Do we need multiple wands?

Blaze Stormthief (formerly noob on the tube) has a question:

why do you need more than one wand? and why would somebody need a balance wand?

I've gotten through most of the Spiral (in the Drake hatchery now, thanks to your blog) with only one item in each equipment slot for my main, a Death/Myth, i even kept wearing my wizard city robe all through mooshu, and just handed it down to my storm (well, Jacket of Withstanding did have awesome health and a Tower Shield card, and i did get it while a free player on my first try on Nightshade). But i;ve just kept one wand in my bag, my death staff (haven't found that blade yet... Tomugawa, just give me the death blade. Or no cookies.) and done pretty well, somehow using pure luck and awesome friends to get to this point. But i'm just wondering, should i spend my hard earned gold on the different school staves or farm for blades, cuz in my whole run, i haven't see it Death boss cast a life shield.

So, i'm just wondering if that's normal, and all. Thanks for reading that really long paragraph.

The answer is . . . no, there's no reason to collect wands and staves, currently.

I keep a big collection myself though. Why? Well, I keep hoping Kingsisle will do something more with them. I mean, pet collecting seemed pretty lame at one time, but look at it now! It's become HUGE in this game. Not only are they awesome decorations, but they're also full of esoteric talents and unusual possibilities.

Who knows, perhaps in the future we will find a blacksmith in the game that could combine swords and staffs into new items all together. Maybe at some point they'll let us break these items down into more base components. Or perhaps they will become awesome wall decorations. I'd love to fill a wall with different looking weapons!

In PvE you'll usually want to wield a staff or wand that is opposite your school's magic (you know, unless you're a balance player . . . then you'll want to wield a wand that's opposite your secondary OR opposite your friend's primary). In PvP I hear it's good to wield a staff or wand that is the same as your school's magic (to take care of debuffs).

The only reason I could see to wield a balance wand is that it does unresistable damage, but it does so little damage that it's debatable whether it's worth it. And yes, death mobs seem to have forgotten how to cast life shields, but using any class wand in PvE besides death would be a good idea for death peeps. Maybe wield the same wand as your secondary to break shields. /shrug

The other thing to remember about wands, of course, is the +pip and +power pip factor behind them AND the number of cards they add to your deck.

The new Celestia sword is an interesting beast, isn't it?


Notice there's only one card on it. One of the big complaints I hear about swords and wands is that they throw off really short, specialized decks by giving too many cards, yet the extra power pip is so valuable that it's worth it.

Uber wife had an interesting suggestion as I was typing about wands here. Bailey's idea was, why can't KI offer customized sword/wand builds in the crown shop? Imagine this, the ability to choose a look of a sword, the type of damage it deals, the power pip percentage, and the number of cards it will give you. After you make your selection, it calculates a price, and boom . . . custom wand, just for you. I like the way she's thinkin'!

However you do it though, you really don't need a backpack full of wands. Some people just like collecting them for fun and . . . you know . . . that gigantic awesome blade might just go well with some particular shoes and robe . . . FASHION JUNKIES!

Happy Dueling!