Vulcan Axe

The Vulcan Axe (ばくえんのオノ, Bakuen no Ono^?, lit. Smog Axe) is an Axe-class Artifact weapon found in Golden Sun and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

In Golden Sun and The Lost Age

Vulcan Axe (GBA)
Visual effect of Barrage
In-Game Description
"Axe: Unleashes Barrage" (GS) (TLA)
Trade Info
Weapon class	Axe
Buy value	4600
Sell value	3450
Artifact?	Yes
Statistic Boosts
Attack Boost	76
Unleash effect
Effect name	Barrage
Extra damage	20
Side effect	May inflict the target with Stun.
Acquisition
• Chest hidden in Lamakan Desert (GS)

In Golden Sun, it is a pure-element weapon aligned with Mars, meaning that its standard attack takes into account the wielder's Mars Power and the target's Mars Resistance. It is found in a hidden chest early on in Lamakan Desert that can only be seen (and opened) if Reveal is used near it, and the chest is located in an area that otherwise appears to be a dead-end. The Vulcan Axe can be equipped by Isaac and Garet. Its Mars-based Unleash effect, activating at the standard base rate of 35% of the time, is Barrage (エクスプロージョン, Explosion^?), which adds 20 points of damage to the attack's result and attempts to stun the target. Barrage appears as the axe strike creating an intense explosion of flame with a few sparks being emitted.

The Vulcan Axe, as is typical of many weapon artifacts, is easily the best weapon the party has when it can first be collected. It is one of a scant few weapons in either game whose normal attacks convert to an element, which means its damage is easily affected by enemy resistances. Watery monsters, or more precisely any monster with a low Mars Resistance rating, will always receive enhanced damage from this axe whether it Unleashes or not, making it a great weapon to use in the boss fight with the Kraken a little later on, and its damage increases if its wielder has a higher Mars power rating. Garet is typically a strong candidate for holding the axe, but so is Isaac if two Mars-based attackers is better in a particular battle, and particularly if Isaac has Mars Djinn set onto him to make his class of the Brute class series.

If the Vulcan Axe were transferred to Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Felix and Piers would also be able to equip it.

In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

Vulcan Axe (DD)
The DS model of the Vulcan Axe
In-Game Description
"Weapon: Axe" (DD)
Trade Info
Weapon class	Axe
Buy value	4600
Sell value	3450
Artifact?	Yes
Statistic Boosts
Attack Boost	76
First Unleash effect
Effect name	Critical Strike
Extra damage	x1.5
Second Unleash effect
Effect name	Barrage
Extra damage	20
Side effect	May Stun the target
Acquisition
• Chest in The Ouroboros (DD)

In Dark Dawn, it can be found in a chest in The Ouroboros labyrinth, and can be equipped by Matthew, Tyrell, and Eoleo. It retains Barrage as its main Unleash, and gains one new, secondary unleash, Critical Strike (かいしんのいちげき, Critical Hit^?). Critical Strike, normally a non-elemental unleash, is converted to a Mars-affiliated unleash due to the Vulcan Axe's pure-element nature, and multiplies damage by 1.5.

The Vulcan Axe is a great weapon for Tyrell to wield, due to his naturally high Mars Power. However, Matthew can also make use of the weapon if he given set Mars Djinn to make his class the Brute class series. The Vulcan Axe is an extremely useful weapon to have on hand for the boss battle against the Ice Queen in Harapa Ruins, due to her low Mars Resistance. The weapon's pure-element nature means that the player can always exploit this weakness, even when taking the unreliability of Unleashes into account.

Cultural references

Vulcan, also known as Hephaestus in Greek, was the Roman god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire, and volcanoes.