Exploring Draenor: Frenzied Golem

Exploring Draenor delves into the hidden places of the world that will one day become Outland. From the volcanic landscape of Frostfire to the gloomy dells of Shadowmoon, these articles are your guide to events that are off the beaten path.

Location: Talador, North of Auchindon

Task: Kill (rare spawn)

Rewards: Shard of Contempt or Shard of Scorn

Auchindon, in Talador, is under attack by the Burning Legion, with the demons under the tentative control of the Iron Horde warlocks. The Alliance and Horde have joined forces to protect temple, and the Blood Elves have contributed several golems to the war effort (unlike normal Blood Elf sentinels, they look like the Dark Animus). However, the rigours battle have knocked one out of commission. It is being subdued by a small group of elves called Sunsworn Defenders, which will join you in the fight.

The Frenzied Golem references one of Blizzard’s other games: in this case, Diablo 3. It is a rare spawn with a list of affixes (abilities) underneath its name; rares in Diablo have between one and four of these, with certain combos making for a very tricky encounter. Luckily, the Golem’s affixes are pre-set: Arcane Enchanted, Dampening (most similar to D3’s Desecrator affix) and Vortex. These ensure that most characters, but especially melee, will find it difficult to fight the mob without taking damage.

Throughout the fight, the Golem will place two dangerous zones on the ground. The first is a purple orb connected to a spinning bar of light; walking through either of these will inflict heavy damage. Next is a void zone called Temporal Anomaly, summoned three at a time, thanks to the mob’s Dampening ability. These will deal damage and slow players who walk in them.

So far, so standardly deadly for melee. Ranged players will be challenged by the final ability: Vortex. Every 15-30 seconds, the Frenzied Golem will pull all nearby targets towards it – so try it’s important to kite it away from its various death zones.

The Frenzied Golem is a fun encounter that will test your situational awareness and kiting/defensive abilities. It is also a perfect example of what every WoW player should know: the floor is constantly trying to kill you. This needs to be made much more obvious for new players. Defias with void zones! Scorpids with fire walls! CRITTERS WITH DEFILE!