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There are certain items in the environment that can be destroyed by attacking it but are not directly targetable. You can't click on them to destroy them (like breakable urns), you have to hold your ground in front of one and swing at it or shoot something at it.

e.g., fire urns in crypts a fire urn

Are there any benefits to breaking these down?

As far as I can tell, breaking them doesn't count toward the "break stuff achievements" (Breaker, Destructor and Bull In A China Shop) and they don't seem to drop anything. It seems as they are only there for aesthetic reasons. But is there something that I'm missing?

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  • You can attack them directly by shift-clicking them.
    – badp
    Commented Oct 5, 2012 at 11:24

5 Answers 5

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Some destructibles that aren't directly targetable do nothing upon being broken, but there are a few that drop loot depending on the setting.

For example, crystals jutting out of the ground in caverns and mines can drop ember shards, which are hugely valuable for upgrading weapons and gear. However, most lanterns and other light-emitting objects give nothing.

Also, any destructible you hit continues building charge. So can destroy them while you travel around to maintain charge.

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  • 3
    Also, breaking can build charge.
    – Arkive
    Commented Sep 22, 2012 at 7:08
  • @Arkive added to answer.
    – Sadly Not
    Commented Sep 22, 2012 at 22:16
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Some upgrade-able weapons are just "Kill 25 to upgrade". Breakables count towards this

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    Really? That sounds great. But do you have any evidence to support that?
    – Jeff Mercado
    Commented Sep 30, 2012 at 4:26
  • I noticed this as well, I can confirm it's correct.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 17:35
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Not hidden per se, but I recall that one broken urn activated a hidden bridge, allowing me to cross a chasm to a room which I then found was full of loot.

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Some elements of the game must be shot in order to open advanced quests, it is the case for the Robot parts quest where "dongs" has to be targeted in order to open a hidden passage.

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So far in my game play experience, destroying those objects opens up the battlefield more. With less things in the way it gives you more room to run around. As an outlander class I appreciate having space to run around and shoot my enemies comfortably from a distance.

There may be a different, better reason but this is what I have seen so far.

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  • Keep in mind that those same objects can serve as a wall between you and your enemy. It's definitely a playstyle choice because I like to have an object I can use to kite an enemy around as opposed to relying on my open ground speed being higher than theirs.
    – Sadly Not
    Commented Sep 21, 2012 at 19:53

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