The Love Struck Rod is one of those update items that doesn’t look game-changing at first glance, but once you actually try it, you immediately feel how different it plays. It isn’t meant to replace the absolute top-tier rods in the game, but it sits in that very dangerous middle ground where it suddenly becomes the rod you keep going back to because it just feels fast, smooth, and honestly a little addictive to use.
This guide will walk you through how to unlock it, how it works, and when you should actually use it instead of other rods.
How to Get the Love Struck Rod
You cannot buy this rod directly, which is where a lot of players get confused. It’s a crafted rod, so you first need to gather the required materials before you can even think about equipping it.
To craft the Love Struck Rod, you need three specific things.
First, you need the blueprint. This blueprint is obtained through fishing, meaning there’s no guaranteed drop location. You simply have to keep fishing until it appears in your loot pool. It’s one of those RNG grinds where you might get it quickly, or it might take a while depending on luck.
Second, you need the Merchant’s Banana Rod. This is one of the base materials used in crafting, so if you don’t already have it, you’ll need to acquire it first before progressing.
Finally, you need Marrow, which is another crafting resource tied to this rod.
Once you have all three items, head to the crafting interface and combine them to create the Love Struck Rod.
Love Struck Rod Stats Explained
The biggest reason players are talking about this rod is its handling speed.
The Love Struck Rod provides around twenty percent faster handling compared to the Merchant’s Banana Rod. That might not sound insane on paper, but in practice, it feels extremely noticeable. The moment you start fishing with it, you’ll realize bites happen incredibly fast, often almost instantly.
This speed advantage makes it one of the fastest rods for general fishing sessions.
However, it’s important to understand what it does NOT do.
It does not increase your chances of catching Devil Fruits or other rare special drops. That means it’s a speed-focused rod, not a luck-focused rod.
Is It Better Than the Devil Fruit Rod?
This is the biggest question players keep asking, and the honest answer is no, but also… sometimes yes.
The Devil Fruit Rod still dominates when your goal is rare drop farming. It has unique bonuses specifically tied to Devil Fruit chances, which the Love Struck Rod simply cannot compete with.
But outside of rare farming scenarios, the Love Struck Rod becomes extremely strong.
Because of its fast handling speed, you can catch fish much faster overall. That means if you’re grinding resources, farming money, or just trying to fill inventory quickly, this rod can outperform slower rods purely through efficiency.
So the real comparison isn’t about power, it’s about purpose.
If you want rare loot, stick to the Devil Fruit Rod.
If you want speed and volume, the Love Struck Rod becomes one of the best choices in the game.
This rod shines the most during normal fishing sessions where your goal is simply to catch as many fish as possible in the shortest amount of time.
It’s also extremely useful when you’re using fishing titles or buffs that already improve speed, because stacking those effects with the rod’s natural handling boost creates near-instant bite times.
That’s when the rod starts to feel borderline overpowered, not because of rare drops, but because of how quickly you cycle through catches.
The Love Struck Rod isn’t meant to replace the top meta rods, and it doesn’t try to. Instead, it fills a very specific role that many players didn’t realize they needed until they tried it.
It’s a speed monster.
If your goal is efficiency, fast grinding, and nonstop fishing action, this rod feels incredibly satisfying to use. The instant bite times alone make it hard to go back to slower rods afterward.
But if you’re chasing Devil Fruits or rare drops, you’ll still want to keep your high-luck rods ready.
In the end, this rod doesn’t break the meta, it just quietly becomes one of the most fun rods to use once you unlock it.