The Elden Ring Freyja quest in Shadow of the Erdtree is one of the shorter stories in the expansion but it could be more straightforward. Depending on how you explore the realm of shadow, it's easy to miss a step and lose track of this warrior entirely. Ahem.

Freyja's storyline is made more tricky in that she stays put for quite a while and then moves when a specific event happens. Of course, if you're not aware of the significance of that event, it's easy to rush ahead and mess up the quest. So, with that in mind, learn from my mistakes as I guide you through the correct way to complete the Freyja quest in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Just be aware of potential spoilers past this point. 

Elden Ring Freyja quest steps 

• After first speaking with Freyja at the Three-Path Cross site of grace, you can summon her for the Dancing Lion boss in Belurat, Tower Settlement. 
• After the great rune is broken at the shadow keep and the charmed dispelled, she explains she’s leaving to uncover the truth of a vow. 
• You can summon Freyja to fight the Golden Hippopotamus at the Shadow Keep.
• Find Freyja near the top of the Specimen Storehouse in the Shadow Keep and talk to her until she mentions Ansbach.
• Find Ansbach on the ground floor and tell him about Freyja. He’ll give you a letter so return to her and give her the letter.
• Fight Freyja in a late-game confrontation. After the battle is over, you’ll get her greatsword and armour.

Where to find Freyja

Redmane Freyja is hard to miss as she's standing at the Three-Path Cross site of grace in Gravesite Plain, which is likely to be one of the first places you'll rest when starting the DLC. She'll tell you that she fought alongside General Radahn and urges you to speak with Hornsent, the other NPC hanging out nearby, for a map with the locations of other Miquella Crosses.

Once you make your way through Belurat, Tower Settlement, you'll find Freyja's summon sign outside the boss room. Though this seems to be an optional step, you'll be rewarded with a bit of extra dialogue when you return to speak to her at the Three-Path Cross afterwards.

Freyja will stay where she is until you approach the Shadow Keep, over on the east side of the map in Scadu Altus. When you get the notification that the great rune is broken and the curse dispelled, you'll be able to continue with the next step of her quest. 

Return to Freyja and she'll explain that she's leaving to uncover the truth of a vow.

Where to find Freyja in the Shadow Keep

Now it's time to venture into the imposing Shadow Keep. There are two ways to get into the castle—you can either head in through the front door, though there's a soldier camp right outside. Alternatively, you can make your way up from the south, through Moorth Ruins, and past the cathedral where you find Count Ymir—take the path to the northwest of the Church District Highroad site of grace and enter the keep through the tunnel.

If you choose to go in through the front door, you'll be confronted pretty quickly with the Golden Hippopotamus boss. Luckily, Freyja's summon sign is outside the boss room to lend a hand, as well as the Hornsent, though this also seems to be an optional step in her quest.

If you happen to stumble into the Shadow Keep before returning to Freyja at her original location and speaking to her, she'll move straight to the location detailed below, and her summon sign won't appear here.

Either way, you can now find Freyja attempting to read a tablet and grumbling to herself quite loudly by the Storehouse, Seventh Floor site of grace, which you'll find near the top of the area. Talk to her and she explains that she should've asked Ansbach for his knowledge while she had the chance, but won't elaborate further. 

Where to get the Letter to Freyja

If you've progressed Ansbach's quest to the point where he tells you he's scared of Miquella when you speak to him after the great rune is broken, you can now find him in the Specimen Storehouse.  

• From the Storehouse, First Floor site of grace, head left around the specimen in the centre of the room.
• Look for the stairs ahead of you that go up to the left.
• Take another left past a couple of bookcases, then right and down the stairs into a room with a stone altar and a skeleton. 
• Ansbach is in the corner of this room.

Talk to Ansbach and you'll get the option to tell him about Freyja, prompting some interesting dialogue. He'll give you the item, Letter for Freyja to pass on to her. 

A quick note if you're doing Leda's quest: you can safely aid her in fighting Ansbach because the letter will be one of the items he drops—just be aware that this will end Ansbach's quest here if you do. Give Freyja the letter and she'll give you some significant story info and reward you with the Golden Lion Shield.  

Final encounter with Freyja in Enir Ilim

You'll come up against Freyja in the confrontation right before the final boss fight, which gives additional context to her character. Once the fight is over, you'll find Freyja's Greatsword and Freyja's Armor set on her body.

If you don't give Freyja the letter, either because you choose not to or you didn't meet Ansbach in time, you technically won't be able to finish the quest. If you return to her location in the storehouse after the confrontation where you would've fought her before the final boss, you'll find her weapon and armor set.

Both scenarios reward you with Freyja's greatsword and armor. In both cases, you can loot the set from her corpse, but the key difference is you won't get the Golden Lion Shield without the letter.