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Aside from challenging boss fights, beautiful vistas, and a range of items to find, Elden Ring also features a number of game-spanning NPC questlines that unfold as you progress through the Lands Between.
One of these sprawling questlines belongs to Millicent, an amnesia-stirken woman who is searching to uncover the mysteries of her past. Millicent’s story will take you across Elden Ring’s map and into some of the game’s most well-hidden areas.
Beginning Millicent’s Questline
To start Millicent’s questline you need to first meet a different NPC, an old sorcerer named Gowry. This character can be found at the entrance of Selia, Town of Sorcery in the center of Caelid.
Gowry will inform you that to the east, in a church, there is a girl on the verge of death. She is suffering from the Scarlet Rot, an illness that plagues the Lands Between, and he believes a specific item can help cure her. He will then task you with finding the Unalloyed Gold Needle.
Retrieving The Unalloyed Gold Needle
To find this crucial item you will need to head to the west of Selia, Town of Sorcery and into the Aeonia Swamp. When traveling through this swamp make sure to stay on Torrent, as you will take damage when on foot.
In the Northeastern corner of the swamp you will find a boss named Commander O’Neil. In order to get the needle, you will need to defeat him. This boss can be challenging, but there are a number of things that you can use to help you overcome him.
- Firstly, this boss fight allows you to use both spirit summons and your mount, Torrent - utilize both of these to gain an advantage.
- O’Neil’s biggest threat is the enemies that he summons to fight alongside him. Use Torrent to clear the additional enemies before taking on the commander. Be careful of his AOE attacks, these will deal Rot damage, which can quickly reduce your health to zero.
Having defeated Commander O’Neil, return to Gowry and give him the Unalloyed Gold Needle. He will reward you with the Secret of Selia, an item that will allow you to uncover a number of secrets that this abandoned town holds.
Gowry will then request that you give him some time with the needle - simply reload the area and return to his shack to progress the questline. He will now ask you to take the needle to Millicent at the Church of the Plague.
Finding Millicent
To find Millicent you will need to travel to the Church of Plague, east of Selia, and south of Fort Faroth, the area holding one half of the Dectus Medallion. For a full guide on how to find both parts of the Dectus Medallion check out our guide on how to active the Grand Lift of Dectus.
Once you have arrived at the church, clear out the enemies, touch the site of grace and approach Millicent. Currently, she will be lying beside the right-hand inner wall of the church as you enter, by the grace site.
Speak with her until you get the option to give her the Unalloyed Gold Needle. Finish her dialogue making sure she has no new things to say and then reload the area.
Having reloaded the area, Millicent will now be standing and completely cured of her affliction. She will now thank you and give the Prosthesis-wearer Heirloom as a reward for helping her.
With the needle piercing into her, she has begun to recall hints of her past and will tell you she is going to begin a journey to discover who she truly is.
Return To Gowry’s Shack
Following your interactions with Millicent, return to Gowry’s shack to find her there alone. She returned here in order to say goodbye to someone, although she can not remember who.
After your conversation with Millicent, reload the area once more to find Gowry back in his usual spot. Gowry will task you with making sure Millicent goes unharmed on her journey. He will then hint at your next task, suggesting that she would be safer if she found a way to replace her missing arm.
Talk To Millicent At Erdtree Gazing Hill
Now you will need to progress your game to the Altus Plateau area, which can be reached either through a secret tunnel north of Raya Lucaria Academy (start at site of grace called The Ravine) or by ascending the Grand Lift of Dectus.
To progress Millicent’s story here simply exhaust her dialogue at the Erdtree Gazing Hill location pictured above. During this conversation, she apologizes for not aiding you on your journey thus far. Lamenting her missing sword arm.
Finding The Valkyrie's Prosthesis
As has been hinted by both Gowry and Millicent, your next step in this questline will be to find a sword arm for this red-haired NPC. To locate this item, aptly named The Valkyrie’s Prosthesis, you will need to travel to the north of the Altus Plateau.
Specifically, travel to The Shaded Castle in the location pictured above. This area is riddled with enemies that cause poison so make sure to stock up on Neutralizing Boluses in order to alleviate the effect.
Once you have arrived at The Shaded Castle, stick to the left-hand side of the castle’s inner wall. Eventually, you will come to a tower guarded by a Valkyrie. Defeat her, and inside there will be a chest containing the Valkyrie’s Prosthesis.
Return To Millicent And Give Her The Valkyrie’s Prosthesis
Having found this important item, simply return to Millicent in the exact location that you last found her, and progress her dialogue until you get the option to give her the Prosthesis.
At this point, she will tell you that, at last, she will be able to use a sword again and hopes to help you on your journey.
Speak To Millicent At The Windmill Village
For your last interaction with Millicent on the Altus Plateau, you will need to head to the far northern region of this area. Travel north until you reach the Windmill Village.
In the village, you will find an ominous collection of dancing crones, most of which are passive. However, ones with red eyes will attack, so keep on your guard. Journey through the village until you reach its summit and take on the boss.
This boss can be found as a regular enemy throughout the later stages of the game, so, depending on your level, it should fall with relative ease - use Torrent to circle the enemy to make it a little easier.
Having beaten the boss, touch the site of grace to reload the area, and you will find Millicent standing close by. Once again, exhaust her dialogue to progress the story and move her to the next location.
Travel To The Snow Valley Ruins
The next step in Millicent’s questline will, once again, need you to progress the story. Notably, you will need to have felled Margott, a boss located in Leyndell, the Royal Capital.
Here, Millicent will tell you that she is searching for a fort to the north of her location. This fort supposedly holds a medallion that allows entry to an area known as the Haligtree. In this location, Millicent believes she will find Malenia.
For a full guide on how to reach this area, and begin the final steps of Millicent’s questline, check out our guide on how to reach Miquella’s Haligtree.
Find Millicent In The Prayer Room
Once you have accessed the Haligtree and explored it somewhat, you will come across a site of grace named the Prayer Room. Here, if you have completed all the steps above, you will find Millicent, who is reaching the end of her journey across Elden Ring’s vast map.
Here, Millicent will reveal her full backstory to you. She is of Malenia’s blood. Daughter, sister, or distant relative she does not know, but she is sure she must return to this long-lost family member. Once again, exhaust her dialogue here to progress the story.
Defeat The Rot Worm At The Elphael Inner Wall
Continue through the area until you reach this site of grace - travel down the roots of Haligtree, through each of the rot swamps until you reach the pit of rot with a stone pillar jutting out from its surface. This area requires some careful platforming so be careful with your jumps as you travel down the tree.
The Rot Worm will spawn upon entering the swamp of rot. However, you do not need to stay in this deadly pool while fighting the creature. Remain on the swamp’s edge to avoid rot build-up and more safely dispatch the worm.
Reload the area and return to where the Rot Worm was. Now, you can make the final decision in Millicent’s questline.
Ending One: Assist Millicent
On a ledge to the right-hand side of the Rot Worm’s pool, you will find two summoning marks. One of these marks will be golden, the other red. Choose the golden mark to assist Millicent.
You will be transported to Millicent’s world, in which you will assist her in taking on a quartet of invaders. Help Millicent one last time, killing these enemies that wish to see her dead.
Having defeated Millicent’s hunters you will be returned to your world to find her lying prone upon the shore of the rot pool. Here, she will explain that she has removed the needle you had given to her so long ago in fear of becoming something which she is not. She instead has chosen to allow the rot to take her at last.
Return here after loading the area to find Millicent dead, and her golden needle there to be taken. Her last request was for you to return the needle to the person who gave it to you.
So with that in mind, return to Gowry. He will reveal that Malenia was indeed Millicent’s mother and that your NPC friend was close to “flowering” into something the world has never seen before. He will despair at Millicent’s death, but his sadness seems more for the death of the rot than the girl.
Having retrieved the needle, it can be used at the end of the Malenia boss fight to gain an item that can alter the ending of Elden Ring.
Ending Two: Challenge Millicent
In this ending, simply choose the red summon sign. Now you will join Millicent’s hunters and end her journey yourself. A rather cruel act after helping her for so long. Having killed her here, you can return to Dowry to find him dead.
This choice concludes this game-spanning questline; a story that follows one of Elden Ring’s most interesting and brave characters.
