Golem is indeed a joke of a boss in fact right now the Golem has only one attack that has any semblance of a threat in expert mode, mainly his laser spam when it is at its max fire rate but even that is avoidable if you *gasp* move. (Note, this is referring to expert mode as he has nothing remotely threatening whatsoever in normal mode)
Solution: Lihzard Wires, can only be broken by the Lihzard Wire Cutter (From mechanic after golem, +2 range?). Lihzard Wire could become available from the Mechanic after golem is killed.
Not worth it because Dirt/any placeable block all exist and are able to block off any possible trap/trigger mechanism and are at the same time critical for having an arena. And don't forget that the grand design exists too. Because of this I don't think protecting the traps is a wise choice. The Golem should be balanced around a player disabling/avoiding all the traps. Realistically the only way you could protect the traps from the player would be to make placing blocks inside the temple impossible, a task outright unfit for Terraria especially when every boss is meant to be fought in a player modified area.
They key point is that all but one of Golem's attacks as well as Golem himself are unable to pass or attack through walls.
Then you add in his very slow and easily dodged attacks and you get the easiest boss in Terraria by far. Some like the fist are so inherently flawed that I don't think they can be made remotely threatening without changing how they work
However there is a precedent that I think will be helpful in figuring out how to fix this guy. King slime before the 1.3 update was similarly a joke however this was remedied at least in expert mode by the addition of a teleport ability letting king slime warp to the players position if he can't reach them directly. Additionally there are spiked slimes that spawn as he is damaged and can attack the player at range. This made King Slime feel like a true Boss for the first time ever.
Golem needs a similar ability a teleporting move that can bring it to the players position at a moments notice. One idea is to have him toss a wall hacking bolder that falls to a place near the player(ignoring obstacles and having golem teleport there, or just having him outright teleport to your spot.
I also support more attacks for Golem especially as I feel Golem's drops should be parts of him more so than they are now or I should say some new attacks to make him a threat through out the fight. A Stynger attack could be devastating and serve a deterrent role in destroying both of his arms.
One of my ideas for the second stage is to have beetles spawn during the fight similar to the ones that support the player as a set bonus with Beetle armor. particularly at the point where the head separates from the body shifting Golem to phase two. The small swarming beetles would both serve as a distracting threat forcing the player to take action, but also explain why Golem simply drops Beetle shells.
Another possible attack could be to replace the pitiful fireball attack with a deadly hurled possessed hatchet spit out of Golem's mouth.
AS it is now Golem isn't at the level where I can really consider him a boss as lets face it he is easier than a biome mimic or ice golem (or the entire tier of hardmode dungeon Duke,Pumpkin and Frost Moons respectively.)
