| “ | Gilding is how you show the world you mean business. You know, can't have a kingdom without flashing some gold. | ” |
— A Goldarmor, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment | ||
Goldarmors are among the toughest minor enemies in Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, and Shovel Knight Dig. They appear as guards wearing a full set of golden armor with red decorations, but behave differently than Knights in combat. They come in several varieties and are encountered in most stages. Many of them also wander in the Tower of Fate hub, with one in particular having a minor role.
In Specter of Torment, a particular Goldarmor appear as a minor character, while in Shovel Knight Showdown, a Goldarmor with all the moves of their different colored variants appears as a playable character.
Goldarmors have two subset of variants that have completely different movesets, known as Flailarmors and Sumo Goldarmors.
Behavior and Tactics[]
| “ | A gilded mercenary, trained in combat. His shield is effective at blocking attacks both in front and above. | ” |
— Compendium entry, Shovel Knight Dig | ||
Treasure Trove Campaigns[]
Regular Goldarmors are first encountered in Pridemoor Keep, being the most basic form of the enemy. On the map screen, Goldarmors are used to mark roaming encounter stages. They appear in the Clockwork Tower and Tower of Fate: Entrance.
Goldarmors are tough, possessing a rare 
(5) health points, as well as a defense against the Shovel Drop and other direct attacks, thanks to their shields. When fighting Shovel Knight, they hold their shield in front of them protecting them from slashes. If Shovel Knight jumps above them, they move their shield above them to defend against the shovel drop. Their main attack is to thrust their sword forward, though this leaves them open just before they attack. Owing to this there are two main ways to dispatch them with the Shovel Blade; either waiting for them to prepare the thrust and strike at the opening or jumping in front of them and when they move their shield above them strike them after landing. Alternatively, one can break through the shield with a charge slash.
In Plague of Shadows against Plague Knight, they can also hold their shield in a fashion of 45 degrees upwards, in order to defend against bombs. Additionally, hitting Goldarmors three times in quick succession with Plague Knight's bombs will cause Goldarmors to stagger and leave them open to attack for a short time.
Every variety of Goldarmor has a crippling weakness to the Dread Talon, which can kill them in just one hit, making them rather easy to dispatch for Specter Knight.
In King of Cards, King Knight can Shoulder Bash Goldarmors while their shields are in front of them, causing them to be briefly stunned so King Knight can damage them further before they recover.
Shovel Knight Showdown[]
A single normal Goldarmor appears in Shovel Knight Showdown as an unlockable playable character. They can use both the Sword Drop, Double Stab and Anchor Throw attacks from Green, Red and Purple Goldarmors respectively.
Goldarmor is the rival of Mr. Hat in the hat seller's story. In said story, Goldarmor wants to apprehend Mr. Hat for stealing the Village's hats, going as far as calling backup from fellow Goldarmors to assist them. However, Mr. Hat defeats them and, once freed from the Mirror of Fate, adds their helmet to his hat collection. Said helmet grants him the abilities of any Goldarmor. Goldarmor is unlocked after beating Mr. Hat's story.
In his own story in Showdown, Goldarmor pairs with his sovereign King Knight to escape the maze created by the Mirror of Fate. They eventually rebel against the tyrant who has been abusing them throughout their escape. After successfully breaking the Mirror of Fate, Goldarmor wakes up at their post in Pridemoor Keep. From them on, they will bid their time until they can break free of the tyrannical rule of King Knight.
Pocket Dungeon[]
In Pocket Dungeon, Goldarmors have 
(4) health points each and deal 
1 damage point. They raise their shields in the direction of the first attack directly inflicted upon them and keep it in that direction. Their shield can be broken after 3 hits, during which neither Goldarmors nor their attacker take damage, although this wastes 3 turns on the board. This forces the necessity to attack them from another angle after the first strike or to exploit Chains of at least 4 Goldarmors.
Goldarmors appear in Pridemoor Keep and the Scholar's Sanctum.
Shovel Knight Dig[]
In Shovel Knight Dig, regular Goldarmors behave the same as in Treasure Trove. They only have 
(4) and deal 
1 damage point per contact or attack. They only appear in the Smeltworks in specific stage layouts.
Variants[]
Anchorarmor[]
| “ | A Goldarmor specially trained for battle in aquatic environments. Their gilded armor develops a purple patina due to constant submersion in water. | ” |
— Compendium entry, Shovel Knight Dig | ||
Anchorarmors are a purple variant of Goldarmors carrying anchors.
In Treasure Trove, they behave the same as Goldarmors, but also have an attack identical to the Throwing Anchor Relic, of which they share the sprite. They appear in Iron Whale and Tower of Fate: Entrance.
In Shovel Knight Dig, they use their anchors as a mace in place of their main attack sword. They still throw it in an arc as a secondary attack. They only appear in the Secret Fountain in specific stage layouts.
Green Goldarmor[]
Green Goldarmors possess a 'sword drop' similar to Shovel Knight's own Shovel Drop, making them a more versatile foe and they move much faster. They appear in the Explodatorium and at Tower of Fate: Entrance.
Red Goldarmor[]
When thrusting, Red Goldarmors follow up with an immediate second thrust. Their attack is also faster than that of the other varieties. They appear in the Lost City, Clockwork Tower, and Troupple Pond.
Silver Goldarmor[]
Silver Goldarmors are the last variety of Goldarmors encountered in Treasure Trove. They combine the fighting style of Green and Red Goldarmors, possessing both the sword drop and the double thrust. They are the toughest variety to fight, and as such drop the largest amount of treasure, a gem worth 200 gold. They appear in the Clockwork Tower, the Ascent stage of the Tower of Fate and the King's Roost in the Birder Bluffs.
Goldhammer[]
| “ | A Goldarmor specially trained in the art of hammer combat. His shield is effective at blocking attacks both in front and above. | ” |
— Compendium entry, Shovel Knight Dig | ||
Goldhammers are a high-tech variant of Goldarmors guarding Drill Knight's Castle in Shovel Knight Dig. They have a slightly different design and use a hammer fitted with drills instead of a sword.
Their hammer smash attack is slower, but deal a massive 4 damage points. They have (4) health points like other Goldarmors.
Joustus Card[]
The Goldarmor card has 3 Single Arrows: one facing left, one facing up, and the last one facing right.
Dialogue[]
| Click to expand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Trivia[]
- Goldarmors' sprite model is named "Iron Knight".
- Green and Silver Goldarmors have a different color palette in the Japan localization.
- In each campaign, the protagonists can find statues depicting Goldarmors, usually in Pridemoor Keep or the Tower of Fate hub. These statues, once struck, lose their helmets which can be attacked a second time to drop a green gem worth 10 gold.
- While the others can destroy the helmet with their standard attacks (a Shovel Drop, any type of bomb or a Shoulder Bash's twirl), Specter Knight can only do so with the use of the Dread Talon.
- In King of Cards, two statues of helmetless mole creatures wearing Goldarmor attire can be found in the Goo Gorge stage of the Lost City. Their meaning is currently unknown.
- The portrait for Goldarmors has been present in the game's files since the release of Specter of Torment.
- In Pocket Dungeon, a Goldarmor icon is used to represent a Level 7 CPU in VS Mode.
Gallery[]
Treasure Trove[]
Pocket Dungeon[]
