Old Axe Armor

For the general variant of this enemy, see Axe Armor.

Old Axe Armor
Axe Armor in Rondo of Blood.
Japanese name(s)	オールドアクスアーマー Ōrudo Akusu Āmā
Alternate name(s)	Axe Armor Axe Knight Shield Axe Armor
Abilities	Enhanced speed Hacks with or throws axes Invulnerability to some forms of physical attacks
Type(s)	Armored enemy, knight, zombie
Origins	Original Castlevania lore
Appearances	Symphony of the Night Portrait of Ruin Harmony of Despair

The Old Axe Armor can be either an enemy or a complete suit of armor the player can wear (sometimes both), depending on the game it is found in. Because it often carries a shield, it is also sometimes called a Shield Axe Armor. If it is found in armor form, wearing it will allow the player to play through the game in Old Axe Armor Mode, where they will control a character styled after the Axe Armor that first appeared in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.

Whoever wears this item "becomes" an Axe Armor with most of its abilities and then some new. It is worn by Alucard in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, veteran zombies, or a mysterious female warrior (playable) in Portrait of Ruin, and by any of the downloadable characters (Julius, Yoko, Richter, Maria, Simon or Fuma) in Harmony of Despair, if those characters have not been purchased yet.

Appearances

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

First appearance of this variant of the classic Axe Armor in the series. The Old Axe Armor tries to keep its distance just out of the reach of the player's weapon and is more aggressive in combat compared to the older variant. He throws a double bladed hand axe forward at two possible heights, high or low, which then return to him like a boomerang. While Maria can safely crouch below the high-thrown axes, this is not the case for Richter, who will still take a hit even if crouching. The Old Axe Armor can also throw his axes upward in an arc to catch the player by surprise from above, which also allows him to attack heroes standing on a lower level than him. Any axes thrown can be destroyed in midair. He also holds a large shield, which allows him to withstand a few hits and deflect sub-weapons (like the Axe and Cross); this will fly off of his hands after sustaining enough damage and then he'll become vulnerable to sub-weapon attacks. When he drops the shield, the Old Axe Armor may sometimes resort to do a quick charge forward while repeatedly hacking with his axe. While Maria has an easier time dodging this attack due to her natural double jumping ability, Richter will barely be able to dodge it with a normal jump that must be very precise, so most of the time he'll have to resort to his somersault move to dodge him. Otherwise, the player may just try to retreat enough until the armor finishes his charge.

The Old Axe Armor comes in two variants, blue and red. The red clad variant will generally resort to use charging attacks. While dangerous, this also makes him very predictable and the player may have an easier time dealing with him. Only rarely will they hurl an axe upward in an arc.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

In this 2.5D remake of Rondo of Blood, the Old Axe Armor is more aggressive and throws axes more often, sometimes populating the area in front of him with his projectiles. In addition, he is better at keeping his distance from the player, and they are frequently found in strategic spots that make them hard to attack, often across pitfalls.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Alucard can find the Axe Lord armor by first having obtained the Gravity Boots and then performing a high jump through the little opening underneath the Master Librarian's chair in the Long Library. Additionally, there is a very small probability to get the armor as a drop from the Spiked Ball on top of the Bone Pillar located at the top of the big staircase in the Royal Chapel. Equipping it causes Alucard to yell "What?!" (しまった！ Shimatta!, an expletive similar to "Oops!" or "Damn it!"), and changes his appearance and abilities to that of an Old Axe Armor, a variant of the classic Axe Armor that was introduced in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, the direct prequel to Symphony of the Night. It is worth mentioning that the Old Axe Armor itself doesn't appear as an enemy in Symphony of the Night, just as a transformation for Alucard when wearing this armor piece.

The armor provides Alucard an ATT +2 and DEF +15 boost, as well as gaining enhanced movement speed. It also grants immunity to Poison, Curse and Stone statuses, and protects against grabs and knockbacks from certain enemies, like the Succubus, Darkwing Bat and Akmodan II, although with the penalty of not being able to jump very high or regenerate MP at all, and getting hit causes an enforced long recovery with a unique reaction. He has a short axe he can hack with but which cannot be thrown. He is also unable to use any of his other abilities or weapons in this mode. If staying idle for a while, Alucard will also let out some unique war cry. Alucard's attack when wearing the armor works like a spell that deals Cut damage with a base ATT of 30; as such, damage is based on INT rather than STR.

After beating the game once, it is possible to play through the entire game using the Axe Lord armor. Entering the special name AXEARMOR in a new file on the Name Entry screen, starts a new game with the Axe Lord armor already in Alucard's inventory. However, it will be necessary to periodically take it off in order to access certain parts of the game.

Additionally, if Alucard casts a Shield Rod spell with the AxeLord Shield, he will summon another Old Axe Knight (without a shield) to charge forward and perform an axe chop.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

In Portrait of Ruin, the Old Axe Armor is "a veteran zombie warrior". They are a bit more difficult to deal with, as they will guard against (block) all of Jonathan's skills. Killing 1,000 or more of these enemies (found throughout all stages accessible with the portraits beyond Stella and Loretta's room in the Master's Keep, as well as on the second-to-last floor of the Nest of Evil) unlocks Old Axe Armor Mode, where the player can take control of this character. This is the only alternate mode in the game that doesn't give the player a partner to switch with.

The abilities of the Old Axe Armor have improved greatly over its Symphony of the Night counterpart, most likely to allow players to play through the entire game without the necessity of taking the armor off to access certain parts.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

The Old Axe Armor appears in Harmony of Despair in an unusual manner. When playing in a multiplayer mode, if one of the players selects a downloadable character which hasn't been purchased yet, that player's sprite will be replaced with that of an Old Axe Armor. It will thus appear as if that character is wearing the Old Axe armor, while their real appearance is covered up. Furthermore, that character's voice won't be heard at all and all attacks will sound as if they were simple axe swings.

Other appearances

Dead Cells

It is possible to make the playable The Beheaded take the appearance of the Haunted Armor by equipping the Haunted Armor Outfit that can be found in the Return to Castlevania expansion.

Vampire Survivors

The Old Axe Armor's select profile in Vampire Survivors.

Axe Armor appears as a common enemy and as a secret playable character in the Ode To Castlevania DLC.

Enemy Data

Enemy Data: Old Axe Armor
Image	Name - Game Description	Statistics	Items	Location	Notes
(RoB/DXC)	Axe Armor  [alt] - Rondo of Blood				[ edit ]
	'	HP: 14 Exp: 500		2. Castle Entrance, 4. Inner Passage, 5'. Wandering/Shudder	(Strategy)Weapons: Axe, Axe Armor Shield
	Axe Armor [Blue]  [alt] - Dracula X				[ edit ]
	'	HP: 7		2. Entrance, 3. Hall, 5. Courtyard, 6. Clock Tower, 7. Dracula	Weapons: Axe, Axe Armor Shield
	30. Axe Knight [Lv. 9] (Axe Armor) - Symphony of the Night				[ edit ]
	Well armored axe knight.	Weak: Hit (DXC only) Level: 9 HP: 42 Exp: 50	Drop: Axe, AxeLord Shield	Castle Keep, Colosseum, Outer Wall	Weapons: Axe, Axe Knight Shield
	64. Axe Armor Lv2 (Axe Armor II) - Harmony of Dissonance				[ edit ]
	'	Weak: Thunder Level: 24 HP: 192 Exp: 165	Common Drop: Kettle Hat Rare Drop: Ancient Armor	Castle A: Castle Treasury, Luminous Cavern Castle B: Sky Walkway, Chapel of Dissonance, Marble Corridor	Weapons: Axe, Axe Armor Shield
	92. Old Axe Armor (jpn) - Portrait of Ruin				[ edit ]
	A veteran zombie warrior wearing antique armor.	Strong: Ice Weak: Strike, Whip, Electric HP: 145 Exp: 156 Skill Pt: 0	Drop: Voulge, Ancient Armor	Dark Academy, Forgotten City, 13th Street, Burnt Paradise, Nest of Evil	Weapons: Axe
	Axe Armor  - Order of Shadows				[ edit ]
	'			2. The Bat's Belfry, 4. The Inner Sanctum	Weapons: Axe
	5. Axe Knight (Axe Armor) - Harmony of Despair				[ edit ]
	A zombie warrior in heavy armor, equipped with a devastating axe.	Strong: Pierce, Ice Weak: Strike, Lightning, Petrify, Curse, Poison	Drop: Axe (8.30%) Axe Knight Shield (2.30%) Soul: Red (2.80%)	Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 7	Weapons: Axe, Axe Knight Shield
	Shield Axe Armor  - Grimoire of Souls				[ edit ]
	A heavy armor that wields an axe. Its thorny shield attacks and defends with ease.		Soul: Enchant Weapon to level 7	Ash Banquet (Hard): 2-4, 2-5, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5 Dark Laughter: 2-3, 2-4, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4	Weapons: Axe (Straight Throw (high/low), Arc Throw), Axe Armor Shield

Item Data

Item Data: Axe Lord Armor
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Axe Lord Armor (Axe Armor's Armor) - Symphony of the Night   Body (Body Armor) - Alucard				[edit]
	Wearer becomes an Axe Knight		DEF +15, ATT +2	Find: (May start with), Long Library (under Master Librarian) Drop: Spiked Ball on top of Bone Pillar	Effect: Turns Alucard into an Axe Knight
	Voulge (jpn) - Portrait of Ruin   Weapon (Axe) - Jonathan				[edit]
	An axe with a hooked blade.	Attrib: Slash, Dark Consume: 100 MP (Critical Art)	ATK +100 Sell: $5,750	Buy: $23,000 Find: Entrance (Vincent's shop) Conditions: Defeat Death in the Tower of Death.	Effect: Axe Chop Special: Axe Critical Art
	Ancient Armor (Old Type Armor) - Portrait of Ruin   Body Gear (Armor) - Jonathan				[edit]
	Any damage reduces HP by 10% of maximum HP.		Sell: $7,500	Drop: Old Axe Armor
	Haunted Armor Outfit - Dead Cells (Return to Castlevania DLC)   Outfit - The Beheaded				[edit]
	This kind of ornamental armor is not comfortable at all. It's almost as if you weren't alone inside it.			Drop: Armor Knight, Axe Armor	Notes: Look like Armor Knight or Axe Armor (see Old Axe Armor)

Equipment

Item Data: Old Axe Armor
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Axe - Portrait of Ruin   Weapon (Axe) - Old Axe Armor				[edit]
		Attrib: Slash	ATK +31	Find: Starts with	Effect: Axe Chop Special: Only available in Old Axe Armor Mode.
	Axe (Axe Armor) - Portrait of Ruin   Sub-Weapon - Richter, Old Axe Armor				[edit]
	Throw an axe upwards.	Attrib: Slash Consume: 20 MP	ATK +31 (Richter), ATK +50 (Old Axe Armor)	Find: Starts with	Effect: Arc Throw Special: Only available in Richter Mode and Old Axe Armor Mode.
	Puppet (jpn) [alt] - Portrait of Ruin   Sub-Weapon - Old Axe Armor				[edit]
	Throw a puppet and switch places with it.	Consume: 5 MP		Find: Starts with	Effect: Throws a small puppet forward, allowing the Old Axe Armor to switch places with it. Special: Only available in Old Axe Armor Mode.

Gallery

Animations

Alucard wearing the Axe Lord Armor.

Videos

Castlevania Symphony Of The Night - Axe Armor Alucard!

Alucard donning the Axe Lord armor in Symphony of the Night.

Castlevania SotN (Old Axe Armor) Boss 1 Slogra and Gaibon (No Damage)

Axe Lord armor from Symphony of the Night.

Trivia

• In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, by equipping the Axe Lord armor during the Library Card animation and closing the menu, the animation will cancel and Alucard will be able to move normally before being teleported.

See also

• Axe Armor
• Old Axe Armor Mode

External links

• Axe Armor at the Vampire Survivors Wiki
• Axe Armor at the official Vampire Survivors Wiki
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin – Old Axe Armor FAQ by blorgh1212 at GameFAQs