Tears of the Kingdom, Part Thirteen
Jul. 1st, 2023 07:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingI eventually want to start writing about things I like in Tears of the Kingdom, but I have one last complaint I need to get off my chest: I do not like the weapon fusion mechanic.
As an ADHD person, I’m unfortunately very sensitive to processes that have a lot of extra steps, and the weapon fusion in Tears of the Kingdom is intense. This is what you need to do:
01. Open the weapon menu
02. Equip the weapon you want to fuse something to
03. Switch over to the item menu
04. Select the item you want to fuse to your weapon
05. Have Link hold one of that item
06. Exit out of the menu
07. Drop the item on the ground
08. Open the special abilities wheel
09. Select the weapon fusion ability
10. Select whether you want to fuse the item to your weapon or shield
This process isn’t actually that complicated in practice, but that’s a lot of steps. What I wish you could do is fuse items directly from the weapon menu (or from the shield menu), which would reduce these ten steps to three or four steps. Even for neurotypical people, I’d imagine that streamlining this essential process would make the game far less aggravating.
Another drawback to the clunkiness of the fusion system is that you can’t use it in the heat of battle. Unlike Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom frequently finds you fighting mobs of enemies. Since weapons break so quickly, what you usually need to do is grab weapons from staggered or defeated enemies in order to continue the battle. Not being able to strengthen the weapons you pick up during the fight is a major disadvantage, even after you’re armed to the teeth later in the game.
I’m playing Tears of the Kingdom as a wildlife photography simulator, so this doesn’t bother me as much as it could, but it’s still a disappointment not to be able to enjoy basic combat.
As an ADHD person, I’m unfortunately very sensitive to processes that have a lot of extra steps, and the weapon fusion in Tears of the Kingdom is intense. This is what you need to do:
01. Open the weapon menu
02. Equip the weapon you want to fuse something to
03. Switch over to the item menu
04. Select the item you want to fuse to your weapon
05. Have Link hold one of that item
06. Exit out of the menu
07. Drop the item on the ground
08. Open the special abilities wheel
09. Select the weapon fusion ability
10. Select whether you want to fuse the item to your weapon or shield
This process isn’t actually that complicated in practice, but that’s a lot of steps. What I wish you could do is fuse items directly from the weapon menu (or from the shield menu), which would reduce these ten steps to three or four steps. Even for neurotypical people, I’d imagine that streamlining this essential process would make the game far less aggravating.
Another drawback to the clunkiness of the fusion system is that you can’t use it in the heat of battle. Unlike Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom frequently finds you fighting mobs of enemies. Since weapons break so quickly, what you usually need to do is grab weapons from staggered or defeated enemies in order to continue the battle. Not being able to strengthen the weapons you pick up during the fight is a major disadvantage, even after you’re armed to the teeth later in the game.
I’m playing Tears of the Kingdom as a wildlife photography simulator, so this doesn’t bother me as much as it could, but it’s still a disappointment not to be able to enjoy basic combat.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-01 12:47 pm (UTC)I was trying to explain to my bf why I don't fuse anything ever and my brain bluescreened bc what do you mean it's simple how can I convey what feels like common sense??? And then I tossed my controller at him, said "I'm making tea - YOU fuse all this bullshit", and I came back to all my weapons upgraded with cool monster bits.
But I get not everyone has a giddy bf at their disposal to do that tedious shit for them (accessibility win - all games come with supportive bfs or gfs or whoever to do the crap you don't like) and holy fuck why can't there be a fuse all mechanic in the menu >:/ well, at least the game is a good photo/cooking simulator
no subject
Date: 2023-07-02 01:11 pm (UTC)YES!!!
If we lived in a happier world where it wasn't creepy to go to someone's house, I would absolutely participate something like a video game skillshare service. Someone could fuse all of Link's weapons in my game, and in their game I would bake one of every single kind of pie.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-03 03:10 pm (UTC)Compare Harvestella (a farming sim/ARPG): when I want to craft something, I go to the crafting bench and select the thing I want to craft. If I possess the correct ingredients anywhere in either my inventory or storage, the thing is crafted and we're done! So much simpler.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-10 12:45 pm (UTC)Also, you know what game has the easiest, most accessible, and most useful crafting system? Fucking Elden Ring. You know, the horrible demented mind-bendingly difficult murder simulator where you become a monster to kill god... while also picking lots of pretty flowers to feed to your horse.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-12 01:38 pm (UTC)storyline spoilers for Harvestella, post chapter 3
So the first three chapters are "go to these cities and solve their problems" and if you do them in the logical order, the last one ends up with a giant mecha, and from there, the plot suddenly spins around and zips into "hi, we're deeply influenced by NieR and Xenogears" very strange post-apocalypse futuristic things. It....works, in a weird way.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-12 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-07-20 09:26 pm (UTC)