Another Guild Wars Beta Event

[Swiss Mercenary]

That's correct. 
This is balanced by the fact that no requirement weapons offer such low damages (but can be used by all classes, not just warrior/ranger) that even 84% more damage (rank 12) will stil not be anywhere as good as say a rank 4 requirement Weapon.
Yes, this is exactly the same for staves/wands/etc.  If you don't meet the requirement (say you're using an Air wand but have Fire magice instead or just don't have Air high enough), then you will be doing about 1/5 of the maximum damage.  It's important to find a wand/staff that corresponds to the attributes you've chosen.

Humm... The bow that I sold for ~100 gold was pretty awesome then - 28 max damage, or so, no requirement, 7% ias, increased posion duration.