Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom It will be released very soon exclusively for Nintendo Switch, and it is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated sequels of the generation.
After the indisputable success that was Breath of the Wild, fans have really high expectations for this sequel. We hope to see not only a new story, but also innovative mechanics that renew the gameplay without limiting our ways of playing.
But aside from some additions, many players are hoping to see some heavily criticized elements of the first game fixed. However, Nintendo has decided to keep one of the most controversial mechanics we saw in The Lenged of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The controversial mechanic that returns in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom It will not only bring new enemies and features, but also try to revamp some old ones.
In a recent gameplay of the game, it was confirmed that this will be the case of the criticized durability mechanic, which represents the wear of objects before breaking forever. This includes weapons, which in The Legend of Zelda. Breath of the Wild were pretty much consumable items.
The durability mechanic is not highly regarded in adventure games, but it is quite typical in RPGs. In fact, it has been successfully implemented in some of the gems of the genre available on Switch, such as the acclaimed Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition.
The feature wasn’t as well-liked in the first game, though, and it’s coming to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with some adjustments. But first you have to understand why this feature was so criticized in the first place.
What made durability so controversial in BOTW?
And Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has taken action on the matter, it is clear that the company recognizes the criticism that the durability feature received in the prequel.
The difference between Zelda: Breath of the Wild and other games with the durability feature is that the latter often offer ways to repair weapons. Whether through a blacksmith or with your own hands, it is normal to invest resources to recover your utensils.
However, in Zelda: Breath of the Wild you couldn’t help but lose your weapons with use. The developers wanted players to get out of their comfort zones by always trying new weapons and looking for other ways to deal with enemies.
But this layer of strategy also brought its downsides. Players felt self-conscious about facing some camps or collecting resources in order not to lose their precious weapons. It was also possible to wear down a weapon during combat, in which case you had to pause the action to search your inventory for a replacement. It’s also not fun having your inventory full of junk, and not all players are equally good at managing their resources.
So the developers achieved their goal of challenging players, but the feature was also annoying for combat. That is why they had to invent a creative solution with Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The solution of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to durability
Maybe Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom The durability has been maintained, but a small adjustment could solve the frustration of many players.
Basically now a combine function is added, which will allow Link to join two objects to form a new one. Although its use is broader, its main function will be to create weapons and shields. But the most interesting thing about this feature is that the combination will reset the durability of the item.
This means that we will no longer write off weapons with low durability in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but they will become materials for a possible combination. The resources needed to combine it are obtained by defeating enemies and exploring camps, so wearing down weapons will also help you repair them in the future.
But this does not mean that weapons will be infinite, since we still don’t know everything about the combination function. This will depend on how many freedoms this feature allows us, but the prognosis looks good. The ability to combine a torch with a weathered stick and create a kind of flaming spear seems quite useful. Especially when you’re in enemy territory and you think your weapon or shield has few attacks left.
This solution is a middle ground that attempts to fix durability issues without removing the feature entirely. We will have to wait until May 12, 2023 to find out in the new Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
