Taylew's Ruined Forge walkthrough: Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Here's how to complete this optional dungeon and get the Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone at the end of it.
Taylew's Ruined Forge is an optional dungeon in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. It's located in the northern part of Scadu Altus, and you'll most likely come across it on your way to the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. It's a little off the beaten-track, but it holds several important treasures within it, including two Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones and a new Spirt Ash for you to summon.
So, in order to help you through this old, run-down forge in Shadow of the Erdtree, read on below for our Taylew's Ruined Forge walkthrough.
Taylew's Ruined Forge walkthrough
Taylew's Ruined Forge is one of the more well-hidden Ruined Forges in Shadow of the Erdtree, and you'll likely pass by it completely as you get to the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. To get to it, travel north from the Site of Grace 'Ancient Ruins Base', fighting off the patrolling soldiers as you go through their wooden barricades.
Follow the road up the hill and keep an eye out for the scarab beetle rolling a ball up the hill. It will disppear if you're not quick enough, but defeating it will earn you a 1x Somber Smithing Stone (7). Otherwise, continue up the path and deal with the gargoyles as they come at you. There's a particularly fearsome one with a large axe that can kill you in just a couple of hits, so you may want to try sneaking round him instead if he's giving you grief.
At the end of the path you'll quickly spy the forge, and here is its precise location on the map:
Once you're inside, activate the Site of Grace 'Taylew's Ruined Forge' and continue into the main chamber. There's a corpse directly in front of you with 1x Golden Rune (10) on it, and a stone tablet on the floor to your left with a warning about the Stone Golems you'll meet inside the dungeon.
Carry on down the corridor and deal with the fire slime that drops from the ceiling. Then go down the ladder and enter the next room below.
Jump across the gap and head into the adjoining room, but watch out: a Stone Golem will attempt to body slam you as you come round the corner, so approach with caution. They're guarding a corpse with a Smithscript Axe you can loot, so if you want to make a dash and grab for it, feel free.
After all, the only way to do real damage to these golem enemies is to hit the red gemstones on their backs, but even then they're pretty tough. If you'd rather avoid fighting them altogether, you can always run past them, as they're pretty slow to turn around and chase after you.
Once you've got the axe, drop down into the gap you just jumped across, and prepare to jump onto the large metal drill in the centre of the room.
Before running up it, you can jump across to the other side to collect the Smithscript Greathammer from behind the rubble.
Return to the central drill and continue your ascent upwards. At the top, you have a choice of two platforms to jump to. Go left first, as it just loops back round to the drill again, allowing you to collect the 5x Smithing Stone (4) and an extra Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone from the two corpses.
Just mind out for the two Stone Golems here as well - though if you're quick you can simply run past them and return to the drill in the middle of the room.
Return to the top of the drill, and now jump right. Before heading down the main corridor, go down the steps to your right to find a corpse with 1x Somber Smithing Stone (8) on its body.
Then, return up the stairs and continue into another chamber with more stone golems and fire slimes. A second stome golem will appear on a raised platform to your right and start throwing fire slimes at you from the molten pot on its head. As such, you're going to have to go on the offensive before you get overwhelmed, and I found it best to simply run in, grab what you need and go.
So, first you should sprint up the slope to the golem above you, grab the Smithscript Shield from the corpse (and watch out for the fire slime that will drop on your head here). Then immediately drop down over the edge of the platform and keep running past the other golem and fire slime below and jump over the low wall. You'll fall into a small passageway below and at last, you can take a breath.
Grab the Smithing Stone (8) from the corpse nearby, and go down the alleyway on your right to find a ladder at the end of it.
Climb it and fight off the two fire slimes that drop from the ceiling when you reach the top of it. Be mindful that another Stone Golem and fire slime pairing are located directly behind you here, and they'll both start chucking projectiles at you if you catch their attention.
Go up the stairs and pull the lever in the corner. This will change the position of the central drill bit, lowering the top and raising the other end of it. At long last, the end of this dungeon is in sight, as you now have everything you need to reach the end goal of this forge: a path to the all-important treasure altar.
Don't jump onto it too hastily, though - there are safer places to do this than up here. Instead, drop down to the platform on your immediate right (don't go back down to the golem and slime by the ladder).
Drop down again and go down the stairs directly in front of you. At the end of the room, walk toward the gap in the wall on the right. You'll see another platform you can drop down to here, that's much closer to the central drill:
Drop down, and you'll find yourself back in the room where you found the Smithscript Greathammer earlier, now with the drill bit at a very convenient height for you to simply jump on to.
Now, run all the way to the end of the raised end (back toward the start of the dungeon). To your left you'll see a platform you can jump down to. Then, climb the ladder and the altar will be straight in front of you.
Examine the altar and you'll be rewarded with a new Spirit Ash: Taylew the Golem Smith and another Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
That's Taylew's Ruined Forge complete, so feel free to interact with the teleporter to be whisked back to the beginning of the dungeon.
Next destination: Rauh Map Fragment and Temple Town Ruins
Need more help? Improve your stats by finding all of Shadow of the Erdtree's Scadutree Fragment locations and Revered Spirit Ash locations. Alternatively, see which Erdtree bosses you've still got left to beat, and track down some great new early weapons to help you on your adventure.