Guild Wars 2

Today I did some tests on dummy golems in the mists when I noticed something weird with the scepter autoattack.

First, the way autoattack is supposed to work:
When using GS or staff I just press “1” and it keeps firing. That is, if I am within 1200 range to the dummy golem. Once I move out of that range, it stops. When I move back into range, it starts firing again (me doing nothing but movement, no pressing “1” again).

And now lets try this with scepter:
I started at the exact 1200 range position where I did the tests with GS and staff. As expected, scepter says out of range (scepter range is only 900). I do a tiny step forward, press “1” and my scepter fires a single shot at the golem. It does not keep attacking, just fires a single shot every time press “1”. Once I move into the 900 range my autoattacks keep firing normally.

Summary:
Scepter actually allows you to attack at, let’s say, 1190 range, but you have to mash your “1” button to make it work.

Weird!

It’s actually the greatsword that acts oddly. Most range attacks allow you to fire at nothing, but greatsword only does the spinning animation.

That’s because the GS doesn’t use projectiles. You can attack with any weapon any time. The laser will not shoot out since it does not have a destination.
Projectiles do come out. Their reliable range is as said in the tooltip, but they continue to travel (usually towards the ground). So for high projectiles you have a high chance to increase your total range (esp Rangers). But the autoattack only works in the reliable range.