Renault on 18/5/2023 at 17:30
I'm a little lukewarm on this right now. It hasn't been like when I first played BOTW and I was super anxious to get back to it every night. I'm finding that it's best when I follow the story and do all the things you're supposed to do. When I freelance and just head out in some random direction to check out some remote part of the map, I usually end up getting bored and there's little payoff. Some of the of the areas are just wide open and empty, with very little to do and almost no reward for exploring (maybe a Korok seed, which is laughable, since there are 900 in the game and you'll probably run into all of those you need just playing the game naturally).
nicked on 19/5/2023 at 11:24
I really don't understand why people had a problem with the weapon degradation in BotW. There's weapons literally everywhere. It just made play more dynamic, always switching up what you're using. The Fuse mechanics in TotK just makes it more interesting.
Malf on 19/5/2023 at 12:20
Let me explain in more detail:
Start fight.
Note weaknesses of enemy and how movement helps you survive and deliver damage.
Start getting a feel for the "flow" of combat.
Weapon breaks.
Pause game.
Go in to inventory.
Pore through inventory looking for next best weapon to use. You may have a silly amount to sift through.
Pick weapon.
Unpause.
Resume fight, only to have to repeat this dance a few seconds later.
It was really fucking annoying.
I mean, if that's your thing, more power to you. But it just struck me as really shit game design.
Aja on 19/5/2023 at 13:01
I don't love the weapon degradation either, but you added a couple steps there. There's no pause/unpause — you press a button and you're automatically in your inventory, and you release it to get out. So it wasn't quite so jarring as you're making it seem.
My problem with degradation is that it made me never care about finding new weapons. Discovered a fancy sword in a chest? Who cares; it'll break in 10 minutes. It kind of ruined the sense of reward from beating a tricky shrine or clearing an enemy camp. I'm not sure yet if TOTK improves in that regard.
PigLick on 19/5/2023 at 13:25
the fuse mechanic does improve it, at least for me. It gives you a reason to do monster camps and such because instead of getting weapons you get monster parts which when fused increase a weapons attack power and also improves its durability. Some of the bigger monsters and bosses give you parts with huge attack increases.
I still dont think Malf will like it though, but I do find it improved over BotW.
Malf on 19/5/2023 at 13:53
Quote Posted by Aja
I don't love the weapon degradation either, but you added a couple steps there. There's no pause/unpause — you press a button and you're automatically in your inventory, and you release it to get out. So it wasn't quite so jarring as you're making it seem.
My problem with degradation is that it made me never care about finding new weapons. Discovered a fancy sword in a chest? Who cares; it'll break in 10 minutes. It kind of ruined the sense of reward from beating a tricky shrine or clearing an enemy camp. I'm not sure yet if TOTK improves in that regard.
It's been a while since I played it, but even if I did add a couple of steps, the point is that replacing a broken weapon
does take you to the inventory, breaking the flow of combat. And this is guaranteed to happen, sometimes more than once per fight.
But yeah, your second point also highlights one of my bugbears with the system, especially coming from earlier Zelda games, where finding a new weapon felt
momentous.
In BotW, it's inconsequential, with the exception of the Master Sword, which, surprise-surprise, doesn't break in the final dungeon.
Renzatic on 19/5/2023 at 16:05
Quote Posted by Malf
But yeah, your second point also highlights one of my bugbears with the system, especially coming from earlier Zelda games, where finding a new weapon felt momentous.
Nowaday, the momentous occasions are saved for armor. Finding an unvarnished sword is nice and all, but it doesn't compare to a sweet new suit that lets you stick to walls in the rain.
nicked on 19/5/2023 at 18:24
I guess it depends, if you're approaching it as though weapons are some sort of reward, then yeah, I guess it would be annoying. The way to think of it is more like a Hotline Miami, or a Super Hot, where weapons are disposable tools to be picked up and burnt through.
Aja on 19/5/2023 at 18:55
At least they let you swap out weapons from chests now. My enduring memory of BOTW is a chest slamming shut because I have no space in my inventory.
nicked on 19/5/2023 at 19:03
Yeah there's some little quality of life stuff in TotK which seem really obvious in hindsight.
