I am really, very grateful that Valheim does not require materials to repair equipment.

I've often wondered why that decision was made to not require materials to repair and why bother with durability at all if you can just mash the button and repair everything for free in a game that's as unforgiving as Valheim but playing Smalland: Survive The Wilds has made me realize just how much larger a grind it is to require materials to repair.

People complain a lot about the grind in Valheim and to some degree I do sympathize as there are a few materials that are a righteous pain in the neck to get but just imagine how much more of a grind the game would be if we needed to keep backtracking or carrying materials on us and using up valuable inventory space just so we can keep exploring.

I posted in the Smalland sub about what people think of needing materials to repair and someone pointed out that materials aren't required if you repair them soon enough. Which only means I have to halt my progression every time my equipment gets a little damaged so I won't have to halt my progression to to grind materials from previous areas to continue my progression though new areas.

So I'm grateful of that decision and will never question it ever again. I think it was a good move on IronGate's part to have that kind of forethought about how a small change can make a huge difference in their game.