In the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild there are a lot of enemies. As such, players need to think about their weapons and how to use them appropriately, unlike in other previous Zelda games. There are many weapons in Breath of the Wild< that a player can use but the constant limit to their uses keeps the player in check, so everyone needs a better and clear strategy on weapons.
All About Weapons
According to RPG Site, in Breath of the Wild, players always need to monitor the durability of the weapons they use and the weapons that they pick up. Early on the game, all the player gets are just wooden clubs and rusted swords that pretty much break easily. To know the durability of a weapon, the player can read its descriptions. However as the player progresses through the game, they are bound to come across weapons that are more durable and damages more.
Now, if the player wants to get more powerful weapons, it is best to explore the Hyrule Castle. Specifically in the dungeon, there are bound to be powerful weapons in the area, but the player needs to be aware that there are also a lot of enemies around. Once they are able to stockpile strong weapons, it is ideal that they reserve these for a better time to use.
So logically, to save up on a weapon's durability, it is a good idea to use another weapon instead for all other small instances. For example, if the player encounters any common type of enemy that just requires a small amount of damage to kill, instead of using the best weapon on them, use a weaker and easily replaceable weapon like an iron sledgehammer, a woodcutter's axe, or any weapons of the same type. A player can also use the environment instead of using their weapons, if the area has metal boxes or environmental hazards, it is best to just use these to eliminate enemies that are around.
Furthermore, when a player sees that the name of the weapon in the menu is glowing red, it means that it is almost on the verge of breaking. However, this can be turned into a better opportunity as players can throw the weapon at an enemy and doing so, would always result in a critical hit. In addition, an enemy that the player breaks a weapon on will also drop an item once defeated.
Although weapons in Breath of the Wild are bound to break at some certain point, there is an exception to this. The Master Sword does not literally break, but it does need to recharge for eight minutes after the player uses up the sword's energy. Also, there are some special weapons in the game that can be reforged in the town of their origin with the right materials.
Other Ways To Save A Weapon's Durability
Polygon summarizes that there are two ways to utilize a weapon better. They could either execute Critical Hits or Sneakstrikes. Doing these two would not only save up on the weapon's durability, but it would also save the player from damage and from wasting more time as both has the potential to kill an enemy in one hit.
To land a Critical Hit, like what was mentioned above, players could always throw weapons that are near breaking at an opponent to score a Critical Hit or if they are using a bow, the player could just aim at the enemy's head. And when successful, the player would hear a distinct sound.
Furthermore, in order to execute a Sneakstrike, players would need to be undetected by the enemy. This means using stealth buffs and stealth armor to get around. Then when the player is at the back of the enemy, the game will give them an option to use Sneakstrike.
