Summary
- Ambitious games like Dwarf Fortress and Elder Scrolls 5 have exploits that help players progress more easily.
- Bethesda games like Skyrim have popular exploits involving bucket blinding and gold duplication.
- Yakuza and Disco Elysium also feature fun exploits to enhance the gameplay experience.
While it's fun to play games legitimately, there are times when players would like to figure out exploits to make things easier for themselves. This is especially true in the case of challenging open-world games that can, at times, be daunting to get into.
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Struggling to deal with the real world? These open-world games have you covered, offering expansive worlds and lengthy play times as a distraction.
Thankfully, these games also have passionate communities that have figured out ways to exploit the system in their favor. Taking advantage of these exploits ensures that progression doesn't become too frustrating, allowing more and more players to appreciate what makes each of these open-world games so special.
Dwarf Fortress
An Ambitious Open-World Game Loaded With Exploits
Dwarf Fortress
- Released
- August 8, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike, Strategy, Simulation
Dwarf Fortress is one of the most ambitious colony simulation games that fans of RimWorld are likely to love. The game features a procedurally-generated open world that can be interacted with in both Fortress and Adventure mode.
Fortress mode comes with exploits like the drawbridge smashing technique that obliterates any enemy under it. Meanwhile, Adventure mode is fairly new but still has many exploits, including the act of equipping multiple shields to block damage and improve one's skill level. Players can also empty a waterskin with 1 unit of water and refill it from the pool that forms to gain 3 units of water.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Bethesda Games Are Known For Their Exploits, And Skyrim Is No Exception
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
Bethesda games are notorious for featuring their fair share of glitches that are fun to mess around with, and Skyrim is no exception. One of the most popular exploits that players can enjoy in this game involves placing a bucket on a merchant's head to blind them. This will give the Dragonborn a chance to rob everything in sight without the merchant being able to witness the crime.
Along with this, players can smith basic swords and items to gain a ton of levels in no time. On top of that, there are also multiple ways for players to duplicate gold and become rich in no time.
Yakuza 0
All Yakuza Titles Feature Fun Ways For Players To Break The Game, Including This Lauded Prequel
Yakuza 0
- Released
- January 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
Yakuza 0 is a great entry point into this beloved series that most newcomers are likely to have a great time with. The stories of Kiryu and Majima are excellent and become even more enjoyable when players figure out ways to exploit the game's mechanics.
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Following a main narrative is always exciting, but while these games provide that option, they encourage players to explore and chart their own path.
A notable example of this is when players intentionally lose to Mr. Shakedown to secure a larger payout when they defeat him next time. Other simple exploits involve hastening substory progression by running away just enough for players to load in the next stage of the quest, a tactic that long-time Yakuza fans will be familiar with.
Disco Elysium
Save-Scumming And Instant Outfit Changes Make It Easy To Pass Most Checks
Disco Elysium
- Released
- October 15, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The lack of combat in Disco Elysium means that players are encouraged to invest completely in the story and figure out the best way to move forward in the investigation. This involves passing a lot of White and Red Checks, which may seem daunting if the odds are not in a player's favor.
Thankfully, the age-old exploit of quicksaving and quickloading ensures that players don't have to feel too frustrated while trying to pass a particularly hard skill check. Players can also bank skill points and invest them when trying to pass a particularly tough skill check, although calling this an exploit may be a stretch.
Elden Ring
Various Exploits Let Players Farm A Ton Of Runes In No Time
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
As is the case with most FromSoftware games, Elden Ring features its fair share of exploits that players can use to make things easier. Rune farming is the most popular one of the lot, with experienced players intentionally warping to a late-game area and baiting enemies into falling off a cliff next to a Site of Grace over and over again.
This ensures that players will get a ton of levels quite quickly, allowing them to move through the game with greater ease. Players can also run without expending stamina as long as they move in and out of the crouch animation, allowing them to manage this resource wisely during combat.
Fallout: New Vegas
The Skilled Perk Is Broken And Can Help Players Reach Level 100 Of Each Skill With Greater Ease
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
There is a great deal to uncover within the world of Fallout: New Vegas, and many players have found several exploits to make things easier for themselves in this title. While most of these glitches are primarily helpful during a speedrun or a challenge run, there's one that makes a regular playthrough way easier to manage.
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These games offer little to no hand-holding, trusting players to figure things out for themselves, making progress all the more rewarding.
The Skilled perk gives players +5 in each skill at the cost of reducing XP gain by 10%. If players redo the character creation after leaving Doc Mitchell's house, they can select the Skilled perk again to gain the same bonus without the penalty. Old World Blues features an Auto-Doc, where players can redo character creation for the first time, bumping up this bonus by 15 points, which is extremely helpful for those who want to reach 100 in multiple skills.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Alchemy And Mutations Can Be Exploited To Turn Geralt Into A Whirlwind Of Death
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
Players who think that The Witcher 3's combat isn't all that interesting should play the game at a higher difficulty. It's here that Geralt must use every tool in his arsenal to manage challenging combat scenarios.
The alchemy upgrades become especially useful here, with players being encouraged to play at higher Toxicity levels to maximize their damage and ensure that stamina doesn't lower as Geralt whips out powerful attacks and hard-hitting Signs. Aside from this, there's the iconic exploit where players can rest in the starting area and kill cows over and over again to get valuable resources, with a high-level Geralt being able to take out the chort that comes to punish players if they use this exploit too much.
The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
There Are Plenty Of Ways To Break Both This Game And Its Predecessor
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Released
- May 12, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
Just like its predecessor, Tears of the Kingdom also features a ton of exploits that players can use to make things easier for themselves. While 1.2.0 has patched out a bunch of them, there's still a fairly reliable way to duplicate items that players can make use of.
To perform this move, players must construct or find a ledge with a small drop. Then, they must select the item in question and both drop and throw the item at the same time. If done correctly, the item will be duplicated, and this can be repeated until players are loaded up on a rare resource.
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