How to kill the Wicker Men in ER Shadow of the Erdtree

How to kill the Wicker Men-slash-Furnace Golems in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is a bit of a process, and it involves using a new crafted item you can easily overlook for most of the expansion. The Furnace Golem wicker men act as guards in each region of the Land of Shadow, with one stomping around the middle of a main road. You can just ignore them and go on about your business, or you can take them down and earn new Crystal Tears for your Flask of Wondrous Physik, which is the better option once you’re able to.

Our guide for how to kill the Wicker Men Furnace Golems in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree explains their weaknesses and what you need to do to exploit them.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: How to kill the Furnace Golem Wicker Men

Furnace Golems have an obvious-looking weakness – their little face masks. The not-so-obvious part is how to reach them, and the answer is you normally can’t. Some Furnace Golems stomp around areas with elevated terrain, and you can climb up to target their weak points more easily. When you’re on the ground, level with their giant feet, you have few ways to aim that high without using a bow and greatarrows or spells such as night comet. They also have a weak point on their back, in the small opening amid the wire mesh.

The downside about using those targeting options is that you’re vulnerable to attack while you aim, and the Furnace Golem’s attacks are brutal.

The golems will kick a spray of flaming rocks at you when they spot you from a distance, and the range is incredibly long. If you’re on Torrent, try galloping to the side as fast as you can, and double jump right when the rocks reach you for a chance at avoiding them.

If you’re not using spells to target high-up weak spots, you need to hit the legs – assuming the golem in question doesn’t have leg armor, which some of the late-game ones do. Whack at either or both legs with your melee weapon, or use spells with high damage scaling or, ideally, spells that can break poise easily.

Furnace Golems have a few more attacks when you’re up close. They’ll frequently raise a leg and stomp it down, creating a shockwave of fire that spreads out from the golem. Double jump on Torrent to avoid it, or dodge-roll forward if you’re on foot. They almost always follow one such stomp with a stomp from the other leg, so keep an eye out for that.

Sometimes, they’ll jump in the air and crash down, sending an even bigger, deadlier flame wave out. Dodge it the same way, but don't jump too soon. There's an initial explosion before the wave of flame comes rushing toward you.

I recommend increasing your Revered Spirit Ash level at least twice before trying to battle Furnace Golem. Revered Ash increases Torrent’s health and reduces his incoming damage, so he’s more likely to survive an accidental hit from the golem if you’ve enhanced him a bit. It’s also a good idea to have health restoratives for Torrent on your shortcut bar. Don't forget to use Scadutree Fragments to buff yourself as well.

After several hits, the golem will fall flat on the ground. You might get lucky and have easier access to the face plate, which you can attack with your melee weapon to deal heavy damage – or you might have what happened to me and see them fall flat on their plates every time. If that happens, your best bet for dealing damage is chucking a Hefty Fire Pot into the basket.

How to get Hefty Fire Pots and Hefty Furnace Pots

You can only get Hefty Fire Pots and Hefty Furnace Pots by crafting them. The cookbook with those recipes is tucked away in the Scorched Ruins

Making a Hefty Fire Pot requires:

• Hefty Cracked Pot
• Black Pyrefly
• Redflesh Mushroom

These deal moderate damage when you throw them in the basket.

And making a Hefty Furnace Pot takes:

• Hefty Cracked Pot
• Redflesh Mushroom
• Furnace Visage
• Ember of Messmer

These deal much heavier damage if you throw them in the basket.

You’ll find Hefty Cracked Pots in jar-themed locations, including the totally-not-at-all-creepy Belurat Gaol mini-dungeon in Gravesite Plain. Pyre Flies flutter around anywhere there are signs of scorching – anywhere Messmer’s forces have been, in other words, including the Scorched Ruins.

You get Furnace Visages from defeating Furnace Golems, which isn’t very helpful if this is your first wicker man. However, you can find one free Furnace Visage in the Fortress of Retribution in Scadu Altus. It’s tucked away in a chest in the armory, but mind how you go, as the whole place is crawling with tough enemies. Scadu Altus is where you’ll also, occasionally, find Embers of Messmer.

Bringing these giants down is a big challenge, but each of them has a new Crystal Tear for your Flask of Wondrous Physik. It’s well worth the struggle.

For more Elden Ring help, check out our guides for where to find Shadow of the Erdtree's east map fragment and south map fragment, along with help for all of Miquella's follower quests plus what outcomes you get from completing them.