How to beat the Furnace Golem in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Fire stomp with me.
Furnace Golems are a new giant enemy in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and very likely the first one you can visibly see when you first set foot in the Shadow Realm. They may seem intimidating and likely something you want to make a wide berth of at first, but they can actually be easily defeated if you know what to do.
These giant Wicker men with furnaces for heads can be found roaming in each area of the Elden Ring DLC, and while not every encounter is completely identical, they can nonetheless be defeated in the same way. They are also akin to this expansion’s Erdtree Avatars as they drop new Crystal Tears that can be used in your Flask of Wondrous Physick as well as a Furance Visage, an important crafting material.
This guide will provide you with all the information you need to defeat a Furnace Golem in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree and make the Shadow Realm a little less dangerous to explore.
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How to prepare for the Furnace Golem in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
For the most part in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, Furnace Golems can be seen quite clearly from a distance so you can choose to engage one whenever you’re ready. It’s going to be essential that you approach these fights while riding your spectral steed.
Ensure you have high vigor and endurance stats and armour with high fire resistance to withstand eating one of its attacks, but what’s more important is being agile while on horseback. One note of caution is that Furnace Golems can also be deadly at range so, if you’re unsure whether to fight one, it’s better to avoid it completely as attempting to retreat can just as easily be your own undoing. Retreating without your spectral steed is almost certainly a bad idea.
If a Furnace Golem spots you from a distance, some can also attack with a powerful heat ray that has both a long and wide range. This is specifically the case for the Furance Golem found in Rauh Ancient Ruins, so you’ll have to try and avoid this attack, while also navigating quite a narrow path, before you can even reach it.
How to defeat the Furnace Golem in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
To fight a Furnace Golem in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, you have to stay close to it because its weakness is its feet, and the only part of its body you can target anyway. It also appears feature the charred remains of victims who had been tied around it as a kind of sacrifice, hence the Wicker Man vibes.
It won’t just take your attacks lying down though because it routinely raises its foot, which also lights up, before stomping on the ground creating a deadly fire AOE. You won’t be able to avoid this attack on your feet, which is why you have to attack it while on horseback.
Just equip your most powerful melee weapon and go for standard attacks, but don’t get greedy as you want to avoid being stuck in an attack animation or have low stamina when the golem raises its feet. You cue to jump is when the golem is about to stomp down, though we recommend double-jumping to be on the safe side to ensure you clear the fire AOE which sweeps the ground. It may, however, begin to fire-stomp with its other foot in quick succession, so, if that happens, don’t resume attacking until you’ve jumped clear of this one.
It should take between five or seven hits of the same foot for Furnace Golem to be stunned; indicated by the foot emitting more of a glow as it kind of spews out more flames, along with the same sound effect for when an enemy has been staggered. But while it will be momentarily stunned, that’s actually your cue to start going to work on the other foot and you should get a couple of free hits.
You do, however, need to be aware of the other attacks it has. The least worrying will be one where it slams its hand down on the ground, which also emits flames around it. As this is usually an attack at the front, as long as you’re staying at its feet from behind this won’t affect you at all.
A much deadlier alternative to the fire-stomp is a stomp with both feet at the same time, kind of like a slow-motion jump and ground-pound, which is followed by a huge explosion that’s powerful enough to one-shot you. While this can be avoided by jumping while on horseback, our experience is that you can still get hit by the blast if you’re still close. Due to this, we recommend riding away to get some distance when the Furnace Golem lifts both feet in the air to be on the safe side. This attack also isn’t as fast as the regular fire-stomp so you should be able to get away in time.
Other forms of the Furnace Golem may also have additional attacks, with one has fireballs raining down to keep you away from its feet. These can also transform into homing fireballs and, if even one hits you, there’s a good chance you’ll get caught by the others, burning you to a crisp quickly.
A rarer attack is where the Furnace Golem crouches down and cranes its furnace head downwards, which then blasts out a deadly fire ray, frying everything in front of it. This is worse from a distance so, if you’re already fighting it, you can easily get behind it and just continue your attacks.
Once you stagger the second foot, you’ll actually find that you have to repeat the process again on the alternate foot. You may also realise that all this time, you’ve just been barely chipping away at the Furnace Golem’s health bar. But don’t worry, you’re getting there! After the third time you get the stagger audio cue, the giant Wicker Man will actually collapse to the ground and this is your cue to go in for massive damage. As it’s a big fella, ride around the head and use lock-on targeting to locate its mask to the side of the furnace. When you’ve found it, get off your horse and approach the mask to deliver a riposte attack and this will knock over half its health.
While this is a devastating attack, there’s a few caveats. The direction of where the mask on the furnace is facing when the Furnace Golem topples over is not always the same. Don’t panic too much though as, compared to other staggered enemies, you have considerably more time before it recovers from this state. It is, however, possible that the mask is unreachable due to where it’s positioned. In some cases, especially if you’re fighting on an uneven surface, it may either have sunk below the ground or even dangle over rocky terrain where it’s just slightly out of reach for you to execute a riposte. You’ll still be able to attack it while it’s down, but you just won’t get the riposte damage bonus.
Should everything go according to plan, if you knock down a Furnace Golem twice and successfully riposte it both times, that will be enough to destroy it.
There are, however, several Furnace Golems (including near Charo’s Hidden Grave and on the way to the Cathedral of Manus Metyr) whose feet are protected by iron (its sacrificial victims seemingly imprisoned in iron cages) that cannot be attacked in this fashion. Instead, you’ll find that you can use Torrent to reach higher ground, and from there it’s possible to damage the Furnace Golem by throwing cracked pots directly into its furnace head.
Furnace Golem rewards in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Defeating a Furnace Golem in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree offers a number of rewards. At the minimum you’ll gain at least 10,000 runes but this may be higher depending on the Furnace Golem you defeat. Which, to be honest, isn't a whole lot especially at the late-game level you’re likely at.
You will, however, also receive a Furnace Visage, an important crafting material, as well as one of many new Crystal Tears, which can be used to provide new benefits in a Flask of Wondrous Physick.
Continue to next boss: Demi-Human Swordsmaster Onze
Need more help? Jump back to our list of Shadow of The Erdtree bosses or our Shadow of The Erdtree tips and tricks.