Staves skill
General information
Quarter staff
Quarter staff weapons generally include anything about man-height that is pole-shaped and used to bludgeon your opponent. Some can strike from pole range, while others are confined to melee. Most of them take two hands to wield and require a weapon strap or other special container considerations to tote.
Most of these weapons are heavy, ranging between 10 and 80 stones, and do moderate to severe impact damage as well as moderate puncture damage. The balance and suitability for strength of wooden staves are generally average, as is their construction. Their metal counterparts, however, can be considered excellent blunt weapons for agility-based characters. The advent of Weaponsmithing has greatly improved the stats of these once-overlooked weapons and now made them a formidable weapon choice.
Old player-made wooden staffs were once able to range between 10 and 50 stones. A 10-stone heavy impact weapon that can strike from pole range is nothing to sneeze at. Quarterstaffs can also be used while grappling, which adds a bit of functionality to the otherwise dubious weapon.
Short staff
Short staffs are the lighter counterpart to quarter staves. Their damage output is low, and they tend to fare even worse than Light Blunt weapons in melee combat. Lacking both the high impact of heavier blunt weapons and the deadly puncture damage of even the lightest blades, users of this weapon may find themselves holding the short end of the stick, both literally and figuratively.
Still, the weapon has its perks. Unlike many others, it can be used while grappling, and takes only one hand to wield. There are very few who train short staff to any major extent, so displaying great skill with the weapon is often a source of amusement.
Spells and abilities that boost Staves
- Dragon Form (Barbarian)
- Khri Strike (Thief)
- Mantle of Flame (Warrior Mage)
- Oath of the Firstborn (Ranger)
- Righteous Wrath (Paladin)
Spells and abilities that decrease Staves
None
Player Crafted Staves
Stave weapons may be created using the weaponsmithing discipline for forged metal staves, or the shaping discipline for shaped wooden staves.
See the forging guide and weaponsmithing products for more information on player-crafted metal staves.
See the shaping guide and shaping products for more information on player-crafted wooden staves.
Guild-specific abilities
- Barbarians can Whirlwind with any pole or melee weapon. This will attack all targets within range of their chosen weapon (melee or pole), including hidden targets. Hidden targets will be pulled from hiding if hit by whirlwind. WHIRL can also be used on one's self or another to free the target from webbing. Requirements: 350 in the weapon skill, 30 agility, 30 reflex.
- Barbarians and Paladins can parry ranged weapons inside the range of the weapon they are holding.
Recommended weapons
- Player-crafted cane (crafted), quarterstaff (crafted), or pike staff (crafted).
- lightened bo stick -- Good for new players.
- leaf-blade spear with an oaken haft -- 45 stone, Pike/QS swappable, from festival merchant.
- ox-tongue spear with a stout iron-studded haft -- 55 stone, Pike/QS swappable, from festival merchant.
- eighteen hand glaive with a white witchclaw haft -- 60 stone, Halberd/QS swappable, from festival merchant.
- partisan with a broad woodgrain-steel blade -- 65 stone, Halberd/QS swappable, from festival merchant.