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Staff of the dead detail

The staff of the dead is a one-handed 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 the few items that boosts the player's magic damage, boosting it by 15%.

When a combat spell is cast with the staff, there is a 12.5% (1/8) chance that the staff will negate the rune cost for that spell. The staff can be substituted for a Slayer's staff for casting Magic Dart (and is more accurate than a Slayer's staff), and can autocast Flames of Zamorak and Crumble Undead.

The staff is notable for its offensive melee stats, which are unusually high for a Magic weapon. Its stats are comparable to the dragon longsword; the longsword has 3+ better stab bonuses, but the staff has +1 better slash and strength bonus in addition to the magic damage boost, accuracy, and a faster attack speed.

The staff of the dead offers an attack speed of 6 when using melee, which is the same as weapons such as the abyssal whip. However, when using magic spells, it offers an attack speed of 5, which is the same as all spells, except for the trident of the seas or swamp.

Combat styles[]

CombatStyles sotd Combat style Type Experience
Jab Stab Attack and Hitpoints
Swipe Slash Strength and Hitpoints
Fend Crush Defence and Hitpoints
Spell Magic Magic and Hitpoints
Spell (Defensive) Magic Magic, Hitpoints and Defence

Special attack[]

Power of Death

A player using the staff of the dead's special attack, Power of Death.

The staff has a special attack, Power of Death, that halves all Melee damage of your opponent(s) (all opponents that hit you in the time of the special attack) for one minute at a cost of 100% special attack energy. This effect stacks with the PvP damage reduction effect of the Protect from Melee prayer, but is lost if the staff is unequipped.

The special attack cannot be used in the Duel Arena if magic is disabled.

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 infected 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, and it counts as a Saradominist item while in the God Wars Dungeon and in the Desert Bandit Camp.

Dropping monsters[]

Monster Combat level Quantity Rarity
K'ril Tsutsaroth 650 1 4; Rare (1/508)

Comparison between other magic weapons[]

Name Levels to equip Magic Attack bonus Notes
Kodai wand Kodai wand 75 Magic icon +28
  • Can autocast Ancient Magicks.
  • Provides unlimited water runes while equipped.
  • Boosts magic damage by 15%.
  • When a combat spell is cast with the staff, there is a 15% chance that the wand will negate the rune cost for that spell.
  • Currently offers the highest stat of any magic weapon in both magic attack and defence.
Sanguinesti staff Sanguinesti staff 75 Magic icon +25
  • Slightly stronger than the Trident of the swamp, with the same stats but able to hit one damage higher.
  • Requires 3Blood per charge of the built-in spell.
  • Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level and can hit up to 32 at 99 Magic icon.
  • Has a 1 in 6 chance to heal the wielder by half the damage dealt.
  • Tied with the Toxic staff of the dead and Trident of the swamp for second-highest magic attack bonus.
Trident of the swamp Trident of the swamp 75 Magic icon +25
  • Has the same benefits as the Trident of the seas, but with +10 more magic attack bonus.
  • Requires 1Death1Chaos5Fire and 1 Zulrah scale (instead of coins) per charge of the built-in spell, and can hold up to 2500 charges.
  • Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level and can hit up to 31 at 99 Magic icon.
  • Has 25% chance to inflict venom on the target.
  • Tied with the Sanguinesti staff and Toxic staff of the dead for second-highest magic attack bonus.
Toxic staff of the dead Toxic staff of the dead 75 Magic icon

75 Attack icon

+25
  • Has the same benefits as the Staff of the dead, but with +8 more magic attack bonus.
  • Requires Zulrah's scales to recharge (up to 11000).
  • Has 25% chance to inflict venom on an opponent.
  • Tied with the Sanguinesti staff and Trident of the swamp for second-highest magic attack bonus.
Master wand Master wand 60 Magic icon +20
  • Can autocast Ancient Magicks.
  • Requires 240 Telekinetic, 240 Alchemist, 2400 Enchantment and 240 Graveyard points, and a teacher wand equipped or in the player's inventory, to purchase from the Mage Training Arena. Thus it does not cost much besides the time and runes spent in the Mage Training Arena.
Staff of light Staff of light 75 Magic icon

75 Attack icon

+17
Staff of the dead Staff of the dead 75 Magic icon

75 Attack icon

+17
  • Can autocast Flames of Zamorak and Magic Dart.
  • Boosts magic damage by 15%.
  • Has a special attack that halves all melee damage the player takes for one minute, which stacks with the PvP damage reduction effect of the Protect from Melee prayer. This consumes 100% of the player's special attack.
  • When a combat spell is cast with the staff, there is a 1/8 (12.5%) chance that the staff will negate the rune cost for that spell.
  • Currently the strongest staff when used as a melee weapon, surpassing the Ancient staff and Iban's staff, and provides +17 magic defence.
Trident of the seas Trident of the seas 75 Magic icon +15
  • Has its own built-in spell, requiring charges which cost 1Death1Chaos5Fire runes and 10 coins per cast. Can hold up to 2,500 charges.
  • Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level and can hit up to 28 at 99 Magic icon.
  • Has a weapon speed of 6 (same as scimitars/whip), while all other forms of combat magic only have 5 (same as longswords).
  • Because the spell is built-in, the player does not need to carry its runes in their inventory and can use Lunar spells or Ancient Magicks while wielding this staff.
Smoke battlestaff animated Smoke battlestaff 30 Magic icon Attack icon (Battlestaff)

40 Magic icon Attack icon (Mystic)

+10
Iban's staff Iban's staff 50 Magic icon

50 Attack icon

+10
  • Only staff able to cast (and autocast) Iban Blast. Can cast this spell up to 120 (2,500 if upgraded) times before needing to be recharged.
  • Iban Blast has a max hit of 25.
  • Currently the third strongest staff when used as a melee weapon, behind the Ancient staff and the (Toxic) Staff of the dead.
Guthix staff

Saradomin staff Zamorak staff

God staves 60 Magic icon +6
  • Required to cast God spells.
  • Those who have 80 Magic icon and the respective God cape can use the Charge spell, which increases the God spell's damage by 50%.
Ancient staff Ancient staff 50 Magic icon

50 Attack icon

+15
  • Can autocast Ancient Magicks.
  • Currently the second strongest staff when used as a melee weapon, behind the (Toxic) Staff of the dead.
Slayer's staff Slayer's staff 50 Magic icon

55 Slayer icon

+12
  • Can autocast Magic Dart and Crumble Undead, in addition to the four Wave spells.
  • Runes required to cast Magic Dart are very cheap compared to spells of a similar level.
  • Maximum hit of Magic Dart is 10 + (player's magic level / 10), rounded down.
Staff of air Staff of water

Staff of earth Staff of fire

Elemental staves 1 Magic icon (Basic)

30 Magic icon Attack icon (Battlestaff)

40 Magic icon Attack icon (Mystic)

+10
  • Provide unlimited runes of their respective elements.
  • However, they have a slower attack speed than better staves (3 seconds per cast instead of 2.4)


Trivia[]


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