Mesmers And Weapons

Or rather in fact any class and weapons . I'm new to this game, so that'll be my excuse if this is an obvious question.

I've got a mesmer and I don't see any negative side effects of using weapons that aren't canes or wands, I've been using a good bow which I found and also occasionally a neat sword , none of the mesmer skills (that you access by pressing h) seem to effect weapon usage like the warrior ones, so is using a bow any worse than using a similar (in damage and special effects) wand/cane ?

Cheers.

One main downside iv been finding with my mesmer/ranger using a bow is that you cant get the extra energy bonus from having a focus of some type in your second hand, or by getting extra energy from a staff.

I'm a mesmer/monk and so far, I haven't found a sword or bow that requires any of my attributes, so take that as you will.