A note on the Wand vs Staff powers.

The staff has a higher base damage, but a slower attack. This means when it is upgraded it can do a lot more damage than a similarly upgraded wand. It also gives it a better ability to deal damage to high level monsters, although both are good at this, since they are magical. Another streingth of the staff is that it has a higher base damage for mage skills, which (as far as I can tell) take the same length of time despite attack speed.

The wand has a lower damage, but a higher attack speed. Although upgrading a wand is good too - it is not quite as powerful as upgrading a staff. The higher attack speed means it benifits more from numerical bonuses to (magical) attack. For example, if a mage used lvl 3 magic attack minerals with a staff, they might gain 35 attack 30 times over a given period of time, but if they were using a wand they would have been able to make 35 attacks, and therefore gain the bonus an extra 5 times. Common numeric boosts to magical attack include minerals, large attack potions, the passive skill Secret Study, mounted horse attack buff, unmounted pet magical power, the bonus for a +15 weapon, and the cleric skill charm.

My mage uses a wand, even though her playing style might fit better with a staff. (lots of skill usage, rarely use minerals, low level pet, accessories increase critical hit (multipying bonus as opposed to numeric), too low a level to party with lvl 38+ clerics).

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