When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released back in 2017, it took the gaming world by storm, enticing fans of the series and newcomers alike into its in-depth world and intricate gameplay. Five years later, its sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, has finally gotten its first major gameplay video, sending everyone into a frenzy trying to pick apart all of the exciting new content that is coming in the game.
Yet, while there are a lot of people that are highly anticipating what’s to come in Tears of the Kingdom, there’s a large portion of the fan base that are eagerly awaiting the answer to one question regarding one of the original title’s core mechanics: weapon durability and degradation. That’s right, the great debate on whether this should return is back in full swing!
For anyone that might not have played Breath of the Wild, a big topic of debate among the community was the fact that weapons break after a certain amount of usage. There’s a lot of people that love this, while just as many gamers (like myself) couldn’t even get into the game whatsoever due to this mechanic. Heck, even a lot of people that love Breath of the Wild admit that the weapons break way too easily.
The argument in the “for” camp is that even though weapons break easily, it isn’t really a big deal because there are always so many different ones around to pick up. On top of this, it can be argued that losing these items can make fights more of a fun scramble, as you can go into a battle with the edge, but need to audible when your good sword breaks.
The “against” camp tends to argue that having to get more of the same type of weapons over and over – the ones that you’ve really come to enjoy – makes gameplay tedious and frustrating. Combine this with the fact that the earlier portion of the game can be a bit more frustrating, as weapons break far more easily, leaving you with low-level bone clubs and sticks, and it’s not hard to see how it could stop some people from enjoying the game.
Gamers that have a neutral stance on the mechanic, those who don’t like it but still love the game, have often stated that they think that the system could be improved upon instead of gotten rid of entirely in Tears of the Kingdom. Some have even suggested that weapons should have the ability to be repaired and even enhanced, and when broken should be able to be fixed.
This idea seems to be a solid middle ground between the two arguments since it alleviates the issue of losing your favorite weapon altogether simply because you liked to use it. Personally, this seems like it would be the best solution, as it’s a mechanic that worked well in The Witcher 3, another game that featured weapon durability that also allowed you to repair items once broken.
What do you think? Should Tears of the Kingdom have weapon durability again? Should it abandon the idea altogether? Or is there a compromise between the two arguments that can be had? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
