LogFAQs > #973368013

wpot posted...

That would work well for a while. The problem is that, without breakage, you'll hit a limit where they stop being interesting fairly quickly even with a gradation and gates.

You would, but it would introduce the question of trading off better defense from higher-tier armour for bonus effects from lower-tier stuff, and allow a lot of flexibility to adjust how you play based on what you find first (vaguely roguelike-like, in that regard), more so than I think weapons do (you get access to all four main types pretty much immediately and can change that up any time you want because drops of all kinds are so plentiful). The system that exists now allows for armour customization based on what you choose to upgrade first, gated behind having to find certain materials, and I just think that putting weapons in that position (since there are fewer broad weapon types with more room for upgrade paths) and making armour the thing that's randomly found in the world (because there's greater variety and therefore potential to make every exploration reward unique) makes more sense.

wpot posted...

I'm not saying I liked BotW's durability partial "solution" to their "what to put in the world" problem, but I do appreciate what they were trying to do.

Yeah, whatever my opinion on the system, I do understand why they went with it. As I've said on other occasions, I did actually like the durability system in the very early game (and, by extension, on Eventide Isle), since it does contribute well to the theme of "you're helpless, good luck scavenging the things you need to fight your way out of here." It just grows out of that relatively quickly and becomes a simple maintenance task instead of a really interesting mechanic. That's why I'm optimistic about fusion: It turns that maintenance task into an opportunity to try something new based on what you can improvise from the environment. Is it going to be better than doing away with durability and coming up with a better way to incentivize exploration? I honestly kind of doubt it, but I am definitely interested in trying it out myself and I expect there to be some fun there.

wpot posted...

Of course I play differently also: I don't go in with a set build in mind. I like to keep exploring and building my character to be better and better...so long as that's fun to do. BotW allowed for that mindset better than Skyrim/Souls IMO.

That's very true. Of course, it managed that by simply not having any sort of meaningful "build" system beyond "do you want health or stamina first?", which isn't necessarily the same as allowing flexible build creation, but there is something to be said for games that don't require forethought to avoid screwing up your character.