The Shield Rod is a club in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It is extra effective when used in conjunction with a shield.
Description
The Shield Rod is a low-end, slow club weapon that deals Hit damage and has a small DEF boost, but its major utility comes from the "Shield Rod Spells" it can be used to cast.
To cast a Shield Rod Spell, Alucard must have a shield equipped in his other hand. Both attack buttons ( + ) must then be pressed at the same time; the resulting effect costs a set amount of MP and what happens depends on the shield used, with a different effect for each (see below for a list of effects). It should be noted that persistent effects do not require the Shield Rod to still be equipped.
The Shield Rod also features a hidden ability which acts at the same time as a little Easter Egg. By performing the following sequence: ←, →, (or, alternatively, pressing both + at the same time twice), a star-shaped shield like those from the Gradius series will be summoned in front of Alucard. The shield will be sent forward a short distance and remain in place for a short time. While it doesn't deal any damage to enemies, it can in turn block projectiles and any other attacks a normal shield can. Up to three stars can be summoned at a time, which will disappear roughly after ten seconds of being spawned. These stars can be summoned whether a shield is equipped or not.
The Mablung Sword ("Lemuria Sword" in the Japanese version) has an undocumented ability to cast Shield Rod Spells, and also higher damage output and the same defense bonus, plus it is slightly faster to wield, although it cannot create options.
Item Data
Item Data: Shield Rod | ||||||||
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Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
Extra effective with shield | Attrib: Hit |
ATT +11, DEF +2 |
Find: Final Stage: Bloodlines, Colosseum |
Effect: Flail (slow), grants an extra ATT +5 and DEF +2 when equipped with a shield Special: ←→ + [Attack] for Shield; hold shield + [Attack]×2 for equipped shield's Shield Rod spell | ||||
Shields | ||||||||
Leather shield - low DEF | DEF +1 |
Buy: $400 Find: Alchemy Laboratory Drop: Slinger, Stone Rose |
Effect: Projectile block Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (10 MP): Summon Cow – Defense Up (DEF +20) for 68 seconds | |||||
Armored knight's shield | DEF +2 |
Find: Colosseum (just outside Royal Chapel) Drop: Spectral Sword, Slinger |
Effect: Projectile block Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (10 MP): Summon Horse – Offense Up (ATT +20) for 68 seconds | |||||
Hard iron shield | DEF +2 |
Buy: $3,980 Drop: Winged Guard |
Effect: Projectile block that grants temporary invulnerability Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (20 MP): Giant Sword Attack (ATT +40, Attrib: Hit) | |||||
Resembles family shield | DEF +0 |
Find: Marble Gallery (requires Double Jump and Stopwatch) |
Effect: Projectile block. Equip with Alucart Sword and Alucart Mail for Alucart status (LCK +30) Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (10 MP): A question mark appears above Alucard's head, no effect but wasted MP | |||||
Shield used in magic ritual | DEF +4 |
Find: Clock Tower |
Effect: Projectile block Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (10 MP): Summon Baphomet – Intelligence Up (INT +20) for 68 seconds | |||||
Shield with heart crest | DEF +4 |
Find: Underground Caverns |
Effect: Projectile block that gives a Heart Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (40 MP): Summon Maiden – Protection from Fire and Thunder for 68 seconds | |||||
Favorite shield of Axe Lords | DEF +3 |
Drop: Axe Knight |
Effect: Projectile block Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (20 MP): Summon Axe Lord (runs toward enemy then Axe Chop) (ATT +20, Attrib: Hit) | |||||
Gorgon headed shield | Attrib: Stone |
DEF +1, ATT +13 |
Drop: Medusa Head |
Effect: Projectile block and shield attack that may petrify a vulnerable enemy. Immunity to Stone status when equipped Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (30 MP): Summon Medusa – Laser Attack (ATT +0, Attrib: Hit) | ||||
Shield with Knight's crest | DEF +4 |
Drop: Bone Ark, Yorick, Skull Lord |
Effect: Projectile block Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (40 MP): Giant Laser Attack (ATT +100, Attrib: Hit) | |||||
Engraved with goddess image | DEF +4 |
Find: Necromancy Lab |
Effect: Projectile block Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (40 MP): Summon Goddess – Protection from Dark for 68 seconds | |||||
Unholy dark shield | Attrib: Hit |
DEF +3, ATT +10 |
Find: Final Stage: Bloodlines Drop: Malachi |
Effect: Projectile block and shield attack Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (30 MP): Meteor Attack (ATT +30, Attrib: Hit) | ||||
Shield with fire properties | Attrib: Fire |
DEF +4 |
Drop: Fire Demon |
Effect: Projectile block and immunity to Fire when equipped Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (50 MP): Summon Salamander – Flame Attack (ATT +70, Attrib: Fire) | ||||
Strong vs. all attacks | DEF +5 |
Find: Starts with and loses; Reverse Caverns |
Effect: Projectile block Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (20 MP): Offensive shield with fixed ATT, Soul Steal, +1 Heart and about 2 seconds of invulnerability on contact, 68 seconds duration (decreases only when shield is held up), holding shield drains MP (ATT +255, Attrib: Hit) | |||||
The shield at which a tree soul dwell (fragrance of the rose) | DEF +3 |
Drop: Venus Man Trap (Saturn only) |
Effect: Projectile block Special: Shield Rod or Mablung Sword spell (30 MP): Summon Vines – immobilize and damage enemies (ATT +30, Attrib: Hit) |