Buy the next rod when it raises the stat you are missing. Power-only jumps that delete Luck are the traps. Prices below are Cash from the published seller table.
Early ladder
| Rod | Power | Luck | Price | Island |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bamboo Rod | 11 | 5 | 100 | Beginning Isle |
| Iron Hook Rod | 13 | 10 | 500 | Beginning Isle |
| Steel Rod | 17 | 11 | 1,000 | Beginning Isle |
| Enchanted Steel Rod | 19 | 12 | 2,000 | Beginning Isle |
| Alloy Rod | 22 | 5 | 5,000 | Bamboo Isle |
| Emerald Rod | 25 | 10 | 10,000 | Bamboo Isle |
| Shadow Rod | 29 | 22 | 60,000 | Bamboo Isle |
Skip Alloy Rod. Emerald Rod puts Luck back to 10, and Shadow Rod is the first large Luck spike.
Mid ladder, including the second trap
Grandmaster Steel Rod is 37 Power and 10 Luck for 250,000 Cash on Sovereign's Isle. Grandmaster Golden Rod, later on the same island, is 45 Power and 30 Luck for 1M. Do not park on Grandmaster Steel.
Inferno Rod and Steel Spine Rod are both 48 Power at 1.5M. Steel Spine has 20 Luck and Inferno Rod has 18. Platinum Spine Rod and Diamond Spine Rod both list 54 Power and 25 Luck. Diamond Spine costs 4M, one million more than Platinum Spine, for the same listed stats.
High ladder
| Rod | Power | Luck | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cryo Gravity Rod | 65 | 36 | 8M | Tied for the highest listed Luck. Also a Frost Isle quest reward. |
| Thunder Thorn Rod | 67 | 30 | 10M | Best balance among rods you simply buy. |
| Soul Thorn Rod | 75 | 19 | 20M | Power jump, Luck cut. Also a Coconut Isle quest reward. |
| Starlight Rod | 83 | 15 | 60M | Highest Power you can just buy. |
| Maoshan Rod | 105 | 25 | 300M | Highest Power. Roaming merchant only. |
| Pure Diamond Rod | 100 | 30 | 50 Gems | Craft. 50% listed fail chance. |
| Heaven Piercer Rod | 100 | 36 | 50 Gems | Craft. Same Power as Pure Diamond, 6 more Luck. |
Auric Gravity Rod is 60 Power and 10 Luck for 6M, the lowest Luck of any rod at that price or above. Gravisteel Rod opens the Gravity line at 58 Power and 15 Luck, then the line recovers at Inferno Gravity and Cryo Gravity.
Which one to hold
If you are spending Cash and the merchant is down, Thunder Thorn is the buy that keeps both stats healthy, and Starlight is the Cash ceiling. If you can craft one rod, Heaven Piercer wins the published comparison against Pure Diamond. Maoshan Rod is the Power ceiling when the merchant is actually present.
Diamond Rod, the first Battlefield Isle quest reward, has no listed Power or Luck. Its listed effect is +50% damage for Cloud Ascension skills. It is not a substitute for the Power ladder.
Rod skins from the banners, the Sacred Bamboo Rod skin from Giang Lao, and Specter's Chainsaw from daily login change appearance only.