How to defeat Elden Ring’s Furnace Golems in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC 

While exploring Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, players might come across some Furnace Golems. These walking baskets of flame roam the large open areas of the Land of Shadow and attack players who enter their line of sight. Although Furnace Golems may seem intimidating at first, they can be relatively easy to defeat and drop some of the best items in the game. 

Where can you find Furnace Golems? 

One Furnace Golem can be found in each of these seven locations: Charo’s Hidden Grave, Shadow Keep (just before entering the keep), Scorched Ruins, Scadu Atlus (east of the Cathedral of Manus Metyr), Rauh Ancient Ruins, Cerulean Coast, and Ruins of Unte. The eighth golem is tricky to find as it is unlit and requires the player to use a Hefty Furnace Pot (this can be crafted using 2 Redflesh Mushroom, 2 Ember of Messmer, and 1 Furnace Visage from the remains of other defeated Furnace Golems). Players must throw this item at the sleeping golem in the Ruins of Unte (near where the active Furnace Golem can be found) to bring it to life so they can fight it. 

Dealing with Furnace Golems at range is a high-risk, high-reward tactic 

Fighting a Furnace Golem from a distance is usually a bad idea. Its aggro range is quite large, and its far-range attacks (such as its fireballs) cover a wide area. That said, bow and magic users will be able to go straight to attacking a Furnace Golem’s face plate, which is its weak point. Players who use the terrain to their advantage can also throw Hefty Fire Pots or Hefty Furnace Pots into the basket on top of the golem’s head NBA-style to deal large amounts of damage. These methods come with substantial risks, however, as a Furnace Golem can easily target stationary players who are aiming at them from this range. 

Close-range attacks with Torrent are a slower but surer tactic 

The less risky but more time-consuming method for taking down a Furnace Golem requires players to adopt hit-and-run tactics with Torrent. Torrent’s maneuverability lets players get in close and avoid a Furnace Golem’s initial projectile attacks. Once in melee range, players have to hack at the Furnace Golem’s legs until the enemy becomes staggered. It takes three staggers to topple a Furnace Golem, after which you can attack its face.  

It should be noted that Furnace Golems won’t let players attack their legs easily and will mainly use two attacks to get their attackers to back off. The most common attack is a single-foot stomp that deals physical damage and emits a horizontal fire shockwave that covers a good amount of ground. This attack can easily be avoided by using Torrent to jump over both the stomp and the shockwave. The second attack is a double-foot stomp that, in addition to the damage types done by the single-foot stomp, will create a fire shockwave that covers the area around the Furnace Golem’s feet. This attack cannot be jumped over, so you must move away from the Furnace Golem as soon as you see both of its feet start to glow. 

A Furnace Golem will occasionally mix in other attacks such as an arm swipe or arm drop depending on where players are, but these are easily avoided by taking advantage of Torrent’s superior movement speed. Other Furnace Golems have armor on their legs, making it harder to stagger them. Players are advised to always remain on their trusty steed (even when attacking) so that they can make a quick getaway if the Furnace Golem decides to execute its more wide-reaching moves. Provided their weapons and character are of adequate level (150 and up), it should take around two or three critical strikes at the Furnace Golem’s face plate to defeat it.  

What rewards does a Furnace Golem drop? 

In addition to the Furnace Visages that can be used to create Hefty Furnace Pots, each Furnace Golem drops a unique Crystal Tear that can be mixed into the Flask of Wondrous Physick. These range from the Glovewort Crystal Tear (which increases the attack power of summoned spirits) to the Bloodsucking Cracked Tear (which increases attack power at the cost of draining health). Considering there are no Avatar enemies in the Land of Shadow, players should be on the lookout for Furnace Golems and defeat them whenever they can to gain these goodies.