Need help and Info about Iron Golems

[Rianna]

Hi

I want him to last as long as possible.

I need some info/advice about making Iron Golems.

Are they resistant to elemental damage?

Should I max out Iron Golem or Golem Marstery? I think I have already spent 5 points on Iron Golem.

If I'm working my way through normal and make a IG out of a big damage weapon say an Eth War Pike. Does the game downgrade the damage output while playing in normal?

Any advice, tips about Golem making would be most appreciated.

Rianne

[LozHinge the Unhinged]

My opinion:
IGs have fairly good resists, especially vs poison. Make sure you put a point in Summon Resist as that will help a lot.

Golem Mastery is by far the better bet - more life, faster run /walk (he keeps up with you better so you don't lose him so often), more AR. Points in IG are a little bit wasted, unless you are going full-on golemancer, in which case you are just plain nuts - sorry, I don't mean that.

As far as I know, a weapon will do the same damage in any difficulty. An eth War Pike will absolutely rock in Normal.

Tips - be prepared to randomly lose your IG, sometimes they get stuck when you are retreating and they go poof. Have a ready supply of suitable items to make a new one.
IGs have a very slow attack rate, you have to be patient. As far as I know, it isn't possible to increase the attack rating.
The Malice runeword is great for IGs, as the OW is very useful, but remember that Prevent Monster Heal doesn't work for them.
IG is a great complement to your merc or other main killer, but don't expect him to rock the world in Hell.
Remember that Blood Golem can give your IG more life, but the benefits are not huge. Similarly, Clay can boost AR. Fire Golem can boost damage but that effect is negligible, as far as I can tell.

Good luck with your Rusty, have fun with him. Try a variety of rares with various different effects, it can be a lot of fun with ctc Nova, etc.

EDIT: See this thread (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=579909)for a discussion on IG attack speed - I may be wrong in what I said above ...

[Lycanthronick]

If you use a large damage weapon, expecially a runeword like insight, keep him away from any Iron Maiden areas like Chaos and WSK. They will kill themselves very fast, as monsters will hit them over a merc, and you can lose your golem.

I will second that mastery is a much wiser investment. With 10+ plus skills, and 1 pt in all golems, and 10+ hard points in mastery, your iron golem will be an uber tank that can also deal descent damage. Just keep him away from Iron Maiden. :shocked:

Don't worry that your 4 extra points in Iron Golem is a waist though, while returns deminish, those points will only help the golem be more effective. Are you a PvM psn mancer, or a summoner? Ladder or nonladder? What lvl are you? I might be able to help more with more info.

Some nice items to use if your nonladder...
Ik Maul
Windhammer
Razor's Edge
Stone Crusher
Crow Caw
Bonehew

Some nice items to use if your ladder...
Insight
Obedience
Lawbringer
Treachery

I wish I could make and Iron Golem from a Harmony. That would be so funny.

*50 monsters zoom past you going 100 miles per hour*

[Damric]

Here is that awesome link for his stats.

http://tph.tuwien.ac.at/~gottwald/necro_pet_calculator.html

You can see his resists and the effects of more +summon resists. Basically he will be immune to lightning and poison. Remember he doesn't have a cap on resists so he can go over 100 resist depending on what you make him from. He can easily be immune to Fire/Cold/Lightning/Poison if you have enough +summon resist and the right item.

The best low level item to make him from is a Bonesnap Maul. It has crushing blow cold and fire resists. So basically he can be immune to allelements and still have nice damage attack.

Not many people know this but + skills in Fire Golem will add %enhanced damage multiplied to the weapon you make it from. It's kind of like weapon mastery for iron golems. You don't have to spend hard points in Fire Golem, any +skill items will work just fine as long as you have at least 1 point.

Maxing Golem Mastery is absolutely necessary if you want that thing to live a LONG time. You can easily get it to 10,000 life with enough mastery+skill points from items.

Putting more than 1 point in Iron Golem is not necessary to enjoy the benefits of an Iron Golem from a nice item.

I also agree that Malice (ith el eth) is a nice runeword for low level Iron Golems since the runes are disposable, but the open wounds is nice damage. Also Steel (tir el) does the same thing. Most people (including myself) are huge fans of Insight Mana-Golems.

[Rianna]

Thx for all the info. I really appreciate it.

I play US West - ladder- Hardcore. My Necro is a summomor

Rianne