Staff as a melee weapon

Drammanoth

Today I was doing the Vvardenfell quest, and when approaching Seryn (the Ashlander) she knocked some NPCs (Red Exiles) with her staff and some physical movements.

If ZOS ever planned on introducing new weapon - or even Monk - do not make it difficult on you guys. Make the shaft longer, slightly - for real, SLIGHTLY - tamper with the tip and there we go! We have a new weapon. As for skills - they'd revolve around stabs, hits, trips, bashes, dazes, long jumps, slamming the earth to make a shockwave in a cone, more efficient blocking (more for a staff, but nut as much as with a shield).

Also, remember about Encrastis' movements, or what the Khajiit furstock can do - eg. Ri'Atahrashi (WB in S Elsweyr) in regards to H2H combat

LesserCircle

You should be happy! Now we have nighthollow staff as the jabs model, so creative.

opalcity

I would love a staff as a 2H weapon. When I first started playing eso, I was excited when I picked up my first staff, only to be disappointed when it started shooting fireballs instead of whacking enemies. Long Maces just don't look like what I need!

VaranisArano

Amottica

It’s been suggested that one of the hinderances of adding a new weapon is all the work that would be required designing the weapon for each motif.

It makes sense and lends to a new weapon line utilizing what we already have in game. Ofc, anything can happen.

Dr_Con

While I feel a bowstaff is an appropriate addition, I feel that for balancing reasons a slingshot has much more potential to balance the game out and create new and unique abilities never conceived of.

Drammanoth

Amottica wrote: »

It’s been suggested that one of the hinderances of adding a new weapon is all the work that would be required designing the weapon for each motif.

Exactly! Slightly modify the existing ones and e voila!

Now, the inspiration? Guild Wars 2 - usually a staff is a spellcaster weapon, BUT only one class has it as a melee weapon. No switching graphics, just the same staff but for different classes.

Now, in ESO there is no class identity, i.e. there are not unique weapon skills, so anyone could take the staff - be it crafted or looted, and become a monk-like character.

BlackKnight556

"Why would one want to swing a staff? A mace hurts more. Or a sword. Can't shoot a fireball from a sword, though."

tomofhyrule

Amottica wrote: »

It’s been suggested that one of the hinderances of adding a new weapon is all the work that would be required designing the weapon for each motif.

It makes sense and lends to a new weapon line utilizing what we already have in game. Ofc, anything can happen.

See, there's a silver lining to this cloud...

If they did want to add polearms/spears/etc. to the game, then that also gives them plenty of opportunity to do one of the most important things for MMO player retention - getting people to revisit old zones and stuff.

My thoughts:

• Polearms would likely be a chapter thing. They could include the weapon line for purchase separately from the DLC after the year is up, just like how Warden and Necro classes are.
• That also allows them to have one of the overland sets be the standard '+600 W/S dmg' set like there is for every other weapon.
• That also means that every other set in the game (except for the weapon-specific ones) would need to have a spear added. Which people would need to go back and farm from all basegame/DLC zones and all dungeons/trials. Stickerbook means there's not much farming involved, and it gets a lot of people to go back to older content.
• Making 115+ motifs would be tough for the art team, but I'm sure a lot can be cobbled easily from existing staves. They could release the motifs as they finish them in subsequent updates, maybe like 30-40 every 3 months until they're all in.
• That also means we'd get to go farm those motif pages, which again brings us to old content. I'd say that anything that comes only as a book (racial styles, 'rare' styles, Soul Shriven, and the CS only ones) unlocks if you have the book already, but the others you need to get the pages for. So loads of people running old dailies and dungeons as the motifs release... though it would be nice if they bumped the drop rate for the first month or so of that style being out to saturate the market before dropping it to the 1/15 chance of any page.

As for animations, I feel like a lot can be stolen borrowed from other animations in the game already:

• some NPCs in places like Murkmire have spear stabbing and spear fishing animations
• Many of the Templar spear abilities
• Possibly even some of the 2H anims could be used
• And of course, there are NPC enemies with great animations like Nazaray.

Please ZOS, I just really want spears and other polearms in the game...

Drammanoth

@tomofhyrule

nothing has to even remotely look like stolen - archaeology exists in some games, and it is no exception. It had existed long before Blizz introduced it.

For others - thinking that "ZOS is not original because they introduced archaeology and divided it into TWO sections, not just one is ridiculous. It is a feature they did VERY well.

You know guys what I like a lot about the Destro staff? Skills adjust according to the staff we wield. So too we could have "Polearms" and adjust the skills to the weapon at hand. Eg.:

Staves - armor penetration; application of a debuff effect - Minor Fracture; combat effect application - stun
Spears - bleed; application of a debuff effect - Minor Hindrance; combat effect application - root
Halabard - crit; application of a debuff effect - Minor Maim; combat effect application - root

Passives

Staves - block cost reduction, dodge roll cost reduction
Spear - increased bleed dmg
Halabard - increased crit chance AND crit dmg

Ult - just like DK's Dragon's Leap - soar into the air, but in vertical line and slam the ground, knocking people X metres away. Staff - stun; Spear - bleed; Halabard - bleed

On a sidenote - the above could be a perfect context to include in a new Chapter, alongside Monk class.