Guide:Golem strategies

Golem is the Hardmode boss at the end of the Lihzahrd Temple, also called the Jungle Temple. It is summoned by using the Lihzahrd Power Cell upon the altar. It can be summoned multiple times consecutively. It has high HP, high defense, and multiple limbs and phases.

Terrain Preparation
If this is your first tussle with the Golem then you will not possess the Picksaw capable of shaping the Lihzahrd Temple's blocks so your customization is limited. The arena that the Golem fight occurs in is also varied in width/height. For safety reasons you can and should use whatever pickaxe that you do have and remove all of the traps as these can be hazardous in the fight. There are a few ways you can customize the default arena to make the fight much easier.


 * For health regeneration, include a Campfire, a Heart Lantern and a pool of Honey to dunk yourself in every 30 seconds.
 * Create a small wall dividing the entrance and the arena, leaving an opening for your weapon/magic/projectiles to get through. This becomes more difficult if your default layout has the entrance in the ceiling.
 * Create a much larger wall that divides the arena on either side of the altar leaving an opening at the top for you to leap through post-spawn and a spot for your weapon/magic/projectiles.
 * Utilizing either of the above strategies, but sealing the weapon hole and using the Chlorophyte Partisan.
 * An assortment of small walls scattered through out the arena.
 * A small pit that you can leap into while Golem stomps and punches. This will allow you to deal heavy damage, but you have to cautious about his eye lasers and fireballs.  A heart statue in the pit with you can be useful in keeping you alive.
 * Teleporters for dodging the attacks and safe travel from side to side.
 * You can also use some of the traps you found, but one can easily get damaged as well, so use these carefully.

The walls need only be one block thick. The importance of these walls are that they will halt Golem's movement/jumps/flight, and destroy the spawned fireballs. They do not block eye lasers or punches.

Armor
It's advised to arrive in updated sets for your preferred specialization: Shroomite armor for ranged characters, Turtle armor for melee characters, Spectre Armor for magic characters, or Beetle Armor for melee characters who have defeated golem already. If you are a magic character who has not attempted the Hardmode Dungeon yet, they should use Chlorophyte Armor. At minimum one would want Chlorophyte armor, Hallowed Armor, or Frost Armor. Regardless of specialization one may prefer to use Beetle armor for the fight due to its high mitigation which is extremely useful for the Golem fight assuming you do not utilize the wall trick. NOTE:You need to have already defeated Golem to get Beetle armor.

Melee
Melee is a decent way of fighting the Golem although end-game gear will be required.
 * The Chlorophyte Partisan is extremely useful when using the wall strategy detailed further down. Even range/casters may also consider utilizing the benefit that it offers the fight by means of its platform penetrating spore cloud. Other spears can be used as well.
 * Vampire Knives is also another recommended melee item that is good for the fight as the healing helps quite a bit, although the healing will not be sufficient to sustain the whole fight(except if you wear a high armor defense and boost damage item).
 * The Death Sickle and the Turtle Armor means you can (excluding the Temple Key) kill it using pre-Plantera gear.
 * The Scourge of the Corruptor is extremely useful as it does good damage, splits into three and is homing.
 * The Paladin's Hammer's piercing is convenient, as it can hit the fist and the head at the same time and deal massive amounts of damage.
 * The Flairon works well as the flail will attack the head and the bubbles will target the fists. With Godly prefix and melee damage enhancing armor or accessories, this weapon will kill Golem less than 5 minutes. Flower Pow may also work if you haven't acquired the Flairon yet.

Ranged

 * A Megashark or Venus Magnum coupled with Crystal bullets is recommended. Explosive Bullets will also get the job done.
 * The Candy Corn Rifle or the Stake Launcher will also work, though this will be a tough fight.
 * A Chlorophyte Shotbow with Cursed Arrows, Hellfire Arrows or better arrows make quick work of the Golem.
 * A Flamethrower is extremely effective in the first part of the battle as it's large projectile deals high damage to the whole boss.
 * A Piranha Gun is highly, highly recommended. This is because when it attacks one of golem's fists, it makes it unable to attack, making the fight much easier.
 * The Tactical Shotgun's spread combined with Crystal Bullets or Chlorophyte Bullets can be a powerful secondary weapon if used with damage increasing modifiers.

Magic
This way of fighting is the easiest of all and is recommended.


 * The Nimbus Rod will provide constant damage.
 * The Magnet Sphere, Bat Scepter, and Rainbow Gun, will allow for great sustain.
 * The Shadowbeam Staff can attack multiple parts at once.
 * Spamming the Inferno Fork on Golem's head is very effective as the explosion radius will damage the hands, stop the hands from attacking you and damage Golem itself.
 * Lower-tier weapons recommended are Crystal Storm, Cursed Flames, and Rainbow Rod.
 * Leaf Blower for more precise hits.



Accessories
Mobility is important due to the multiple ways damage is being dealt in the fight. Wings are very helpful and can be supported by accessories like Shiny Red Balloon and its equivalents. Wings may be dropped if one can jump multiple times, one would however need to equip more accessories. With equipping wings, players can also omit the Rocket Boots and its advancements, since running would mean hitting the Golem and to fly over is a much safer alternative.

Charm of Myths is recommended since there is a lot of damage being passed around without a wall so multiple potions may be necessary if you lack dodging skills. The natural regeneration will also allow you to take advantage of easier phases of the fights. Alternatively, you can switch to Charm of Myths only when drinking health potions, and use another accessory for the rest of the battle. Star Veil and/or Obsidian Shield may also be useful to negate the chance of being clipped by multiple projectiles. Avenger Emblem and other increased damage emblems/accessories are very useful for quickly ending the 'hard' phases of the fight given the longer they last the bigger room for error. Magic Cuffs and Mana Flower can be useful for magic characters.

Potions

 * Greater Healing Potion are a given since a lot of damage can potentially be encountered.
 * Increasing your damage with Archery Potion or Magic Power Potion is very helpful.
 * Ironskin Potion,Regeneration Potion, and Mana Regeneration Potion will help you survive much longer.
 * Any item that provides Well Fed such as Pumpkin Pie and Bowl of Soup are easy to make and can only help.
 * The Clairvoyance buff from a Crystal Ball is also recommended for magic users.
 * Lifeforce Potion, Ammo Reservation Potion, Rage Potion, Wrath Potion etc. are very useful here as well as during any other battles.
 * Gravitation Potion if you don't want to use wings.

Additional Assistance

 * The Staff of the Frost Hydra is extremely helpful. The Hydra will attack one of the side of the Golem, quickly making work of his fist.
 * Any other minions can contribute as well.

The Battle
The Golem composed of four parts and two phases;


 * Right Arm and Left Arm will constantly extend to try to hit you and deal damage.


 * Golem Head will frequently spew two fire balls that bounce and fire lasers that increase in frequency when its HP lowers.


 * Golem Body attempts to jump at you frequently.

Once summoned the Golem will move around attempting to hit you while using its fists to punch at you slowly. The head will also constantly spit two fireballs that will bounce around the arena. The arms and head are the only damageable parts this phase - the head (15000 HP) being the kill spot while destroying the arms merely removes punches from the fight.

As its head hit points dwindles (to precisely half) the Golem will begin adding eye lasers to the mix. They begin at average intervals, but as the head hit points dwindles even more the lasers hasten in frequency by a large margin. When the head's hit points reaches zero the second phase begins. It is a wise idea to take out the hands at this stage, as they only become a nuisance later.

Look out for other lihzahrd enemies, which can spawn in the arena, especially a large one.

When the Golem goes below half health, it will enter its second phase. In phase two the body will jump around at you attempting to hit you. If the arms still exist they will punch you with a much faster speed compared to phase one. During this the head will be floating around as well also capable of harming you. In this phase the body (8000 HP) is the kill target (and only if the arms are destroyed). As the body hit points dwindles the head will begin firing lasers again and also will begin hastening as the body hit points lowers.