How to challenge Dryleaf Dane in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Elden Ring Dryleaf Dane quest — (Image credit: FromSoftware)

Confused about how to challenge Dryleaf Dane in Elden Ring: Shadows of the Erdtree? Maybe you just want to know how to unlock those cool Dryleaf Arts gloves from the trailer that let you kick people? Dryleaf Dane, a somewhat silent monk, leaves the Monk's Missive for you in a particular location, challenging you to a friendly punch-em up.

However, when you arrive ready and raring to kick Dane's teeth in, he won't talk to you for some reason. Here I'll explain where to find the Monk's Missive and how to get Dryleaf Dane to fight you so you can earn that cool new martial arts weapon.

Where to find the Monk's Missive

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Elden Ring Dryleaf Dane - Highroad Cross — You can find the Monk's Missive at Highroad Cross in Scadu Altus(Image credit: FromSoftware)

When you first arrive in the region of Scadu Altus, you can find the Monk's Missive at the Highroad Cross site of grace. Depending on how you got to the region, this might mean a bit of a walk. If you come through Castle Ensis, you'll find the grace immediately after the final boss, and the Monk's Missive item lying on the ground a little further on near to where Hornsent is standing.

If you come via the Fort of Reprimand, you'll need to follow the road north, past Moorth Ruins, and then bear south when you reach the fork in the road by the map pillar. Picking up the Monk's Missive will also give you the 'May the Best Win' gesture.

How to fight Dryleaf Dane

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Elden Ring Dryleaf Dane - May the Best Win — Use the 'May the Best Win' gesture next to Dryleaf Dane in Moorth Ruins(Image credit: FromSoftware)

The Monk's Missive challenges you to a fight with Dryleaf Dane to the east of the Highroad Cross site of grace. You can find Dryleaf Dane by the Moorth Ruins site of grace, though he won't talk to you when you get there for some reason. If you found Dane before you even got the missive, this will be extra confusing. What you need to do is use the 'May the best win' gesture next to him. This will immediately warp you into a fight with Dane.

While he deals quite a lot of damage, the fact he's using his fists and wearing monk robes—so has very little poise—makes him pretty easy to beat, though it might be a bit harder if you're also using a weapon with the same range as him. Once you beat Dane, you'll emerge from the fight to find a nice little note of encouragement from the monk, plus Dane's Hat and the Dryleaf Arts weapon.

As mentioned, these are those fancy martial arts gloves that were shown off in the trailer, so have fun kicking your way through the Land of Shadow.

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Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.