Isaac's V-pattern starter from the Ode to Castlevania DLC, evolves into a critical-strike beam weapon.
Trident is one of the few weapons in Vampire Survivors patch v1.13 tagged as Magic-type rather than Normal. The wiki notes it can roll from Spectral Sword, which is why some Isaac runs end up with two Tridents in the same loadout: one starter, one Spectral Sword roll.
It also has a hard mechanical limit. The V-pattern only fires left or right, never up, never down, never diagonal. That single fact decides whether the weapon carries a run or stalls one.
The evolution to Gungnir-Souris flips the calculus. The wiki effects block on the evolved weapon reads "Critical hits also fire a damaging beam", and Gungnir-Souris ships with a 25% innate crit chance and 2x crit multiplier. Stack Luck and the secondary beam fires constantly.
This guide covers the stats, the Duplicator evolution gate, the Isaac build, and how Trident compares to the other Ode to Castlevania starters.
Trident, Isaac's starting Magic-type weapon (Ode to Castlevania DLC)
Gungnir-Souris with 
Duplicator at max levelTrident sends out three tines in a V-shaped pattern, cycling between an upper line, a center line, and a lower line, all in the faced direction. The wiki specifies the weapon only attacks left or right of the character, never up, down, or diagonally. Facing matters more than usual: turn around in a swarm and the entire DPS budget rotates with you.
At base it fires 2 tines per cast, every 2 seconds, with a 0.15 second projectile interval between tines and 160% Area. Levels add Damage, Amount, Area, and shave Cooldown plus Projectile Interval. By level 8 the weapon is firing 4 tines (5 with the right Limit Break), with a 1.6 second cooldown.
Knockback is set at 5, which the wiki effects block flags as the value that pushes most non-elite enemies clean off the V-line. The weapon does not pierce normally but the area-of-effect tine impact lets it cut through clusters.
Hold a single direction for at least 2 seconds before bossy spawns appear. The V-pattern needs settled facing to land all three tines on the same target.
| Stat | Base | Max (Level 8) |
|---|---|---|
| Damage | 10 | 40 (+30) |
| Area | 160% | 200% (+40%) |
| Amount | 2 | 4 (+3 with Limit Break) |
| Duration | 0.75 seconds | 0.75 seconds |
| Cooldown | 2.0 seconds | 1.6 seconds (-0.4) |
| Projectile Interval | 0.15 seconds | 0.12 seconds (-0.03) |
| Knockback | 5 | 5 |
| Pool Limit | 200 | |
| Type | Magic (rolls from Spectral Sword) | |
| Rarity | 60 | |
| Unlock | Inflict 40,000 damage with Trident in a single run. | |
Gungnir-Souris is a single-passive evolution. The wiki specifies you only need Duplicator at max level alongside Trident at level 8 by minute 10. That makes it one of the lighter evolution gates in the Ode to Castlevania DLC, especially compared to 
Vampire Killer, which needs both Hollow Heart and Tirajisu.
The payoff is real. Gungnir-Souris jumps from 10 base damage to 60, fires 5 tines per cast, and gains the critical-hit damaging beam. Per the wiki effects block, that beam is the entire reason the evolved weapon outperforms the base: every crit chains into a second hit.
| Base | Passive needed | Becomes |
|---|---|---|
| Trident (Lv 8) | Duplicator (max Lv 2) | Gungnir-Souris |
Duplicator caps at level 2 in v1.13. The wiki notes Duplicator and Tirajisu are the only passives with this 2-level cap, so you do not need to chase extra level-ups once it reads Lv 2.
This build commits to Isaac and turns the Gungnir-Souris crit beam into the run's primary damage source. Isaac's familiar-per-10-levels trait gives the build extra weapons for free, which means the passive slots can lean entirely into Trident scaling.
IsaacDuplicator (evolution gate, max Lv 2)
Spinach (Might multiplier)
Empty Tome (Cooldown for tine cycle)
Bracer (Projectile Speed extends V reach)
Crimson Shroud (damage cap for survivability)Out of Bounds (XII) is the headline arcana for Gungnir-Souris. The wiki notes it makes critical hits trigger an additional explosion at impact, which stacks multiplicatively with the crit beam Gungnir-Souris already fires on every crit. Stacking Luck through the level-up pool turns Isaac into a 25 to 60 percent crit machine depending on Limit Break investment.
Twilight Requiem (II) is the second arcana to consider. It detonates an explosion at the start of every projectile, which on Trident means three tines per cast each spawning a Curse-scaled blast. The combination scales hard with passive Curse rolls, which Isaac picks up naturally through 
Mace-tree characters in co-op.
Spectral Sword interaction is the build's hidden lever. The wiki specifies Trident is one of the Magic-type weapons that can roll from Spectral Sword, which means an Isaac run that picks up Spectral Sword has a chance to land a second Trident slot. Two Tridents in one run double the V-pattern coverage, and after evolving the original Trident, Spectral Sword keeps producing Magic-type rolls for the rest of the run.
Compared to other Ode to Castlevania starters, Trident sits in the middle of the pack. Alchemy Whip wins on horizontal coverage at all ranges. 
Javelin wins on vertical pressure. Trident lands somewhere between, with the V-pattern covering left/right cones but losing to Javelin on top-down spawns.
The honest comparison is to the Whip-tree weapons. Alchemy Whip evolves with two passives (Hollow Heart and one more), while Trident only needs Duplicator. That single-passive gate is what makes Trident a smoother run for first-time Isaac players, even though Alchemy Whip's peak DPS is higher in real runs once both are evolved.
Isaac in Vampire Survivors references Isaac from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, the 2005 PS2 entry where Isaac is the antagonist Devil Forgemaster. The wiki lists his theme as "Young Nobleman of Madness", which is the Curse of Darkness boss theme played during fights against Isaac in that game.
The Trident-to-Gungnir-Souris evolution name combines two Norse-Germanic references. Gungnir is Odin's spear in Norse mythology, the weapon that never misses its target. Souris is French for "mouse" and a nod to Castlevania's recurring weapon-naming style. The "never misses" framing is mechanically reflected in the crit-beam: a critical hit fires a guaranteed second hit on every proc.
Trident fires a V-shaped pattern of three tines in the direction Isaac is facing. It only attacks left or right, never up or down. It is a Magic-type weapon, evolves into Gungnir-Souris with Duplicator, and is part of the Ode to Castlevania DLC.
Level Trident to 8, get Duplicator to its max level (Lv 2), then open a chest after minute 10. Gungnir-Souris adds a critical-hit damaging beam mechanic on top of the base V-pattern.
It is a strong B-tier starter in v1.13 with A-tier potential after evolving. Gungnir-Souris with Luck stacking and Out of Bounds arcana hits hard. Check the weapon tier list for exact placement.
Isaac starts with Trident. Isaac is exclusive to the Ode to Castlevania DLC and is unlocked by evolving the Mace, then purchased for 2,000 gold.
Inflict a total of 40,000 damage with Trident in a single run. Playing Isaac (whose starter is Trident) is the easiest way to hit that threshold within the first 15 minutes.
Yes. Trident is a Magic-type weapon, which the wiki specifies as one of the categories Spectral Sword can roll from. Isaac runs that pick up Spectral Sword can end up with two Tridents at the same time.
Alchemy Whip has higher peak DPS once evolved into Vampire Killer, but it needs two passives to evolve. Trident only needs Duplicator, so it is a smoother run for first-time Isaac players. Pick Alchemy Whip when chasing optimal damage.
The wiki effects entry confirms Trident only attacks to the left or right, never up, down, or diagonally. This is a hard mechanical limitation, not a stat bug. Builds need to plan facing-direction discipline around it.
Pair this guide with the canonical hubs and the other Ode to Castlevania starters. The tier list ranks every weapon, the evolution guide covers every passive gate, and the passive items page shows what to take alongside Duplicator.
Image sprites and screenshots sourced from the Vampire Survivors Wiki (vampire.survivors.wiki) under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
