The goliaths already had it bad before the first Vault opened. They’re big behemoths, like bruisers but worse, so inflated in form and hotwired on adrenaline that their minds are permanently addled. Then the Eridium got everywhere, even traces in the air, and now a goliath can’t spend a moment of the day without a special restraining helmet on. The presence of Eridium enhances the adrenal effect of a goliath’s extraordinarily athletic system to the literal breaking point, causing the goliath’s skull to rip off of the body—it will remain attached only by the particularly sturdy tongue and some gristly tissue. If this happens, the goliath irretrievably loses all self-control while Eridian and adrenaline run rampant in a positive feedback loop, and it will consider everything unfriendly and run anything down, head lolling. Right, that’s awful. Hence, the helmets.
With helmets on, goliaths are essentially extra-large bandits—they use weapons, even launchers (very dangerous), but nothing astonishing. But that goliath is probably firing from among the cover of lots of his friends. Take aim and intentionally shoot off the restraining helmet and watch the hideous transformation of goliath into Raging Goliath… then watch him kick the everlasting garbage out of all his former friends!
When a goliath kills another of your enemies, that XP isn’t lost—the XP for that kill will be folded into the goliath’s own. In fact, goliaths have their own leveling system, and you’ll see it in action soon after you set your first goliath to Raging—a Raging Goliath given baddies to kill soon becomes a Badass Goliath, then a Super Badass Goliath, and can level up further. (Killing a GOD-liath, the final level, unlocks an Achievement or a Trophy, depending on your system.) Each stage is attended by a level-up flash, and a full restoration of the goliath’s health.
If a goliath has leveled up but is about to die, with other enemies still around fighting it, try to take it out yourself to reap the XP. If a goliath rips through all his friends and is still ready for more (he will be; it’s not like monsters get tired), then he’ll come after you—and you won’t have any say! Take out the leveled-up goliath to gain huge XP, earning dividends for all the baddies the goliath smashed along the way!
Goliath
The standard goliath. You’ll likely first see a goliath in Frostburn Canyon. Shooting off their helmets can teach you something about how the enemies behave with one another, and also save you some ammo and effort. It’s also just great fun, hearing and watching as goliaths thrash and gnash about, barely audible with their brutalized mouth and tongue but trying to scream insanely anyway. That’s heart. Or insanity.
Your standard goliath levels up like so: Raging Goliath, Badass Goliath, Super Badass Goliath, Ultimate Badass Goliath, Fatal GOD-liath
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | — | 3 | Normal+ | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Frostburn Canyon, Bloodshot Ramparts, Tundra Express, The Fridge, Thousand Cuts, Lynchwood, Sawtooth Cauldron
Caustic Goliath
You may be curious how a goliath can be made more revolting or horrific. How about if it was capable of projectile-vomiting corroding, caustic fluid, like some sort of champion-weightlifting Badass Varkid? Well, this goliath does that—even to all his old buddies, once you shoot off his helmet.
Caustic Goliath level-ups: Raging Caustic Goliath, Badass Caustic Goliath, Super Badass Caustic Goliath, Ultimate Badass Caustic Goliath, Caustic GOD-liath
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | — | 3 | Tough | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Bloodshot Ramparts, Tundra Express, The Fridge, Thousand Cuts, Lynchwood, Sawtooth Cauldron
Midget Goliath
It’s not the size of the goliath in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the goliath. Nothing’s stopping some of the tougher midgets from getting in on the Eridium-induced adrenal mutations.
You may have been at some point privileged to see a psycho riding a goliath, sitting atop his shoulders. It’s worth noting there’s nothing stopping psychos from riding Midget Goliaths, too…
Midget Goliath evolutions: Raging Midget Goliath, Badass Midget Goliath, Super Badass Midget Goliath, Ultimate Badass Midget Goliath, Giant Midget of Death
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | — | 2 | Tough | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Frostburn Canyon, Bloodshot Ramparts, Tundra Express, The Fridge, Thousand Cuts, Lynchwood, Sawtooth Cauldron
Goliath Digger
Goliaths fit for prospecting can be found in certain mining areas. With helmet firmly affixed, they can keep calm and contribute to a day’s work at the mine. With the helmet askew, though…
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | — | 3 | Tough | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Tundra Express
Heavy Goliath
TVHM name: Mega Goliath
This goliath distinguishes itself by starting out with a very big gun indeed. Of course, once you shoot off his helmet the gun doesn’t matter at all. Complex tools like firearms are difficult to operate when your head is pulling itself in half.
Heavy Goliaths level up like this: Raging Heavy, Badass Heavy, Super Badass Heavy, Ultimate Badass Heavy
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | — | 4 | Tough | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Thousand Cuts, Sawtooth Cauldron
Juggernaut
(TVHM ONLY)
These hefty artillerymen, like One-Armed Bandits, do not share the same trait of quite losing all their marbles if their hat so much as gets displaced, like their goliath brothers. But they have the same elephantism, and they dual-wield heavy weapons, and so Juggernauts dominate the courtyard-type areas that they usually guard. In more intricate areas or places with lots of cover, their girth and lack of maneuverability becomes an issue for them.
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | — | 3 | Tough+ | Head |
Location: Tundra Express, The Fridge, Thousand Cuts, Lynchwood, Sawtooth Cauldron
Goliath Blaster
(TVHM ONLY)
The fearsome Goliath Blaster only appears during True Vault Hunter Mode. Why fearsome? Because this goliath is dual-wielding rocket launchers, making it the goliath most likely to actually deal serious damage to you before you get a chance to pop off the helmet. And if a Goliath Blaster sees you first, you might be struggling in Fight For Your Life before you even realize what happened.
Godliath Blaster evolutions: Raging Blaster, Badass Blaster, Super Badass Blaster, Ultimate Badass Blaster, GOD-liath Blaster
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | — | 3 | Normal+ | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Bloodshot Ramparts, Tundra Express, The Fridge, Thousand Cuts, Lynchwood, Sawtooth Cauldron
Loot Goon Goliath
This intense, enormous monster is an overwhelming sight at first—a big goliath even by goliath standards, who is wearing a loot chest as a backpack. The Loot Goon Goliath may be carrying epic weapons right on its back, but it still behaves like a goliath, so you can shoot the helmet off and behold as a giant, chest-wearing goliath punches everything to paste.
Raging Goon Goliath, Badass Goon Goliath, Super Badass Goon Goliath, Ultimate Badass Goon Goliath, GOD-liath Goon
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | — | 4 | Super Badass | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Frostburn Canyon, Bloodshot Ramparts, Tundra Express, The Fridge, Thousand Cuts, Lynchwood, Sawtooth Cauldron
One-Armed Bandit
A counterpart to the Loot Goon Goliath, the One-Armed Bandit doesn’t actually mutate; he’s just an unusually large, unusually one-armed bandit, who happens to be wearing a slot machine. You are more than welcome to use this device—after you kill him.
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | — | 4 | Super Badass | Head |
Location: The Fridge, Sawtooth Cauldron, Tundra Express, Thousand Cuts
Badass Goliath
When the goliath is Badass before it’s even started leveling, you’re in for a real treat. The multipliers are better for a Badass Goliath even before you take into account that it’s a Badass grade enemy instead of a peon. The Badass Goliath has a bigger health pool with which to kill more enemies and build more progress toward GOD-liath. A GOD-liath generated from a Badass Goliath is also one of the best ways to see a flashing skull next to the name for an onrushing enemy…
The level path for a Badass Goliath: Raging Badass Goliath, Super Badass Monster Goliath, Ultimate Badass Towering Goliath, Hulking Mass of Destruction, GOD-liath
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | — | 4 | Badass | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Frostburn Canyon, Bloodshot Ramparts, Tundra Express, The Fridge, Thousand Cuts, Lynchwood, Sawtooth Cauldron
Badass Midget
TVHM name: Super Badass Midget
As Badass Goliaths are to plain old Goliaths, so Badass Midgets are to Midget Goliaths. The Badass variants have bigger variables for health and damage to start with, and get even larger bonuses added just by being Badasses. Even if you do trigger a GOD-liath, you might not consider it a “real” one unless it began as a Badass.
The advantage the Badass Midget has over other goliaths is that in addition to being terrifying, he’s also adorable.
Badass Midget evolves like so: Raging Midget Goliath, Badass Midget Goliath, Super Badass Midget Goliath, Ultimate Badass Midget Goliath, Giant Midget of Death
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | Dmg. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | — | 2 | Badass | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Frostburn Canyon, Bloodshot Ramparts, Tundra Express, The Fridge, Thousand Cuts, Lynchwood, Sawtooth Cauldron
Loot Midget Goliath
In the kind of situations where you’re popping open cardboard boxes and weapon lockers, you’re usually not also engaging hostiles, and even less frequently will they be only steps away from you. So when you do happen to pop that container open between waves and a Loot Midget Goliath pops out, it’s probably not an ideal situation to shoot off his helmet and let him rip. Instead, you might just concentrate fire into his belly, to take care of him without sending him Raging for no reason.
Loot Midget Goliath mutations: Raging Loot Midget, Badass Loot Midget, Super Badass Loot Midget, Ultimate Badass Loot Midget, Loot Midget GOD-liath
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | — | 4 | Tough+ | Head (if helmet removed) |
Location: Loot containers
Smash Head
Smash Head is a unique, named Goliath and part of the “Note for Self-Person” quest. Smash Head, brother to Crank, spends the majority of time either (A) frozen, or (B) hanging out with his midget boners. Don’t ask. About either of them.
| Health Multiplier | Shield Level | DMG. Multiplier | XP Value | Crit. Areas | Weak./Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | — | 6 | Super Badass | Head |
Location: The Fridge