[Guide WIP]The Forgotten Ones: Staff

[Argentum]

i prefer using white ones instead of the more rare ones that offer different bonuses for a simple reason: i need at least 4 of them. thats expensive allready without them being rare, nontheless being SMITHED rare items.
while id like to utilize some of the statbonuses that rare ones offer, i cannot get myself to use one of them because the cost of making them usable would overwhelm me.

theres also the issue with some rares giving max hp bonuses which is REALLY BAD unless you use 4 of them which is so expensive that you wont be able to get them untill a point where they are outdated again.

why do i need 4 ?
simple:

Heal IV x3 (if you are using Heal III or below 2 are sufficient) to be able to chaincast the spell)
Cure IV x2 (in my level range (44) 2 Cure IV will most likely fill the hp of whomever you are healing up and even if they arent fully healed by this, the incomming burst will be gone and you can go back to chaincasting Heal IV (if the incomming damage is still to much the player deserved to die for neither blocking nor starting to avoid further damage))
Invigorate x2 (one might suffice if you only play in carry partys)
Idatens Grace x1
Strike Boost x1
Healing IV x2 (if your party screws up the targeting system would screw you up quite badly if you tried to counteract incomming damage by constantly repositioning yourself and do all the healing manualy with Heal IV so Healing IV offers a VERY GOOD alternative to sustain the whole group, it will be helpful if you can get 3x Healing IV but usually if you are in need on constant casting of Healing, the group is doing something majorly wrong so you SHOULD be able to handle most stuff with only 2 Healings)

sanctuary IV or Energy Ball IV will help if you have skill slots open to heal yourself and prepare a place for people to come back and refresh themselfs when they are under to much pressure. of course you can also use the left over slots for additional buffs like extra strike boosts or unbreakable/magic shield.

note1: this setup is build to constantly be able to heal damage, even if the damage itself will not be happening. you can constantly cast Heal IV on your target once you ANTICIPATE that he could take damage. this playstyle will take alot of stress from both: the support and the healed person.

to be able to chaincast for prolonged times you will also need to build your character for that. this means you need a good chunk of wisdom and 3 or 4 idezumi magatama. the only time you would want to get rid of an idezumi magatama would be if you get your hand on a staff cooldown reduction magatama that does not lower your main stats (does one of those even exist yet?) or when a magatama gives you >WISDOM< so you can get a breakpoint that will give you similar manareduction to the idezumi (read: the wisdom bonus will need to put you either at the 80,90 or 100 threshhold.) naturally you will switch back to idezumi once the maga is not needed anymore for achieving the wisdom thresshold.

note2: this build may be subject to change with higher ranking spells. since i do not feel the need to switch to higher ranking spells yet, i may update this playstyle later on to adjust it to the bigger mana consumption if necessary

note3: i do not include ougis into my playstyle because i did not yet have them on my weapons and thus do not know how they interact. if i had to chose ougis i would propably go for rapid storm and extend heal. i see no point in using meditation because the mana regen is unnecessary for the supporter at this level region and the damage dealers tend to blast through there mana so fast that id rather slam additionaly high ranking invigorates into my setup.
keep in mind that i did not yet even see someone use extend heal yet and have no idea what it does. depending on what it does i may shift its priority below meditation but thats unlikely. i would appreciate it if someone could tell me what extend heal does and how its supposed to work.

personally i see no point in playing offensive staff because there are enough other weapons to fit that role ... like EVERY other weapon in the game actually. the only valid offensive staff skills i know of are chase blister and soulstrike for their debuffing capabilitys because they boost the damage of the people that are supposed to deal the damage. of course, for soloing thats a different story, but a true support is a group player.

TL;DR
using expensive weapons is not an option for a real support unless you are lucky enough to feel bad because you didnt try the lottery instead of gambling for weapons. seriously, you would be rich if you managed to get such a loadout under these odds.

[Heimarmene]

i prefer using white ones instead of the more rare ones that offer different bonuses for a simple reason: i need at least 4 of them. thats expensive allready without them being rare, nontheless being SMITHED rare items.
while id like to utilize some of the statbonuses that rare ones offer, i cannot get myself to use one of them because the cost of making them usable would overwhelm me.

theres also the issue with some rares giving max hp bonuses which is REALLY BAD unless you use 4 of them which is so expensive that you wont be able to get them untill a point where they are outdated again.

why do i need 4 ?
simple:

Heal IV x3 (if you are using Heal III or below 2 are sufficient) to be able to chaincast the spell)
Cure IV x2 (in my level range (44) 2 Cure IV will most likely fill the hp of whomever you are healing up and even if they arent fully healed by this, the incomming burst will be gone and you can go back to chaincasting Heal IV (if the incomming damage is still to much the player deserved to die for neither blocking nor starting to avoid further damage))
Invigorate x2 (one might suffice if you only play in carry partys)
Idatens Grace x1
Strike Boost x1
Healing IV x2 (if your party screws up the targeting system would screw you up quite badly if you tried to counteract incomming damage by constantly repositioning yourself and do all the healing manualy with Heal IV so Healing IV offers a VERY GOOD alternative to sustain the whole group, it will be helpful if you can get 3x Healing IV but usually if you are in need on constant casting of Healing, the group is doing something majorly wrong so you SHOULD be able to handle most stuff with only 2 Healings)

sanctuary IV or Energy Ball IV will help if you have skill slots open to heal yourself and prepare a place for people to come back and refresh themselfs when they are under to much pressure. of course you can also use the left over slots for additional buffs like extra strike boosts or unbreakable/magic shield.

note1: this setup is build to constantly be able to heal damage, even if the damage itself will not be happening. you can constantly cast Heal IV on your target once you ANTICIPATE that he could take damage. this playstyle will take alot of stress from both: the support and the healed person.

to be able to chaincast for prolonged times you will also need to build your character for that. this means you need a good chunk of wisdom and 3 or 4 idezumi magatama. the only time you would want to get rid of an idezumi magatama would be if you get your hand on a staff cooldown reduction magatama that does not lower your main stats (does one of those even exist yet?) or when a magatama gives you >WISDOM< so you can get a breakpoint that will give you similar manareduction to the idezumi (read: the wisdom bonus will need to put you either at the 80,90 or 100 threshhold.) naturally you will switch back to idezumi once the maga is not needed anymore for achieving the wisdom thresshold.

note2: this build may be subject to change with higher ranking spells. since i do not feel the need to switch to higher ranking spells yet, i may update this playstyle later on to adjust it to the bigger mana consumption if necessary

note3: i do not include ougis into my playstyle because i did not yet have them on my weapons and thus do not know how they interact. if i had to chose ougis i would propably go for rapid storm and extend heal. i see no point in using meditation because the mana regen is unnecessary for the supporter at this level region and the damage dealers tend to blast through there mana so fast that id rather slam additionaly high ranking invigorates into my setup.
keep in mind that i did not yet even see someone use extend heal yet and have no idea what it does. depending on what it does i may shift its priority below meditation but thats unlikely. i would appreciate it if someone could tell me what extend heal does and how its supposed to work.

personally i see no point in playing offensive staff because there are enough other weapons to fit that role ... like EVERY other weapon in the game actually. the only valid offensive staff skills i know of are chase blister and soulstrike for their debuffing capabilitys because they boost the damage of the people that are supposed to deal the damage. of course, for soloing thats a different story, but a true support is a group player.

TL;DR
using expensive weapons is not an option for a real support unless you are lucky enough to feel bad because you didnt try the lottery instead of gambling for weapons. seriously, you would be rich if you managed to get such a loadout under these odds.

For the most part you could just run 4 cures and be done with heals. Usually 2 cure IVs will heal up about half of my carry's health (using ZQPMN as my standard cuz he's kinda op) or alternatively a cure VII will also heal for about half of his HP. Also, chain casting isn't very useful at this point since people don't take a consistent stream of damage, they take 1 hit for half their HP every few seconds or so.

[Lynneth]

Yay! lucky
My subsitute staff from this :

[invitation]

Apparently this guide is missing the most important guide, the stat( s) to add.

[Lynneth]

Apparently this guide is missing the most important guide, the stat( s) to add.

Just add MIND till maxed affinity, and you're good to go.

Or if you want Staff as secondary, you can add MIND up to around 35-40 to use Rapid Storm.

[CelestialRebirth]

I have a question for those fellow main support staff users:

I'm very skeptical, but I believe the buff skills other than Idaten's Grace(strike boost, unbreakable aura, magic shield)are not worth it.

Not only do the skill tooltips not list much detail, but apparently even the high ranked buff skills don't actually increase in effect, only duration -- and the "buff" they give is barely noticeable to be worthwhile.

What do you guys think?

[Lynneth]

I have a question for those fellow main support staff users:

I'm very skeptical, but I believe the buff skills other than Idaten's Grace(strike boost, unbreakable aura, magic shield)are not worth it.

Not only do the skill tooltips not list much detail, but apparently even the high ranked buff skills don't actually increase in effect, only duration -- and the "buff" they give is barely noticeable to be worthwhile.

What do you guys think?

/ranting START

This game hates support and magical class.(staffs and wands). The developer clearly loves to "spearhead" any melee and physical class.
The remove of "Resurrection" spell is one of the proof.
Buffs can only be casted on OTHER than yourself, except Ougis, of course, to burn your money.
Ougis are all 'supportive'
While Supportive is good, the developer never think how to develop a game mechanic support the supporters, only to cut the XP rate to 1/3 and remove any dropboxes from anyone that not killing the monsters.
Self-heal are minimal.
Regenerating HP spells are miniscule (Energy Ball).
The weird targeting system is another proof, you can completely miss an enemy that you target with wand especially. Staff is point blank range, no ranged attack.
The limited 'targeting' system which constrain only 2 targets at the same time is another proof.
Staffs attack spells are very limited to Chase Blister, Holy Pillar, Holy Light, Breath of Light, Soul Strike, Rolling Thunder which are not 'quite useful', rather than it's only 'complement'

-------------
The way it is now, the players MUST adapt to the gameplay the developers created, not the other way.
-------------

/rant END.

About Buffs.

Other than Idaten's Grace I barely notice it either. Even you can't buff yourself with your weapon's self buff.
Some players I have teamed with said that he felt a bit up damage, but from my point of view, the damage enhancement is miniscule.

> Way of the 'Axe', 'Bow', 'Spear', 'Sword', 'Twin Swords' are clearly far more superior
> Intimidate Spear Skills are one of the MOST USEFUL skills which SLOW ENEMIES IN WIDE AREA OF EFFECT. Why not GIVE SOME TO US, Staff players TO DEBUFF AREA ENEMIES?
> Fierce God Focus for each weapon except STAFFS and WANDS are clearly far more superior too

The weird things are Skill Levels. Which are our bread and butter of magical class.
Heal/Cure in upper level must be upgraded and be used first before kicks in.
MIND requirement of support class is ridiculous. Why only limited to staffs? To prevent 'fake supporter'? Not a good game design ._.
Other weapon's attack is useable, regardless of stats. So you can safely use Water Dragon Spear VII with only 20 VIT, with full damage from the skill attack.

[CelestialRebirth]

I don't know why CS made staff/wand(especially staff)such an afterthought in their general effectiveness as weapon builds. But how much of a support weapon Staff is definitely signaled me that it's not a good idea to focus on one weapon when you're already capped on your primary stat.

When I first started playing I was going for a dex/mnd build - bow/staff. When I got to Kyoto the displacement and how "uneven" the staff benefits bow(other than higher sp pools/regen for more Rapid Shot spamming)and found myself dumping more points into DEX just to keep my damage up.

However, Onigiri is my first MMORPG where I decided to take up a support/heal role but I'm a caster at heart and used my free stat reset to switch to mnd/wis.

Surprise, surprise, the two stats work well together as expected. Capped MND eases the high SP costs of Wand skills and WIS...gives slight SP/regen and crit? Well either way, the fact that casters in general having it bad is not too surprising considering my history with other MMORPGs.

[Lynneth]

I don't know why CS made staff/wand(especially staff)such an afterthought in their general effectiveness as weapon builds. But how much of a support weapon Staff is definitely signaled me that it's not a good idea to focus on one weapon when you're already capped on your primary stat.

When I first started playing I was going for a dex/mnd build - bow/staff. When I got to Kyoto the displacement and how "uneven" the staff benefits bow(other than higher sp pools/regen for more Rapid Shot spamming)and found myself dumping more points into DEX just to keep my damage up.

However, Onigiri is my first MMORPG where I decided to take up a support/heal role but I'm a caster at heart and used my free stat reset to switch to mnd/wis.

Surprise, surprise, the two stats work well together as expected. Capped MND eases the high SP costs of Wand skills and WIS...gives slight SP/regen and crit? Well either way, the fact that casters in general having it bad is not too surprising considering my history with other MMORPGs.

What makes caster bad is not the MIND/WIS stat combination, but the other factors. As I said in my former posts, like weird targeting system, XP and dropbox system, etc etc.

At endgame, actually you can max two stats and add another stat to build (based on rhythm said). So, I was wrong to choose staff/wand path ._., actually it's faster to go full attack path then add support stat at later time, since you can level up your support skill later and still strong as attacker.

[Heimarmene]

I don't know why CS made staff/wand(especially staff)such an afterthought in their general effectiveness as weapon builds. But how much of a support weapon Staff is definitely signaled me that it's not a good idea to focus on one weapon when you're already capped on your primary stat.

When I first started playing I was going for a dex/mnd build - bow/staff. When I got to Kyoto the displacement and how "uneven" the staff benefits bow(other than higher sp pools/regen for more Rapid Shot spamming)and found myself dumping more points into DEX just to keep my damage up.

However, Onigiri is my first MMORPG where I decided to take up a support/heal role but I'm a caster at heart and used my free stat reset to switch to mnd/wis.

Surprise, surprise, the two stats work well together as expected. Capped MND eases the high SP costs of Wand skills and WIS...gives slight SP/regen and crit? Well either way, the fact that casters in general having it bad is not too surprising considering my history with other MMORPGs.

What makes caster bad is not the MIND/WIS stat combination, but the other factors. As I said in my former posts, like weird targeting system, XP and dropbox system, etc etc.

At endgame, actually you can max two stats and add another stat to build (based on rhythm said). So, I was wrong to choose staff/wand path ._., actually it's faster to go full attack path then add support stat at later time, since you can level up your support skill later and still strong as attacker.

To be fair, I feel like Cyberstep only made staffs as an afterthought and never put much thought into it. It feels like they noticed that they didn't have a healer so they went "oh hey, what supports others? Let's see, heals, buffs, speed boosts and resurrections so let's slap them on a weapon and call it a day" so they slapped it all on a weapon and never looked back at it. Never mind basic supporting concepts such as being able to buff yourself, they forgot to that supports won't be killing many things thus will almost never trigger the last hitting bonuses. It seriously feels like a lackluster piece of work that they never put much thought into.

But yeah, going offensive and then putting points into MND is probably the best option atm. I honestly would but I'd feel bad for spending OC on buying that maxed out Nebular Storm and that staff with "godspeed 7"