The Unalloyed Gold Needle, made of unsullied gold, is an important quest item in Elden Ring. Gold is regarded as one of the noble metals as it does not suffer from Rot or Rust. This intricate golden needle is said to be capable of resisting the devastating Scarlet Rot plaguing the Lands Between.
In the game, this tiny needle is involved in a long questline involving important Demigods like Miquella, Malenia, and an engaging NPC called Millicent.
This needle was originally created by Miquella in an attempt to cure his twin sister Malenia of the Scarlet Rot. For us, it is an item we need to repair and deliver to Millicent, so that the Scarlet Rot growing within her subsides.
Later on, you can alter the Unalloyed Gold Needle into Miquella’s Needle after defeating Malenia and completing Millicent’s quest. Doing this enables you to get an alternate ending in Elden Ring.
Just like how it can change the ending of the game, the needle itself undergoes a transformative journey during your playthrough. You can find it very early in your game, almost as soon as you reach Caelid.
You can access Caelid from the very starting area in Limgrave by getting trapped in the transporter chest found inside the Dragon-Burnt Ruins. The needle’s journey comes to an end in Crumbling Farum Azula, the final location of the game, just before your own journey of Lands Between concludes.
How to Use Unalloyed Gold Needle?
We will show in steps how to use the unalloyed Gold Needle and what it does in the Elden Ring,
- Get the quest to Retrieve the Needle from Gowry, in Gowry’s Shack, Caelid.
- Defeat Commander O’Neil in Aeonia Swamp, Caelid and get the broken Unalloyed Gold Needle as a drop.
- Take the Needle Back to Gowry and get it repaired. You can reload the area by resting at the Site of Grace when he asks you to wait.
- Take the Needle to Millicent, and give it to her to start her questline. You won’t have the needle for a long while after this interaction.
- Next, you will need to complete all of Millicent’s questline by choosing to help her instead of fighting and killing her. Helping her makes you able to retrieve the Unalloyed Gold Needle back. The whole of this journey might take hours and you will have progressed to the late game when it is all done.
- Take the Unalloyed Gold Needle with you to use in the Malenia’s Boss fight arena. There you will be prompted to use it on the blossoming Scarlet Aeonia. This will transform it into Miquella’s Needle.
- Miquella’s Needle can be used in Farum Azula, in the area where you fight Dragon Lord Placidusax. Use the item directly from your inventory here to undo the Flame of Frenzy. This is the final destination of Unalloyed Gold Needle’s journey.
How and Where to Use Miquella’s Needle?
The game will not prompt you to use Miquella’s Needle at any point in time. You will have to use it from the inventory yourself just like you would use a consumable item. Additionally, you can only use it in one place. Use it in the eye of the storm of Crumbling Farum Azula, where you fight Dragon Lord Placidusax.
Lore of Unalloyed Gold Needle
We know that the needle was crafted by Miquella to fend off the influence of the Outer God of Rot that caused the disease of Scarlet Rot in his sister Malenia. These siblings shared a close bond even though they both were born under a curse. Unlike Malenia’s Scarlet Rot, Miquella was cursed to be in a child’s body forever.
Just like Miquella, Malenia was also very protective of her twin sibling. She was known as the Sword of Miquella. At the same time, Miquella wanted to heal Malenia’s Scarlet Rot by creating the Unalloyed Gold Needle. The needle worked to stave off the Scarlet Rot till it finally broke when Malenia was fighting Radahn unleashing the Scarlet Rot upon Lands Between.
Even though the Needle did not work to completely heal Malenia, it still proves the affection and the attachment the twin siblings have for each other. The unalloyed Gold Needle was a cumulation of the love and devotion Miquella had for his sister Malenia.
Later in the game, Sage Gowry asks us to get the Needle for his adopted daughter Millicent. She is also afflicted with Scarlet Rot. We find her close to death and giving the needle to her stops the pain caused by Rot and makes her able to travel the Lands Between again.
During Millicent’s Journey, we meet her in various places. She expresses her gratitude and thanks us for her newfound hope and freedom. You can even summon her as an NPC to help in various boss battles. She will carry the Unalloyed Gold Needle till she succumbs to her final fate. Whether it be by you killing her or her falling in battle.
Changing the Unalloyed Gold Needle to Miquella’s Needle makes it able to cure the Frenzied Flame. The true purpose of the needle was to repel the Outer Gods and their power. I believe the needle was initially made to cure the Frenzied Flame and was later modified by Miquella using unalloyed pure gold to cure the Scarlet Rot.
