By RAW, Staffs are supposed to use the caster level of the wielder, if it is higher than the caster level the item was created with. That's what makes them awesome. However, I have no idea if this has been implemented in game, and I'm doubtful that it has. Has anyone tested/noticed this?
Rudy has been testing spells ,domains and healing potions, along with creating a nice chart for spells recently. Check out the modding forum. Nice job :thumbsup: Based on the few staffs used, offhand I don't think so. It feels like they have the same effectiveness after leveling up 2-3 levels.
I tried out the staff of fire I liberated from the Drow tunnels with my level 17/18 wizard on the various fungi on level 4 of the temple lat night, and found to my surprise that I was casting 2 dice fireballs. The staff of frost was doing 1 dice cone of cold and 2 dice ice storm in the fire node later. I seem to recall having much better results previously and at lower level. I know that cold magic is less effective in the fire node but am not aware of any similar effect in the temple. Have I gone off the top of the scale and started again at the bottom perhaps?
Yep, 18th level and casting 3 dice fireballs on the world map with the drow staff. Still playing 7.4 FWIW
Fire spells are nerfed in the fire temple area. But I think you would get a message saying spell fizzled.
Thanks sirchet, I was in the room beyond Hedrack's place on level 4, and subsequently on a world map random encounter. 3 hd fireballs from a level 18 caster using the staff- I wonder if there's a cap at 15 and I've started again somehow. As I say, I'm pretty sure I've had some very effective fireballs out of the thing before.
Hmm... I haven't seen any other instances of going off the top of the scale, but I have seen enough weirdness in testing that it's entirely possible. I'll try to test this myself when I have more time, but thanks for the feedback thus far.
Okay, travelled back in time to WotGS when my wizard was 12th level. He's casting 10dice fireballs with the staff at this point (NC7.4). Forgot to test the staff of frost- curse you distracting Hextorites!
10 dice is the cap for fireball, so that is working as it should be, though it doesn't let us know whether it's using your wizard's level (capped at 10 dice), or the staff's level. The lower number of dice at high level is still quite odd.
Oh, okay. But in that case,given that Craft Staff is a level 12 feat, isn't a Staff of Fire fireball always going to be 10dice? Is your interest in Caster vs Crafter level for other spells (without a level cap), or are you interested in saving throw modifiers?
Both, really. There are other spells on various staffs that are not capped at level 10. And the fact that you're throwing 3 dice fireballs at level 18 is a major concern regardless.
When I craft a WAND of fire balls it lets me choose the level of the fire balls. Can you choose the level with STAFFS?
Fireball wands, and magic missile are, if I recall, the only ones that the game allows you to choose the caster level for. You should, in theory, be allowed to choose it for any wand, but it's a limitation of the game that you cannot. Staffs, on the other hand, are supposed to work differently. You aren't supposed to choose the caster level when creating them, but rather, they are supposed to use the caster level of the person using the staff, when they use it (NOT when they create it). I doubt this was actually incorporated into the game correctly, though, which is what I'm curious about.
