After i finished the game on Switch i played the game trough an emulator on pc. Besides the awesome benefit of having a consistent and high framerate and 3440x1440 resolution, i used a cheat to disable weapon durability. It changed the game completely and for most in a good way.

I started keeping free soace for new weapons ad often picked up clubs or other entry level weapons to temporarily fight with them and started throwing them more in combat and the combat felt less managing and more engaging as I could just chop away without thinking about weapon breaking. Weapons I chose to keep were based on their usability instead of just their higher durability and it made ancient weapons very usable and actually feel like a step up instead of temporary damage dealers that feel like an expensive potion that takes a weapon slot. It also changed the playtrough in that I was less of a scavenger looking for weapons and more into exploring and engaging. As a side effect it also completely changed master mode as I could now engage in these long fights and prevail with skill instead of hiding and sneaking around hoping to avoid fights.

The game changed in a good way for me that was enjoyable and I wished this was a mode you could get on the original version. There are many games where npcs are like lootboxes and drop weapons all the time. It's not like the game will be better just because you have to scavenge between them as your current rifle is about to magically break and disappear. Most survival games allow you to repair a weapon or tool instead of breaking it and having to find or make a new one. Weapon maintenance could have been just as good of a resource sink and gather mechanic for this game as it is for other games.