Do You Think More MMOs Should Have Equipment Decay? | MMORPG.com

System · June 2021

Do You Think More MMOs Should Have Equipment Decay? | MMORPG.com

MMOs have item degredation, but you're never really at risk of losing the item itself when it runs out of durability. However, should MMOs reintroduce this mechanic in a way to add to the gameplay?

Read the full story here

alkarionlog · June 2021

DDO also have something like this, lost of max durability during repair.

but the way mmo are today, nope real equipment decay will only add more annoyance, unless they drop the whole keep running dungeons ad infinitum, for a low chance of gear drop.

take note too you example take from a game who crafting was a big deal, so unless you make crafting a big deal in the game, with most would never do then no, no decay

Sovrath · June 2021

I do. If there is some way to take equipment out of the hands of players it will create a market for that equipment.

That is if you want an mmorpg that has a player economy.

Nanfoodle · June 2021

Depends on the game you are making. A MMO that wants a healthy crafting community with a strong economy. 100% yes. MMO thats about collecting stuff like WoW, no. My fav game with this feature was DAoC. You could not have a guild if you didnt support your crafters. Was a nice feeling.

Spiider · June 2021

No no and no. Decay only servers the purpose of money sinks and does not help players in any way shape or form. A sword or armor should never decay, only break and can be repaired. Consumables or pets can "decay" or be spent (chose your preference) which can then keep the economy going. And building materials for forts, castles, destructible housing etc can also help the economy.

Please do not try to make entropia out of every game where players own nothing except the credit card for devs to plunder.

Aeander · June 2021

No game should have equipment decay.

Kalafax · June 2021

Item decay is the only way to have a game that involves crafters and a healthy player economy, I 100% think it should be in more MMOs. However, it doesn't fit in most of todays theme park MMO's where your just grinding dungeons or raids for the next big shiny, so it would take a shift in the gameplay, and crafted items would need to surpass stuff dropped by monsters.

Scot · June 2021

This can't be looked at without understanding the whole game economy, everything from how hard it is to find the resources to do top crafting to how good drops are. I would not base an economy around this and you really have to for it to work.

That said I am sure blockchain games would love this, "We get a cryptocurrency cut every time you sell and repair the item. Whoopee!"

bobbymcswanson · June 2021

If you want to have an actual thriving economy in game and you want crafters to be useful then yes you need items loss...

bobbymcswanson · June 2021

Spiider said:

No no and no. Decay only servers the purpose of money sinks and does not help players in any way shape or form.

So if I make the best sword in the land and a massive battle takes place where many swords are lost or destroyed...that doesn't help me in any way shape or form? Interesting...

How about being a crafting main in a game where everyone crafts their own shit and farms the flaming sword of carebears that never ever needs to be replaced...yeah that sounds like a great place to be in business....a real thriving player built economy you've created here....

theGnade · June 2021

It depends. When we talk about true MMORPG then no. Imagine you losing your gear in WoW because of decay. No thank you. But when you got MMO game, like idk Fallout 76 or something closer to EFT, where gear isn't like sb, then yes decay could add more immersion. Like you get gear, it rusts and you have to take gear of it. And more you take care the less it will malfunction.

Nanfoodle · June 2021

Scot said:

This can't be looked at without understanding the whole game economy, everything from how hard it is to find the resources to do top crafting to how good drops are. I would not base an economy around this and you really have to for it to work.

That said I am sure blockchain games would love this, "We get a cryptocurrency cut every time you sell and repair the item. Whoopee!"

Agreed. You cant just chuck item decay in any MMO. It needs to fit the other systems to create game play that makes item decay make sense.

Nebless · June 2021

YES, I never had a problem with it in SWG. Having to look for new stuff every so often led to having a healthy economy and certain crafters becoming known as the go to guys for quality equipment.

DDO's system is good too as you need to keep a back up weapon on you and watch the wear and tear on your stuff as you fight through a dungeon.

SWTOR now, clicking the 'repair all' button is just a credit sink and not something you even take into account.

It all depends on if you want the game to have a healthy crafting community. If that's not important than why bother.

Panther2103 · June 2021

It 100% depends on the game. If it's a game entirely focused on an endgame grind for gear in raids, absolutely not. I do not want to spend weeks grinding a raid to get my item drop finally and have it break in a week and not be able to be used anymore. But if it's something like Darkfall, where crafting / losing your gear is a huge aspect, it creates a need for a person who likes to craft and bolsters that economy.

KnightFalz · June 2021

It depends on how well suited equipment decay is to the game. The more fanciful it is the more out of place decay and repair would be.

AugustusG · June 2021

No, I like diferent rarity in equipment on mmorpg and if I loot a legendary item I want to keep it til the end.

foppotee · June 2021

For realism it makes sense, but then again it's a video game not every thing has to be 100% authentic right? I'd think it depends upon intent. The developer/publisher will use it for resource-sink purposes not to enhance gameplay. A truly thought-out mmo suggesting &/or using such a system with the customer/player in-mind would have include options: 1) no degradation at all 2) degradation, at whatever pace, but item won't break 3) degradation & breakage active 4) even added a slider-bar at options to allow the player to determine degradation rate lol. That would be a mmo that fully thought-out a system like this & give players the power to control it on their own terms. I'm guessing more than not no degradation would be chosen.

Ungood · June 2021

Needs to fit the game and situation.

Item decay can work in a game where the game is designed around item decay, ideally, games where replacing items is not a long laborious practice, often with gear being craftable and thus easily replaced, with the intention to keep a cycle of harvesting and crafting ongoing.

In games where gear is a mark of stature, for example, where special gear and items will drop from rare and special mobs, or from doing things like raids and the like, item decay simply does not fit into that world design.

Ideally, Item decay is not realistic.

While items do wear down in the real world, people also tend to take care of their items, as such, using and caring for your gear will make it last longer. To use a prime example of this, would be something like a knife.

If left on the ground, it will decay after a time, the metal will corrode, the wood will rot, when exposed to the elements, and eventually become unusable.

That same knife kept in a knife block, in a house, will last much longer, even if not used.

That same knife, used daily, but it taken care of, where the chef cleans the knife, oils the handle at the end of the day, and makes sure that the blade is kept sharp, both by their own care to keep it honed, and to have it occasionally professionally sharpened, will last a lifetime and then some.

This of course, also depends on the quality of the knife and the skill of it's caretaker.

A Cheap knife will have a things like not being full tang, the handle will be made of cheap materials and the blade itself will be made of cheap and perhaps not correctly tempered metal. This can lead to the blade, handle, and other parts of the knife failing while put under stress. The user also needs to know how to use their knife, doing things with a knife they are not designed to handle and also lead to the knife failing. Not have the skill to maintain a honed edge, not having it professionally sharpened, not taking care of the handle, and keeping it properly cleaned and cared for, all lead to the knife failing.

This is one of those things, that COULD be put into an MMO, where players could have skill sets designed for their care of their weapons, gear, items. They could have to partake in downtime to care for their items and the like, and their gear could have quality levels based on the skill of the crafter and how well they made them. All these could be put into a game, but, more often than not, they are not put into games.

Couple that with the idea that you have games that dealing with magic gear and items, so items simply being magically augmented are immune to natural decay, IE: They won't lose their ledge, they won't rot, rust, or decay by normal means, and only magical damage can in effect hurt them, ergo, spells, and things like rust monsters, etc.

But all in all, it needs to fit the game.

If the game is a huge aspect of harvesting and crafting to it, then, the idea of decaying gear is part of the game to move the crafting along, to keep a market up for continual wears.

If the game is about rare powerful magical items, then item decay does not really fit that world, given how hard or tedious it could be to acquire said items.

In the end, it has it place, and for me, IMHO, item decay belongs more to survival style games, then your generic heroic MMO style games.

Just my feels on things.

rojoArcueid · June 2021

i'm OK with the way WoW and GW2 do it. You don't lose the item but you lose the stats until you repair it.

If they make it so you can lose the item you will certainly see a lot of players just doing content with green gear because their awesome gear broke and now the auction house is selling it for 50,000,000. It's hard to trust player run economy when shit like that happens in every game.

Areteo · June 2021

No.

k61977 · June 2021

It depends on the game.

If it is a game where your equipment is the end all be all of endgame then the answer is no. I mean if it takes you weeks to finally get that drop you have been wanting since you first started playing then there is no way I would keep playing if it just disappears a week later. You shouldn't be forced to grind the same equipment over and over again just to play the game, I don't mean upgrades I mean the exact same one you had gotten from the start. I don't even like having to repair in games like that.

If it is a game where your equipment can be replaced at the drop of a hat then the answer is yes go ahead an do it.

If it takes around 15 to 20 mins to replace it then not a huge problem. If it takes hours to replace it then yes you have a problem.

foxgirl · June 2021

Depends largely on how fast the decay is. Clothes wear out in real life, but it doesn't happen nearly as fast as it does in games.

Albatroes · June 2021

So Zelda....Breath of the Survivalist....?

Morgenes83 · June 2021

Definitely something I would like to see
more often.
It also helps to keep the economy going and crafters busy without the need to implement new tiers every few months or without creating lots and lots of new sets like ESO

Hariken · June 2021

Sounds like another thing hardcore players would want like perma death. I don't mine gear being damaged enough where it goes in your inventory when it gets to zero. You would need to repair it. I remember this happening in GW2 awhile ago to me. Grinding for epic gear to only have it vanish when it gets to damaged. Half the player base would quit.