Of all the weapon classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Quarterstaff line is one best suited to spell casters. There are more martial variants, but the majority of staves will have boosts to spell casting, or bound spells, rather than martial abilities. Most weapons, on the other hand, don’t come close to the spell boosts a quarterstaff can provide.
You will find dozens of quarterstaffs over the course of any one playthrough. Some easily rise above the rest, while others may be less powerful but more accessible. Here are the best quarterstaffs in Baldur’s Gate 3.
10 Incandescent Staff
Burning Attacks
When it’s Wizard time, you cast Fireball. The Incandescent Staff helps you burn your foes to ash. Since the staff has no weapon enchantment, the staff’s melee attacks are not considered magical. That’s not a huge deal, since the staff give you a free casting of Fireball. It also grants access to the Firebolt cantrip if you don’t have it already.
While using the staff, you also become resistant to fire. It’s available early in two, from Quartermaster Talli at the Last Light Inn. Coming from act one, the Incandescent Staff is a good upgrade to give your casters another third-level spell. Fireball is renowned as a powerful spell for good reason.
9 Mourning Frost
Chilling To The Bone
When you’ve been traveling through the Underdark, you’ve likely come across icy parts of a broken staff. When you bring the Icy Helve, Icy Metal, and Icy Crystal together, you reforge the Mourning Frost. It has a decently powerful effect for an early-game staff.
First, it boosts the cold damage you deal by one; a minor effect, but it’s useful when health values remain low. Whenever the user deals cold damage to an enemy, they become chilled. Chilled makes the afflicted vulnerable to cold, but resistant to fire. The effect only lasts one round, but you can double your cold damage against the target with help from your allies.
8 Harper Sacred Striker
Sacred Summoning Staff
The Harper’s Sacred Striker is a good staff for characters focused on ranged playstyles. If you’re not using a melee weapon, and avoiding close quarters, the staff gives you a good tool you can use anyway. The staff has the unique ability to cast Spiritual Weapon at sixth-level.
At sixth-level, Spiritual Weapon appears with 16 extra hit points and deals 3d8 force damage instead of 1d8 normally. You don’t need to use the staff, only equip it, and you gain a sixth-level spell. Your ranged character can sit back and shoot while the summoned weapon closes for melee. It doesn’t even need concentration.
7 Staff Of Interruption
Anti-Magic Interruption
If you’re playing a caster, you know the dangers of enemy casters. Few plans don’t change after they’ve been Fireballed, and that includes yours. Counterspell acts as a safety measure when it’s prepared, cutting out enemy spells, but sometimes you won’t have it.
In situations like this, the Staff of Interruption has you covered. It’s limited to one use per long rest, but it can cast Counterspell at fifth-level. While it would be nice to have multiple uses, the staff does save your caster from expending one of their own higher spell slots, and it will prevent most enemy spells in the game from succeeding, which can be a literal life-saver when you’re in a pinch.
6 Caitiff Staff
Best Staff For Pact-Keepers
In tabletop D&D, Warlocks have an item called the Rod of the Pactkeeper that can recharge a spell slot and boost your spellcasting. Larian Studios adapted the effect into a quarterstaff. While it functions as a plus two staff, it boosts your spell attacks and save DC by one.
The staff’s unique ability, Caitiff’s Restoration, will restore a Warlock spell slot once per long rest. You can buy the staff from Helsik at the Devil’s Fee. Warlock players know how limited their spell slots are, so even if you don’t plan to use the staff in combat, it’s a worthy purchase to use the restoration effect each day.
5 Melf’s First Staff
Early Access To Boosted Spells
Compared to most other staves in the game, Melf’s First Staff seems like it’s on the lower end of average. It makes sense, the staff is available at any time in act one, so long as you can reach the Underdark. However, it’s the accessibility that makes this staff so good.
Melf’s staff is the first staff you can find that boosts both your spell attacks and save DC. Even the strongest staves will only boost those things by one, so Melf’s staff is just as good in that effect. In the early game, stats bonuses are pretty low, so gaining a spell boost is a big deal. You also get a free casting of Acid Arrow.
4 Staff Of Spellpower
Freecasting Staff
Preserving your spell Slots is always on the mind of spell casters. You never know if you expend a high-level spell if you’ll need it later down the line. The Staff of Spellpower helps keep your casters armed through the use of its Arcane Battery. It also boosts your spellcasting abilities by one.
Using this staff grants you a passive you can use once per long rest. While active, you’ll be able to cast any spell without expending a spell slot, even those powerful sixth-level spells. As good as it is, there is one drawback: you need to beat Raphael to keep it. It’s harder to acquire than any other staff that has all its tricks and more, but is well worth it if you are willing to fight for it.
3 Staff Of The Emperor
Stunning Resistance
The Staff of the Emperor is a hard one to acquire, but very useful going into act three. It boosts your spellcasting, and has the unique ability to stun enemies when you succeed a saving throw of any kind. Stunning your enemies at no cost to yourself is a powerful skill, and at this point in the game, your stats will be high enough to make it consistent.
Getting the staff requires a bit of trickery. It is the Staff of the Emperor, meaning he is holding at all times. During the confrontation with the Githyanki honor guard, you can opt to side against the Emperor. Don’t kill him, that’s a mistake, but it does make him targetable for abilities. Disarm him, and he will drop the staff for you to retrieve.
2 Staff Of Cherished Necromancy
Siphon Lives For Spells
Baldur’s Gate 3 has a lot of support for necromancers through items. The Staff of Cherished Necromancy is the best staff in the game for Necromancy-focused builds. While the staff doesn’t directly increase your spell save DC, its Heightened necromancy forces all enemies to roll with disadvantage against Necromancy spells.
It’s an indirect boost that usually comes out higher than just a one-point increase. Its second power, Life Essence Harvest, lets you fuel your spells with the lives of your enemies. Whenever you kill an enemy with a spell, you can use their essence to cast your necromancy spells for free.
1 Markoheshkir
Free Spells And Resistance
This staff does everything. Markoheshkir boosts your spell casting, grants you free spells, and lets you pick a resistance to gain. It is one of the few legendary weapons in Baldur’s Gate 3 and it more than earns the title. Best of all: it is tremendously easy to acquire.
Markoheshkir has an arcane battery exactly like the Staff of Spell power. It uses it to cast without spell slots. Its most notable ability is Kereshka’s Favor, which allows you to pick from elemental types and gain the associated resistance. Depending on your resistance choice, you will also gain bound spells of the same element. You can change it every short rest, and gain up to six free spells every long rest, making this the obvious choice for the best quarterstaff in the game.