Short version: Based on one or two pieces of observational evidence, I'm wondering if what is necessary to hold the interest of an animated weapon is different for different weapons.
Long version: My Dynamis shell smashed up the Animated Tachi last night, and I noticed a few other weapons nearby. I like hearing the opening speeches they make, so while everyone else went off to do useful things, I wandered over to give them a poke. I've got Skadi's Jambeaux, so I was confident I could outrun whatever came for me.
The Animated Tabar was pretty easy. The Satellite Tabars followed me for a bit, but they all despawned reasonably quickly. (The axe also definitely has Guttler's mind; witness its opening speech: "Me, axe. Runeaic, Axe. You, die?") Emboldened by this success, I went to go poke fun at the Animated Staff. This time, though, I couldn't seem to lose it - every time it got close and I took off again, it made the "intrigued" comment. It eventually cornered and killed me, and despawned shortly after that.
I'm curious as to why the two weapons behaved differently - the axe despawned quickly after I ran away, but the staff apparently was interested by the fact that I was running. I also know of reports from people who used Mijin Gakure on an animated weapon for fun, and then saw that it was intrigued.
Side note: The spells cast by the Satellite Weapons are specific to the weapon in question, of course. I noticed that the Tabars were only casting Drain and Choke. If I had to guess, I'd say it's because Choke is the additional effect from Guttler, and Drain symbolizes Guttler's constant hunger for blood. The Staves were casting Stone IV and Stonega III, along with Bio. It definitely wasn't Earthsday, so I wonder if they always cast those spells, or if there was some other reason. It was either Lightningsday or Lightsday, I can't recall precisely.
EDIT: If someone who isn't on PS2 would be willing to poke through the .dats and provide the intial/death speeches for each of the weapons, I would be very grateful.
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