Rock Elemental

The Rock Elemental or Rock Golem is one of the Creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved. It appears on the Scorched Earth, Extinction, Ragnarok, Valguero, Genesis: Part 1, Genesis: Part 2 and Crystal Isles maps. A variant, the is available as a mini-boss on Ragnarok.

Behavior
The Rock Elemental will not move unless approached; in its stationary form, it will appear as a strange pile of rocks. When aggravated, it will suddenly burst forth and begin pursuing the player. At a sufficient distance, the Rock Elemental will stop and return to its stationary form. Wild Rock Elementals cannot be aggravated by other wild creatures, if another wild creature walks near a dormant Rock Elemental they will ignore it. The Rock Elemental's Boulder Throw and melee AoE attacks can, however, hit other wild creatures and can kill them. Strangely, wild creatures hit by a Rock Elemental or Rubble Golem do not fight back.

Rubble Golem
There is also a smaller variant named Rubble Golem, which cannot be tamed. When hidden, it resembles a much smaller rock roughly the size of an ordinary stone node.

While rare, the Rubble Golem can be found inside of Caves on the Scorched Earth and Extinction maps. Unlike the Rock Elemental, the Rubble Golem can be damaged by s, although it is still more effective to use explosives.

Chalk and Ice Golems
The Chalk Golem and Ice Golem are variants of the Rock Elemental that are found in The White Cliffs and the Snow Desert on Valguero, respectively. The Ice Golem can also be found in the Arctic on Genesis: Part 1. Both variants are identical to the Rock Elemental in every way except for their appearances. They are also tamable.

Base Stats and Growth
Rock Elemental=

Rock Elemental (Minion)=

Rubble Golem=

Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Rock Elemental

General
If you are not prepared to fight it, it's better to run away. If you do want to kill one, look for them on dark mountains where you can easily recognize them because of the orange or gray coloring of their hidden form. If you encounter one blocking your path during a mining trip, it's best to choose another mountain.

Strategy
Never get too close to it (unless you have ). Trap it in a rock formation or with walls and keep attacking it while avoiding the rocks it throws.

Blood Crystal Wyvern s can deal small damage with their bloody breath.

A Thylacoleo's bleed attack will take up to 5% of the Rock Elemental's health over time, and ignores its armor. Biting it a few times while it is dormant then running away, and repeating can kill even high level rock golems, but be careful of your Thylacoleo's health.

Weaponry
Tek saddles are the most efficient way if available. Lacking that, explosives and bullets can hurt it. Use s, s, s,, or. Bullets can deal damage, but only an extremely small amount, making them not worth using for the resources required. s can also kill them with their primary attack, this, however, is also not advised as Golems take 50% reduced damage from physical attacks (this is even higher when a saddle is equipped), combine this with their significant health pool and even a low-level Golem will outshine a Wyvern in hand-to-hand combat. A, with a huge health pool and an attack that is not negated by the 90% damage resistance of the Rock Elemental, can kill them with almost no risk and far lower cost than using explosives. They can also harvest the body of the Rock Elemental but this can encumber the Giganotosaurus. Killing and harvesting of Rock Elementals is confirmed to work on Ragnarok, Valguero and Scorched Earth. Another great method if you don´t go for the xp is using a pack of, just hit the golem with the bleed-attack and go out of its range, repeat this until it´s dead. Last but not least, a great method for killing a Rock Elemental is using a with its sniper attack, since its spikes deal full damage to the Rock Elemental. Using this method, you can take down a Rock Elemental in a matter of seconds.

Dangers
Watch out for its punches and the boulders it throws, which are capable of demolishing stone buildings.

Don't use Flamethrowers (Scorched Earth) or Fire Arrows; fire doesn't work on rock elementals. (Phoenix fire is the exception)

It´s not advised to use Wyverns against them, since their breath attacks deal no damage to Rock Elementals and the reduced physical damage from them makes them near helpless against Rock Elementals.

X-Rock Elemental are capable of instantly killing even the well-prepared survivor, especially with its rock throw.

Weakness
They are very slow which makes it easy to avoid its attacks or trap it. Both the regular and the Rubble Golem variant takes damage from metal arrows. A wild Rock Elemental will not use its ranged attack on flyers unless they land. This can be used to hold its attention while another player attacks or attempts to knock out. deal heavy damage to Rock Elementals since it ignore Rock Elemental's natural armor. Any level Giganotosaurus can kill a Rock Elemental with ease, whether it is tamed versus tamed, or wild versus tamed. They are also one of the only creatures that can harvest its body. Unlike other tamed creatures, Rock Elementals cannot continue to attack with 0 stamina. Unless assisted by other dinos, even a small pack of low-level can kill a tamed Rock Elemental due to this mechanic although it takes some time to do so.

Meks can make short work of of Rock Elementals as they can easily dodge its attacks and its pistol and sword attacks can bypass the Rock Elementals armor.

With the release of Ark: Genesis part 1, The Magmasaur became available. Arguably one of the best creatures to fight Rock Elementals with, the Magmasaur can quickly make short work of even the strongest Rock Elementals with its Fireball ability, as well as the passive burn it inflicts when it heats up.

They are also prone to spawn on the dark sides of mountains. This means their camouflage fails and you can see easily where they are. In their hiding form, using a spyglass can make you able to see if a dodgy rock is a rock elemental.

Taming
You must hit the Rock Elemental in the head or else it will die; the best way to do this is to use a cannon and build a trap so you get a clear shot at the head.

KO Strategy
The Rock Elemental will not take torpor damage from the regular methods - you will need to hit it with large projectiles like s.

You must also hit it in the head. Body shots will not only fail to inflict torpor, but they will also deal significant damage thus killing the Elemental. Similar to the Titanosaur, it will make a special animation to if it gains torpor. It generally shakes its head when it performs this animation.

Cannon Method
A good method for knocking out a Rock Elemental is to have a tribe-mate ride a that is wearing a Platform Saddle with a  placed on it. You can kite the Rock Elemental around while your tribe-mate(s) fire the cannon. You may also use a stone trap to keep it in place e.g Stone foundation with pillars to keep it in place. Using a Ballista Turret with spear bolts could be used to gain the creatures aggro from a distance, leaving it with a disadvantage of having to 'sprint' to you. This is a brilliant opportunity to fire at the great beast.

If a tribe-mate is not available, the Rock Elemental's large size allows you to take advantage of the environment by trapping it between large rocks, or 5 Metal Dinosaur Gateways forming a semi-circle, this however is considered less effective as the Golems head movements become extremely erratic as it will continually attempt to destroy whatever structures between you and it even if it can not apply damage to them, as for a natural rock formation the likelihood of the Golem escaping its confinement and/or destroying your cannon is significantly higher, not to mention how rare such locations are. Using a ballista turret is highly recommended if alone and could be coupled with any other tanky dinos to lure it away, like a Paraceratherium, or Bronto. A Carbonemyes can also be used if transferred to Scorched Earth.

A viable method for taming is to catch the Rock Elemental's attention with a flyer, and moving slightly ahead of it as it chases you. When you are high enough that it can't hit the flyer, dismount, and the Rock Elemental will be stuck with its attention on the flyer. Place a foundation and a cannon in front of it to knock it out.

Rocket Turret Method
Another way that is more Singleplayer friendly is by using a. Unlike Cannons, Rocket Turrets cannot take damage from Rock Elemental melee attacks, however, their rock throws can be scary with the low health the Rocket Turret has. While this method is much more expensive, it is ideally meant for Singleplayer, though one could argue its value in PvE.

This method is not recommended in PvP due to the fact it requires a 'Grounded Foundation', which means it has to be placed on a Foundation on the ground, not a platform saddle. This means it stays where you put it and it's just target practice for raiders. There is also the unfortunate chance of outright killing the Elemental, and when this happens you would need to herd more over to it.

Rocket Launcher Method
Although extremely risky, the can be utilized as a early way of taming Rock Elementals. This method can be dangerous as the Rock Elemental becomes faster as their torpor rises, this can take survivors by surprise and result in a swift death. Aiming Rockets accurately is crucial, which, by itself, can be difficult to accomplish, especially for survivors unfamiliar with the rocket’s physics, making this particular method the worst for taming higher level Rock Elementals.

Mek Siege Cannon Method
The most powerful large projectile installed on a Mek, the can put Rock Elementals to sleep in one or two well-placed hits. However, the large splash damage range can hurt the elemental immediately after they fall unconscious, resulting in a critical taming effectiveness penalty.

Roles

 * Tank: The Rock Elemental takes 50% reduced damage from creatures, this effect stacks with saddle armor.
 * Siege Weapon: The Rock Elemental's raw attack power can be highly effective during a raid. This creature is especially handy, as it deals more damage to stone structures than most others. The Rock Elemental does NOT do additional damage to metal-based buildings/structures. (Level up Melee Damage, Health, and Stamina)
 * Sentry: Rock Elementals can be ordered to take their stationary form, allowing them to act as hidden sentries at a base. Due to their large size and ability to damage structures, one may want to use them outside of base walls. (Level up Melee Damage)
 * Sub-Oceanic DPS and Mining: The Rock Elemental does not possess an oxygen stat (i.e. it does not need to breathe), this coupled with the fact that it is possibly one of the highest damage dealing creatures and that it is great at mining most if not all resources makes it a great asset to the would be underwater explorer. Note: Elementals cannot swim, i.e. they will sink to the ocean floor quite literally like a rock. However, they can walk on the ocean floor with the same amount of ease as on land. While this can be a boon to many, to the unprepared it can be dangerous as falling into or under water from too high will kill your Elemental, and only certain underwater terrain can be navigated by the Elemental meaning there may be a way down but no way back up, so it is best to stick with paths made of smooth inclines and minimal large rocks to ensure that your Elemental does not get sentenced to an eternity of boredom underwater, though the use of a cryopod will allow you to scoop up the rock elemental, if you are able to navigate elsewhere to redeploy it. Note: As with underwater mounts, you will be able to eat underwater while mounted on the Elemental.
 * Harvester: Rock Elementals excel at harvesting stone, gathering large amounts of it very quickly. Rock Elementals do not have weight reductions on stone, but do have a much higher weight capacity, especially when leveled, than the Doedicurus. They are also excellent at harvesting wood as well as gathering materials from the remains of other Rock Elementals.
 * Alpha Wyvern Killer/Egg-collector: The Rock Elemental is immune to all breath attacks of the Wyvern but be careful in the Trench as it no longer has immunity from lava but it can be used to kill all Wyverns near a Wyvern Egg (Scorched Earth) to get the egg safely. This is especially useful on Ragnarok and Valguero as you can access parts of the Trench on foot. It can also be useful in helping take down Alpha Fire Wyvern's as it's immune to its breath attack and takes reduced physical damage. Caution is advised when fighting poison wyverns as their breath attacks can damage riders not wearing a Gas Mask or TEK Helmet.
 * Defender: The Rock Elemental is a great use as a Defender in Pvp servers for your base: Fill his inventory with stone or other heavy items and place him on aggressive at your gate. It will throw rocks when an enemy comes close.

Notes/Trivia

 * The Rock Elementals are based on the mythological Golems which are giant humanoid creatures made of stone.
 * This is evidenced in the Dossier for Helena mentioning the mythological Golems and in its spawn code name as all Elementals have Golem in their spawn code names.
 * The saddle to ride these creatures is called the . This is a naming inconsistency in the game.
 * Most creatures will not attack a tamed Rock Elemental. It can walk through aggressive areas without encountering aggressive creatures. This can be used to the rider's advantage when traveling through the hostile open desert and makes Rock Elementals a useful mount when taming.
 * Rock Elementals do not defecate.
 * Rock Elementals seem to take massively increased damage from each other, this effect is primarily applied in their melee attacks.
 * Upon being tamed, a Rock Elemental will continue to eat, , or , if available.
 * Wild Rock Elementals take 90% reduced damage from non-explosive/armor piercing attacks, tamed Rock Elementals take 50% reduced damage from wild Dinos, 25 saddle armor can grant an additional (roughly) 17.3% damage reduction.
 * Cannon Balls do approximately 1,800 torpor per headshot, making them the most effective methods in taming a Rock Elemental.
 * It can eat stone and sulfur from a feeding trough. Clay cannot be placed in a trough at this time.
 * Due to the Golem's abilities to disguise itself, searching for Golems in areas with large amounts of rocks can be difficult. However, since they always camouflage as the same color and shape of a rock, a trained eye can spot them. In fact, their "camouflage" can actually be a hindrance to their ability to hide, as they can spawn in areas which lack sand-colored rocks, causing them to be easily identifiable even from a distance. Lastly, they can be spotted (or confirmed) even in rock form by using a spyglass.
 * Rock Elementals are one of the four creatures that can only be knocked out by striking at certain parts of their body with blunt/explosive projectile, others being, and
 * The Lava Elemental is twice the height of a Rock Elemental, and the Rock Elemental is twice the height of a Rubble Golem.
 * According to a QnA, the rocks on the Elemental's body are not part of it, but rather a form of armor.
 * Rubble Golems inhabit many caves on Scorched Earth.
 * The name "Colossus petram" translates to "A giant rock"
 * Although the Rubble Golem can’t be tamed, it can wear a.
 * Oddly, the dossier mentions how its body has an abundance of s. (The refined form of metal).
 * Despite the lack of an oxygen stat, the Rock Elemental still has a respiration animation, Mek has similar issues
 * In Valguero, Rock Elemental appears in two different variants, an ice and a chalk one, and both cannot be transfer to other map, and once it's cryo'd inside of cryopod, it can no longer be summoned.
 * The Ice Golem in Genesis: Part 1 cannot be transferred to other maps.
 * While the Rock Elemental can't harvest Metal from the rocks on land, it can harvest Metal from the rocks in the ocean like a Dunkleosteus.
 * the Rock elemental's worst enemy is probably the deathworm as it does Rock elemental reduced damage and the deathworm does more. Although extremely rare, the deathworm might attack a Rock elemental close enough to the ground and kill it. An alpha deathworm can kill even a lava golem.