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Saltiest Knight 3 Jun @ 8:58pm

Are you really open to feedback?

Weapon durability is an overall annoying mechanic, I think you like it that is why is here, but it would be better on future games to throw that away. I would like to hear why you included it. Demo player here.

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Originally posted by Sinister Design:

Hey Saltiest Knight! Weapon durability is here for a few reasons.

First, it adds another dimension to resource management. Do you buy that strong weapon with fewer uses for an easier time in fights, or do you opt for something more durable for greater economic efficiency? If durability isn't a factor, there's just less to consider, rendering the process of shopping for weapons less interesting.

Second, it provides another dimension to your considerations during battle. Do you spend a use of your stronger weapon taking down an enemy, knowing that it'll be available for better counterattacks on the enemy turn, or do you switch to something weaker to conserve that weapon for situations when you really need those extra points of damage? Without durability, there's no reason not to just always use the stronger weapon every time. Having that extra element of resource management directly supports greater tactical complexity in fights.

Third, weapon durability helps support the game's main loop. In concert with the food mechanics, weapon durability ensures that the player is regularly forced to visit the shop and encounter new equipment with differing capabilities. This means that even if you stockpile food, you will still regularly be presented with resource management questions of the type mentioned in point one above.

Fourth, it helps to balance out the game's weapon-buffing mechanics. If you dump every whetstone, poisoned sheathe, and other weapon-buffing consumable you find onto a single weapon, you'll get something awesome and overpowered, but you won't be able to just blithely use it for every attack forever--you'll need to avoid overusing it (see point 2) and/or take care to maintain it with regular repair if you want it to stick around.

Suggestions: buy weapon repair kits whenever you see them (they show up fairly often in the shop) and rescue the blacksmith as soon as possible, and you shouldn't have to worry about weapons breaking too much. (Or, if you happen to recruit a former blacksmith to your team, you can order them to repair the group's weapons during a one-on-one.)

Or, you know, just do what Tacitus said and play on custom difficulty with weapon durability turned off. I'm not your mom. 😉

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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

Tacitus

3 Jun @ 9:28pm

I'll let the developer speak for himself, but if you want to play with weapon durability turned off you can. When selecting difficulty, click the right arrow and select Custom. Towards the end of the list of options you can choose to turn off weapon durability entirely.

The author of this thread has indicated that this post answers the original topic.

Sinister Design [developer] 4 Jun @ 6:06am

Saltiest Knight 4 Jun @ 10:54am

Originally posted by Sinister Design:
Hey Saltiest Knight! Weapon durability is here for a few reasons.

First, it adds another dimension to resource management. Do you buy that strong weapon with fewer uses for an easier time in fights, or do you opt for something more durable for greater economic efficiency? If durability isn't a factor, there's just less to consider, rendering the process of shopping for weapons less interesting.

Second, it provides another dimension to your considerations during battle. Do you spend a use of your stronger weapon taking down an enemy, knowing that it'll be available for better counterattacks on the enemy turn, or do you switch to something weaker to conserve that weapon for situations when you really need those extra points of damage? Without durability, there's no reason not to just always use the stronger weapon every time. Having that extra element of resource management directly supports greater tactical complexity in fights.

Third, weapon durability helps support the game's main loop. In concert with the food mechanics, weapon durability ensures that the player is regularly forced to visit the shop and encounter new equipment with differing capabilities. This means that even if you stockpile food, you will still regularly be presented with resource management questions of the type mentioned in point one above.

Fourth, it helps to balance out the game's weapon-buffing mechanics. If you dump every whetstone, poisoned sheathe, and other weapon-buffing consumable you find onto a single weapon, you'll get something awesome and overpowered, but you won't be able to just blithely use it for every attack forever--you'll need to avoid overusing it (see point 2) and/or take care to maintain it with regular repair if you want it to stick around.

Suggestions: buy weapon repair kits whenever you see them (they show up fairly often in the shop) and rescue the blacksmith as soon as possible, and you shouldn't have to worry about weapons breaking too much. (Or, if you happen to recruit a former blacksmith to your team, you can order them to repair the group's weapons during a one-on-one.)

Or, you know, just do what Tacitus said and play on custom difficulty with weapon durability turned off. I'm not your mom. 😉

Very detailed response, much appreciated, I understand now. Including the option to bypass that whole mechanic for casuals like me is also much appreciated, I will use it for sure.