This line of reasoning makes no sense to me...

"I don't like the TV show I'm watching. The TV is obviously broken."

If your favorite TV show dropped a character you felt played a key part it could be considered that characters role is broken, not the entire show.

Actually I think Skyrim is an absolute wonder. It would be nice, in my opinion, if some features were added back into the game. If items degraded the need to use smithing would never completely go away.

If this feature isn't added with care repairing items would quickly inflate the skill, so I was thinking, maybe it shouldn't even effect your smithing skill or something like 1000 repairs for 1 XP. Wouldn't want this to become an naturally occurring exploit. Could also just add it as a game mechanic and it doesn't effect the skill if it's to hard to control associated XP. At least you would not be able to use the same weapon without even considering how long it's been since it was improved/repaired?

I have no experience modding games but couldn't Keeping track of an objects base quality, current quality, max quality be done in a key value pair with delimiters between the values this way (probably a much better way just throwing out an idea):
ID, "34|39|44"
ID, "86|94|120"

Oh I missed this. There is no static unique identifier for each object that persists through the entire game and reloads? How does the game know what weapons belong to each NPC and PC?

EDIT: So NPC objects have random ID's assigned when they spawn and the PC's objects are saved in the save file without the ID and when the game loads it gets a an available ID ensuring no ID's get duped. I know this sounds confusing but I've been up working and playing for many hours should probably sleep.



EDIT 2: Can data be added to the Save file such as weapon conditions, so when the game loads the mod could build a list based on data from the save file and get the new ID's?

I like the weapon/armour degration for a few reasons.

-Kept some balance to economy, you had to keep your gear in order (When not repairing it your self obviously) when passing through town.
-Having something break when out in the middle of no where forced you to change your style, or rely on different weapons, or without armour. That's at least cool to me.

I think if you had to repair your armour at a armoury in town, it'd be cool. Obviously for some, like those who use fast travel, it would just be annoying.

This is exactly how I felt when I noticed my weapons don't degrade and don't really need to take extra weapons of my favorite styles. Like you and many others I do not fast travel ever. Also I avoid using stones to expedite leveling.

I have to say this game is awsome, but would be even better.

'Intended' doesnt equal acceptable. Plenty of intended mechanics in Skyrim needs to be fixed. If people didnt by far and large agree, there wouldnt be such a clamor for mod tools right now

I also think removing weapon/armour durability was an odd decision...

OK the way it was implemented in the other games was not completely right, it could be used to add some sort of balance to the game. Weight VS speed VS durability could have added something to the game.

Make heavy weapons last longer and suffer less penalties when they are damaged and cannot be totally broken.

Light weapons have a % chance to break VS heavy weapons if used to block, but can be repaired at the forge using ingots or by a blacksmith for a fee. It would have been cool to see a weapon shatter or snap in half if someone came at you with a battleaxe and you tried to block. But let you continue using the broken weapon.

Get rid of repair hammers, how is it realistic that you can repair things in the middle of nowhere using just a hammer?

Have visual degradation of armour, light armour gets ripped, heavy armour buckles. Have heavy armour effect movement speed if damaged, and light armour have reduced defence but no movement speed and let you repair it using leather and obviously not require a forge. Then you could have certain weapons such as hammers do more durability damage to heavy armour to reduce speed which you could use as an advantage in some fights.

Now that would have added to the game...

I just checked the class inheritance of TESObjectWEAP, and among other things it includes BGSDestructibleObjectForm. While this one is generally used for objects you can destroy by bashing them with something, it means that the weapons have at least the space in their data structures to save such information.

If it is already saved and retrieved properly by the game engine remains to be seen.

They decided to hold everyone's hand, and this was #457 on their list of things that ensure that they do.

If you could only repair at a forge, it would add to immersion. Simply banging your equipment with some hammers inside a bear cave didn't really add to immersion in Oblivion (and Morrowind).

You'd also have to implement a new conversation topic for blacksmiths for characters that don't use smithing.

I miss it. Degenerating Stuff, made things a bit of a tactical decision.
I will dearly miss it, since it made some things seem more real.
After all, banging your steel sword over and Dwemer centurion could wear it off.

My chars usually went to a smith to get their stuff fixed. There was no reason for me to grind this skill!

A modder will surely come along to 'fix' this.

If you can add positive effects to weapons, I'd be willing to bet my favorite repair hammer that you can apply negative effects to them.

This sounds reasonable, also the decay curve should be exponential, a blunt axe doesn't get that much more blunt. But the state of the item should become worst than a new made item, a blunt axe is an ineffective mace essentially. Let's say you can go to 50% of the initial value and becomes fe. "Skyrimforge Battleaxe [blunt]".

And that's the crux of it. What they've obviously tried to do with Skyrim is provide multiple means to the same ends, and not make any one skill necessary for every character.

It's not necessary. You can get smiths to do it for you. What it does is serve you with convenience, as well as acting as a money saver. It's the as how a non-mage, non alchemist character can use restoration or alchemy to survive fights, but if they don't want to do those skills, they just have to go buy potions at shops. What they've tried to do is make a system where you don't have to think about anything, so that ANYONE can play!

Well return NPC service can help much there, if you are Warrior and train your Smithing thats doesn't mean you need learn Enchanting to make your equipment magical but you can use NPC service for enchanting of items or learn alchemy to mix needful potion, as well mage or rogue does not need learn smithing for improvement of equipment, if done with mod thats possible be done in such way
Make script thats will activated via dialogue topic,
script check current gold amount and compare it to cost of service, if fail refuse in service and say you don't have needed amount of gold,
if check give success then script check current values of player skills and perks, store them, modify values with NPC skills bonus (one of ways making NPC have levels of mastery),
give required materials and add known effects for enchanting, open craft menu allow create item, after closing of menu revert skills and perks to stored values, take specified amount of gold for service from %PCname.
Additionally NPC can ask %PCname bring components first instead of adding of their value in cost of service
Another addition is taking crafted item from player inventory after successful craft open dialogue with NPC thats say item will be ready after some amount of time and if player will come back after thats time give him created item.

I hate degrading equipment, and removing it is one of the best changes they made for Skyrim.

Adds nothing!?
After reading through many posts in this thread of the reasons and agree in one way or another, degrading weapons is a realistic factual thing.
if you use a sword its going to get dull over time with use, if you use a shield, the metal or whatever its uses will eventually degrade to where it ceases
to function on your behalf when you use it, may even break, same for armor you wear, weapons, ect,.,

Who said anything about having to carry hammers, in reality I would think as one of the posters had said he was a hunter, and in his down time
they would repair their stuff, well in this game being so versatile, why not have the best of both worlds, your stuff degrades whether you like it or not,
its realistic, so either repair it yourself where you would make weapons, and armor, or what have you, or have some else do it.

Removing a system in replace of another really has added an illusion almost forced apon a player to make their own stuff, so I say this what if i dont feel like smithing,
or doing my own stuff, what if I'd rather pay someone to do it, thats my preference, id rather go adventuring, and be in combat then making stuff, even though its cool,
but i'd rather have the option, and know that if i dont either fix it myself, or make it myself, or have some else do it, that it may be possible for my weapons, and basically
my stuff to break while in combat, possibly getting me killed, cuz my sword cracked, or broke, or my helmet got busted off.

Someone mod this, i miss oblivion's durability, and again no one said you have to carry 20 hammers, even though i did in oblivion i never used them and TBH lol why i had them to begin with.

Make pretend your character is maintaining his/her equipment whenever you rest/wait. Carrying around 50 armorer's hammers to use at random locations actually makes very little sense.

Swords breaking due to wear is very, highly unlikely. It may become dull (No smithing skill so no upgrade) but it actually breaking is pretty ridiculous. Go ahead and try to break a steel bar by hitting people. Hell, you could swing it at a rock all week and still never break it.

Essentially if you choose to not take up smithing you can keep/maintain your weapons and armor at minimum condition, at best. if you take smithing you can improve and maintain them to a higher standard.

Having the game degrade our item improvements over time (and only improvements) would make for a nice way to level Smithing without having to craft 500 iron daggers. Too bad they didn't implement it like that. Back for some more Iron Ingot hunting :/

The reason why repair hammers were a bad mechanic is the same reason why most hunger and thirst systems also fail. When there is no thought to it beyond having to do a mindless task such as clicking on an icon every 20 minutes you might as well just remove it from the game. I don't really mind that the feature is gone. But if it were to be brought back I would want it to be a system where your gear permanently degrades with each repair. That way I have to make a choice to repair it now with a low skill or bring it to someone who can do it for me for a higher price while maintaining the gears overall condition for a longer span of time.

And on that same note this is also why the thirst hunger and sleep mod I am working on has consequences for drinking eating and sleeping. In the THS system I outlined http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1304710-wip-thirst-hunger-sleep-ths/page__p__19646589__fromsearch__1#entry19646589 You may find yourself very thirsty but unwilling to drink the wine bottles you found because you cannot afford to be any more tired than you already are. You are forced to THINK about the system and that one fundamental difference transforms the entire concept from a tedious click fest to a true game mechanic.

So in its current state I am glad that they removed the Oblivion repair system.

Some of the responses never cease to amaze me... Nothing like a good semantics, tomatoe-tomatoh war of words in the TES forums.
Dude asked for something that was featured in previous games: weapons that degrade.
With all the posts about "immersion", "realism" and "balance", here is an instance which, again, has been featured in previous games, and adds a touch of realism and balance to aid immersion: any weapon degrades with time. In the case of blades, they, at a minimum, need to be sharpened once in a while.

No, Echonite is correct. 'Broken' means that it is not functioning as the creator intended. Bethesda fully intended there to be no degrading, and there isn't, so it's working perfectly.

You, sir, are looking for a mod to 'change' it. Not fix.

On topic, though. I am curious as to why they removed it. It was pretty good in Oblivion, and I loved it in Fallout. I wonder if Fallout 4 will have it?

Instead of the old breaking mechanism, perhaps we could take advantage of the current item system? By that I mean you can "upgrade" armor and weapons using the smithing skill.

What if instead of permanently improving the weapons, the benefits would start to degrade with use? Eventually your legendary Ebony armor would just be plain ebony armor. I suppose it could even work in reverse, without any upgrading eventually your sword cuts like a butter knife. That would mimic the effects of the old breaking system fairly well. It'd also get rid of any repair hammer nonsense

I'd vouch for this as well, this isn't the general discussion forum, statements like "imagine your doing it" or saying "it should stay as is" don't fly in the modding section, people want to change things, if your happy your comment really isn't required for something completely and utterly optional IMO. I'd expect going several bouts with a number of dragons will wrap warp that metal stick that once was called a iron sword. but apparently its as if the weapons are god blessed. I'd so go for this if it came to fruition