Durability

Durability explained

• The chance to damage a weapon when using it is influenced by your Skill with that weapon type. For Melee weapons, it may also be influenced by the difference between your weapon's Penetration and the target's Armor. 
• When you see an "Item damaged" floating text on your character, typically as a result of explosion damage, this means your equipped armor just took ~1 point of damage along with one other random weapon or armor (Equipment excluded) in your inventory.
• Thus, the more weapons & armors you have in your inventory, the more likely it is that your best weapons won't take damage from explosions. 
• Equipment breaks once it reaches less than 1 durability, not 0. So, if your Blade has 2.1 durability left, and you eat a grenade that damages your Blade for 1.25, it's gone.
• The SotSdex Log tracks all the recent durability damage you've taken and can be used to learn more. The Monsters entry also contains many clues about which creatures can take their toll on your equipment.

Maintenance tips

• Every time you repair an item, its Durability is restored, but its maximum Durability is lowered. Not all repair methods are equal, however. The lower a repair method's efficiency, the more maximum Durability is lost. Generally, repair items (Duct Tape and the various repair kits) have lower efficiency than fixed Repair Stations.
• Ideally, low efficiency repair methods should be avoided unless a needed item is on the verge of breaking and will not survive until you have a better opportunity to repair it. Alternately, they can be used to fix items you will not need for the long run (gear that you have a replacement for, or that you are about to use in a crafting recipe).
• Nano-Reconstructors are the ultimate all-purpose equipment-savers, as they have the highest repair efficiency and work on all types of equipment. Use them wisely. They are also a prime candidate for 4-d copiers.
• Use Tarka Living Steel Patches for your armor, and Nano-Reconstructors for everything else.
• If you fail a Repair Station check, there is a chance the item will break instantly. The odds of this are influenced by the item's remaining durability in %.

Monster tips

• Some creatures have attacks with low damage but high penetration, so un-equipping your armor against them may not make a huge difference in the damage you're taking, but can spare your armor a ton of damage.  A good example of this are the blade-wielding Hiver workers or some creatures with a Bite attack.
• Beware, however, that other creatures rely on high damage but low penetration attacks. This is where armor truly shines and isn't likely to take durability damage, so as a general rule of thumb keep your armor on the majority of the time. A good example of this are the shotgun-wielding Female Tarka or any flamethrower attacks.
• Attacking or killing an acidic creature (Stone Mole, Protean) with any melee weapon results in Durability damage to that weapon.
• Enemies with an acid attack (Stone Mole, Protean) will damage your equipped weapon and armor if they hit you. Keeping your distance or unequiping your armor is a good strategy for dealing with these monsters.
  • Proteans deal very low damage but can wreak havoc with your inventory and armor's durability. Dropping all of your gear and punching/PSIing them to death is a viable option, especially if isolated.
• Base Paste (craftable) can be used to avoid the effect of acid for a few hits. Alternatively, if you are strong enough to handle the acidic creature in such a state, you could attempt to drop all your items on the ground and fight the creature unarmored with melee. You'll be surprised by how weak the Proteans are once you're not afraid of them damaging your equipment.
• It is worth repeating: Even though it can work when the stars align, once you are past the early stages of the game, trying to take out every creature you spot or entering every room you can is a surefire way to run out of supplies and die.

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