Thread:Teh rune stranger/@comment-5727151-20151105121501/@comment-5727151-20151123175959

It is quite understandable people have no idea what the new combat system means: people don't like having to relearn the game they've played for years all over again, even if it is the best course of action the game can take.

I don't really judge people based on some ancient articles on the wiki, and if you ask me, they weren't too bad in comparison to a lot of other stuff that I've found on the wiki and since deleted for good. Quite frankly, your stuff, even if it wasn't too serious, was still on the better end of the 'quality spectre'.

And to answer your question: Yes, a spell's damage is determined by the weapon you're using. For instance, casting spells with level 70 staff or wand will deal their full damage up to level 70: spells with level requirements above level 70 will have their damage reduced to match the damage of a level 70 spell.

The idea of the staff of poison buffing the additional effects of the mephitic spells is really good, but it would've worked better before EoC was released, as people wouldn't like using a tier 70 staff due to its limitations. That said, it might be possible to still make staff of poison useful for casting mephitic spells without making it a level 90+ staff.

First off, we have to take on account that not too many people have access to t90 equipment, and for most people tier 70-85 weapons are still pretty desirable, although in general, the higher the level the more desirable the weapon is, meaning that a level 70 staff might not be that attractive option. A high-level staff with a spell-buffing passive effect would be useful even if the higher-level mephitic spells wouldn't deal their full damage.

Next, you could consider making the staff of poison upgradeable weapon, meaning that it'll remain useful for all levels by increasing in strength as the player gets more and more upgrades. Of course, this isn't particularly practical for a quest reward, although most of the quest weapons are upgradeable one way or another in order to make them stronger (Silverlight, Balmung, Keris, Ancient staff...), but usually these upgrades don't come instantly, so handing out upgrades to a level 70 weapon right after completing a quest isn't particularly smart either.

Finally, you could consider making the passive effect of the staff shine. Darklight, for instance, while weak against normal enemies, is one of the best options against demons, especially when wielded with a high-level offhand weapon, making it deal more damage than tier 90 weapons. Of course, Darklight is a very situational weapon and couldn't be compared well with the staff of poison, but the spoint still stand. If the passive poison and stunning effects of the spells are really effective with the staff of poison, even if the damage of the spells themselves is lowered, it might just be worth it.

Those are some ideas that might help you for starters. If you still find it hard to make anything useful out of the staff of poison, I can help you further: just send me a message and I can help you more with this, although I have to admit, making a lower-level weapon useful without increasing its damage one way or another will prove out to be really tricky. That said, I hope I was able to help with your problem.