Staff

The staff is Heretic's basic melee weapon. Using it, the player is able to "poke" an enemy. Prodding an enemy with the staff deals 5-20 damage at short range. When using a Tome of Power, the staff is surrounded by a blue aura that gives it a stronger impact which deals 18-81 damage. This weapon is useless against ghosts, even when in power mode. While not as powerful as the gauntlets, the staff can be very effective in dispatching sabreclaws without taking damage. It can also be more versatile in certain situations as it does not prevent player movement while attacking.

Strategy
A useful strategy is to keep walking back and forward while attacking the monster and thus avoiding unnecessary damage from melee attacks, also on some source ports the movement allows a greater impact on the monster, thus pushing it farther, although the damage dealt is unchanged.

Trivia
The puff made by the staff without the Tome of Power is the same as the standard bullet puff in the classic Doom games.