It’s hard to imagine an open-world RPG without robust loot and gear systems. After all, why do players have to explore a vast world if they can’t find anything useful there to get stronger? Discovering new armor, weapons, upgrades, or crafting materials can be as important a driving force for the players as the urge to simply go and see what’s out there in the wilds.
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There are dozens of distinct ways to approach loot and itemization in open-world RPGs, with many relying on the familiar ARPG quality-grading randomized loot drops, occasionally sprinkled with unique rare items with fixed locations — for example, The Witcher 3. Some games, however, avoid the constant RNG loot drops entirely to try different approaches, adding more meaning to each new item. Instead of requiring the processing of various identical items and managing their inventory constantly, loot in these games actually matters and can notably change an entire playstyle, so players would want to add everything to their collection. Below are some open-world RPGs with some of the most unique and meaningful loot systems in the genre so far.
Elden Ring
Every New Find Can Be Game-Changing
Elden Ring fully inherits FromSoftware’s signature approach to loot and itemization from past soulslike games, but on a much grander open-world scale. The sheer array of armor, weapons, talismans, rings, spells, or anything in between in Elden Ring is mind-boggling, and everything can be used to get an advantage in combat. One of the game’s best feelings is the enormous scale of its worlds, coupled with the understanding that every corner may hold useful, powerful, almost game-changing rewards deliberately placed there for a reason, prompting the players to push through.
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In a traditional studio fashion, there are also boss souls that players get from the most powerful enemies, and then use them to forge unique gear of their choice. Regular and elite enemies can also randomly drop their rare equipment, at times motivating the players to do farming runs. Another Elden Ring trait is the item descriptions themselves, containing precious lore dumps that some fans love to read and analyze, further adding weight and importance to each new finding. For veteran Elden Ring players, who may be tired of knowing the exact location of almost everything in the game, some Randomizer mods are recommended, shuffling the placement of every reward or even the bosses in the Lands Between.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
One of the Most Unique Loot in the Series and the Entire Genre
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla undoubtedly has not only the most unique loot system in the entire series to date, but arguably one of the most distinct and impressive in the entire open-world action-RPG genre. Ever since Assassin’s Creed started flirting with RPG elements, almost every entry has done loot with its own twist. In AC Origins, Odyssey, and Shadows, a classic quality-grading randomized drops were coupled with unique items obtained in fixed locations. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has turned down RNG drops entirely, instead offering only unique armor and weapons scattered across its vast maps, usually obtainable through treasure chests. It’s also worth mentioning that every chest in AC Valhalla is actually a little puzzle, requiring some busywork, for better or worse.
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In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, players can get access to dozens of unique armor sets and various weapon types, each coming with its own distinct combat perk, so there’s always a choice. But the real cherry on top is the game’s upgrading system. By investing precious materials into each item, players unlock new quality tiers that make their gear significantly stronger, while also altering its appearance with each new tier. As a result, AC Valhalla motivates players to find every chest and try to upgrade as many items as possible — and every single addition to one’s collection feels like a real treat.
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Admirable Loot Variety Coupled With Flexible Upgrading Mechanics
Dragon’s Dogma 2 builds its loot system largely on the acclaimed first game, while also borrowing some ideas from Elden Ring, meaning that every weapon has fixed stats and an upgrade path. There is an admirable selection of unique armor and gear in Dragon’s Dogma 2, with 12 distinct weapon categories, including unique choices like Duospears or Archistaves rarely seen elsewhere. With the game’s class-based nature, though, not every character class is able to use everything, so players might want to switch their starting class (vocation) at some point to try out some new combinations.
RPGs With The Best Weapon Variety
The following RPGs feature a wide range of weapons, ensuring that these games have varied gameplay mechanics to keep things fresh.
There are almost no random drops in the game, so new, powerful loot can be obtained mostly in hidden treasure chests, motivating the players to go exploring. However, some useful loot and gear may also be obtained as quest rewards, simply bought from merchants, or even crafted. With the game’s flexible upgrading mechanics that grant extra versatility and customization to every weapon and armor, each player can experiment with various enchantments, although this also means that plenty of upgrade materials are needed. Unlike Elden Ring, though, in Dragon’s Dogma 2, some powerful late-game unique weapons are simply better than early- to mid-game options, no matter how many upgrades are applied to starting gear. As such, players are forced to change their favorite weapons at some point in the game for a notable damage and power increase, which some fans aren’t too fond of.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Lets You Truly Bond With a Weapon of Choice
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is known for its meticulous approach to details in portraying the authentic medieval world of Bohemia, which extends to the game’s every aspect. With its realistic inventory system and survival mechanics, players literally live in this world, having to deal with constant needs like hunger, thirst, and sleep, as well as requirements to keep their gear and clothes clean and well-maintained. Naturally, in a game like this, it’s especially important what armor or shield to use and which weapon to carry into battle. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 offers an expansive gear arsenal, with dozens of unique weapons in each category that can be found, bought from merchants, or even forged by players.
Action RPGs With The Best Weapon Variety
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Each weapon or armor piece in the game has its own realistic capabilities, making them potent in some scenarios, but unreliable in other conditions — there are no all-around, magical “best” weapons with unstoppable power in the game. Moreover, every strong, high-quality new item in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 can only be obtained by sweat and blood, requiring high Craftsmanship skills, unique perks to learn, and precious, rare materials for improvement. As such, it’s unsurprising that players value their quality equipment much more than in any other game of this kind, essentially bonding with their trusty, hard-earned weapon of choice.
Fallout 4
Even Meaningless Junk Matters in the Wastelands
At first glance, Fallout 4’s approach to loot isn’t too special when compared to every other open-world action-RPG out there. At times, players can get some really valuable and strong gear and items from named NPCs, bosses, or the most precious locked chests or rooms, but such cases are pretty rare. For the most part, though, Fallout 4 is filled to the brim with various junk and rubbish drops from enemies or chests, worn-out or self-made primitive weapons or tools, which, in many other similar games, aren’t even worth picking up, especially given that Fallout 4 also has character weight limitations. However, here’s where Fallout 4’s incredibly flexible and robust crafting system comes into play, essentially making every single item in the game matter in the long run.
Absolutely everything in Fallout 4 can be dismantled into parts or raw materials to be used for crafting, upgrading, and building later. Players can create and expand entire settlements, build and furnish various buildings, not to mention creating powerful tools for themselves, like completely unique blueprint weapons and armor that can’t be obtained in any other way. Fallout 4 is a real paradise for kleptomaniacs who want to carry everything with them, granting the players a very good reason to actually do so.
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