Lowered tool durability after repair

[Frepo]

I would really, REALLY like to bring back the mechanic of weapons/tools/armor have their maximum durability permanently lowered after each repair. It feels logical that an item wears out over time even after repairs. From a gameplay point of view, I think this i crucial. I was looking for more steel club parts to build me a better club. Then I got a level 6 steel club as a reward from a quest, and I actually got disappointed. It felt like.. oh.. guess I can stop looking for parts now... guess I can stop looking for parts ever. Since I'm never gonna lose my club, and it will never wear out. After a couple of those situations you realize.. oh.. I don't need to look for anything anymore.

Of course you can mitigate this by deleting your entire inventory upon death. And it's ok, very frustrating, but still a better option than never losing anything. I think the lowered max durability was a perfect mechanic to motivate you to keep spare parts and tools. Loved it. Missing it.

 

[RipClaw]

When this was still in the game, we had 600 quality levels and we could increase the quality by combining items in the workbench. This is different now. We only have 6 quality levels, no way to increase quality, random stats and we can't craft Q6 items. The items didn't have modslots back then either. This is also to be considered.

By the way, it was not so that all items lost quality when they were repaired. All assembled items never lost quality when repaired.

Q6 does not mean that you already have the best you can get. Because of the random stats it is possible that a Q6 item is worse than a Q5 you have crafted yourself. Therefore the hunt for something better is always on.

And to be honest, it would be extremely frustrating for me to lose my Q6 Auger that I have been looking for for so long. Q6 weapons are everywhere because containers for weapons are everywhere but tools are much rarer.
 

 

[Frepo]

Aah, I thought max durability was a separate parameter in the item-object. If it's calculated from item type, quality level, mods etc. I understand one don't want to insert a new parameter (or variable) just for this feature.

Well, eventually you can craft your own augers. Sure, you can't craft Q6 items. But is it really that big of a difference between a Q5 and a Q6 auger? I mean to be "extremely frustrated" over? I really don't FEEL the difference when running around with any Q5 or Q6 tools/weapons. Sometimes the extra mod slot is relevant. But mostly not, the important ones that e.g. buffs knock-down chance or increases block damage gets priority, the last slot is like a handle that provides extra durability, which in reality only saves you an iron bar and a duct tape every 60 minutes. 

But yeah, hehe...  it's frustrating losing all your best gear, especially something you just found that you've been looking for a long time. But after playing with the delete-all-option enabled more now, I'm loving it even more! Can't understand why I've never tried the option before. The game is much more exciting now when I actually take a risk by leaving my base. The set backs and frustration is absolutely needed to bring real tension and excitement to the gameplay.

For me and my friends, survival games are all about the struggle to survive and eventually dominate your surroundings. The harder and longer the struggle, the better for the gameplay experience. Once all needs are satisfied and the "tech-tree" has been maxed out, the game is dead, naturally.

But I understand if others simply don't find it fun to lose stuff you've spent time and resources to acquire. I guess there are two ends of the rope in a sandbox game, the "creative" end, and the "survival" end (and the scale between them). That's why I love that there are so many options at game setup to customize your world, difficulty and mechanics to suit your preferred way of playing the game!