Seems like nobody uses Staffs

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

Why doesnt anyone ever talk about staffs/staves? They are GREAT! For people lacking in magicka staffs can be useful! I ask people what weapons they use and they say dual wield daedric sword or glass warhammer or Conjue Familar and Steel Mace. WWWWWWWWAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTT?!?!?!?!?!! Y U NO USE STAFFS?!?!?!

 

[M'aiqaelF]

they're just not that powerful

 

[orca45]

they're just not that powerful

.. and not that powerful that my dual casting Fire Storm or Fireball ...

 

[Lady Redpool the Unlifer]

Honestly, staffs become useful LATER because to be good with a staff, you have to be good in that school of magic, but using staffs doesn't level your magic at all. So when you're higher level, and you have a highish level staff, and you don't want to use magicka to cast, say, fireball, that's when they become good. I personally love staffs, but I rarely use them til much later in the game.

 

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

U gua are just haters

 

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

*guys

 

[Lady Redpool the Unlifer]

Well, thought it was going to be a real discussion. Deleting my post and ignoring.

WTF?

Anyways, I ain't a hater, just I have to level my skill before picking up a staff, although that kinda makes it seem like a status symbol rather than a tool or a weapon

 

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

Well, thought it was going to be a real discussion. Deleting my post and ignoring.

Well you have to say staffs are useful when u have no/low magicka

 

[Vex]

As RedNeK posted before me, a main reason that staffs/staves don't see more usage from many players is that they do not increase skill/experience in their respective schools. Furthermore, I agree with Morgan that it's much more efficient to simply cast them, gain the experience and carry back-up magicka potions. Unless you've capped the magic school at 100 and aren't going to reset them for "Legendary" purposes, staffs serve no use other than that they're valuable, they don't weigh much so you can carry many of them and their visuals when incinerating enemies is pretty impressive.

 

[JayW]

There are a couple of staves that are actually really powerful. The obvious one is the Sanguine Rose. This gives you the most powerful summon available. While you can summon a dremora lord yourself without the staff, the Sanguine Rose will summon a levelled dremora lord. Instead of the standard Dremora you will get a Dremora Valynaz if you are a high enough level.

My second favourite staff is the Staff of Paralysis. I tend to actively avoid using alteration because I want to keep my level down (for necromancy). The staff of paralysis gives me access to the only spell I rate in that school. By reducing my alteration spell costs to zero, I don't even have to reload the staff with soul gems.

Finally I quite like the staff of Dread Zombies. I'll use this staff until I can use the Ritual Stone with the Aetherial Crown or have access to dead thrall. This staff is great because it doesn't destroy reanimated corpses the way low level conjuration spells do. You can also reanimate most beasts to fight for you (which you can't with dead thrall), or in other words ... Pet Sabretooth Cat. The only downside is getting hold of one of these can be very difficult and it becomes next to useless when powerful enough in Conjuration.

Finally there is a neat trick you can perform with staves. If you arm a staff in one hand and go unarmed in the other then you can machine gun punch as fast as you can pull the trigger (if this doesn't work at first then cast a summon from your off hand, go unarmed and try again). For those enemies you just can't kill with other combat techniques this will make you OP. If playing as a Khajit it is especially powerful (unarmed bonus) and combines particularly well with the staff of Paralysis.

Edit....also staves are great for arming dead thralls or followers with. Warriors will instantly become high level mages.

 

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

WTF?

Anyways, I ain't a hater, just I have to level my skill before picking up a staff, although that kinda makes it seem like a status symbol rather than a tool or a weapon

I know right WTF?!?!

 

[Lady Redpool the Unlifer]

I feel a need to post again and clarify the use of staffs. say that you use Alteration for armor, Conjuration for summons, Destruction for..... destroying, and restoration to heal. That's ALOT of magicka usage. Enchanting robes can give you partial discounts, or full discounts to two schools. Add a staff and suddenly that's a third school you aren't using magicka for, and you have PLENTY for that pesky fourth school, whatever it may be.

 

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

There are a couple of staves that are actually really powerful. The obvious one is the Sanguine Rose. This gives you the most powerful summon available. While you can summon a dremora lord yourself without the staff, the Sanguine Rose will summon a levelled dremora lord. Instead of the standard Dremora you will get a Dremora Valynaz if you are a high enough level.

My second favourite staff is the Staff of Paralysis. I tend to actively avoid using alteration because I want to keep my level down (for necromancy). The staff of paralysis gives me access to the only spell I rate in that school. By reducing my alteration spell costs to zero, I don't even have to reload the staff with soul gems.

Finally I quite like the staff of Dread Zombies. I'll use this staff until I can use the Ritual Stone with the Aetherial Crown or have access to dead thrall. This staff is great because it doesn't destroy reanimated corpses the way low level conjuration spells do. You can also reanimate most beasts to fight for you (which you can't with dead thrall), or in other words ... Pet Sabretooth Cat. The only downside is getting hold of one of these can be very difficult and it becomes next to useless when powerful enough in Conjuration.

Finally there is a neat trick you can perform with staves. If you arm a staff in one hand and go unarmed in the other then you can machine gun punch as fast as you can pull the trigger (if this doesn't work at first then cast a summon from your off hand, go unarmed and try again). For those enemies you just can't kill with other combat techniques this will make you OP. If playing as a Khajit it is especially powerful (unarmed bonus) and combines particularly well with the staff of Paralysis.

You can also use the gloves of the pugilist which increases unarmed damage and you can disenchant them and add tem to your favorite set of armor

 

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

I feel a need to post again and clarify the use of staffs. say that you use Alteration for armor, Conjuration for summons, Destruction for..... destroying, and restoration to heal. That's ALOT of magicka usage. Enchanting robes can give you partial discounts, or full discounts to two schools. Add a staff and suddenly that's a third school you aren't using magicka for, and you have PLENTY for that pesky fourth school, whatever it may be.

Yeah destruction staffs are useful so you can summon and alter in another hand. But you cant dual cast with staffs. No dual casting is my only downside to staffs

 

[Catwoman]

They ARE cool, and it's great for casting things when you can't normally cast with spells if you aren't a high enough level. But the thing is for me is that it's charge depletes way to quick for me! I once carried a staff of fireballs into a dungeon and it ran out pretty quick and all I had was a steel dagger against a Dragur(?) Deathlord. They can be good once you know the right situation in which to use them, but otherwise, I usually stick with spells and such. Maybe I'll make a character dedicated to finding and using staff's seeing as Neloth has a staff improver somewhere in his little mushroom house!

 

[JayW]

They ARE cool, and it's great for casting things when you can't normally cast with spells if you aren't a high enough level. But the thing is for me is that it's charge depletes way to quick for me! I once carried a staff of fireballs into a dungeon and it ran out pretty quick and all I had was a steel dagger against a Dragur(?) Deathlord. They can be good once you know the right situation in which to use them, but otherwise, I usually stick with spells and such. Maybe I'll make a character dedicated to finding and using staff's seeing as Neloth has a staff improver somewhere in his little mushroom house!

Unfortunately you can only craft staves with spells that you are able to cast yourself. It makes the staff enchanter next to useless. On the plus side, if you have mastered enchanting and reduce the spell casting cost of a school of magic to zero then the staves you use (from that school) won't deplete their charges.

 

[Psiberzerker]

I use them, either to get effects (like Wall of Flames) ahead of level, or as backups whenever I run my magicka down spamming Destruction. (I may be the only one who doesn't Enchant Magicka away.) As mentioned earlier, my favorite is probably Rahgot's, because of my Bash&Burn tactics. Even if I never recharge it, a momentary pulse uses so little charge that it generally lasts from whenever I'm badass enough to pull it from the ash pile to level 65, when I can buy the spellbook. Another favorite is Jyrik Gauldursons' for shooting down Dragons (While my Magicka recovers.) The Staff of Magnus is a bit more specialized, but can be used for unique applications like torturing Paarthurnax to death with Lesser Ward.

And finally, I also use Staffs of Summoning with Spell Absorption to recover Magicka. If you have 100% Spell Absorbtion (Either as a breton with the Atronach Stone, or with the Dragonborn DLC, Miraak's Robes, Boots/Gloves, the Atronach Perk, and Stone) then you can't summon, because every time you absorb the magicka before the effect takes effect. if the Spell happens to be from a Staff, you can basically use it to drain charge for Magicka. You want at least a Storm Atronach for the most Magicka per Charge, though.

 

[Kory Stukenborg]

A staff is only cool if it came from some Daedra or something like that.

 

[Psiberzerker]

Unfortunately you can only craft staves with spells that you are able to cast yourself. It makes the staff enchanter next to useless. On the plus side, if you have mastered enchanting and reduce the spell casting cost of a school of magic to zero then the staves you use (from that school) won't deplete their charges.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Dragonborn:Staves. There's actually a rather short list of Staffs you can create, most of them Destruction.

 

[Psiberzerker]

Oh, and here's a shot of me beating down a Dragon priest with an Ebony Shield, and The Skull of Corruption:

Notice my Stat Bars, and His health? Despite being low level, and having harldy anything besides Destruction, and Health, I was in very little danger surrounded by the most powerful destruction effect in the game.