Magic or Melee staffs can be included. Please tell which in your post.

Every time I saw someone using a staff in Oblivion, I thought it looked terrible. Every other thing I have seen, being movies or other games, a staff is used with 1 hand.

What do you think?

Poll Updated to include bigger staffs for 2 hands along with smaller staffs for 1 hand.

My vote updated to reflect GorbadPS3's option.

Both, you should be able smack with it in melee, applying a more powerful-on touch enchantment from it and doing minor damage.

but there could also be two different kinds of staffs, big 2 handed and smaller 1 handed.

edit poll to include these options?

depends on how you use it, you could just use 1 hand to tap the ground with it to cast a spell and you certainly only use 1 hand when you walk with it but in close combat its used like a pole, 2 handed.

Both. Needs to be a "Both" option on the poll. Melee would be cool.

Do you mean magic or melee staffs? I think melee should be 2 handed, dark messiah pulled it off rather gloriously. I don't care about magic.

This thread is just to see what the community thinks about a staff in general. I created it with magic in mind (never saw melee since I'm a console user and have no access to mods, and have not seen Dark Messiah) If melee is made into a staff, it could just be used as one of these options. Either way, Magic or Melee could both fit in this poll.

I agree with the consensus thus far: there should be a degree of both. Any melee staff should be two-handed. Bigger staves should generally be two-handed as well, but depending on the acting they may be held vertically in one hand against the ground. Smaller staves or magical staves could be held predominantly in one hand but at certain times it could make more sense for them to be two-handed as well. So I guess both. But really I don't care too much how they implement staves in the first place.

Melee should be two handed. Go ahead and try to fight with a staff in 1 hand, it's quite hard, unless the staff, pretty much, becomes a club. As for spells, 1 hand please.

staves are 2-handed weapons. There is a name for a one-handed magic-casting device: it is called a wand, and I definitely don't want wands in TES

I think some Gandalf-style staff fighting would be pretty nice.

My original thinking was magic and I was not talking about wands. The poll was updated due to a suggestion. http://magepvpguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mage-pvp-guide-4.jpg That is a staff and he is using it with 1 hand.

Animations should be diverse enough to allow for one and two handed staff-work, especially when you bring magic into the game. As the above mentioned, Gandalf's staff was good for beating someone over the head and casting bolts of bright light, both dual wielded, single, and two handed.

Oblivions magic staffs felt awkward because they were two handed, and the player carried them like a stave, but they were never used like staves.

No, he is casting a spell while happens-chancely holding a staff. When a mage uses a staff, he holds the staff with both hands, when casting a spell, he lets go of the staff with one hand to cast the spell, which is exactly what happens in Oblivion.

-- All IMO, obviously since mages aren't real.

Whenever I think of using staves in combat or for magic, I think Gandalf. THat is what I would want in Skyrim.

I think they are just fine being two handed, but I would like to see a difference between combat staves and magic staves. Or they could be used for both, with each staff having both a melee attack and a castable spell. The melee staves could just have a constant effect or something... I don't know, I just want to be able to bash a dude upside the face with a staff. Is that too much to ask?

*Staves* :banghead:

I like the two handed approach but one handed staves would look good too. The choice between magic and meelee staves would also be very good.

Voted both. One handed could give a bonus to agility (and agility/speed based skills), while two handed long ones could give a bonus to ranged defense, like disarming your opponent from beyond his reach.

if it's a one handed staff is it not a magic wand then?

Variety!

One handed for spellcasting, two handed for combat.

I've seen Gandalf come up a couple times. That's what I want. Sword/staff combo. Epic Lore Master!

My concern is the one handed magical staff. That reminds me way too much of a Parry Hotter magic wand....

I don't want to run around with a fantastic wand casting spells. It makes me think of calm and charm spells, fairy stuff.

However, a large stave held in one hand that acts like a walking stick in animation would be Badd-A. Much like Gandalf's staff. It would allow you to carry a torch or a spell book in your off hand.

( I think spell book's should be included, not to cast spells, to add enhancing effects on your spells. I.E. add 20% duration to all restoration spells, or add 10% magnitude to all destruction spells etc. To compensate for mages not being able to use a dagger or staff with a shield. They lose advantages when compared to warriors in terms of equipment.

I voted both. I couldn't imagine using a large Staff with just one hand. Imagine trying to do that in real life, it just wouldn't work around your body, and you'd end up smacking yourself in the head or something. I wouldn't mind shorter staves with one hand, but I guess it would be getting a little wand-like.

I voted Bigger 2h, smaller 1h.

in fact, I would love if this applied to all weapons. if you're using a longsword with a shield, you're swinging it 1h. toss the shield, would you really still hold it 1 h? or switch to a 2h grip on it for power and control?

I would love this ability for middle-weight weapons. lose a bit of range (length of your shoulder) but gain power and speed from switching to a 2h grip. obviously a dagger, or a greatsword should not have this option... or maybe they could...