MMOexp-POE: Lightning Golems With Strong Defenses

Lightning Golems have always occupied an awkward space among Path of Exile's minion archetypes-flashy, thematic, but often overshadowed by stronger chaos or poison-based options. That said, with the right investment and expectations, Lightning Golems can still deliver a solid, tanky, and satisfying minion playstyle. In this guide, we'll break down a Necromancer Lightning Golem build that focuses on permanent minions, strong defenses, and respectable endgame viability across multiple budget levels.

This build was originally played on Ascendant during Crucible League, but extensive changes to Witch ascendancies over recent leagues have pushed Necromancer firmly into the spotlight. While the build isn't a league starter and requires some upfront investment, it becomes increasingly stable and comfortable as you scale it into medium and high budgets.

Build Overview

The Lightning Golem Necromancer centers around permanent minions with high survivability, decent single-target damage, and good clear speed. Golems can be toggled aggressive when needed, allowing for smoother mapping and better boss focus.

Strengths
Permanent minions with excellent survivability
Solid clear speed and respectable boss damage
Strong defensive layers for both player and minions
Scales well into medium and high budgets

Weaknesses
Requires Anima Stone and Primordial jewels, creating an early investment barrier
Not viable early in the campaign
Heavy gem pressure in later setups
Damage scaling lags behind poison or chaos minion builds

Because of these limitations, this build is not recommended as a league starter.

Leveling Strategy

Lightning Golems are not suitable for early leveling, so you'll want to use another skill until the required items and passives are online.

Recommended leveling skill:

Absolution-Available at the end of Act 1 and provides an extremely smooth leveling experience.

Once you acquire:
The Lightning Golem of Hordes transfigured gem
The Golem Commander notable

you can safely transition from Absolution into the full Lightning Golem setup.

A passive tree progression and campaign skill guide are strongly recommended for players unfamiliar with minion leveling paths.

Ascendancy Choice: Necromancer

Necromancer offers everything Lightning Golems need: damage, survivability, and resistance scaling.

Core Ascendancy Nodes

Commander of Darkness-Boosts minion damage, attack/cast speed, and elemental resistances

Mindless Aggression-Flat damage and movement speed for minions

Bone Barrier-Major defensive boost and up to 20% life recovery per second through minion leech

Mistress of Sacrifice-Allows Bone Offering to apply to the player, significantly improving block and defenses

Once Mistress of Sacrifice is allocated, swap Flesh Offering for Bone Offering to further enhance survivability.

Scaling Lightning Golems

Lightning Golems scale primarily with:

Gem levels
Flat added damage
Cast speed
Critical strike chance and multiplier
Maximum number of golems

Early on, assembling all of these stats is difficult, which is why the build feels underwhelming before proper investment.

Unlike Carrion or Stone Golems, Lightning Golems gain little value from Clayshaper, so a Convoking Wand crafted with Deafening Essence of Dread is the preferred option.

Low Budget Setup

Gear Highlights

Inexpensive rares with life and resistances
Shaper-influenced shield with % life recovery on block
Jinxed Juju for strong defensive utility
Decay Ward anointment for affordable minion survivability
Aegis Aurora for block-based defenses and energy shield recovery

A +2 minion helmet with reservation efficiency implicit and Replica Covenant can significantly boost damage later, though Replica Covenant introduces an energy shield cost. Since golems are permanent and extremely tanky, resummoning is rarely an issue.

Skill Setup

The overall setup remains consistent for mapping and bossing:

Lightning Golems (main damage)
Auras and curses
Utility minions
Convocation for repositioning
Shield Charge for movement
Bone Offering and Molten Shell linked to automation

Mapping Adjustments

Use Slower Projectiles early due to socket constraints
Replace with Hypothermia once Replica Covenant adds cold damage and enables chills
Swap Predator for Critical Damage
Use Volley for improved clear

Spectres, AG, and Utility

Spectres

Endgame spectres include:
Perfect Blasphemer
Perfect Hulking Miscreation (buffs)
Perfect Spirit of Fortune (Wrath and lucky damage)

Early substitutes:
Two Silverback monkeys (Act 2 Riverways)
Host Chieftain (Act 6 Southern Forest)
Animate Guardian (Low Budget)

Recommended gear:
Dying Breath
Leer Cast
Legacy of Fury
Hands of the High Templar with curse-on-hit
Rare gloves with cold exposureMedium Budget Transition

At medium investment, the build shifts to a pure life-based setup, pairing:

Eldritch Battery for resource management
Divine Flesh for damage mitigation

Divine Flesh converts 50% of elemental damage taken to chaos damage and raises maximum chaos resistance, making it extremely powerful against elemental penetration mechanics in Uber fights.

A 12-passive minion cluster jewel with increased effect, attack/cast speed, life, and resistances becomes a major damage boost.

Gear Upgrades
Replace Aegis Aurora with The Surrender
Replica Dragonfang's Flight (+3 Lightning Golems)
Replace Replica Covenant with Fourth Vow
+2 minion gem body armor

Since cold damage is removed at this stage, chills must be reintroduced later.

Medium Budget Enhancements
Use Awakened Lightning Penetration
Swap Elemental Army for Minion Life
Automate curses via Arcanist Brand
Add a fourth spectre: Sturdy Silverback (frenzy charges)

Animate Guardian (Medium Budget)
Kingmaker
Crown of the Tyrant (blue socket)
Expedition's End to apply consistent chill
Gloves with lightning exposure

High Budget Scaling

At high investment, the build fully commits to scaling through:

Multiple minion cluster jewels
Tattoo optimization (armor, resistances, reduced crit damage)
Multi-link wand paired with The Squire

This setup enables six- to eight-link Lightning Golems, massively increasing damage. Since Lightning Golems are permanent, the extreme mana and ES costs are manageable.

Key Upgrades

Progenesis flask for survivability
Fortress Covenant jewel
Forbidden Flame & Flesh for Liege of the Primordial
Thread of Hope for efficient passive allocation

Skill Setup at High Budget

Empower, Awakened Elemental Focus, Awakened Minion Damage, Predator, and Power Charge on Crit form the backbone of the bossing setup. For mapping, swap to Volley and Pierce to improve clear speed and shock uptime.

Wrath linked to Awakened Generosity outperforms spectre-based Wrath and is worth running even with redundancy.

Final Thoughts

From medium budget onward, Lightning Golems feel durable and comfortable, capable of tackling Ubers, eight-mod T16s, and high-tier invitations. That said, the damage ceiling is noticeably lower than poison-based minions, and the lack of instant leech is felt in high-pressure encounters.

Despite heavy investment, Lightning Golems suffer from mechanical limitations:

Short engagement range
Underwhelming alternate abilities
Poor off-screen targeting

With some targeted improvements-such as increased cast range, better ability design, and improved aggression-Lightning Golems could easily become competitive again.

For now, they remain a solid but underwhelming option for players who enjoy tanky, permanent minion builds and are willing to invest heavily.

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