Summary
- Exploiting game mechanics in RPGs like Final Fantasy 8 can trivialize combat encounters with broken systems.
- In games like UnderRail, players are encouraged to bend the rules to their advantage during tough combat encounters.
- Save-scumming in Divinity: Original Sin allows players to manipulate status effects, ensuring they land successfully in encounters.
The sheer depth of the mechanics in some RPGs can be quite impressive. Players who are unfamiliar with how these systems work can take a while to wrap their heads around their machinations. However, once players understand the complexities at play in the following RPGs, they can find ways to break the rules in their favor.
Exploiting game mechanics and making the most out of exploits to surpass challenges in these games is oddly entertaining. Trivializing the difficulty of tough games and powering through enemy encounters and boss fights is such a blast that players will seek out any way to break the rules in some of their favorite RPGs.
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8 Final Fantasy 8
The Junction System Is Notoriously Broken
Final Fantasy 8
- Released
- February 11, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Final Fantasy 8 is the poster child for RPGs where players are encouraged to break the rules. The Junction system is a fun concept, but it was clearly not tested thoroughly, given how broken it can get.
With 99 casts of certain powerful spells, stats can be inflated to ridiculous heights, allowing players to trivialize most of the game's combat encounters. This means that even the game's level scaling isn't enough to pose a significant challenge to fans.
7 UnderRail
Breaking The Game Is Integral To Making Progress
UnderRail
- Released
- December 18, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG
UnderRail is the perfect CRPG for players who want to enjoy a modern take on the Fallout formula. As much as players will love this game's vibes, some of the combat encounters can be unreasonably hard. In fact, players are outright encouraged to bend the rules in their favor to win some of these combat encounters.
Enemies can't open doors, so being tactical and hiding after an assault is a great way to exploit enemy AI and avoid damage.
A group of enemies can eat the dirt after players obliterate them with grenades or use the environment to their advantage. Staying in the darkness helps players avoid damage, and using noise can lure enemies into traps. These are just a few ways that bending the rules can aid players.
6 Divinity: Original Sin
Save-Scumming Ensures That Status Effects Will Always Hit
Divinity: Original Sin
- Released
- June 30, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Status effects are OP in Divinity: Original Sin. To balance them out, some status effects are harder to afflict on characters, especially if they're resistant.
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However, this is not a problem for players who save scum without a care in the world whenever their arrow or spell fails to debilitate enemies. This can be done over and over again until the status effect lands. It may be a somewhat cheap tactic, but it's a great way to handle encounters that can get a bit too hot to handle otherwise.
5 Metaphor: ReFantazio
Use Evasion Magic To Avoid Attacks And Prevent Enemies From Taking Turns
Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Released
- October 11, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
For most casual Atlus fans, Metaphor: ReFantazio will be their introduction to the Press Turn combat system. It's pretty simple to understand, compelling players to figure out a way to avoid enemy attacks while being careful not to attack enemy resistances.
Eventually, after players find spells that increase their Hit Rate and Evasion, even the toughest encounters can become a breeze. This is doubly effective if players stack multiple Sukunda buffs on a tough opponent, further reducing the chance that they'll hit the player.
4 Octopath Traveler 2
Certain Job Combinations Will Decimate Foes
Octopath Traveler 2
- Released
- February 24, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Rated T for Teen for Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Alcohol and Tobacco.
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Just like its predecessor, Octopath Traveler 2 revels in giving players ample ways to break the combat system. This is mainly done via divine skills or elite job combinations that trivialize encounters. Popular combinations include Apothecary + Warrior to use hard-hitting axe AoEs, and Dancer + Scholar to enhance elemental AoEs and make Elemental Barrage more impactful.
Combining the Apothecary's Divine skill, Dohter's Charity, with Castti's Concoct allows everyone to gain BP at a rapid rate, which can be used multiple times to smash foes to bits in no time. If players have been stingy with money, then the Merchant Job allows them to summon powerful warriors like the Veteran Soldier and Foreign Assassin to dish out some serious damage.
3 Persona 5 Royal
Buffs, Persona Synergies, & Other Tools Make The Phantom Thieves Unstoppable
Persona 5 Royal
- Released
- October 31, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- JRPG, Adventure
The Shin Megami Tensei games are all about bending the rules in the player's favor, and Persona 5 Royal is no exception. With the addition of Persona Traits, there are ways to make optimal combinations that make late-game encounters trivial.
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Getting Thermopylae on a Persona that can use Ambush Only moves at any time gives players a party-wide buff at a fraction of the cost. Another example is the Special Treatment Confidant ability from Caroline and Justine, which lets players create Personas of a higher level with game-breaking attacks that trivialize most encounters.
2 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Break The Game In Legendary Ways
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
Skyrim is a legendary open-world RPG that is known for its fair share of endearing bugs. Players will love the ways they can exploit the game's mechanics in their favor.
There's a chest that multiplies the player's gold, not to mention players figuring out ways to spam actions and churn out multiple level-ups in a fraction of the time it would normally have taken. Along with this, players can blind merchants by putting pots on their heads and blinding them as players rob their stores, which makes for one of the many ways that players will enjoy breaking Skyrim's rules.
1 Baldur's Gate 3
Uncover Broken Builds To Trivialize Encounters
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the greatest RPGs ever made, with a battle system that can be exploited with ease. Players will need an in-depth knowledge of the game's systems first to figure out how to build up every character. However, once players figure out class synergies, most enemy encounters can become a breeze as foes fall to the player in a turn or two. Bringing explosive barrels and other debilitating substances into a fight is also a great way to enjoy a tactical advantage by using the game's mechanics against itself.
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