Minion not using his weapon (in General)

I searched all around the FAQ and the forums regarding this.

I just purchased a expensive melee weapon for one of my minions but he never uses it.

He has Decay, Antimagic and Vampiric Aura and casts all his spells just fine. But when it's time for melee, he just continues to cast Decay and never swings his weapon.

Can I not have Decay and a weapon at the same time?

Correct, DD and melee don't mix.

Or ranged for that matter.

You can use a ranged weapon with Decay.

You can even use ranged weapons with every DD spell bar FB.

A DD spell takes precidence over any other attacks you might have, but for rounds they don't fire on, equipped weapons will be used.

Yes, you can combine ranged with spells such as Decay. But be prepared for a disappointment, as it won't pay off in most situations.

By the way: your weapon is indeed expensive, but far from the best possible choice in store. At [6x11] (+9) you are the proud owner of the best Main Gauche in the game, but it's still only a main gauche. Generally the most important stat of a weapon in store is the first number, as the higher that number is, the better and also the lower the upgrade costs are.

Thanks for the tips, everyone! Now I have a much better understanding.