Staves are a rather underutilized weapon type in Skyrim.
They have powerful enchantments, these are capable of turning the tide of a fight or making an easy fight last just a few seconds.
It’s definitely worth keeping a staff on you during your travels, they offer so much.
Although this is a list of the best staves in Skyrim, every single staff is useful so feel free to use the best one you have, even if you don’t have any on this list.
But if you have a lot of staves and you want to know which one you should be using, the following entries will tell you all you need to know!
10. Staff of Incineration
Starting off simple, the Staff of Incineration is a considerably powerful weapon, capable of melting enemies with ease. It deals 60 points of fire damage which is of course, incredibly high, even more so when you consider the fact that it deals bonus damage to targets already on fire. The reason it’s only number 10 on the list is due to its rarity, as well as it only having 48 charges before it has to be re-charged with a soul gem.
(Spoiler) How to obtain: You can purchase this staff from vendors, although it does come at a high price. You can also find it as loot randomly, if you’re extremely lucky.
9. Staff of Inspiration
This staff provides a huge amount of uses before it runs out, making it an awesome choice for your early adventures. It’s best used alongside your companion, as it grants the target extra health and stamina as well as preventing them from fleeing from battle. Not the most powerful staff you’ve ever seen but it can be useful in boss fights.
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Found as random loot. You can also purchase it from a number of mages at the College of Winterhold.
8. Staff of the Frost/Storm Atronach
Summoning atronachs to help you in battle can be a practical way of diverting attention from yourself. If you’re a mage for example, you’ll be able to have up to two allies taking enemy aggro while you gun them down from range. The reason I only included Frost & Storm while disregarding Flame is simply due to the charge amounts. With the Frost & Storm staves, you can summon an atronach up to 22 times before a re-charge is needed, compared to 15 times with the Flame atronach staff.
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Just like the previous entries, these staves are relatively easily to encounter. Simply find one as loot or purchase one from a number of vendors all across Skyrim.
7. Staff of Magnus
Such an awesome looking staff should deserve a higher spot on the list but there’s reasons for it being placed in 7th place. Lets have a look at its enchantment first, it deals 20 damage to magicka and if the enemy has 0 magicka, it absorbs health instead. Sounds incredible! It is as well, as long as you can use it. The Staff of Magnus has a base charge per usage of 17, so you’ll have to stock up on tons of soul gems before you consider adding this to your arsenal. It does look cool though.
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Complete the Staff of Magnus quest-line in the College of Winterhold.
6. Dragon Priest Staff (Wall of Fire)
Slightly situational but in those right situations, it can be extremely useful. As you’ve probably guessed by the name, this staff produces a wall of fire on the ground that deals fairly high fire damage to any enemies silly enough to walk through it. The best thing is, you can use this ability up to 98 times! So if you stick this in your inventory, you’ll be able to use it consistently.
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Found as loot on the body of Rahgot, a Dragon Priest in Forelhost. You do need to kill him first!
5. Eye of Melka
The Eye of Melka is a powerful staff that is perfect for those who need a quick burst of damage before a fight. Each shot will ignite the targeted area, dealing 40 fire damage to anyone within a small radius. It does have low charges, 17 to be exact, but that’s 17 fights that will be made much, much easier. It’s also really easy to obtain, which is why it pipped a few other staves to the top 5 of the list.
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Either kill Melka in Blind Cliff Cave, or complete a quest given by her.
4. Wabbajack
Likely the most recognisable staff on the list, Wabbajack is a legendary weapon that’s loved by Elder Scrolls players everywhere. The awesomeness of its enchantment is just too fun, although it can be rather useless if luck isn’t in your favour. I was tempted to put it higher on the list because of its epic appearance but the shots per re-charge aren’t great at all. I won’t go into the details of each possibility upon cast, I’ll leave that for you to find out when you get your hands on it!
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Complete Sheogorath’s quest Mind of Madness.
3. Skull of Corruption
Each shot from the Skull of Corruption deals a fairly piddly 20 damage, so why is it number 3? It looks awesome, that much is true. The damage is increased to 50 if you’ve collected dreams from sleeping persons. To harvest dreams, simply cast the staff on a sleeping NPC. Yep, that’s it. So you have a 50 damage per shot staff, with a high charge count (75) and awesome appearance. What’s not to love?
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Acquirable at the end of the quest Waking Nightmare, found in Dawnstar.
2. Sanguine Rose
Such a unique staff had to be so high up on the list, it’s extremely powerful and remarkably easy to obtain. While it only has 13 charges in its ammunition, each charge summons a daedric monster to fight for you. These monsters grow in power as the wielder grows so if you receive this staff early on, it’ll massively contribute to your adventures for a long time.
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Upon reaching level 14, you’ll have the chance to go through a quest given by Sam Guevenne in any tavern. You’ll receive Sanguine Rose after completing said quest.
1. Miraak’s Staff
No other staff in the entire game compares to the competence and epicness of Miraak’s Staff. Each cast sprays tentacles on the ground which damage and poison any nearby enemies. They last for a long time, allowing you to completely drown a room in tentacles to win fights with ease. Lesser creatures have difficulty maneuvering in such terrain, making them sitting ducks for any ranged abilities. It also looks amazing, which is fitting for the best staff in Skyrim!
(Spoiler) How to obtain: Only available in the Dragonborn DLC, it’s looted from Miraak’s corpse.