Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityisn’t just a successor to the originalHyrule Warriorsspin-off from Koei Tecmo, the studio behind theDynasty Warriorsseries. It’s also a prequel toBreath of the Wildand, as such, will be further expanding that game’s lore and bringing over several mechanics that fans will be very familiar with.
However, new gameplay from today’s Nintendo Treehouse confirmed one minor yet key detail that will make someBreath of the Wildplayers very happy: the weapons don’t break.
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InBreath of the Wild, every weapon Link could acquire would degrade through use and eventually break. This even extended tospecial, powerful weaponsplayers could find from completing certain difficult tasks. The only exception was the legendary Master Sword but, even then, it could only be used so many times before needing to be put away so it could recharge.
The mechanic was very divisive among players, becoming especially unpopular with many to the point where there’s an argument for it tobe removed completely fromBreath of the Wild 2, or at least reworked so that weapons break less easily.
It makes sense for this feature to be excluded fromHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, regardless of its popularity. While players could feasibly spend long stretches ofBreath of the Wildwithout getting into fights, combat is the primary focus ofHyrule Warriorsand can’t really be avoided. Having breakable weapons in a game such as this would’ve only made it needlessly frustrating.
It also wouldn’t fit thematically. InBreath of the Wild, isolation and vulnerability were major themes of the game, so it arguably made sense for players to forever be scrambling for new weapons.Age of Calamity, though, takes place during a war in a time when Hyrule hasn’t been completely overrun with monsters and the forces of Calamity Ganon.
For those that hated the weapon degradation inBreath of the Wild, it’s absence could be another selling point and maybe a sign that Nintendo will ditch it for the sequel. But it’s far too soon to say. Nintendo hasn’t discussed the title since its initial reveal at E3 2019 and, whenAge of Calamitywas announced, series producer Eiji Aonuma could only say thatBreath of the Wild 2is still in developmentand fans will have to wait a while longer before any proper updates.
Still, so far fans are more than happy with whatAge of Calamityis offering. Many are hoping to see more playable characters outside of Link, Zelda, and the Champions be announced, though recently it was confirmed thata young Impa is playable, having appeared inBreath of the Wildas a very old woman.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamitywill release for Nintendo Switch on November 20th.
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