Gear damage was a big contender for me. Especially with weapons, i can't remember exactly but I'm sure it wasn't much over an hour before my lance would be damaged.. the frequency of this caused me to level GS up to repair it out in the field, then i learned my next lance would require Carpentry, and enough was enough. Its one of the biggest annoyances i found with the game, for me it didn't add realism, it wasn't a cute little gimmick, it was a huge inconvenience that halted my enjoyment of the game.