Poll: Weapon degradation - yes or no?

[sumanoskae]

I fuckin' hate it. The amount of times I've died because my gun broke during a firefight in Fallout, or my weapon snapped in Oblivion/Dead Rising (FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU- so many times in DR) is staggering. I know some people prefer it, and say that is adds difficulty and strategy to the game. And good for them for having the patience to deal with it. But I wish there were games were you had a tonne of gameplay elements which you could change in the options menu, weapons degradation being one of them.

Another, which me and my flatmate discussed while playing Bioshock Infinite, was the concept of mana. I know, a little off topic. But my flatmate was playing Bioshock on hard, and hardly ever used the powers because he kept running out of salts, and ended up using that water tentacle one only twice, the lightning one once, and not even using that damage absord one at all. I on the other hand, used a trainer to give me unlimited salts. The game was still damn hard on hard, but I got to use all the Vigors in various ways. It also hindered some mad stunts you could've pulled in Dishonored.

Agreed, I've never been fond of magic as a finite resource. The only way to play a spell caster is to drip feed yourself with mana potions, which is the least satisfying way to win a fight on the planet.

Cooldowns work a lot better if you ask me.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

In the past it's ranged from really annoying to slightly annoying. The only case where it hasn't bothered me at all is in fallout, since it kind of fits with the survival motif. It's still annoying as a game mechanic but it helps with theming so I guess it evens out.

 

[PirateRose]

I believe there is a time and a place for it, it doesn't suit all games. I really love it in Fallout and Elder Scrolls for example. But I couldn't see it in a game like Mass Effect or Assassins Creed.

 

[lord.jeff]

It really depends on how it's handled, games that just throw it in without it adding any extra challenge it just becomes an extra annoying step(Elder Scrolls and Assassin's Creed 2 and onward is an example of the wrong way to do it). On the other hand it can be used to create extra tension much like you get in shooters when you're down to your last clip and trying to avoid shot outs.

 

[madster11]

Either go all the way, or skip it entirely.

If you're gonna have weapon degradation in, for example, and elder scrolls game, the way it's done in Oblivion is shit. It SHOULD be a dynamic system - ie, armor protects less and weapons do less damage the more they're damaged. However, it should show/tell you what condition your stuff is in all the time, and it HAS to work the same way on enemies. If you're using degradation as a gameplay element, you should be able to use spells/arrows from a distance on a big boss to chip away at their armor, and be able to see the damage you're doing to said armor.
Go all the way, and make it so that every time your equipment drops below 50% you lose 5% off the total it can be repaired to. Make NPCs who can push it up to 110% durability.


As for games that have implemented it in the past, what stands out for me is Far Cry 2, in which the fucking AK-47 jams all the time. THE AK FUCKING 47. NO. BAD FAR CRY. NO.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I voted no because while some degradation can be acceptable in certain games it does not always work for most games with Dead Island being a certain culprit.

During most of my time spent in that game I'd gotten some decent crafted weapons which at the time had relatively good stats and for the most part were doing their job pretty well, right up until the point where the more I upgraded them the more faster they degraded which in turn burned all kind of holes into my ingame wallet and became much more of a chore which in turn took me out of the enjoyment of immersion and the games world itself.

Dead island really could have extended the amount of hits on crafted or upgraded weapons and maybe take down a little of the cost in repairing them seeing as how the money was used for other items and not just repairing.

Hopefully Dead Island Riptide will have improved upon the degradation system so you don't have to pay both a truckload of cash and spend little time in combat just to have fun with what you craft because I did love the weapons I crafted in the first game but got little enjoyment due to repair costs and the amount of times I had to repair everything.

 

[tangoprime]

I'd say, most of the time, no. If it is done right and adds more to the game, sure. I remember it was fine in the STALKER games and added more to them, and the misfire and jamming effects were awesome, too. Dead Island, however, it seems like after four hits the weapon was completely broken. Or in Fallout 3 they seemed to degrade rather quickly. I know for a fact that I've put at least 1,000 rounds through my AK and there was only one misfire (oddly with the person who had never fired a gun before, so I'm wondering if she somehow had something to do with it).

It has to be said though, I had to mod my STALKER: CoP to make the weapons last longer and improve condition in loot tables. I got really tired of having to spend more money on repairs than on ammunition. I hated weapon degradation in Oblivion, and tend to not like it in general because as SajuukKhar mentioned elsewhere in this thread, it's either too fast and is annoying, or too slow and pointless. I have to agree that it was done OKAY in the first Shadow of Chernobyl, and yes, those tense moments clearing jams were kind of awesome when they happen occasionally, not after like 2 magazines like they do in CoP, lol.

Again, have to agree with SajuukKhar in that the system in Skyrim was much better. Instead of fixing damage, you got to improve your smithing skill which let you hone your weapons and armor better. A combination of this, and a decently paced degradation system similar to in the first STALKER game would be acceptable for survival horror type games. Just have your weapon require occasional cleaning and maintenance, and the better you get at the skill, the better the condition and performance of your weapons.

I also liked how Fallout NV took into account the ammunition type being used, but disliked that you couldn't just repair things yourself without kits or giving up other weapons.

 

[Requia]

It can be done well if part of the theme of the game is dealing with resources, and its not done in a shitty way.

The inability to repair weapons yourself except by sacrificing another weapon made certain guns in Fallout 3 nearly unusable because of rarity+fragility, while making it nothing but busy work for guns that mooks carry. New Vegas was a bit better because weapon repair was portable + all weapons used the same repair item, but it came out so easy that it might as well have not been there.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I'd say, most of the time, no. If it is done right and adds more to the game, sure. I remember it was fine in the STALKER games and added more to them, and the misfire and jamming effects were awesome, too. Dead Island, however, it seems like after four hits the weapon was completely broken. Or in Fallout 3 they seemed to degrade rather quickly. I know for a fact that I've put at least 1,000 rounds through my AK and there was only one misfire (oddly with the person who had never fired a gun before, so I'm wondering if she somehow had something to do with it).

[...]

I also liked how Fallout NV took into account the ammunition type being used, but disliked that you couldn't just repair things yourself without kits or giving up other weapons.

Not sure about with NV, but in Fallout 3 I downloaded a mod that let you repair guns with scrap metal or similar guns (assault rifles could be used to repair other assault rifles) for that very reason. They didn't even have kits there, so I have to carry a ton of rifles to repair my rifle when it degraded too much.

 

[hermes]

No.

I know its realistic, but it only adds an artificial constraint to force you to visit the smith periodically, reducing the incentive to explore the world by yourself.

 

[Da Orky Man]

I only really like it in games with a survival element in it. Degradation suits Fallout just fine, but I'm not keen on it in Oblivion. Skyrim was quite the improvement in that.