Poll: Weapon degradation - yes or no?

[SajuukKhar]

Weapon degradation is a terrible system in any game IMO, its always either too fast, making weapons useless because they break so easy, or to slow, making the degradation system pointless to begin with.

What Skyrim did by removing it, and replacing it with the smithing system, which facilitates the same effect as the weapon degrade system, which is to say, giving those who have a high repair skill an edge in combat by having constantly higher damage/better armor rating, was a great move, because it gave the game gameplay mechanic, but with none of the flaws that weapon degrade systems have.

 

[TheLycanKing144]

I find weapon degradation to be annoying, it just feels like work and management. I want to play games for fun, not work or to worry about the condition of virtual gear, I can worry about things like that in real life. I find Skyrim to be better without it.

However there are a few games where I like it, such as Fallout 3/New Vegas. It makes the game feel more "scavenger" esque, so I guess it just depends on the game and it's atmosphere honestly.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I voted no based on how it's being implemented in games. If someone found a better way to implement that feature then I'd be OK with it if it makes sense in the game.

 

[Tanis]

I like it from time to time, but I CAN get old.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I think it would be hilarious if they added in random gun jams or a mechanic where it overheats if you fire more than 30 rounds per minute into something like Halo for example. I think weapon degradation can work as long as you remember the mechanic is there, and you don't wonder half an hour down the line why your sword is doing nothing against the big bad boss...

No, anything that adds more randomness to a multiplayer game is bad. I mean sure, it's more realistic, but reality isn't fun, that's why we play video games.

Besides, Halo does have overheating mechanics for a large number of guns.

 

[Xan Krieger]

I like it but then again my repair/armorer skill is always pretty high so it's never bothered me. If anything I like it because it adds a survival type element to games like the Elder Scrolls and the Fallout series. Personally I wish they'd have added it to Skyrim, didn't make sense that all the blades would stay forever sharp.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I'm rather ambivalent about degradation mechanics. It only works in certain games. But typically, to me, it's just one more chore. Blech.

 

[piinyouri]

Depends on how it's done and what game it's in.
Certain games just don't need it at all.
Torchlight II's frantic pace and arcade slash'em up mentality would be hindered greatly by a durability system, on the other hand some games are already hard enough and having a durability system would make them a nightmare, like Legend of Grimrock.

I have a friend who says it should never be used, says it has no value whatsoever.
I disagree and think it can add either an additional element of strategy, tactics, or sometimes just make the world feel a bit more alive.

 

[Netrigan]

I didn't mind it in Fallout 3 and New Vegas. There was so much fiddling around with the inventory that it was simple enough to keep track of it.

Absolutely hated it in Far Cry 2 where you were extremely limited in the number of guns you could carry and you had to eyeball your weapon model to figure out how much life it had left in it.

So I guess if the game encourages me to be rooting around in my inventory screen a whole lot, and said inventory screen isn't Mass Effect 1 awful, then I'm cool with it. I just don't want something needlessly fiddly.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Depends.

If a weapon can be fixed, then it's fine. If it can't, then that's bad.

Also, if a weapon breaks, is it repairable? Or gone forever? The former is fine. The later is very bad.

Dark Cloud 2 did it well, as did Kingdoms of Amalar.

 

[norashepard]

I think it is an interesting thing, but it really hasn't ever been done to my taste. It always either degrades too quickly (like in oblivion), or it degrades until it disappears so it's essentially a limited use item.

I would like a system where it does degrade, but it realistically effects the player, like a blunt sword doing less cutting damage (maybe hindering bleed effects), but slightly increased bruising or something, AND degrades a LOT SLOWER. Seriously if I have to repair my weapon mid-level you're doing it wrong.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I really liked the way it was handled in Betrayal at Krondor and Betrayal in Antara, and I guess I'm okay with how it works in Fire Emblem. The way it works in TES I could take or leave, though. The Betrayal games are weird -- they managed to make not only decaying weapons, but needing to eat and sleep fun. The first couple TES games did the sleeping thing pretty well, but not as well as Krondor and Antara. They have the kind of mechanics that typically get held up as examples of things you /don't/ put in a game because it's not fun, yet they manage to make it fun. I kind of want to load up BiA now.

 

[Doom972]

That depends on why it's there and whether or not it fits in with the other mechanics and creates balance.

Like mages being limited by their mana/spells per day and thieves by available shadows, warriors need to be limited too. Sometimes, stamina provides the necessary limitation, since a warrior without stamina can't do significant damage and can be easy to knock down - in that case, weapon/armor degradation might be unnecessary, but in other games a weapon/armor degradation system works better with the other mechanics, and a stamina system isn't implemented.

As for the Elder Scrolls - I agree that Skyrim is good as it is - without weapon/armor degradation.

 

[chadachada123]

I think it would be hilarious if they added in random gun jams or a mechanic where it overheats if you fire more than 30 rounds per minute into something like Halo for example. I think weapon degradation can work as long as you remember the mechanic is there, and you don't wonder half an hour down the line why your sword is doing nothing against the big bad boss...

No, anything that adds more randomness to a multiplayer game is bad. I mean sure, it's more realistic, but reality isn't fun, that's why we play video games.

Besides, Halo does have overheating mechanics for a large number of guns.

Who said anything about multiplayer?

Not the person you quoted, at least.

I think it'd be pretty damn cool if put into Halo's singleplayer, or practically any shooter's single player that takes place in a gritty environment that isn't a pure arcade shooter. As long as it isn't done terribly (Far Cry 2...), it wouldn't be much of a hindrance to the player.

OT: Dark Souls handled repairing well, since even no-bonfire runs are perfectly doable with repair powder, and allows for mechanics like attacks that degrade weapons/armor (Gaping Dragon, for example). Even the least durable of weapons don't degrade very quickly and cost little to fix, making it a believable and useful system.

 

[AntiChri5]

Weapon degradation is a terrible system in any game IMO, its always either too fast, making weapons useless because they break so easy, or to slow, making the degradation system pointless to begin with.

What Skyrim did by removing it, and replacing it with the smithing system, which facilitates the same effect as the weapon degrade system, which is to say, giving those who have a high repair skill an edge in combat by having constantly higher damage/better armor rating, was a great move, because it gave the game gameplay mechanic, but with none of the flaws that weapon degrade systems have.

Yeah, this.

A weapon upgrade system is preferable to a weapon degradation system. With weapons that degrade, a player is losing something. The more fun they have with a weapon, the less effective it gets, the less fun they can have with it. But an upgrade system rewards those who build up their crafting skill without punishing those who don't. People arent punished for not having high smithing, but people who do have high smithing still get bonuses. They can take any old piece of crap iron sword and work on that shit until it has sufficent damage for any enemy in the game.

 

[TallanKhan]

I hate weapon degredation. Yes it's realistic (to a degree anyway) but making my character stop for toilet breaks would too and I don't see anyone calling for that. I'm all for realism in games but when it starts treading on the toes of having fun it's going to get a less than heartfelt welcome from me.

 

[Gormech]

As a typical archer, I feel that counting how many arrows are taking up my inventory is enough of an issue to deal with.
That being said ...
All the DarkSouls guys will know what I mean when I say:
Knockdown + Acid Cloud

 

[spartan231490]

It depends on the game. It worked really well in fallout, and I had no problem with it in Amalur, though I do admit I have some issues with it in Oblivion.