| “ | The famous spear wielded by a valiant Eastern general. | „ |
The Gondo-Shizunori is a Spear in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
Description[]
The Gondo-Shizunori uses the "spear thrust" attack motion to deliver an attack based on an ATK rating of 33, with its hitbox passing over a small "dead zone" immediately in front of Miriam like most other spears. Unlike most other spears, which only use the primarily-anti-flier Thrust attribute, this weapon strikes with a blend of the Thrust and Slash attributes. It can inherit the Orbital Wheel technique taught by the early-game Lance.
Gondo-Shizunori is the first of two spears in the game that are capable of the Penetrate technique (↓ ↘ → + Attack), which offers a highly convenient utility function that can be used throughout much of the second half of the game. By inputting the command while Miriam is grounded, she will run forward along the ground very fast while dealing rapid thrusting attacks. Even though it takes an exorbitant 60 MP per second to maintain by holding down the attack button, it can be used as a situational stand-in for the speed boost provided by the Accelerator shard near the end of the game. With it, Miriam can traverse long, flat hallways and save time traversing earlier zones, and she can quickly travel between Johannes and Dominique to rapidly alternate between their services at Arvantville. Mastering the technique allows it to be used with the elementally themed spears coming up, and it is worth creating a Shortcut holding this weapon to maintain easy access to this dashing function.
Gondo-Shizunori can be crafted as an "upgrade" to a Honebami (a katana) by using two Mahogany, a material that can only be found later in the game by opening blue chests starting in the later, post-Blood Steal portions of Forbidden Underground Waterway. One copy of the Honebami can be found in the train ride segment of the Bridge of Evil, though it can be crafted some time earlier by "upgrading" an early-game Morgenstern (a club) with Steel and Damascus after getting Steel Equipment/R in the earlier portions of the Waterway.
Given that the Mahogany requirement would make the option of crafting this spear only available in much later stages of the game, it is vastly preferable to rely on Susie Quinn's food questline to get a "free" copy of it as early as the Underground Sorcery Lab just after the Bridge of Evil. Though you can complete her first seven quests prior to riding through the Bridge of Evil, you will be unable to cook up the Omurice needed to complete her eighth quest for this spear until you gain access to the Black Pepper that spawns in blue chests in the underground lab.
That said, you may want to craft at least one extra Gondo-Shizunori because enhancing the final two ranks of the Spear Expertise passive shard (which is dropped by the Lance Armor in later Livre Ex Machina and then in the upper regions of Dian Cécht Cathedral) takes a total of two copies of this spear. Doing so will create an always-active skill shard version of Spear Expertise that can significantly help your damage output with spears.
A Gondo-Shizunori also happens to be "upgradeable" into the next tier of spear, the Leng Yan Ju, which only takes one Diamond — a material that only becomes feasible to gather once you reach the Secret Sorcery Lab, since it appears in blue chests both there and in the Inferno Cave and drops from the Dark Elementals there (4%). However, Diamonds can also drop from Light Elementals at an extremely rare 0.5% base chance, and while they are primarily found in the upper reaches of the Cathedral, a Light Elemental is occasionally summoned by the surprisingly early-game Zagan enemy in Garden of Silence. Leng Yan Ju happens to be a virtually identical weapon to Gondo-Shizunori save for 3 more base ATK, and it is the other spear in the game that can teach the Penetrate technique.
Leng Yan Ju happens to be one of the pieces of "advanced" gear that automatically unlocks for sale at Dominique's supply post once the Glutton Train boss is defeated at the Bridge of Evil, without requiring you to craft one yourself. This results in an odd scenario where you can buy it as a slightly improved version of Gondo-Shizunori (for 14,700G) at the same time you can earn a "free" Gondo-Shizunori from Susie's eighth quest, since both become available as you gain access to the Underground Sorcery Lab. When it comes time to acquire a second Gondo-Shizunori for the sake of enhancing Spear Expertise to Rank 9, you have the option of buying a Leng Yan Ju and Dismantling it (for 9 Alkahests) into its immediate predecessor (and a Diamond).
Availability[]
- Can be crafted by "upgrading" a Honebami with Mahogany ×2.
- Can be bought from Dominique's shop for 12,600G.
- Quest reward from Susie's eighth quest, "Craving a Novel Idea", which requires submitting Omurice.
Usage[]
While Gondo-Shizunori is equipped, Miriam's attack becomes the "spear thrust" with a +33 ATK boost and both the Thrust and Slash attributes.
It is initially capable of the Penetrate Technique (60 MP per second, Down → Down-Forward → Forward + Attack), which will be passed on to all spears once mastered. This makes Gondo-Shizunori a viable (although MP-intensive) stand-in for the speed boost provided by the Accelerator shard at the end of the game.
Gondo-Shizunori is a material used to craft the following item:
- Leng Yan Ju (×1 Gondo-Shizunori, ×1 Diamond)
Gondo-Shizunori is used to enhance the following shard:
- Spear Expertise Ranks 8, 9 (Gondo-Shizunori ×1)