Difference between revisions of "Durability"

Latest revision as of 22:24, 6 July 2012

Durability refers to a property on items that is an in-game indication for how damaged a piece of equipment is. Characters need to spend gold to repair items to keep them in usable condition. Items that run down to 0 durability become unusable, until they are repaired.

The D3 Team has varied their stance on durability throughout the game's development. Early on there was no durability on items, and the team said it might remain gone, since repairing was annoying. As of August 2010 though, and the reveal of the Artisans, durability was back, with durability values on all items and a repair option in the blacksmith's interface.

Durability is also a gold sink in the late game, with characters set to lose durability to all of their items when they die. [1]

Background[edit | edit source]

Possible icon depicting broken gear.

Most equipped items had durability in both Diablo 1 and Diablo 2, and had to be repaired periodically. In Diablo I items that went to zero durability vanished and were lost permanently. This penalty was softened in Diablo 2, with items simply becoming unusable once they went to zero durability. Other durability modifications were also introduced, including item modifiers that granted extra durability, self-repairing items, and a convenient "repair all" button on the various NPC blacksmiths.

Repairs[edit | edit source]

Repairs can be carried out by various NPCs located in town and wandering. It's a significant gold sink especially in higher difficulty levels.

Loss of Durability on Death[edit | edit source]

Diablo III will carry a similar penalty to death in durability loss that is seen in World of WarCraft which is, namely, a 10% durability loss of all equipped items. The lost durability is not from the current amount left on the item, but 10% off of the maximum durability, meaning that items can and will break with enough death, or if they take enough of a beating.

It is also worth mentioning that characters in Diablo III will wear more items with durability than they did in Diablo II. Even the quivers equipped by the Demon Hunter has durability on it.

Blizzard on Durability[edit | edit source]

Item durability has been mentioned in passing a few times, but no detailed comments on it have been forthcoming. Jay Wilson mentioned it while talking about death and other gold costs in an interview in mid-2008. [2]

We have not actually decided on the final death mechanic. I can guarantee that you will not lose experience. We are not urging to big penalties for death. But we want enough of a penalty to be there, so that death has meaning! Like to lose a little bit time, some kind of detriment... We do not currently have a durability loss (to equipment), but some kind of ... a gold cost is actually not so bad. And having the player to waste some time, that is certainly an element. Generally we kind of rely on the effect that players do not want to die. You know, you just do not want to. So there is no real reason to add a further "ding" to them for something happening that was already unfavorable to them. But we have not got our final mechanics on that, yet.

Bashiok hinted that item durability might in fact be coming back, in a forum post from June 2010. [3]

Question: I looked around but wasn't able to find anything about if durability will be making a return, i kind of hope it doesn't as it was sort of a pain. Then again it is also a good way to keep players from getting super rich, so is it coming back?

Bashiok: Probably.

Durability is listed on all items, as of August 2010.

As of August 2010 durability was indubitably back in the game, since it was seen on all items in the Caravan movie, and the NPC Blacksmith had a repair icon on his interface. Note the 25/25 durability listed for the buckler in the image to the right.

References[edit | edit source]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Durability refers to a property of items, something that they lose when used. Most equipped items had durability in Diablo 1 and Diablo 2, and had to be repaired periodically. Thus far in Diablo 3, items do not have durability, though this is not yet finalized.
+[[File:Artisan-icon-repair.jpg|left|thumb|75px]]
+'''Durability''' refers to a property on [[item]]s that is an in-game indication for how damaged a piece of equipment is. Characters need to spend [[gold]] to repair items to keep them in usable condition. Items that run down to 0 durability become unusable, until they are repaired.
+The [[D3 Team]] has varied their stance on durability throughout the game's development. Early on there was no durability on items, and the team said it might remain gone, since repairing was annoying. As of August 2010 though, and the reveal of the [[Artisans]], durability was back, with durability values on all items and a [[repair]] option in the [[blacksmith]]'s interface.
+Durability is also a [[gold sink]] in the late game, with characters set to lose durability to all of their items when they die. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-interview-pcgames.de/]
+==Background==
+[[Image:Durability_icon.jpg|frame|left|Possible icon depicting broken gear.]]
+Most equipped items had durability in both [[Diablo 1]] and [[Diablo 2]], and had to be repaired periodically. In Diablo I items that went to zero durability vanished and were lost permanently. This penalty was softened in Diablo 2, with items simply becoming unusable once they went to zero durability. Other durability modifications were also introduced, including item modifiers that granted extra durability, self-repairing items, and a convenient "repair all" button on the various NPC blacksmiths.
+==Repairs==
+[[Repair]]s can be carried out by various [[NPCs]] located in town and wandering.  It's a significant gold sink especially in higher difficulty levels.
+==Loss of Durability on Death==
+Diablo III will carry a similar penalty to [[death]] in durability loss that is seen in [[World of WarCraft]] which is, namely, a 10% durability loss of all equipped items.
+The lost durability is not from the current amount left on the item, but 10% off of the maximum durability, meaning that items can and will break with enough death, or if they take enough of a beating.
+It is also worth mentioning that characters in Diablo III will wear more [[item]]s with durability than they did in Diablo II. Even the [[quiver]]s equipped by the [[Demon Hunter]] has durability on it.
-In most RPGs, durability on items functions as an important [[gold sink]], especially in the [[end game]], and in that light it would be surprising if Diablo 3 did not implement it in some fashion. If not they'll have to use other types of gold sinks to keep the economy functional; perhaps increasing costs to [[respec]] or resocket prices (in [[skill runes]] or item [[gems]]).
 ==Blizzard on Durability==
-Item durability has been mentioned in passing a few times, but no detailed comments on it have been forthcoming. Jay Wilson mentioned it while talking about [[death]] and other gold costs in an interview in mid-2008. [http://www.diii.net/n/687801/jay-wilson-from-leipzig-5]
+Item durability has been mentioned in passing a few times, but no detailed comments on it have been forthcoming. [[Jay Wilson]] mentioned it while talking about [[death]] and other gold costs in an interview in mid-2008. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-from-leipzig-5/]
+::''We have not actually decided on the final [[death]] mechanic. I can guarantee that you will not lose [[experience]]. We are not urging to big [[death penalty|penalties for death]]. But we want enough of a penalty to be there, so that death has meaning! Like to lose a little bit time, some kind of detriment... <u>We do not currently have a durability loss (to equipment), but some kind of ... a [[gold]] cost is actually not so bad.</u> And having the player to waste some time, that is certainly an element. Generally we kind of rely on the effect that players do not want to die. You know, you just do not want to. So there is no real reason to add a further "ding" to them for something happening that was already unfavorable to them. But we have not got our final mechanics on that, yet.
+[[Bashiok]] hinted that item durability might in fact be coming back, in a forum post from June 2010. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/item-durability-returning/]
+::'''Question:''' ''I looked around but wasn't able to find anything about if durability will be making a return, i kind of hope it doesn't as it was sort of a pain. Then again it is also a good way to keep players from getting super rich, so is it coming back?
+::'''Bashiok:''' ''Probably.
+[[File:Gem-socket1.jpg|frame|Durability is listed on all items, as of August 2010.]]
+As of August 2010 durability was indubitably back in the game, since it was seen on all items in the Caravan movie, and the NPC Blacksmith had a repair icon on his interface. Note the 25/25 durability listed for the buckler in the image to the right.
-::"We have not actually decided on the final death mechanic. I can guarantee that you will not lose experience. We are not urging to big penalties for death. But we want enough of a penalty to be there, so that death has meaning! Like to lose a little bit time, some kind of detriment... <u>We do not currently have a durability loss (to equipment), but some kind of ... a gold cost is actually not so bad.</u> And having the player to waste some time, that is certainly an element. Generally we kind of rely on the effect that players do not want to die. You know, you just do not want to. So there is no real reason to add a further "ding" to them for something happening that was already unfavorable to them. But we have not got our final mechanics on that, yet.
+==References==
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-from-leipzig-5 Jay Wilson from Leipzig]
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/item-durability-returning/ Item Durability Returning]
-More recently, Bashiok hinted that item durability might in fact be coming back, in a forum post from June 2010.
-::'''Question:''' I looked around but wasn't able to find anything about if durability will be making a return, i kind of hope it doesn't as it was sort of a pain. Then again it is also a good way to keep players from getting super rich, so is it coming back?
-::'''Bashiok: '''Probably.
+{{Template:Items navbox}}
 [[category:reference]]
 [[category:items]]