Staffs vs. Daggers for sorcerers

by **ect0inc** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:57 pm

Well, I've got my first sorcerer character. I'm only at level 20, and I'm currently using a staff. But I'd just like to know... do you people recommend using a dagger and shield instead of a staff?

by **gdavge2003** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:59 pm

Yes, magic becomes increasingly weak the higher you go, until it becomes nearly worthless. When I was r2 (Lvl 20 - 50), I decided to go the magic branch. It's great damage until you hit around 40, when the damage output just goes waay down. Now I'm at around 70, and the only times I ever use magic is fireball (to pull) and nightmare (crowd control).

It's okay if you use magic at level 20. Magic is great for soloing mobs. I admit, you can still solo mobs even once you hit 50 with magic. However, it's just a lot faster and efficient to use a dagger.

I suggest that you stick with magic and keep playing, and eventually switch to dagger/shield. Don't do it now, unless you have a blue pixie, because sorcerers lack self-heal skills, and without them, you can't solo (for the quests) w/ dagger and shield.

by **ichat3** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:35 am

My biggest problem with magic is not the damage actually. My problem is the increased mp consumption due to using toggles.

In dps the dirk does more damage especially when you are fully buffed and of course the shield gives you a chance to block.

In solo farming the choice is yours. Because my pets do so much damage it matters very little which one I use.

In PvP I go 2h staff all the way even vs magic classes.

On a whole I no longer carry my r5 dirk and shield. I strictly use a r4 2h staff until lightning strikes and I get a 2h r5 staff.

by **gdavge2003** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:06 am

Well, the staff is definitely better than dirk/shield in PvP, seeing how so many people have low magic defense (myself included, lol).

Well, the MP consumption is kind of related to the damage you deal. I haven't gotten the JLv 40 toggles yet, but the problem I'm facing in using magic is this: If you using level 1 fire arrow and etc., you won't run out of mana, but you deal pretty low damage. On the other hand, if you set fire arrow at level >5, you'll do good damage, but, depending on what lvl you set your fire arrow, you'll eventually run out of mana pretty quickly.

by **ultimatemx** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 2:15 am

Staff is okay in pvp until you hit about r4, I found that after that point its easier to use a dirk in pvp. Besides the fact that its pretty damn hard to get nicely +'ed and leveled a 2h staff at r4 and r5 the matk on your dirk is high enough to deal sufficient damage with magic

by **narron** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:45 pm

Having an R3 Sorcerer I noticed that with my magic skills at the lower third up to half their respective maximums, magic with a staff makes still a bit less damage than melee with dirk&shield.

Sure, one can focus his skilling completely on magic and have a better throughput with a staff than when he tries to cut the mobs open, but I've noticed that solely relying on magic (and therefore using a staff) is simply not worth it - more skills to manage eating up the JP and the mana burn is considerably higher for the same results.

That way, magic is more a commodity than a necessity for me - I just use magic (with a dirk) for first strike/pulling... the only reason I'd switch to staff would be when I'm told to stay back and use magic because the mob is too dangerous to come near for me (though I've just seen one really good example for that as of now - Ofo).

by **dragonpurse** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:42 am

I almost never use magic, only to pull.

Believe me Dagger + Shield are way more effective ^^

Later on with Double Inpact and your aura's you'll be unstoppable, believe me.

by **archlordlucifer** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:03 am

even CMs sometimes prefer dagger+shield in DPs when buffed, for sorcs its definitivelly better to use a dagger...for PvE

not comenting on the PvP part

by **hakron** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 5:49 pm

I started with 2h staff but I had a Evo2 turtle to do the dirt work for me

.
Now, at R5, i use dagger/shield combo, but I carry a 2h staff for times of need (Siege, TA, Raid Bosses, Arena...).
Dagger is a great weapon but i wish it could be better at PvP....

by **sarelm** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:06 pm

Ahh I'm so happy I found this thread before I almost went and made another one. Just to try and sum this up though, the conclusion seems to be, use dirk/shield in most situations, but have a good staff with you anyways?
Just out of curiosity can we dual wield dirks and no one said it because it draws aggro? Or am I being stupid and our class can't do that?

by **ultimatemx** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:17 am

No we cannot dual wield dirks, only sins get that skill.

by **gozombierecords** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:41 am

I think bothering to invest in a staff is a waste. I've used dirk + shield since the beginning and I am lvl 89 now. Speaking from experience we are meant to melee, as our final Battle Summoner skills make us overpowered with such a combination. Also we have Pass Damage, Dual Summoning, Aura of Halisha, Double Impact, et cetera. Notice all the R5+ Asura classed players who have recently Rebirth Scrolled into Battle Summoners... Take the hint, we rule Rappelz in both PvE and PvP.

by **ichat3** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:54 am

When you hit R5 and run into classes that your dirk will do a mere 30 damage to while their 2h maces and axes rip you to threads for 400+ damage you will seriously reconsider those statements.

In PvE the dirk looks real good but in the arena ......... no good at all. Of course there are instances where the dirk is invaluable e.g. vs CMs.

by **xdragon2k** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:55 pm

I just restarting sorceror and around level 40 at the moment. Some of the posters above are correct when they mention that staff+magic is better at lower level and it will be come less effective at higher level since the pets will be the one dealing the damage. And since most pets are melee based, going dagger+shield should be cheaper and more effective.

I have an orc (4 levels below me) and a high level BP. I used to summon BP to heal and unsummon it immediately but I want to lose the dependancy toward the BP to see if sorc is good at lower level.

I tank most of the time because of the higher level and high evasion/block using dagger+shield. When my HP become around 60-70%, I swap to 2H staff, use soul/luna chip and use max life leech, walk back while swapping back to dagger+shield, force chip (if using soul earlier), then attack along with pet.

Also, when bloody arrow become available, I can just use soul chip, bloody arrow, followed by life leech or fireball and pet attack.

To keep up with mana requirement, have high level of Creature MP extract since your melee pet will not use that much mana anyway (I have level 3 -- 120MP -- and it is enough to keep up with life leech and power support level 4 with times to spare). With this, I don't even use anymore HP/MP pots or BP summon for heals.

My orc now have fast movement self buff and is getting agro faster than myself, so I gave it Creature Stability (threat reduction) so focus the damage on me. If you have higher level pet, you may want the reverse effect.

Conclusion: use both, dagger being the main weapon. Use staff for life leech and Bloody Arrow.

by **fallennature** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:48 pm

im 125 bs....i am currently all magic...mainly for pvp..but i would like to be good at both..i think my kill speed for monsters laks a bit.. i am a vit and wisdom build only atm.....was thinking i should change to vit and strength....for pvm.. i have wis and intel in my staff... i guess the question is ...should i use half strength stones and half wisdom stones in the rest of my gear like gloves boots armor? or would all strength and vit..with the intel and wisdom staff be good enough for an all around pvp and pvm?