Shield Rod

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, it also grants an extra ATT +5 and DEF +2 when equipped with a shield, but its major utility comes from the "Shield Rod Spells" it can be used to cast. These will usually summon a being that either attacks enemies or grants stat boosts.
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 (alternatively, the shield spell can also be activated by holding the equipped shield up and attacking twice quickly with the Shield Rod); 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: ←, →, , a gear-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 four shields can be summoned at a time, which will disappear roughly after ten seconds of being spawned. These shields can be summoned whether an actual 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 doesn't provide an extra defense and attack bonus when equipped with a shield like the Shield Rod does.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
===Animations===
SOTN Leather Shield Special.gif|Leather Shield
SOTN Knight Shield Special.gif|Knight Shield
SOTN Shaman Shield Special.gif|Shaman Shield
SOTN Herald Shield Special.gif|Herald Shield
SOTN Fire Shield Special.gif|Fire Shield
SOTN Goddess Shield Special.gif|Goddess Shield
SOTN AxeLord Shield Special.gif|AxeLord Shield
SOTN Dark Shield Special.gif|Dark Shield
SOTN Iron Shield Special.gif|Iron Shield
SOTN Skull Shield Special.gif|Skull Shield
SOTN Medusa Shield Special.gif|Medusa Shield
SOTN Alucart Shield Special.gif|Alucart Shield
SOTN Alucard Shield Special.gif|Alucard Shield
Saturn Woodland Shield Special.gif|Woodland Shield
Alucard Shield+Shield Rod Spell or Mablung Sword Spells(Soul Stell).gif|Alucard decimating Galamoth with the Shield Rod + Alucard Shield spell in Symphony of the Night.
===Screenshots===
Magician stuff 1.png|Shield Rod in "The Harvest", from the Castlevania animated series.
==Trivia==
*The Shield Rod might be a reference to the Cane of Byrna from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo, 1991). Not only do both canes look very similar, but they also have the similar function of creating a shield that protects the user. This is further supported as Koji Igarashi has stated that A Link to the Past was a big influence during the creation of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
==External links==
*Castlevania Realm
Category:Cudgels
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Items
Category:Symphony of the Night Items