The Rod of the Heavens: Zelda’s Top 5 Most Magical Rods

With all the magical items within Link‘s inventory, one would not necessarily consider rods to be a stand-out choice for the green-clad hero. Who needs a rod when you have Master Sword and some magic boots, right? Well as it turns out, rods have actually remained frequently utilized tools in the hero’s quest and have proven to be some of the most important items in the series. While there may be a wand or two, rods have actually popped up more often than many other magical implements in the Zelda series, always providing our hero with unique and amazing powers. With rods proving to be such an integral and significant class of item, we’ve decided to examine the most powerful, fanciful, and overall magical rods in the Zelda series.

5. Tornado Rod

The Tornado Rod is the newest entry to the Zelda rod family, available for Link to rent from Ravio‘s shop in A Link Between Worlds. Not only can it “lift [its user] up into the air,” but it can “blow things around, including monsters!” How exciting! This item has a ton of awesome uses, making it invaluable in many of Lorule’s dungeons. The House of Gales itself seems to be completely designed with the Tornado Rod in mind, as its windmill doors can only open with the vigorous gusts of this rod. The builders of this dungeon clearly understood the weapon’s power, and designed their labyrinth to only yield to the hero that masters such a treasure.

It goes without saying that an item capable of lifting an adolescent boy six feet into the air clearly holds immeasurable power. And by upgrading this item to the aptly-named “Nice Tornado Rod,” Link will have an even greater implement in his possession. The natural force the Nice Tornado Rod can produce could level a small city. It’s no wonder the Tornado Rod is called the “Tornadostab” in German; no enemies can escape the stabbing cyclones let loose by Link. If any hero were to journey forward into the great unknown, the Tornado Rod would be his or her greatest asset.

The only reason this rod occupies the fifth spot on this list is because the item’s description labels it as a “staff,” despite its already intimidating name. A magic rod worthy of the number one spot can not be confused with a staff.

4. Sand Rod

Here is another rod from A Link Between Worlds, one that hides away until Link completes the Thieves’ Hideout in A Link Between Worlds. It may be a bit less serviceable than the Tornado Rod, as it is only effective on limited patches of sand, but the Sand Rod has a great magical significance. Believing himself to be the “hero of our day,” the Sage Osfala rented this mystical rod from Ravio to save Princess Zelda. After Osfala is awakened as a sage, he hands the Sand Rod off to Link, the true hero. I can only assume that Osfala sees the Sand Rod as a heroic weapon, only to be wielded by a destined hero. He might be confusing this thing with the Master Sword, but his words speak to this rod’s power. Just look at the little bunny ears on that thing. This rod is a priceless magical weapon.

The powers of the Sand Rod itself are fairly self explanatory; the rod has the power to manipulate sand. Link can use the untapped power of this item to raise pillars of sand, much like the mighty pillars of the Parthenon. These pillars help Link traverse the landscape, solve puzzles, and dig up buried treasure. Who needs a shovel when you have this bad boy at your side? The Sand Rod is also the key to exploring Hyrule’s Desert Palace. Perhaps the Sand Rod once belonged to a strong desert titan, who used the rod and his magic mitts to vanquish foes. A guy can speculate, right?

The Sand Rod works very much like Spirit Track‘s Sand Wand, but we don’t want any filthy wands clogging up this list so let’s move on.

3. Fire Rod

Zelda‘s Fire Rod can be found in more games than any other of its class. The weapon is used by our hero in A Link to the Past, Four Swords Adventures, and A Link Between Worlds; the NES Legend of Zelda and Link’s Awakening even have a generically-named Magic Rod that serves as a proto-Fire Rod. Given the frequency at which the Fire Rod appears in the series, I feel no reluctance placing this item this high on the list. I could have easily included the Ice Rod, which is present in most games that contain the Fire Rod, but who thinks ice powers are cooler than fire powers? Not Link, I say!

In most incarnations, the Fire Rod — as one would expect — dispels fire from its tip. In A Link to the Past, the fireballs shot from this rod are rather small, but pack quite a punch when shot at enemies. If an Octorok or Buzz Blob are caught in the line of fire (literally), they are consumed and left a cloud of dust in no time at all. A Link Between Worlds raises the bar with its Fire Rod; instead of a measly, little fireball, the rod produces a beautifully massive fire cyclone that skirts across the floor.

This whirlwind of fire-death would be enough to secure the Fire Rod’s awesome power, but just wait and see how it works in Four Swords Adventures. In that game, the Fire Rod shoots a slightly larger fireball than in ALttP, but couple that with the fact that all four Links shoot a fireball at once, you’ve got destruction that rivals the fire cyclone. FSA‘s Fire Rod is a pyromaniac’s dream, as it causes unrestrained forest fires that consume the countryside. Just look at the gorgeous fire let loose by this rod. That alone is well-worth the number three spot.

2. Rod of Seasons

So far, the rods on this list have merely channeled elemental aspects of nature. Don’t get me wrong, nature is a powerful thing (just look at that forest fire!), but the remaining rods are much more magical because they carry divine significance. The Rod of Seasons in Oracle of Seasons carries “the powers of the Season Spirits,” four divine beings that dictate seasonal change in Holodrum, and perhaps beyond. The item serves as safeguard in case misfortune befalls the Oracle of Seasons. If wielded, the Rod of Seasons allows its user to maintain a degree of power and balance over the seasons in the Oracle’s absence. With every Season Spirit Link meets, and with each new bit of power bestowed into it, the Rod of Seasons becomes more and more powerful. That’s quite a lot of responsibility for a small tike from Hyrule.

Rather than control nature, Link essentially is nature with the Rod of Seasons. “The waters freeze and the snows pile up” with the power of winter, “vines grow tall and creeks dry up” with the power of summer, “pits are filled with fallen leaves and mushrooms are ripe for picking” with the power of autumn, and “rock-hard buds bloom” with the power of spring. Spring really is the “season of discovery!” Possible climate damage aside, the Rod of Seasons is absolutely filled with exciting magic. With a rod that serves as the focal point for an entire game, I’m excited to see which rod came in at number one.

Honorable Mention: Fishing Rod

This rod may not be totally magical, but the Fishing Rod will always hold a special place in our collective hearts. While it’s available as a minigame item in Link’s Awakening, Ocarina of Time, and Majora’s Mask 3D, the fishing rod has some narrative significance in Twilight Princess. Link’s young friend Colin gifts the rod to our hero as a sign of camaraderie, respect, and friendship. If that isn’t its own kind of magic, I don’t know what is. I’m sure many fans have spent hours of their free time enjoying a relaxing trip to the fishing hole, proving the importance of the Fishing Rod in the Zelda series.

1. Dominion Rod

And the number one rod is the Dominion Rod! Every single description of this legendary item in Twilight Princess speaks to its unfathomable eminence. The Dominion Rod, the so-called “rod of the heavens,” is a mystical treasure of legend that everyone seems to want to get their hands on. Most don’t even realize this rod’s true potential; researchers like Shad just understand it as a clue to the legendary race of Oocca, a connection between the heavens and Hyrule. Impaz explains late in the game that the Sheikah spoke stories of the Dominion Rod; they said that the “mysterious rod was handed down from the people of the sky” and it “was only carried by the messenger of the heavens.” All these descriptions paint a wondrous picture of the Dominion Rod, and provide Link with an ultra-significant role as “messenger of the heavens.” And how does all that translate to gameplay?

You can move some statues. Wait… what? That’s it? There has to be more heavenly magic powers for this thing right? Something fitting for the epic statements said above? Well, nope. Twilight Princess has this to say about the Dominion Rod: “this amazing rod can infuse ancient statues with life.” That’s… underwhelming. Well, I guess having “a statue brought to life [that] will move like its master” is pretty cool. I suppose making Link the “master” of 12-foot-tall stone golems is magical enough. But is it really magical enough for the number one spot? Here, let me press the non-canon button really quick…

Bam! In Hyrule Warriors, Princess Zelda is awarded her very own Dominion Rod as a DLC weapon. Honestly, Zelda must be a much more impressive messenger of the heavens than Link because her Dominion Rod kicks so much more butt. She can not only call forth those massive statues to decimate enemy forces, but even the Dominion Rod’s little ball can be used an effective weapon. With Zelda using her rod to perform such amazing spellbinding feats, I feel content leaving the Dominion Rod at number one.

So there you have it; these are the Zelda series’ most magical and wondrous items that also happen to be rods. Do you have a favorite Zelda rod? Let us know in the comments!

PS: Today is my birthday. Forgive my slight self-indulgence.

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