Staff I spell versus Wizard’s staff

[Major Ross]

All -

Looking over the Staff I (S) spell on page 18 ITL, it states: “the staff is an occult weapon that does one die of damage (front hexes only) when the Wizard points with it. The Wizard spends 1 ST and makes a regular die roll to hit. The staff does not have to touch its target in order to deliver its flare of magical energy.”

So that’s pretty cool; however, what’s the range of this attack? Is it just one hex? Or is it more than that? Because, if so, ITL does not indicate what the range actually can be. If it’s just one hex, then why would a Wizard want to use this for an attack, as they have to expend 1 ST to do so? They would be better off using the staff as the Wizard rulebook states on page 19: “the staff does one die of damage when the Wizard hits with it. Striking with the staff is treated just as though the Wizard were a fighter using a one-die weapon. It costs no ST to strike with a staff.”

So am I missing something here? The Staff I spell is pretty cool, especially if you can hit at range with the Staff, but, maybe that’s not in the rulebook. If it is I can’t find it.

Thanks in advance!

Ross