jacobvandy: I think some of the problem is most people are not observing exactly what it means to have your equipment degrade, and may be applying bias formed from other, far more annoying implementations of this sort of mechanic... You do not have to keep your swords repaired, they are usable and still effective no matter their durability status. I understand the compulsion -- we have been trained by many games to always want equipment to be fully repaired -- but if you can just control your anxiety over it, it's not that big of a deal.

Weapons don't break, I've continued using them at 0% when I'm out exploring and run out of repair kits. I fight with fast attacks primarily, so it's happened a couple times. You do lose some damage (how much depends on the difficulty level, I know it's barely 10% or so on Normal), but I bet most people don't bother optimizing their damage with oils and potions most of the time, anyway. If you're playing on Very Hard and don't take care of your stuff, it'll hurt, but it's still doable. After all, you did sign up for a challenge, so why shy away from it?

Keeping equipment in tip-top shape is optional. Don't bother with it in the early game when you're leveling up quickly and haven't earned any money yet. You'll be upgrading gear faster than it degrades if you follow quests (every monster contract gives you a new Relic-tier weapon), and by the time that slows down you will be earning way more money than you can spend. Loot everything, don't spend a bunch of money on a slightly better sword when you can just find one instead, other basic RPG economic strategies, etc.

jacobvandy: Finally got my steel sword down to 0% (funny how it took me so long, when I was TRYING to do it :P), and here are the results:

76-100% durability = No damage penalty

51-75% durability = damage penalty of 2.5% (Easy), 5% (Normal), 7.5% (Hard), 10% (Very Hard)

0-50% durability = damage penalty of 5% (Easy, 10% (Normal), 15% (Hard), 20% (Very Hard)

That's right! Nothing special happens when it gets down to "completely broken" or 0% durability, which surprised me. But turns out I was correct in my previous estimate of it being only a 10% reduction on Normal.

In the time it took me to test this at level 12-13, I looted more than 1,000g worth of stuff, including half a dozen repair kits. YMMV, of course, but this is why I don't feel durability is that bad at all.

Potzato: I think it's a great mechanics, in the first witcher I was kind of annoyed to not have any incentive to use anything but the main swords. Bashing the rabble of the wild with a rotten trunk to spare the good steel should feel rewarding.

FabulousFab: What is really annoying is that you can't use repair kit until you hit 50%/

sariaen: Not true. You can use repair kits whenever you wish as long as the weapon is damaged. I dunno where did you get that. I am carrying kits with me all the time. They work.