Which is Better: Nirnhoned Maelstrom Flame Staff or Sharpened Maelstrom Ice Staff?

ragingruby1991

I have been farming VMA quite a bit lately with my nirnhoned VMA flame staff and ended up getting a sharpened ice staff. Prior to Homestead I would have been all over the sharpened ice staff, but since flame staves now have an 8% damage increase to single targets, would my nirnhoned VMA flame staff outperform the sharpened ice staff?

I would test myself, but I don't want to upgrade the ice staff to gold if it isn't worth it.

Also, I play primarily on a magic nigtblade if that info is helpful for any reason.

DRXHarbinger

The 8% will outperform the sharpened.

paulsimonps

Don't use either and get a non set Fire Sharpened staff or get a set sharpened staff. Nirnhoned is crap for DPS, you NEED Sharpened and Ice is not for DPS.

ragingruby1991

paulsimonps wrote: »

Don't use either and get a non set Fire Sharpened staff or get a set sharpened staff. Nirnhoned is crap for DPS, you NEED Sharpened and Ice is not for DPS.

If I get a sharpened VMA flame staff then I'll use that, but I don't think I'm going to go out of my way to upgrade another flame staff to gold. I do just fine with my nirnhoned VMA staff and can get 500k+ scores easily and make the leaderboards. I'm just gonna keep grinding until I get the inferno sharpened.

DHale

Nirn will only out perform if the armor has been reduced to zero. Mobs and bosses have about 15 k resist to 18 k resist. The penetration of sharpened is superior until there is 15 k plus armor or spell resistance debuff.

paulsimonps

DHale wrote: »

Nirn will only out perform if the armor has been reduced to zero. Mobs and bosses have about 15 k resist to 18 k resist. The penetration of sharpened is superior until there is 15 k plus armor or spell resistance debuff.

Bosses and mobs in dungeons and trials have exactly 18,200 resistance in both types. The overland also have 9,100. The mobs in all zones and instances follow this pattern except for one place, Maelstrom. Sharpened be OP for this reason.

Bigevilpeter

Isn't malestrom staff used on the off bar? why does it have to be sharpened? its just for setting up anyways

ragingruby1991

Bigevilpeter wrote: »

Isn't malestrom staff used on the off bar? why does it have to be sharpened? its just for setting up anyways

I don't really follow other people's builds, so they way I use my maelstrom staff is on the front bar. I probably don't run the optimal rotation though

OrphanHelgen

If you have it on backbar, you can as well just go with ice sharpend. If frontbar, fire are a must, or shock in some situations. Actually I never play magicka so I should'nt be giving tips in subject I dont know about

mb10

Id personally take a defending flame staff over a sharpened ice I think

rustic_potato

Nirn flame is better than the sharp ice staff..

Izaki

Use the Nirn flame on your back bar. Its a win-win.

Auros

Blocking with Ice staff cost magica now. Just something to account for.

cpuScientist

Back bar carries over traits for skills they use. So if you have a powered destro it will carry that trait over but take the set bonuses and the like from the front bar. So using a nirn on back bar will mean alot of your dots are not penetrating as they should be. Doing a nice chunk less DPS. Just get a sharpened flame staff for the time being.

getemshauna

Regular Sharpened Inferno staff.

Mattoxx96

Yes a sharpened flame staff with out perform a maelstrom flame (not sharpened) staff, I managed to pick up a purple elegant flame staff sharpened for 1K

darthsithis

i have nirn fire backbar and weave with an infal sharpened on front. i think for just dropping woe and liquid nirn is better than ice until you get sharpened fire

Olupajmibanan

cpuScientist wrote: »

Back bar carries over traits for skills they use. So if you have a powered destro it will carry that trait over but take the set bonuses and the like from the front bar. So using a nirn on back bar will mean alot of your dots are not penetrating as they should be. Doing a nice chunk less DPS. Just get a sharpened flame staff for the time being.

This is not entirely correct. Ground targeted dots like wall of elements are dynamic, which means they are recalculating damage to the current state of your character. That means that bar swaping will update your existing dots. Even dots that are already placed calculate with the current bar you are on.

Just try it yourself, put let's say charged flame staff on back bar and nirnhoned on front. Cast WoE on the back bar, watch ticks damage, than switch to front bar and watch how it increases.

However this all doesn't mean that nirnhoned is OK on the back bar. It is acceptable only if your rotation contains minimal time on the back bar.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Option C: None of the above. Get a sharp fire staff. Even a non set staff is better than the VMA in nirn. A VMA nirn is only viable against shield stacking sorcs in PVP, or as a back bar weapon in PVE so long as you only use that bar for DoTs and buffs.