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“Weapons aren't indestructible, you know. They have limits! When a weapon's durability reaches 0, that's it: no more weapon. So be sure to keep an eye on those numbers.”
—A Villager in Prologue III chapter in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Usage (耐久 Taikyū), often referred to as Weapon Durability, is a gameplay mechanic present in most Fire Emblem games.

Overview[]

Usage refers to the preset number of times a weapon, staff, or item can be used. In most games in the Fire Emblem series, weapons have a limited number of uses before they break. The number of uses a weapon has varies by the game and the weapon type.

Most weapons acquired have around 20-45 uses before they wear out and disappear from a character's inventory. The durability of most weapons is graded on its strength and availability: the common Iron weapons and Steel weapons have the highest number of uses, whereas the superior Killer weapons and Silver weapons have as few as 20 uses, and rare items, such as the Silence Staff and the Bolting Tome may only have 3-5 uses.

There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. The game's Lord character is sometimes granted a versatile and powerful weapon that has a decent number of uses at the very early into the game, if not at the very start. Some examples include the Mani Katti, the Rapier, and the Reginleif. Other times, key weapons are exempt from Usage and may be used an infinite amount of times, such as Falchion, Ragnell, and Amiti. This trait is generally due to story importance, or an in-game explanation such as some form of divine blessing that prevents weapon wear. Mechanically, it eliminates the risk of the player breaking a weapon considered vital to beating the game before it's needed.

The rare Hammerne Staff is able to restore full usage to most weapons, but due to its own limited durability, it can only restore a select few weapons. The Armsthrift skill introduced in Fire Emblem Awakening can also help mitigate weapon usage.

Attacks that miss their targets do not consume a weapon's durability. However, in some games, a magic attack that misses its target will still consume durability, as the spell was cast even though it did not hit.

Staves only consume durability when used to cast their respective spell. In games in which it is possible to counterattack with a staff, the counterattack does not consume durability.

Game-specific Mechanics and Notes[]

In Fire Emblem Gaiden and its remake Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Fates, and Fire Emblem Engage, there is no durability mechanic, allowing players to continuously use the same weapon without having them break. However, staves in Fates and Engage still have a limited number of uses. Fates offsets the lack of durability with side effects that function as drawbacks for using stronger weapons. In Engage, weapon weight plays a strong role, as some heavy weapons are categorized as Smash Weapons and come with their own unique sets of traits. In Shadows of Valentia, characters learn Weapon Arts as they grow proficient with a specific weapon, but will lose access to Arts that they have learned should they switch to a different weapon.

In Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, players can get their weapons repaired at castles they own. Weapons that run out of uses will break, but remain functional and equipped, albeit with significantly reduced power and accuracy. All weapons but the Earth Sword and some staves have 50 uses, with the noted weapons having only 10.

In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, select weapons such as Ragnell, Alondite, and Amiti have no usage restriction. Further, at the beginning of the Chapter 4 Endgame, the weapons currently equipped by the player's chosen force will receive a blessing that gives them all infinite usage for the rest of the game.

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the weapon durability system is similar to that of Genealogy of the Holy War. Weapons have a limited durability, but upon breaking are still usable with reduced stats, namely lower hit and might, and enemies are likelier to perform follow-up attacks against characters due to the drastic increase in weight. Characters do not unequip their broken weapon automatically. Broken weapons can be repaired for an expense of gold and smithing materials, or can be repaired before they break. Byleth's unique weapon the Sword of the Creator recovers five points of durability each time the player chooses the Rest action at the end of a calendar week, up to its maximum of twenty. Characters can also learn and use Combat Arts, enhanced techniques that can occasionally have different effects, but their usage costs higher amounts of durability than normal use.

In Fire Emblem Warriors, there is no durability tied to weapons. Staves have a limited number of uses per battle, but automatically replenish at the battle's conclusion.

In Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, durability determines the number of times a learned Combat Art or Spell can be used. If the weapon doesn't have enough durability, then the unit will be unable to use the skill. Durability does not otherwise affect the power of the weapon and is automatically recovered after the end of a battle. It is also possible to acquire purple crystals from certain pots and defeated foes that restore a weapon's durability mid-battle. Durability can be raised on a weapon by forging, spending gold and ore at the Base Camp's Blacksmith up to a certain point. Once a weapon's reached its limit in Might and Durability, it can either be restored, which resets its might and durability upgrades to 0, or reforged, which increases the weapon's forging limits.

TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga has its own rules regarding Usage. Throwing weapons have a limited number of uses, like in the rest of the series, while magic has MP that slowly regenerates after each chapter. Non-throwing physical weapons have a set 100 durability that decreases with each use depending on durability rating (F-7, E-6, D-5, C-4, B-3, A-2, S-1). Each weapon also has a chance to break after every attack depending on its durability (100-61: blue - 0%, 60-41: green - 1%, 40-21: yellow - 2%, 20-1: orange - 4%, 0: Red - 100%). Bows, Crossbows, and Ballistae use both Durability (for weapon itself) and number of uses (for ammunition). Like in Genealogy of the Holy War, it's possible to repair weapons for a fee, so long as they don't completely break.

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