What is the best ranged weapon for Guardian?

I would like to take a break from a double melee guardian. Wanna try melee + range. Not sure what the best dps ranged weapon should i go for: Longbow, Scepter or Staff? LB seems the strongest when playing a power build, while Scepter could be strong with condi build, am i right? Not sure about Staff ... Strong aoe?

Staff is the support weapon. You don't really use it for the damage, you use it because it's got two group heals, Might stacking, light fields for condi cleanse, and a low-cooldown blast finisher that'll help you do even more of the above (combine with fire for Might, light for condi cleanse, or water for healing -- conveniently, you can self-generate any of these three fields if playing Firebrand; with an engineer or thief buddy, you can also blast smoke for stealth).

@ASP.8093 said:Staff is the support weapon. You don't really use it for the damage, you use it because it's got two group heals, Might stacking, light fields for condi cleanse, and a low-cooldown blast finisher that'll help you do even more of the above (combine with fire for Might, light for condi cleanse, or water for healing -- conveniently, you can self-generate any of these three fields if playing Firebrand; with an engineer or thief buddy, you can also blast smoke for stealth).

Thx. So what do you recommend: Longbow or Scepter for pure dps?

Scepter unquestionably deals the most single target damage, among ranged weapons. It is even the meta in group PvE against some bosses. LB can be pretty good against low HP targets and in AOE situations. If you plan to fight something like a world boss, use scepter.

Do not use staff. It is a support weapon for healing. Unless that is what you are going for.

While I use Longbow myself, I believe Tome of Justice is the best ranged weapon Guardians can use.

As I play a Dragonhunter Longbow main, I can tell you something about it. The Longbow has improved drastically. It needs your F1 skill to deal max damage, and is very good for crowd control. Its got two CCs (3 and 5), heavy single target damage (2) and guaranteed piercing (1, sometimes this is a bother when you want to hit only one target), and one symbol for AoE damage (4). Pushback and projectile reflect happens with 3. With 1200 range, it is great for Kiting.

Scepter has unquestionable single-target damage. Works well with Conditions (burns a lot), and has more frequent attacks than the LB for DH. But, it has 900 range, and has only one single target CC skill. It's great for bosses, but not so much for lots of mobs, but do you really need that much CC for mobs anyway? Another problem is when the target is moving, scepter balls can be dodged.

For Firebrand, of course, you have no choice other than Scepter. But, for DH, the encounter determines what you're gonna use. For Fractals, I'd advise use Scepter; for open world, use LB.

Staff is only viable for a Healing or Support Firebrand.Or for Zerg Farming! Especially in places like Silverwastes, you can tag a lot of enemies with Staff and LB, and that's my favourite farming method.

@ASP.8093 said:Staff is the support weapon. You don't really use it for the damage, you use it because it's got two group heals, Might stacking, light fields for condi cleanse, and a low-cooldown blast finisher that'll help you do even more of the above (combine with fire for Might, light for condi cleanse, or water for healing -- conveniently, you can self-generate any of these three fields if playing Firebrand; with an engineer or thief buddy, you can also blast smoke for stealth).

You kick dolyak as*. Thank you for also kicking some wisdom, OG. Seriously. It was perfectly explained: concise, accurate and easy to remember. B)