Best Staff for Solo?

[Dahniska]

What's up, people?

I've been playing this map almost non-stop since it came out and have been trying a large variety of strategies, setups and train spots. The thing I've been focusing on lately is a staff-focused solo strategy.

Now, from a bunch of different experiences, I've tried each of the staffs. So far this is how they compare (ultimate versions of course):

Ice Staff - Can be gotten early (Round 6-7). Not exceptional for camping or getting you out of jams, but seems to be really good at taking out trains and has decent ammo.

Wind Staff - Can be gotten early (like the Ice Staff), but can also take a long time depending on whether the robots want to co-operate or not. Has low ammo, but is by far the best at saving you in your time of need. Not too good at taking out trains.

Fire Staff - You can get this without going out of your way too much, but you must kill the Panzer to get it, which means you need a good secondary before getting it. Has a very nice amount of ammo and can kill your train decently (if you have good aim and training skill), but sometimes the zombies can avoid the fire pits.

Lighting Staff - Takes 2 rides of the tank to get, and seems to be ok at killing trains, but is terrible at saving you in a jam. Has the most ammo.

What I am not certain of is which staff would be best for a long solo run. I usually shy away from the Lightning Staff because it has such a slow killing rate (and upgrading it is very annoying), but I can't seem to pick between the others. In theory the Wind Staff wouldn't be good because it has low ammo, but until you pass the 40's, the hectic spawn rates of the zombies make training dangerous.

Anyone have some opinions for me? I'm leaning towards the Ice Staff, but I see a lot of people on the forums seem to like the Fire Staff.

[ETEl2NAL407]

I would definitely go with the Fire staff (Kagutsuchi's Blood).

I've spent a high round run in the Crazy Place on co-op and had no problem dispatching a train of 15-20 Templar zombies with the charge shot from this staff.

I would not use the charge to actually create fire pits like traps, instead just use it to target the horde.

You're right about the other staves...

Wind is great for those "Oh shit" moments.

Lightning has lots of ammo, but is weak and inaccurate. (Charge shot is pretty nice, though)

Ice...I have not really used yet.

I think it will also greatly depend on where you intend on training as the Lightning staff would work better with more space. The Fire staff would excel in closer quarters (as long as you're using the charge shot).

[Naitrax]

I would go with the Lightning. You seem not to like it, but that is only because you don't understand how to use it properly. I made Round 30 EASILY today Solo using the Lightning Staff/Kimat's Bite. It has an art to it (literally, seeing as you need to read music to solve the puzzle originally, which, BTW, never changes)

The trick to using the Lightning Staff is to aim it at their feet. It seems weird, but it will yield the greatest results. It was dispatching an entire horde in 2 shots when timed well and aimed properly. This staff is one where unless setting up a trap, the charge is basically useless.

I hope you will give my staff a try next time you play, and follow my tips.

PS: This Staff is the absolute BEST at saving you when cornered. Shoot at the ground a couple of times and enjoy free passage out of the corner.

[Stop Mocking Me0]

Ice or fire... Works about the same...

Wind is just an AWFUL staff and lighting doesn't have as much blast radious....

[TheBSZombie]

The wind staff is my favorite tbh. But it does have low ammo. Its great for killing zombies at the chests.

[NikolaisVodka]

I typically like the Fire and Lightning staffs personally.

[Boom115]

I didn't like the lightning staff at first either, until I actually learned how to wield it. The weapon operates like the sliquifier, in that you need to keep the reaction going. Run tight circles and charge it up, you can take out 20 to 25 at a time. Plus you have a ton of ammo to do this. I run this strategy at generator 3 because it has fast spawn points and it seems to work well. Although I definitely did not master it on my first run through.

[Naitrax]

Exactly. The Lightning Staff is probably the only one which requires much skill to use. During the EE, I took out 5/6 Panzer's during the Seal step, in less than a Mag of the Kimat's Bite

[LJx19]

Lol seems you guys don't remember the old legends of bo1. Mato already got 100 and the ice staff was still instakilling whole waves on just a level 1 charge (3 bullets). I recommend watching his video. Ulls arrow is what I've always wanted (perfected winters howl), and the blizzard apparently does inf dmg. Sadly I have yet to use myself having only played the map twice and dying on round 20 both times -.-

[Nasdaq401]

Wind is great higher rounds when you get insta's

[Dahniska]

Thanks for the responses guys!

Alright, so I did some further testing on the Lightning Staff since some of you were recommending it. I have an easy camping strategy that I use to get to 30, after which I begin to run trains, which is when I can really see what a staff has got. (I tried the Lightning Staff for camping as well, and though you guys say it works like a Sliq, it has a time limit on how long the reaction goes.)

After 30, I would use it on my trains. To be honest, it left me disappointed - the staff makes crawlers (meaning it's not good for high rounds), and when I used the charge on full train, it doesn't seem to take all the zombies out, just a few. So this staff is not the best one for high rounds, especially Solo (sadly).

[MegaAfroMan]

So far (I have used all but none past round 30) I think it's really a player preference. Lightning works well for me as I like to run tight trains and high five the zombies when I turn around.

Ice is good for somewhat larger trains, which is much more common.

Wind is like a thunder gun throw back. Charge it up and let it fly at a tight clump of zombies and then you'll see most, if not all, dead within a few seconds.

Fire is the one I've used the least actually, but from what I've seen, it's just as good as the other staffs.

The key point with all of them is, you have to know how to use it, and it has to fit with your style.

I'm sure if you start looking into potential kills, kills per shot, ammo capacity, reaction speed,and etc past round 30 or 40, some staffs with be technically better than others, but foryour casual game to round 30 or so, all of the staffs are very exceptional. I applaud Treyarch for finally giving 7s a map with 4 wonder weapons, so all players can have one.