So, you finally made it to the Shadow Realm. You’ve beaten Mohg, touched the withered arm, and stepped into a world that makes the original Lands Between look like a summer vacation. But then you see it. On the horizon, a massive, walking wicker basket of death is stomping through the Gravesite Plain. Most people call them Furnace Golems, but the community has been obsessing over the Western Furnace of Fiery Embers—specifically the one guarding the western reaches of the map near the Ruined Forge Intake.
It's terrifying. Truly.
If you’ve played Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, you know FromSoftware doesn’t do "easy" introductions. These golems are basically environmental puzzles with a health bar the size of a skyscraper. They aren’t just enemies; they are mobile sieges. And honestly? The first time one of them kicks a wave of literal molten slag at your face, you’re probably going to die. It’s a rite of passage at this point.
What Actually Is the Western Furnace of Fiery Embers?
The lore behind these things is grim. Hidetaka Miyazaki and the team at FromSoftware pulled from historical "Wicker Man" imagery, but they turned the dial up to eleven. These furnaces were used during Messmer the Impaler's crusade to burn those who lacked grace. Inside those iron masks and woven legs? Piles of smoldering corpses.
The Western Furnace of Fiery Embers—the one located in the western plains near the cliffside—serves as a gatekeeper. It’s not just there for decoration. It drops specific Crystal Tears and Furnace Visages that you absolutely need for high-level crafting. But getting those drops isn't about hitting it until it dies. That’s a trap. If you try to chip away at its reinforced iron ankles with a standard katana, you’ll be there for three days. Or, more likely, you’ll get stomped into a pancake in thirty seconds.
The Strategy Nobody Tells You (Stop Hitting the Legs)
Most players approach the western golem the same way they approached the Fire Giant in the base game. They run in, get under the feet, and start swinging. While you can stagger a Furnace Golem by attacking its legs, the Western Furnace often has a twist: armor placement and terrain.
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Some of these golems have armored legs that take virtually zero damage. For the one situated in the western valley, you have to use the environment. Look for the high ground. Seriously. If you can get onto a cliffside or a spiritspring above the golem’s head, the fight changes completely.
The Pot Method
This is the "secret" that isn't really a secret but everyone forgets in the heat of battle. You need Hefty Fire Pots. Or, even better, Hefty Furnace Pots.
- Craft as many as you can.
- Get above the rim of the furnace.
- Aim for the open top.
- Throw.
When a pot lands inside the Western Furnace of Fiery Embers, the damage is astronomical. We are talking about chunks of health disappearing instantly. It turns a ten-minute slog into a thirty-second execution. It feels kinda like cheating, but in a game where the boss can kill you by jumping, it's just called "strategy."
Why the Western Location is Specifically Frustrating
The geography of the western Shadow Realm is jagged. You’ve got verticality everywhere. The golem in this sector often catches players off guard because they are trying to navigate to the nearby legacy dungeons or find Scadutree Fragments.
The Western Furnace has a nasty habit of pulling "aggro" from a ridiculous distance. You’ll be minding your own business, looking at a nice view of the Scadutree, and suddenly a rain of fireballs—each one tracked by a fairly aggressive AI—comes screaming toward you. It forces you to engage. You can’t just ignore it forever because it controls the flow of that entire sub-region.
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Misconceptions About the Fire Damage
I see people stacking fire resistance like crazy. While Flamedrake Talismans (especially the +3 version found in the DLC) help, they won't save you from a direct stomp. The damage from the Western Furnace of Fiery Embers is split. There’s the physical impact of a multi-ton iron foot and the lingering AOE of the embers.
If you’re jumping to avoid the fire wave, your timing has to be frame-perfect. You don't roll through the fire. You jump over it. Torrent is your best friend here, but he's also a liability. If Torrent gets spooked or hit, you're stuck in a long "falling" animation while the golem prepares its next stomp. It's a brutal loop.
The Rewards: Is It Actually Worth the Headache?
Honestly, yeah. The Western Furnace usually guards or drops the Deflecting Hardtear or similar high-tier concoctions for your Flask of Wondrous Physick.
The Deflecting Hardtear is a game-changer for players who like the "Sekiro" style of play. It enhances "spontaneous guards," meaning if you time your blocks perfectly, you take almost no stamina damage and can follow up with a massive guard counter. You literally cannot get this playstyle without taking down these furnaces.
Nuance in the Combat Design
There is a segment of the player base that thinks these golems are "bad design." They argue the hitboxes are wonky or the health pools are too high. I disagree. FromSoftware is trying to break your habits. They want you to stop playing it like an action-RPG for a second and play it like a tactical encounter.
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When you face the Western Furnace of Fiery Embers, you’re being tested on your awareness of the vertical map. If you stay on the ground, you are choosing the "hard mode" path. The game is subtly (or not so subtly) screaming at you to find a way to get above it.
Essential Checklist for the Fight
- Hefty Fly Pots/Furnace Pots: Don't leave home without them.
- Spiritsprings: Locate the nearby sealed springs to get the height advantage.
- The Jump Button: Forget the dodge roll for the fire waves. Jump.
- Patience: The golem has a long recovery time after it tries to grab you or do its massive jump. That’s your window.
The lore implications of these "fiery embers" also shouldn't be overlooked. These golems are essentially wandering tombs. They represent the "cleanse" that Messmer brought to the realm. When you extinguish one, you aren't just killing a monster; you're putting out a fire that has been burning since the beginning of the crusade. It's heavy stuff.
Practical Steps for Your Next Attempt
If you're staring at that giant wicker nightmare right now and wondering why you even play this game, take a breath.
First, go find the Greatjar in the nearby gaol to increase your crafting capacity. You need those Hefty Pots. Second, stop approaching from the main road. Circle around to the cliffs on the north-western side of the furnace's patrol route.
Once you’re positioned above it, wait for it to stop moving. If you throw a pot while it's mid-stride, you’ll probably miss and waste rare materials. Wait for the "stomp" animation to finish, then lob the pot into the basket.
Repeat this three to four times. The Western Furnace of Fiery Embers will collapse, the "Legend Felled" text will pop up, and you’ll walk away with some of the best buffs in the game. Then, you can finally get back to the real challenge: trying to figure out where the heck the next map fragment is hidden.