In Zelda: Breath of the Wild, weapons are not meant to last forever. With each swing of your sword or release of an arrow, your equipment’s durability slowly dwindles until it eventually breaks. Unlike previous Zelda games, there is no way to repair weapons in Breath of the Wild. Once a weapon is gone, it’s gone for good.
Why Can’t You Repair Weapons in Breath of the Wild?
The developers of Breath of the Wild, Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Eiji Aonuma, have explained their reasoning behind the breakable weapon system and lack of repair options. They wanted weapons to be more of a consumable item that players would have to regularly gather, similar to food and materials. This encourages exploration of the open world to find new weapons to use in combat.
Aonuma also stated that breakable weapons add depth to the combat system without making the button inputs too complicated. Players have to strategize which weapons to use against certain enemies to make the most of their durability.
Are There Any Exceptions to Repairing Weapons?
While the vast majority of weapons in Breath of the Wild cannot be repaired, there are a couple of exceptions:
The Master Sword has a base durability of 40 hits before needing a 10-minute recharge. It can be used again once fully recharged.
Rusty weapons can be repaired by throwing them into the mouths of Rock Octoroks, who will spit out a new version of the weapon.
The Champions’ weapons received from completing Divine Beasts can be repaired at the Blacksmith in Tarrey Town.
However, outside of these specific cases, most weapons will break permanently and need to be replaced with new ones found in the world.
Potential Changes in Tears of the Kingdom
Many players hope that Tears of the Kingdom will address some of the issues with weapon durability in Breath of the Wild. Potential fixes could include:
Increasing weapon durability
Adding a repair mechanic
Implementing an upgrade system similar to armor
Allowing players to permanently preserve certain weapons
As seen in the Master Sword’s new appearance in Tears of the Kingdom trailers, Link may be in need of a way to repair his weapons in the upcoming game.