Durability is a gameplay mechanic in Dark Souls.
Overview[]
Durability is a point system that keeps track of a weapon or piece of armor's condition. Some items are fragile and have a low maximum durability reaching into the low tens, while some may be incredibly resilient, going as high as 999. In this system there are three levels of durability, each of which affects the performance of the weapon:
- "Normal": This is when the weapon is at optimum efficiency. Any item over 30% durability.
- "At Risk": Any item equal to or less than 30% durability reaches an "At Risk" status. Weapons deal 70% damage. In addition to a message, an icon under the player's stamina bar notifies them that the weapon is in need of urgent repair.
- "Weapon Broken": This is when a weapon's durability has reached zero, and weapons deal ~85% less damage. In addition to a message, an icon under the player's stamina bar notifies them that the weapon is in need of urgent repair.
Repairing equipment[]
Repairing is the process of paying souls to restore durability to a piece of equipment. The cost of repair is dependent on how much durability the piece of equipment has lost. Repairing can either be done through the use of a blacksmith, from a Repairbox, through the use of Repair Powder, or the casting of the sorcery Repair.
How equipment loses durability[]
Equipment can lose durability in a few ways. Armor, for example, is damaged any time you take damage. Some enemies, such as the Gaping Dragon, Chaos Eaters and Burrowing Rockworms have attacks which decrease the durability of all your equipment. There is also the spell Acid Surge which degrades equipment in the same way as the Chaos Eaters' attacks.
Weapons can lose durability by hitting enemies, walls or breakable objects. Attacks that are deflected, such as when striking a wall, suffer double the durability damage.
Notes[]
Weapons and shields upgraded down the Crystal path suffer from greatly decreased durability, and may not be repaired in any fashion once the item is at its maximum upgrade level (as item durability is reset when upgraded). Armor cannot be upgraded in this manner.
Equipping the East Wood Grain Ring halves durability drain by doubling the amount of hits required to lose 1 point of durability. It does not alter Durability-damaging effects from enemies like the Chaos Eaters.