So it was recently confirmed that all armor will not degrade in the game...

Therefore it will be possible to have armor so indestructible it could give the man of steel a run for his money.

Is this the right move by Bethesda or should they work on adding this before release if not in a future patch?

To me this is just dumbing down the game and even though it was not fun for all fans it was always immersive for most and made the game all the more interesting to play. Removing repair hammers and making it so that all weapons and armor take a reasonably long time to fully degrade would have been the best way to fix the "no fun" issue since blacksmithing now plays a vital role in Skyrim with all weapons and armor (upgrading). Bethesda have made many changes and even though I felt some were reasonable losses (cuirass and greaves combined, no attributes etc) by removing something as realistic as armor/weapon degradation this is just pushing their luck because it will mean I can just find the best armor and weapons in the game, improve them a little then never have to go near the forge again (all that work on the blacksmithing skill down the drain nice one Bethesda).

It has been confirmed that armor has no health degradation but that does not mean that armor or weapons dont degrade at all over time. With the blacksmithing skill its possible to upgrade armor and weapons so maybe this same system can be used to add this degradation system. For example:

Worn Leather Boots > Leather Boots > Studded Leather Boots > Metal Leather Boots > Plate-mail Leather Boots

Whenever the PC takes damage it could be more than possible for a piece of armor or a weapon to break down and have to be upgraded again. For example Studded Leather Boots after taking a beating would fall apart and then become Leather Boots (the Studded Leather Boots would be gone) therefore you would have a degradation sytem. Should Leather Boots fall apart after a time then all you would have is for example "Worn Leather Boots" that would offer VERY little armor. This same system could work for weapons as well, for example:

Broken Iron Sword > Short Iron Sword > Long Iron Sword > Enchanted Iron Sword

The weapon degradation method would be different to how armor degrades in the same fashion even after armor has been worn it will still be usable unless it is cloth which would just be ripped apart and you would be left with torn rags. However should weapons fully degrade they would end up broken and completely unusable until upgraded again (fixed).

This system would be far superier to the usual "health" status bars for armor and weapons which was present in Fallout 3 and Oblivion and would work very well for Skyrim with its new blacksmithing skill. Even if this system is not present in the game it could be done easily enough with a mod.

:fallout: OR :tes:

-KC

I think the armor / weapons in Oblivion degraded way too fast, and having to carry 20+ hammers around just felt weird to me. And once I reached master armorer having my little 1 hammer was ok, but at that point repairing my armor / weapons just felt like a chore to keep up with. I'm honestly happy about this change.

Although, I do think weapons should get dull and need to be sharpened every now and then. (only after about 200 or so hits)

well never liked the way it broke in OB

have to bring 20 hammers or spent lot of gold for repairs

I have conflicting views. On one hand, I am happy but on the other I wish that you would have to regularly maintain your weapon (sharpening and such). I also wanted to reforge weapons from their shards.

I'm not the happiest camper in the world, but I will see if Bethesda has put in a new system to replace it

I am fine with it, repairing armor never really added any fun to the game and I never really enjoyed their repair mechanic - it really didn't make sense having such fragile hammers. Granted armor does, realistically, take damage from combat, but it's a realistic trait I'm easily fine living without the added tedium that came with it.

Exacty why repair hammers should be the thing thats removed while keeping the armor/weapon degradation element in. Blacksmithing is an important skill now and what better way to make that more interesting, immersive and interactive than making it so you have to look after your weapons and armor so that they look after you?

-KC

i liked having to repair stuff. but it did always break to easily. although i would have loved to see a sword snap in the middle of combat(preferable not mine, but that would be the luck) or armor hanging off an arm or waist as the straps broke. that would be awesome.

when you say not all that means that some will so its not removed at all and people have missed the point there must be like Dragon Armour thats like made from there bones that not only dont degrade but its just not phsicly possible to fix in the traditional sence of forging

improve your armors and weapons by adding leather to your hilt, sharpening your sword for extra damage, or adding reinforced leather layer to your armor

I agree as long as they don't degrade too fast. I like to go on long journeys at times. And having to constantly run back to my nearest repair station every time I leave a dungeon would really feel like a waste of my time.

It wasn't really ever about the negative-fun of self maintaining but more about the immersive realism of having to keep your weapons and armor spick and span so that they could do their job which is keeping your ass alive.

-KC

"by removing something as realistic as armor/weapon degradation this is just pushing their luck because it will mean I can just find the best armor and weapons in the game, improve them a little then never have to go near the forge again (all that work on blacksmithing down the drain nice one Bethesda)."

-KC

It was not confirmed that weapons and armor don't degrade, it was only confirmed that their health doesn't degrade.

@DCDeacon Hey Pete, I'm just wondering, do weapons and armor degrade in Skyrim, like with their own health? Also, is there visual damage?

@elderscrollsftw No and no.

Well my guess is that weapons degrading didn't fit into the new forging system some how, but in all honesty I'll take crafting my own weapons and armor over having to constantly repair them. Todd and all them created all these TES games and they wouldn't do something major in Skyrim without good reason.

that's the same with degradable armors. you will find your enchanted elven armor and forget that rusty iron armor

THANK YOU SIR

sadly some people dont get it

they have. It is called upgrading and sharpening you weapons.

dataman is correct, nothing really changed

Did no one play FO3, where you could pull your backside out of a radio active fire by breaking the enemies weapon? Or a pack of weak gouls could become a threat when your shotgun finally gives out on you? These things added stratagy and depth to combat. The tide of entire firefights could shift with just one weapon break.

I'm happy that someone else understands. They never said that weapons don't degrade, just their health. For all we know their is a totally new system of repairing weapons and armor.

Clinging at straws.
It is gone.

I said this another thread. They confirmed armor and weapon upgrading. So its possible that instead of your gear degrading like in Oblivion and Morrowind, it might degrade in level of upgrades. So fine iron boots might degrade to worn iron boots, just like you can upgrade iron boots to fine iron boots.

Someone should definately tweet about that...

And the question should be accurate to the letter, for example:

"is their any weapon and/or armor degradation at all in Skyrim?"

-KC

and never go near the forge again...

-KC

The tweeted question and the answering tweet do not provide clear confirmation that weapons and armor cannot be damaged. Even if there is no weapon or armor health, I wonder if weapon damage degrades or armor defense degrades. I also wonder what "do weapons and armor degrade in Skyrim, like with their own health" means to Pete Hines.