The Staff of Temperate Flux is an item that anyone can obtain at the Temple of Solusek Ro in the Lavastorm Mountains. It is a quest that results in a staff only Wizards can equip but anyone can put in their inventory and use by clicking on it. The staff lowers your target's resistances by a whopping total of 6 on fire and cold each, if they do not resist. The quest is fairly challenging, requiring uncommon drops off monsters deep in Solusek A and Permafrost, plus some other items scattered about the land.

The quest is fairly difficult for someone at level 30, but can be done with a group. Graffe's page has a full writeup of the quest at this link.

The original intent for this staff was to be an item that helped Wizards with resistances, giving a little edge to reduce them because monsters resisted the class so heavily. However, its total effect is so tiny that it is without any real benefit in the game. Six points of reduction is less than half what the fourth level Enchanter spell Tashan reduces magic resistance, and this staff is meant for level 30 or so Wizards to get. As a result it doesn't help Wizard at all in the way that Verant had in mind when they made it. While this is annoying and we can't get them to seem to understand this nor comment on it, Wizards have found ways to get use out of the item anyway.

Using the Staff

The Staff of Temperate Flux can be used while moving, and has no casting time to use, it is instant. Further, it has a very quick reset time, allowing you to run around clicking this and affecting your target. This helps to negate the problem with resistances, because if they resist it not only cost you no mana, but very little time either. It also has a slight aggro effect, which makes the monsters notice and be upset at you. Further, it has exactly the same range as your normal DD spells (shorter than bolt).

Knowing all this, you can determine a few little uses for the staff that it wasn't built for. Sorry, but to be able to compete and excel as a Wizard, you have to be creative and work every angle. Incidentally, this staff used to have an unintended side effect where it would remove fire damage shields when clicked on. Verant removed that, however, and it does not act this way any more.

One primary use is to check your range on a creature. The range of the staff is exactly the same as your blasts, which means it will tell you exactly when a monster is in or out of range. This is a good way check how far you are from a monster you are kiting, and it also lets you know if that monster is close enough to shoot or not when its running up. This use in kiting has another effect, it constantly aggros the monster to keep it on your tail, and it also makes it fairly clear you aren't running from the monster nor unaware of it. That red squiggly glow is a good sign you are fighting the monster and well aware of its existence.

Speaking of Aggro, the staff has a low aggro effect that builds as you use it over and over. Since this is so fast, you can actually get monsters mad at you (and not, for example, the enchanter trying to mes or the cleric who is trying to heal) by using the staff and no mana. It also works to pull with, a fairly simple system. When you see the monster, you click on the staff, and if its in range, the monster will run at you without using any mana up.

There are a few other little uses of the staff, if you experiment with it enough you can learn how it works. Basically its a toy that doesn't do anything it was supposed to but being the Master Seeker of Knowledge you can get better use out of.