Quartstaffs By Level

[muppette]

Hi all. I don't post much, but I have a quarterstaff question if anyone is able and willing to answer. At each level, what is the top quarterstaff to be using? I know certain cases will always exist, for example when fighting only lawful outsiders or oozes, but in general, is it possible to make a "Top" list? And if someone has already done this, I apologize.

[Discpsycho]

Excellent question! As far as I know, there isn't such a list, likely because it wouldn't be definitive.

The million-plat question is "how do you define best?". Are you just talking in terms of DPS, or do quality-of-life enchantments (eg, Feather Falling + Freedom of Movement on Sireth) weigh in?

Even in terms of raw dps, that will depend pretty heavily on a) your exact build, b) your gear, and possibly even c) your specific Reaper point investment, as melee damage calculations can turn into a rabbit hole. As a simple example, Stave of the Seer could theoretically be more competitive for an undergeared Henshin who lacks Falconry, even though it lacks the expanded critical profile of Elemental Bloom.

Rather than try to draft a definitive list, I'd recommend the following, based on item quality, ease of acquisition, and minimizing bank space by removing items that look roughly equivalent by napkin math. All items can be found on this master list

- (2) Ethereal Quarterstaff (optional): Ghost touch will be superior to most other item buffs against Reapers. Keep this until you've got other swap options (eg, Spectral Gloves)
- (2) Nicked Quarterstaff: 2d6 force and deadly 3 at level 2
- (4) Chieftain's Spear (optional): +2 Crit Range ~= +10% damage. 3.5 bleed on-hit + 15%*4.5 bleed on-crit = 4.2 average proc damage, vs. 7 for nicked quarterstaff. The equilibrium point between this and Nicked Quarterstaff will be at ~40 damage per hit; if you're doing more, you'll want Chieftain's Spear. IMO not worth the farm, but YMMV
- (7) Elemental Bloom: +1 Crit Range and Multiplier. This is a keeper
- (12) Broken Oar (optional): Damage is likely roughly on par with Elemental Bloom thanks to Crit Range boost. Depending on your build, Felling the Oak might be a life-saver. Personally I skip this one, as I can't stand Crystal Cove. Level 16 version equally optional.
- (20) Stout Oak Walking Staff: Felling the Oak and x3 multiplier
- (23) Sireth (optional): Some folks have crunched the numbers on endgame builds and found this one to be surprisingly competitive, beating out Gul'Thas. Can be tough to get
- (28) Staff of Shadow (optional): Not sure if this has better damage than Legendary Moonbeam, would likely depend on build. Also difficult to get.
- (29) Legendary Moonbeam: Non-raid and one of the best endgame weapons, it's only beaten by...
- (29) Spear of the Mournlands: Current best-in-slot, AFAIK

Since I'm lazy, I usually stick to (heh) Nicked Quarterstaff, Elemental Bloom, Stout Oak Walking Staff, Sireth, Leg. Moonbeam

[FuzzyDuck81]

Elemental bloom is a fantastic bit of kit, but be aware it has horrifically low hardness & durability, you'll need something to reduce item damage, which you can get from falconry tier 2, or if you have access to the tree plus take the magical training feat, you can use the shadow imbue from the feydark illusionist tree to make it completely immune to damage... the tree can be a good bet since with a moderate investment you can get that plus extra SPs, magic missile immunity, +3 saves & fear immunity, +1 wisdom & colour spray SLA which will have a decent DC.

I'd also recommend the theurgic stave from threnal (ML8), its got 18-20/x2, so will crit more often instead of harder like elemental bloom & has 2 augment slots to add more consistent damage vs. things immune to elemental bloom's paralysing & crit immune enemies.

[Arctigis]

I'd also recommend the theurgic stave from threnal (ML8), its got 18-20/x2, so will crit more often instead of harder like elemental bloom & has 2 augment slots to add more consistent damage vs. things immune to elemental bloom's paralysing & crit immune enemies.

It's also adamantine so good against constructs with dr. Running a Henshin life currently and I'm switching between Bloom, Theurgic
Stave and Barovian depending on foe.

[muppette]

Anyone using:
Light Unending (13)
Moonbeam (15)
Bonecrusher (18)
Mythic Bonecrusher (26)?

I only bring up those four specifically because I also have them haha. Between elemental bloom at lvl 7 (which I haven't gotten yet, stupid toee) and Stout Oak at 20, would any of these be an improvement?

[Discpsycho]

Though DR-breaking is kinda niche at those levels, Light Unending is excellent specifically for the chain in which you get it (and Grim and Barrett's chain, I guess). It's fine otherwise, but not quite in the same weight class.

Bonecrusher is better than Moonwillow and probably on par with Elemental Bloom, as well was having better hardness. By the time you get to Mythic Bonecrusher, it depends not only on your build but also your ED, as increased crit range may be helpful in some cases (eg, staff Barbarian, which gets +2 multiplier in the tree) and increased crit multiplier in others (eg, FotW so your Adrenalines hit harder)

[Vish]

Staff of the seer

[Elfishski]

- (2) Ethereal Quarterstaff (optional): Ghost touch will be superior to most other item buffs against Reapers. Keep this until you've got other swap options (eg, Spectral Gloves)
- (2) Nicked Quarterstaff: 2d6 force and deadly 3 at level 2
- (4) Chieftain's Spear (optional): +2 Crit Range ~= +10% damage. 3.5 bleed on-hit + 15%*4.5 bleed on-crit = 4.2 average proc damage, vs. 7 for nicked quarterstaff. The equilibrium point between this and Nicked Quarterstaff will be at ~40 damage per hit; if you're doing more, you'll want Chieftain's Spear. IMO not worth the farm, but YMMV
- (7) Elemental Bloom: +1 Crit Range and Multiplier. This is a keeper
- (12) Broken Oar (optional): Damage is likely roughly on par with Elemental Bloom thanks to Crit Range boost. Depending on your build, Felling the Oak might be a life-saver. Personally I skip this one, as I can't stand Crystal Cove. Level 16 version equally optional.
- (20) Stout Oak Walking Staff: Felling the Oak and x3 multiplier
- (23) Sireth (optional): Some folks have crunched the numbers on endgame builds and found this one to be surprisingly competitive, beating out Gul'Thas. Can be tough to get
- (28) Staff of Shadow (optional): Not sure if this has better damage than Legendary Moonbeam, would likely depend on build. Also difficult to get.
- (29) Legendary Moonbeam: Non-raid and one of the best endgame weapons, it's only beaten by...
- (29) Spear of the Mournlands: Current best-in-slot, AFAIK

Great list, mostly agree, with a couple of exceptions:

- I find that I prefer Chieftain's Spear to Elemental Bloom for most of heroic - it's not nearly as good on paper, but in practice critical hits in heroic are mostly killing things anyway, so more criticals is better than a higher multiplier on criticals. Ideal to have both given they'll both break easily...
- Stave of the Seer (level 8) is amazing for certain builds (if you can find it), "only" +1 crit range, but the 2d6 damage dice vs 1d6 or 1d8 is massive, and gives you int/wis to damage which means a lot more freedom with your early enhancement point spending if you're planning to use harper/falconry at high levels.
- Light unending is terrible damage relative to the above options, but it is handy to have around for any time you need to break DR.

[Discpsycho]

I find that I prefer Chieftain's Spear to Elemental Bloom for most of heroic - it's not nearly as good on paper, but in practice critical hits in heroic are mostly killing things anyway, so more criticals is better than a higher multiplier on criticals. Ideal to have both given they'll both break easily...

Excellent point. I also keep forgetting about the doublestrike changes, which (in heroics) skew in favor of Crit Range over Crit Multiplier, and with Quick Strike you've got plenty of doublestrike that ends up being overkill with higher multipliers.

With that in mind, I'd agree on Chieftain's Spear, unless you're going 18 Barb / 2 Rogue with Ravager T5. But if you've got +1 critical multiplier somewhere in your tree, Bloom is probably overkill. That same logic could be applied to Bonecrusher over Stout Oak Walking Stick, but IMO unless you're very geared, the HP inflation in epics makes the crit multiplier appealing once again

[PrinceOfAsphodel]

- (28) Staff of Shadow (optional): Not sure if this has better damage than Legendary Moonbeam, would likely depend on build. Also difficult to get.
- (29) Legendary Moonbeam: Non-raid and one of the best endgame weapons, it's only beaten by...
- (29) Spear of the Mournlands: Current best-in-slot, AFAIK

Since I'm lazy, I usually stick to (heh) Nicked Quarterstaff, Elemental Bloom, Stout Oak Walking Staff, Sireth, Leg. Moonbeam

You know, I think after the changes to Keen V, the Staff of Shadow is just the best DPS assuming you have enough bonus damage and fort bypass. The effects of Spear of the Mournlands should not be beating out an additional +1 critical multiplier.

[FuzzyDuck81]

Anyone using:
Light Unending (13)
Moonbeam (15)
Bonecrusher (18)
Mythic Bonecrusher (26)?

I only bring up those four specifically because I also have them haha. Between elemental bloom at lvl 7 (which I haven't gotten yet, stupid toee) and Stout Oak at 20, would any of these be an improvement?

Light unending has /good DR breaking and banishing which can make it handy in some specific circumstances, though the raw dps of alternatives vs. instakill chance isn't necessarily worth it - maybe in reaper difficulty.

Bonecrusher has the ability to accept a sentient jewel on the level 18 version (a mistake in the initial sentient introduction so the level 26 version didn't have it, this was addressed by devs & left in deliberately for the ml18 one as a special feature), which can add some interesting possibilities until you hit 20 and get the stout oak.

[Xgemina]

I didn't see any mention Stonework Beam at level 15. It's pretty much a direct upgrade from Elemental Bloom, but has much better durability. Unlike most quarterstaffs, you don't have to repair it after every quest.

It drops in Graveyard Shift in The Mines of Tethyamar.

[Faltout]

I did not see the mention of https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Breeze at level 14.
It does considerably more damage than Elemental Bloom, Broken Oar and Light Unending.

It has 1d10 base damage dice (compared to the normal 1d6 and 1d8 of Elemental Bloom) but not the 1.5[W] so I'd say about even.
It has 18-20 base critical threat range (compared to 19-20 for Elemental Bloom and Broken Oar).
It has a better CC effect than Broken Oar and Elemental Bloom because it triggers in every crit and it targets a Str or Dex save, which is usually lower than will saves (for paralysis). And it also has a blinding effect which triggers pretty often because every enemy I fight ends up blind.
It has a decent damaging effect (Slicing winds deal about 400 damage total with a ~5% proc rate)

I use Breeze all the way to 20, but only because I don't have Bone Crusher at 18. If I had Bone Crusher I guess I would use at least until mid-epics. Stout Oak is trash.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

I used the Barovian's Quarterstaff for a very long time.

[Arctigis]

I didn't see any mention Stonework Beam at level 15. It's pretty much a direct upgrade from Elemental Bloom, but has much better durability. Unlike most quarterstaffs, you don't have to repair it after every quest.

It drops in Graveyard Shift in The Mines of Tethyamar.

Umm, how do you work that out?

Stonework Beam:
1.5[1d6] 20/x2

Bloom:
1.5[1d8] 19-20/x3

[muppette]

probably a stupid question, but can you do adamantite ritual on something like elemental bloom (which is wood) to increase durability and hardness?

[Riffolk]

probably a stupid question, but can you do adamantite ritual on something like elemental bloom (which is wood) to increase durability and hardness?

Not a stupid question

Yes you can. It helps a lot.

[WarDestroyer]

This is repetitive, but I think there are clear BiS for certain level ranges:

1 - 7: whatever
7-19: bloom
20-27: stout or sireth
28-30: sos

edit: and ferrocrystal for oozes

[belaf52]

Hi all. I don't post much, but I have a quarterstaff question if anyone is able and willing to answer. At each level, what is the top quarterstaff to be using? I know certain cases will always exist, for example when fighting only lawful outsiders or oozes, but in general, is it possible to make a "Top" list? And if someone has already done this, I apologize.

Hi there!
Been running an Henshin Mystic for some years now (mostly TR-ER with some end-game break) and here is my setup :
4 : Chieftain's Spear
7 : Elemental bloom (good crit profile, bodyfeeder and paralysing are awsome)
18 : Bone crusher (accept sentience)
23 : Sireth

I don't bother using Staff of shadow (which I think got a little more DPS then the Sireth) because I mainly TR-ER and don't want to switch Filigrees.

I heard that Spear of Mournland can be good to debuff ennemies/boss rapidly, but never tried it.