Skyrim does away with weapon degradation

28 August 2011

While many RPGs strive to distinguish themselves from others, most of them generally carry a lot of the same themes and ideas. Spells to be learned, levels to be gained, items to be uncovered and weapons to be bought; most RPG games are made from the same mould, with the real difference being in getting a polished and engaging final product.

As such, we enter most RPGs with a certain expectation of what kinds of chores and labours we’ll have to perform in order to achieve our goals as greatest warrior/sorcerer/necromancer in the realm.

The highly anticipated Skyrim, the fifth game in the lauded Elder Scrolls series, is breaking a long-running RPG stable – there will be no armor and weapon degradation. Ordinarily one has to repair one’s weapon and armor after a bit of hammering critters, but Skyrim’s decided to drop that.

A fan of the game on Twitter, going under the apt moniker of “elderscrollsftw”, asked Bethesda Softworks Marketing VP Pete Hines, “Hey Pete, I’m just wondering, do weapons and armor degrade in Skyrix, like with their own health? Also, is there visual damage?”

To which Hines replied, “No and no.” He went on to elaborate, “We replaced that with creating/improving weapons/armor, instead of spending lots of time getting them back to where they were.”

Thus in Skyrim you no longer have to bother with repairing anything, but will be able to improve and craft them. Depending on your disposition, this could be a big deal, or it could be nothing at all.

Fans of the game may be happy to hear that the somewhat laborious duty has been cut out, while others may feel that it takes away from the realism of the game, thus compromising the all-important immersion factor. Others may just not care either way. Which side of the fence are you on?

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