Choose Ranged Casting or Frost Melee
Choose the Elemental Staff for ranged fire-and-lightning casting with stored spells and chained attacks; choose the Wavesword for close-range frost combat with lunges and Freeze buildup. The practical difference is whether you want to manage casting opportunities from a distance or stay close enough to connect melee attacks.
You can carry and swap between your class's weapons during combat, and each weapon has its own trait tree. Treat your preferred weapon as a starting focus while learning what the other offers. Try the change in distance and rhythm before deciding which approach you want to develop.
Elemental Staff and Wavesword Compared
| Elemental Staff Playstyle | Wavesword Playstyle |
|---|---|
| Fight at range with fire and lightning, emphasizing casting, charged effects and chained spells. | Fight nearby with a frost weapon that lunges into enemies and builds Freeze. |
| Retain preserves previously cast spells so you can reuse them without another incantation. | Tidal Rend delivers consecutive strikes and gains area follow-ups with accumulated stacks. |
| Rapid spell combinations build Energy Core; the class preview states that 10 stacks enable Shooting Star. | Thundersnow and other frost attacks build the target's Freeze gauge during close-range combat. |
| Consider this approach if preparing casts and arranging spell combinations sounds satisfying. | Consider this approach if closing the gap and learning melee openings sounds more appealing. |
How Retain and Energy Core Fit Together
Retain is the Staff mechanic to understand before planning elaborate spell combinations. It preserves previously cast spells for reuse without another incantation, allowing rapid combinations that build Energy Core. The class preview states that 10 Energy Core stacks enable Shooting Star.
Start by learning the difference between making a fresh cast and reusing a retained spell. Practice that interaction before trying to reproduce a long attack sequence. It gives you a clearer question to answer during a fight: can you complete your intended combination while still responding comfortably to the enemy?
Wall of Fire adds Burn and stagger, giving the Staff another interaction to explore alongside its stored-spell mechanics. Its damage was reduced in the announced Early Access changes. Learn what it contributes to your sequence, then judge its damage in the build you actually play.
Practice the Staff Casting Loop
- Begin with a Staff spell and practice its Retain interaction. The documented mechanic preserves previously cast spells for reuse without another incantation; focus on recognizing that transition before adding complexity.
- Use retained spells in rapid combinations while watching Energy Core buildup. Keep the practice sequence manageable so you can tell whether your difficulty comes from casting, positioning or reading the enemy.
- Work toward Shooting Star when Energy Core reaches the preview's stated requirement of 10 stacks. Practice finding a comfortable opportunity to use it instead of forcing the attack whenever it becomes available.
Practice the Wavesword Melee Loop
- Use the Wavesword's close-range approach to practice entering melee with its lunging attacks. Pay attention to whether you enjoy fighting at that distance before committing your build around it.
- Practice Tidal Rend's consecutive strikes and observe its area follow-ups with accumulated stacks. Learn to recognize the follow-up behavior before trying to build an entire rotation around it.
- Use Thundersnow and other frost attacks while watching the target's Freeze gauge. Judge the loop by how comfortably you can connect attacks and respond to danger, then compare that experience with your Staff practice.
Spell Changes That Affect Demo Advice
The October 29 producer letter announces reduced Wall of Fire damage, rebalanced Wavesword attack power and growth scaling, and tuning to Elemental Staff lightning skills. Bosses also resist max-HP-scaling skills more strongly. These changes mean October demo damage numbers and spell rankings should not be carried directly into Early Access.
Use the preview mechanics and October demo experience to decide which interactions you want to learn. Reassess damage-dependent choices when playing Early Access, especially recommendations built around Wall of Fire, lightning skills or Wavesword scaling. A familiar attack sequence can still deserve another look after its balance changes.
Further combat adjustments are planned throughout Early Access, and the developers are also working on ranged soft-lock targeting and party aggro. Treat those as ongoing development work when planning how your Mage might feel later. Base your immediate practice on the behavior available to you.
Turn Your Preference Into a Build
Open the Traits menu for the weapon whose loop you enjoyed most. Each weapon has its own tree, with nodes that provide stat boosts, unlock skills or alter existing skills. Read the available branches with a concrete goal, such as developing an interaction you already enjoy using.
For character stats, Intelligence raises magic attack, while Talent supports magic attack and helps you use better equipment without penalties. The character screen previews how your choices affect attack power and other values before you commit. Inspect those changes against your current equipment and needs instead of following an invented fixed allocation.