The Lightning Rod is a weapon in Rift Apart. It is a rapid-fire pistol that fires electric projectiles at enemies. After projectiles hit an enemy and electrify them, they can stun the enemy briefly, as well as hit nearby enemies to pass to nearby enemies. Though comparable to the Burst Pistol, its ability to stun enemies gives it a distinct role.
The weapon can be purchased from Mrs. Zurkon in Zurkie's, Scarstu Debris Field, upon first arriving for "Locate the Part to Repair Clank" for 8,000 bolts. At level 5, it upgrades to the Lightning Strike. In challenge mode, the Omega Lightning Strike can be purchased for 100,000 bolts.
Characteristics[]
Gameplay[]
Pulling 
partway causes it to fire slowly, while pulling fully will cause it to fire at full speed. After multiple projectiles hit an enemy, the enemy will be temporarily stunned, and nearby enemies also hit by the weapon can also be hit by a lightning arc. As such, the weapon is very potent against mobs of swarmer enemies. It can equally be used to stun bosses and medium-sized enemies, but in this case it is not suitable as a primary source of damage.
The raritanium upgrades to the weapon improve its basic functionality and ability to spread its damage. Particularly, improving its stun duration makes it much more versatile, while improving its rate of fire and max ammo makes it better at defeating mobs of enemies. Its three bonus upgrades all improve its ability to deal with mobs.
Once fully upgraded with XP, it becomes the Lightning Strike, which gives it the ability to charge up its shots by half-pressing the trigger and causes enemies hit by the Lightning Strike's charged shots to electrify faster. It also causes enemies killed by the weapon to pass the electrical effect to other enemies. The weapon remains useful against mobs of enemies, but becomes outclassed by the Blackhole Storm later on (despite having a slightly better range).