Staff of the dead
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| Staff of the dead | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Released | 17 October 2013 (Update) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Also called | SOTD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Members | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Quest item | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| League region | |||||||||||||||||||
| Properties | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tradeable | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Equipable | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stackable | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Noteable | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Options | Wield, Drop | ||||||||||||||||||
| Examine | A ghastly weapon with evil origins. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Values | |||||||||||||||||||
| Value | 1,000,005 coins | ||||||||||||||||||
| High alch | 600,003 coins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Low alch | 400,002 coins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 1.5 kg | ||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Exchange | |||||||||||||||||||
| Exchange | 5,337,135 coins (info) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Buy limit | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Daily volume | 155 | ||||||||||||||||||
Loading... | |||||||||||||||||||
| Advanced data | |||||||||||||||||||
| Item ID | 11791 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Link | MOID | ||||||||||||||||||
The staff of the dead is a one-handed bladed staff that requires 75 Magic and 75 Attack to wield. It is dropped by K'ril Tsutsaroth, and counts as a Zamorakian item while in the God Wars Dungeon and in the desert Bandit Camp. It is one of several one-handed staves which boost magic damage by 15%.
When a combat spell is cast with the staff, there is a 1/7 (~14.2%) chance that the staff will negate the rune cost for that spell.[1]
The staff can autocast Flames of Zamorak, Crumble Undead, Magic Dart, elemental combat spells from the Standard spellbook, and combat spells from the Arceuus spellbook. It is not, however, able to autocast ancient magicks.
Being a bladed staff, it is notable for its offensive melee stats, which are unusually high for a Magic weapon. Its stats slightly surpass that of a dragon scimitar while having the same attack speed when using melee. However, when using magic spells, it offers an attack speed of 5.
The staff may be upgraded into the toxic staff of the dead, the staff of light, or the staff of balance.
Combat stats
| +55 | +70 | +0 | +17 | +0 | ||
| +0 | +3 | +3 | +17 | +0 | ||
| Slot | ||||||
| +72 | +0 | +15% | +0 | List | ||
| Combat style | Attack type | Weapon style | Attack speed | Range | Experience | Level boost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab | Stab | Accurate | 4 ticks (2.4s) | 1 tile | +3 Attack | ||
| Swipe | Slash | Aggressive | +3 Strength | ||||
| Fend | Crush | Defensive | +3 Defence | ||||
| Spell | Magic | Defensive Autocast | 5 ticks (3.0s) | 10 tiles | None | ||
| Spell | Magic | Autocast | None | ||||
| Autocasting options | |
|---|---|
Special attack
The staff has a special attack, Power of Death, that halves all of the opponent's melee damage, consuming 100% of the player's special attack energy. Upon activating the special attack, a message will appear in the player's chatbox:
The effect lasts for one minute after using the special attack, but will instantly end if the player takes damage while the staff is not equipped. In addition, the effect stacks with the PvP damage reduction effect of the Protect from Melee prayer. The effect does not stack with itself should the player manage to cast the effect more than once before the initial cast expires.
The special attack cannot be used in legacy duels within the Emir's Arena if magic is disabled.
This special attack is also shared with the staff of light, staff of balance, and toxic staff of the dead.
Upgrading
Players with level 59 Crafting can attach a magic fang to the staff using a chisel, creating a toxic staff of the dead. This enhances its magic attack bonus by +8, and has the ability to infect a target with venom. However, taking advantage of these benefits requires using Zulrah's scales to charge the staff. Targets can only be afflicted with venom while using a magic attack, but using both melee and magic attacks will consume Zulrah's scales.
Alternatively, players can use Saradomin's light on the staff of the dead to create the staff of light, which inherits the effects of the staff of the dead. This process is irreversible. The only differences between the two staves is that the staff of light is able to autocast Saradomin Strike instead of Flames of Zamorak, is unable to cast Arceuus combat spells, and it counts as both a Zamorakian and a Saradominist item while in the God Wars Dungeon and in the Desert Bandit Camp.
Players can bring a Staff of the dead and Guthixian icon to Juna to upgrade it to the staff of balance. This process is irreversible. The only differences between the two staves is that the staff of balance is able to autocast Claws of Guthix instead of Flames of Zamorak, is unable to cast Arceuus combat spells, and it counts as a Zamorakian item while in the God Wars Dungeon and in the Desert Bandit Camp.
Products
| Item | Members | Skills | XP | Materials | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff of balance |
|
|
| ||
| Staff of light |
|
| |||
| Toxic staff (uncharged) |
| ||||
Item sources
| Source | Level | Quantity | Rarity | League region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K'ril Tsutsaroth | 650 | 1 | 1/508 |
Used in recommended equipment
| Rank | Method |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pay-to-play Prayer training (High Magic defence) |
| 1 | Hunter training (Staff of the dead) |
| 4 | Barrows/Strategies (Magic equipment) |
| 5 | Skeletal Wyvern/Strategies (Magic) |
| 2 | Nightmare Zone/Strategies (Magic) |
| 3 | Zulrah/Strategies (Magic) |
| 3 | Kraken/Strategies (Magic) |
| 3 | Krystilia/Strategies (Magic) |
| 2 | Maniacal monkey/Strategies (Magic - Ice Burst) |
| 2 | Maniacal monkey/Strategies (Magic - Ice Barrage) |
| 2 | Theatre of Blood/Strategies (Magic) |
| 2 | Ultimate Ironman Guide/Equipment |
| 2 | Ultimate Ironman Guide/Slayer |
| 2 | Slayer task/Trolls (Magic) |
| 2 | The Bane of Demons (Magic) |
| 2 | Tormented Demon/Strategies (Magic switch) |
| 2 | Hespori/Strategies (Mage) |
| 3 | Yama/Strategies (Mage) |
| 3 | Slayer task/Kurasks (Mage) |
Comparison between other magic weapons
| Name | Level(s) required | Magic attack | Magic damage | Price | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tumeken's shadow | +35 | N/A | 784,560,084 |
| ||
| Eye of ayak | +30 | N/A | 43,001,642 |
| ||
| Harmonised nightmare staff | +16 | +15% | 444,486,738 |
| ||
| Volatile nightmare staff | +16 | +15% | 70,054,795 |
| ||
| Eldritch nightmare staff | +16 | +15% | 154,799,611 |
| ||
| Sanguinesti staff | +25 | N/A | 18,139,722 |
| ||
| Holy Sanguinesti staff | ||||||
| Kodai wand | +28 | +15% | 61,200,341 |
| ||
| Trident of the swamp | +25 | N/A | 3,179,570 |
| ||
| Trident of the swamp (e) | 5,348,960 | |||||
| Purging staff | +37 | +10% | 30,776,983[n 1] |
| ||
| Toxic staff of the dead | +25 | +15% | 8,819,693 |
| ||
| Staff of light | +17 | +15% | 5,262,338 |
| ||
| Staff of balance | +17 | +15% | 29,888,309 |
| ||
| Staff of the dead | +17 | +15% | 5,337,135 |
| ||
| Trident of the seas | +15 | N/A | 39,895 |
| ||
| Trident of the seas (e) | 2,823,003 | |||||
| Slayer's staff (e) | +12 | N/A | 25,871[n 2] |
| ||
| Blue moon spear | +30 | +5% | 368,032 |
| ||
| Nightmare staff | +16 | +15% | 32,313,810 |
| ||
| Ahrim's staff | +15 | +5% | 149,202 |
| ||
| Ancient sceptre | +20 | +10% | 60,687 |
| ||
| Accursed sceptre | +22 | N/A | 3,258,266 |
| ||
| Accursed sceptre (a) | ||||||
| Dragon hunter wand | +16 | +10% | 8,675,576 |
| ||
| Warped sceptre | +12 | N/A | 89,479 |
| ||
| Master wand | +20 | +10% | 4,289,821 |
| ||
| Thammaron's sceptre | +15 | N/A | 3,222,350 |
| ||
| Thammaron's sceptre (a) | ||||||
| Twinflame staff | +12 | +10%[n 3] | 6,438,992 |
| ||
| God staves | +6 | N/A | 80,000 |
| ||
| Iban's staff | +10 | N/A | 200,000[n 4] |
| ||
| Iban's staff (u) | 400,000[n 5] | |||||
| Ancient staff | +15 | N/A | 60,687 |
| ||
| Slayer's staff | +12 | N/A | 24,257 |
| ||
| Void knight mace | +8 | N/A | Untradeable[n 6] |
| ||
| Mystic smoke staff | +14 | +10%[n 3] | 1,829,526 |
| ||
| Smoke battlestaff | +12 | 1,746,834 | ||||
| Salamanders | (Green) |
N/A | N/A | 168 |
| |
(Orange) |
160 | |||||
(Red) |
38 | |||||
(Black) |
272 | |||||
(Tecu) |
249,716 | |||||
| Croziers | +10 | N/A | 2,749 |
| ||
| Skull sceptre | +10 | N/A | Untradeable |
| ||
| Skull sceptre (i) | ||||||
| Elemental staves | (Basic) |
+10 | N/A | 904 | ||
(Battlestaff) |
+12 | 8,725 | ||||
(Mystic staff) |
+14 | 24,785 | ||||
Development history
In response to player requests for a magic weapon with the same functionality as the 2010 version of the staff of light from RuneScape, the weapon was offered as a new reward from K'ril Tsutsaroth in a Developer's Blog offering the God Wars Dungeon. The weapon passed the poll with 78% of the supporting votes.
Though the weapon had passed the poll, it had not been given a name or design yet. Another Developer's Blog was released two weeks after the poll ended, giving players insight on the technical limitations that the team had in terms of graphics, such as being unable to take models from RuneScape to use for a staff of light model, and only being able to use six colours for item models. With the limitations in mind, the team then offered six designs for the weapon:
-
Staff of light: A recoloured Rod of Ivandis.
-
Staff of darkness: A recoloured Rod of Ivandis in the colours of Zamorak.
-
Staff of wrath: Uses the anger spear from the quest A Soul's Bane as the design.
-
Staff of the dead: Uses the staff Necrovarus wields as the design.
-
Staff of the damned: A recoloured Ahrim's staff in the colours of Zamorak.
-
Wand of darkness: Uses the infused wand from the quest What Lies Below as the design.
The designs were then polled; the design with the most votes was Necrovarus' staff of the dead (25.6%). The other designs, in order of popularity, were:
- Staff of Darkness (22.5%)
- Staff of Light (19.7%)
- Staff of Wrath (13.2%)
- Wand of Darkness (9.9%)
- Staff of the Damned (9.1%)
Changes
| Date | Changes |
|---|---|
| 23 May 2024 (Update) |
The staff's special attack effect is now cleared when using a rejuvenation pool. |
| 8 January 2015 (Update) |
Toxic Staff of the Dead, a lvl 75 Attack/Magic Bladed Staff has been added to the game by adding a Magic Fang onto it. |
| 21 November 2013 (Update) |
The Staff of the Dead's special attack code was occasionally reading a bit of memory that hadn't been initialised; this could potentially have caused the special attack to malfunction. This is now fixed. |
| 7 November 2013 (Update | poll) |
|
Trivia
- The staff's held model is copied from the staff that Necrovarus wields, and the inventory icon is a recoloured elemental staff. The ghostly floating head from the special attack is recoloured from Ahrim the Blighted's head that can appear when doing Barrows.
- The staff of the dead is one of four unique boss drops that are not dropped by the respective bodyguards (excluding hilts), the others being the steam battlestaff, Saradomin's light, and Armadyl crossbow.
References
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