How do you complete the Hornsent quest in Elden Ring? There are many new NPCs in the Land of Shadows, and each one is as mysterious as it is esoteric. Completing their quests requires a lot of guesswork, and that goes for Hornsent (or “hornsent” as some other NPCs call him). Luckily, we’ve gone ahead and gathered everything we need to know about his quest for revenge.
The other big side quest in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree involves Needle Knight Lena with a branching path in the Hornsent quest, so be sure to take a look at Leda’s quest guide. Otherwise, you’ll want to read the Golden Hippopotamus boss guide and the Messmer the Impaler boss guide, as Hornsent can help you with both if you play your cards right.
Where to find Elden Ring Hornsent
Hornsent is located in several locations throughout Shadowland, the area entirely located in the DLC. You’ll encounter Hornsent fairly early on, and he’ll spawn before the final boss – if you haven’t killed him, that is. Here are its locations:
- Three way cross site of grace. This place of grace, just north of the first Gravesite Plain, is where you’ll first find Hornsent.
- Highroad Cross Site of Grace. This boon is north of Ensis Castle.
- Shadow Keep Main Gate Site of Grace. You can summon Hornsent to help you against the Golden Hippopotamus after entering the main entrance of the Shadow Keep.
- Shadow Keep. If you’ve progressed through both his and Leda’s quests, you’ll find a summon sign near a set of stairs leading down to the Main Gate Plaza Site of Grace.
- Shadow Keep. If you side with him above Leda, you’ll find a summon sign in Messmer the Impaler’s boss room.
- The Place of Grace in Mesmer’s Dark Room. After defeating Messmer the Impaler, you’ll find him standing in front of Messmer’s throne.
- The Church of the Bud. Hornsent will invade you before Romina’s boss fight, Saint of the Bud.
- If you miss the invasion, Hornsent will invade you in Etir-llim at the end of the game.
How to complete the Elden Ring Hornset quest
You’ll first encounter Hornsent at the Three-Path Cross Site of Grace, near a massive stone arch and one of Miquella’s glowing crosses. Redmane Freyja is also nearby. Hornsent will give you a Cross Map that reveals the location of known Miquella crosses in the Gravesite Plains area; however, finding them all is not necessary to continue his mission.
Once you clear Castle Ensis, which is across the large bridge northeast of the Three-Path Cross (or skip it entirely by going through the Fort of Reprimand east of it), Hornsent will move to the Highroad Cross Site of Grace. Talk to him here to get the new cross map, which will reveal the location of three more of Miquella’s crosses.
Approach the Shadow Keep directly north of the Highroad Cross Site of Grace. You will hear a crashing sound and the message “Somewhere, a great rune has breakup…” will appear. Return to the Highroad Cross Site of Grace and talk to both Hornsent and Leda. Leda will vow to destroy those who oppose Mikaela, and her first target is Hornsent regardless of what you choose when she asks you who you might suspect.
Continue through the main entrance to the Shadow Keep, which is past the large Furnace Golem in the distance. There is another way to enter the Shadow Keep by going through Bonny Village to the east; however, this route more closely reflects Hornsent’s demand. At the Main Gate Site of Grace, you’ll find both Redmane and Hornsent’s summon signs on either side of the massive door to the Golden Hippopotamus boss room. It doesn’t matter if you choose it.
Defeat the hippo and head east from the boss room, winding your way up until you reach an area with boat-like structures with small Vulgar Militia enemies guarding them. Near a set of stairs leading down to a shortcut to the Main Gate Site of Grace, you’ll find two summon signs: one to help Leda and one to help Hornsent. See the image below for the exact location:
If you decide to help Leda, the following happens:
- You will kill Hornsent and end his quest lineearning your items:
- Falx Curved Sword
- Caterpillar mask
- Robe with braided cord
- Knitted hand wraps
- A soiled loincloth
- Leda will give you the Ripping Crosswood Talisman at the Highroad Cross Site of Grace. It improves dash attacks.
If you decide to help Hornsent, the following happens:
- The ice will be gone almost by the end of the DLC.
- Hornsent will give you Ash of War: Swift Slash
- Leda will drop the Leda Rune.
- Hornsent becomes summoned in the Messmer the Impaler boss battle.
- You won’t be able to help Leda kill Ansbach.
Note that if you side with Hornsent, you can get Leda’s armor and Leda’s sword later. You can also get his armor and sword as he will attack you as well. However, you cannot get the Rending Crosswood Talisman and the Vengeance Crosswood Talisman. You will not get Ash of War: Swift Slash if you side with Leda.
If you help Hornsent, he will become available to summon for the Messmer the Impaler boss fight. His Falx swords can help you build a bleed stat on this tough boss. After that, you won’t see him again until you reach the Church of the Bud. Before Romina’s boss fight, Saint of the Bud, Hornsent will invade you. Hornsent is not a formidable foe; however, he can build up a bleed on you pretty quickly if he gets the chance, so do your best to avoid getting hit too much. After defeating him, you will get his armor, weapon and his mission will be complete.
However, if you skip the Messmer fight and head to the Church of Bud first, you can avoid the Hornsent fight here. Instead, he will swarm you during the boss fight against Needle Knight Leda at the end of the game, making this confrontation more difficult.
In our opinion, both Leda and Hornsent are not very good people, but the rewards for keeping him alive are better than killing him. Whichever you choose, you’re sure to need a lot of help to get through this extremely difficult DLC. First of all, you should check all Scadutree Fragment locations to make sure you are the best you can be. And if that’s not enough, check out the best Soulslikes on PC for a slightly tamer alternative.
