Current Events > I know I'm late to this discussion, but what's up with BotW's weapon durability?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Absolutely love it so far, but this part is just so unusual. The weapons are as durable as the weapons in Condemned and permanently break after literally a few enemies. I always try to go with one handed sword+shield in games, but I have to get used to wielding whatever I can pick up.

I know there's no shortage of weapons, but it's just such a weird aspect.
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I only ever seem to find 2 handed weapons. So I never use Shields.
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I would have enjoyed it so much more if weapons didn't break

Also dungeons and hookshot
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It's used so players will be forced to use a variety of weapons instead of maining one godly weapon. There's a bunch of OP weapons that, if there wasn't durability, would make the combat really boring if used the whole game.

I liked it tbh. I always had a full inventory of bad ass weapons too.
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I would have preferred it if the weapons could last more than one real fight.
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It's kind of a necessary evil with the amount of freedom you get. Without it you could suicide run Hyrule castle, get good weapons and then destroy everything.

That said I wish they lasted about 50% longer, would have been more reasonable.
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It really is weird. Later on as you progress you'll start getting weapons that are so durable you won't know what to do with the new ones you keep finding.
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I recently fought a Lynel for the first time and went through 5 of my top weapons >_>

You get used to it. It's not bad, at least on normal mode.
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People defend this system.. and to each his or her own. But I hate it so much.

I mean if your weapons are going to break, at least let me fix it like in Fallout. Some people even claim the game would not work with out it... blah. It takes me out of the game. Hey I want to shot this deer for food..wait I can't because I don't want to waste my bow.

And how in the hell can a bow fall apart like that. It is a bow you are not hitting anything with it. Maybe the strings breaks but the weapon is not going to break from bull the dang bow string.

It is just a way to make the game longer .. because you have to found all those damn nuts so you can carry more stuff.
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Hyruleans prefer to make their weapons out of plywood and thick sheets of crafting foam
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It ruined the game for me. Shame, because I think I'd love it otherwise.
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Great concept and I loved how it forced me to be resourceful, but a little too severe in execution. Give weapons about double their existing durability across the board and it would have been perfect imo.
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masterpug53 posted...

Great concept and I loved how it forced me to be resourceful, but a little too severe in execution. Give weapons about double their existing durability across the board and it would have been perfect imo.

I think that's what they were going for. You're basically living off the land for much of the game, and it's basically having you use whatever you can get. Which is cool for a smaller scale game (again, like the Condemned games, or Dead Island), but I just don't know if it works for an open world game, especially as weak as they are. Having weapons become damaged is one thing, but having nearly EVERY weapon break after a few uses without the ability to repair just makes no sense.
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Banjo2553 posted...

Later on as you progress you'll start getting weapons that are so durable you won't know what to do with the new ones you keep finding.

Not really, you just stop using them because combat is boring.
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The short answer for my thoughts on it overall: I think durability in games is generally stupid and adds nothing but a hassle, but if a game is built around it and the devs give the mechanic the seriousness and thought it needs, it can work well. Like Condemned. Dead Rising. Etc.

I'd say BotW handles it mostly well, with the main mechanical gripe I have being that melee weapons break too fast. Overall. Maybe make them double durabilty. There's also some quality of life things I think should be added, like:

- Drop weapons/shields/bows from the quick select menu instead of the inventory
- Interface to drop something in the "item get" menu from opening a chest if there's no room so you can make room without going through the hassle of closing the chest and having to navigate into your inventory
- A very rare material that works sorta like Flint that can fully repair 1 weapon
- Saddlebags for your horse that offers limited extra storage for a few items.
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Hayame Zero posted...

Absolutely love it so far, but this part is just so unusual. The weapons are as durable as the weapons in Condemned and permanently break after literally a few enemies. I always try to go with one handed sword+shield in games, but I have to get used to wielding whatever I can pick up.

I know there's no shortage of weapons, but it's just such a weird aspect.

You're supposed to be constantly throwing weapons. A thrown weapon does bonus damage and if it breaks which is very likely it's an automatic crit.
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It's really not worth throwing weapons until you know they're right about to break.
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UnholyMudcrab posted...

Hyruleans prefer to make their weapons out of plywood and thick sheets of crafting foam

Papier-mch*
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I neither like it nor dislike it. it's an ok concept but the execution seems a little lacking in some regards
durability in games is usually crap though, so at least it's better than most
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JustMonika posted...

UnholyMudcrab posted...

Hyruleans prefer to make their weapons out of plywood and thick sheets of crafting foam

Papier-mch*

Makes sense, since Nintendo's next big product is a fucking cardboard box.
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jumi posted...

JustMonika posted...

UnholyMudcrab posted...

Hyruleans prefer to make their weapons out of plywood and thick sheets of crafting foam

Papier-mch*

Makes sense, since Nintendo's next big product is a fucking cardboard box.

LOL
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I agree in that it's weird. I don't think it's a big enough deal to hurt the game but at the same time I don't think it helps either.

I'd have been quite happy with just three or four swords with increasing power like a typical Zelda title. Managing durability and swapping weapons was just a thing I kept doing throughout the game, it was just kind of there for no particular reason. Maybe in the next game (if they keep the mechanic) when a weapon breaks it could give crafting materials that eventually lets you smithy your own weapons.

I'd be fine if it just went, though.
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Smashingpmkns posted...

It's used so players will be forced to use a variety of weapons instead of maining one godly weapon. There's a bunch of OP weapons that, if there wasn't durability, would make the combat really boring if used the whole game.

I liked it tbh. I always had a full inventory of bad ass weapons too.

Pretty much this. Durability could stand to be a little longer but endgame wise it really doesn't matter. At that point the game practically throws all kinds of good weapons at you.
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It is exactly like a game like Condemned or Dead Rising. Weapons are disposable. Throw them around. Use them to interact with the mechanics etc.

I don't think bows should have been durable but that's about it.
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In my case the durability of bows barely meant anything to me because arrows were the limiting factor of my usage, not durability.
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Tmk posted...

In my case the durability of bows barely meant anything to me because arrows were the limiting factor of my usage, not durability.

Yeah, I got into the habit of buying out every store's stock of arrows whenever I passed by. Can never have enough, really.
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there's a fuckton of weapons everywhere, if you want better ones then go take on a lynel and you'll get some of the best equipment in the game
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BLAKUboy posted...

Banjo2553 posted...

Later on as you progress you'll start getting weapons that are so durable you won't know what to do with the new ones you keep finding.

Not really, you just stop using them because combat is boring.

I've been doing combat just as much as early game (even moreso since early game you get crappy weapons) and I still have full inventory. I just happened to do my exploration by tower region so I ended up never having to actively search for equipment. Plus there are certain enemies and shrines that give you some of the best weapons to stock up on, so it's never an issue.
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Okay, so...even the Master Sword "breaks". A 10 minute recharge?

Really?
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The master sword and hylian shield break. Just know this.
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You can unlock theaster sword not breaking if you have the doc, but it's a pain in the ass.
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it gets better later on when you're so overflowing with weapons you have no space for them, even at maximum
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Hayame Zero posted...

Okay, so...even the Master Sword "breaks". A 10 minute recharge?

Really?

The Master Sword isn't even all that strong anyway, I mainly use when I want to save my better weapons
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It's a system that was built in to effectively force you to improvise and prioritize weapons, making combat more hectic as you save better weapons for tougher opponents and thereby have more challenging fights against even weaker opponents. I initially was hesitant, but the game was built around that as a core mechanic so I actually grew to be okay with that.
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cjsdowg posted...

Hey I want to shot this deer for food..wait I can't because I don't want to waste my bow.

Remote Bombs are your friend, I always use them for hunting
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I generally hate weapon breaking systems, but BOTW offers a few compromises:
-in late game, many weapons drop with durability up modifiers
-there are a number of weapons caches near towers that if you find and mark them ensure you always have access to good weapons
-some special locations like the mazes have respawning high tier weapons
-the master sword has infinite durability
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HylianFox posted...

cjsdowg posted...

Hey I want to shot this deer for food..wait I can't because I don't want to waste my bow.

Remote Bombs are your friend

Or one of the million other bows you'll find. There's no reason or need to conserve weapons, they are constantly being thrown at you.
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It's the way of the future. I had to get used to it in The Last of Us. Now you're gonna get used to it here.
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MC_BatCommander posted...

Or one of the million other bows you'll find. There's no reason or need to conserve weapons, they are constantly being thrown at you.

Always keep a multishot bow on hand, though, for farming scales.
Also some kind of fire weapon for melting ice and/or a korok leaf for sailboats.
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why is everyone putting "Master Sword" in spoilers? it's a fucking Zelda game, of course the MS is gonna be in it
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s0nicfan posted...

MC_BatCommander posted...

Or one of the million other bows you'll find. There's no reason or need to conserve weapons, they are constantly being thrown at you.

Always keep a multishot bow on hand, though, for farming scales.
Also some kind of fire weapon for melting ice and/or a korok leaf for sailboats.

Ancient Bow and Savage Lynel Bow are fuckin' godsends

one is long-range, one is multi-shot(x5) and both are really durable
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HylianFox posted...

why is everyone putting "Master Sword" in spoilers? it's a fucking Zelda game, of course the MS is gonna be in it

I've seen Zelda fans bitch about the most trivial "spoilers" before so maybe that's why

Axiom posted...

HylianFox posted...

why is everyone putting "Master Sword" in spoilers? it's a fucking Zelda game, of course the MS is gonna be in it

I've seen Zelda fans bitch about the most trivial "spoilers" before so maybe that's why

really, there's even a statue of the MS that came with the limited edition for chrissakes
it's not a spoiler
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Its a bad mechanic. Instead of introducing something new or good its an annoyance you get use to.

Its even less realistic to carry around that many weapons that break so easily.
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P4wn4g3 posted...

You can unlock theaster sword not breaking if you have the doc, but it's a pain in the ass.

nope it still breaks
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Man I'm surprised you interpreted that. Anyway I was pretty sure once you finished all the sword trials it didn't break.
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P4wn4g3 posted...

Man I'm surprised you interpreted that. Anyway I was pretty sure once you finished all the sword trials it didn't break.

It still does, but the durability is set super high.

Yeah now that you mention it I totally forgot they still made it break. The sword trials are so dumb.
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P4wn4g3 posted...

Yeah now that you mention it I totally forgot they still made it break. The sword trials are so dumb.

Not really. It doubles the Master Sword's base power (sets it permanently to 60) and nearly quintuples the durability (goes from 40 to 188), as well as making it so that the sword beams no longer affect the durability at all.