Make the Change from Wand to Staff! A Practical Guide

Three PL mages were sitting around a campfire, arguing over who had the best and biggest weapon. The first said, "My mega mage wand is best! I have over 40 m/s and never run out of mana!" The second said, "My enchanted wand is best! It has premium wood and I'm a mini tank!" The third mage said nothing, quietly roasting Cockroach over the coals with his staff...

So you want to learn to use a staff? Or are you interested? Then read on. I will show you how I do it.

First, who am I? My IGN is Sollertia. I am a full int mage; I use a staff. As I hope some of you who have run with me before will attest, it CAN be done:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...f/IMG_0825.png

This is my first character. As you can see, I have several kills, but not too many deaths. I had 200 deaths and about 20k kills when I got to Balefort Sewers at lvl 50. I died 400 more times just learning Balefort Sewers (hey, I'm a slow learner). Then I decided to try something new. I switched to a staff. I died 100 more times... yes, 100. Then it clicked.

Since that time, I have faced over 30k enemies, killed over 10k myself, and only died about 200 times. That's not too bad right?

So why use a staff? Sure there are practical reasons like "less armor means less aggro," but I prefer the "Sollertia's Top 10" reasons:

10. Highest damage possible for a mage. I'm not kidding:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...es/Staff/2.png

9. Having high damage means enemies die faster.
8. A lot faster.
7. Like, so fast they often don't even hit you.
6. Seriously.
5. I mean, why would you want to stand around tanking when you can just kill the mob; isn't that a better idea?
4. All the PL honeys love a staff user. Baby, you know you do.
3. Two words: staff envy.
2. You have the biggest stick.
1. Who has the biggest stick? You do.

So how is it done? One of the greatest military strategists of all time, Sun-Tsu, once wrote, "Every battle is won before it is even fought." That is the principle we will follow here. I will also focus on Balefort Sewers, which is the area where I see most people getting caught up in deaths. Applying that, here are my tips and tricks on "how to not die using a staff and instead make other things dead."

1. Time your buffs. This is critical. With few exceptions, try to never use blessing of vitality and mana shield at the same time. Generally, blessing of vitality is your first choice. Buff with it right before you enter the fray, or when you know you are about to take damage, like this:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...es/Staff/5.png

2. Know your position. You need to know where the damage will occur, and not be there. Cases in point: fire barrels, fire grates and aoe damage. Know where you need to be so you don't take damage. In fact, for fire barrels and grates, you can actually explode them a safe distance off and not take damage. Here are some examples:

Fireblast blows up barrels (and enemies!) in Hideout, no damage to Sollertia:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...es/Staff/3.png

Fireblast blows up grate (and enemies) in Stronghold, no damage to Sollertia or teammates (Lushi is being attacked by Bandit Boy lol!):

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0833.png

Sollertia is safe between two grates, enemies are all dead:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0834.png

For general fighting, remember that most of your spells are aoe. No need to be in the middle of the fray taking huge amounts of damage:

Enemies dying while Solllertia is sitting pretty in the corner killing them. Note only 1 buff active, and positions like these are great for pulls or roundups:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0827.png

3. Target specific enemies. You have to know which ones are dangerous, and manually target them. Besides bosses, there are 3 that I watch out for. When you see these guys, target them and kill them quickly.

First, Bandit Boy Archers. These guys spike with Blast Shot. And worse, Blast Shot REMOVES your mana shield! Two of them can kill you unprotected, wand or staff. They are in Hideout and Stronghold. Be on the lookout:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...es/Staff/4.png

Target archers manually, even if other enemies are closer. Note here that autotarget would have selected the Bandit Boy warrior (Lushi taking damage again lol!):

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0826.png

Second, Sewer Slime Mages. These are the green guys, with glowing ORANGE HANDS. They are in Catacombs and Roach Motel. Manually target and kill them immediately. Like Bandit Boy Archers, these guys aoe spike.

Here is one. Note the one without orange hands is a melee slime. Not a problem. Kill the orange hand guy first:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...es/Staff/6.png

Finally, melee goblins. They are in Swill Pitz. These guys are not as bad, but spike with moderate damage and can be a problem in numbers or with friends. They have shields. Target them first, not the staff ones:

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...es/Staff/7.png

Timing, positioning and targeting are keys to surviving as a staff mage. Win the battle before it is fought. The rest is attacking, which is straightforward enough. I generally like to cast nightmare, lightning, ice storm and firestorm as my main combo.

These rules apply to every area. They are also applicable to using wands, which do have their uses. Even so, you can use a staff now!

So equip that staff and beatdown some bad guys. I hope this guide was helpful!

Amazing guide! Thanks for making this! You did a good job showing what to expect in BS and how to survive

This is pretty neat-o! I like your ten reasons, makes sense to me :)
Manual targeting is key for survival.

Oh man, this a beautiful guide thanks to this I won't delete my mage hahaha, I just need to get rid of my really bad gear.:)

Thanks for this! I always forget to manual target so I find myself not even using my weapon in the heat of battle when there are fire grates around because I'm so worried I'll blow up my team. It's a good reminder for sure!

Great Read And Awesome Pic's... I Made The Chance And Agree With You 100%
Unless I Am Just There To Heal Then I Want MM Wand And Bracer :P

Thank you for the tips, most of them I figured out through trial and error.
Mainly the targeting and killing archer/mages. Which applies on almost every map outside of Sewers as well.
I always preferred my staff but kinda felt out of place since every other mage I run with brandished wands.
Now I dont feel so ashamed for waving around my big stick and feeling justified in doing so!

Great tips, thanks! I think I will always love shielding up and wading into the thick, so my wand and bracer will come out for mob kills unless I'm with an established team ;) but I think your tips will help me survive better :) And yeah, targeting specific enemies--will look out for them now.

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shanda Renee

I always preferred my staff but kinda felt out of place since every other mage I run with brandished wands.

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That is the reason I wrote this guide. Very few people at high levels use staves. After I learned to use one, I got to thinking maybe it was not because wands were "better," but just because people felt "safer". That is not the case, as I think my numbers show. It just takes a little dedication!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Uepauke

I think I will always love shielding up and wading into the thick, so my wand and bracer will come out for mob kills unless I'm with an established team ;)

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Don't get me wrong, wands do have their places. They are great for light tanking, or for a more relaxed run. Also, for solo play in Sewers (Daily quests), or if your team ends up going 4 different ways leaving you all alone ("zomg! get back here pfft!"), you wand a wand / bracer. I am in fact testing different wand configurations, and will soon craft an enchanted wand set, for these purposes. But NOTHING beats a staff for straight up killing. It will remain my first love.

When I do feel safe, with certain people, I use a staff, in fact, sometimes I've got my staff equipped for the previous boss kill and then forget to switch to wand--I know when things are going good when I don't discover this while admiring the mouldy ceiling and the satisfying one or two shots to kill something ;)

It really depends on how you play. For a comparison between the two though (mm wand & enchanted staff):

MM Wand

Enchanted Staff

You'll be fine soloing the Hideout with a staff. Catacombs and Roach ... only charge in front with mana shield on. You can charge in front though. I'd have to say that the enchanted staff set will do in most cases. By far the biggest flaw is the low mana regen. Mega mage staff is also viable, although the gemstone staff has a special armor proc. You trade one flaw for another.

my wand set: full cyber
my staff set (pre-51): keeper cosmos set
my staff set (post-51, pre-55): pre-53): scrapers gem blast staff, scrapers gemstone robes, mystery helm of the anchients
my staff set (post-55): lowman's gemstone staff, with full lowman's (working on MM and mastermind)

any reccommendations are welcome. CONSTRUCTIVE critisism only.

Could I ask you - do spells somehow depend on weapon attack speed? If for example i can cast spells faster with 1.1 speed than 0.9? If yes and if wands - as I readed in some guide have faster attack then why should I use stave if i get dmg that I loose for wearing wand by its attack speed?

Ty mate :)

Me necroposting but i use wand and bracer during mobs to take less damage and have so buffs to do my skills from a meduim distance then i switch to staff to kill boss since its faster

Great guide! I've been meaning to make on, but this would have easily been better than mine :) Once again terrific job!

Nice write up bro. Lol funny and informational

Btw: I got the biggest stick lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phoenixking

Me necroposting but i use wand and bracer during mobs to take less damage and have so buffs to do my skills from a meduim distance then i switch to staff to kill boss since its faster

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Good tank = Staff
Bad tank = Wand

For me at least:p

IMO I think mAges are awesome depending on the user. Me for example I hit the heal button everytime it charges up just to insure everyone is at full health. Wand or staff, if you know how to use your Mage then it's a awesome character to raid with

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this! It really is an amazing read to me. I have been playing my mage as
my favorite for some time now and so confused on weapons and armor. Its a constant trade off. I love the mage though and
am always looking to improve my play. I wouldn't call my self hardcore or anything, but I play for enjoyment.
As of late I have really met some people who enjoy the way I play and give me some tips. They also don't beg me for things
all the time.

Love the post/ guide!!!!

thanks for the guide!

why use wand?
why birds use talon?
to Survive... ohh i like that word.
that word is Synonymous with fear to die, not efficient use of magic, Egotistical
r u fear death?
fear to get wet?
cmon !!!
The bottom line is they hang like ghosts! making 60 dmg top and And happy from 12 seconds of fame, from buff..
but hey... they are surviving....| Proudly|
bird with a talon is way more badly, cos is not ure "job" to stay alive and rec everyone arround,
You have so much potential with a bow Why ruin it??

W00T I get the biggest stick! :emmersed:

Great read, really helpful.

Hey Kamikazees, Your guide really inspire me. I have whip out my "giant stick" more often lol.
However, I disagree on the enemies to target first in sewer.
First for the bandits hideout and stronghold. The sewer Mage should be the first priority to kill as they spam heal like no tomorrow! Even if you target bird, before the bird gets killed, the Mage proli would have healed it first. However, I'll try your theory killing the birds while on staff.
As for goblins. Def target those goblin Mage first as you can freeze those melee goblin and you won't get damaged from them as long as you keep your distance. :)

wow nice guide. feeling inspired to use staff now. love the high damage.

I remember seen a thread like this i think physiologics made it.

Very nice tips there!


Would have been useful months ago though :D just kidding.


Seriously - HATS OFF M'DEAR!

this should rlly be stickied...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Silverpegasus

Hey Kamikazees, Your guide really inspire me. I have whip out my "giant stick" more often lol.
However, I disagree on the enemies to target first in sewer.
First for the bandits hideout and stronghold. The sewer Mage should be the first priority to kill as they spam heal like no tomorrow! Even if you target bird, before the bird gets killed, the Mage proli would have healed it first. However, I'll try your theory killing the birds while on staff.

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Always target the birds first. The mages don't heal that much and their damage output is not too great. Birds can blast shot your mana shield and can do much more damage.