Uncovering the Truth Behind Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Weapon Damage

In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players can uncover a plethora of secrets, one of which pertains to the game's weapon damage stat. However, this added complexity is compounded by the return of weapon durability, leaving some fans who were already put off by Breath of the Wild's unique features feeling even more overwhelmed. The game features multiple weapon types, including one-handed swords, two-handed swords, and spears. While each type boasts unique aesthetics, they all fall within these three categories. Of the three, spears are often favored for their quick hits and ability to stun-lock enemies, though they do leave Link more vulnerable while attacking. Unfortunately, all weapons are quite fragile and will break after sustaining enough damage, though players can now use the new Fuse ability to repair them to some extent.

According to a post by fallen_corpse on Reddit, Tears of the Kingdom has a hidden stat change that gives each weapon type a unique damage modifier to prevent any type from becoming overpowered. However, this means that spears are weaker than advertised and less powerful than other weapon types with similar numbers listed. Light swords have an unchanged damage stat of 1.0, heavy swords sit at 1.05 (5% stronger than expected), and spears are at 0.75 (25% weaker than expected). These changes will likely add more complexity to combat strategy, particularly in the early stages of the game.

Many Redditors responded to this news with a sense of indifference, with some not surprised by the findings and others considering light weapons to be the superior choice now. Some users also pointed out that the Champion's Tunic no longer reveals enemy HP numbers, which may have been a deliberate move to make the stat changes less obvious.

The reason behind Nintendo's decision to rebalance the weapon types in Tears of the Kingdom remains a mystery to fans. While the company has a track record of incorporating fan feedback into sequels, such as the new Ascend ability, the developers have not explained the rationale for this particular change. It's possible that they wanted to promote more experimentation among players, especially considering the emphasis on exploration in the two previous Zelda games. The game is currently available for the Nintendo Switch.