Blaidd is one of the many treasures of Elden Ring, a loveable oaf of a character with a long questline that’s rewarding both materially and emotionally. Knowing how to complete Blaidd’s quest awards some of the strongest armor in the base game and one of the coolest weapons available. Here are all the steps.
How to Find Blaidd & Complete His Questline in Elden Ring
The first thing to know about Blaidd’s questline is it occurs both within and parallel to Ranni’s. As such, not only is completing it a longer process, but it also comes with a selection of powerful rewards and plenty of big lore drops. You’ll even fight alongside the Half-Wolf, and he helps with some of the fights. There are nine steps to Blaidd’s quest, and if you want everything from it, you need to do all of them.
Bladd’s Quest Step 1: Meet Blaidd at the Mistwood Ruins
To start Blaidd’s questline, head to the Mistwood in the eastern portion of Limgrave and make your way to the Mistwood Ruins in the center of the forest. Shortly after arriving, you’ll hear a wolf howling from somewhere, though you won’t find any wolves nearby.
Next, return to the Church of Elleh and talk to Kale, and a new dialog prompt will appear: “Ask about the howling in the Mistwood.” Kale will chuckle, say you’re liable to get along well with whoever’s doing the howling and give you the Finger Snap gesture. Return to the Mistwood Ruins and use the emote in an alcove on the western side. Blaidd will jump down and say he’s looking for a man named Darriwil.
Note: There are two ways to bypass this step of Blaidd’s questline. The first is to meet him in Ranni’s Rise in Liurnia of the Lakes as part of her quest. If you make it there before meeting Blaidd in the Mistwood, you’ll miss out on the Finger Snap gesture.
The second way to bypass this step (and a lot of the rest of the quest) is to defeat Starscourge Radahn and open the way to Nokron. Blaidd will disappear not only from the Mistwood Ruins but also from all steps related to…opening Nokron.
Blaidd’s Quest Step 2: Go to the Forlorn Hound Evergaol and Summon Blaidd (or Not)
Bloodhound Knight Darriwil, the man Blaidd says he’s searching for when you meet him in the Mistwood, is imprisoned in the Forlorn Hound Evergaol in southern Limgrave, northwest of the Bridge of Sacrifice. So long as you’ve spoken to Blaidd and tacitly agreed to help him find the man, you’ll see the Half-Wolf’ssummon sign on the ground.
You can defeat Darriwil with or without Blaidd’s help, then meet Blaidd just outside the Evergaol or back at the Mistwood Ruins. Either way, he’ll congratulate you for defeating his target and reward you with a Somber Smithing Stone 2.
Step 3: Meet Blaidd at Ranni’s Rise
You won’t see Blaidd again until you enter into Ranni’s service during her questline. Once you agree to be a part of her team, head downstairs to meet Blaidd and Iji. The Half-Wolf will be glad you’re a part of his crew and mention he’s also going to Nokron to search for the treasure Ranni wants. Specifically, he’s headed back to the Mistwood to take down the elevator there. You can find the elevator east of the Mistwood Ruins, and provided you have the map fragment for eastern Limgrave, you’ll see it as a clearly drawn circle near the Minor Erdtree.
Step 4: Meet Blaidd in Siofra River
After taking the elevator in the Mistwood down, make your way to the main area of Siofra River. Once there, grab the map fragment on the corpse leaning against a pillar near the Ancestral Spirit altar. Blaidd will be just to the north of that large temple (which you light the flame pillars for). He’ll mention he has no idea how to get to Nokron, despite being able to clearly see it, and sends you to see Selivus to see if he has any knowledge on the matter.
Step 5: Speak to Jerren and Iji or Selivus and Sellen
Selivus’s tower is in the southern region of Three Sisters. Talk to him there and mention Nokron to him. He’ll direct you to see Sorceress Sellen in Limgrave and give you a letter to give her: Seluvis’s Introduction. You can find her in the Waypoint Ruins almost directly north of the Forlorn Hound Evergaol. You’ll need to defeat the Mad Pumpkinhead boss to access the room where she’s “trapped.” Speak to her, show her the introduction, and she’ll mention you need to kill General Radahn to start Ranni’s fate in motion.
Provided you haven’t yet reached the Altus Plateau and progressed the Radahn Festival, you can also speak to Iji at his blacksmith shop in the northwest part of Liurnia of the Lakes. He, too, will opine about how to reach Nokron, at which point you can go across the world to Castle Redmane and speak to its castellan, Jerren. Note that you’ll need to take the hard route around the southern side of the castle and defeat the Crucible Knight and Leonine Misbegotten boss.
Reach Jerren at the castle’s high point, and he’ll give you much the same information that Sellen does, though he’ll be much less patronizing about it. Return to Iji, and he can direct Blaidd to head to Castle Redmane to await the time to challenge the Starscourge.
Step 6: Return to Siofra River and Update Blaidd
Blaidd will be happy to learn how you and he can work together to progress Ranni’s mission. He mentions the festival at Radahn’s Castle Redmane in eastern Caelid. Make your way along the southern coast until you reach the bridge leading to the castle. Should the Radahn Festival be active, the portal on the western end of the bridge will be active, and you can take it past the fortifications. Or you could simply fast-travel to the Grace in front of the main courtyard.
Step 7: Defeat Starscourge Radahn
You cannot progress Blaidd or Ranni’s questline without defeating Starscourge Radahn, and like with the Darriwil fight; you don’t need to summon Blaidd at all. You can choose to do so if you want to make the fight easier and more cinematic. Regardless of your choice, Blaidd will appear near the boss arena’s Site of Grace. He’s eager to go where the falling star struck the earth and enter Nokron, which you’ll find in southern Limgrave, with a red flag mark on your map for ease of finding.
Step 8: Go to Forlorn Hound Evergaol and Free Blaidd
No matter how hard you search (and believe me, I’ve tried), Blaidd is nowhere to be found in Nokron. If you want to find where Blaidd is after you enter Nokron, you’ll need to look near where the whole mess started: the Forlorn Hound Evergaol. For reasons you’ll discover if you free him, Blaidd was imprisoned there by Iji, and you’ll hear his familiar howl from within as you approach. You can speak to him through the gate of the Gaol, and he’ll ask to be released. You don’t have to do this part of the quest, though it does open up some dialog with Iji.
Step 9: Complete Ranni’s Questline and Return to Ranni’s Rise
Once you’ve given Ranni the Dark Moon Ring and she’s told you to walk the path of Lords, return to Ranni’s Rise to find Blaidd mumbling to himself on the steps leading into the Rise. Sadly, the conflict between Ranni abandoning the fate the Two Fingers set for her and Blaidd’s undying loyalty to her has driven him insane. He’ll attack you without provocation, and while you can just leave him to his own devices, if you want his gear, you’ll have to kill him.
It’s not an easy fight, but you’ll receive his armor and greatsword if you defeat him. Well, except for his mask, which you’ll find on the ruined ramparts behind Selivus’s Rise.
Run up the crumbled stone to the right of the entrance to Selivus’s Rise and follow it around. A corpse will have a shiny on it: the Black Wolf Mask. It’s not technically Blaidd’s, belonging instead to the Baleful Shadow assassins you faced in Ranni’s quest. It is almost identical to Blaidd’s face, so you can use it to put on a good impression of him.
That’s how to find Blaidd and complete his quest. It’s a sad one that ends in you losing one of the best NPCs from the base game in typical Elden Ring fashion. You’ll likely find some things for Fia’s questline as you work with Blaidd. Blaidd’s Royal Greatsword is also a good choice for Strength/Intelligence builds, so make sure it’s up to snuff with our Bell Bearing guide. Check our Elden Ring guides hub for even more.
Published: Jul 21, 2023 12:37 pm