i think it would be good to use a magic staff as a hitting weapon in close combat as well as for spells. Gandalf used his staff to hit enemys in lord of the ring. but maybe a staff like melee weapon is the spear but not in a conventional sence.

If staff are used two handed, there is a chance, else no joy.

shame, i wanted to smack someone in the stomache with my staff before plunging a sword into the back of their neck

Well a poleaxe can easily be modded into an staff, so if your playing PC I'd imagine we will see staffs soon enough.

I'd actually really like them to give mage's staffs a [weak] melee attack, perhaps with some knockback if at all possible. It seems kind of silly to carry around a big old staff and not be able to smack enemies with it.

Ideally with the two-hands system they seem to have in place on hand could be the staff's spell and the other the staff's melee attack. That would make the most sense to me, anyway. I am, of course, assuming staffs will be two handed weapons. Honestly though, it would be weird if they weren't.

Mage staffs are one-handed. (confirmed)

morrowind had staves...

If mages conduct their spells thru their staves (currently unknown if they do - the screen shot of the guy in elven armour wielding a sword and stave doesn't confirm whether the light spell is cast from the stave or from the character) I imagine a mage blasting fireballs from his stave at distant targets but in melee the only difference would be a melee animation, the damage would still be based on the spell. all it needs is an animation for melee rather than the same animation for a ranged attack.

What?! Seriously? What... How... What sense does that make!? I mean, sure, movies have taken some liberties- Lord of the Rings has Gandalf wielding a staff and sword at the same time more than once iirc- but practically speaking it's unwieldy to carry a staff one handed. Especially trying to wield something else at the same time. A wand? Definitely. A cane? Sure. But a big old staff? Really? I can all ready picture dual-wielding staffs in my head, and it's even more silly looking than dual-wielding shields.

ye a really weak attack would be good or just have it in a nockback and very low change to disarm and possible use in the finishing moves, thats all i would really like to see.

I would be happy if staves also has a melee blunt weapon function. Not sure how Bethesda would work it out with the new 2-weapon system, but if they want it in, I'm sure they'll find a way around it.

I would like it to be in anyway :toughninja:

it makes sense if your only having staffs shoot spells, a la oblivion.

launching spells Jhon Woo style? with staffs? really?

Bash with staffs? Hells yeah!
It feels so strange in Oblivion to have the staff, but not being able to do anything with it than spamming the magic button. Kinda lame.

Even though staffs aren't the perfect melee weapon, it's still fun and nice for a mage to always know you can use it, if you have to.

I entered this thread expecting internal conflict in Bethesda's offices.

Polearms with swinging motions are in, but not polearms with stabbing motions. So two-handed staves are probably in.

The staff of Oblivion functioned like a 2-handed rifle. It could launch exploding aoe spells like an rpg launcher. In Skyrim, there should be attachable scopes, custom stocks/grips, barrel extensions (shafts), and perhaps the ability to toggle alternate modes of firing where you can choose the shape of an energy discharge (aoe, cone, touch, etc...). I might actually use a staff on my mage characters if given the ability to customize and adapt them to any situation. In Oblivion, I only used a staff on fighter characters since they tend to lack damage versatility and range with melee only weapons (besides the rate of fire was at least 2x faster than a bow while doing probably more damage),

It would be nice to use the staff as a physical weapon, but if they are 1-handed scepters or wands might be better suited for the task? It would feel really awkward holding a big, long staff in one hand and poking things with it (swinging with 1 hand would not be practical).

my only queston on attacking someone with a magical staff (using it as a melee weapon) is what effects happen when it becomes damaged and or breaks? would you still be able to use up its magic charges once its broken? would you be able to recharge a broken staff?

If magical staves are only "on target" casting types like OB then I agree you could have the staff (two handed) were the main fire/attack button casts the spell, while the off hand attack/fire button swings for a melee attack. But with less damage than an actual fighting staff (if in the game). Also, I assume you could also block with them.

If they are one handed weapons you could equip it with the spell effect in one hand so you can cast with it and melee with a weapon in the other hand. Or you could also put the staff in the off hand (wield two handed, see above). Options, I like options.

Why this could be true:

From the trailer, a spell comes out of the staff...
Staves could work as spell multipliers or magicka reserves that are a constant enchantment.
You could equip a staff in one hand as a normal enchanted weapon, but spells only come out of it if you equip your other hand with a spell.
So for the trailer, left hand attack to attack with staff, right hand attack to shoot spell from staff.

Or the Gandalf, Staff+Sword combo.

Beat me to it.

How do you know polearms don't have stabbing motion?

Didn't realize you worked at bethesda.....We have way more info to know yet before such statements.

I believe polearms will have both... http://www.esgrima-medieval.org.mx/fotos/polearm-familly.jpg
One special thing about (some) polearms is that they can be used both for stabbing and swinging? Especially that black-green one in the middle.

Some people don't know what polearms do,for the other guy to say or state we can't stab with them is ridiculous in my view. Alot of polearms have spikes/points on the end. A: Like you have shown B: Like was shown in the trailer.

charging someone with a polearm would be really fun, so run to stab at them then normal attack after for mide battle damage