Staff or Wand for Conjurer?

Which is better? I'm sure it's really due to preference, but what are the pros and cons of each?

I always took which ever one gave the largest stat increase while leveling. At 50 you do not have that option other than the Garuda Weapon I believe. The relic, extreme primal, and allagan weapon are all staffs.

Well - it's all up to overall stats mainly, the top level CNJ weapons seems to be all staffs. With wand you can equipp shield as well but be aware of how exactly the shields works - you can't simply "add" shield and wand stats to compare it with staff. Basically, as you level up use whatever you currently have, later on it will be staff only. It also affect speed a bit so for some specific situations / quests you may opt for wand instead of staff if you fell that would help but I've not hit the content really relying on it.

Most of the end game weapons for Conjurer are going to be staffs.

Wands give you the ability to equip shields, but their stats are lower overall.

Staffs are two handed and thus don't allow you to equip a shield, so your physical defense is lower. But they have much higher stats in things like Mind and Piety.

Honestly, wands seem to mainly be used for lower levels anyways, once you start getting more potent cure spells and better gear, the effectiveness of having the shield wears away, and it's better to just use the Aetherial staffs that drop in dungeons once you start obtaining them.

Wands are better for PVP because if you block an attack with a shield it won't interrupt your casting. That's a pretty specific scenario though.

Good to know all of this, thanks. I knew about the end-game stuff only being staffs, but wasn't sure what to do with conjurer on the way there. Kind of a shame, I've always used a staff on my Thaumaturge/Black mage, so I was hoping I could switch it up a bit.

The difference between staff and wand/shield is not very big. Your base healing/damage is determined by a combination of your matk, mnd/int, determination, and ability potency (in that order).

Your matk should be the same for staff and wand, assuming the two have equal item levels. The biggest deviation for a wand and staff is the mnd/int bonus. Wands in general have a lower mnd/int bonus since you make up for that bonus with your shield.

The shields for casters are pretty rare and may not exactly match the same item levels or level requirements as your wand. Because of that, a wand/shield setup will sometimes be slightly better or worse than the staff equivalent. The shield is also more likely to have stats that increase VIT and provide you with a chance to block, which improves your overall defense. Staves give you slightly more PIE (might be changed by FC choice) and determination, resulting in more and stronger heals (overall better for party).

The stat difference is honestly a difference of 4 to 10 hp per spell, but that does matter to some people. Generally though, most players will prefer the staff because healers tend to level in dungeons/parties where the shield's defense isn't necessary, relieve the nuisance of keeping an extra piece of gear current, and the fact that wands rarely have a corresponding shield at the same level.

Use whichever is a higher item level.

Youll probably end up using staves after lvl 50. solo play, a shield is nice to have... but in dungeons n end game, youll want bigger heals. Which will usually come from a staff