So it was a glitch after all
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin introduced many new challenges to From Software's epic action-RPG, such as new enemy placements, fiercer foe AI, and... less durable weapons? It turns out this last one wasn't an intentional design choice, but was actually a glitch. And it's something From will be addressing in its next patch.
Real Dark Souls 2 players don't need weapons anyway. Or clothes for that matter.
This peculiar bug made it so weapon degradation was tied to the game's framerate, somehow. This meant that the PC version on a nice kit has always been hampered by this glitch, only now it's true of the current-gen console versions as well since Scholar of the First Sin runs at 60fps on PS4 and Xbox One.
From has since addressed the issue in a statement to Kotaku where it said the next patch will resolve the issue. "The fix will be issued for PS4, Steam and Xbox One, and will be apparent for people running the game at 60fps as the durability decrease rate is linked to the frame rate," From clarified. "We are still working on the exact release date for the patch, which will also fix additional issues not just durability, and will follow up with the date as soon as possible."
Our Martin Robinson noticed this weapon degradation bug immediately, which he griped about in his Scholar of the First Sin impressions.
"Weapons now crumble with alarming regularity, shattering between bonfires and quite often leaving you to face trying encounters with nothing more than a pocketful of broken daggers and axes," he observed. "Whether the more limited durability of weapons is a bug or a feature in Scholar of the First Sin remains a matter of contention, though either way it's far from welcome."
