They dont break often, I played close to 30 rounds with them last year and did not break one.
More often (2 times per year?), the clubhead comes "unset". That's when the epoxy that holds the clubhead to the shaft fails, and you notice a small amount of wiggle in the connection between clubhead and shaft. Unset clubs can be fixed without replacing the shaft.
All that being said, I had to break myself of the habit of using clubs as a crutch (when placing a tee or picking the ball up), and lost a few in the season and a half it took to figure that out...
Hickory golf shortened and shallowed my swing.
Hickories favor balance over speed (immensely so, in my opinion). Not sure how that changes my swing, but it does change my focus.