Baldur’s Gate 3 follows the rules of the well-known role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. These allow players a lot of freedom – in some cases, freedoms that would be unthinkable in other games. One player has now broken all the rules of the genre and casually wields 2 staffs as a wizard. And it works.
What kind of ability is that?
- Dual Wielding, or fighting with two weapons, is a skill that rogues and bards particularly like to use. It allows you to wield one weapon in each hand.
- The advantage is that characters have an additional attack as a bonus action. Assassins are particularly strong with this ability because they gain special advantages when they attack first in a fight and initiate the battle.
- However, players have discovered that Dual Wielding also works with completely different weapons: with staffs, which are popular among monks, but especially among spellcasters.
How exactly does it work? Staves in Baldur’s Gate 3 have the property “Versatile.” This means: You can carry them one-handed or two-handed. You can generally carry any one-handed weapon in either hand (unless a specific description forbids this).
Normally, only “light” weapons are intended for Dual Wielding, as you do not incur any disadvantages when attacking with them. With the right talents, you can amplify their effect even further.
If you use non-light weapons, you have penalties on your attacks – but that might not matter to you. Sorcerers, wizards, warlocks, and other spellcasting classes only want the effects and skills that staves provide. And they stack.
From role-playing games and RPGs like World of Warcraft, most players are used to staves being two-handed weapons. You either use it alone or pair it with a magical dagger in your off-hand. In Baldur’s Gate 3, you can simply carry 2 staves.
Do you want to maximize your options? This way you can cast multiple spells per turn:
“That’s why the spellstaff was my best weapon for so long”
Staves usually grant passive bonuses or active skills that you can use per long or short rest. Some combat staves are only useful specifically for monks. However, most are the classic “magic staves” as carried by Gandalf, Saruman, and others.
This opens up entirely new possibilities for you as a spellcaster. On Reddit, players discuss which combinations of staves are particularly strong. One user mentions that you can easily cast six 6th-level spells per long rest as a wizard:
- At level 11, you already gain a slot at this level.
- The Staff of Power from Raphael’s House of Hope allows you to cast a spell for free.
- Markoheshkir, a legendary staff from Act 3, also grants this effect.
- The staff also grants the ability Chain Lightning once per short rest – which is already a 6th-level spell in itself.
- The Spell Amulet of the Warden from the Towers of Moonrise allows you to restore one spell slot once per long rest.
- As a half-illithid, you can cast a spell per short or long rest without expending a slot.
Sorcerers even have more options by using Metamagic to, for instance, twin spells. This will make you a true spell slinger – or you can find other combinations. One user, for example, has the spellstaff, one of the best weapons from Act 1, carried for a long time to use the Shock Charges with it.
If 2 staves are too much for you, you can alternatively carry something else in your off-hand. A dagger or a shield, for instance, if you are skilled in that. A shield grants you 2 additional armor classes, which is certainly welcome for “soft” spell classes.
However, it is often wiser to be able to quickly kill the opponents. In Baldur’s Gate 3, as in Dungeons & Dragons, the philosophy holds: offense is the best defense. A dead opponent can no longer harm you. That’s why you don’t really need a healer: If you still have a healer with you in Baldur’s Gate 3, you’re making a big mistake
