Freedom is the main selling point of every RPG, but some games take it one step further and beg players to test their systems to the extreme, egging them on by saying, “Go on and break me.” These are the games where theorycrafting and min-maxing become part of the experience, and where a single tiny skill point can be the difference between a good build and something hilariously broken.
The Best RPGs For Beginners
Those looking to get into the Role Playing genre should really check out these fantastic, beginner-friendly games.
Whether it’s stacking passive abilities to the nth dimension, exploiting job systems, or just leaning into mechanics the devs never even thought about, the real kick in these games comes from outsmarting the system. Here are eight RPGs that let players get truly wild with clever builds.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
"This Is Fine" While On Fire
Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Released
- September 14, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Rather than just telling players to choose a class and calling it a day, Divinity: Original Sin 2 hands them a whole flammable toolbox and dares them to light the match. Combat is all about crazy elemental interactions, and that’s exactly where ingenious builds truly shine. Every battlefield can be turned into a fiery death trap, and your party immune to the fire.
The flexibility is about how the builds interact across the entire party. Lone wolf characters can be turned into absurdly self-sufficient machines, while combinations of polymorph, necromancy, and summoning blur the line between “balanced” and “absurdly broken”. Larian Studios basically made a playground where being overpowered doesn’t feel like cheating, but more like you’ve just found the perfect punchline to an intricate joke.
Fallout: New Vegas
The Min-Max Wasteland
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
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- RPG
What seems like a simple shooter-RPG on the surface hides a SPECIAL system that can make the Mojave bend to the player’s will in some pretty funny ways. Stack the Luck stat high enough, and V.A.T.S. Become a lottery with 100% odds. Or crank the Speech and Barter skills up so high that any fight can be solved with a silver tongue.
Combine that with perk synergy, where combining perks like Sniper, Grim Reaper’s Sprint, and Better Criticals can transform you into a walking natural disaster, mowing down entire groups of enemies before they can even know what hit them. And thanks to all the branching quests, these builds aren’t just for combat but rather unlock entirely new dialogue paths and shortcuts that make replaying the game endlessly satisfying.
Dark Souls
"Nothing Personal, Kid"
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
FromSoftware games always make you feel helpless, as though the only way to overcome the wall of a boss is to keep bashing your head against it until you finally break through. But, digging deeper into Dark Souls’ stat system reveals some pretty abusable mechanics. Wanna wield a weapon twice your size with base Strength stats? Totally possible with the right buffs and gear choice. Or, for a more ranged, barbecue-your-enemies playstyle, stacking pyromancies is the way to go.
14 Best Modern Turn-Based RPGs, Ranked
Turn-based systems in games like Dragon Quest and Persona were once seen as outdated, but have since made a strong comeback in modern RPGs.
There’s a comical element to it, too, with how far some of these builds can bend the identity of a character. A frail sorcerer can wear Havel’s armor with the right rings, and a big, bulky Strength build can dance around faster than a dextrous rogue with a clever infusion. Dark Souls has one of the most dedicated communities in gaming, and they’ve turned every single stat and gear item into a puzzle piece, where half the fun is finding out those puzzle pieces never had any fixed edges.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Dragons, Pawns, And Physics
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
- Released
- April 23, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen doesn’t just encourage clever builds, it practically rewards experimentation with a system that lets players switch vocations and mash together skills in wild, nonsensical combinations. A mystic Knight can parry spells and send them flying back, and an Assassin can stack buffs in the darkness to become untouchable. Paired with the synergy between pawns and players, it can make every encounter feel completely different depending on the setup.
Where it gets truly bonkers is the scaling. Min-maxers have figured out ways to level up stats of a specific class to beyond-busted levels, and then switch to another one for devastating results. The end result is a character that can one-shot any Gryffin, or cling to a dragon’s back and annoy it for so long that it essentially just surrenders.
Xenoblade Chronicles
Swords, Spears, And Silly Systems
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
- Released
- May 29, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
In this game, the brokenness hides behind layers of real-time MMO-style combat, but a look under the hood takes things from zero to chaotic real fast. The gem crafting and ability linking allow characters to share skills, leading to combinations the developers probably never saw coming. Shulk may be the face of the game, but a well-built Melia can dish out damage that trivializes bosses in seconds.
Best RPGs For Feeling Like An OP Mage
If struggling for every ounce of mana isn't your speed, these RPGs let you build a mage that will feel like a god of magic in short order.
Where these builds truly shine, though, is with Chain Attacks. With the right timing and setups, it’s possible to lock a boss into an infinite loop, extending a combo so long it starts feeling like a theatrical performance. Experimenting with gems, affinities, and skill trees can transform a humble, struggling party into an absolute powerhouse. Xenoblade Chronicles makes the line between tactical depth and outright cheese remarkably thin.
Final Fantasy Tactics
The Job System That Broke Balance
Final Fantasy Tactics
- Released
- June 20, 1997
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, RPG
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original)
Final Fantasy Tactics is known for its amazing narrative, but underneath the political intrigue lies a job system just begging to be cracked wide open. With more than twenty classes and hundreds of abilities to mix and match, the game practically dares players to find combinations that utterly break any encounter. A Monk’s martial arts paired with a Knight’s durability can turn a character into an indestructible brawler, while giving a Ninja some Time Mage skills creates a speedy terror that can completely bend the rules of turn order.
And then there’s the Calculator class, notorious for reducing fights into simple equations. With its ability to target entire groups based on their level or HP, battles that once felt tense become a mindless exercise in button-pressing. The system is so ridiculously open that many players just impose self-restrictions on themselves just to keep it challenging, which is the best proof of how dangerously flexible it can be.
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Awakening The Inner Power
Fire Emblem: Awakening
- Released
- February 4, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Intelligent Systems, Nintendo SPD
- Genre(s)
- JRPG, Strategy
- Platform(s)
- 3DS
With builds that are tied to its relationship system, Fire Emblem: Awakening makes the whole thing as much about love as war. Characters can marry, pass down skills to their children, and open doors to builds that feel unstoppable by the late game. Morgan, the customizable child of Avatar Robin, can inherit skills that turn him/her into an absurd powerhouse.
And with the ability to reclass through Seals, there’s no limit to what you can try. A healer can become a frontline tank, while stacking skills like Galeforce turns entire armies into autumn leaves that you can easily sweep away. The depth is so rich that some players spend more time planning spreadsheets than actually fighting, a testament to how far the game’s system can be pushed.
Torchlight 2
Torchlight Up The World
Torchlight 2
- Released
- September 20, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
Unlike some other RPGs that hide their broken builds behind complex math and arcane systems, Torchlight 2 just invites players to find them. Its loot-driven design means every single item acquired has the potential to completely shift your entire strategy, and the skill trees allow for some absurd synergy when combined with gear bonuses. Summoners can fill the screen with minions, and certain Engineer setups can create unkillable tanks that dish out insane damage.
Community mods add to the chaos, introducing even more skills, classes, and loot options that could reduce a QA tester to tears. At its core, Torchlight 2 is a game that celebrates excess in every way. The joy isn’t from finding the perfect set of gear, but from the pure, unadulterated pleasure of realizing what you can do with whatever you find, and how the game doesn’t really mind if you push the scales to tip them in your favor.
Best Offline RPGs On PC You Need To Play
Offline games often go overlooked with PC gamers. These offline RPG's are a must play for fans of the genre.