Breath of the Wild's Durability System Could Suck Less

Ravioli ravioli, give me the thicc companionoli
I usually record with Bandicam. OBS's idea of recording seems to suck and result in bad quality and random frame drops. I'll have to figure that out later.
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[@Sepreturex]

its great to know that plague took up the tradition of "striking when the iron is super ice cold" from the super best friends.

[@shuragear525]

I literally started playing it yesterday seriously for the first time (I played a bit over a year ago and on someone elses console when it released) and the first thing I was concerned with is how many branches did I viably need to survive encounters. So this video is for me and me specifically

[@sinsoftheswamp8346]

Yeah this game came out 53 years ago

[@KhanConComedy]

Dude, the iron is submerged in liquid nitrogen.

[@LionessDacon]

Nice to see there are still people that can't even listen to the first two minutes of a video before they need to get their comments in.

[@KhanConComedy]

@@LionessDacon Nah, I was like 20 minutes in, I just thought it would be a funny comment.

[@SamWeltzin]

What you said about 20 minutes in was my only serious complaint about the system while I was playing it: "Mipha's trident should never be destroyed even if you can go through a lengthy quest to build another version of it." Having those legendary pieces of equipment break just felt weird to me. It's like using and destroying a historical artifact, then making a modern replica and calling it just as good or important. Just felt dirty to me. I don't know why they couldn't also recharge like the Master Sword.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

I partially agree, but people largely ignore the fact the Champion Weapons are ALSO re-gainable, if you know where they are. If you break one, and it's been a Blood Moon since gaining it, it will be in a chest in the homes or home areas of the Champion. No weapon in BOTW is actually lost forever. Just largely inconveniencing you.

[@SamWeltzin]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 Oh, yeah. I just mean that it's weird thematically that they break at all because they're supposed to be unique weapons. Presumably they became signature weapons during the long war, but they break after 20 or so hits? Seems bizarre to me. Like, the Master Sword doesn't respawn or anything. It just goes dormant for a while. Don't see why the other weapons couldn't do the same, is all. Maybe I'm thinking too much like D&D or something. I dunno.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

@@SamWeltzin I fully admit this technique could have been a glitch that was patched out since it borks with the economy of paying The Masons to repair the Champion Weapons, which is obviously not what the designers intended. That said, you can always pay the Masons to reforge the weapons which is by design and thus my point is still made that no weapon in the game is truly lost. Weapons in real life certainly broke regardless of the romance we put around our "heroes" and their tools. Magic does leave items or run out over times in a lot of stories.

[@SamWeltzin]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 Did they say they repaired them? I guess I just didn't remember that. Sorta thought they were forging new ones. If it's a repair, then I have much less of an issue with it. And again, I'm speaking purely thematically, not mechanically. The only weapon worth anything is Revali's bow anyway (Maybe Daruk's sword is alright, but it gets outstripped pretty fast), so I'm not too concerned about actually having them in my inventory. I just thought it was strange that they broke after existing for a hundred years.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

@@SamWeltzin They say "reforged", but it is replace. You have to break the weapon for them to replace it just like you have to break the Master Sword for it to rebuild itself. Edit: The only weapon I don't use is Mipha's Spear. Daybreaker is great, Hammer does its job, especially on Talos, and any bow with 3 or more arrows is great for economical use. Not just the Great Eagle Bow, though 5 isn't really any better than 3, it's just the strength of the Bow is high.

[@Kevin-nh7jd]

Ah yes, the old "Strike while the iron is cold and rusted" release time

[@assassingamer1125]

good one

[@Chromelium]

I actually bought Zelda Botw a week ago. Glad people are still making content

[@Druid-T]

It is two weeks to the release of age of Calamity, and since that game is absolutely going to tie into BOTW 2 the series is still on people's minds. So I wouldn't say rusted, but you might want to throw it in the microwave for like 10/15 minutes

[@DarkPlague20]

@@Druid-T wouldn't want to throw iron in the microwave...

[@BloodRedFox2008]

@@Druid-T Also Age of Calamity forgoes weapon durability entirely because it's a Warriors game so combat is far more of a constant. For BotW2 my guess is either they'll implement some kind of blacksmithing that allows weapons to be repaired or do a simple "toggle if you want weapon durability one or off" option like how Watch Dogs: Legion has a toggle for character permadeath.

[@yfullman]

Anyone remember when the developer of Bloodstained had that ad with everyone's criticisms on the screen and then he stands up and says "I will prove them wrong!" and actually listened to some of the criticisms lol.

[@elevate07]

I want to see this ad

[@Armameteus]

@@elevate07 kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2eXYZprnKl1gKM

[@elevate07]

@@Armameteus Wow... I'm going to buy this game.

[@malikoniousjoe]

@@elevate07 You should, I reccomend the Xbox One version though as it was more stable than I’ve heard others say in regards to the switch version.

[@Highstar25]

there was recently also a trailer just like that for bravely default 2, where the devs go over all the criticism received based on the demo version.

[@Legacy0901]

The only problem I ever had with BotW durability was that there never any enemies worth using the top tier stuff on. Once your inventory is full of guardian++, royal weapons and rare 60 damage unique swords, there is no longer any reason to interact with generic moblin camps anymore. You'll be destroying 1-2 top tier weapons to clear the camp and picking up mid tier filler as recompense. Clearing generic enemies ends up being an objective drain on your resources which encourages unfun strategies like bomb/arrow spam or straight up ignoring camps because you lose more than you gain by interacting with them. Everybody I talked to ended up using a similar strategy where 80% of our inventory sat gathering dust because the weapons were 'too good to use' on default enemies, and there were 3 or 4 slots dedicated to trash items that would be recycled on generic mobs. It very briefly felt cool in the Lionel or Ganon fights when you could finally take off the weighted training clothes and go all out with your sexiest weapons, but then the fight ends without using up a single top tier weapon and you're back at the same problem where your inventory is stuffed with weapons too strong to waste on the enemies in the overworld. They really needed more minibosses that gave rewards worth breaking an Edge of Duality on.

[@UltimateCarl]

Yeah, the circular flaw of games where you loot enemy weapons is that to acquire the strongest ones, you have to kill... The strongest enemies in the game. So now you've not only bested the game's ultimate challenges with even worse equipment, the only reward for killing more is... More weapons you can use against more of the same enemies... It's like getting some ultimate sword or spell for beating the optional superboss in a JRPG. The only thing you'd need to be even remotely that strong for is the very boss you had to kill to acquire it. Only in this case it's even worse because it's a consumable.

[@budafuka]

The Master Sword makes top tier weapons even more worthless, since it gets buffed against enemies you would consider using them on. So my best weapons are used exclusively on Lionels and then get immediately replaced by Lionel gear.

[@TheMrSpecialEd]

I think Matthewmatosis’s solution to player’s avoiding combat is one worth considering: having camps be permanently cleared, putting them on the same level as shrines or korok seeds as obstacles to defeat whenever the player comes across them. Because when you have breakable weapons, but enemies that WILL eventually respawn, whats even the point of combat in the first place?

[@EbonMaster]

Yep. That comes from lack of enemy variety and difficulty which while understandable are unfortunate and lead to problems like what you described.

[@XetXetable]

All the royal weapons have consistent 100% spawn locations that don't require fighting. Why would you need to conserve them when you can get new ones of each after each blood moon?

[@Waffles-Mcnachos]

Now Plague what are implying that this game need a thicc imp smith (clearly not Midna maybe. okay a little like Midna) that uses you as her seat as she repairs and chastises you over your handling of your weapons? Cause I wouldn't fight you over it, I just want to make sure I'm understanding you implicates.

[@eoeaoe12e]

Bro what

[@justiceforjoggers2897]

@@eoeaoe12e The best idea to ever be had is what

[@pleaserespond3984]

So what you're saying is that when you press down, Link turns into a portable anvil, Midna pops out wielding a huge hammer and starts hammering weapons together to restore their durability. Once she's done, she sits on the anvil, which turns back into Link, pats him on the head and goes away.

[@LiterallyWhomstve]

Could this be one of my people?

[@DivinityOfBLaze]

Dark Cloud on PS2 had weapon durability. Where weapons can break but you can also repair them, which actually made them better. Meaning the more you used and by extension repaired a weapon the better it became. Yet this system still encouraged finding new, weapons and trying new stuff out. It was a great system.

[@marcosdheleno]

a massive reason dark souls is so replayable, is because of the large variety of weapons, and, most runs, people will pick 1 and use that for the entire gameplay. they will pick their favorites, they will try new ones out, they will think if its worth investing into a new one or keep using the one they have. dark souls also has a durability system, but the weapons dont stop existing because you hit a rock, they just become damaged... like a real weapon would.

[@joshua7529]

I replayed Dark Cloud recently. In actuality, the default weapons that each of the heroes wield can be safely broken without permanently losing them. However, weapons obtained through chests or weapon fusions can and will be lost when their durability bars reach zero. So carrying a healthy amount of Repair Powders is needed in a game which makes them somewhat rare. This was changed in Dark Cloud 2, where weapons could break, but not lost. They do way less damage when broken, but use some Repair Powder on them and they're good as new.

[@IDSearcher]

"The dullards among us just use the starting weapon in Dark Souls and never change it" *Cries in trusty Longsword+15 that never betrayed me in my time of need *

[@CoffeeMaus]

In DS3 and Bloodborne there's no real point in swapping weapons since you can accidentally start with one of the best weapons in the game without even knowing it. Don't worry you're not a dullard, the devs have always been bad at balancing.

[@lock376]

Meh I mean ds3 and bloodborne are the best games and I've never had a problem switching and swapping weapons whenever I feel

[@CoffeeMaus]

@@lock376 Well I do. That's mostly because the upgrade system makes everything that isn't my main weapon obsolete. I'd like to swap back to my axe for little bit, maybe try the cane, but the game only gives you enough rocks to level one weapon at a time. By the time you can get enough resources to level your second weapon you're practically already at the end.

[@bplup6419]

The broadsword in ds2 is bae

[@Bulkyninja]

@@lock376 ds3 the best game??? You mean the game that has hard on for 1 so bad that it doesn’t try to be anything different gotcha.

[@PaperFlare]

It's funny you should bring up Mipha's Trident. I was already a fan of the spear weapons (mostly because I liked mid-range poking), and having Link's waifu's weapon seemed thematically appropriate, especially after all the shipping the game did in that part. I proceeded to break it in 10 minutes, realize that making a new one was impossible for me that early in the game, and become insanely frustrated with the system for the rest of my playthrough.

[@AydarBMSTU]

Blood moon exists

[@Wiki1184]

@@AydarBMSTU Do blood moons even effect the champion’s weapons? I thought you had to reforge them every time they broke.

[@justcallmexen]

Impossible? I guess it might seem that way if you didn't know what you could do, breaking open ore chunks whenever you found them and having someone in Zora's Domain trade you diamonds for more commonly found luminous stones would make getting that weapon back easier.

[@robinthrush9672]

That's why I never used the champions' weapons. They all got a nice place on my home's walls. Never heard of the Blood moon respawn until looking through this video's comments, which is indicative of why "unique item can break easily" is not a good idea in a game short of one used for bosses. Yes, my party does have 99 level 1 fire spell items by the final boss. I may need them later.

[@BruceWayne-fj9bm]

Imagine shipping an elf who likes an elf princess with a fish he friend zoned 💀

[@note4note804]

Durability should also have a relative degradation stat based on enemy armor. A really strong weapon should break when striking something that's in its league, but enemies that are way below your strength should treat those weapons as though you were cutting through butter. That way one shotting an enemy with your Royal whatever does no durability damage, and likewise mystical weapons could chop trees and break rocks effortlessly upon reaching a certain amount of damage. The bigger problem of BOTW is that the game wants the feeling of barely surviving out in the wild at the beginning, but then being a triumphant hero at the end. The durability system as is works for a game that always wants to be the former, but fails the player that's trying to enjoy the latter.

[@ChaddyFantome]

I think weapons losing more/less durability based on what it's hitting relative to how good it is is fair.

[@aleblanc6904]

The world does rank up as you go, so there's something there, but that's probably not a terrible way to deal with it.

[@Shade04rek]

Exactly what I was thinking, mobs having a cutoff for degrading weapons above a certain stat, based on the mob rank. Addationally weapon classes will degrade less for what they are designed for compared to other weapons, like Axes to trees, swords to flesh, and hammers to rocks. A repair/non-shatter system would be a good addition too. Instead of weapons shattering, from that point their damage value and quality just falls before becoming almost useless, so get a new one vs. a bunch of mats/other weapons for repair, OR use that to repair something else.

[@Densoro]

Part of me agrees with this, but part of me enjoys the Fire Emblem weeblord mentality of ‘tch, you aren’t worthy of my legendary Eightfold Blade. I’ll finish you off with this steak knife.’

[@DeltaSpark8]

Pretty solid way to fix it, nice!

[@sordcooper2]

so, what your saying is, they should have put midna into breath of the wild as a thick blacksmith who takes all the trash you find and turns them into fodder for the actually cool murder tools you find?

[@IlSharmouta]

I was listening to his in depth well thought out analysis of mechanics, and then I heard that. I was like "Ah I almost forgot who I was listening to. Never change, my man"

[@lazygan8576]

Aye bro chill, you’re gonna make me want something I can never have..

[@ineedzemedic5810]

@@lazygan8576 Ay AY AY ITS NOVEMBER

[@Horatio787]

Resident Evil has limited ammo, Breath of The Wild has limited use items. Finding ammo in RE is a joy, finding an item in BoTW is anticipation of disappointment when it breaks. Getting ammo is perceived as giving the player something, having your weapon break is taking something away in a psychological sense. There's more obviously but I think this is a big factor.

[@night1952]

Also in RE health items are supper important, so using ammo is an importan choice. "Do i use precious ammo or risk getting bit when trying to dodge this enemy that might be in my way again later" I don't know how Plague says inventory system sucks with RE4 and REmake2 absolutely nailing inventory management.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@night1952 i do think re4 inventory is bad, but that's because we dont have access to the bottomless chest. so we need to carry EVERYTHING. and that ends up forcing players to not make use of weapons that could make the game more fun(RE4 is not a hard game, even at pro dificulty anyway).

[@Enchanted_Master]

Except the game keeps giving you new weapons. If your weapons didn't break it couldn't do that without inflating the weapon stats.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@Enchanted_Master funny you say that because that argument makes no sense when you actually stop and think about it. multiple games have done this without any problems. not only this argument makes no sense, its actually a poor excuse that shows lack of foresight in the developers if that's the main reason for it.

[@Enchanted_Master]

@@marcosdheleno So how do you reward the player with a high damage weapon without making them permanently overpowered?

[@Bioguy5]

The only game I've seen where weapons durability isn't insufferable is Dark Souls, and that's because it's weapons degradation is pracitally non-existant. Weapons in DSII and DSIII are fully repaired at bonfires and, even in DSII where weapons degrade rather quickly, it's not an issue as long as you rest at every bonfire you find. However, the one time I was made FULLY aware of weapons durability was in DSII at Drangleic Castle where I stepped in a lake of acid and it melted half my inventory. It sounds frustrating, but it actually added a new level of depth for my by introducing consequences other than lowering my health bar. The acid wouldn't kill you, but it would make the game much harder, and it made me weight the options of how I wanted to proceed--carefully to retain my inventory, or faster with added risk. For Breath of the Wild, I think they ought to have gone with sacrificing generic weapons to repair better ones. Minecraft has this mechanic, and players can use it to repair their high-level enchanted items at the cost of lower-tiered ones, though that cost can still be substantial since it'll require a diamond item to repair another diamond item (I think, I haven't played in a while.) Breath of the Wild could have used this mechanic as an addition to pre-battle prep and inventory management for however you want to build your playstyle; If you prefer large swords and spears, then you'll have to fill your inventory with those weapons of the same category and use them to repair your main weapons, but you'll also need to balance that with special items like leaf, torch, etc. Having that sacrifice-to-repair system would also encourage raiding enemy camps to get more fodder to sacrifice rather than avoiding camps altogether because you'd be using up durability on your good weapons for little gain. Honestly, I'm just floored that they included degradation with no means of repair. I'd have even settled if repair was only an end-game thing, but not at all? Did anyone do play-testing.

[@ExeErdna]

Something I've noticed in-house "play-testing" is basically "don't rock the boat or be blackballed" now, keep'em happy. It's the day 0 players they take these games and break them. Like how they nerfed the speed to get said Master Sword because they WANTED people to deal with their shitty weapon system. The bad thing is how the Master Sword became an omni-tool for grunt work which makes their nerf redundant.

[@Bioguy5]

@@ExeErdna I don't know how they did play-testing, but it's a massive oversight. They should have realized something was wrong when players had to constantly re-equip the same exact weapon from fallen enemies over and over again during the course of gameplay. Logic would dictate that, "hey, since our players are just picking up and using the same exact weapons over and over, is it really necessary to have them constantly breaking just to have them find the same exact weapons?" i don't know what's worse: if they didn't notice this interaction at all, or if they did and left it in anyway.

[@justanotherperson7774]

Bless Your Soul

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

It sounds to me like you consider Dark Souls's application tolerable because it can be largely ignored and thus it removes the point of its own existence since the tension is removed entirely anyway. In other words, you are saying you are enjoying a system that might as well not be there and if it made itself more aggressive - and added its tension like it should - you wouldn't want it to be there at all.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

@@Bioguy5 Except killing the enemy to gain his weapon back IS the point. If it didn't break, you still largely hunt them and never change your weapon or tactics and them dropping the weapon at all would be meaningless. It's not "they didn't notice or care", it's "that's the point. It's not a problem and we don't view it as a problem because that's the intention. You being annoyed by it and wanting to remove the tension of it is not an actual problem. It's like not liking how a game plays, so you use a cheat device to get around having to deal with it and remove the tension in the design. "Mario doesn't jump high enough, the designers should have made him jump higher. Since they didn't, I will use a cheat device to make Mario 'Moon Jump' and ignore the reason Mario doesn't already Moon Jump.. It's more fun for me now, therefore it's a 'better' design."

[@themilkman5004]

I think it would suck less if Link could defend himself if he doesn’t a weapon or some default unbreakable weapon

[@themilkman5004]

Or you’re able to keep the remains of a recently broken weapon and take it to be re-forged by the Gorons or something like that

[@ATMOSK1234]

My idea is to allow you to still attack with broken weapons but the weapon just does half it's normal damage until its repaired. Also the master sword should never break.

[@kachucho872]

So he can't melee? Lol.

[@kricku]

That's the bomb

[@mikekazz5353]

Text box: Shits broke you got the Dempsey roll.

[@The5lacker]

"Instead of eight tree branches, you could've carried every tree branch in Hyrule. That would not have been a good idea." Speak for yourself, that'd be the best game ever. Legend of Zelda: Beaver Edition.

[@drawapretzel6003]

Legend of zelda: Breath of the Beaver Or, in other words, the queef of the wild.

[@zetsubou1v1]

I mean, regular wood bundle collection is basically that. I chop/bomb trees almost as much as mining because an armfull of bundles is a cheap updraft anywhere it isn't raining.

[@Karttibone]

You beat Ganon by ... building a bigger Beaver dam than his castle and flooding the shit out of him.

[@HollowKidneys]

It really sucks that Master Sword is "breakable". The ancient bane of evil that destroyed Ganon hundreds of times can break by chopping some trees.

[@MaddesG1]

Its like a phone practically. Meanwhile ur Shika Tablet has infinite battery.

[@krullachief669]

It's breakable because Link, during the Calamity, broke it through killing a fuck ton of Guardians, to be fair. Lame? Kinda. Cool backstory for the lameness? Yes.

[@Luci_Diavol]

@@krullachief669 it still breaks (from using the hilt to knock a pot over) after you bring it back to max potential through the master trials

[@ImTheMan0fSteel]

It takes forever to break when maxed out, and would be incredibly broken otherwise. I like the system as is. It gibes the mastersword use, while not making it dominate the entire game and make everything else useless. I liked continuing to scavange for weapons throughout the game and I enjoyed the extra challenge and engagement if provides in the combat. I get people like to collect things, but there's nothing inherently wrong aboit how the system is. And it would completely change the gear system and the combat should it be severly changed. Finding loot would be significantly more boring should you gear last longer or forever or be fixable.

[@sentientbowtie5773]

maybe because a 30 damage weapon that increases to 60 in certain circumstances with infinite durability would be unbalanced

[@Gilbals]

I found interacting with the durability system to activate my FOMO response, much like JRPG's, you get the "But I might need this later" instinct and hold onto that traveler's sword until a number upgrade appears. The issue here is, you can't roll up to Ganon carrying 436 Boko Clubs because you never used them. I had to force myself to engage with it, obviously, but it was such an assault to my wiring that it dragged the whole experience down. My personal solution for fixing this problem is similar to a point: Weapon degradation is slower, Champion Weapons unbreakable as a reward for dungeon completion and low mid-tier as far as damage is concerned so as to not be crutches, but weapons of the style you like that you always have with you. Ultimately this solves the rampant progression issue of the game, as there's not true reward for exploration beyond nebulous spirit orbs and an expanded inventory. It lacked the Zelda staple of amassing unique tools to tackle obstacles. A weapon merchant would've also been nice, who's stock upgraded as the game stage increased, so you could earnestly stock up with what you wanted or needed as you go forth. Repair on the field with a potentially expensive smithing box much like DaS. A hand to hand melee ability (despite bombs always existing) for those who wish to engage in combat when empty handed and not have to run and bomb to get an enemy to drop their club or spear. These have always been on my wishlist, and honestly I hope the sequel learns from criticisms (it won't)

[@Bioguy5]

Still holding out hope that the sequel will be improved. Yeah, i don't really expect game developers to accept their mistakes, but the weapons system is like the biggest and most common complaint of BotW. Surely the developers have to at least consider it.

[@rouge-ish324]

Champion weapons need to be more durable anyway. The only ones I found myself using is Revali's Bow and Daruk's Club. Mipha's spear legit breaks wayyyyy too fast for the damage it has and Urbosa's sword is just outclassed.

[@russelllim4891]

When you mentioned hand to hand combat I just have the mental image of link having a fist fight with a Lynel or a guardian

[@marcosdheleno]

to me, all they needed to do was, give a way to repair weapons, weapons degrade ALOT SLOWER, and have the master sword be unbreakable, but you can upgrade(maybe each boss drops a fragment that enhances its power), so it gets stronger, but still far weaker than other weapons. maybe say that its power is sealed, to preserve its power against gannon. so when used in normal combat, you only have 20-50% of its full power. it would be useable, but far from optional. it would also give a "master sword only" run. do that for the hylian shield and maybe the fairy bow. maybe make magic staffs, work on a battery that can be rechargeable, but its expensive to, early on, maybe give one that is extremely weak, but has infinite energy so you can use it as a tool more than as a weapon.

[@Gilbals]

@@marcosdheleno I agree on upgrading the Master Sword, but that seems like a thing they'll definitely do in 2, seeing as you start with the thing in that. Upgrading weapons would've also been a nice progression, but that requires more unbreakable options to make it worth it. If you upgrade a weapon but it's still fragile (even with a repair system, unless you mean it doesn't shatter and just "runs out of battery") you're even less likely to use said weapon as you invested in it.

[@mikesholler27]

OH, who needs to be a better person when the plague has blessed us with a new video.

[@justanotherperson7774]

Bless thy Perfection Praise the true creators 🙌

[@cardboard-boxgames9308]

DEFINITELY thought you were talking about the pandemic for a moment there, lol.

[@Unf0rget]

Im all about that thick companion character. She could even double up as optional world lore and story with player activated scenes and flashbacks or dialogue in hundreds of areas across hyrule. Heck, give her some commentary for when the player wins through certain methods against normal enemies or bosses. The systems are there for it form botw. Dialogue can already float by as you're moving around. Players no longer have to be paused to read.

[@conhunter7024]

So paimon then?

[@Unf0rget]

In terms of utility? Kinda. In terms of character and visual design? No. I want her thick and hopefully dominating.

[@conhunter7024]

@@Unf0rget Minda then.

[@Unf0rget]

Yes.

[@phantomkiller2847]

@@Unf0rget At least you know what you want, I can respect that. It just so happens I agree with your vision.

[@yangwen-li5881]

"The best of these is the double hookshot" Finally, a man of taste.

[@tyronechillifoot5573]

Buying weapons should be a thing in the game Broken weapons should still be usable but deal extremely low damage Champion weapons shouldn't be breakable they should be like the master sword

[@AusSP]

I agree on Champion... or at least more easily fixed or something. Getting free weapons is pretty easy, if you know where to look.

[@tyronechillifoot5573]

@@AusSP i think you should be able to buy at least travelers weapons

[@EvyDevy]

You can get weapons anywhere in the game. Like from enemies. You never need to spend money. Then people wouldn't switch weapons. You can literally just get any new champion weapon at any time. I do think the breakable weapons need to be better though.

[@matjacks100]

@@EvyDevy It's so tedious dude. Definitely kinda sucks to deal with for most people

[@tyronechillifoot5573]

@@EvyDevy yeah you need to use up weapons fighting them

[@Crade1]

I actually thought of a repair system. Every time a weapon breaks, your sheika slate absorbs the blue energy that the weapon dissipates in. That energy can then be used to repair your weapons and shields. No extra management system, just a point based energy system that you can transfer into weapons to repair them, taking care not to break your favorite weapon. Once it hits the breaking point, there would be a cue, visual and/or audio, and it will only break on its next swing, not counting multi hit attacks And to make sure people don't just break weapons intentionally to farm points, they give different points depending on quality. There would also be an option to immediately break down Weapon into energy.

[@skullzans]

Won't work. Indian Snake Farm problem. Effeciency Elitists can and will be assholes with it. A better countermeasure is something neither arbitrary nor potential of elitist insolence to take advantage of:Combining Weapons to repair, like minecraft. Or for unique weapons, you can use the Great Fairies to repair them. If not either of these(Because those can easily be fucked up too), why not make weapons be able to be either kept as a broken weapon or turned into scrap resource(Except uniques) and the menu doesn't stop time, encouraging you to not do this mid-combat. And, add an automative button that scraps all non-marked weapon debris to scrap(Aka, you click it then click the ones that you want to keep from dying), and you can organize where weapons go in inventory still to whatever you wish.

[@Haurent]

@@skullzans is the indian snake farm problem the cobra effect? First time I hear this, that's why I ask

[@iller3]

This effectively similar to calculating the repair bonus based on how much Durability was USED UP in the scrap item as opposed to rewarding players more for NOT using those "feeder" items. It's a great idea and I can't believe we haven't seen it in any MMO's

[@skullzans]

@@Haurent Im not sure of its exact name but I do think so. It's the idea of "So we can get rewarded for doing something specific... but i can just spamm this endlessly and get rewarded eternally? Cool. Anyone who doesn't do this is a fucking moron"

[@endlesstrash4718]

@@skullzans I feel like the problem of endless spam can be countered by simply putting a cap on the repair juice you can carry, low enought for you to fill it with a few mins in efficient farming spots but high enough for you to not feel the need to keep it 100% for emergency repairs outside of dungeons/high level shrines.

[@ethantaylor9613]

If I’m being honest I like it when plague is vaguely horny about literary criticism more than when he’s vaguely horny about art.

[@codaboi138]

Hearing someone talk about game design is so fascinating. People often forget that games are about creating a cohesive experience, start to finish, not just cool things jammed together in a big messy package. Every thing should have a purpose and tie into the core mechanics of the game as well as setting and narrative and this goes for most media as well, not just games.

[@KaptinScuzgob]

i just wish the weapons you get from the 4 divine beast quests were unbreakable. theyre not the strongest weapons in the game so its probably fine

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

They aren't unbreakable (no weapon should be), but most people completely forgot they ARE regainable. Every weapon in the game is in fact regainable, which is a fact complainers largely ignore. No weapon is actually lost forever.

[@marcosdheleno]

they could just make them damaged, you could use them, but they are far weaker, it still makes no sense how EVERYONE is capable of using them for centuries, but link can only make use them for a couple minutes before it shattering into oblivion... they could at least give it a lore reason, say link was cursed, and that curse corrodes the weapons he use. because as is, the weapons in this game are borderline trash.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

@@marcosdheleno damaged weapons would need to take up inventory space somewhere when it was more effective to simply get rid of the item and grab a new copy (I most certainly marked locations of weapons on the map or enemies who had the weapon to steal easily from). If I had a complaint, it's not having enough markers.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 and what's the problem if a broken weapon took an inventory space? the problem is how many broken weapons you would have after an enemy encounter. which shows that it wouldnt work, because of how brittle the weapons are. if you have your favorite, and it breaks, you will need a fall back, meaning, you need to account for that as well. making your choices more strategic

[@marcosdheleno]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 by the way, i think you are overthinking things, because a weapon broke and you kept, doesnt mean, you cant throw it away. having it broken in the inventory adds, to the player choice, will he still use it, even if its damage is halved, or will he store and pick another, maybe even throw it away. instead, we dont have that choice, a weapon that is near broken will just be used as a grenade, and that is it.

[@thegodfather7232]

This handsome sad voice is , BACK !

[@KSmanderes]

30:16 "She attac, but she also a snacc" lmao I promise this wasn't my only takeaway, but it made me laugh pretty hard

[@charleschamp9826]

My main gripe with the durability system in BotW is "OH no, your weapon broke in the middle of combat. Time to stop absolutely everything and calmly go through a menu to pick the next weapon. Take as long as you need, time is frozen." Like the flow is fucked.

[@dmas7749]

i wish every game had an option to fully turn off mid-combat menu pausing and made it to where you had to select items that said it would suck ass in this game without a "next weapon" button

[@SkeletorTclaws]

Options screen would be a cool super power in real life. Just pause mid exam. Search for answers online. Pause mid rap battle think of good comeback. Pause after a wet shart . Unequip skidmark underwear. Equip new boxers.

[@Densoro]

This, and it goes for healing too. They did such an amazing job with WWHD’s dual-screen real-time inventory, then used _none_ of those advantages here. Having to frantically cram a ham hock down your throat before a Lynel kicks you through a wall, Estus-style, would’ve been incredible.

[@AkameGaKillfan777]

I believe during development this was actually going to be a thing like your inventory on Wind Waker HD. However the Wii U flopped and they wanted the game on the Switch to help boost sales, but you'd be forced to use handled mode, so they didn't want the Wii U version to have an advantage.

[@BBweed420]

It’s interesting that you pointed out the player interface part. I actually had to train myself to use weapons despite all the impulses I had to hoard them. Weirdly enough it helped with my long gaming habit of saving big items for emergencies that never come.

[@ChaddyFantome]

This. Its like how people don't use resources in Fire Emblem and end the game with stuff they never use. Just use it, recognize a good opportunity to use things.

[@iller3]

ahh.. the Woolie Goblins

[@_nRool]

I actually learned my lesson from my first playthrough of BotW, I saved all my Ancient Arrows and never ended up using them, even against Ganon, on Master Mode I saved them for the Blights and honestly, felt nice to actually feel like I'd actually aquired them to actually use them.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@ChaddyFantome i dont think its a bad habit, in many games, the fact you have access to those items can turn a challenge into an easy slog, but because you have that nagging "should i use it or wait", it means you are thinking ahead, and trying to force yourself to play better. the fact you CAN make out of those events without using those items, is actually proof of it. and makes the gameplay feel more rewarding because you did it without using them... and, chances are, you will find a point where you will need to use it.

[@ChaddyFantome]

@@marcosdheleno It absolutely is a bad habit. The simple fact of the matter is the fear of the unknown on top of the desire to not use cool things due to loss aversion is limiting players from actively using the tools of the game. The fact you CAN get out of those isn't really proof, because often the process is either unenjoyable or requires unreasonable levels of knowledge and skill of the player which can lead to less enjoyable experience for many, and at the end of the day that's what's key here.

[@TheAlison1456]

8:17 Resident Evil 4's inventory is to this day the best.

[@SabinStargem]

I don't like the looter-shooter management that Breath of the Wild engages in. I think it would be better to go back to old-school Zelda and have several dedicated weapons, but give them regenerating durability. Their endurance and features can be upgraded, but the emphasis is on making the player not rely too much on a given item. If it breaks, it takes much longer to heal back up. This would also be great for ammo, as we don't have to buy bombs or arrows - rather, the munition regenerates like all other things. Toss in weapon effectiveness relating to how much health the item has, you eliminate the inventory management without taking away the idea of changing up your approach.

[@bigwave1713]

I feel like that be good for a different Zelda game, it kinda get rid of the point of breath of the Wild. The reason that weapon break is a need to explore to find new weapons. That what a lot of breath of the Wild is, giving you a reason to explore

[@SabinStargem]

@@bigwave1713 That is strange, considering that I was already exploring and solving puzzle dungeons in previous Zeldas. Random loot is demotivating, because it is generic and is just another piece of junk to dispose of. Maybe future Zelda games simply won't be for me.

[@TheGameCreator13]

Making the durability just regenerate might be a bad idea since it could just encourage sitting around waiting for the weapon you want to become available. So small adjustment I'd make is weapons would regain durability passively when foes are defeated. Heck maybe use Plague's idea and have it require grinding weaker weapons into durability. Either way it'd encourage those unique approaches since its the only way to re-charge the weapons you want. To me that seems like a logically sound feedback loop in theory Though if the weapons are all viable enough it might not actually be an issue. Thought I'd present the perspective either way

[@bigwave1713]

@@SabinStargem I’m not saying that weapon should durability should be in every game, and I believe we should get rid of it after BOTW2, but with how big of a world it is they need to give you more of a reason to explore. We don’t want the game to become like many of Ubisoft Open World games where you just going from one objective to another

[@SabinStargem]

@@bigwave1713 When I mentioned upgrading weapons, I didn't mean spending rupees or scavenging Moblin #69,272. Just place upgrades in secret places and behind challenges. EG: The Master Sword starts out as a rusty Kokiri dagger. Collecting a bottle of sacred oil removes some of the blighted rust on it. There are also sword shards that can merge with the blade, making it slightly bigger. Basically, you upgrade each tool piecemeal by exploring the dungeons and completing content, not by farming.

[@BSGA22]

We require a thicc blacksmith.

[@ceast5273]

Two solutions: Whetstone, and 4 Legendary weapons, 3 Legendary shields. This item drops from breaking rocks and can be held in great number but are a *rare* resource, have a durability bar that will help you keep track which weapons need care. Players will inherently have some weaker weapons meant for minor tasks (killing low level enemies, resource gathering, hunting), but have a select number of good weapons they keep on hand for harder tasks (puzzles, bosses, tougher enemies). The Legendary Weapons consist of 1 sword, 1 spear, 1 greataxe, 1 bow. These weapons could either be acquired through difficult dungeons, trials, or even be something that must be crafted from extremely rare resources. Think about it, getting an unbreakable weapon right away after beating a boss would be meaningless and far too easy. Instead, you beat a boss and you get a weapon that's unique, but fragile, and you must invest time and effort into getting it up to snuff, and its final form is either unbreakable, or gets a very unique attribute (would recharge like the Master Sword if broken). The weapon itself would still have its uses in certain scenarios that would make worth using even in its earliest forms. The bow could have incredible range and accuracy, but pour damage to anything but a headshot. Its upgraded version could have homing arrows, but its durability would be on the level of a hunting bow. Spear would have bleed damage but its damage output wouldn't be anything to write home about, but its final upgrade gives it a high damage, explosive throwing attack that would put it in a recharge state, but would act as a "last resort, big number" kind of attack. Master Sword would actually become unbreakable upon its final upgrade, but would mostly specialize in killing specialized enemies (maybe something like Ganon's Chosen, tough enemies that are sprinkled throughout various patrols, dungeons, and sequences that increase in number as the story progresses). You get the idea. The 3 Shields could serve different purposes, most likely for puzzle purposes much like the Mirror shield and the like.

[@marcosdheleno]

to me, all they needed was a way to repair weapons, and just make the master sword unbreakable(and earlier to access). make it upgradeable with boss drops, but at the same time, give it a "the weapon is sealed, so you can only use 50% of its power until you face gannon).

[@EB_DC]

Dude. This is good.

[@lazy3385]

How to make the weapon durability suck less: Give weapons more durability. Boom.

[@madmanpete]

remove weapons because violence bad

[@ReshyShira]

Low durability can make it more important to change weapons, but without any way to have favorite weapons you can keep around more often I don't think that'd fix the problem. You'd either have enough durability that you never worry about it breaking, or it's low enough that you choose not to use it so that it doesn't break.

[@spiraljumper74]

Reshy I hate this argument, if you’re forcing me to change weapons you aren’t giving me a “choice.” You are forcing me to use the same shitty bokoblin club again and again because I don’t want to waste the precious few uses of my actual weapons on incidental combat.

[@chillhour6155]

Every single weapon in the game world you pick up and hoard ?

[@spiraljumper74]

Quentin Els I use what’s available. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t play the game anymore. I bounced off it because I hated the durability system so much and it’s missing key things I expect in the Zelda games, like enjoyable dungeons.

[@JZStudiosonline]

I've never seen a durability system I liked. It's always resulted in spending too much time to make something that breaks instantly if there's a crafting mechanic, or constantly having shit break so you always need to swap weapons, or worse, run out of weapons and have to flee. The rare third is like The Witcher 3 where the damage barely does any detriment, but there's smiths and stones and that can fix it up. But then that just means you have to constantly run back to villages to fix your shit because it's almost guaranteed they'll still break in 30 seconds. I can understand a tree branch breaking after a few hits... I guess... but having a sword break after 20 hits is pure garbage. What is it? A $20 mall sword? What the fuck?

[@thelastgogeta]

I think Fire Emblem worked in a way since fleeing was sometimes a thing but came with less experience than fighting with the lowest possible damage (each use gave EXP) in a planned encounter especially as the only place to train used to be encounters where there was permadeath and missable resources. There were some unbreakable weapons which made some units more valuable if only they could use it, but also cases where weapons (of all kinds, branches too) could be blessed so they would be fit for the final battle by being unbreakable though only one per character so you may still have an incentive to use and switch to optimise.

[@SilvrSavior]

I like Dark Clouds weapon durability system. It has a clear WHP meter and you have can have an auto repair powder in your quick use bar to save the weapon if you are in a pitched fight. Dark Cloud 2 improved on it such that you do not lose the weapon upon breaking. Though considering certain aspects of BotW I would say that certain weapons should disappear after breaking while others can be repaired.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

I think that is moreso just tolerating it since the rest of the game is so good. I get a fake sense of joy out of it from Oblivion because when I go to loot the dungeon and I am about to be over encumbered I could use some hammers, repair my weapon, and get more inventory space. But really I would have just had that same amount of space without the hammers and the carrying capacity system is utter sh*t, ESO's system is a million times better for Elder Scrolls. I love the Witcher 3 and think it is literally the best game ever made and probably the best open world game that will ever be made (even if it isn't my favourite game.) But the weapon loot system as well as durability really doesn't add to the experience at all. I just end up putting off doing quests to raise my level by 1 or 2 just so I can do a quest to get better armour, at which point I am almost able to equip new armour so I start grinding and... It sucks but the rest of the game is 10/10.

[@rouge-ish324]

Tbh Breath of the Wild is the best version of a durability system in the modern day in my opinion. The issue for me is like you said, a basic sword breaks in 20 hits. It's not like in Deadrising where you can hit someone with a lamp and it breaks easy, it's a whole ass sword. Especially if you have low value weapons and can possibly run out in a tough battle, or the weapons you're carrying aren't up to a grade to even fight a boss.

[@aceclover758]

Fallout NV had a great durability system but the unfornate thing is the main perk to make it worthwhile was locked behind a skill at a very high level. So it makes that skill a must have for end game unless you are rich enough to just pay any weapon merchant to repair for you. But that lies the problem: if you are not around anyone that can repair, you can lose your favorite weapon The advantages: Upon breaking, the weapon just becomes unusable until fixed. Any weapon can be fixed with a similar one, even exotic weapons can be fixed by fodder ones. If you find yourself running out of inventory space, you can use extra weapons to fix your used ones. When paying to fix a weapon, the payment is in proportion to how much of the weapon needs to be fixed. A rifle at 50% durability will cost less to fix than the same rifle at 25% durability All weapons have high enough durability that they wont break for a long while even after using them for a few quests. Cons: To make the repair system worthwhile, you need 90/100 points in the Repair skill to unlock the Jerry Ringer Perk, which is the 2nd advantage listed above. Without Jerry Ringer, you need to rely on specific merchants or items to repair your weapons, which can be VERY expensive. (Repairing a Fat Man from broken can cost u up to 3000 caps.) Each weapon repair person can only repair weapons up to a certain amount of durability, with only 2 merchants (from what I can remember) in the entire wasteland, not counting DLC, that are able to repair up to 75%. No one can repair a weapon beyond that except yourself by using items or the Jerry Ringer Perk. Weapons lose stats (range or damage) the lower their durability gets, starting with 75% durability. Durability loss is based on the actions of shooting and reloading (for guns) and enemies hit with a melee weapon (If I remember, hitting most objects with melee like walls does not count towards loss). So it is counterproductive to reload a non empty magazine of a gun since it counts towards durability loss.

[@Hellkite47]

Plague misses Midna confirmed

[@MayHugger]

"Oh look, a tough looking enemy, maybe I should fight it. Oh wait, why would I do that? Why would I waste breaking several of my gear to maybe get 1 weapon that'll break fairly quickly as well? Welp, guess I'm gonna skip it." Made it feel really punishing for even trying to learn how to fight tougher enemies, and I've played Souls-like games.

[@TheLastVoodooMan]

The last time I was this early my parents were driving to the hospital

[@zephyrorsomethinh1528]

Bruh

[@Rokuns]

Ya I've never liked durability/perma destruction mechanics in games. Couldn't stand it in this one cus you're constantly having to replace a really nice powerful weapon for some weak club, it forces players to bogart a solid piece of steel and never use it until maybe a boss fight if at all. That and constantly in the menu screen or mid fight having a weapon break really breaks immersion of battle.

[@Makingnewnamesisdumb]

I don't understand how people can unironically defend the weapon durability in this game. I'm not even totally against the idea of durability in the game, but weapon durability is clearly way too low when you break your weapon every single time you fight. It's like they're paper mache. And you can't repair most items, which is also stupid. The clothing system is honestly as bad with how you constantly have to be going into the inventory to change your clothes because the last area was slightly too cold and this area you just fast traveled to is slightly too hot, or because you climbed just high enough for the temperature to drop.

[@wisdommanari6701]

Blind fanboys

[@KaijinZSurohm]

I will say that when I did a re-play of this game and hacked out the durability system. I actually found the experience 10 fold better. I no longer spent time stressing out that the new reward I got will "blow up" and actually encouraged me to try new weapons to find what I actually enjoyed. I actually do disagree with your thought of "they could have made 50 weapons, stored then around, and removed the durability, but this would be a bad idea". Nothing feels as bad as getting a "consumable reward". People want stuff they can use and feel proud of. If you really wanted to have fun with itz you could have lowered the drop rate, make a blacksmith, then have a system where you can merge weapons to make something stronger. Could be something customizable. All this could be ignored if Link could have repaired broken weapons. But that's neither here nor there. Perma breaking rewards is a bad idea, game design wise.

[@night1952]

Yeah, did the same recently. And now i actually engage in combat instead of seeing it as a waste of resources. I see no problem in the unique weapons in specific places. It'd make exploring so much more rewarding.

[@fluffyking94]

I recently modded out the weapons durability, and the hp recovery in the master mode. It's such a different game like this, and I'm having much more fun playing. 🤷‍♂️

[@SkeletorTclaws]

Might as well mod out stamina as well

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

By much more "fun", you mean removed the original tension and point of the system by game design and thus took away stress from yourself, thus, yes, of course you are having "more fun".

[@marcosdheleno]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 what tension? being able to use your weapon without having to worry about keeping 3 copies isnt adding tension. on the contrary. it makes the game more fun because you now feel rewarded for getting diferent weapons. more possibilities, more choices. i still think the game needs a durability system, i just think its too brittle. and so, weapons feel far less rewarding to use. they stop having personality, and becomes no diferent from the stick, just dealing more damage.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 I sure have fun holding onto these Guardian weapons so come next blood moon I can kill every Test of Major Strength to get the best weapons due to the Ancient Armor bonus. I can't fight too much otherwise I'll have an harder time getting my gear back. This is the most fun I ever had, I feel super smart for figuring this out and having to waste time doing what I proved I can do 500 times over.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

@@Buglin_Burger7878 I don't understand. Are you mad you gave yourself a system to give yourself an effective means to get the weapons you want? Are you arguing that you're still using the same weapons? That sounds like a choice you're making to have the game by like that for you. If the weapons didn't break, you wouldn't be using other weapons because you're choosing not to. At least you're being forced to inconvenience yourself to commit to such actions. It's you doing it to yourself. Nothing stopping anyone from using the Biggoron Sword in Ocarina of Time either... (except obviously when you're forced to change for the Ganon fights and only the Ganon fights and only to reflect magic, in which case you stun him and switch back to Biggoron).

[@Dennisjay9]

Anyone else just run away from fights mid way into the game to save your good weapons? The system doesn't feel like it works as intended. I get a new bad ass mega sword and save it for a mini or main boss where it breaks in that one fight. Either make weapons fixable or make the durability last long enough to enjoy the weapon

[@BitterBlack]

Nearly all of Plague's imaginary item management talk around the 9 minute talk is basically how Monster Hunter operates if you think about it lol

[@Yenz30415]

Honestly my primary issue was a lore one. The mechanic was fine, but you mean to tell me that in a world where I can pull bombs out of my ass and detonate them remotely with a smart phone, the same phone that lets me freeze time on enemies and object, that not a single damn person in this world knows how to repair my sword so it doesn't completely break? Like, it implies that literally no one bothered to think that maybe there's a market for people in this deadly land to have their gear repaired, yet there was an entire company that exists to make sure horses are taken care of for random people. It doesn't make sense at all, and when I do end up getting a badass fire sword and it breaks, I'm reminded of that every single time as it breaks my immersion in the world. It feels artificial rather than logical.

[@byronlyons3548]

Well for one thing, it's an old phone made by very very intelligent ancestors, since the thing still works after all the time that has passed. Same with the Master Sword to a degree, even though that's probably more ancient than a Death Mountain, so it losing power over time wouldn't be too hard to see. Happened in Wind Waker too. Secondly, this is the post apocalyptic Hyrule, where most blacksmiths, or anyone who's learning to be one has perished, save for a select few. But those few have been mostly taught, and are dedicated to making the Champions weapons. And then there's Robbie, the one at the lab far up North East. But he only makes the ones he designs to be mostly anti-guardian, due to that one event. Also looking at the description for the Royal Guard specific weapons, that even for the Sheikah before the event 100 years ago, the technology made by their ancestors, is more like a lost art. So even they don't truly know or understand how their old technology fully works. So it seems like they try reverse engineering it. In short, it still makes sense lore wise, especially setting, of why there isn't much big availability in good weapons. And that most old weapons that have been untouched, laying around, yet still looks like they're in good condition, are still not how they were in their prime due to passage of time.

[@Yenz30415]

@@byronlyons3548 Alright so what I'm reading here is that despite the fact that there are people in this world that have the ability to make magical, legendary weapons with some of the rarer materials in the game, those same people just do not have the capacity to figure out how to repair iron weapons? Rohan is literally a Goron blacksmith who works with a forge, in a community that does mining which he builds tools for. He literally has everything he needs to repair items, as long as you were to bring the materials to him. There's a hammer next to him that he literally says he screwed up, meaning he has the skills to make weapons, or at least tools, so he should definitely also know what it takes to repair weapons. He doesn't even offer you the option to make that hammer from scrap, the game artificially restricts you to one single weapon, a weapon that is said to be stronger than the Biggoron Sword, which implies that Rohan is even more proficient than Biggorn was, and yet is somehow completely incapable of repairing iron weapons? Sorry, but no. Rohan isn't the only 'blacksmith' in the game, and while I could agree that blacksmiths wouldn't be abundant necessarily, the idea that literally NO ONE does day to day regular blacksmithing, especially the Gorons, is absolute bs. Both Rohan and Dento also have apprentices, implying that their practice is being passed down, leaning even less in favor of the concept that no one can do basic blacksmithing repair. So no, it doesn't make lore sense, because even the lore opposes it, nonetheless that natural progress of a society with needs, such as the Gerudo, who are heavily armed.

[@byronlyons3548]

@@Yenz30415 Well, for the most part, literally most weapons, or in one of them's own case, all of the weapons that aren't said Champions weapons, have the weakest durability than them. Also Gerudo army is armed, sure, but with some of the weakest equipment one could give them. Like usual case of arming an entire militia, quantity > quality. Just because you could repair them, but would they be worth it? Like would you want to repair the little Gerudo dagger, or Urbosa's sword? So yes, they dedicate themselves to rebuilding the most quality of weapons, that would be more worth it in the long run. As for the hammer part, well, is it strong or durable as the Boulder Breaker? That should tell you what you need to know. You know as that one quote from Bruce Lee goes, fear not one man who practiced 10k kicks once, but the man who practiced one kick 10k times. And you know, any of them making Hylian's weapons is not going to work out so well, as much as a Goron trying to make Revali's Bow would end up being. It's just not happening, with how unfamiliar they are with weapons that are not their own, such as it not going with their own style of fighting. And unless each person proves themselves capable of being able to trusted with such high end weapons, they're most likely getting the cheap weapons, for less cost, and easier to meet the numbers of people wanting them. And you know, Link proves himself to be more than worth having something that costs a bit, and so strong to be on him. So why bother ever getting him the weaker stuff? So not only those points to consider, but also gotta consider the amount of blacksmiths there are in the world, and the amount of people to gather such materials. Again, it is a post apocalyptic world, where people more or less still trying to recover from the events, along with there being monsters in the world to still deal with. So the number of the populate of during in the game vs 100 years ago. So like, what are you trying to prove? Other than you don't know what you're talking about.

[@marcosdheleno]

at the very least, they could just say LINK is cursed, and that curse corrodes his equipments. it would still suck, but at least would make more sense, maybe the reason he spent that long in sleep, was because they were sealing the curse, so it doesnt kill him, maybe allow us to work to reduce it, so the weapons last longer, who knows, maybe even let us cure it, so we can have any weapon and it doesnt break anymore. but nop, they made weapons suck on purpose because they couldnt be bothered to make a system that is actually logical or even fun.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@byronlyons3548 cheap weapons dont mean brittle, it just means lower quality, bronze weapons chipped and bent easily, but that also made them easier to repair, iron swords made with low carbon iron becomes brittle, so people used other materials to complement it, as to make them useable. there's a reason why we say "spring steel", that's because its almost impossible to break a steel sword, it might bend, but that is only a few hammer strikes away to be set straight. unless we are talking about a wood/stone only society, weapons are durable, and easy to repair.

[@MrMillionDub]

When you gawked at and acquired that pitchfork at around 10:23, I could just hear you saying, "Ah, now I am immersed."

[@iller3]

**Banjo music starts playing in the distance**

[@KRIMZONMEKANISM]

Literally all you have to do is this: Shitty-tier to Common-tier weapons *break*. Uncommon, Rare, and Legendary-tier, or what have you, *don't*. BUT. They do lose out on damage the more you use them and wear them out, and you can go these ways on how to handle it: - weapons lose damage as you use them. Find a whetstone, or repair kit or craft said items and use them on the weapon. - if you REALLY want to balance out the super cool weapons with magical effects, then they now don't lose durability, but you need a sort of resource akin to "soul gems" to power them up.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

You're still making a system that has unbreakable weapons in it, which exacerbates the problem and loses the intended game design as written. A literally addressed point was made (in the video) that people will largely ignore damage output if the weapon is "reliable" and stays around. So even if Legendary weapons lose damage with use, people will continue to use them until that damage is zero and then move to a different unbreakable legendary weapon and repeat and thus largely ignore using, collecting, or hunting other weapons, usually only using them when ABSOLUTELY FORCED to after (somewhat) weeding all their Legendary weapons down first but somehow not being able to go get them repaired. IE: they won't usually enter into such a scenario and thus Legendary weapons will always be used and lower-tier will never. And hunting down "soul gems" to keep legendaries powered up not only sounds as unfun as what already happens, but still feeds into the potential that people will largely only use legendaries when available and only explore to hunt down more "soul gems" to keep from using regular weapons. The "solution" (it's not actually a problem that needs an answer, we're just annoyed by someone and want to change it, and look for balanced changes) is more likely a vast combination of a lot of things which ALSO mean developing programs and code largely to address it which means giving the CPU more and more to account for and burn up resources on (which also cause the game to burn more battery power if playing portable).

[@KRIMZONMEKANISM]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 Perhaps the heart of the issue with the points I'm making come from the fact that I don't play this game, and that I don't rightly know the limits of the switch. Still though, I used what I "saw" in Plague's playthrough for reference in my oppinion on how to solve the issue. I saw that the weapons used by the monsters are by and large disposable, and having such weapon can have its uses since it means you are more readily inclined to dispose of them, so they become more like ammunition than actual weapons. I would say that only these types of weapons, and rusted weapons, or just very plain weapons should be destructable, the rest shouldn't. And I feel like it should've been easy and organic to implement the "soul gem" type of items by simply making it so that weapons that wield magic, or creatures and constructs with inherent magical properties could drop some kind of "magical rupee" or something of the sort, with which you could power your more legendary and powerful weapons. Other types of lower tier monsters that wield weapons could drop repair kits or whetstones to restore durability. And then you could like just implement an armorsmith on each town, that once you help or save, he can just do it for free everytime you're passing by, because you're a hero and all or you can do it yourself at a forge, AND, you could have some sort of mystical shrines that are spread throughout the world, which can be used to recharge the magical or legendary weapons. Hell, another concept for magical weapons is that they could restore their magic by themselves with cooldowns. Maybe it's just my personal preference of survivalist rpgs speaking, and maybe BotW is not suppose to be like that, but I like the idea of special things feeling "special" by making it a finite resource. Again, I'm pretty ignorant about this game, and maybe I shouldn't have worded my first comment with such assertiveness, but I feel like this wouldn't be so bad on the game's feel and playstyle, at least from a first glance. Maybe it can be seen as busy work for most other players.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 not really, you could have the weapon break, and either be lost or be unusable for a time. that does affect the gameplay. in the first case, it would force players to think if its worth pushing the limit to see if they can squeeze a little bit more damage before its gone. being able to repair weapons not only feels better, it would also make more sense. if swords broke line in botw, nobody would use them in real life.

[@draphking]

The fact that the ancient hero items can break is simply baffling. Links dead friends give him their weapons only for Link to just throw them at a bokoblin and break them

[@Tenfey]

22:25 I like your proposed system 29:37 Now I REALLY like your proposed system 2:06 Are you implying that Hidetaka Miyazaki doesn't obsessively watch all of my Dark Souls videos so he can hear all the shade I throw at him? I'm having a #goodtime with this new video format, hopefully you can keep finding topics to inspire more

[@ToweringToska]

10:24 I'm humorously amused by your secondary silent visual storytelling, my mind's ear can hear you using sarcastic shock indicating that Link had no idea what a pitch fork was while he was zooming in on the tines of it bamboozled by what he saw.

[@antigrav6004]

I definitely think they could improve it on the second entry, but i will also say it's one of the few problems the game has. The breakdown/repair idea is great. i'd also love a crafting system using those parts beyond what we already saw.

[@akiraishin7141]

Read the title: Yeah, pretty much

[@JintiGoat]

"This script was written on November 2nd" Ha ha.... haaaaaah.

[@Turanome]

Durability is not fun when it happens every 2 minutes. It's fine every THREE but never two. 1 is pure madness.

[@tvgg1]

breath of the wild was the zelda that made me feel the most okay about opening chests and finding rupees, because the alternative would be a sword made out of paper mache. I find it weird how "love it or hate it" the durability system is, I find it to be more of a "love it and hate it" interesting, but needs polish. yakuza has a durability system i don't hate, but that's because weapons are more like a sweet snack. "sure, I could engage with the fun beat-em-up gameplay like normal, but I DID buy this cool ass sledge hammer, imma treat myself."

[@superheriber27]

YOU ARE RIGHT! I totally hadn't noticed that! Usually in other Zelda games finding rupees in chests is disappointing, but in Breath of the Wild finding rupees or even just a piece of Ambar is preferable than finding a weapon that won't fit in my inventory or is inferior to what I currently have

[@bloodraptor]

Simple: Weapons don't simply break after too much use, they become dull which means less damage and less say that there's one fully edge stage and two different dull stages, once surpassed the threshold of the second dull you run the risk of breaking. Of course, this brings another problem that is weapons actually not breaking, but to that you could add some form of durability based on the ratity of the weapon which dictates how many repairs a weapon can sustain before finally breaking thanks to being repaired constantly, so let's say that after repairing a standard sword five times cannot be repaired more and so on.

[@Puckosar]

Dude I am digging these more frequent "generic footage" uploads. More Plague discussion videos is always good

[@arellajardin8188]

An idea I had for “fixing” durability, and the Champion unique weapons. Make the Champion variants unbreakable, but start them at Traveler quality. Then through some magic explanation, make it so picking up any Traveler variant (or lower) gives the Champion weapon experience, until it levels up to Soldier quality. Now every Soldier or lower quality weapon becomes exp fodder for the Champion weapon. Repeat until it’s Royal quality. This makes the 5 Champion items very valuable, but not the most powerful. Top tier Guardian and Lynel weapons would still be superior, and elemental swords and rods would be unique. This would be a long term goal, not something you could grind out in a few hours. It would mean finding a Royal spear is still a great reward, when Mipha’s Trident is still lower level. Reaching top tier quality of the Chanpion items would be an late- to endgame reward. Basically removing the inventory management for anything less than Guardian or Lynel weapons. And when those superior weapons break, then you still have reliable, unbreakable backups with the Champion variants.

[@Invisifly2]

13:40 It's not that I don't want to use the cool stuff I just picked up, it's that for them to do adequate damage I need to upgrade them with limited or hard to grind resources when my current weapon already works fine and I'd rather spend those resources on something cooler. Honest Merchant mod is a fantastic solution to that problem.

[@CyberSlayer128]

I swear that devs will never understand the feeling of "but I might need it later"

[@ComicalRealm]

Some of the problems I see: - Repetitive Shrines - Long Loading Times - Framerate Drops - Inability To Go Fully Underwater - Lack Of Enemy Variety - Dropping armor is a pain the --- - Can't repair avg weapons - Combat Is Repetitive - Durability system sucks

[@spiraljumper74]

-no real dungeons -easy bosses -easy combat in general due to OP dodge that requires 0 skill to utilize -they give you shield-boarding but then make it destroy shields like nothing else (why???) -sidequests are most often simplistic fetch quests

[@pieceofplastic2052]

I agree with all that except the repetitive combat. There's a million ways to kill the same enemy in this game. You just guys discover them yourself. I never tire of it. Same goes for other games like "The last of Us" or "Dishonered". Same scenarios, 1,000 of approaches and executions. But... Some people just rather go for efficiency, rather than style. It's hard to go for both sometimes.

[@francescolombardi3438]

-THE FUCKING GYRO SHRINES

[@spiraljumper74]

Piece of Plastic The fact that you *can* use a bunch of the physics mechanics to kill enemies doesn’t mean the combat isn’t repetitive. What you’re describing is hardly combat, it’s fucking around. They put in a dodge move that takes no skill to use, slows down time, and gives you heavily damaging counterattacks. Why would I bother being creative when I’m fighting a group of bokoblins for the 80th time? I just want the combat to end so I can go do something else. Dishonored is another game with rather little variety in combat, but combat is just one small part of the game and you may not even engage with it. Also the powers in that game are used constantly to navigate the environment and set up kills, in BOTW they have basically no use outside of puzzle shrines unless you’re fucking around trying to take longer to kill repetitive enemies by setting up physics traps.

[@dandre3K]

@@pieceofplastic2052 Ok I can drop rocks on enemies but not in the middle of a fight cuz it's clunky af.

[@robonerd125]

You barely mentioned the "doesn't repair until you break it" problem WHICH ISN'T LIMITED TO THE MASTER SWORD. all the fucking champion abilities do that stupid shit too, so if you want Ravioli's Convenience to recharge, you gotta waste charges, i had Daruk's Meme and Urbossa's PMS turned OFF for most of the game, just cause i didn't wanna deal with them not being available when i needed them. fuck that mechanic, its more annoying to me than the durability, mostly cause i found farming Lynels really fun, so i always had high quality gear.

[@degurkin]

That's literally Daggerfall's inventory management Plague

[@KAPTAINmORGANnWo4eva]

I haven't seen any game use the best inventory system ever by stealing The Bard's Tale's method of instantly turning vendor trash or obsolete equipment into money and instead letting you choose between equipment that's more laterally different.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

But why would that apply to this where you are largely not buying the weapons being are referring to as "desirable". This would need to go in conjunction with other added systems and designs being applied to the "problem". There's no one single-tiered solution to this that keeps the original game design as intended and makes people happy and doesn't eat up more CPU resource.

[@jf4132]

I have an idea....... just dont have the system at all. Wanna know why I liked the demo of Hyrule Warriors Age of the Calamity? Not only because it felt cathartic being able to fight off the enemies that gave me so much shit with anime as hell moves, but i also didn’t have to worry about my weapons breaking every five minutes

[@vahlok1426]

Easiest way to fix the system; Broken weapons don't just shatter and disappear. They get a new broken look (swords have a broken blade, spears have their tips snapped off, etc.) These broken weapons are weakened, but can still be used in a pinch to defend yourself. You can then go to a smith (like the Gorons or just a town shopkeeper) and have the broken weapons repaired over an amount of in game time that changes depending on the rarity and power of the weapon in question. A common sword may take a few minutes, but by that rate is easily replaceable. While something like a Royal Greatsword could take the equivalent of an an hour, but since it's a rare and powerful weapon may be worth the wait to get it back to full power. You could get upgrades to how long it takes to finish repairs by completing a series of sidequests for the smith(s), or maybe different smiths are better with different weaponry (IE, the Kakariko smith can repair Shiekah weapons quicker, the Gorons can repair larger weapons and blunt weapons faster, and something like a descendant of a Hyrule Castle smith can repair royal/soldier weapons quickly). Having weapons just "Poof" out of existence never sat well with me either. It made me never want to use some weapons, like the unique reward weapons and shields. It made me actually kinda not want to play it anymore when I realized that the weapons and shield I want to use will just inadvertently break, even when they're legendary weapons or the like.

[@endlesstrash4718]

I like weapons not being destroyed unless you throw them but putting a timer on repairs in a game where time/timers isn't a major mechanic (Majoras Mask, The Outer Wilds) is a mistake as people especially the types that already don't like durability systems will just wait them out or at least feel like waiting is the correct choice even if it completely kills their enjoyment (mindgoblins). It might work in a roguelike/lite or cycle based game running on a timer forcing you to do stuff while you wait, imagine something like a MM/BOTW hybrid where you eventually need to clear all dungeons in one run but you need to use a unique item with durability in two separate dungeons, you can't do them back to back because of the durability and repair time but you can do something else like a separate dungeon or farming items/weapons so you don't just waste precious time just waiting for repairs.

[@SkeletorTclaws]

I just want unbreakable weapons mode

[@endlesstrash4718]

@@SkeletorTclaws In game cheat codes need to make a return.

[@landonhagan450]

I’ve long said the Fallout series is the only one to make item durability a fun mechanic. Literally all you need to do is allow the player to repair items with duplicates or similar alternatives. It preserves the value of loot in the late-game without forcing you to use low tier items, and it still encourages using a variety of tools for different situations. Fallout 76 almost got this right, but you couldn’t source repairs from duplicates and you couldn’t repair anywhere but a workbench, which totally defeats the point. It’s a damn shame, too. Fallout 3/New Vegas’s repair system would have jelled really well with Fallout 4’s universal scrap system.

[@Justowner]

I think Farcry 2 had the only good wear mechanic, but I found FO3/NVs to be decent and relatively unintrusive. My biggest grips with such a mechanic is how gamey it is for something meant to emulate a real thing. I think BotW is the worst offender because your stuff breaks so fast.

[@GuyUWishUWere]

The durability system is clearly a commentary on the impermenance of existance

[@zGamerGodz]

Personally whats most blatantly bad about the system is that theres no indication as to how damaged the weapons are, like ffs give me like a health bar for the weapon so i know that all my 5 weapons arent 3 hits from breaking when im attacking a lynel. ALSO THEY HAVE A FUCKIN REPAIR SYSTEM FOR THE SHIELD SO JUST APPLY THAT FOR LIKE IMPORTANT WEAPONS

[@TheKeyblader2]

I remember killing whole giants and bosses with bombs cause I didn't want to use my "good" weapons

[@TheKeyblader2]

@Nikzedik well I don't want to use my top tier weapons if they are just gonna break in 5 minutes

[@TheKeyblader2]

Well you could've said it without calling people morons lol. The best weapons are like elixirs in final fantasy games. you're not gonna use them on trash mobs or respawning bosses you'll use them when they matter. Plus once you're at the end game the mobs aren't worth fighting you're better off running and keeping your good stuff. Unless you're trying to upgrade armor.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

@Nikzedik Most people's brains are wired to save good equipment and items for when things get dangerous. In my mind I need to be on the brink of death and know that I don't have any tougher boss-fights in the near future in the game before I will use good items. Especially if they are not necessary to win, the only reason I use so many consumables in SMT is because the game kicks my *ss at times otherwise I would just run back to a heal station as often as I could and play the game as safe as possible.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

@Nikzedik It is just how a lot of people's brains are wired is the issue here. It isn't about logic, just in SMT I have to *force* myself to use my nigh-infinite supply of consumbales to survive in that game. The only reason I use potions and tonics in The Witcher 3 is because they are infinite and readily available. People like me and people worse than me just can't get over an issue like that, and when we do it detracts from our play experience. I feel dirty in SMT when I use consumables not in response to an insta-kill move, much less BotW where no matter what logic dictates my emotions get the better of me.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

@Nikzedik Are you saying it is uncommon and completely unreasonable for people to hold onto the best consumables in other games even into the final boss? That people don't just sit with inventory's full of full-revives, full heals, one-use kill all enemy items, or in the case of Pokemon: Masterball's? It is a really common trait among gamers to do that type of thing. BotW is the only game I have come across where that is the case for weapons. Hell, I bet you most people in Halo would not swap around the varieties of guns they used if they didn't have weapons forcefully removed from the inventory or have 0 ability to do damage if they don't swap. It is just a trained response in gamers. It just feels terrible for a lot of people to "waste" anything, the min-maxers in us go nuts over it. I will sing praises unto the Witcher 3 until the day I die, but my biggest issue with the game is the gear and level system. I will end up 3 levels over what is suggested for certain quests because I end up trying to upgrade my weapons and armour before every theoretical boss-fight (yet fight enemies twice my level in the overworld...) It is just a natural response to get the best gear possible and hold onto it as long as possible.

[@dandre3K]

8:36 Nearly every shooting game handles inventory management very well, particularly Fortnite and Resident Evil games. The problem with BOTW just like most rpgs is that there's no opportunity cost to picking up anything because the inventory is compartmentalized, and there's an abundance of shit to pick up which results in mindless hoarding.

[@egoalter1276]

I fucking hate limited inventories, and there are very few themws and genres that lend themselves to one well. Botw isnt one. There shouldnt be opportunity cost to rewards for exploration in a game about exploration.

[@dandre3K]

@@egoalter1276 The crafting ingredients are not a reward if you already have 900 of them or if they're abundantly available. You still have to manage your weapons/bows/shields, which also aren't a reward because it's all disposable junk.

[@dandre3K]

@@egoalter1276 The only rewards the game has are the upgrades to your health, stamina, inventory size, and the master sword.

[@egoalter1276]

@@dandre3K Well, now thats just the problem, isnt it?

[@nairocamilo]

It could also not exist. Yes, I'm from that binary spectrum.

[@An_Actual_Rat]

I agree, weapon degradation is pretty meh more often than not, so I'd rather not have it at all unless it's implemented superbly.

[@Cynder44]

Same, can't stand weapon durability in games. Makes weapons also feel cheap as fuck.

[@SkeletorTclaws]

Assassin creed doesn't have durability And its fine without it

[@nairocamilo]

@@SkeletorTclaws If implemented, it would clunk even more the mechanics of an open world stealth game, forcing player's time more into weapon management than subterfuge.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

@@An_Actual_Rat i do not know of a single game with weapon durability that I cared for. Stalker misery doesnt count, its a mod.

[@ComicalRealm]

Zelda fact: Breath of The Wild is the best selling Zelda game of all time with a total of 18.60 million copies sold

[@ComicalRealm]

@Austin's Games Agreed

[@francescolombardi3438]

Zelda Fact: The fucking Gyro puzzles shouldn't return in BotW 2

[@FieryMeltman]

@Austin's Games Disagree.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

Zelda Fact: Nintendo should just port Wii Sports to the Switch and make a new game for the series.

[@TheJxR]

Don't know what's with Nintendos deal with durability these days.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

You say these days like Fire Emblem hasn't been doing it for 20+ years...

[@TheJxR]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 ay I forgot about that one, fair enough

[@TheKrossRoads]

Sadly, if you had made this exact same video right after BotW came out, you'd have gotten death threats. Ask Jim Sterling.

[@TheAlison1456]

The first few minutes of the video were meandering, but I loved how you talk about game design. I've never seen such clear expression. Usually, game analysis videos will use long examples, comparisons and analogies, or ornament the script up. It's like you actually know what you're talking about.

[@MrSTVR]

Oh Im sure the devs won't listen, but they'll reconsider using the mechanic again now that they've seen Genshin Impact making bank.

[@stickinittotheman1]

Reading all these comments, I'm realizing I just want a LoZ game where link WRESTLES, along with other martial arts, to defeat foes. Instead of a bow, to hit weak points he just chucks the master sword (or any other) like a dagger, following up with a wambo combo on the baddies. I need a link that choke-slams goons. Basically, I want: Incredible Link: Ultimate Destruction.

[@DeltaFidelias]

Honestly the only limited inventory and durability system I've enjoyed ever has been with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. The reason why is because it's built with the idea that the player will have different stash locations that you can dump your loot in. So usually when you venture from a safe area, it's with a specific purpose in mind, and you're supposed to take what you feel you need for the job at hand. You could take more to be on the safe side, but then you risk missing out on valuable loot or important items. You could take less, but you could risk getting into trouble half-way through and having to return empty-handed and with less supplies than you started with. On top of that, the durability system isn't too harsh. I've never had a gun completely break in any of the games, it takes so long for it to lose all durability. However, the lower the durability, the more likely it is to jam in the middle of a critical moment. Also, you can pay specific characters to repair equipment for a decent amount of cash. Or you could do it yourself with repair kits, though repair kits are rare to grab in the environment and very expensive to buy. So it's another risk-reward; Spend all your cash to repair guns and gear you probably will replace 5 to 10 hours later, or save your money but put yourself in more dangerous situations. Basically, Stalker's systems all try to encourage the player to learn how gauge that perfect middle ground where you're prepared but not over-prepared for the threats you face. And the reason why I personally don't mind it is because it doesn't get in the way of fun, usually. Except for the very beginning, that's usually sucky.

[@conker690]

2:00 Plague has some of the best one liners in history. He's got like 8 slots on the top 10 list. And this is the singlest funniest thing I have ever heard, ever.

[@Juliett-A]

Weapon durability is one of those game systems that sounds interesting on paper, but developers often lack the imagination or effort to make it anything except boring tedium. I'd say it works better in Zelda than it does in most games, but it worked best in DS2 where it was used to fuel the special abilities of boss weapons.

[@egoalter1276]

The only place I have seen weapon durability not suck arse is STALKER, and thats a game about survival amidst inhumanly harsh conditions, and building railguns out of junk. Durability is not only closely tied to the core theme, it is an insanely detailed system, with individual components of items having separate durability, and you having to jigsaw together a pristine condition gun, and shit cant even break permanently. BOTW is just arse. And I fucking despise the ass backwards point of 'but it incentivises exploration!'. No it fucking doesnt. Nintendo wanted something to incentivise exploration, and had no better idea than this abortion of a system.

[@SerechII]

I like Daggerfall's system, it fits your fantasy as you have a literal wagon that you can use as a second huge inventory that you can't take into dungeons, so it is your invisible super mule cart and you go into dungeons just carrying the important stuff for killing

[@Foogi9000]

9:11 TES 2 Daggerfall had wagons which you could purchase for extra space, sadly no other Elder Scrolls game has implemented this as a way to expand your inventory :(.

[@thinkublu]

maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan that beginning was s p i t e f u l

[@BigVorst]

Even Oblivion let you repair things, even if that was a pain too.

[@robonerd125]

successful repair, successful repair, broken hammer, broken hammer, broken hammer, broken hammer, etc. your inventory could be 99% repair hammers by volume, and you'd STILL break them all before you were done repairing your shit, and armorer is a waste of a major skill

[@BigVorst]

Yeah. Lmao. At least if you mastered it you only needed one hammer in your life time.

[@Kreiser_VII]

Just having the blacksmith of every town (The one that repairs the champions weapons) be able to repair any weapon would be the easiest and probably best solution, having categories like Wooden, Metal, Ancient and Elemental, thus one can main the categories they prefer and pick up anything that give more repair points, like maining a Dragonbone Greatclub but still picking up branches over Royal Broadswords because the branches can support the Dragonbone weapons... A favorite system to only mark your preferred weapons would be nice alongside it

[@tylercafe1260]

I think item durability has NOTHING to do with creative combat. Look at any DMC or character action game. That's more or less how older Zelda games did their design and rewarded the player with new options to tackle against other enemies and puzzles on the over world. The system can quickly become redundant. For example even though they have low durability that doesn't stop the player from hoarding the item they want. What if they like spears a prioritized spears? They can totally just do that since the game has to be balanced in a way where even if they run out of weapons than obtaining them has to be relatively easy thus making hoarding specific weapon types entirely possible. Their approach to allowing the player be "more creative" doesn't really that much sense with their direction of using durability. Dark Souls has durability and some weapons are extremely fragile with low durability and did that encourage playing with different items? No because that's not what durability on items are for. They're purely for management and immersion. Justifying why any game should have durability is already a huge task. But in no way do I think it's encouraging "creative combat" but rather limiting it.

[@endlesstrash4718]

I have played all DMC games including 2 excluding the reboot and while good fun I never felt I particularly creative except for the time I discovered the instakill on scissor enemies. I have seen videos of better players and feel like while in the strictest sense "creative" I feel a better description of DMC combat is "expressive". This is not a knock on the games or anything I just feel it's a better description of it's combat model.

[@endlesstrash4718]

I think using durability systems to make the player change up their playstyle and interaction with the physics and material systems is a good idea, however the current implementation with no repairs and no unbreakable endgame/dungeon weapons really only makes sense in a rougelike/lite with a timer so you don't worry too much about using your best weapons because you will lose them after a certain point and wasting time allways using the worst weapons you find means you don't have time to get to even see the guy you're saving those weapons for anyway.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

Character Action games being used as an comparison is a bad comparison. The "creative combat" as in pertains to using other weapons in Character Action games is entirely about showing off, not necessity or actually willingness to use other weapons. Literally, you're being judged on switching up tactics (and/or weapons) in fights or mid-combo to feed into the Style Meter, which largely is just aesthetics and... well style. You're not doing it because you need to and if you don't care about style or the style meter, you can always spam the same weapons or use the same combo and not care.

[@tylercafe1260]

Yourre replias our awful. Heve a nici day

[@endlesstrash4718]

@@tylercafe1260 Your spelling of awful is ironically awful.

[@thesnipingnerd]

Thinking back, Fallout 3 and New Vegas had an amazing durability system. Weapons have a base damage that gets progressively lower the shittier their condition is. If it's a firearm, the chances of it jamming or reloading slower get higher as its condition decreases, while armor's DT gets lower. Once its condition reaches zero, it breaks and you can't use it anymore, but at any point you can repair and maintain it with similar weapons or repair kits, or by paying someone to repair it for you up to a certain level of durability. The system rewards scavenging for weapons and armor even if you have something objectively better, because (especially if you have the Jury Rigger perk from New Vegas) you can use those lower quality items to maintain the guns and the armor you actually like to use.

[@RougeMephilesClone]

Congratulations, Plague! You're a real video essayist now! But seriously, good on you for offering alternatives to design choices you disagree with.

[@CompletelyNewguy]

It can always go with the Dark Cloud system. In that game you can level up your weapons. I say level up, instead of upgrade, as that's mainly what's happening. You can customize your weapons with gems that increase it's stats and if it levels up it will absorb the gems and the stat buffs become permanent and then you are free to put more gems into it to raise it further. Your weapons can also break and disappear in that game but you can repair them with a simple, cheap item, that took up inventory space. Imagine starting with a rusty broadsword but as the game progresses you kept upgrading it and it eventually turned in to a royal broadsword. Letting the weapons grow with the player instead of just giving them a powerful sword. You can still do that though, in Dark Cloud you can break down a weapon (that's level 5 or higher) and it's stats will go into a gem that you can put into your newfound stronger weapon, so no time is ever wasted.

[@RazzleDFrazzle]

how could you post such an uncontroversial statement

[@notgrunge6045]

_Vagrant Story_ does indeed rule.

[@Conflict-ff5pi]

While we're complaining. Sliding down climbables when its raining is stupid and shouldn't be a feature, literally adds nothing except frustration if the weather's wrong. Also made me guaranteed never do anything while its raining in game, which is a shame cause it looks really good.

[@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0]

Even though it's entirely realistic? While I agree it's annoying, it's much more of a problem of not giving enough options for players to deal WITH it than a problem of it needing to be removed. Like having the climbing gear give enhanced gripping (thus encouraging the player to upgrade it) or finding gear that was limited (or breakable) that allowed you to climb without problem, so you would use it during the rain, but it wouldn't always be available and the rain would continue to serve as an obstacle to be overcome or dealt with or (yes) waited out.

[@fluidthought42]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 I'd be okay with that. Unique gear to deal with it would help a lot.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

@@ShinobiPhoenix-YT0 Reloading a save isn't realistic, hoarding meat isn't realistic, BEING IN STASIS FOR 100 YEARS IS NOT REALISTIC. Almost everything in this game isn't realistic even when it is close to being real. Realism shouldn't be used as an argument.

[@Lilly_Belle]

Not all Japanese devs, Plague! FFXIV's director Naoki Yoshida goes out of his way to implement small fan requests that he believes are good ideas. Hell, the dev team used their own personal time to rig as many head gear items as possible for the two newly added races (they weren't normally going to be able to show equipped head gear) and didn't tell Yoshida until it was time to add it. Yoshida himself holds Q&A streams with the beloved Community Manager Morbol and directly responds to everyone he can. There are absolutely amazing Japanese devs! Like with all countries too, I guess.

[@sodaftpm185]

Step down No Man's Sky. FFXIV is the biggest comback in gaming history.

[@ItsZorroDood]

I stopped worrying and caring about durability after the game threw dozens of increasingly more powerful and cool-looking weapons at my face.

[@ChaddyFantome]

Same. If you got to even halfway through the game and the game didn't break you of this mental block of needing to hold on to "precious", i don't know what to tell people. Especially since by that point, going to a specific place to get your weapon after a blood moon should be more than accessible anyway if you REALLY can't shake the habit.

[@spicyluvsyou]

Yes that sounds about right. If you have an idea where all the strong enemies spawn, you can easily restock strong weapons too. Not that the normal enemies don't drop strong weapons after a while.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

​@Nikzedik If the system sucks... why are you complaining that someone is complaining? YOU AGREE IT SUCKS. Even when you don't mind it, the system sucks. What if it... didn't suck. The people who like durability could enjoy it more. You could enjoy it more. You have no reason to complain about this... You make it sound like you're suffering from "Sunken Cost Fallacy"

[@Sharmanixs]

Great to see these rambling diatribes back in my life, never stop deconstructing plague!

[@brigandboy1425]

I hated the durability system in this game. I hated it so much that, despite every other aspect of the game, I never finished the game (and likely never will).

[@lemeres2478]

14:20 can confirm. I became a master at bombing. Which.... I guess that got me to interact with a system and playstyle I normally wouldn't use. It wasn't intended, but I very quickly learned how to account for terrain and slope to avoid bombing myself. It really helps that the bombs are AoE and stun/knock down, which makes them more viable despite their damage. But it made me miss the parry system entirely, since i didn't want to do simple safe melee. Which made the laser beams much more threatening.

[@Unf0rget]

Time to leave my hot take before watching the video! Breakable weapons are the only thing keeping exploration from being absolutely unrewarding. Korok seeds would have no worth otherwise and shrines are not enough to build a game around. That said, nintendo's baby proofing has neutered the potential of any resource management in the game. There's an abundance of everything so the player is always over prepared because they dread anyone getting stuck or having to turn away from an area or shrine. Botw 2 desperately needs more sections where the player can choose to power through or come back later when they're more prepared. Also there really needs to be something to lend growth to the game. New tools used to do that, now they have nothing. The game feels like a tutorial until hyrule castle; always holding my hand by never introducing anything new because they don't know if a player is ready for it yet. Every direction is world 1 level of engagement. Expanding the weapons and resources into a more strict system that opens up with new options could be one possible area to add gameplay growth. Recipes not meaning shit was a real bummer. Just stack as much meat as you need. In short, I want the whole game to capitalize on the feel of those first two to three hours where every weapon and resource was precious and useful. But this is nintendo and I doubt that will happen.

[@dandre3K]

Hotter take: exploration just sucks. Running/climbing and full gallop on a horse requires stamina. Weapons are literally trash. Korok seeds are literally shit. No enemy variety. Shrines are boring.

[@Unf0rget]

That sizzling list is stuff I agree with. In general the game is for people who want the fantasy of an open world no matter how much less gameplay there is. A happy median could exist that captures the majority of what both formats can do well. Doesn't seem likely so Id rather try and point out what a botw style could do better to bring it to a happy median between what was and what nintendo wants to do.

[@tylermcneeley3136]

With how KZbin has now added to where you can see the most replayed part of the video, it is fucking hilarious how spot on you are.