me and a friend were talking about skyrim today and we thaught that it would be awesome that instead of staffs having only one set spell like in oblivion andmorrowind that you could actually cast your own spells through them. and certain staffs may be tuned to channel defferent spells better than others. for instance you may find a staff that gives a +5 to fire spells, or +15 to healing, or +10 sec to soul trap. you can still cast other spells through them just some get better effects than others.

then there could also be rarer or more expensive ones that give a bonus over a whole school of magic like +20 to destruction. i think this would be a much better way to use staffs rather than them have only one effect.

Been suggested a few times.

I don't think staffs have been confirmed, but I do hope this time they act as spell amplifiers. Would be good for pure-mage type characters.

they have been confirmed. they were in the GI mag and in the trailer.

Oh right, forgot about that :facepalm:

Twas even in the trailer

In the gameplay trailer you can see the player casting something with a staff so i could guess that staffs in some way or form are in-game.

On topic: I agree with the OP. While i still like to see Oblivion style staffs (you can only cast one spell with it), i wouldn′t mind having constant effect staffs that you can also fight with (Morrowind style).

-Emp-

They are confirmed, and they can be dual-wielded. In the gameplay trailer, you see a player with a staff shoot a single spell, while in the other hand they held a sword. Given that you only see the staff shoot that one spell, I have no idea whether you're free to mix that up (Maybe equip your spells through a staff as a power augmenter or something). That's about all we've seen, really. We just need more information.

I HATE how in oblivion anyone can use any staff... they should find some way to make them usefull FOR MAGES, I mean... I want my mage to be using staffs, not my warrior! (because staffs are actually more usefull for non-mage characters, since they don't have the skills to cast spells by their own)

yeah, staff damage should be modified by a caster stat

Interesting idea. I'd also like staves with random properties, so that you fire it off and it might launch a fireball, or a soul trap spell, etc. The plus would be that its effects would be quite powerful in comparison to regular staves.

Oh and everyone, isn't it *staves, not staffs? :grad:

I want a melee-mode for staves. Maybe instead of blocking we could use it as a club?

Also, dual staves all the way! pew pew!

Yeah, I had this on my mind for very long time.
I actually almost never used staffs in Oblivion except in rare situations where I'm out of mana or at the beginning when my spells are weak.
In my opinion, staffs should be used to amplify your spells.
That would be much more useful and would fit spellcasters way better.

:spotted owl:

"The plural form of staff was originally staves (compare wolf, wolves and knife, knives), and in British and International English this is still preferred. In American English the usual plural form has become staffs, except in fantasy literature. The old English plural form staves collectively describes the wooden sticks bound by iron hoops to form traditional wooden barrels."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_%28stick%29

I would really like some staffs and spells with more mystical properties, rather than the typical elemental magic.

- A "dark staff" that fires a "dark" sphere of energy that rips through space-time. Or a "staff of light" that generates like an AOE shockwave of light around the player that throws enemies back, inflicting additional damage when the enemy is thrown into an obstacle like a wall or a tree.

Just putting some ideas out there.

How about staves as a melee weapon too? I'm thinking of playing a battle mage during my first playthru of Skyrim, and would like the ability to strike foes with my staff, inflicting magical damage upon hit. Keeping staves as a projectile weapon only seems a bit limited imo.

I'd like to see both Magical staves and Combat staves. Combat staves act like any typical bo-staff used by martial artists. Magical staves should be a conduit for the wielders Magicks. They should boost effect/damage, reduce Magicka cost, and make higher level spells easier to cast for lesser skilled mages. Naturally the higher the quality of staff the better it can do those things. Maybe have it possible to make the staves weak in areas and strong in others to suit the needs of the individual, whilst also being able to have ones average at every school. Making your own staff should be 100% possible, and should be the prefered method of obtaining them for people who truly care about their magical powers.

I'm going to make my own staff. And I'm going to call her "Charlene"

This sounds good! I also like like it if there was some sort of walking animation using the staff. I like the idea of using the staff to help me climb the mountains of skyrim. I only want that as an animation though, so if the staff is equipped my character might use it a bit like a walking stick.

Yes, spell amplifiers, and perhaps items that reduce the amount of magicka taken from the spellcaster.

That would be a great idea, rather than just using them like has been done in the past (oh! I need a lightning spell, time to switch staffs. Oh! I need a fire spell, gotta switch staffs again, etc).





That's why I think making a staff a magic amplifier is such a good idea. Sure, there can be some that only amply certain spells, or even grant certain spells, but to be true to fantasy lore in general, changing fundamentally how wizard staffs are used in TES is a must. They really ought to focus on magic amplification rather than just spell casting.