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Jimquisition: Weapon Durability, Fanbase Fragility (Mar. 13th, 2017)

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Nepenthe

Member
I get that argument but the same can be said and white people. What do they know about white people.

Which white people? Americans? Surely not. America is a multicultural country through both historical force and willing immigration. To expect white Americans to be as insular as Japanese people living in Japan in terms of race relations is giving them a mile.
 

hank_tree

Member
Sure it does, especially if you consider the tools the game gives you over time. You DO get a sword that doesn't break but just needs a 10 minute recharge, along with super murder filled lightning that can dispatch those once brutal fights in pretty short time. I find I have an abundance of opportunity to pick up good weapons, especially as the game further spawns more and more silver/white versions of enemies.

I am always leaving good weapons behind, not scrounging to find another. I also made a house to store my best gear just because I saw no need to carry it around.

It really just depends on how you approach it, I was very concerned about weapons breaking in this game but I find it's pretty manageable as it is. Good weapons can wipe out many enemies before breaking, and if you hit a crappy one with it, it barely damages it at all. If you're fighting a tough enemy they will always drop something cool, the Lynels drop a nice shield, bow AND melee weapon despite maybe losing one weapon in the process. I don't see how it's not worth it myself.

Sorry I think you've missed my point. I'm saying that it isn't worth fighting hard enemies early in the game for good gear because it won't last. Instead you can just get through, like I have with the gear you find lying around.

What would be more fun, I think, is a game that gave you good rewards for fighting enemies that are way outside your gear level. But this game doesn't do that.

And it's not worth fighting enemies in the late game because you have the master sword and their drops are worthless.

Basically at no point in the game is combat rewarding. Unless you find it rewarding for it's own sake. Which I don't in this game.
 

guek

Banned
Well I have a full set of really ncie weapons cos I rarely engage in combat. If I do get into a fight I'll break one of my good weapons and probably replace it with a weapon that's less good. I'm swimming in monster parts and rupees so that's not a draw anymore.

Weapons are meant to be used, dude!

giphy.gif


btw, how far are you in the game? Because I'm like 50hrs in and there are still a bunch of rupee sinks that I'm always working towards. I'm also playing really slow though and only have done 2 dungeons.
 

goldenpp72

Member
Sorry I think you've missed my point. I'm saying that it isn't worth fighting hard enemies early in the game for good gear because it won't last. Instead you can just get through, like I have with the gear you find lying around.

What would be more fun, I think, is a game that gave you good rewards for fighting enemies that are way outside your gear level. But this game doesn't do that.

And it's not worth fighting enemies in the late game because you have the master sword and their drops are worthless.

Basically at no point in the game is combat rewarding. Unless you find it rewarding for it's own sake. Which I don't in this game.

Oh, well that's a bit more valid, however you can also hold those weapons back and save them to fight other tougher enemies, and built up your inventory as well if so desired. The point is the system has a lot of balance consideration to it, while maybe not perfect, I can't think of an ungated open world game that does difficulty balance better.
fuck no.

the master sword is trash

Pretty harsh, it shoots laser beams if you try to throw it at full health, has decent durability and does 30 damage at basic and 60 when powered up, which would put it as one of the better weapons in the game considering you can also use a shield with it.
 
You're right, to be fair, it doesn't. But bear in mind, they're a Japanese company. Do you really expect them to conform to the race demographics of your own country?

But they are also evoking Western aesthetics and tropes. Medieval castles, knights and princesses aren't exactly Japanese.
 
Sorry I think you've missed my point. I'm saying that it isn't worth fighting hard enemies early in the game for good gear because it won't last. Instead you can just get through, like I have with the gear you find lying around.

What would be more fun, I think, is a game that gave you good rewards for fighting enemies that are way outside your gear level. But this game doesn't do that.

And it's not worth fighting enemies in the late game because you have the master sword and their drops are worthless.

Basically at no point in the game is combat rewarding. Unless you find it rewarding for it's own sake. Which I don't in this game.

This is the complete opposite of my experience. Killing or disarming early blue enemies is immensely rewarding, as is taking on silver enemies in the late game, who almost always drop weapons that far surpass the Master Sword.
 

Majukun

Member
still convinced that whoever says that weapon durability shouldn't be in the game doesn't know what he/she is talking about.

I mean you can not like it..but the game would work nowhere as good as it does if that mechanic wasn't there
 

RobbieNick

Junior Member
I agree with him on some points.

Getting a rare weapon only to have it break right away is not fun. Nor will it ever be.

"Using a strong weapon to defeat weaker enemies makes the game too easy." Not exactly. If in a normal RPG, I level up and have stronger weapons, then naturally the older enemies would be easy to kill. That's a natural progression. I'm progressing forward. Getting stronger weapons to fight stronger enemies.

Weapons that are more tools than anything (torches, Woodsman's Axe, Koko Leaf) should be separate stock from the regular weapons IMO.
 

MTC100

Banned
I guess some people play games for the challenge and new ideas they bring to the table, some people just want to breeze through a game while being told how and what to do the whole way through. Not saying one way is wrong or right, its just obvious that the folks complaining don't want to put any effort into adapting their playstyle to fit the situation. Instead they complain that the game doesn't work exactly the way they want. Is this what is considered an "entitled gamer?" That's a question for another discussion that has been done before and doesn't end well.

Interesting, you might very well have hit the spot there. The funny thing is, unlike other Zeldas that are guilty of hand-holding the player like most other modern games nowadays, this one doesn't and for Jim that seems also be the reason why he wouldn't rate BotW even in his top 5 list of best Zelda games.

To sum it up: This Zelda is very much about gameplay and exploration, less so about story or leading the player around. It's a lot like Mario 64 if you think about it, in that game you were shown practically nothing but a written hint to reach that precious star, how to get it was up to the player to figure it out. This was something that made M64 so appealing and now is something that makes some people despise breath of the wild.

Well I guess those people are in for a rough time, it doesn't look like Mario Odyssey will be the hand-holding kind you came to know from the Mario 3D Land/World series(and to some extent even the Mario Galaxy series, where you were guided along the level most of the time too).
 
I'm not even that big of a fan of Jim's but donating to his Patreon now just to spite all the manbabies throwing hissy fits.

Jim's a genius. If he offered ppl to lick his balls, half of the ppl from this thread would go line up in front of him right now just for bringing Zelda's Metacritic down to 97....lol.
 

Harmen

Member
Nobody expected him to give BOTW a perfect score - but a 7 solely because he didn't like weapon durability, is beyond harsh. An 8 or 9 based on that criticism is understandable - but a 7?

Have you read his review? Because he addresses several other points he did not like as well.
 

hank_tree

Member
So this



Isn't about effort? I'm saying effort:reward have seemed almost perfectly matched for me. Not always, but most of the time.

If you see the post I quoted, I was literally saying it isn't worth going to the castle at the start of the game to grind out really good weapons.
 

Caelus

Member
Weapons that are more tools than anything (torches, Woodsman's Axe, Koko Leaf) should be separate stock from the regular weapons IMO.

You never really need to pick them up once you have the Shiekah runes.

Like, do people forget they have an infinite supply of bombs, magnetic powers and the ability to freeze time? There are other ways to approach combat than just wailing on enemies with the weapons you have.
 

RRockman

Banned
To be honest though, what you described up there sounds awesome. If I forced my way through a really tough battle I should be rewarded with something more meaningful than a bow that will last for 15-20 shots.



Well I have a full set of really ncie weapons cos I rarely engage in combat. If I do get into a fight I'll break one of my good weapons and probably replace it with a weapon that's less good. I'm swimming in monster parts and rupees so that's not a draw anymore.

Then don't? the beauty of the game is how you choose to play it. What I would do since I seem to have these super awesome weapons that you and Jim seem to have, would be to go fight silver lynels so I can get star fragments. Those are incredibly rare and needed to upgrade certain armor sets. Are you fully stocked on those too?
 

Lynx_7

Member
I think this is a system people will have to agree to disagree. It's divisive at its very core and there's not much that can be done to change that. To each their own.

Personally, I like weapon durability as implemented on BOTW. Many people have already argued the benefits of said system from a balancing perspective. I like that I can explore the world and complete sidequests at my own pace and the game still feels properly balanced. I'm never walled off from places I want to explore, there's no risk of massively "overleveling" and there's also no level scaling that kills the purpose of leveling systems in the first place. I'm like 40 hours in and at that point in FF XV I was massively above the required main quest level due to wanting to explore the world. In BOTW, it still feels like I'm appropriately powered for the main quest even after spending dozens of hours doing unrelated stuff. The weapon durability system is partly responsible for that and I will always defend its implementation in the game. It's an enjoyable system that makes me think creatively and mix it up when I don't want to waste a weapon. I just wish there were more "movesets" available for each weapon.
 

aBarreras

Member
Pretty harsh, it shoots laser beams if you try to throw it at full health, has decent durability and does 30 damage at basic and 60 when powered up, which would put it as one of the better weapons in the game considering you can also use a shield with it.

i mean, yes i'm being harsh.

it helps me sometimes when i dont want to waste a good weapon, but the master sword was such a let down, i finnaly had the hearts to take it and i went to the lynel on zoras domain to see how powerful it was, it broke before even depleting half the life of the freaking lynel!

i mean c-mon!

since then, i just use it to dont waste other weapons
 

Holiday

Banned
Look at it from the principle of Occam's Razor. The principle of Occam's Razor suggests that given two explanations, the simpler of the two is usually the correct one. So is it that under Jim Sterling's masterful reviewing skills, that just because he doesn't like tbe way weapon durability is handled he docks the game 3 points...

...or is it that he just gravely dislikes Nintendo and loves trolling Nintendo and Zelda fans and preceded his review by releasing menacing, trolling tweets aimed directly at Nintendo and Zelda fans; then releases a very shockingly-low scoring review for the game and coincidentally makes a video *almost as if he already had most of it done already* the day after said review.

You can make up your own minds based on that.
lol this is the best. Which is simpler: he actually thought it was a 7/10, or he concocted a multi-part campaign on twitter and his website that culminated in this video? How can you cite Occam's Razor and then choose the more complicated side? Or is this a masterwork troll?
 

goldenpp72

Member
I just can't think of a time when that ever happens. Unless you go totally ham with rare weapons immediately.

It doesn't happen if you don't transfix on one weapon as an obsession, that's the point. I also cant think of many RARE weapons that are hard to get back, I save them for big fights and they pay off.

i mean, yes i'm being harsh.

it helps me sometimes when i dont want to waste a good weapon, but the master sword was such a let down, i finnaly had the hearts to take it and i went to the lynel on zoras domain to see how powerful it was, it broke before even depleting half the life of the freaking lynel!

i mean c-mon!

since then, i just use it to dont waste other weapons

Aside that, it's amazing against one of the most brutal enemies, the guardians. It definitely has its place but it is a tool like everything else (a very valuable one, as I too often use it to 'break' it to preserve other weapons)
 

aBarreras

Member
It doesn't happen if you don't transfix on one weapon as an obsession, that's the point. I also cant think of many RARE weapons that are hard to get back, I save them for big fights and they pay off.



Aside that, it's amazing against one of the most brutal enemies, the guardians. It definitely has its place but it is a tool like everything else (a very valuable one, as I too often use it to 'break' it to preserve other weapons)

yup, i love it against guardians, and to make some dent on lynels before taking out the good stuff :p
 

MTC100

Banned
This is the complete opposite of my experience. Killing or disarming early blue enemies is immensely rewarding, as is taking on silver enemies in the late game, who almost always drop weapons that far surpass the Master Sword.

I think people have false expectations about the Master Sword, it's a legendary weapon, however it's not because it simply does the most damage. To be fair, the Master Sword also wasn't that strong in Ocarina of Time either -compared to the biggoron sword, it's main advantage was that you could hold a shield alongside it but other than that the two handed biggoron sword was devastating and dealt twice the amount of damage :)
 

Lanrutcon

Member
Jim's a genius. If he offered ppl to lick his balls, half of the ppl from this thread would go line up in front of him right now just for bringing Zelda's Metacritic down to 97....lol.

Yup. That was his grand plan all along. His bitterness at Nintendo is rivaled only by his devilish cunning and fiendish good looks.

Later in the week he's going to hide some drugs in Hidemaro's van and then call the cops.
 

Zafir

Member
I guess some people play games for the challenge and new ideas they bring to the table, some people just want to breeze through a game while being told how and what to do the whole way through. Not saying one way is wrong or right, its just obvious that the folks complaining don't want to put any effort into adapting their playstyle to fit the situation. Instead they complain that the game doesn't work exactly the way they want. Is this what is considered an "entitled gamer?" That's a question for another discussion that has been done before and doesn't end well.

Bullshit.

How in the world is forcing people to view weapons as a disposable object, "adapting your play style".

Frankly I find it absolutely laugh this is one of the go to defenses of the system. "Oh you need to adapt your play-style" in a game about unparalleled freedom and choice in what you do...

I also find it laughable defenders of the system keep stooping to insulting people instead of just accepting. God forbid, maybe someone might not like a mechanic for whatever reason. Oh no! We can't be having that! It's obviously because of them, the system can't possibly be considered bad by anyone!
 

Lynx_7

Member
Also, I get so much mileage out of strong weapons. Like, I kept some elemental sword for what felt like forever before they finally broke. It's a mix of usi.g them to weaken an enemy up to a point where you can finish them ooff with weaker weapons or vice-versa. Are people picking super rare/strong weapons and immediately going ham with them?
 
i mean, yes i'm being harsh.

it helps me sometimes when i dont want to waste a good weapon, but the master sword was such a let down, i finnaly had the hearts to take it and i went to the lynel on zoras domain to see how powerful it was, it broke before even depleting half the life of the freaking lynel!

i mean c-mon!

since then, i just use it to dont waste other weapons

I think the Master Sword's primary use is to kill things that have been corrupted by the Calamity, as the game states. It's probably why it becomes more powerful than a mere 30, which still can be good in some cases. I just demolish the ground Guardians with it.
 

calder

Member
Objectively - nothing is perfect. My opinion is that BOTW is a solid 9.5



No.

The more obvious answer makes it generally the correct one. It's simpler due to it being obvious.

If you don't align to this scientific principle, blame William of Ockham ;)

The simpler, most obvious explanation IS that he thinks the game is a 7/10. Period. Choose the conspiracy theory if you want but stop abusing poor William.
 
lol this is the best. Which is simpler: he actually thought it was a 7/10, or he concocted a multi-part campaign on twitter and his website that culminated in this video? How can you cite Occam's Razor and then choose the more complicated side? Or is this a masterwork troll?

Knowing Jim Sterling and the way he operates, you don't think it was the bolded of your statement?? Lol

That's the most obvious answer given his history and mentality towards Nintendo in general, so obvious = simple.

The principle itself can be read as either "obvious answer" or "simpler" it means the same thing - whichever answer seems the most believable given the situation and explanation is usually the correct one and Jim Sterling is a raving lunatic that only cares about himself and causing problems, so I would always lean with that as my Occam's razor of the situation :)
 

goldenpp72

Member
Also, I get so much mileage out of strong weapons. Like, I kept some elemental sword for what felt like forever before they finally broke. It's a mix of usi.g them to weaken an enemy up to a point where you can finish them ooff with weaker weapons or vice-versa. Are people picking super rare/strong weapons and immediately going ham with them?

Sure sounds like that, perhaps next game they should hold hands a lot more since people enjoy that so much :p
 

Majukun

Member
Bullshit.

How in the world is forcing people to view weapons as a disposable object, "adapting your play style".

Frankly I find it absolutely laugh this is one of the go to defenses of the system. "Oh you need to adapt your play-style" in a game about unparalleled freedom and choice in what you do...

I also find it laughable defenders of the system keep stooping to insulting people instead of just accepting. God forbid, maybe someone might not like a mechanic for whatever reason. Oh no! We can't be having that! It's obviously because of them, the system can't possibly be considered bad by anyone!

the problem is not if you don't like the mechanic
the problem is when people can't recongnize what would happen if it wasn't in the game.

i mean jim says that it doesn't feel satisfying to get a good weapon because it has limited uses, but what would happen if you make by chance a trip into an advanced proof of strenght and exit the shrines with a 60 damage guardian weapon?
from that moment on basically 90% of the weapons of the game are garbage to you..how is that satisfying?

and that's just one of the several things that would fell apart if you get rid of that mechanic.
 
Him giving Zelda the score he thought it deserved is the answer that fulfills the principle best.

The simpler, most obvious explanation IS that he thinks the game is a 7/10.

Not based on all of the evidence presented as far as him tweeting out those menacing anti-Nintendo/Zelda fans things on Twitter before the review and then coincidentally having a video ready and edited fueling his own fire the very next day. It does seem to me that this was orchestrated by him and his hate for Nintendo just to throw a fly in the ointment.
 
This is madness.

Jim bashes Zelda fans and calls them "fanatics" and then makes a video to trash them.

That was beyond childish and unnecessary.

But isn't it a little fanatical on the side of people saying "Great video Jim" and "Way to go Jim" when he's clearly made this video just for spite? Are his "fans" not a bit fanatical as well?

He gives a 7/10 to a game that is clearly a critical darling - that has more perfect scores than any entertainment product in history this far - and precedes said review with negative tweets towards Nintendo and Zelda fans in general, giving the impression that "*wrings hands* Muhahaha! I'll show the Zelda fans something...oh, and Nintendo too...heh, heh *wrings hands*"

This isn't a red-flag to anyone that he might just be doing this to illicit a negative reaction??

Nobody expected him to give BOTW a perfect score - but a 7 solely because he didn't like weapon durability, is beyond harsh. An 8 or 9 based on that criticism is understandable - but a 7? That score makes it seem like it's a decent, but irrevocably flawed game, which BOTW most certainly is not.

Looking at it objectively, no game is perfect, but BOTW is a solid 9.5 if ever there was one.

Look at it from the principle of Occam's Razor. The principle of Occam's Razor suggests that given two explanations, the simpler of the two is usually the correct one. So is it that under Jim Sterling's masterful reviewing skills, that just because he doesn't like tbe way weapon durability is handled he docks the game 3 points...

...or is it that he just gravely dislikes Nintendo and loves trolling Nintendo and Zelda fans and preceded his review by releasing menacing, trolling tweets aimed directly at Nintendo and Zelda fans; then releases a very shockingly-low scoring review for the game and coincidentally makes a video *almost as if he already had most of it done already* the day after said review.

You can make up your own minds based on that.

Incidentally, I loathe Jim Sterling. I find him the opposite of funny. He's illogical, self-absorbed and a tremendous attention seeking individual. He thrives on stirring the pot unnecessarily and feeds on the disdain and discourse he himself creates. He's like a baby in a playpen - take it's pacifier away and the ensuing screaming and whining from the child is basically a Jimquisition video.

Honest question; are you ok? Do you need some time away from the computer to relax?
 

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
Knowing Jim Sterling and the way he operates, you don't think it was the bolded of your statement?? Lol

That's the most obvious answer given his history and mentality towards Nintendo in general, so obvious = simple.

The principle itself can be read as either "obvious answer" or "simpler" it means the same thing - whichever answer seems the most believable given the situation and explanation is usually the correct one and Jim Sterling is a raving lunatic that only cares about himself and causing problems, so I would always lean with that as my Occam's razor of the situation :)

I'm not sure that's quite how Occam's Razor works. The simplest solution is the least complex one, hence why "he gave it the score he thought it deserved" is the one the razor would lean towards; it has fewer variables, so to speak.

Not based on all of the evidence presented as far as him tweeting out those menacing anti-Nintendo/Zelda fans things on Twitter before the review and then coincidentally having a video ready and edited fueling his own fire the very next day. It does seem to me that this was orchestrated by him and his hate for Nintendo just to throw a fly in the ointment.

You're not a 'Truther' too, are you? :D
 
You know, having seen some gameplay of the game, I can see where Jim's coming from. Completing a quest and getting a super cool weapon that'll break absurdly fast can kill the excitement of getting that weapon in the first place, since you know it's A) going to be gone before you know it or B) stuck in your inventory because you're too afraid you'll accidentally waste it on a nothing enemy.

I feel like if there was a thing on the Sheikah Slate that let you sacrifice the common loot weapons you got to boost and restore an existing weapon's durability, the mechanic would be less divisive and Nintendo would've actually gotten that "choice and variety" thing down.
 

riotous

Banned
It's definitely something I dislike about the game; there's other ways to solve the problems that "weapon durability" solves without making items so temporary.

It's an interesting game play choice for sure; but not one that I prefer.
 

hank_tree

Member
You know, having seen some gameplay of the game, I can see where Jim's coming from. Completing a quest and getting a super cool weapon that'll break absurdly fast can kill the excitement of getting that weapon in the first place, since you know it's A) going to be gone before you know it or B) stuck in your inventory because you're too afraid you'll accidentally waste it on a nothing enemy.

I feel like if there was a thing on the Sheikah Slate that let you sacrifice the common loot weapons you got to boost and restore an existing weapon's durability, the mechanic would be less divisive and Nintendo would've actually gotten that "choice and variety" thing down.

There was a talk at GDC that was discussed on the shutupandsitdown.com podcast last week that discussed how psychologically gamers (and people) react badly to things being taken away from them. It was really interesting,
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
I have issues with the durability system, but this video makes it's point by showing examples of fights with constantly breaking weapons, by intentionally the weakest, lowest level weapons in the games.
 

Lanrutcon

Member
Not based on all of the evidence presented as far as him tweeting out those menacing anti-Nintendo Fanboys things on Twitter before the review and then coincidentally having a video ready and edited fueling his own fire the very next day. It does seem to me that this was orchestrated by him and his hate for Nintendo just to throw a fly in the ointment.

If you don't like his opinion of the game then go stand with the crowd and get your free t-shirt, but the conspiracy crap is unnecessary.
 

aBarreras

Member
You know, having seen some gameplay of the game, I can see where Jim's coming from. Completing a quest and getting a super cool weapon that'll break absurdly fast can kill the excitement of getting that weapon in the first place, since you know it's A) going to be gone before you know it or B) stuck in your inventory because you're too afraid you'll accidentally waste it on a nothing enemy.

I feel like if there was a thing on the Sheikah Slate that let you sacrifice the common loot weapons you got to boost and restore an existing weapon's durability, the mechanic would be less divisive and Nintendo would've actually gotten that "choice and variety" thing down.

well, you can take a picture of the weapon and track it on the overworld

it even says on what regions do they spawn and everything
 
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