Yay, Golems! There are basically 4 types of Golems that can be found on the Island of Aerlinthe. You, young Mage, are most likely going to be playing with only one type for a while. Anyway, here they are:

• Coral Golem - Level 341 | 600 Health | 511 Stamina | 471 Mana | Magic Defense 297. Coral Golems attack using the standard Bludeoning melee attack (i.e. beat the crap out of you and stomp on your toes) and the Acid War magic attack (Acid Stream VI). They cast no debuffs, but they hit pretty hard and they really enjoy throwing Acid Stream at you. They only spawn near the pillars on both sides of the waterway leading into Raina's Harbor. Use Bludgeoning attacks against these guys.
• Vapor Golem - Level 367 | 590 Health | 491 Stamina | 481 Mana | Magic Defense 297. They are invisible, but are always enveloped in a robe of vapor.. so you actually can see them. They throw level V debuffs (Imperil, Fire Vuln, Weakness, and some others but NO Life/War Ineptitudes and no Feeblemind/Bafflement) and they like to throw Fire Bolt at you. These guys are hard! They spawn near Shimena Keep (if I am not mistaken, they can also be found in the Tenkarrdun Crater during the Aerlinthe Quest). I suggest to stay away. If you do fight them, use Cold attacks.
• Diamond Golem - Level 279 | 575 Health | 501 Stamina | 451 Mana | Magic Defense 275. These guys sure look pretty, but they sure are bastards. They love to throw various level VI debuffs on you and then beat you to a lifeless pulp =). You can not only see these dudes on Aerlinthe, but also in the Obsidian Plain and the general Direlands. I suggest to stay away.. not worth it. If you wanna fight 'em, use Bludgeoning.
• Plasma Golems - Level 265 | 260 Health | 511 Stamina | 596 Mana | Magic Defense 326. I don't much about these Golems, except that they are extremely hard to kill. They spawn in some dungeons on the Island, and they use all your favorite level VI debuffs and War magic. If you see one, run like hell =)
• Behemoth of Tenkarrdun - Level 596 | 700 Health | 700 Stamina | 1000 Mana | Magic Defense 391. Ok, so I kinda lied.. there is a 5th type of Golem on this Island. He only appears during the Aerlinthe Quest, however. He spawns inside the Tenkarrdun Crater, and.. well... he's tough as shit. And as if he weren't tough enough alone, he's surrounded by a ton of Infernos and Hellfires. What does he drop? The Black Boulder, which can be turned into the Black Fire Atlan Stone (Blood Drinker VI, Swift Killer IV, Weapon Mastery IV, Cold Protection Self IV, Curse of Black Fire (-50 Magic Defense)... *drool*).

Ok, so what do I suggest fighting? Coral Golems. I soloed my first Vapor Golem at level 48, but it was quite tough.. so stick to the Corals at first. These dudes are wonderful experience and are not too hard to kill. They also look cool =) Here's my usual sequence of killing them:

• Cast Magic Yield VI. Immediately follow up with a Bludgeoning Vulnerability Other V.
• Drain away! Drain Health to keep yourself alive, Drain Mana (these guys have a TON of mana!), and Drain Stamina if needed.
• When the Golem returns around 20-30 points of health per drain, I shoot a Shockwave V. It resists or dies =)

These guys are actually not too hard. At level 45, however, they can be quite formidable. They still resist my War Magic a lot (it is only 280 buffed), but they don't resist my Magic Yield and Drains/Vulns that much any more (310 buffed Life and Creature). And boy oh boy are they fun to kill, and they look so dang cool:

What kind of loot do they have? Gems, lots of gems. Actually you can make pretty good money picking them up. Rarely they even drop some nice level V/VI jewelry. They also drop some junky Armor and Weapons, but those are pretty rare. They do, however, drop motes =) Coral Golems have a fast respawn, but they are located right near the Drop-Off Point, and are usually camped. The area that they spawn in is referred to as the Coral Beach - along the pillars lining the waterway into Raina's Harbor. When, however, you are there alone, be careful so that you don't get swarmed... it can hurt a newbie mage =):

Deeper in the Golem Beach... here is a nice little strategy I sometimes use. You can be relatively safe standing on the hill - just watch out for Firestorms, White Wasps, Drudges, Wisps, and Skeletons. They are in spawns, so it's pretty easy to avoid them. Anyway, get up on the hill - you can always rebuff here because of the safety. You can also kill Golem from up here! Cast a Magic Yield, and here they come!

If you may notice, I am wearing my Greater Shadowhunter Amuli suit. I choose to wear it when I tank three Golems at a time - it can get a bit tough if I am wearing a Faran Robe. In GSA, I get hit for 2-10 with Bludgeon attacks (of course, Impenetrability VI and Bludgeon Bane VI on all pieces). I can't wait to try out level VII spells on these Golems!

On to Tuskers