History Main / BreakableWeapons

* The player can pick up numerous melee weapons in ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance''. They break after a few swings but are more damaging than the default weapons which is quite a feat considering the base weapons include Thor's Mjolnir, Wolverine's adamantium claws, and Cap's unbreakable shield.

* The swords used by the Garrison, Survey Corps, and Military Police in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan''. It's told that the reason they're used is for their incredible sharpness, as the weapons are hand-made expressly for the purpose of fighting Titans, but they'll break with only a handful of uses. To account for that shortcoming, soldiers utilize sword hilts with detachable, replaceable blades--much like a large utility knife--and carry sheaths of multiple blades that they can switch out [[LiteralMetaphor on the fly]]. Also like a utility knife, the blades can break off in sections so that if the tip gets dull the rest of the blade can still be used.

* ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2'':

* ''VideoGame/SevenSixtyTwoHighCaliber'' has two different stats for weapons: Wear and Dirt. Both accumulate as the weapon is used, with Dirt rising faster (representing dirt, grime, carbon buildup, and other such byproducts of firing or careless use in a dirty environment). Dirt can be eliminated with a few seconds and a cleaning kit, while Wear can't be fixed without a weapon repair kit that can only be used when the gun breaks entirely. In both cases, a worn-out or dirty weapon causes a higher chance of a jam (requiring a second for the merc to fix his weapon, which may take multiple tries).

* ''7.62 High Caliber'' has two different stats for weapons: Wear and Dirt. Both accumulate as the weapon is used, with Dirt rising faster (representing dirt, grime, carbon buildup, and other such byproducts of firing or careless use in a dirty environment). Dirt can be eliminated with a few seconds and a cleaning kit, while Wear can't be fixed without a weapon repair kit that can only be used when the gun breaks entirely. In both cases, a worn-out or dirty weapon causes a higher chance of a jam (requiring a second for the merc to fix his weapon, which may take multiple tries).

* The weapons in ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' are breakable, as per its focus on hand-to-hand combat.

-->-- '''Ben "[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]]" Croshaw,''' ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/20-Silent-Hill-Origins Zero Punctuation: Silent Hill Origins]]''

** The ''Oriental Adventures'' sourcebook had a "weapon breaker" combat manouever that had a chance to break an opponent's weapon. However, if used on an "unbreakable" weapon it would fail and there was a good chance you'd break your own weapon instead.

* All weapons in ''VideoGame/{{Cataclysm}}: Dark Days Ahead'' can get damaged and break after many uses. You can repair them if you have the right tool, or, if they break, grab the fragments of your destroyed weapon and use them to craft a new one. Most [[BladeOnAStick spear-type weapons]] are particularly fragile to balance out the fact that they'd give you effectively infinite ranged attacks otherwise. Guns can also get fouling after being fired too many times.

* VideoGame/Prey2017: The optional 'survival mod' has weapons degrade over time, as well as taking damage from environmental damage and attacks. Poor-condition weapons jam and ultimately become unusable, requiring you to strip spare weapons for repair supplies.

Compare with ThrowawayGuns; guns that cannot be reloaded are one way of implementing this trope. Of course, if a game doesn't feature this trope, it probably has UnbreakableWeapons. If you can break weapons before even ''getting'' them, it falls under DestroyableItems. This is a SisterTrope to WreckedWeapon, when weapons break in fiction. Contrast with ScrappyMechanic and FakeDifficulty.

* ''7.62 High Caliber'' has two different stats for weapons: Wear and Dirt. Both accumulate as the weapon is used, with Dirt rising faster (representing dirt, grime, carbon buildup, and other such byproducts of firing or careless use in a dirty environment). Dirt can be eliminated with a few seconds and a cleaning kit, while Wear can't be fixed without a weapon repair kit that can only be used when the gun breaks entirely. In both cases, a worn out or dirty weapon causes a higher chance for a jam (requiring a second for the merc to fix his weapon, which may take multiple tries).

* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', certain moves with the polearm will cause Ezio to break it. That doesn't stop Ezio from ramming both halves into the Enemy after a suprised look at the weapon pieces in his hands.
* Like the modern-day Prince of Persia, Prince Ali of ''VideoGame/BeyondOasis'' (''The Story of Thor'' in Europe) carried an arsenal of breakable weaponry. Only his knife (which he was best with anyway) stayed around... unless you could find the top-secret "Infinite" items! Oddly, for a number of years the only infinite item anyone knew anything about was the [[InfinityPlusOneSword best one]]. An early on InfinityPlusOneSword would be the Fire Crossbow which you win in a minigame.

*** The Giant's Knife is a powerful sword which breaks after only a few swings -- though the hilt retains its great strength even when broken, taking only a considerable decrease in range.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' has the Razor Sword, an upgrade to Link's usual weapon which blunts back down to its original form after a hundred swings. A SideQuest allows to be upgraded into a permanent, stronger form.

** ''Boktai 2'' had weapons that, rather than outright breaking, would lose their attack bonus or their special abilities (think like a weapon dulling) over time. It ''was'' possible, though difficult, to make weapons that would never do this if you did particularly good at the forging process.

** In ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', weapons and armor degrade slowly with use and requires a blacksmith and some souls to fix. If they lose all their durability, their damage/defense values go down the drain and become much more expensive to repair. But in most cases, managing durability was only a small concern and only a small handful of weapons had special attacks that used up durability to use, but durability-reducing effects were utilized in a few [=PvP=] troll builds. ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' does mostly the same, but lets you a buy a Repair Box to fix it at any bonfire, and added Repair Powders to instantly give all your equipment some durability.
** In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', equipment degrade much faster, but resting at a bonfire fully restores durability on all non-broken items. In many cases, your weapon will be more than halfway degraded by the time you get to one bonfire to the next and the threat of items breaking was real. There was also a major bug where items degraded twice as fast if the game was running at 60 FPS, but has fortunately been fixed. One peculiar item is Santier's Spear, which turns into a better weapon when it breaks and stays broken.

* The player can pick up numerous melee weapons in ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance''. They break after a few swings, but are more damaging than the default weapons which is quite a feat considering the base weapons include Thor's Mjolnir, Wolverine's adamantium claws, and Cap's unbreakable shield.
* In the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' series, melee weapons like the hammer, the swords and the axe have varying levels of sharpness, and become duller the more they are used. However, one can buy whetstones (or gather them from the environment) and resharpen the weapon back to its original form during hunts. Also, when the weapon loses all its sharpness, it is still usable, albeit very weak. Rather bizarrely, you also have to sharpen blunt weaponry to the same effect. Ranged weaponry is entirely exempt from this system, instead having to deal with ammo.

* In Westwood's ''VideoGame/{{Nox}}'' almost EVERYTHING that can be equipped, is breakable, whether on the player's character, NPC's and enemies. Each time the character gets into city, he should visit a smith and fix his worn-out armor and weapons. If he won't, they may break in the thick of fray. Even clothes have their {{Hit Point}}s, so it is possible to strip someone naked.

* ''VideoGame/{{Soulbringer}}'' uses this fairly realistically. Weapons gradually become less effective as they're used (especially if used against certain armors, like using a scimitar to slash against plate armor.) They can be repaired to perfect condition at any point up from ?ruined,? but use beyond that can break them beyond repair. The game also features breakable armor, in the same manner.

* In ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|Capcom}}'' arcade game by Capcom, all the weapons that can be used by the player have limited durability that is displayed when wielded. After the limit has been reached, the weapon will no longer be usable. Some of the melee weapons, such as the baseball bat and the pipe, will break in its last use.

* The ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'' series has all weapons vanish after a certain number of hits, but a certain exploit in the some of the games can make the weapons' durability gauge refill again, basically renewing them. If an enemy picks up a weapon dropped by the player, its durability will be near full once the player take the weapon back.

* Items break at seemingly random in ''VideoGame/{{Albion}}''. There's no durability, just usable items, and broken weapons. Some items are found broken, and must be repaired before use.

* ''VideoGame/{{Koudelka}}'' features breakable weapons influenced by its survival horror origins, with the characters being reduced to slugging away with their fists or using magic until new weapons are found. Guns do not break, but naturally have limited ammo to compensate.

* The ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' franchise has a recurring example with [[DubNameChange Balrog/Vega/"Claw"]]: if his claw takes enough damage (usually by blocking too many attacks), it breaks off, reducing his damage and range slightly; in some games it lands on the floor and can be picked up again, but in others the weapon is completely destroyed. Some games take it a step further and make his mask breakable too, [[TheFightingNarcissist which causes him to take more damage]]. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'' gives him a move that lets him instantly equip a new claw from {{Hammerspace}}, while ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' gives him a StanceSystem with a set of alternate claw-less moves.

* The weapons in ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' degrade over time, losing effectiveness. Eventually, they'll start jamming more and more often, and will [[ShurFineGuns blow up altogether]] if the player continues using them. Luckily, weapons purchased from the gun stores are always brand-new, and you get an infinite supply of replacements for any gun you've purchased before. Guns picked up from enemies, on the other hand, tend to be rather old and beat-up; it's better just to snag their ammo. The guns themselves are ridiculously bad, however. There is no way a dart rifle (with no propellant fouling) explodes after 15 shots. The actual ridiculing [[http://www.imfdb.org/index.php/Far_Cry_2 can be found at IMFDB]]. The most practical weapons are the ones least likely to break in long fire fights: the AK-47, M79 grenade launcher, the LPO-90 Flamethrower, and the SVD sniper rifle.

* VideoGame/Prey2017: The optional 'survival mod' has weapons degrade over time, as well as taking damage from enviromental damage and attacks. Poor condition weapons jam and ulitmately becoming unusable, requiring you to strip spare weapons for repair supplies.

** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' has the durability of all non-broken equipment restored to full upon resting at a bonfire, and anything that ''is'' broken can be easily repaired at a blacksmith. However this is counteracted by most weapons being as fragile as tissue paper, breaking in about 30-50 attacks. And just to make it even worse, the only game in the trilogy where Repair Powder is actually ''useful'' is also the only game where it can't be bought in infinite quantities right from the start. The merchant who has an infinite stock of it isn't accessible until about halfway into the game. There are three other merchants who sell it, but they only have one each. One enemy can drop it, but extremely rarely, not to mention they are only found in one of the game's biggest [=PvP=] hot zones. In addition to all that, they also gave ''rings'' durability, and more often than not the really useful rings are also the ones with the lowest durability. However, there is also a ring that slows durability loss when worn, which provides some relief. There is also Santier's Spear, a weapon with rather sub-par stats but insanely high durability. It will most likely never break unless you do so deliberately by smacking it against the crows' nest in Things Betwixt for several minutes straight, or are trying to do a [[NoDeathRun no-bonfire run]]. When it finally ''does'' break, however, [[GameBreaker the game breaks with it]], since unlike other broken weapons it not only doesn't lose any attack power, but also ''gains'' a brand new, extremely versatile moveset. And since you can't break what's already broken, it now effectively has infinite durability.

** In ''VideoGame/DiabloI'', items reduced to Zero Durability are destroyed, making low durability items like the Thinking Cap very tedious to use. However, there were shrines in the game that raised maximum durability, and making use of the Thinking Cap item (which had 1 durability to start with), almost required exploiting these shrines.

* ''VideoGame/EveOnline'', believe it or not. If you overheat your modules, they will shortly start to incur heat damage, too much heat damage and the module(s) will go offline; you will either need to drop by a station with a repair facility and pay to have them repaired, or use some (expensive) nanopaste if that is not an option. Assuming you don't (or can't) overheat your modules, however, the only way for them to get damaged is to be in or on a ship when it goes boom... It should be noted that like all things in ''EVE Online'' this is a tradeoff. Modules that can be overheated will often give some addition boot. (range, RoF, Damage, etc) Additionally, keeping somewhat accurately to science, heat will "spread randomly" to other modules. So, one tactic used is to have an offline modules to act as a "heat sink" to run your other modules hotter longer.

* ''VideoGame/PuzzlePirates'', a pirate-based {{MMORPG}} for the PC, features this trope. Everything you can obtain (with the exception of currency, trinkets, ships, pets and some promotional items) wears out over time and turns into dust. Except for clothes, which turn into unattractive "rags". You can still wear them--no nudity allowed, even the cartoon variety--but they don't look good.

** There is also equipment referred to under a blanket term as Barrows Equipment. There exists some incredibly powerful melee, ranged and magic equipment that belonged to immensely powerful warriors of days gone by, and you can go graverobbing to get your hands on some. They're the best weapons in the game... usually. However, after about 15 hours of combat, they break, and require you to pay through the nose to repair. The PVP equipment released afterwards takes this a step further - Powerful to the point of bordering on being a GameBreaker, but they're rare, expensive, and once used for an hour in combat, it's {{Permanently Missable|Content}}. Jagex then took it to the ultimate extreme with the Hand Cannon. It's an uncommon weapon with annoying-to-get ammo, but under the right conditions, it can hit right up to 60 HP (and in a game where the maximum HP is 99, this is a big deal). However, seeing what trope we're in here, it should be obvious what its issue is - Due to the [[SarcasmMode brilliant dwarven craftsmanship]], it can violently, and without warning, explode in your face. The 16 damage to your health will heal. The sheer fury of the weapon you were having so much fun destroying people with being suddenly [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]] will stay with you far, far longer...

* A significant case exists (at least, did - no guarantee that it is still the case after to so many years) in ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline''. Both weapons and armor have durability which wears down over time and can be repaired by someone with the appropriate skill, but every repair reduces the maximum durability of the item and weapons at lower durability deal less damage. If you are diligent about keeping your weapons at optimal killing capacity, then you'll have to replace them entirely before long. Fortunately, the really powerful magical weapons were never mandatory, and most people could get by with a simple player-crafted katana.

** Throwing weapons in [=WoW=] used to be ammunition (like arrows for bows, except that the ammo is both), but a patch changed it so that throwing weapons had durability, which was reduced by one point every time it was thrown and could be repaired like a normal weapon. This was especially helpful for hard to come by throwing weapons.

* ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' has a few melee weapons such as street signs, black swords and an unlockable katana but all of them are fairly useless due to them breaking after about 8 hits. Strangely picking up the same weapon you're holding gives you more hits with it, like ammo.

* ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'': [[GlassWeapon Glass weapons]] have a default +4 damage rating making them very powerful even without strength-boosting rings and such but they break if the character gets hit once, leaving nothing but a glass shard which can't even be thrown like the default Dagger. Other glass variants such as the torch, armour, slippers and jaw also break if hit once except for the Heavy Glass Armour which gives you three blocks against all damage.
* ''VideoGame/ShirenTheWanderer'': Most weapons are technically unbreakable by default with no durability issues apart from a handful of exceptions such as the Rusty Pickaxe which can dig holes in walls but has a chance of breaking, the Old Mallet which can destroy traps but possibly break in the process, and the Glass Dirk which is a very high base attack but breaks quickly if used normally as does the Glass Buckler. Also, weapons can be broken if thrown against something (unless melded with a Throwing Sword), [[BoobyTrap blown up by a trap]] if lying on the ground or if placed in a pot which gets destroyed.

* In ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'' it's possible to [[GameMod design outfits]] that wear out after a given amount of time by putting together two oütf resources (one for the good version, one for the bad version) and a crön resource (a time delay) that replaces one with the other. ''EV Nova's'' in-game example is the black-market versions of the Fission Reactor (which breaks down after a few months) and the Thorium Reactor (which becomes an explosion waiting to happen). Cheap Carbon Fiber has to be replaced, otherwise it becomes a "really expensive paintjob".

* ''VideoGame/MythTheFallenLords:'' in the sequel, the Balmung sword cracks lightnings all around destroying everybody who is too close. It is so overpowered that those who wield that can defeat literally thousands of enemies alone. This indeed appens in the penultimate mission when Alric confronts Soulblighter, where you don't even need to use the rest of your army until the end. However, after battling the BigBad, it is scripted to break, forcing the main hero and his soldiers to chase him in the last mission and fight the traditional way.

** The series has had this trope since the beginning ([[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness with the exception]] of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Gaiden]]'', and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates''), and broken weapons usually cannot be repaired. This is the case for ''every'' unit, even ones without physical weapons (such as healers and mages, whose staves and spellbooks are {{Limited Use Magical Device}}s). Even the legendary weapons have limited durability (except in certain cases like the Falchion in [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight the original]] and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]],'' and the Ragnell in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance''). Certain games have repairable weapons (that when broken gain a statset and a name of "Broken Sword"), but most of the time if a weapon breaks it's gone. One interesting piece is that weapons have always had a fixed number of uses (A "Steel Sword" will always break after exactly 35 hits), rather than random rolls or a a "durability" stats that goes down at an unknown rate, and that ''Fire Emblem'' generally has limited money, making money management another factor of the game's strategy. As a general rule, cheaper weapons and staves have more uses, are slightly lighter (and therefore [[DeathOfAThousandCuts faster]]) than average, and are still quite effective in the right hands, so it's strategic to have run-of-the-mill equipment as a back-up for fights/heals that don't need the good stuff.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', you can repair pretty much any and all weapons, including broken ones, simply by visiting the castle town shops and paying a corresponding fee (up to 1000 gold per use on legendary weapons). Which is rather more less convenient than it sounds when you realize that each unit has its own bag of cash that can only be transferred to another unit under very limited circumstances and healers tend to have trouble acquiring money. Thankfully, in this game, almost everything (bar some specialty weapons, but including the Holy Weapons but not the Holy Staff) has 50 uses.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', Lyn's Legendary Weapon, the Mani Katti, has its uses restored between the two times when you get to use her, or a new Mani Katti will be given to Lyn altogether if you manage to break it in the first part. Since the game's main story, which is part of the prequel canon for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'', starts with Eliwood in Chapter 11, and it's been some time between Lyn's 10th chapter and Eliwood's 11th chapter, it's assumed that it didn't literally break in Lyn's little story mode, even if the player did so while playing through that section.

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon]]'' has an item, the Starsphere, that when held in one's inventory nullifies weapon degradation. Also, one can buy character specific weapons like the Rapier and Wing Spear from some shops. Also, two used weapons of the same type can be combined into a single, more durable weapon between battles. There's also a single repair item, and Falchion itself, once you get it, is indestructible. (Amusingly, the main character Chrom is still using Falchion hundreds of years later in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening,'' and yes, it's still indestructible.)
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' introduced Armsthrift, a skill available to anyone who can reclass to Mercenary, which prevents weapon degradation and activates on a percentage based off of the user's LuckStat multiplied by two. Promoted characters' Luck usually caps at around 45 so a capped character can activate Armsthrift around 80-90% of the time, letting characters have ''much'' more use for their fragile legendary weapons. And, if the character also has certain other skills equipped, they can boost the activation rate to 100% thus having infinite uses for their weapons and averting this trope. Interestingly, staves are not affected by this skill.

** ''Videogame/AloneInTheDark2008'' had weapons which fell apart literally in about a dozen strokes. Combined with unlimited supplies of some mooks, this can get pretty aggravating. Things made of metal will typically last forever.

* In the ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' series, weapons tend not to last very long, largely because one of the game's main features is the fact you're in anything from a mall to an [[VideoGame/DeadRising3 entire city]] ''full'' of potential weapons. Your baseball bat broke? Who cares?! There's a sports store right over there where you can get more of them! However, while weapons can't be repaired, the player can pick up books which increase their durability (for example, the biography of a serial killer improves bladed weapons). The downside, of course, is that these books take up [[InventoryManagementPuzzle inventory space that could be used for more weapons or healing items]]. Some weapons can be affected by multiple books, which causes their effects to be multiplied. The Small Chainsaw dropped by [[MonsterClown Adam the Clown]] in the first game is considered [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome the best weapon in that game]] because it swings fast, does decent damage per swing, and can be affected by ''three'' books at once, giving it ''27 times'' the durability. ''Dead Rising 3'' changes things up a bit: books don't take up inventory space and can be equipped from the menus once found. However, you can only equip one at a time, until you level up an ungodly amount and unlock the final skill under "Smarts", which lets you equip all books at once.

* In ''VideoGame/TotalChaos'', almost every melee weapon in the game is breakable to varrying degrees, with the [[WrenchWhack wrench]] being the only exception. Depending on which weapon was broken, it will either be unusable for the rest of the game or will give the player a piece of the weapon that needs to be combined with other items to repair/rebuild it.

* The [=PS2=]-version of ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|THQ}}'' has a similar system. Focused on gunplay, any melee weapon you collect can be used to kill a single mook, often literally shattering into pieces in the process. Including pipe-wrenches and metallic baseball-bats.

* ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'': alien weapons self-destruct into fragments when you kill an enemy. You can then harvest the debris and reverse engineer alien technology in order to gain acccess to laser and plasma weapons. Capturing an alien alive with the Arc Thrower nets you its weapon intact, though it has to be researched before it can be used.

** Another thing which realistically damages weapons is explosions; be careful when using grenades or barrels to kill elite mooks, because it might damage their often-better equipment.

* In ''VideoGame/ArxFatalis'', every hit damages the weapon as well, and hitting something hard, like armor, bone, or wall, only increases this damage. Repairing lowers max durabilty, to avoid this you can repair it at the blacksmith. Weapon, however, will be fully functional until the end, when it (according to the following sound) is ''pulverized''. Furthermore, buying or repairing weapon at blacksmith is virtually the only way to get non-damaged weapon; pieces you loot are generally in bad condition, due to being used. However, "generic" weapons with no bonuses can be enchanted with one of several magic ingredients, one of which makes them undestructible. Finally, any {{Mithril}} sword is unbreakable by design.

** A bug in the game's code made the displayed condition of the weapon or armor independent of its actual use; a sword will do the same damage at 10% as it does at 100%, and a suit of armor prevents just as much damage at 35% as it does at 100%. The only in-game effect for the durability is for crossbow strings (which ''will'' break randomly, based on the condition of the string and render the weapon unusable) and selling looted or obselete armor to shops.

** Power armor in ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' has durability for each piece (head, two arms, two legs, chest), and any piece that reaches zero durability [[DidntNeedThoseAnyway breaks off]], though this just lowers total damage reduction and disables any mods on the piece--the now-exposed parts won't be especially vulnerable. Broken and damaged power armor pieces can only be repaired at a power armor station using base materials, and higher tier armors need rarer parts. On the other hand, ''4'' completely does away with the previous degradation system. [[UnbreakableWeapons No other gear degrades or breaks.]] Instead there is an [[DesignItYourselfEquipment expanded modding system]], making the weapons and armor vary in strength in the other direction. It's rather impressive that guns [[ImprovisedWeapon made out of scrap pipes]] and [[RagnarokProofing 280 year old weapons]] can both fire an infinite amount of ammo without deterioration or even jams.
* In ''VideoGame/ForTheKing'', most weapons are unbreakable; "Breakable" is an attribute applied to certain types of weapon, most of which are particularly powerful (and many of which are unique and irreplaceable). Most of them have an in-game reason for having the attribute, such as a set of powerful unique weapons (one sword, one bow, one wizard's staff, one [[MagicMusic lute]]) that are made out of glass. A breakable weapon doesn't have a set number of uses before it breaks, but instead will shatter the first time the player gets a CriticalFailure while using it.

* Many of the games in the ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series had a glass sword which could kill almost any enemy in one shot, but would break afterwards.

* Weapons in the ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' series have an annoying tendancy to break quite often (as do armor and accessories). However, they can be fixed for the right price or if one of your party has some skill at repairing things.

** The ''Hearts of stone'' DLC add a rune that can reduce armour degredation by 100%, making it unbreakble, unfortuanly you can't get the same thing for weapons.

* Item quality is one of the key elements in ''VideoGame/{{Unturned}}'' unless you're playing on Easy. Every weapon has a variable chance to degrade a certain percentage after each whack or shot, and while they're not technically unusable at 0%, they're so horrendous at their main uses, they might as well be. Repairing takes a certain amount of the material the item is crafted out of and a repair will always take the item to 100% quality, but some metallic items (mostly firearms) require a blowtorch alongside the materials to fix and more complicated weapons require the player to invest points in the Engineer skill.

* In ''[[VideoGame/DefJamSeries Def Jam: Fight for NY]]'', participants can get their hands on any number of nifty weapons, from [[BatterUp baseball bats]] to beer bottles to barbed-wire-wrapped 2x4s, all of which break after 1-5 hits. This even applies to the rare (and devistating) chrome tube and lead pipe, though they don't actually ''break'' - once you hit the limit, the item bends over the opponent's head.

!!Non Video Game Examples

* Jams/misfires are optional firearm rules in ''TabletopGame/HeroSystem''. Melee weapon breakage is an option for a rolled natural 18 (automatic failure), and suggested for genres that use stone/bone weaponry.
* In ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'', steel weapons with no chance of breaking under normal use are a lost technology, affordable only by the rich. Someone with only ordinary opportunities for acquiring weapons will be using a weapon made of obsidian, which breaks much more easily than metal weapons.

* ''VideoGame/{{Koudelka}} features breakable weapons influenced by its survival horror origins, with the characters being reduced to slugging away with their fists or using magic until new weapons are found. Guns do not break, but naturally have limited ammo to compensate.

* ''Koudelka'', the prequel to the ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' franchise, featured breakable weapons influenced by its survival horror origins, with the characters being reduced to slugging away with their fists or using magic until new weapons were found. Guns didn't break, but naturally had limited ammo to compensate.

Compare with ThrowawayGuns; guns that cannot be reloaded are one way of implementing this trope. Of course, if a game doesn't feature this trope, it probably has UnbreakableWeapons. If you can break weapons before even ''getting'' them, it falls under DestroyableItems. This is a SisterTrope to WreckedWeapon, when weapons break in fiction. Contrast with ScrappyMechanic and ArtificialDifficulty.

* SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/TheGuidedFateParadox'' features weapons and armor with limited uses as well; once a thing has "burst", however, you can upgrade it, merge it with another burst item, or sell it for more money than a pristine version.

An inexplicably common occurrence in videogames is that weapons have only so many times they can be used before they cease to function. The game usually gives you some sign as to how many uses you have left (usually called "Durability"). While superficially contributing to both balance and realism, this trope usually requires WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief of its own, for several reasons:

* Free MMORPG ''VideoGame/{{Mabinogi}}'' has all equips subject to this trope; with functionality is fully retained until breakage. Weapons can be repaired at any time by certain {{NPC}}s. However, the reliability of the repairs varies considerably between {{NPC}}s, with environment effects also affecting reliabity. Failed repairs reduce the maximum durability of the item by a point, potentially to zero with enough failures. Failed attempts to add certain effects to a weapon through "enchantments" can also reduce durability, up to and including permanent breakage. Cost to repair varies with the NPC (higher reliability = higher price), and item value. Subscribing to a paid premium service slows the decay rate, and increases the reliability of repairs.

* ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'': Glass weapons have a default +4 damage rating making them very powerful even without strength-boosting rings and such but they break if the character gets hit once, leaving nothing but a glass shard which can't even be thrown like the default Dagger. Other glass variants such as the torch, armour, slippers and jaw also break if hit once except for the Heavy Glass Armour which gives you three blocks against all damage.

** ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' goes back to requiring you to visit the Workshop every now and then to repair durability on weapons, but items degrade slower than ever. ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' made durability more or less superficial, as everything not broken is automatically repaired when you rest at a bonfire and are much harder to break in the first place, and most durability-consuming attacks were turned into Weapon Arts, which use FP. ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' got rid of durability entirely.

* In the ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' series, weapons tend not to last very long, largely because one of the game's main features is the fact you're in a [[VideoGame/DeadRising mall]]/[[VideoGame/DeadRising2 Vegas strip expy]]/[[VideoGame/DeadRising3 entire city]] ''full'' of potential weapons. Your baseball bat broke? Who cares?! There's a sports store right over there where you can get more of them! However, while weapons can't be repaired, the player can pick up books which increase their durability (for example, the biography of a serial killer improves bladed weapons). The downside, of course, is that these books take up [[InventoryManagementPuzzle inventory space that could be used for more weapons or healing items]]. Some weapons can be affected by multiple books, which causes their effects to be multiplied. The Small Chainsaw dropped by [[MonsterClown Adam the Clown]] in the first game is considered [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome the best weapon in that game]] because it swings fast, does decent damage per swing, and can be affected by ''three'' books at once, giving it ''27 times'' the durability. ''Dead Rising 3'' changes things up a bit: books don't take up inventory space and can be equipped from the menus once found. However, you can only equip one at a time, until you level up an ungodly amount and unlock the final skill under "Smarts", which lets you equip all books at once.

* In the ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' series, weapons tend not to last very long, largely because one of the game's main features is the fact you're in a [[VideoGame/DeadRising mall]]/[[VideoGame/DeadRising2 Vegas strip expy]]/[[VideoGame/DeadRising3 entire city]] ''full'' of potential weapons. Your baseball bat broke? Who cares?! There's a sports store right over there where you can get more of them! However, while weapons can't be repaired, the player can pick up books which increase their durability (for example, the biography of a serial killer improves [[KnifeNut bladed weapons]]). The downside, of course, is that these books take up [[InventoryManagementPuzzle inventory space that could be used for more weapons or healing items]]. Some weapons can be affected by multiple books, which causes their effects to be multiplied. The Small Chainsaw dropped by [[MonsterClown Adam the Clown]] in the first game is considered [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome the best weapon in that game]] because it swings fast, does decent damage per swing, and can be affected by ''three'' books at once, giving it ''27 times'' the durability. ''Dead Rising 3'' changes things up a bit: books don't take up inventory space and can be equipped from the menus once found. However, you can only equip one at a time, until you level up an ungodly amount and unlock the final skill under "Smarts", which lets you equip all books at once.

** ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' goes back to requiring you to visit the Workshop every now and then to repair durability on weapons, but items degrade slower than ever. By ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'', durability is more or less superficial, as everything not broken is automatically repaired when you rest at a bonfire, and most weapons that used to have durability-consuming special attacks use it as Weapon Arts, which use FP.

** In ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', your weapons and armor degrade slowly with use and repair them requires a blacksmith and some souls for fee. If they lose all their durability, their damage/defense values go down the drain and are much more expensive to repair. But in most cases, managing durability was only a small concern and only a small handful of weapons had special attacks that used up durability to use, but durability-reducing effects were utilized in a few [=PvP=] troll builds. ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' does mostly the same, but lets you a buy a Repair Box to fix it anywhere, and added Repair Powders to instantly give all your equipment some durability.
** In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', equipments degrade much faster, but resting at a bonfire fully restores durability all non-broken items. In many cases, your weapon will be more than halfway degraded by the time you get to one bonfire to the next. There was also a major bug where items degraded twice as fast if the game was running at 60 FPS, but has fortunately been fixed. One peculiar item is Santier's Spear, which turns into a better weapon when it breaks and stays broken.
** ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' goes back to requiring you to visit the Workshop every now and then to repair durability on weapons, but even less items consider it a factor. By ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', durability is more or less superficial, as everything not broken is automatically repaired when you rest at a bonfire.