Animate Weapon
Animate Weapon is a spell that animates a weapon on the ground as a flying allied minion.
Skill functions
Animate Weapon can be used on identified weapons lying on the ground, but not on any ranged weapons unless Spirit Guards is used. The weapon is permanently consumed. If the "Key Pickup" option is enabled in the UI tab of the Options menu, the "Highlight items and objects" key must be held down in order to cast Animate Weapon. Attempting to animate a weapon with an item level higher than the level of the gem allows will cost mana and perform the cast animation but have no effect.
Animate Weapon can also be used on Lingering Blades left behind by Bladefall and Ethereal Knives.
Animated Weapons are minions that are considered to be using the original weapon animated. They are therefore affected by modifiers to minions, as well as support gems for weapons, such as Elemental Damage with Attacks Support, but not affected by any of the player's damage or weapon modifiers.
Interactions
Loot Filter - Some modifiers on identified weapons can be highlighted by correctly editing custom loot filters. When combined with sources that cause items to drop identified, characters can quickly use weapons that are stronger than normal items or lingering blades.Cloak of Tawm'r Isley causes magical items to drop identified. Sextants can can modify watchstones to causes all items to drop identified in maps. Heist Trinkets can give up to 15% chance for items to drop identified per heist member.
Special benefits - Animated weapons can gain special modifiers that only apply to unique and rare weapons. Because it destroys the weapon for temporary benefits, most characters do not do this.
Buff Damage - Animate weapon can be used to buff other damage sources. Due to their large numbers and fast attack speed, Withering Touch Support can apply max Withered stacks fast.
Main Hand - 1 handed weapons summoned from items are counted as being used in the main hand. This only applies to weapon bonuses that come from being used in the main hand like Wings of Entropy.
Calculating damage
There are different calculation for weapons summoned from items on the ground and lingering blades from spells.
Note - These calculations are meant to calculate animate weapons base stats only. It will not calculate other things like modifiers. See minions and other wiki pages for calculating the entire damage of minions.
Casting on a weapon
Weapons gain the base damage, base attack speed and base % critical strike chance of the weapon they are summoned from.
The minions deals additional physical damage modifier is added to the base damage.
The lingering blades damage is not added to weapons created from items.
Casting on a linger blade
Lingering blades have the base stats of a Glass Shank.
The same formula is used as casting on a weapon, except the lingering blade physical damage is added on top of the other physical damage.
Version history
VersionChanges
3.19.0
The damage and life scaling values for minions have been adjusted. This affects all minions other than Raise Spectre, though the damage of Animate Guardian, Animate Weapon, Blink Arrow and Mirror Arrow minions is also unaffected as they gain base damage from items instead. Generally speaking, minion life and damage is unchanged in the very early game, roughly 30% lower in mid acts, roughly 20% lower at level 20 of the minion skill, and roughly 10% lower at level 30 of the minion skill.
Now costs 4 mana at gem level 1 (unchanged), up to 16 at gem level 20 (previously 12).
3.10.1d
Updated the gem descriptions of Animate Weapon and Animate Guardian to clarify that they cannot be used by Traps or Mines.
3.10.0
Now has the Physical tag.
Now animates a weapon in an area around where you are targetting (you don't have to target a specific item).
Animate Weapon has been reworked and undergone some cosmetic upgrades as well.
The damage multiplier on Animate Weapon was not applying to the minion's damage at all. Whoops! Because of this, the skill has been rebalanced.
Can now be supported by Unleash Support and Spell Echo Support.
Now has a base duration of 40 seconds (from 37.5 seconds) at all gem levels.
Now allows a maximum of 5 Animated Weapons at gem level 1, up to 14 at gem level 20 (from 50 at all gem levels).
Now has a base cast speed of 0.6 seconds (from 0.8).
Now costs 4 mana at gem level 1 (from 7), up to 12 at gem level 20 (from 26).
Now grants your minions' attacks 5 to 8 additional Physical Damage at gem level 1 (from 4 to 6), up to 126 to 184 at gem level 20 (from 38 to 56).
Minions now deal 10% more damage at gem level 1, up to 48% more at gem level 20. Note that there was previously similar (but numerically higher) bonus listed on the skill gem that, as it turns out, did nothing.
Now grants your minions 10% more attack speed at gem level 1, up to 48% more at gem level 20. Previously the gem granted increased attack speed rather than more.
Now gains 1% increased Minion Movement Speed per 1% gem quality (from 2% increased Minion Movement Speed).
3.6.0
Mana Cost at gem level 1 is now 7 (was 9).
Mana Cost at gem level 20 is now 26 (was 36).
2.6.0
Now has a maximum of 50 animated weapon minions that can be active at once.
2.3.0
Animate Weapon and Animate Guardian have had their range modified. Previously there was a bug where you could bypass the range. Now that this is fixed, the range has been tripled from 25 to 75 units.
1.0.6
The Animate Weapon skill now adds a flat physical damage to the weapon. The animated weapon has had its innate elemental resistance values increased.
Immortal Call, Blood Rage, Conversion Trap, Animate Weapon and Frost Wall have had their base duration increased by 25%.
1.0.1
Fixed an issue with key pickup and the Animate (Weapon and Guardian) skills.
1.0.0b
Fixed a problem where an Animated Weapon would pause for too long when summoned.
1.0.0
Animate Weapon has been added to the game.