Guild Wars 2

I am a new lvl 80 ranger and I happened to find a Zojja’s weapon chest! It will probably be a while before I can craft another ascended weapon, so I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations. I plan to eventually gather meta build gear for heals and condi (vipers will take a bit since I’m basically starting from scratch with crafting), but now I’m just mostly doing story/zerging pve. I also have an 80 guardian, and I’m working on an ele if that changes anything. Staff, short bow, long bow, and sword all seem like good choices. Thanks for the help!

Sword is a power weapon on ranger, and very versatile in general: a huge number of professions can use it, and it leaves the offhand slot open for whatever. My first ascended weapon was a zerk longbow, but if I had it to do over again I might have gone sword.

HOWEVER, consider the free ascended weapons which may or may not be in reach for you. Elite spec weapons: staff, longbow, greatsword, warhorn, torch (and shield and hammer). HoT completion weapons: greatsword, sword, dagger (and shield and scepter). The Caladbolg set in particular is amazing because the stats can be reset and the weapons can even be swapped to each other for the low low price of some unbound magic; this is even cheaper than stat-swapping in the Mystic Forge. Speaking of which, if your heart’s desire is to gun straight for condi meta, you might as well choose a shortbow and forge-swap it to Viper’s stats. IMO power is simpler and arguably stronger for soloing than condi, but I understand wanting to learn and practice meta (or meta-ish) builds in a forgiving environment.

I’ve found I use more ascended swords across 9 professions than any other weapon. GS is a close second. I have like… 5 or 6 ascended swords though, and I could use more.