In some games, a sword will never chip or grow dull, even if it's thrown off a mountain, dunked in some lava, or gnawed by a dragon all afternoon. In others, equipment naturally weakens over time. Use an ax to chop enough trees or orcs and eventually that ax will break.
The deterioration of equipment in Tribes of Midgard is as inevitable as it is unfortunate. The Viking life is a hard one, and weapons and tools will inevitably degrade, forcing the player to choose between repairing their equipment or crafting or buying new equipment to replace it. Purchasing and crafting new weapons can be costly, however, so it pays to know how to keep equipment in good working order. Here's everything the player needs to know about repairing weapons in Tribes of Midgard.
The Repair Bench
Tribes of Midgard blends a variety of genres, including action, survival crafting, and base building. Sometimes the Viking hero possesses everything they need to solve a problem, but sometimes they need to craft a necessary tool or utilize their base in order to accomplish their mission. The player might be able to kill giants by themselves, but repairing weapons and equipment in Tribes of Midgard requires help.
Located in the south-eastern section of the player's village is a Repair Bench, and this bench is the only means by which the player can repair worn-down gear. Players having difficulty locating the Repair Bench can always turn to the mini-map: though the bench itself is not marked, the location of Steinar the blacksmith is marked by an anvil. The stairs beside Steinar lead up to the Repair Bench. The simplicity of this system is just one reason that the village is one of the game's best features.
There's a lot to do in Tribes and not much time to do it, which can make it easy to neglect weapons and other equipment long enough for them to fall into disorder, especially if the player isn't used to games that feature equipment degradation. Equipment that has worn down enough will break, and though buying or crafting new equipment is always an option, it's cheaper and easier to repair damaged equipment instead.
How To Repair Weapons
In many games, the same resources that the player harvests from the land and uses to expand their base are used for equipment repairs. That isn't the case in Tribes of Midgard. Instead, repairing items at the Repair Bench requires Souls: the game's currency.
Souls can be acquired in a variety of ways. Souls can be attained by selling gear, but selling gear to repair gear isn't necessarily sustainable. Alternatively, the player can trade Golden Eggs, mine for Souls, or kill bosses. For most players, farming bosses is the easiest method, and gathering enough Souls to keep up with repairs usually isn't a problem, whether the player is a pro or not.
The cost of repairing a weapon or item depends upon two factors: the rarity of the item and its current level of degradation. Common items that haven't degraded much are extremely cheap to repair, whereas rare items that have taken a beating can be quite expensive. To repair an item, interact with the Repair Bench to see a list of every degraded item as well as the cost to repair it. Click an item, and the Repair Bench will automatically repair it, keeping the player's best weapons in good working order.
Tribes of Midgard is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.