How to speak to Dryleaf Dane in ER Shadow of the Erdtree
You need to perform a specific Emote to get Dryleaf Dane to speak to you in Elden Ring, but which one?
The enigmatic Dryleaf Dane is one of the coolest new characters in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
A master of the Dryleaf Arts, Dane is a hand-to-hand combat expert and if you want to punch a dragon, you’re going to have to impress him by challenging him to a one-on-one battle. Which is easier said than done - literally.
When you encounter him at the Moorth Ruins Site of Grace just to the east of the Highroad Cross after defeating Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, he’ll be totally silent, greeting any attempt you make to speak to him with a stoic ellipsis.
But, if you read the Monk’s Missive he left for you at the nearby Highroad Cross of Miquella, you can glean a small clue. Would you be surprised if I told you that you already have everything you need to speak to Dryleaf Dane? Well, here’s what you need to do.
How to speak to Dryleaf Dane in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
To speak to Dryleaf Dane, approach him and perform the “may the best win” emote.
You automatically collected the emote when you picked up the Monk's Missive, but it’s very easy to miss about in the elation of overcoming Rellana and discovering this huge new area.
Get close enough to Dane that his “talk” interaction appears at the bottom of the screen, otherwise the emote won’t work.
To perform an emote, open the start menu and use the d-pad to move across to the right-hand side of the screen and hover over one of the emotes. Press triangle on a PlayStation controller or Y on an Xbox controller to “switch” and open the emote menu. Then press square on PlayStation or X on Xbox to “test now” on the may the best win emote.
This will trigger a scene transition where you challenge Dane to a battle, where he will likely show you the power of his Dryleaf Arts by completely battering you until you learn his attack patterns. If you have an AoE or ranged attack (like the Ash of War on Rellana’s Twinblade for instance) this fight is much easier, since you can quickly overwhelm Dane by staggering him before he can get in close.
If you’re still scratching your head as to how you were supposed to ever figure this out on your own, inside the Monk’s Missive Dane told you to challenge him nearby and that “no words are necessary”. This was supposed to be a clue to use an emote rather than talk to him.
This mechanic actually appears again later in the DLC, even more esoterically, when you need to access the Hinterlands towards the end-game of Shadow of the Erdtree.