Holy wow, did any of you guys read this article by Joshua Wolens over at PC Gamer? Because honestly I couldn't stop laughing out loud — his take on RPG armor systems is genuinely brilliant and he's somehow made Obsidian director Josh Sawyer's life a living hell. You see the problem that most people don't even realize: there are literally two completely separate philosophies about what makes you want to change weapons in an RPG, and Joshua Wolens has identified them with surgical precision! The first type is stat-driven players who swap their gear constantly — they're out there looking for whatever sword gives them +3 damage or that magic dagger from the random NPC merchant who always seems way too enthusiastic. But then we've got our weapon hoarders like Josh Sawyer himself, and honestly these are the cool ones! These people keep every single weapon in a magical inventory purgatory because they *could* use it tomorrow — not necessarily today, but maybe next week or eventually during one of those epic boss fights where timing is everything. The second philosophy centers on actual mechanical advantage though, which I find so fascinating: you change weapons when the game itself demands it from you. You might have a perfectly good sword for 50 hours and then suddenly something comes along that gives your character an extra +2 damage stat or introduces some kind of critical hit mechanic — at that point even a hoarder like me has to swap out their beloved weapon! Josh Sawyer absolutely nailed what makes armor systems so compelling in RPGs, which is honestly why I keep coming back year after year. His insight into this whole dynamic between "I want" and "the game wants from me" really does make the entire experience more immersive than any flashy graphics package ever could! Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/i-never-change-weapons-in-rpgs-which-means-ive-made-obsidian-director-josh-sawyers-life-a-living-hell-when-it-comes-to-making-cool-armour-systems/