Fighting the Furnace Golems: How to Beat Elden Ring’s Newest Giant Threat

If you have been venturing through Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, chances are you’ve seen a Furnace Golem. The flaming, wrought-iron, wicker-man monoliths stride across the Realm of Shadow. Players who approach them are bombarded with fire and will be unable to do much damage by just hitting them with their weapons. You can beat a Furnace Golem in Elden Ring, however, and it is simpler than you might expect.

How do I beat a Furnace Golem in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?

The Furnace Golems are primarily fought by the player hacking at their ankles. Their burning feet are their primary weak point. By hitting them enough, players will stun and eventually topple the Golems. Once downed, you can run up and hit them in the face for a critical hit. This will take out over half of their health. From there, the cycle repeats. Knock the giant down, avoiding its stomps and arm swipes, by hacking at its legs, and then attack the metal face.

Fighting the Furnace Golems while riding on Torrent seems ideal. The double jumps you can do on horseback can be critical to dodging the waves of fire whenever the enemy uses its stomping attack. The ability to move more quickly allows you to evade everything, even the seeking fireballs it launches from its crown.

How do I defeat Furnace Golems with armor on their legs?

There are more dangerous variants of the Furnace Golem in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree too. In certain areas of the DLC, players will find versions with metal armor adorning their legs. They don’t take damage there, and they also can’t be staggered. Instead, they simply pepper you with fire. There is a way to beat them though, even though it is extremely risky. They are very weak against explosives.

If you have been picking up the Hefty Ritual Pots, you are halfway to taking them down. After finding the Greater Potentate’s Cookbooks, you will be able to craft bigger, better versions of the throwing pots. If you get the Hefty Fire Pot or ideally the Hefty Furnace Pots, then head onto a nearby high cliff (all of which have a Spiritspring jump nearby), you can throw the pots into the crown of the Furnace Golems. By doing this, you can take their health down much faster than you would by swinging a weapon at them.

The Hefty Furnace Pot can be made specifically by finding the Greater Potentate’s Cookbook 2. It is located in a shack to the north, under the Greatbridge. You can stop by the Run-Down Traveler’s Rest, which I highlighted on the map below:

Now, why would you want to fight these things that are easily capable of killing you in two stray hits? The answer is it nets you unique and varied Flask of Wondrous Physick Crystal Tears.

The very first Furnace Golem players are likely to encounter, which is north of the Scorched Ruins, drops a Crystal Tear that enhances your weapon block for five minutes. This allows you to pull off extremely Sekiro-esque maneuvers.

Here’s the map of its location:

These, a bevy of Runes for leveling, plus the Furnace visages used for crafting the pots to take down the armored Furnace Golems, are the primary rewards for fighting these types of foes. Defeating the normal versions makes the armored ones a simpler enemy to fight. However, these baddies have a good range of far-reaching abilities. Players will have to decide on their own whether or not it is worth the risk.

Elden Ring is available now on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. Shadow of the Erdtree, the newest expansion released on June 21, 2024