I am no veteran, but I have played some MMOs. What I can say from some not-so-keen observation is that in a "WOW-like" mmo (and actually any game with a repair function for items), the items seem more vulnerable, you need some repair quite frequently. While in Ryzom I can justify the non - repair system not only because of realism (which is not that true either, in real world we repair items), but because items don't brake that easy, I suppose that when something comes to a condition that would need repair (that it cannot get anyway), it would be when it have past its lifetime (WITH any repairs it could afford) anyway.
It is as if repair (extra time with small fixes) has been counted in the normal lifespan of an item.
It is as if repair (extra time with small fixes) has been counted in the normal lifespan of an item.