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[Hoho for breakfast]

So I really want to like Breath Of The Wild but I just don't especially, and a big part of that is because of the weapons breaking. It's just plain not fun to me. I've played a few hours of Genshin Impact and I'm genuinely having more fun with it than BotW partly because I know I can shoot my bow and arrow or slash and smack my sword all day long with no worries of it breaking on me. So has anyone that liked BotWs system changed their mind because of Genshin Impact? Does anyone agree that GI is more fun because of it?

 

[Pejo]

It didn't take Genshin Impact for me to realize how shit the weapon durability mechanic was in BotW. Hell even the master sword, a sword of legend, breaks after 10 hits. Durability would have been acceptable (but still not great) if the weapons had a meter and allowed repairs like any other game with durability handles it. I'm not saying BotW should have been a looter game, but adding varying stats/bonuses to weapons would have been a more compelling reason to swap them than them breaking every 1.5 enemies (if you're lucky).

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

It didn't take Genshin Impact for me to realize how shit the weapon durability mechanic was in BotW. Hell even the master sword, a sword of legend, breaks after 10 hits. Durability would have been acceptable (but still not great) if the weapons had a meter and allowed repairs like any other game with durability handles it. I'm not saying BotW should have been a looter game, but adding varying stats/bonuses to weapons would have been a more compelling reason to swap them than them breaking every 1.5 enemies (if you're lucky).

Yep for sure. I like Bloodborne where you can use a weapon for quite awhile but they do degrade and need repaired every once in awhile. So some is ok but breaking like in BotW was garbage.

 

[jshackles]

I didn't particularly mind the weapon durability in BotW, but it was definitely the worst part of that game.

You're right though, Genshin Impact is a much better system, where weapons can be leveled up / powered up similarly to characters - and they don't break.

 

[Devilich]

Yes, Genshin impact is overall the better game even though Botw does a few aspects better.
To this day it boggles my mind why they thought it would be a good idea to implement such a horrendous mechanic.
Removing it would have made the game so much better.

 

[theHFIC]

I haven’t played GI but I could not stand the time I spent with BotW (played until that first elephant building divine beast or whatever they called it) for that reason.

Weapon breaking was just one of many poor design mechanics (the inventory system too) used in the game that would have resulted in it getting panned by fans and critics if it had anything other than Zelda in the game title. But that rose tinted nostalgia of Zelda is strong.

 

[InterMusketeer]

Not really. The combat is quite different, so I wouldn't directly compare them anyway. Breakable weapons have their issues (especially as a reward for exploring) but I didn't mind them as much as many others seem to.

 

[sainraja]

It didn't take Genshin Impact for me to realize how shit the weapon durability mechanic was in BotW. Hell even the master sword, a sword of legend, breaks after 10 hits. Durability would have been acceptable (but still not great) if the weapons had a meter and allowed repairs like any other game with durability handles it. I'm not saying BotW should have been a looter game, but adding varying stats/bonuses to weapons would have been a more compelling reason to swap them than them breaking every 1.5 enemies (if you're lucky).

I adjusted to the weapon durability aspect of the game but was not expecting the master sword to break or as they made it to (lose energy). I was really hoping the master sword would not break at all; the reason for why I put so much effort in getting it lol. I still find everything else in the game to be very well put together so I am now about to face the last divine beast before heading off to face Ganon.

 

[AJUMP23]

I thought weapons broke too quickly in BOTW. I know why they did it to force the player to experiment and do different things with combat, but I would like a flame sword to last longer, and I would think the Master Sword should never lose power.

 

[Esca]

I'm not a fan of breakable weapons but with that said, I feel it works in botw favor. Botw takes like 40+hours to beat and that's in the lower end. Having encounters change up combat constantly did break it up from same old all the time. So having to tackle each encounter a bit differently due to weapons and enemy types added a bit to the game

 

[Vindicator]

There are some QoL options if you play your backup copy of BotW in an emulator, no weapon degradation is one of them.

 

[PSYGN]

I always thought it was an annoying mechanic.
Same with small inventory.

 

[Grinchy]

I always thought it was an annoying mechanic.
Same with small inventory.

I think the small inventory may have made the weapon durability the problem in the first place. I feel like I was always trying to juggle a fire sword, frost sword, one of those blue magic weapons, and some shit weapons I collected. But then you'd find something new and not have the space, having to dump off your shit weapons, only to then fight something that broke one of your good ones, ect.

It was very unsatisfying inventory management.

 

[Soodanim]

What baffles me is that there would have been ways to implement more permanent weapons in BotW without breaking the system as it is. Having nothing to fall back on in a game where you're supposed to venture to unknown territory encourages keeping something just in case, and because weapons die so fast you end up keeping more. Then you factor in elements. You either don't give a shit about the weapons at all, in which case it's pointless having stats for them, or you do and you fill all your slots and play the "Which can I throw away for this rare drop I'm not going to use". I never found the balance.

Simply making the 4 races' reward weapons permanent, even if they became weaker over time and needed maintenance (and not some of the rarest things the game has) would have solved the entire thing.

But that aside, have I been making a mistake by ignoring this game?

 

[Danjin44]

For me I didn't mind weapon breaking because goal wasn't really about collecting weapons or personalizing them, this game is about exploring and while exploring I always found weapons to use so I never really did worry about it.

There are games about weapons like Monster Hunter Series, because that game is about hunting Monsters with those weapons and each weapon give you vastly different gameplay style.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

At the beginning the equipment breakage annoyed me greatly.

But once I got into the gameplay loop, I stopped caring. I feel that once you start opening the map, marking the weapons and treasure spots on the map and so on, you make do with what you find and you can always hit up the spots on the map to refresh your inventory if it gets that bad.

But I am aware it was a divisive design choice and I understand why.

 

[bender]

I don't mind weapon durability but BOTW's implementation was always overly aggressive to the point of annoyance and was only compounded by the fact that there were no repair options.

 

[crumbs]

No, not really. The combat is different between the two games, plus the weapon durability mechanic in BotW is pretty easy to work around, especially once you get past the early part of the game.

 

[LOLCats]

my mind didnt need to be changed

i despised durable weapons in botw, killed the game for me and its on my all time hate list.

 

[jshackles]

But that aside, have I been making a mistake by ignoring this game?

If you liked the exploration aspect of Breath of the Wild, it is on full display in Genshin Impact. No weapon durability is a huge plus as well.

Personally, I feel like Genshin delivers over and above BotW in it's delivery of an actual story. If this sounds in any way appealing to you, it's worth checking out since the game is free.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I always hated breaking weapons after 10 hits in BOTW. I didn't need my mind changed on that trash mechanic.

 

[GymWolf]

Lol like we needed another game to open our eyes about that trash mechanic.

 

[-Arcadia-]

The obsession with this is weird. I’m currently in a BotW replay (so no rose-tinted glasses), early on without a lot of inventory upgrades, and I simply carry a ton of swords, shields, and bows. Which are handed out like candy.

Granted, it’s disappointing when you find something as awesome as an electric sword, or a futuristic chainsaw, and you can’t use them for a little longer, but that’s not unlike Halo or an FPS, where you’re constantly cycling through new guns as they lose ammo, or getting special ones (rocket launcher, sword)) that only last for a bit.

Either some of you are doing it ass-backwards, and carrying one weapon at a time, or making a mountain out of a molehill for reasons one can only guess.

 

[Fbh]

Haven't played GI but weapon durability was the only thing in the game I thought was straight up bad.

It's not just annoying in itself but IMO it actually hurts the exploration and sense of reward in the game.
I've been exploring this rocky segment for 40 minutes, finally figured out how to reach the highest peak and once there I find a hidden burried treasure and my reward is... The 20th copy of the same sword that will break after 1 or 2 combat encounters.

 

[hemo memo]

Weapon breaking in BotW was awful then and still awful now. The only big flaw in otherwise perfect game.

 

[DarkestHour]

Weapon breaking mechanics are the dumbest things in gaming next to stealth missions.

 

[Neff]

Souls taught us to treat our fancy swords like waifus, BotW deliberately tries to un-teach us that and many don't like it.

Personally I enjoyed the strategy of picking the right tool for the job and having to get the most bang for my fragile buck.

 

[Bankai]

I really gotta check this game out. The more I read about it, the more enticing it becomes.

 

[DESTROYA]

The obsession with this is weird. I’m currently in a BotW replay (so no rose-tinted glasses), early on without a lot of inventory upgrades, and I simply carry a ton of swords, shields, and bows. Which are handed out like candy.

Granted, it’s disappointing when you find something as awesome as an electric sword, or a futuristic chainsaw, and you can’t use them for a little longer, but that’s not unlike Halo or an FPS, where you’re constantly cycling through new guns as they lose ammo, or getting special ones (rocket launcher, sword)) that only last for a bit.

Either some of you are doing it ass-backwards, and carrying one weapon at a time, or making a mountain out of a molehill for reasons one can only guess.

At first I was not a fan of the weapon durability mechanic myself but it actually grew on me the more I played BOTW.
It makes you take note of what you have before trying to tackle something and adds tension and strategy to the game besides mindlessly just trying to wipeout everything that crosses your path. ( but you can do that too )
Like you said weapons are handed like candy so running out is more on the player and the style they are playing.
I think the weapon durability mechanic adds more to the game than it takes away.

 

[-Arcadia-]

Souls taught us to treat our fancy swords like waifus, BotW deliberately tries to un-teach us that and many don't like it.

Personally I enjoyed the strategy of picking the right tool for the job and having to get the most bang for my fragile buck.

I think it adds some interesting dynamics. All of a sudden, instead of having an endless list of swords that you only use the strongest one of, you’re thinking about strategy. Do I want to waste this powerful flame sword on this scrub enemy? Or save it to destroy a tougher enemy, or simply just keep warm in the snow? Do I want to hold onto this ancient weaponry for the next time I’m in it with Guardians?

There’s a lot of cool micro-level, in-the-moment decisions, that come about because of this system.

 

[Neff]

I think it adds some interesting dynamics. All of a sudden, instead of having an endless list of swords that you only use the strongest one of, you’re thinking about strategy. Do I want to waste this powerful flame sword on this scrub enemy? Or save it to destroy a tougher enemy, or simply just keep warm in the snow? Do I want to hold onto this ancient weaponry for the next time I’m in it with Guardians?

There’s a lot of cool micro-level, in-the-moment decisions, that come about because of this system.

Exactly. You're spoiled for choice initially, but good decisions mean that you'll continue to be spoiled for choice when traversing harsher environments and facing tougher foes.

A balanced inventory is your ally in BotW, but mindless abuse loses that balance. And sometimes, lack of balance can be a thrill. The nature of weapon degradation makes every encounter fresh and surprising.

 

[Lethal01]

If you liked the exploration aspect of Breath of the Wild, it is on full display in Genshin Impact. No weapon durability is a huge plus as well.

Personally, I feel like Genshin delivers over and above BotW in it's delivery of an actual story. If this sounds in any way appealing to you, it's worth checking out since the game is free.

I feel like the problem with BoTW story is that I wanted more. but what was there had good characters and good dialouge.
Genshin impact just reads like a really mediocre generic anime adaption meant to sell toys. I don't care if it feels more "complete" since it never made me interested in the first place.

boring dialouge and weak character design.

I think the game definitely has it's own strengths though. Just ones that are very different to what I think many like about BoTW.

 

[Lethal01]

Not at all. it's still a great mechanic and I'm hoping they don't change it in the sequel.

All I want is a bunch of quality of life stuff for inventory management (let me hit a button to switch a weapon with the one I try to pick up).

the only thing from Genshin impact that I really want implemented in BoTW is that they limit how much food you can eat.

 

[DonJuanSchlong]

There are some QoL options if you play your backup copy of BotW in an emulator, no weapon degradation is one of them.

Higher quality textures, higher resolution, 60 fps option, no weapon durability, and clearing the fog, were the only ones I selected. I looooove Zelda games, but this one irked me so much because of the durability aspect.

 

[kunonabi]

The mechanic was always terrible. Even if we agree that it fulfills a purpose, which it doesn't really, it eventually becomes a dead mechanic. As the game goes on you end up swimming in weapons to the point where it's just a minor inconvenience in battle, especially since most weapons work pretty much the same way, while also turning most treasure chests into useless awards that you can't even take advantage of without dropping a weapon to make space for it. It's a non-factor for far longer than it is a meaningful gameplay element and causes far more problems than it solves.

 

[Kev Kev]

ive never understood the weapons breaking complaint.

like i have zero idea what he problem was. it was never an issue for me. i didnt even realize people were complaining about until months and months after the game came out. i must have missed something bc it still has me scratching my head

 

[Mithos]

Higher quality textures, higher resolution, 60 fps option, no weapon durability, and clearing the fog, were the only ones I selected. I looooove Zelda games, but this one irked me so much because of the durability aspect.

And with the newest version of CEMU, 16x Anistropic Filtering.

 

[LordCBH]

Weapon durability stopped the game from being a 9/10 for me and made it like a 7/10

 

[ZZZZ]

The problem i had with BoTW is that i refuse to use weak shit, especially after dozens of hours in, so every time my good stuff broke, i'd go back and farm them, it just took away the enjoyment for me.
Playing on CEMU with save editors (so i don't have to worry about stuff breaking) and 60+fps, made the game a lot more fun for me.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

BotW's weapon durability was shit then and it's shit now. Worst mechanic in any Zelda game by a longshot.

It was the first MOD I installed when playing it on Cemu.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

I've never liked BotW's weapon's being as brittle as a katana. Nor did I like having to avoid fights in a Zelda game. So nothing has changed I guess.

 

[LegendOfKage]

Thank you Link for defeating that awful creature and saving our land. As a reward for your bravery, I would like to present you with this legendary weapon! It was expertly crafted over 300 years ago, and passed down for generations, never once having been used. It has been appraised by the greatest forge masters throughout the land, and all agree, the world has never seen it's equal. It will break after using it for 10 minutes.

BOTW isn't a great game because of breakable weapons, it's a great game despite breakable weapons. I really didn't find the system all that bad, but the worst thing about it by far is that it makes every "best weapon ever" item you find in a chest feel cheap and worthless. Instead you just use good weapons that you already have several copies of, either because you already used those legendary weapons and they broke right away, or you save them and end up never using them. Either way doesn't feel good.

Aside from that, Genshin Impact doesn't have better combat than BOTW, it has combat that's completely different from BOTW. It's very much it's own thing in that respect, but they're both good games.

 

[Bonfires Down]

BotW has some problems but weapon durability is a complete non-issue.

 

[Rat Rage]

Weapons breaking is one of the best features in BotW! I don't know what OP is talking about. Some people are crying about the weirdest shit. Especially in a time where many games have become overly formulaic and bland, a change in gameplay design such as breakable weapons is great.

Not all games have to be the same. If it's nothing for you, so be it. You can still enjoy the hundreds of games out there without a weapon breaking machanic, especially if you don't appreciate and/or understand why it's so important to BotW's overall gameplay design to have such a feature.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[MarkMe2525]

I initially didn't like the weapons breaking but over time it became a moot point. It also forced me to think outside the box instead of me optimizing the fun out of the game. Soo many great games lose their appeal to me once I figure out the optimal tactics, it turns into rinse and repeat every battle.

 

[JORMBO]

Old opinion: Weapon breaking is garbage
Updated opinion: Weapon breaking is garbage

 

[-Arcadia-]

the only thing from Genshin impact that I really want implemented in BoTW is that they limit how much food you can eat.

This, I really like. I often try not to eat food during battle, or ridiculous amounts of it, to add a little extra spice to things, especially as the game challenges less with better equipment.

Of course, when it comes down to the last heart, I always scramble for the menu.

 

[Rean no Kiseki]

I didn't mind it at first but it did kill my drive to explore since any cool weapon or shield you find will be broken in 20 hits or less.

I hope they fix this in BOTW 2 and the fix is simple enough especially for those who claim it encourages switching weapons, make a better more thought out combat system with each weapon having an attack attribute, swords (slash)/ spear (pierce)/hammer (smash) similar to Ys 7 and onwards, make unique loot/quest that awards them, and voila exploration is meaningful and rewarding and the combat system is engaging and fun.

All that remains is making a good story/dialogue but this Nintendo in house and not Monolith so i expect no changes on that front, Nintendo can't change up their Micky Mouse.

 

[Enzo88]

Not gonna play a game where i can't use the words Taiwan and HK, so i will never know...but nah, Botw is amazing as it is.