10 Character Builds That Broke RPGs
All the cheesiest, overpowered (and fun) ways to play your favourite RPGs. #eldenring #RPGs #gaming
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00:00 Building and customising characters is one of the most fundamental parts of the role-playing and open-world genres.
00:05 From its tabletop roots with games like Dungeons & Dragons all the way to the release of modern titles like Cyberpunk and Elden Ring,
00:11 people often spend more time on designing the looks, skills and personalities of their characters than they do on their adventures in-game.
00:19 However, one thing that's always guaranteed with gamers is that, where there's the possibility of finding something totally overpowered,
00:26 they will indeed track it down.
00:29 So with that in mind, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com and these are 10 Character Builds That Broke RPGs.
00:35 Number 10 - The Lizzie Pistol - Cyberpunk 2077
00:39 Pistol, gun-slinging based builds in Cyberpunk 2077 are all so ridiculously overpowered, especially when playing on PC.
00:47 These smaller handguns might be the universal symbol for low-level starting weaponry in most games,
00:52 however Cyberpunk has a number of features that make them pack a serious punch for players with the right investments.
00:58 One of the best builds going revolves around Lizzie, a tech pistol that increases the number of rounds fired when fully charged,
01:05 and which fires an extra round per shot.
01:07 Mode and scope slots can be used to upgrade Lizzie as well, with the weapon boasting 10 rounds per magazine,
01:14 and capable of firing a burst of 5 rounds rather than the 3 on the base Omaha.
01:19 An absolute must with any pistol build is the Crunch Mod as well, which increases the damage done by each bullet,
01:25 and it is extremely handy on a weapon like Lizzie.
01:28 Because Lizzie fires more rounds when charged, the mod becomes extremely lethal and incredibly scalable the more stacked it is.
01:36 For instance, 3 crunches applied at +8 damage each will work out at +32 damage per shot.
01:42 Cyberpunk 2077 is already a game that prioritises power over subtlety,
01:46 and it's clear to see why gun-slinging with a weapon like Lizzie is so often used to shred through enemies.
01:52 Number 9 - Blessed Hammer Paladin or Hammerdin, Diablo II Resurrected
01:57 The Blessed Hammer Paladin build that we're going to refer to as the Hammerdin from now on,
02:02 was an immensely popular character build back in Diablo II, mainly on the back of just how overpowered it was for players.
02:08 As well as being one of the most versatile go-tos for damage type, the Hammerdin pauses both a high damage output and a reasonably solid area of effect.
02:17 In all, the build comes with around 5k health and roughly 17k in damage from the hammer.
02:23 Depending on the gear, there's really no class in the game that can match just how easy every opponent and location feels,
02:29 when marauding through with the damage increasing concentration aura applied to the hammer, and holy shield helping to keep health up.
02:36 Essentially, Hammerdin builds offer a great way of maximising damage to a game breaking level,
02:41 without having to worry about risking a counter punch.
02:44 The added magic damage the hammer brings is something players are unlikely to be able to mount much resistance to in PvP as well,
02:50 whilst the vast majority of monsters in PvE don't come with any magic immunities or resistance either.
02:56 Number 8 - The Sniper Fallout 4
02:59 Bethesda has a long history of badly balancing their silent and deadly builds, more on that later,
03:05 but the Sniper builds in Fallout 4 really are something else.
03:08 Whilst there's nothing particularly revolutionary about the way in which Sniper builds operate in the game,
03:13 you know, headshots do the most damage, you can take enemies out from a distance, etc etc,
03:18 the levelling up a player can do as a marksman quickly makes this approach feel like the most overpowered in the game.
03:23 Stealth boys for instance can be acquired throughout the world and will turn players invisible.
03:28 More luck perks improve the critical chance hits, and weapons like the Killerton Radium Rifle,
03:33 with its ability to deal ballistic radiation and AOE damage, feel absolutely game breaking when used from the safety of a long distance approach.
03:42 Finally, the Sniper perk gives players even more strings to their bow,
03:45 allowing them to hold their breath for longer whilst aiming, have better aim in VATS,
03:49 and even knock their opponents to the ground with their weapon.
03:52 With just a couple of low level points into the Perception and Agility trees,
03:56 it's incredibly easy to turn a character into a silent, mobile killing machine.
04:00 Number 7 - Wild Mage Baldur's Gate
04:03 In classic Baldur's Gate lore, Wild Mages are specialist sorcerers known for honing the art of wild magic,
04:10 a form of arcane magic known for its unpredictability and erratic behaviour.
04:14 However, in what is very much a case of high risk, high reward,
04:17 this class of character is able to use this volatility to create undoubtedly the most powerful build in the game.
04:23 Wild Mages are capable of producing a wild surge 5% of the time they cast any spell,
04:29 which can have some pretty, dare we say it, wild effects on the battlefield.
04:33 As well as starting with the Mage's spellbook, Wild Mages can learn three extra class specific spells,
04:39 Chaos Shield, Improved Chaos Shield, and Nahal's Reckless Dwemer.
04:43 Unlike specialists in the game, Wild Mages don't have an opposing spell school to worry about either.
04:48 It actually come equipped with the ability to cast spells from all eight schools present in the game.
04:53 Nahal's Reckless Dwemer has the very fun, if slightly chaotic effect as well,
04:57 of upping that wild surge percentage to 100% every single time,
05:02 allowing players to cast any spell in their spellbook, even if they don't have the level for it.
05:07 Number 6 - Breton Magic - The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind
05:11 The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind is one of the all-time great role-playing games,
05:14 and gives a level of freedom unlike any other title in the series.
05:18 Every single character is marked as non-essential, entire quest lines can be lost,
05:23 and there are more skill trees and upgrades than in both Oblivion and Skyrim.
05:27 It's such a huge and open game, the fact that Magic still stands as the undisputed overpowered build
05:32 should therefore speak volumes.
05:34 The reason why Magic is considered so overpowered is how most mage builds are able to do every single thing
05:40 any other class can do, but with a few added perks such as levitating, water breathing, paralysis,
05:45 enchanting, alchemy, and even invisibility.
05:48 Coupling a Breton build with the Atronach birth sign also gives players a broken amount of resistance,
05:53 absorption, and magicka reserves, and any Imperial shrine will refill magicka to the maximum
05:58 by selecting restore attributes.
06:00 Spells like absorb health, damage speed, damage strength, and damage intelligence are all incredibly versatile
06:06 and capable of downing even the toughest of enemies.
06:09 And the alchemy tree allows players to really ramp things up to the game-breaking level
06:13 with infinite magicka reserves and the ability to kill enemies in a single hit.
06:18 Number 5 - Bloodmage - Dragon Age Origins
06:21 Bloodmage character builds in 2009's Dragon Age Origins are all about pushing things right to the edge
06:26 and maximizing damage until it's borderline game-breaking.
06:29 Because so much of the Bloodmage build revolves around draining HP for the benefit of casting
06:34 ridiculously damaging spells, it's a reasonably easy task just running around the battlefield,
06:39 keeping out of trouble, and letting the tank take all the hits.
06:43 Blood Sacrifice allows players to keep their tank healthy as well, whilst the buffs Spell Wish,
06:48 Spell Might, and Bloodmagic ensure the maximum amount of damage is always being dealt.
06:52 Bloodwound is also one of the most powerful effects in Dragon Age.
06:56 Not only is it one of the best AOE effects, affecting enemies in a 10-meter sphere,
07:01 but it also has one of the most absurd costs to cast and cooldowns when compared to similar spells in the game.
07:06 It isn't held back by friendly fire, deals spirit damage, which most enemies aren't resistant to,
07:11 and even has the added benefit of paralyzing opponents in place.
07:15 For a build that is immensely scalable and pretty jammy when it comes to its application,
07:19 Bloodmages really do take some beating.
07:22 Number 4 - Critical Master - Assassin's Creed Odyssey
07:25 The roleplaying era of the Assassin's Creed series began with Origins,
07:28 but it was in Odyssey that it really hit its flow.
07:30 And out of all the possible builds, there's still no beating the unstoppable slaughtering
07:35 that comes with the Critical Master characters.
07:37 As the name would suggest, Critical Master builds resolve around dispatching enemies as quickly as possible,
07:42 with players able to reach up to 100% chance of landing a critical hit every single attack.
07:48 Battlecry of Ares is undoubtedly the star of the show with this Critical Master build though.
07:53 The ability lets players enter an invincible rage mode,
07:56 increasing all damage done and giving them a huge edge against even the biggest opponents.
08:00 This ability is scalable too, producing +35% damage for 15 seconds a tier 1,
08:06 and +50% more damage for 20 seconds.
08:09 The build revolves around being at full health to get that 100% critical hit chance,
08:14 but when slicing through enemies at the rate in which the Critical Master allows,
08:18 this isn't anywhere near as much of a challenge as you might think.
08:21 All in all, the Critical Master build just feels like a way of playing Odyssey at a rapid rate
08:25 that no developer could have ever envisaged.
08:28 Number 3 - Holy Priest - World of Warcraft Classic
08:31 Holy Priests, when paired with Protection Warriors especially,
08:34 are the absolute essential picks when it comes to raiding parties in World of Warcraft Classic.
08:39 By far the most powerful healers in the game, topping the charts with their AoE spells
08:43 and providing essential buffs to a party.
08:45 The likes of Power Infusion, Power World Shield, Fear Ward, Circle of Healing and Shadow Weaving
08:51 are all invaluable to raiding.
08:53 The reason why Holy Priest is considered so game-breaking though, is just how unmatched the build is
08:57 when it comes to mass healing and how invincible it can make a party against even the toughest PvE enemies.
09:03 Where things drift into the infuriating however, is when it comes to PvP duels in the arena.
09:09 There is a mechanic where the Priest players are able to stack their Haste attribute,
09:12 increasing the speed of their attack, ranged attacks and casting,
09:16 and cast their Greater Heal spell unfairly quickly.
09:19 Now, these examples of Holy Priest's abilities might not be as flashy as some of the others on this list,
09:24 but the way in which they can infuriate opponents, swing huge fights against opponents
09:28 and force other players into long-winded counters, earns it a spot here.
09:33 Number 2 - The Stealth Archer, The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim
09:37 Stealth builds have always been one of the most powerful picks for any player in The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim,
09:42 with the skill tree going hand-in-hand with almost any weapon or spell combination in the game.
09:46 But whilst there aren't any major exploits or mechanics to be said for the build,
09:50 Stealth and Archery still feel like the go-to combination for the most game-breaking experience.
09:55 With all the tank companions available to pick up, Skyrim really rewards players
09:59 that want to stick to the sidelines away from the action, and pick off enemies whilst they're distracted.
10:04 Bosmas get a starting bonus to both Archery and Sneak, and perks such as Deadly Aim,
10:09 which is sneak attacks with bows that do 3x more damage, Critical Shot, which does 10% chance of a critical hit,
10:15 Quick Shot, which means that players can draw bows 30% faster, and Power Shot,
10:20 which staggers most enemies 50% of the time, end up making the build feel like an invincible,
10:25 invisible machine gun, that even the toughest of enemies won't come close to stopping.
10:29 Throw in the availability of extra damage and paralyzing effects, either through Alchemy Potions or the Bullseye perk,
10:35 and players can even guarantee their foes won't even be able to attempt an attack back against them.
10:40 Number 1 - The Rock-Slinging Mage, Elden Ring
10:44 Love or hate Elden Ring's infamous difficulty, the game isn't without some game-breaking exploits.
10:50 We've all seen the bloodlust memes, we've all laughed a hearty laugh at the death-breath Scarlet Rotmist,
10:56 but it's generally just crazy how overpowered magic is across an entire playthrough.
11:01 And that's because magic in Elden Ring has a remarkably diverse way of scaling,
11:05 with Mind, Intelligence, and Dexterity all impacting casting rate and how powerful each spell can be.
11:11 Where the game-breaking part of magic really comes in though, is when these perks and spells are used against large swarms of enemies and bosses.
11:18 One of the cheesiest combinations involving magic is with the Meteorite Staff and the Rock-Sling and Meteorite spells.
11:24 Not only does the Meteorite Staff itself offer some incredibly strong stats on its own,
11:28 but it also enhances the slinging spells further than their own already impressive damage numbers.
11:34 Combining these with a high level of Intelligence and Ash Summons,
11:37 In What's Left is the perfect recipe for a character build that is free to steer clear of any danger,
11:42 and just throw hard-hitting rocks at their enemies from afar.
11:45 Elden Ring is a game many fans have bemoaned for its gruelling difficulty,
11:49 however, for showcasing just how jammy and cheap magic builds can be,
11:53 this combination of spells and staffs really does do the job.
11:57 So, that's our list. I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
12:00 What do you think of these character builds, and are there any other ridiculously overpowered ones I missed off here?
12:05 While you're down there as well, could you please give us a like, share, subscribe, and head over to whatculture.com
12:09 for more lists and news like this every single day.
12:12 Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.