Shadow of the Erdtree: How to fight furnace golems? Elden Ring guide, walkthrough

During your journey through Shadow of the Erdtree you will encounter several fire giants, powerful opponents that can make life significantly miserable. On this page of the guide to Elden Ring DLC we have described how to fight these flaming golems.

Last update: 08 July 2024

In the Realm of Shadow you will encounter huge unique enemies - furnace golems, war machines of the demigod Messmer. These are dangerous enemies that don't respawn after death, deal huge damage, and attack with powerful fire artillery. Fighting them is long and requires some unusual strategy, but it's also worth the effort because you'll get new Crystal Tears from them. On this page of the guide, we described how to fight these fire giants and how to create the items required to defeat them.

• How to fight fire giants?
• How to fight armored fire giants?
• How to craft Hefty Furnace Pots?
• What are the rewards for defeating golems?

How to fight fire giants?

Furnace golems are divided into two types - armored and unarmored. You will recognize them by the iron armor around their legs. Armored golems require the use of a specific item, and we will describe the strategy for dealing with them below. Unarmored golems can be defeated immediately, although this will require patience.

When fighting a furnace golem, the most important thing is to get close as quickly as possible. Torrent, our spectral steed, is indispensable for this clash. The golem will attack mainly with bursts that cover the ground with fire. If one of his legs starts to burn, he will immediately stomp on one leg - double jump on Torrent to avoid the flames. If both legs start to burn, move away from the opponent and double jump to avoid the flames and explosion. The boss will stomp with one foot more frequently as his health decreases, performing combinations of up to three stomps.

The process of defeating the golem is tedious, but easy to understand - you have to constantly slash at its legs to break its posture. Eventually you will hear the sound of the body breaking and the golem will stagger. Keep attacking, but be careful not to run out of stamina, which you also need to jump over enemy attacks. When you stagger the golem three times, it will fall. Approach its face (where an orange light is glowing) and deal a critical hit to take half of its health. Two takedowns and two critical hits are enough to defeat the enemy.

How to fight armored fire giants?

Armored fire golems are immune to this tactic due to the armor surrounding their legs. Ranged fighters can shoot the faces on their bodies. However, melee characters need to use Hefty Fire Pots introduced in the DLC. Next to each armored golem there is a high point that you must reach. Encourage the golem to come closer, and when it gets very close to you, throw a pot into the fireplace on its head. This will deal high damage to it - four thrown pots should be enough to eliminate the opponent.

You must be extremely cautious - if you run out of pots, you will have to withdraw or make more pots in the midst of the battle while the golem is attacking. Regardless of whether you hit or miss, the ingredients used to create the pot are lost forever when you throw them - you won't get them back after death or after resting at a Site of Grace. This may prove to be quite challenging as some of these components are extremely scarce or have a restricted quantity in the game.

How to craft Hefty Furnace Pots?

The item you need is the Hefty Furnace Pot - this is the best weapon against Furnace Golems. Before collecting ingredients, make sure you have at least four Hefty Cracked Pots - the number you have determines the maximum number of throwing pots you can craft. Cracked Pots are also the only ingredient you keep after throwing the pot.

The recipe for the Hefty Furnace Pot is included in the Greater Potentate's Cookbook [2] - you can find it in the cottage just west of the Ellac Greatbridge. The ingredients are as follows:

1. Redflesh Mushroom - A common ingredient found throughout the Realm;
2. Ember of Messmer - an ingredient dropped by some enemies in Shadow Keep;
3. Furnace Visage - a very rare ingredient found on destroyed golems. You can find many of them when leaving the Shadow Keep canals - we have explained how to get there on a separate guide page.

If you can't find the materials for Hefty Furnace Pots, you can craft Hefty Fire Pots instead - they deal less damage, so you'll probably need to craft more of them mid-fight, but the ingredients required to craft them are more common. The recipe for them is included in the Greater Potentate's Cookbook [1] which can be found in the Scorched Ruins in the Gravesite Plain.

What are the rewards for defeating golems?

Each golem you defeat will reward you with one Furnace Visage and a new, unique crystal tear, which you can use to brew Flasks of Wondrous Physick. Each golem drops a different tear with different effects:

1. Deflecting Hardtear - dropped by the golem in the Gravesite Plain, near the Scorched Ruins. When drunk, it gives you the ability to "parry" with any weapon - both your block and your counterattack after blocking will become stronger if you press the block button right before you are hit. This tear will allow you to parry all melee attacks even without a shield, making the fight more similar to, for example, Sekiro or Lies of P.
2. Glovewort Crystal Tear - dropped by the golem in Charo’s Hidden Grave, just west of the Cerulean Coast. When drunk, increases the damage dealt by summoned spirits.
3. Viridian Hidden Tear - dropped by the golem near the Ellac River, south of the Gravesite Plain. When consumed, it grants you temporary infinite stamina.
4. Crimsonburst Dried Tear - dropped by the golem just before the main entrance to the Shadow Keep. After drinking, it automatically regenerates the health of the player's allies - it has no effect on your character.
5. Cerulean-Sapping Cracked Tear - dropped by the golem east of the Cathedral of Manus Metyr. After drinking, you regenerate focus when hitting enemies.
6. Oil-Soaked Tear - dropped by the golem at the exit from the Shadow Keep sewers. When consumed, it automatically covers nearby enemies with oil, which increases your fire damage.
7. Bloodsucking Cracked Tear - dropped by the golem at the exit from the Shadow Keep sewers. The golem is inactive and lies in front of the entrance to the Ruins of Unte - you must activate it by creating and throwing a Hefty Furnace Pot into its inactive furnace. Then you have to defeat the enemy. When drunk, it temporarily increases the damage dealt at the cost of a gradual loss of health points.
8. Crimson-Sapping Cracked Tear - dropped by the golem in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. After drinking, striking enemies temporarily regenerates your health.