User blog:652Graystripe/Weapon Tutorials - Gem staves

Recently, Silver and I have come up for a new idea. We're going to make blogs on the individual weapons of Terraria! We will be hosting this on our different blogs, as well as occasionally interviewing other users of the wiki (this will be done by either of us). We'll give you tips on using these weapons in PvP, as well as what to do when facing them.

Gem staves
The gem staves are early-game magic weapons with a sizable damage and low mana cost. They are crafted with 8 of their respective gem and 10 metal bars, so some will not be craftable on certain worlds. All the recipes are here.

In battle
The gem staves are great for delivering strong, piercing volleys. They aren't hugely slow, so they are good for delivering volleys. Their piercing ability to pierce makes them good in team combat. However, their small projectile makes them hard to aim well, especially in midair.

Techniques
A safe bet for gem staves is to fire them three or four times quickly, moving parallel to the ground, and then jump up to avoid any returning volleys. This technique will tear through enemies on the ground several times, severely damaging if not killing them.

Firing them horizontally is really the best way to take advantage of their piercing ability.

Battling
Due to the fact that their piercing ability means they are best used in horizontal combat, and their lack of power against fast or airborne enemies, it's best to equip some jumping accessories (or the Fin Wings, should you have gotten them at this stage) and some boots (Frostspark Boots are available pre-Hard Mode, but Spectre Boots should do fine) to stay ahead of the not-blazing-fast projectiles of the gem staves.

Keep in mind that Diamond/Ruby Staff users will consume mana a bit faster than Emerald/Sapphire Staff users, or Topaz/Amethyst Staff users. Keep this into account when deciding when to attack. Also, staffs made with the alternate ores (Diamond Staff, Emerald Staff, Topaz Staff) will be stronger than their counterpart, while having the same mana cost.

Conclusion
Thank you for reading this blog! Tune into my bloglist and Silver's bloglist for more!

Comment below on what you thought of this, if it helped you, and what weapons you'd like to see later!

A hint to our next blog: It's made in the depths of the Corruption and loses all effectiveness once the Cobalt Shield is gotten.