Yeah, I don’t think something as gimmicky as durability belongs in a game like D:OS, where all the mastery and thoughtfulness is in the strategic combat, IMO. Having played and loved games like Shining Force since a kid, I have a bias towards these creations – and it’s just my humble opinion, but D:OS really aced this genre. To me it’s a strategy masterpiece, completely original and the best in its field by a long shot.
In other words, durability adds nothing to the game’s main appeal, which is the strategic combat.
Likewise I believe Baudolino05 has raised another highly relevant point, and one that’s probably going to get lost in this thread: item identification is another tacky rpg gimmick that doesn’t belong in a game like this. The lore skill is a bland investment, and identification is another ‘open menu & mindlessly click’ chore that’s so weak, they even had to add an ‘identification progress bar’ to raise the suspense that never existed in the first place.
Why not come up with a cooler, more original talent to invest in that replaces lore – and get rid of identification as well? The designers behind this game are, I believe, ahead of their time, and have come up with so many original ideas that pushing these clichés of the genre undermines the cleverness of everything else.
I hate (well resent, I suppose) the luck thing as well, BTW – but anyhow…
