So, different logic but same result, right? The best way to spell it in a fantasy game (or in the discussion of a fantasy game) is "staves"? I mean, who wants to use an Americanized deviation from the original English when discussing TES.

If I have to choose, would rather have a melee stave than a magical shotgun.

The way staffs look in Skyrim I cant see using them to block or even hit with. They do look fragile.

Whoops, I misunderstood your earlier post. I thought you were suggesting that "dwarves" and "staves" should be considered incorrect but people use them anyway. I was pointing out that "staves" is probably the original version. Now I see we are actually on the same page, dwarves and staves for fantasy worlds; dwarfs and staffs for the mundane.

Also, as an aside, the German for dwarf, der Zwerg and the plural die Zwerge follow the dwarf and dwarfs pattern, which lends credence to the assertion that the word dwarves was created by Tolkien.

R1 - Magic
L1 - Block
L1+R1 - Melee attack


Put it in! I wanna make a Tim Drake Robin influenced character!

I suppose a staff could be used for defence in desperation, but it is still an incredibly risky thing to do with a weapon that`s extremely useful to you. Like siad, suppose you attempt to block a heavy ax with your staff, even though the staff might not break, you`ve already caused structural damage that might cause it to break later, reducing its affectiveness. It also takes training and skill to block effectively and not get your fingers mashed- Would a mage waste time learning how to block ?

Of course, in Skyrim this don`t count because there`s no wear and tear (damn you and your streamlining, Devs).

I just realised how pointless this thread is to argue about. It`s a conversation I can`t win because logic can be run around here.

With no wear and tear it don`t matter and everyone can just say `Well the staff is magic protected` so they get away on that too.

Well, in my world and my rules, only a foolhardy mage would ever use his precious magic staff as an offensive blunt weapon and would not even think to use it to block... "Use my Staff of True Power to block a bandit`s sword? NEVER!"

He`d get a Follower warrior to do the blocking for him.

Anyway, I`m out.

Big ugly bandit charges at you with a giant axe. You blast him with your magic staff, but it doesn't slow him down. Too late to retreat, you have no choice but to block the blow with your trusty staff. Sadly, your staff breaks. In anger, you proceed to beat the bandit to death by dual-wielding your former staff as a pair of clubs (wouldn't that be a cool feature?).

The above is far more realistic than a mage refusing to use the staff as a defensive weapon because it is too valuable to risk. Of course, in Skyrim, you can just let the axe smack you on the noggin and then drink a bunch of health potions.

Although you shouldn't be able to bash skulls in (these are magic shooters, not pretty maces), blocking and stunning should be possible with the haft and butt. Nords build everything to last with the capability to maim your local cattle raider at a moment's notice. Besides, some of these walking sticks really look concussion-able. Although this contradicts my first point, but If you were to hit someone over the head with the Staff of Magnus, and I would not expect them getting up for awhile. All that gilt and glitter cannot just be for show.

It's more about discussing what would be the best way to implement this feature. And if it should be implemented at all.
My mage does not carry a sword or a shield. So would he rather block a weapon with his staff or his arm?

I know I said I`m out, because this is kind of pointless, but my view is the mentality of a mage.

Often, people in certain careers of professions don`t use things for every possible use it could have. It`s quite feasible to me that a Mage just wouldn`t think of using his staff to block at wall, preferring just to raise his hand or duck\run automatically. I see a staff as a `my precious` to a mage.

Also, blocking takes effort, endurance and strength, not the sort of thing mages usually have for melee work. But don`t tell me you`re all teenage warrior mages who are as fit as Bruce Lee? Harry Potter style?

There are also schools of thought that if a staff is violently hit and broken it can explode with devastating consequences of released magical power.

You don't have to be a Bruce Lee to be able to block. My mage is all magic and walks around the land learning his trade. It's very plausible that he's learned an enchantment to make his staff more durable. Of course the staff is his precious but that doesn't mean that one wouldn't block with it if there were no other options.

It's not pointless if it is entertaining and cordial. I think you have a valid point that most mages wouldn't want to use their staff for blocking/hitting things (unless it was specifically designed for both casting and combat), but I don't think any battle-hardened mage, even those that avoid melee combat would hesitate to use a staff to block in an emergency situation, such as if they were caught by surprise or fighting too many enemies to completely avoid melee combat.

I'm going to disregard the broken-staff-might-explode argument because it's the flip-side of the staff-is-protected-by-magic argument, neither of which have sufficient lore-based evidence.

I like how Beth tries to use M'aiq to justify their design decisions

Like I said, the magic excuse again. This time I really am out.

They could add a staff and a spear branch to the two handed tree, or make more perk trees.

I wish the staves could be used for combat outside of their enchantments, I remember that is something I liked in Morrowind, if my mage got into a lunch I could use my staff as a last resort, I loved that and it should have been in this game and in Oblivion as a base feature of the item.

Blocking with a staff would be questionable, I would like to see a blocking spell maybe in the school of alteration that maybe could work like a shield. That to me would make more sense for a mage.

I do think you should be able to use your staff in a melee situation as a last resort if you need to that would definitely be feasible.

Yep. In D&D, there are special staffs called a "Staff of Power", and as an absolute last resort, a Mage can break the staff in half, releasing all the remaining charges/power in the staff in a single, spectacular blast of devastation, called a "Retributive Strike". It's extremely risky because it can kill the staff wielder as well. The Archmage Gromph Baenre broke a Staff of Power in order to temporarily defeat his nemesis, a Lichdrow, in the "War of the Spider Queen" series.