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 pickaxe capable of shaping the dungeon'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 trap buttons as these can be hazardous in the fight. There are four ways you can customize the default arena to make the fight much easier.
 * 1) 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.
 * 2) 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.
 * 3) Utilizing either of the above strategies, but sealing the weapon hole and using the Chlorophyte Partisan.
 * 4) An assortment of small walls scattered through out the arena.

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 don 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.
 * 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.

Ranged

 * A Megashark or Venus Magnum coupled with Crystal bullets is recommended.
 * The Candy Corn Rifle or the Stake Launcher will also work, though this will be a tough fight.
 * A Chlorophyte Shotbow with Cursed 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.

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.

Accessories
Mobility is important due to the multiple ways damage is being dealt in the fight. Shiny Red Balloon and its equivalents and advancements are very useful. Flight is not to be underestimated either, but may be dropped if one can jump multiple times as many of the random arenas tend to be small. 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. 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.

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.

The Battle
The Golem composed of four parts and two phases.
 * Right Arm and Left Arm will constantly extend to try to hit the ceiling that throws down rocks.
 * Golem Head will spew two fire balls frequently that bounce and use finger lasers that increase in size when its HP lowers.
 * Golem Body utilizes frequent lunges at you.

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 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.

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.

Walling In
This is a recommended strategy for those who do not over gear the fight, are melee, or having trouble with their respective specialization. In this strategy you will want to wall up the center of the arena on one side of the altar. Once you summon the Golem, leap over the wall (which should have a hole at the very top 3 squares large - just enough for you to fit in). Once on the other side the Golem is completely incapable of hitting you with its body, jumps, and fireballs (a rare few MAY sneak through your jump hole). IT CAN STILL PUNCH YOU. You must have the Chlorophyte Partisan or a Mushroom Spear for the fight. The spore cloud that the Chlorophyte Partisan propels allows you to hit through the wall. The cloud hits multiple times and will hit multiple targets. Given the relative ease of the phase at this point allows you to take it at your leisure and control the fight if you take some residual damage. As for the Mushroom spear, it can pierce through walls, making it quite helpful. Not much else is needed to said for the spear. Once the eye lasers begin they WILL penetrate the wall and must be flat out tanked or dodged. Luckily, early on they are exceptionally easy to dodge, but as the HP dwindles and they become much more frequent it gets a bit more difficult, however jumping high and dropping will help dodge. Once beat phase two begins.

Since the Golem can punch through walls as of 1.2.3, it is recommended to get the Piranha Gun and shoot it at the fist closest to the wall. This will make the fist unable to attack, essentially removing the threat because if you are on one side of the Golem, only the fist on your side will attack you. Characters who aren't ranged might want to consider this anyway.

In phase 2, the head will float up and try to get on your side-- it can't if walled correctly (a 3 height hole). The body's jumps will also be blocked by the wall. Once again the start of the phase is harmless. Take this time to let potions come off cooldown, regenerate your health/mana, rebuff if needed, and make sure you are fully healed before you push the body hit points low enough to cause fast lasers again.

In both laser portions of both phases is the only time you will take damage and it is dealt very fast. If you are having trouble dodging (it can get pretty difficult!) and/or simply taking too much damage from the lasers you make consider Warding reforges or utilizing accessories that give a longer invulnerability window. Ideally, wearing the Turtle armor allows you to essentially tank a good majority of the lasers that you have to while just unleashing your attacks so range/mage specializations who are attempting this strategy may consider turtling up if their dodge skills are lacking.

Spike Traps
Using this technique renders the Golem incredibly easy to kill and expands on the strategy explained above involving separating the arena into two parts. First, bring wire and a wrench with you before you enter the temple. Once inside you must collect all the spike traps you find and bring a few of the pressure plates you disabled with you on your way down. After you've completed the partitioning of the arena into two separate quadrants, line the ceiling of the quadrant you want the Golem in with the spike traps you've collected. The arena may already have wired traps that you've disabled and if the wire in place matches the kind you brought with you then all the better. Either way, connect all the spike traps with your wire and run the wire to the other side of the arena. On the side you wish to remain while fighting the Golem place your pressure plates. Every few seconds as you step on the plate a hail of spikes will fall from the ceiling, bouncing repeatedly until they disappear.

Once you've summoned the Golem and he's on the side with the spike traps, fly or jet over to the other side of the arena. The strategy now is simple, just jump up and down repeatedly in place, activating the pressure plate every few seconds and releasing wave after wave of spikes onto the Golem. The only time you will come under fire is when the head begins shooting lasers. It's recommended to have wings equipped. If you have wings just fly higher once the lasers start, allowing yourself to fall back down onto the plate. Most of the Golem's lasers will miss you as you move up and down. If you have no easy means to dodge the lasers (wings, jet pack, boots) then running back and forth will work, although there's a good chance you'll take more damage. If you want to minimize the laser's damage, put up a campfire, heart lantern, and create a small pool of honey that you can dunk yourself in. While the lasers will still hurt and you'll still need to dodge them, the combined health regeneration should help make the fight a little easier.

Once you have this strategy in place and working it becomes incredibly easy to farm the Golem. You can also create torture room trap that will kill Golem pretty easily.This trap is more efficient than simple spike trap because if you connect 1 second timer to traps you do not need step on pressure plates.Connect fire,spiky balls and spear trap to 1 second timer and enjoy.

Leaf Blower
You need full spectral, magic cuffs, some greater healing potions, and leaf blower. Go left and right shooting golem with the leaf blower and receive damage for mana. Aim for the hands first, then the head. Follow this and you can kill golem over and over again.

Easy Kill
Full Spectre Armor and the Shadowbeam Staff/Magic Dagger are needed. No healing potions, full angry/menacing accessories. Start by building a wall 4 blocks away from the altar. make a 2 block hole while you're inside the wall. you can spawn Golem from inside the wall and will NEVER need buffs or healing potions. Spam the dagger/staff through the hole and it will DESTROY Golem!

If you happen to obtain a Piranha Gun, you will be able to defeat the Golem very fast. However, you'll still need to maneuver to dodge the Golem's high velocity lasers.

Ceiling Grapple
All that is needed is a decent DPS set (I.E. Frost Armor + 4 Angry Accessories, one of them should be an Emblem for ease, two should be movement type), minimum of 400 HP, ranged attacks (such as Megashark + Crystal Bullets [excess is always good] or 5 Light Discs for melee), and some healing potions (Greater Healing Potions are recommended, but it is possible with Healing Potions). Once the Golem is summoned, the player must grapple to the ceiling, then proceed to fire at the fists first, then the head. The damage from the fireballs can be shaken off, as the healing potions should take care of it. Also, the Golem will not fire lasers as long as the player is directly above the head.

Once the head is down, the player should reposition themselves to avoid getting hit by the head. Usually, there are indents in the ceiling, which can trap the Golem's head. Once trapped, the process remains the same, only without the fists, and the kill target being the body.
 * This is only recommended for melee or ranged players.
 * The Golem will not jump into the player if the ceiling is high enough.

Happy Farming!

Pianoboy8LP's MushBeamHook Method
This method requires the Mushroom Spear (or through-walls equivalents), Shadowbeam Staff (or wallbouncing equivalents), any high-defense Armor (Turtle Recommended), and any Beam Sword (Terra Blade Recommended). Create a little platform to stand on at the entrance of the arena (that is far enough from the golem's fists), with an opening towards the arena.

Once you spawn Golem, goto the platform you have made. Use the Shadowbeam Staff to the opening so it can bounce off of the walls to Golem. Once you are out of mana, use the Mushroom Spear below you to damage the fists and any unwanted enemies. Once you gain full mana again, use the Shadowbeam Staff as before.

Repeat until 2nd Phase, with fists destroyed (preferably).

Once in the 2nd phase, find any location to trap the head below you, and then use your Terra Blade's Beam to damage the body. Heal when necessary, and good luck! -Piano

TheEpicTerrarian's Melee Method
NOTE:I play on Console.

This method requires full Turtle Armor, The Horseman's Blade, and a few statues that spawn mobs (preferably bunny statues) connected to a timer. Create a small building with no doors around you. Place the statues inside the building and connect the statues to the timer with wire. Activate the timer and and summon Golem. You then kill the mobs spawned by the statues with your sword (The Horseman's Blade). Killing the bunnies will summon pumpkin heads that can home enemies and go through blocks. The pumpkins do around 130 damage. If you keep doing this you should kill Golem fairly easily.

Good Luck!-TheEpicTerrarian

DarkSlider404's Teleporter Method
This method requires two Teleporter's and quite a bit of Wire. Any high rate of fire ranged weapons are possible to use, but the Megashark or the Uzi are the most recommended. You should bring an Ironskin Potion and a bunch of Greater Healing Potions. And if you're using magic, you should also bring a Magic Power Potion and either a bunch of Greater Mana Potions or a few Super Mana Potions.

First of all, make small platforms at both the top and the bottom of the room. (If it's your first time, put a wall in front of the lower teleporter.) Connect the two teleporters, and place a Switch in front of the platform. After wiring it all up, start the fight, and quickly go to one of your platforms. Start firing at the Golem, and flick the switch quite frequently to dodge attacks. This method should work in both the first and the second stage of the fight, as you can dodge the head by teleporting to the other platform. Taking out the fists first should make the difficulty of the fight greatly decreased.

The setup can be improved by adding various automatic traps to damage the Golem during the fight.

An alternate for the switch is placing a Pressure Plate on top of the teleporter. This will spare you the extra seconds of flicking the switch, and it will make the fight quite confusing as you will teleport back and forth very quickly, but if your aim is good enough you should be able to do it.

Have fun! ~DarkSliders404

InsaneInsomniac's super easy mage kill
This method is basically just an expansion on the spike balls trick, but when you don't have good enough spells as a mage to kill golem, trap him under a ton of spiky ball traps, then set up some summon statues so slimes (and/or other weak enemies) spawn for easy magic damage. 3 slime statues with a magnet sphere will last you the whole fight, with spectral armor of course. You don't even need to dodge.

Stynger/ Vamp Knives Method
Get the Stynger from killing the golem. Buy about 200 stynger bolts and stand in a position where the golem is on top of you but cant reach you, like a 3 by 2 pit. The first stage should be done within seconds. Then switch to Vampire Knives to heal, then switch back to stynger to finish it off.

No-potions-needed way
This way is VERY melee heavy. Get a hold of a Cutlass (or better, as long as it has autoswing), and the Vampire Knives. The accessories I used were: Frostspark Boots, Hoverboard, Fire Gauntlet, Master Ninja Gear, and Ankh Shield (although the ankh shield is useless in this fight, except for the 4 extra defense). Reforge as needed. Turtle Armor (or Beetle Armor, if you have it) is needed. First, before you summon the Golem, make sure you summon a minion of your choosing. The minion is mostly there so that the Lihzahrd and Flying Snake enemies don't get you. Also, make sure you remove ALL traps, unless you plan on using them. with your sword at the ready, summon the golem and immediately start swinging. Stay within his torso area, attacking him until you drop down to about 100-150 health. Dart away, switch to the Vampire Knives, and start wailing away at him, healing yourself in the process. Dart back in and continue attacking with your sword, focusing on his hands. This way, you hit all possible areas of his body. repeat until the arms are gone, and then focus on the torso until he is dead, darting in and out of the fray. Remember: don't get jumped on, and keep moving when his head detaches. Movement is crucial to this fight.

THEstormchaser39 way to defeat the golem
I use titan armor(if you have Xbox, if not use hallowed armour or anything with a ranged bonus) or better yet, use the Megashark along with 1000x crystal, cursed, or chlorophyte bullets. I use Warding on all my accessories. I use wings of any type, Philosopher's stone, Obsidian Shield, Cross necklace, and the last one can be anything, once the battle begins fly back and forth using the Megashark to destroy the arms first then worry about the body, in the next phase of the battle, try not to get crushed, and it should be an easy battle.

Boxed in Method
Build a 5 block tall platform 3 blocks above the Lihzahrd altar that spans across the entire room of the altar. Be sure that you have a way to move upwards to this platform. When this is built go up and make a 1 block thick box on the platform above the altar that is roughly large enough to hold the golem head. Summon Golem and if built correctly, you will have Golem's head stuck in the top of the building and his body in the 3 block tall passage underneath. Simply just destroy his hands and then his head. Though after you kill the Golem's head the first time, he will be able to shoot laser through blocks. Kill its body and then you´re finished. This method is the easiest and least painful that I have found. Enjoy!

Flyingpanda's Coward Strategy
This method of beating the Golem is recommended for players who don't have epic gear to just flat out attack the Golem. First build a small room on the ceiling of the altar room and have a two block hole so you can enter. Once the Golem has awoken, fly to the room on the ceiling and fill in one of the two blocks in the entry hole. Start firing at the Golem through the hole with a Megashark, a Hallowed Repeater, or a Possessed Hatchet (if Golem has been beat and has dropped a Possessed Hatchet). When the Golem has reached its second stage, break out of the room through the ceiling. Once out of the room you can do one of two things. If you have a Pygmy Staff and/or a Possessed Hatchet, run to the hallway next to the alter room and send out your pygmy if you have one to attack the Golem. If you have a Possessed Hatchet attack him with it from the hallway. If you don't have either of those, just get a Megashark and attack him while dodging his attacks. When the Golem head starts shooting lasers, the battle becomes an all out one-on-one combat.

Minionated's Super Coward Strategy
Build a room that is 25 blocks wide and 30 blocks tall, with the lihzard altar in the center of the room. make sure you have a 3~5 block passageway beneath the room, spanning the length of it. activate the altar, and run to either the top of the room (it has no ceiling) and attack while jumping around on the top, or go to the below chamber if you have a weapon that can attack through walls, like holy arrows or a nettle burst. given enough range, you can attack and kill the golem without ever having to move. when the head detaches, don't move or look in a different direction, as this will cause it to become active and start attacking you, but if you run enough you really shouldn't have too much of a problem.

nojbbbgf's Ninja Strategy
Make a flat arena with the Lihzahrd Altar in the middle, then use Vampire Knives, Master Ninja Gear, Magnet Sphere, and Beetle/Spectre damage armor to constantly attack Golem and dash under him when he jumps to avoid attacks. If you do it right, you can kill him with almost no damage taken.

WiseGuy's gravity strategy
Use a Gravity Potion and run along the ceiling of the chamber room, and start spamming Vampire Knives. When he's in his 2nd stage, get off of the ceiling and start flying around him. He should be killed in no time. Be sure you have Turtle/Beetle armor!

Xaelai's Easy Low-Prep Strategy
An easy way to kill the golem with minimum pre-work is to wear Turtle Armor (optional, it was overkill) and build a vertical wall about 4-5 blocks away from the Lihzahrd Altar and build a Wood Platform bridge above. Simply use a Nimbus Rod and let the rain kill the fists and then place both clouds on the head. If your arena to fight him in is large enough, his punches can't reach you and some of the lasers should be dodgeable by jumping or running. If you are wearing Turtle Armor and use an Ironskin Potion, you will only take 1 point of damage from the bouncing fireballs(a Heart Lantern and a Campfire help too). Eventually the head will start firing lasers; those will only do 8-10 damage, and the head will break off completely. Use a Megashark (especially if you have Ichor Bullets) or other ranged weapon to finish him off, but keep the nimbus clouds raining down on him for an easy kill.

Toon II's Strat+
To do this strategy correctly you must have the frost set, ive tried several times without buffs and got close, you know that "useless" grenade launcher that plantera spit out when he died? yeah grab that and pick up a few rocket II's, or get a prox mine launcher. now you wanna use a huge wall between you and golem, but make a few peek holes and make sure you have a piranha gun, now summon the golem and get all the needed buffs. first capture golems right hand with piranha gun, this will disable his arm and the only attack that can hit is his fireball (Rare but can happen) now destroy his left arm with it. After all that capture his head with the gun and dodge his lasers as best as you can, i say you need a campfire and a heart lantern for regen. After you get him to his 2nd stage try to finish him off with the grenade launcher from the holes, or fly around him. If you wanna tank his 2nd stage, stand in the same spot and regen as much as possible while fragging him. Good luck!

MikeBoy644's Leaf Blower Strategy
To do this you have to have 500 health, a big room, and an arena with platforms in it. You need full spectral armor with the mask. For accessories you want star veil (or cross necklace) charm of myths any pair of wings (hoverboard REALLY recommended) obsidian shield and mana flower all reforged to armored or warding. No buffs are needed but clairvoyance from the crystal ball is recommended (you also need greater or super mana pots). Now you are ready to start. When you summon him attack one hand constantly with the leaf blower. When he jumps switch to the other side and attack that hand. Avoid touching his body but don't bother with the flames as they don't do much damage. Once his hands are down attack his head. When he gets to his laser shooting stage try to dodge lasers with wings or with the hoverboard fly sideways above him to the other side. You should need only one healing potion until his head comes off. When it does keep trying to dodge his body ignore the lasers though. You should only need one healing potion the second that potion sickness wares off. If you have the nimbus rod then you can put the clouds at the middle of the top of the arena optional but VERY helpful. If you do this right you should be able to beat him every time.

Sitrex134's Rapid Healing Strategy
To do this you will need Spectre Hood(with armour of course) or Vampire Knives. If you are using the knives, Turtle Armor is recommended and if you are using the hood, Leaf Blower is recommended. In his first stage attack one hand constantly with the Leaf Blower or Vampire Knives. When he jumps run to the other hand and attack that one. Do that until you reach the second stage. When this happens float with wings(Frozen, Flame, Ghost Wings or Better is needed) above the body but below the head and keep attacking the body. Do this until you kill the Golem. A Nimbus Rod can help with Killing him even with Vampire Knives and a Pygmy or Optic Staff is wanted.

Milarqui's Super-Coward Spike Ball Trap Strategy
First, you need two teleporters, a boatload of platforms, one or two wrenches and a wire cutter. Get all the traps, pressure plates and wire in the temple. Once you enter the room with the altar, put the platforms near the top (low enough that you can walk along it across the room). Put the teleporters at the extremes, one plate on one of the teleporters, and connect them with wires (if you have only brought one wrench, make sure to put the wire at the tile on your head's height, otherwise you can do it below). Now, pick the spike ball traps and put several right below the platform, leaving spaces between them. Pick up the plates and put one over each of the traps. Wire them together, go down, summon the Golem and IMMEDIATELY jump to the platform. If the platform is high enough, the Golem's fists won't reach you. Get something that can be used to shoot at a distance (Terra Blade or Megashark w/Crystal Bullets are good ideas, better the former) and hit at the golem. If you hit its fists, good, but if you only hit the head it's no problem. Once the head starts to shoot lasers, stop shooting and begin running towards the platform with the plate. When you run, you will activate all the spike ball traps and drop them on the golem, and, since you are running very fast, the lasers won't hit you. Use the Terra Blade to kill the Flying Snakes and keep hitting the Golem. When the head separates from the rest, there will be a few moments in which you are bound to get hit, as the head will be low enough to laser you no matter how fast you are, but it will soon raise and allow you to continue. This method can be used to easily farm the Golem, even with a Palladium armor.

Not-even-phased Strategy
This strategy should rather be called a method because there is not strategy involved. You will need a Campfire, a Heart Lantern, 65 defense, Frost armor, the Obsidian Shield, a Fire Gauntlet, and a Star Veil with Vampire Knives for a weapon. The massive melee bonuses do to the frost armor set and the fire gauntlet combined with the life steal of the vampire knives makes it possible to stand with the Golem and defeat him without having to dodge his attacks. He will be dead in minutes without needing potions and without attacking the arms first. The process can be sped up with Nimbus Rod and Optic Staff while they are unnecessary. See the picture for guidance.