PC Golem shouldn't be a Jungle boss

Heath04🌳

Heath04🌳

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This isn't really a suggestion since I feel like it's a bit too late to change this, but Golem shouldn't be a jungle boss. I noticed this since I had a temple that was partially in my underground desert and it just felt right. Obviously there are some pieces of that temple that fit the Jungle like the Witch Doctor being mostly Jungle themed and being the same species as the Lihzahrds but the Lihzahrds themselves are just better as desert enemies. Golem is a sun boss and the sun is a heavy desert theme. Like there's so many niche details about the temple that I feel like it should genuinely just be moved to the desert.

This is just a mini rant since it made me genuinely kinda upset that they made a Pyramid dwelling, sun worshiping, lizard cult in the jungle and not the desert. I get the Aztec theming as that has been pointed out. I'm not saying it doesn't fit in the Jungle but it also does fit in the desert.

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I get where you and other people are coming from with this opinion but I completely disagree. Looking at the Lihzahrd and the Jungle Temple, they’re are both clearly inspired by the Aztecs. The Aztecs were famous for worshipping the sun the same way the Lihzahrd do, the carvings and statues in the Jungle Temple are very reminiscent of Aztec architecture, one of the Aztec gods is a lizard man, the Flying Snake enemies are based on the Feathered Serpent deities that the Aztecs worshiped, and the Aztecs lived in a very tropical climate. The Lihzahrd just make sense in the jungle.

The only thing the Lihzahrds have in common with the Desert is that lizards can be found in deserts IRL. Their isn’t a prevalent sun theme in the Terraria Desert or references to any culture that specifically worshipped the sun alongside reptiles. The Terraria Desert is more of a melting pot of different icons associated with deserts including the Egyptians, Arabian mytholgy, dinosaurs, desert storms, and giant sandworms. Throwing the Lihzahrd into the mix would have felt kind of random and tacked on.

Some other issues. The Underground Desert didn't exist when the Jungle Temple was added, putting it there wasn't even an option. And if the Temple was moved later in the 1.3.3 update many players would have been mad about loosing the Aztec theme. It also would have been REALLY weird for Plantera, a protector of the Jungle, to drop a key to a temple in a completely different biome with a very different climate. How it is now just flows and makes sense story wise.

Edit: Just fleshed out my thoughts some more.
 
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Russ Guss Doodles said:
I get where you and other people are coming from with this opinion but I completely disagree. The Lihzahrd and the Jungle Temple are both pretty clearly inspired by the Aztecs. The Aztecs worshipped the sun the same way the Lihzahrd do, the carvings and statues in the Jungle Temple are very reminiscent of Aztec architecture, one of the Aztec gods is a lizard man, the Flying Snake enemies are based on the Feathered Serpent deities that the Aztecs worshiped, and the Aztecs lived in rain forest jungles. The only thing the Lihzahrds have in common with the Desert is that lizards can be found in deserts IRL.
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I completely get that it's based on Aztec culture and that makes complete sense. Just for Terraria though ignoring the real life background it would make more sense for the Lihzahrd species to live in the desert.

Russ Guss Doodles said:
Some other issues. The Underground Desert didn't exist when the Jungle Temple was added, putting it there wasn't even an option
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Yes, I know. I feel like it could've fit in with the introduction of the underground desert since the community was still pretty fresh, even with the underground desert rework I still could've seen it happening.

Russ Guss Doodles said:
It also would have been REALLY weird for Plantera, a protector of the Jungle, to drop a key to a temple in a completely different biome with a very different climate.
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I don't think it would be the most outlandish thing Terraria could've had, but you could also just change how the temple would be opened or how the key is obtained. This is less of a "I can't believe the devs did this, what were they thinking?" kind of post and more of a what if? I feel like there's a lot of potential in Golem being a fully fleshed out Desert boss
 
Heath04🌳 said:
I completely get that it's based on Aztec culture and that makes complete sense. Just for Terraria though ignoring the real life background it would make more sense for the Lihzahrd species to live in the desert.
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Would it make more logical sense though? Lizards are commonly found in both deserts and rainforests (although lizard populations are higher in rainforests). Both biomes could have worked based on real-life lizards.

Heath04🌳 said:
I don't think it would be the most outlandish thing Terraria could've had, but you could also just change how the temple would be opened or how the key is obtained. This is less of a "I can't believe the devs did this, what were they thinking?" kind of post and more of a what if? I feel like there's a lot of potential in Golem being a fully fleshed out Desert boss
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Like I said, I understand why some find the idea of Golem being a desert boss appealing. It's just for me that "what if?" isn't as cool, fitting, or thematically interesting as a subterranean Aztec lizard people society.

Out of curiosity though, how do you think the Desert could have improved Golem and the Temple? I really can't think of anything specific that the Desert could have improved gameplay-wise or how it could have made Golem a better "fully fledged" boss.
 
Russ Guss Doodles said:
Would it make more logical sense though? Lizards are commonly found in both deserts and rainforests (although lizard populations are higher in rainforests). Both biomes could have worked based on real-life lizards.
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I didn't know about that fact but it does make sense the more you think about it.

Russ Guss Doodles said:
Out of curiosity though, how do you think the Desert could have improved Golem and the Temple? I really can't think of anything specific that the Desert could have improved gameplay-wise or how it could have made Golem a better "fully fledged" boss.
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1. I feel like the traps can be a lot more unique and can add to the boss fight. I've had an idea for an hourglass type boss fight that I feel like could fit a desert Golem. There can be a sand trap type item that fills the room over the course of the fight. A common complaint for Golem is that the boss is simply too weak and I've always wanted to lean more into the traps included in the fight. That doesn't just fix Golem, sadly he has a few other issues but that's unrelated to the post.

2. Another concept I've had was most of the temple is unlocked and only Golem's room is locked. This would allow more unique loot in the chest and say if it was a desert pyramid then you could have more consistent way to possibly obtain sandstorm in a bottle.

These are just concepts and have their own flaws. I feel Golem is just underutilized as a boss in general whether desert or jungle. I just feel like it would give players a reason to explore some more. I really enjoy the underground desert just wish it gotten more love over the years.
 
while the jungle temple's colors are closer to the desert, that does not mean its theming is.

the jungle temple looks nothing like pyramids (which exist in terraria) and is clearly styled after aztec-like structures with its trapezoidal shape.

many cultures around the globe have worshipped the sun too, it's not just egyptians. a staple of the sun-worshipping people are the (wait for it) aztec who sacrificed fallen warriors to the sun god huitzilopochtli so that he can keep his strength up in the ongoing fight against the moon and stars (dont ask).

there are also the flying serpent enemies in the jungle temple, which are a very direct reference to quetzalcoatl, who is also aztec (although some other cultures used him too) and was also previously the sun (dont ask).

ironically the aztecs did not live in the jungle, but they certainly did not live in the desert. I figure they picked the jungle because its a more interesting area than it just being in the regular underground.

basically jungle temple very jungle.
 
Heath04🌳 said:
I get the aztec theme, we've been over that. I'm not saying it doesn't belong in the Jungle, I just would have preferred it be designed around the desert. Again, this is more of a what if post.
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so basically you just want a new temple added to the game that replaces the pyramid with a great pyramid like I do
 
Could have been cool if the temple and Golem were more designed for the desert. Currently, the Jungle has 3 bosses with the desert having none. By the time a player beats Plantera, they likely have already discovered the temple, and with the key, will likely head there first, beat golem, then check out what the "screams from the dungeon" message meant and find the cultists and fight them, leading to pillars and ML, unknowingly completely skipping the HM Dungeon and PM/FM. If Golem was fought in the desert, that same issue might still happen, but maybe players would be more likely to check out the dungeon before this desert temple.

From a gameplay standpoint, temple being in desert makes much more sense IMO, but thematically it works in the Jungle too. Some changes would need to be made and not just a simple move to desert to make it work there I think.
 
Snickerbobble said:
From a gameplay standpoint, temple being in desert makes much more sense IMO, but thematically it works in the Jungle too. Some changes would need to be made and not just a simple move to desert to make it work there I think.
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Yeah you can't just move it to the desert, but I feel like it only needs a few tweaks and it could work out right
 
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