Alchemy was barely a factor in the main saga, mentioned rarely here and there. CDPR gave it a consistent importance.
I haven't read the books, but wasn't it alchemy that made Geralt a Witcher to begin with? Trial of the grasses, mutagens and all that jazz..
I also disagree that weapon degradation doesn't do much to impact gameplay. Or maybe I just didn't understand that line. I don't see how gathering herbs is a different sort of hassle at its core than repairing weapons, honestly.
You're right, it isn't any different, at least mechanically speaking. But in terms of significance to the plot and the lore there's a huge difference. Like I said earlier, alchemy constitutes one of the main paths or branches that Geralt can focus in, so it makes sense for it to be as detailed as possible. There will be ingredients that you will only be able to get from certain locations, or from certain monsters.
So it's not only an important game mechanic, but an important plot device as well. When measured against that, repairing weapons seems trivial in comparison.
And saying that this is probably why it was never featured in previous games is an assertion. We have no idea why it was never featured, no more than we know why CDPR decided to do, or not do, many other things.
Well I never said it was a fact, just a probability. Most developers don't mess with weapon degradation period. Return on investment probably isn't high enough to justify the effort.
One place where I can see weapon degradation being affected by the player is using silver swords against armored opponents accidentally. Then again, I think the game automatically unsheathes the appropriate weapon based on who you're facing, no? In that case, letting the silver sword be harmed faster when fighting armored opponents is just a "token" feature, since it'll barely happen. Still a nice touch, I think.
I'm not 100% against weapon degradation, and perhaps CDPR can implement it well enough so that it adds interesting new gameplay and mechanics to the Witcher 3. So I am open minded about it.
I just don't like being bogged down in needless chores..