Weapon durability in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the game's most divisive features, and at launch was met with some criticism for not including a way for BOTW players to repair weapons or prevent them from breaking. Every piece of equipment in Breath of the Wild can break except for the Master Sword, and even the legendary blade of evil’s bane will run out of energy after enough swings, rendering it useless until its power is restored.

Without the ability to repair weapons in Breath of the Wild, every weapon players find in the game will eventually be lost, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Weapon durability largely made combat in BOTW more fun and interesting, and it remains a viable way to get players to experiment with the variety of different weapon types available in the game.

Weapon Durability in BOTW, Explained By The Creators

Breakable Weapons Make For More Tactical Combat Strategies

Weapon durability in Breath of the Wild is meant to turn weapons into a consumable item that must be gathered like food and materials, effectively linking the game’s combat and exploration aspects, since exploring the world is required to gather the items necessary for combat. Ideally, it would give players a constant rotation of different weapons in their inventory as the weapons break. ​​​​​In the past, directors and producers have explained their reasoning for creating breakable items and not allowing players to repair weapons in BOTW.

Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi stated in an interview on the Breath of the Wild's open world, encouraging them to challenge enemies in order to claim weapons to use on their adventure. Series producer Eiji Aonuma added that BOTW's weapon durability gave combat more depth without making things too mechanically difficult with complicated combos. See the full interview (timestamped to this portion) below:

Aonuma also stated that breakable weapons encourage players to strategize about which weapons they use on which enemies, creating a more tactical combat system while keeping the actual button inputs relatively simple. This can be seen in practice within the first few minutes of the game once Link starts encountering some enemies and has to fend them off with branches and rusty weapons, both of which break very easily after a few hits.

Tears Of The Kingdom Has Fixed Weapon Durability

The Process To Fix Weapons In BOTW's Sequel Involves Facing An Enemy

Breath of the Wild’s weapon durability was met with mixed reviews, and while some players appreciated the constant rotation of the game’s weapons, bows, and shields, others found the mechanic to be more annoying than challenging. Not only can a weapon breaking mid-combat in Zelda be a source of frustration, but it can actually discourage players from engaging in combat since fighting enemies might not be worth losing a weapon over.

In addition, BOTW's weapon durability can detract from the excitement of finding a powerful new weapon as a reward. Since every weapon will eventually break no matter how cool it is, and there is no way to repair weapons in Breath of the Wild, this may cause some players to end up saving some of their favorites for long periods of time, effectively wasting one of their weapon slots. While it's easy to find enough Korok Seeds in BOTW to get another equipment slot, it would be nice to have some way to permanently preserve an item.

While BOTW itself remains unchanged, there was a massive change to its sequel. Players can repair weapons in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, offering them the chance to keep on using their preferred weapons in combat, as long as they don't destroy them before they get the chance to fix them. The process is a bit counterintuitive, especially for players who skipped BOTW. To repair weapons in Tears of the Kingdom, players need to find Octorok opponents in Hyrule.

These are not particularly hard to find, but their respawn is limited to every Blood Moon.

Once these Octorok enemies are found, players will need to drop the weapon they wish to repair in front of the octopus-like creature. The Octorok will then suck in the weapon and spit it out, with its durability renewed. In addition to restoring the weapon to its former glory, Octoroks will also give the weapon a randomized buff, making it even stronger than before. Of course, not all weapons are repairable in TOTK, but most can be given to an Octorok in order to have its durability reset to the maximum possible level in the game.

The main issue with this system is that a single Octorok can only repair one weapon. Once it sucks in the weapon and spits it out with its durability restored and a new buff, the Octorok will not repeat the process, be that on a new weapon or the same for a second time. If players want to restore more weapons, they will need to locate another Octorok in the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom map and complete the process. If all Octoroks have been used in this way, it will be necessary to wait for the aforementioned Blood Moon.

Aside from repairing melee weapons, per si, the Octoroks can also repair shields and bows. As is the case with regular weapons, not every shield or bow will be applicable for a fix via these creatures, but most can have their durability restored and can gain a randomized buff if they are sucked in and thrown out by Octoroks. Even with the possibility of repairing weapons in the sequel, which was not possible in BOTW, players should still be cautious about how they handle their gear, especially considering how limited repairing weapons in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can be.

It is worth noting that while the process itself is quite straightforward – despite not being actively taught by the game – there is still some risk involved in repairing weapons. Octoroks are not allies and will be attacking players when they repair weapons. As such, while placing weapons on the floor in front of Octoroks, players have to be wary of their attacks in combat. Nevertheless, the mere possibility of repairing weapons and gaining extra buffs in TOTK gives the game an extra layer of strategic planning that isn't present in Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Source: YouTube/Nintendo Power Podcast