Amidst discussions of ESRB ratings and new rumors of a Switch successor, the wait for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom carries on. Its release date is less than five months away at this point, and it seems like no delays are expected. Despite this, Tears of the Kingdom remains an utter mystery to fans. Trailers have all been brief and devoid of context, and scattered tidbits of information have cropped up across the past three years. It's clear that there's going to be a lot of new things in this Zelda game, but there isn't enough to go on yet.
Expectations for the usual February Nintendo Direct to be focused on Tears of the Kingdom seem reasonable. The game won't be a mystery for much longer, although that means confronting the reality of whatever it turns out to be. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a radical departure from normal Zelda gameplay, not only adding a true open world but also de-emphasizing dungeons and item acquisition. Instead, players had a nonlinear list of objectives and a set of powers that are given to the player right away. Past that, items and upgrades had to be procured in the vast wilds of Hyrule, and the systems governing them were not universally praised.
Weapon Durability Shaped Breath of the Wild's Gameplay
The biggest concern many Zelda fans have going into Tears of the Kingdom is how it will handle Breath of the Wild's weapon durability. While armor was permanent and consumables were easily replaced, all weapons and shields had durability. Many combinations of fragility and effectiveness are available, and players could never grow too comfortable with any one loadout. Debates regarding this system rage on to this very day, with all eyes on Tears of the Kingdom to see Nintendo's response. The system definitely had flaws, and Tears of the Kingdom could change a lot about it. However, getting rid of it entirely may be out of the question.
Certain BotW players would prefer it if they could just pick up weapons they like and use them forever. Upgrade paths like reforging, weapon class experience, or skill trees could be added to keep those weapons relevant. This could work, but it would necessitate a totally different design approach from Breath of the Wild. The intent behind weapon durability is that the player needs to manage resources while varying their approach to challenges. This system reinforces Breath of the Wild's mechanical depth, and it could be argued that it also helps hide the repetition inherent in loot and combat. While weapon durability will probably stay in Tears of the Kingdom to retain BotW's identity, there are definitely improvements to be made.
How Tears of the Kingdom Can Tackle Durability
It's possible that Tears of the Kingdom won't change weapon durability at all, but considering how much feedback Nintendo has gotten on the first game, that isn't likely. Instead of removing durability, players could have the option to extend it. Nothing but the Master Sword itself, once usable again, would be unbreakable, but special resources could be used to reinforce a favored item. These could be gained from scrapping unwanted weapons, but a better approach would be producing such materials by breaking weapons. Players would still be incentivized to try varied builds during downtime, and entirely new systems like weapon class skill trees wouldn't need to be introduced just to accommodate static play styles.
Other avenues include registering weapons with blacksmiths like BotW's horses, allowing players to craft those weapons at specific crafting stations. It wouldn't change much about weapon durability, but players wouldn't truly lose any broken weapons, and would have a constant rupee outlet. There could even be rare potions that restore an item's durability to full, possibly overcharging it in the process. It's hard to say what Tears of the Kingdom will go with here, but the best approach should encourage players to engage with its systems and still feel like they've come out ahead.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be available on May 12, 2023, for Nintendo Switch.
