Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree walkthrough: How to complete the Ruined Forge Lava Intake dungeon

With the arrival of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, the game has many new exciting locations for players to explore, including the brand-new Ruined Forge Lava Intake dungeon in the DLC area. This smoldering area is home to some tough customers as well as unique loot that fans will not want to miss out on.

As with most other things in this brand-new expansion for the hit 2022 open-world action RPG, you can expect to be confronted with a stiff challenge. This guide aims to help you discover all there to find in the Ruined Forge Lava Intake dungeon.

---

Ruined Forge Lava Intake dungeon location in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

The Ruined Forge Lava Intake is situated here on the new map (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

The Ruined Forge Lava Intake is located southwest of Ellac Greatbridge in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. It is an optional dungeon that you can explore to get ever stronger in the eerie Land of Shadow. The precise location of the dungeon can be found in the map above.

---

Ruined Forge Lava Intake dungeon walkthrough in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Entrance to the dungeon in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Head down the stairs of the Ruined Forge Lava Intake to encounter a spirit NPC and turn right past him to get to the first main chamber. Turn left and walk down the corridor. Be careful not to fall down into the lava as that would mean instant death.

Take another left to encounter a club-wielding rocky ogre in the room ahead. Its weak point is on its back. Be sure to stagger it with normal damage and exploit the weak point as the foe is fairly resilient otherwise.

Once dealt with, interact with the item atop the corpse nearby to obtain some Smithing Stones - these are used to upgrade gear in Elden Ring. As you head back to the door entrance, and down the other side, take note of the fire slime hanging out on the ceiling. Use a projectile like a kukri to knock it down, and it should go down in a couple of hits.

Deal with another slime and grab the Smithing Stones off the corpse in the right-side corner. Go down the adjacent corridor and take the ladder down below. Check the area with the black crystalline growths behind the ladder to find some Gas Stones and Smithing Stones, which are scattered all around the dungeon in this manner.

Back on track, there is yet another rock-clad club ogre to deal with as well as a couple more fire slimes. Be sure to grab the Somber Smithing Stone next to the rock-hewn stairs, but take the other path down the chamber instead.

This is a brand-new throwable weapon in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Take a left at the intersection ahead in the Ruined Forge Lava Intake dungeon to deal with another rocky ogre in the room and grab another Somber Smithing Stone in the corner. Head down the other corridor to the right and deal with the foes to grab a new item: Smithscript Dagger. You will notice that there is a ladder to the right, leading down to a massive pool of lava.

Not much can be done here for now, so march back to the previously mentioned stairs where the first Somber Smithing Stone was encountered. Platform your way past the rubble. Once on the landing, turn left to find a Smithing Stone waiting to be grabbed.

On the right, however, is another path blocked by a fire slime. Head past it and down the ladder. This will take you back to the lava pool room but atop a platform with a lever.

Pull it to summon a massive chained metal pipe that slopes over the pool of lava. Hop down onto it and make your way to the top. Be wary of the fire slime waiting at the mid and end sections of the pipe though. Hop to the right upon reaching the other end, and go up the stairs to reach a room with a furnace. Interact with it to obtain the Anvil Hammer and an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.

A new weapon awaits discovery (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

The former is a type of Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, while the latter is an extremely rare type of Smithing Stone that upgrades armaments to +25.

Interact with the portal nearby to exit the area. This wraps up the Ruined Forge Lava Intake dungeon walkthrough. For more optional locations, you can check out our walkthrough for the Belurat Gaol Cave.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is out for PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms.