The staff weapon is a fictional weapon in the Stargate universe.
Within the Stargate universe, the staff weapon is a common weapon for Jaffa soldiers, both serving in the armies of the Goa'uld and under their own government. The weapon is powered by liquid naqahdah, as is most Goa'uld technology. There is a switch along the staff that opens an almond-like head at the tip; the same switch then delivers a strong energy blast from the opened end. The energy bolts from a staff weapon penetrate armor very well and the blast is powerful enough to punch a hole the size of a man's head through the target. A single clean hit to the chest is usually sufficient to kill, although a hit to the thigh or shoulder areas may be survived if the target is lucky. The heavy, rounded ends of the weapon and its sturdy length allow it to be used in melee combat for striking and knocking down an opponent when the enemy is too close to safely or effectively use the energy assault.
To competently employ the staff as a melee weapon, especially against similarly armed opponents, extensive training is required, similar to the various martial arts disciplines of humanity, many of which utilize staff-like weapons for close-combat. Since almost all Jaffa seen wielding the staff are at least marginally proficient in melee combat as well, it is implied that all Jaffa serving the Goa'uld receive years of training, or the Jaffa possess an innate talent for staff use, possibly from Goa'uld genetic modification.
In highly skilled hands it can be quite effective, but its design is not optimized for military use. In the episode "The Warrior", the staff weapon was demonstrated to be significantly less accurate at long range than the FN P90, even in the hands of an exceptionally skilled Jaffa warrior. With no means of rapid-fire for engaging multiple opponents, and equipped with no means of increasing accuracy for combat over anything beyond point-blank range, it is likely that the Goa'uld, in an attempt to appear even more God-like to their subjects, supplied them with weaponry that would be both awe inspiring and destructive, with no thought to its effectiveness. This is consistent with observed Jaffa equipment and tactics, none of which are optimised for effective combat by modern-day Earth standards. It is notable that Teal'c, an expert in the use of the staff weapon, has long since abandoned it in favour of a P90. Jack O'Neill, comparing the staff weapon to his (much more impressive) P90 explained, "[The staff weapon] is a weapon of terror: it's made to intimidate the enemy. This [AP90] is a weapon of war: it's made to kill the enemy."[1] This may explain how SG-1 is often able to prevail unscathed when confronted by several Jaffa firing at them with staff weapons, while more often than not they end up getting knocked out when someone is firing at them with a Zat Gun. This may also explain why there is an emphasis on using such a powerful ranged weapon for melee. It is a reflection of the inflexibility and arrogance of the Goa’uld, and the heavy emphasis of the Jaffa upon tradition that the staff is still used as a primary weapon, given its proven deficiencies compared to the vastly more effective and versatile Zat.
Sodan troops use a variant of the staff weapon in which the back meter or so of the weapon has been removed; it eliminates the quarterstaff function of standard staff weapons, but it makes it lighter and easier to carry; among other things, it has allowed the Sodan to strap their weapons to their backs. [2] It is likely that this reduction in weight and bulk is at least partially responsible for the greater firing accuracy achieved by the Sodan compared to normal Jaffa.
Kull Warriors apparently use a wrist-mounted version of the staff weapon, but with smaller blasts and a higher rate of fire. [3]
The staff cannon is a variant of the Goa'uld staff weapon. It is heavier and more powerful, and is typically placed on a mount and used to defend a Stargate on a Goa'uld- or Jaffa-controlled planet; much as the gateroom defense teams do on Earth.[4] In addition to Gate-defense, they are the Death Glider offensive weapon, with two forward-mounted staff cannons on their wings. A strong Jaffa warrior, such as Teal'c, can carry a staff cannon around by pointing it forward with the back resting on the hip, supported by and secured with a shoulder strap.[5][6]Anal'kesh is equipped with an enlarged version of the staff cannon that deploys from its belly; the weapon is carried retracted into the ship when not in use.
The weapons of a Ha'tak mothership have the same visual effect as staff cannons but on a larger scale.
Warriors of the Ori carry a similar weapon. It is more silver-colored and has two prongs in place of the almond-head. It fires a blue sphere rather than a yellow bolt, but is otherwise remarkably similar to the Goa'uld version. This leads to the assumption that, like their other technologies, the Goa'uld "borrowed" the staff weapon from Ancient technology. As the only Ancient weapons yet seen are the Drone Weapon, the Dakara Superweapon, its relative the anti-Replicator disruptor, and a stunner, it is unknown whether the Ancients actually used a staff variant. Thusly the assumption is flawed, the only thing the two weapons have in common is their shape.
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