Item Durability & Repairs

HazardNumberSeven

So we know gear will be damaged and it will need repairs. We know certain systems like PvP-flagging can affect how much durability you lose.

Something I am struggling to find answers on, however, is once an item is repaired does it return to FULL durability or does it diminish in it's total durability. What I mean is, is the system designed in a way that you can permanently maintain a piece of equipment, or is it designed in a way that eventually you will have to replace it/it will break.

Thanks for reading.

Diamaht

That's a really good question, would love to know that answer too.

In SWG the max durability of an item would decrease with each repair. I'm actually hoping that will be the case here too.

Niraada

From what I've seen of interviews with Steven, he's said that you will be able to repair and even resell equipment, however there won't be instances of "pay x gold for repairs."

If you have an iron sword, you will need to supply iron to repair that sword. If you have a legendary sword, you're going to need legendary materials in order to repair it.

This is one of the fundamental driving forces of Ashes' economy, ensuring that there's a demand at all levels for the services and resources that gatherers and crafters supply.

To answer your question: If you're completing content appropriate to the level of equipment you possess, you should have adequate access to materials to maintain that equipment.

If you 'somehow gain access to' legendary equipment without the ability to clear world bosses, outside of paying for legendary materials, you may not have access to the requisite materials to maintain your equipment, rendering it unusable.

HazardNumberSeven

So to clarify my question..

If I have an iron sword that is 100 out of 100 (100/100) durability.. and it is damaged down to 0 durability. Does it break permanently with no option to repair?

Additionally if I do repair it (either from 0 or from any other value) will it return to being 100/100 durability, or will it be more like 90/90 durability now, eventually scaling all the way down to 1/1 or something else unmanageable forcing me to get a new piece of equipment entirely?

Not native English speaker so I thought I would repeat myself in a different way. Thanks for the responses so far!

Niraada

If you're looking for specific details like that, I'd suggest checking out the articles in the Wiki.

At the moment, Ashes is still essentially pre-alpha, and many things are unknown and/or subject to change.

I'd recommend reading what's available there, and checking out the AMA on Twitch July 31 11AM PDT if your question isn't answered there.

HazardNumberSeven

Niraada wrote: »

If you're looking for specific details like that, I'd suggest checking out the articles in the Wiki.

At the moment, Ashes is still essentially pre-alpha, and many things are unknown and/or subject to change.

I'd recommend reading what's available there, and checking out the AMA on Twitch July 31 11AM PDT if your question isn't answered there.

Thanks, I've done that and have been following the project for some years now, but I appreciate the helpful response none-the-less.

Noaani

To be honest, this is something we are not sure on.

There was talk about gear actually being destroyed several years ago, but the references to it seem to be hard to find.

Several of us were actually discussing this when the forums all of a sudden got quite busy - a number of us distinctly remember the comments being made, but can't seem to find them anywhere.

So really, right now this one kind of needs to be answered with; we're not sure.

HazardNumberSeven

Fair enough.

The rest of the thread can be used to discuss peoples ideas then! Do you guys want items to be destroyed?

Personally, I think a system where max durability gradually decreases after each repair sounds like a lot of fun to me. It means eventually you will need to replace a piece of gear if it's being used, and this could benefit the economy and end-game. . . Maybe.

Niraada

If we extrapolate based on Steven's previous comments about various gear articles being something you use and eventually sell or disassemble for materials to make more advanced items, I think we get a rough picture of what to expect in terms of overall longevity.

With item repairs costing resources other than currency, I think a rapid loss of maximum durability would be punishing, especially given the nature of the game.

Players die to challenging content, and given the scope of crafters and resources involved in putting together even one piece of gear, having that value eroded or lost entirely after x number of deaths might be a bit extreme.

Economically, I don't think its necessary based on the information we have now to have gear destruction be a thing. On an emotional level, would it feel good to have the sword that you and your guild worked your asses of to make after your first dragon kill just disappear?

Then again, maybe that sort of risk is compelling in its own way. We'll have to wait and see.

Aardvark

Niraada wrote: »

If we extrapolate based on Steven's previous comments about various gear articles being something you use and eventually sell or disassemble for materials to make more advanced items, I think we get a rough picture of what to expect in terms of overall longevity.

With item repairs costing resources other than currency, I think a rapid loss of maximum durability would be punishing, especially given the nature of the game.

Players die to challenging content, and given the scope of crafters and resources involved in putting together even one piece of gear, having that value eroded or lost entirely after x number of deaths might be a bit extreme.

Economically, I don't think its necessary based on the information we have now to have gear destruction be a thing. On an emotional level, would it feel good to have the sword that you and your guild worked your asses of to make after your first dragon kill just disappear?

Then again, maybe that sort of risk is compelling in its own way. We'll have to wait and see.

Hardcore gear loss is very appealing to some but it's a small percentage of the gaming community. Heck there are some people who want the 1st time you die that you have to make a new charater from scratch! But again not the majority of players. The more hardcore they make the gear durability the happier a very small group of people will be. But then you don't want it too watered down either. It's going to be hard to get it just right where it matters without it sucking

Niraada

For sure, Aardvark. I'm not opposed to the idea out of hand. Obviously subject to details and tuning, it could be made interesting and compelling, hopefully without feeling too punishing overall.

Having gear destroyed on death all the time could undermine the deterrence offered by the Corruption mechanic, as, if your things were going to break whenever you died anyway, what real reason is there to not grief people?

If things break when they hit zero durability, that could lead to undesired consequences for siege gameplay, where the meta revolves around ignoring objectives in favour of grinding down the enemy purely with kills, essentially turning sieges into trench warfare, where people only poke their heads up to shoot, but otherwise don't make a move until the very end when they've burnt up the enemy gear.

Of course, that possibility assumes that durability loss happens in sieges, which I feel it should.

If gear can be destroyed outright and/or have its durability eroded, then it could also act to drastically inhibit progression through raid content or simply require uncompelling gear management aspects to the game.

Carrying around a second set of gear that offers you something different to cope with a specific challenge I would argue is compelling. It's part of your preparations to adapt to a specific challenge, and represents agency and choice.

Is the same true for a second set of gear that only exists as insurance? It's occupying your inventory space solely for the purpose of making sure you don't end up with an empty gear slot mid-way through a raid still compelling? I don't see that as choice or challenge, but more as RNG protection, and could easily lead to degenerate gameplay habits.

Say you and your guild down a dragon, and you get a legendary sword drop. You feel great, and you're excited to use your new sword and show it off, except you're not allowed to. Why? That sword represents your guild's time and resource investment, and directly contributes to your ability to clear future raid content. By using that sword outside of raids, you're diminishing its value to your guild; degrading that investment.

What does that all mean? Well, I'd argue it's the difference between owning a mansion in a metropolis vs. instanced housing. Sure, they're both there, and you can use both of them, but people can see the mansion.

This is a very real consideration to take into account with gear, too. People want to be seen. They want to stand out, and show off, and take their high end equipment into pvp and dominate their opponents.

Risk vs. reward.

If the risk is disproportionate to the reward. If actually using the gear that your guild spent weeks working towards can result in a total loss of that investment, is that really a choice anymore?

Having to finance materials to repair that costly sword is one thing, but losing it altogether? I'm not so sure that'd be a healthy direction for things to go.