Should games care about the Durability of items? Though the mechanic can be frustrating to some, having the condition of items degrade with repeated use adds an element of realism to even the most fantastical stories. Many sci-fi and fantasy games use this mechanic to great effect. The player must take care of their equipment or suffer the consequences.
Keeping one's equipment in good repair is critically important in Hardspace: Shipbreaker. If the durability of one's items is allowed to fall too much, they will begin to malfunction, resulting in lost profits or even death. To prevent this the player must acquire and use Repair Kits to keep equipment in good working order. Here's everything the player needs to know about using Repair Kits.
Acquiring Repair Kits
The player has two options when it comes to acquiring Repair Kits. Hardspace: Shipbreaker isn't a cheery sci-fi world where everything comes easily, so it's no surprise that the first method will require a bit of work. It's at the Master Jack that the player can make most of their important purchases, and that's no exception here. The player can buy Repair Kits there at the start of a shift. Kits cost $9,000, so even for new players they're affordable. With that in mind, it's a good idea to always have a Repair Kit on hand, as the minor expense is well worth it to keep one's gear in order.
The second way to acquire Repair Kits is to find them while salvaging. Interacting with these rogue kits will automatically add them to the player's inventory. Finding them is a bit random, but since collecting them in this manner saves the player a bit of money, it's always worth taking the time to grab them. It should be noted that unlike Medkits and similar consumables, Repair Kits are not automatically used, so the player can grab them without fear of wasting them regardless of the condition of their gear.
How To Use Repair Kits
Once the player has a Repair Kit, they'll need to return to the Hab to actually use it. That's right, even though the Durability of equipment degrades during one's shift, the player can't actually use it then. This system is a bit counterintuitive, but unlike in some other great sci-fi games, equipment doesn't degrade fast enough for this to be a problem as long as the player keeps up with repairs between shifts.
Already dangerous activities like depressurization and using Demo Charges become even riskier with faulty equipment, so stop by the workbench inside the Hab to start the repair process and avoid unnecessary accidents. Interacting with the workbench monitor will bring up the equipment list and allow the player to use any Repair Kits currently in their inventory. Using a Repair Kit will automatically restore all of an item's lost Durability.
Gear starts malfunctioning after losing 25% of its Durability, so players who see their Cutter, Grappler, or Demo Charges falling to 75% Durability or less should make an effort to repair them before things get out of hand. Tool maintenance may not be the most cinematic sci-fi activity, but Hardspace is full of hard realities. Fortunately, this is one that a knowledgeable player can overcome.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.