this area for Sir Ansbach and Freyja, who appear again near this location.

Make your way through the Storehouse until you ascend to the 4th Floor of the building, where you can find another Site of Grace after crossing across the statue suspended in this library. Continue to the forward balcony, then turn left and climb several stairs to higher levels. Once you get to where the 6th Floor will be, take another left to descend some stairs and turn right to enter a smaller study.

It is a good idea to clear out all the enemies in the Storehouse one at a time when you can, so they do not group up to attack you as you need to reach other areas important to Sir Ansbach's questline.

Inside this study, you can pick up the Secret Rite Scroll item before ascending one more time to reach the room with the 7th Floor Site of Grace. Rest at the Site of Grace to cause Freyja to show up right in front of you as she looks at the stone tablets near the room's hearth. As you can see in the above video by YouTube creator ConCon, she is too busy to talk unless you find Sir Ansbach somewhere else in the area.

Head back to the 1st Floor Site of Grace in the Storehouse to find Sir Ansbach in the room with the skeleton on a table in the right corner as you walk in. Give Sir Ansbach the Scroll and tell him about Freyja's decision to progress the questline in Elden Ring. Rest again at any Site of Grace to make time move forward where Sir Ansbach reads the Scroll and contemplates the information within it.

Return to Sir Ansbach and talk to him again to see the scholar give your character a Letter For Freyja. Deliver the Letter to Freyja upstairs in the Specimen Storehouse to receive the Golden Lion Shield, a strong piece of equipment you can start using if your character benefits from a defensive build. Similar to other items, like the Gilded Iron Shield or Shield of the Guilty, your stats may determine if you can use this new object.

Where To Finish Sir Ansbach's Questline

Let A Warrior And Scholar Help Slay A God

The final step in this questline is to return and talk to Sir Ansbach on the 1st Floor of the Storehouse while once again exhausting his dialogue. This time, on Freyja's final message and rest again at any Site of Grace. Doing this causes both characters to disappear from the Storehouse, with Ansbach not showing up again as an NPC until the end of Shadow Of The Erdtree.

Like the Hornsent quest in Elden Ring's DLC, you can summon Sir Ansbach during a boss fight when you complete his questline. As a matter of fact, Sir Ansbach shows up for two battles as thanks for helping him and Freyja during their journey through the Land of Shadow. You can summon Ansbach as an ally for the fights against Needle Knight Leda and against the final boss of the DLC, Radahn.

Be careful not to invade Sir Ansbach during the questline for Needle Knight Leda in other parts of the DLC. This will cause you to kill the character, preventing you from completing his story.

Although you can choose not to deliver the Letter to Freyja, doing so will make you miss out on having a potential friend for some tough fights later in the expansion. Managing to complete Sir Ansbach's questline in the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring also gives you great rewards, making it worth the effort.

Source: ConCon/YouTube