Dark Souls 3: Best Staff Weapons, Ranked

Highlights

• Dark Souls 3 is a highly acclaimed and challenging game that has remained a classic in the Souls franchise.
• Players can customize their characters in various ways, including equipping different weapons like staffs.
• These are the most effective staffs available in the game.

Dark Souls 3 was released by Bandai Namco and FromSoftware in 2016 to an already avid community of gamers who were ready for the next brutally challenging installment of the Dark Souls franchise. And Dark Souls 3 delivered. With outstanding reviews and high player satisfaction, this Souls release is still an absolute classic eight years on.

Due to the RPG nature of the game, there are a lot of ways to optimize, stylize, and customize player characters. From what skills are prioritized to what clothes are adorned, there are a lot of ways to make fun and unique characters in Dark Souls 3. One of the most popular ways to make characters conform to players’ styles is by equipping the many weapons found in-game. Staffs are an incredibly popular choice among Souls players who like to prioritize casting and magic potency.

Updated January 11, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: Dark Souls 3 is a fitting sendoff to a legendary series, even if some people felt like the game rehashed too many things from the first game and wasn’t as open-ended as most people would’ve wanted it to be.

Still, the improvements to the gameplay were much appreciated by fans, with spellcasting being more engaging and fun than ever before. Players who wanted to use a staff and make their magic casting more potent were spoiled with a wealth of devastating options.

9 Man-Grub’s Staff

Skill: Steady Chant

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 158 Physical
• Skill Requirements: 9 Strength, 18 Intelligence
• Scaling: Strength (D), Luck (S)

The Man-Grub’s Staff isn’t the most popular staff in the game for a myriad of reasons, the biggest factor being that this weapon scales with Luck instead of Intelligence like most other staffs in the game. However, veterans who want to pursue an odd build will find this staff to be pretty rewarding in its way.

Players must stick to mid-level magic and invest in their Luck stat to make the most of this weapon. This can make for a challenging playthrough that only the most skilled Dark Souls 3 player should attempt.

8 Sage’s Crystal Staff

Skill: Steady Chant

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 154 Physical
• Skill Requirements: 7 Strength, 24 Intelligence
• Scaling: Strength (D), Intelligence (A)

The Crystal Sage is a fairly simple boss fight that players can walk over in no time flat. It drops a Boss Soul that can be used to get the Sage’s Crystal Staff, a powerful staff that many players sleep on.

Sure, it may not be as powerful as other weapons like the Court Sorcerer’s Staff, but The Sage’s Crystal Staff still has excellent damage and is a worthy addition to any spellcaster’s arsenal. It helps that the staff itself looks amazing, helping a spellcaster both look and feel powerful.

7 Izalith Staff

Skill: Steady Chant

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 210 Physical
• Skill Requirements: 12 Strength, 14 Intelligence, 10 Faith
• Scaling: Strength (D), Dexterity (D), Intelligence (A), Faith (C)

This hidden-away gem of a weapon is a great choice for players who have chosen to specialize in dark sorceries. It may not prove as useful for regular spellcasting as this weapon feeds off both Faith and Intelligence which is perfect for those dark sorcery abilities. This staff is also super useful for taking out smaller enemies as the base physical damage for the weapon is rather impressive! It certainly saves having to use limited resources, especially because attacking with this staff doesn’t drain stamina as some weapons can.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the weapon cannot be infused or buffed, making it hard to scale with level-ups, especially when it has soft caps on Intelligence and Faith. When using the Izalith Staff to cast dark sorceries, the soft cap for these skills is 45. When casting regular sorcery, only the Intelligence score is considered and is softcapped at the standard 60.

Players can acquire this item by heading to the Smouldering Lake. In the corridor with the giant rat, players can find an illusory wall on the far side of the wall. Once it’s been revealed, hit the wall until the staff can be acquired by looting a corpse!

6 Witchtree Branch

Skill: Steady Chant

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 129 Physical
• Skill Requirements: 7 Strength, 18 Intelligence
• Scaling: Strength (D), Intelligence (B)

Most people would scoff at the inclusion of the Witchtree Branch here. The staff’s scaling is pitiful compared to other staves and makes it hard to recommend this weapon for magic users in a traditional playthrough.

However, players who want to pursue a low-level playthrough will find this staff to be pretty serviceable. Magic is quite powerful, so most players shouldn’t have too many issues with this weapon as long as they’re familiar with the game’s many intricacies. It helps that this staff’s casting speed is quite high as well, letting players whip out numerous magic spells in no time at all.

5 Sorcerer’s Staff

Skill: Steady Chant

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 135 Physical
• Skill Requirements: 6 Strength, 10 Intelligence
• Scaling: Strength (D), Intelligence (A)

Despite this being a starter item for sorcerers and assassins, it’s better saved for slightly more powerful characters. While it certainly isn’t one of the most powerful weapons in the game, it’s super useful for early-game characters (but isn’t the most effective for beginner characters).

The easiest way to get this is by starting the game as a sorcerer or assassin but if players are looking for a way to obtain this weapon for another character, it can be randomly dropped by Undead Mages after the Halfway Fortress bonfire at the Road of Sacrifices. Players can also buy it from the Shrine Handmaid in Firelink Shrine.

4 Heretic’s Staff

Skill: Steady Chant

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 142 Physical
• Skill Requirements: 8 Strength, 16 Intelligence
• Scaling: Strength (D), Intelligence (A)

This popular weapon is the best choice for players with Intelligence scores between 35-43, giving characters the highest spell buff than any other staff in the game (at least for these specific Intelligence scores). It’s also reinforced with Titanite, making it slightly more durable than other potential options. The Heretic’s Staff, for the eagle-eyed player, may look familiar to some. This item is a nod to Dark Souls, as the design is reminiscent of Beatrice’s staff!

While this staff is super useful for buffing sorcery, it also can’t be buffed or infused. Casting with the Heretic’s Staff expends a lot more stamina than similarly powerful staves, so players should measure up what works with their play style and what they’re willing to sacrifice. Players can find the Heretic’s Staff on the Road of Sacrifice. Before the steps that head towards Orbeck of Vinheim, there will be a corpse inside the castle ruins that can be looted for the stave.

3 Murky Longstaff

Skill: Chant From The Depths

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 194 Physical, 46 Dark
• Skill Requirements: 6 Strength, 12 Intelligence
• Scaling: Strength (D), Dexterity (D), Intelligence (A), Faith (E)

The Murky Longstaff is a great choice for players who want to specialize in dark sorceries. It’s even better than the Izalith Staff for players with below 45 Intelligence as that’s the softcap for this weapon. This stave also gives dual scaling to characters’ Intelligence and Faith when specializing in dark sorceries. This weapon can do a lot of damage when used right. Despite it being one of the longest staffs in the game, it doesn’t deplete stamina like other long staves and is more akin to shorter staffs in its stamina use.

Players can find the Murky Longstaff in The Ringed City. In the Dreg Heap, after passing the angel-like hollow shooting projectiles, and defeating the Cathedral Knights, go right (uphill). Head into the building and go through the rooms of hollows that keep spawning until reaching the last room, which will house a corpse carrying this item.

2 Court Sorcerer’s Staff

Skill: Steady Chant

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 135 Physical
• Skill Requirements: 6 Strength, 14 Intelligence
• Scaling: Strength (D), Intelligence (S)

This is the most powerful staff in the game for non-dark sorceries. With the highest spell buff for any staves in Dark Souls 3, this will be a great weapon of choice for players prioritizing their Intelligence skill and spell casting.

Players can find the Court Sorcerer’s Staff in the toxic swamp area of the Profaned Capital. In the church-like building, on the second floor, players can find a mimic that they must slay to obtain this item.

1 Storyteller’s Staff

Skill: Poison Spores

• Damage (Fully Upgraded): 136 Physical
• Skill Requirements: 6 Strength, 12 Intelligence
• Scaling: Strength (D), Intelligence (A)

While not having as high of a spell buff as the Court Sorcerer’s Staff, this stave has a unique property that makes it stand out. This weapon has poison spores, allowing players to poison their enemies, even outclassing Poison Mist and Toxic Mist in their buildup rate and damage. For players looking for a unique weapon that does some serious damage, this weapon is an absolute must-have.

Players looking to obtain the Storyteller’s Staff can find it by slaying Corvian Storytellers and looting them for a chance to find this stave. There are a lot of staffs in Dark Souls 3 and which one players choose to use is ultimately up to their playstyle and character build.