i feel like defenses of BOTW's weapon durability system sometimes boil down to "the game wouldn't work without it" which is true! But it's true in a way that doesn't tell us anything about the game or the mechanic. This is true of any mechanic that's central enough of the game. This is a statement about how the game is structured, not about the mechanic. The fact that a mechanic is central doesn't tell you anything about how good or fun it is. It's just a description, similar to saying "that's just how the world is" when pointing out a deficiency of the world. The point is it doesn't have to be that way.
Note that I am talking about the ways we discuss this, not necessarily the merit of the specific claims about the durability system. Personally, I find that my problem with the loot system is that the durability of the weapons is too low and the other loot we get from the enemies is not very interesting, but I still have many hours in BOTW. I think it's brought up so often because it's the part that feels the least good most often in what's otherwise a sublime game.
