Stone

Juste being turned to stone by a Slime in Harmony of Dissonance.

Stone, also known as Petrify, is one of the basic status modifiers found in the Castlevania series.

Description

After being hit by a Stone-based attack, the player will remain in a "petrified" state and thus be unable to move for a short period of time. The real danger of being put in this state is not actually being damaged by the attack itself, but to remain paralyzed while other enemies can still continue damaging them. An even more dangerous situation takes place if the player is petrified over a spike-filled area, which will end up inflicting heavy damage at a constant rate. It should also be noted that taking damage from enemies will not get rid of the petrification status (except in Circle of the Moon).

In most games, the player will require to rapidly move the directional pad or wiggle the joystick in various directions and repeatedly press the buttons in order to slowly break through the stone and be able to move again. In this regard, being petrified oftentimes has a very similar effect as being Frozen or Paralyzed.

Various enemies throughout the series may recur to this ability (Gold Medusa, Cockatrice, Basilisk, Stone Rose, Catoblepas, Gorgon, etc.), but perhaps the most prominent of them all is Medusa, a gorgon cursed to turn to stone all living beings which fall upon her gaze.

In some games, the player is able to obtain weapons, items and/or abilities which will allow them to turn enemies to stone, which certain enemies are significantly weak to. Oftentimes, these enemies will receive twice as much damage as normal once petrified. Enemies are not able to escape from their petrified status in any way,^{[citation needed]} although the effect usually passes over time.

Starting from Symphony of the Night, players are also able to find items to remove the "Stone" effect. These are usually dropped by the very same enemies that inflict the status in the first place. Furthermore, some familiars (mainly Faeries) are able to use certain items specific to them to instantly cure the petrification status on the player.

Game specific information

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Main article: Stone/Symphony of the Night

If Alucard takes any damage while petrified, he will suffer damage roughly equal to touching spikes. This makes petrification very dangerous at higher levels; the more HP Alucard has, the higher the damage he suffers.

Alucard turned into a gargoyle statue in Symphony of the Night.

If Alucard equips the Medusa Shield, he will be impervious to being petrified and he will also gain the ability to briefly summon a Medusa Head familiar (by combining it with the Shield Rod) which will fire two homing beams from her eyes. However, this attack only deals damage and does not petrify. Alucard may also choose to be assisted by the Faerie Familiar, who is the only one capable to remove the Stone status from him by the use of a Hammer.

Medusa will attack with a petrifying beam coming from her eyes. When she dies, the tables will turn and it will be her who will end up turning to stone.

Alucard has a small probability to be turned into a winged gargoyle statue after being petrified. While in this state, rather than becoming more vulnerable, Alucard instead becomes invincible.

The only enemies vulnerable to this status are Doppleganger10 and Doppleganger40.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Main article: Stone/Circle of the Moon

Most of the DSS combinations that include the Cockatrice attribute card will grant Nathan the ability to turn enemies to stone in one way or another. Making use of these powers, Nathan can step on such petrified enemies, in a manner of platforms, to reach areas that were not intended to be explored at that point in the game.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Being petrified on this game is especially dangerous, as the game won't provide any invincibility window of time after each attack. Juste's HP can be reduced greatly in a manner of seconds. To worsen the situation, no items may be used while petrified, forcing the player to break out of the status if Juste is to be healed.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Main article: Stone/Aria of Sorrow

The stone status will double the damage inflicted to both, player and enemies. An enemy will be petrified if it has stone elemental weakness and has been hit with a stone elemental attack. A petrified enemy can't cure the status itself. If an attack inflicts petrify status, the damage is always 2. Due to damage calculation formula, an enemy's stone elemental tolerance is redundant.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Main article: Stone/Dawn of Sorrow

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Some enemies like the Cockatrice can petrify the player. Hector can have a Hornet Innocent Devil to use the Stone Breaker ability on him and instantly break free from the status effect without having to wiggle directions.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Main article: Stone/Portrait of Ruin

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Main article: Stone/Order of Ecclesia

Gallery

Alucard being turned into a gargoyle stone statue in Symphony of the Night.

Desmond getting petrified in Order of Shadows.

Alucard afflicted with Stone in Grimoire of Souls.

Trivia

• It seems that the term "Petrify" was most likely made popular by the gaming community. The official name for this status is "Stone".

See also

• Damage Types (category)
  • Curse
  • Poison
• Statue