In order for the weapon to be effective, it must've penetrated the vampire's heart. However, vampires in possession of the Gem of Amarra would be rendered invincible, and immune to staking.[1] A vampire could also become immune to staking by having its heart surgically removed, although this process certified the vampires death within about six hours.[2]
Stakes were the most commonly used weapons by vampire hunters and Slayers whilst fighting and hunting vampires, along with crossbows, crosses, holy water and bladed weapons which generally were secondary weapons. Buffy Summers seemed to have a penchant for using stakes, once holding one when hunting a Mohra Demon.[3]
Generally, any wooden object of a reasonable size could function as a stake (including broken chair legs, decorative bamboo sticks, tree branches etc.) but professionals tended to carry their own specially carved stakes.[4][5] Agents of the Initiative along with Wolfram & Hart security guards and Special Opps each individually carried their stakes while dealing with vampire attacks, similar to how they would use a combat knife or nightstick.[6][7][8][9]
Prop Master Randy Erickson demonstrates how the retractable stake works
The prop stakes used in Buffy the Vampire Slayer were made of real wood, however, when it came to stabbing, stakes with a retractable point were used in action scenes to create the illusion of stabbing.[10]
In the non-canonical video games, Buffy the Vampire Slayerand Chaos Bleeds, some demon enemies (like hellhounds and hanoch demons) can only be killed with the same methods as vampires like fire, decapitation and staking.
