Siege Golem
Stats
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Supply cost | 125 |
| Range | 1,500 units (melee + medium) |
| HP | Highest of any siege weapon |
| Movement | Mobile (pilot walks the golem) |
| Boon acceptance | Only Swiftness from allies |
| Effective vs | Gates, walls, single targets, towers, players |
| Ineffective vs | Coordinated counter-pushes, Siege Disruptors |
What it does
The Siege Golem is a pilotable mech — the operator climbs in and walks it across the map. It deals heavy damage to gates, walls, and players, has more HP than any other siege weapon, and shrugs off ranged damage that would shred a traditional treb or catapult.
Two variants exist: Alpha Siege Golem (the Guild blueprint, 125 supply) and Omega Siege Golem (Superior, same supply but rare blueprint, more damage). Both behave identically in terms of placement and tactics.
Golems are the centerpiece of a "golem rush" — a coordinated push where 5+ golems walk on a Keep gate with a full zerg as escort. Done correctly it's almost unstoppable. Done badly, you lose 750+ supply for nothing.
Skills
- Skill 1 — Punch: heavy melee attack. Fast cooldown, primary damage. Use against gates and players.
- Skill 2 — Whirling Assault: 360° spinning attack. Hits multiple targets around the golem. Use when defenders try to surround you.
- Skill 3 — Eject: dismount the golem. Use this if it's about to die — saves the operator.
- Skill 4 — Rocket Punch (Omega only): 1,500-unit ranged punch. Massive structure damage. The reason Omegas are prized.
- Skill 5 — Self-Destruct (situational): blow up the golem on demand. Useful if it's been disabled and is being killed anyway — at least the explosion damages enemies around it.
Golem rush tactics
- Spawn close to the target — golems walk slowly. Build them at the closest friendly waypoint or shortcut, not at spawn.
- Bring a full escort. 5+ golems with no escort die to a 20-man counter. 5 golems with 25 escort eat keeps for breakfast.
- Dedicated boon support — golems can't take Stability or Protection but the pilots and escort can. Firebrands keep the squad alive while golems pound the gate.
- Stagger the entry — when the gate falls, golems can clear the lord room with Whirling Assault. Don't let them all bunch up — one Siege Disruptor would disable the lot.
- Drop siege when retreating — if the rush fails, eject and use Drop Siege to recover supply.
Counters
- Siege Disruptor — the dedicated golem counter. Disables golems for 20 seconds, an eternity in a coordinated push. Two Disruptors can shut down a 5-golem rush.
- Ballistas at range — golems take direct fire damage. A line of ballistas can shred them before they reach the gate.
- Counter-zerg from inside the Keep — once the gate falls, defenders rushing out can mob the golems individually.
- Boon-strip the escort — without Stability and Protection, the supporting zerg dies fast and the golems become exposed.
- Pull the operator — Magnet Pull and similar skills can yank the pilot out, which puts the golem in a vulnerable un-piloted state.
When to build one
- You have a coordinated guild group (5+ golems requires planning).
- You have substantial supply reserves — 125 supply per golem is the largest single siege cost in WvW.
- The target is a tier-3 Keep where rams and catapults are too slow.
- It's a quiet hour and the enemy has limited defenders.
Skip golems when:
- You're solo — a single golem dies to a havoc squad.
- The enemy has visible Siege Disruptors stacked in their tactics slot.
- You can't get close to the target without crossing exposed terrain.