Some games give you the tools to make your adventure incredibly easy right from the start. Whether it’s a superior weapon, or a killer unlockable ability, some games just give you access to unbeatable tools early — and early is very relative. Some of these game-breaking items are obtainable almost instantly, others can be earned in the first dungeon. Either way, it’s way before the end of your story, so you’ll have plenty of time to go nuts.
Many of the most infamous weapons are from early games, but it’s surprising just how many modern games also have incredibly powerful tools you can get early. Some abilities, like the Gourmet healing ability in Witcher 3, can be the very first skill you’ll unlock — Gourmet gives you easy access to healing-over-time, but it’s hardly a game-breaker. The following 10 games on our list are filled to the brim with boss-destroying tools of ultimate destruction.
No cheating or bug exploiting here; it’s all intended! Even if it’s completely OP.
#1: Black Knight Sword (Dark Souls)
Forget the Drake Sword — the Black Knight Sword is the best early weapon you can grab in Dark Souls. There’s a 20% chance this useful sword will drop from the Black Knights found in some of the earliest areas of the game — and it’s useful for the entire game. If you continue to upgrade it, the Black Knight Sword never lags behind, and you’ll never need another weapon.
The Drake Sword is really good too; it just won’t keep you going for the entire story. The Drake Sword can be acquired by knocking off the giant dragon’s tail on the bridge in the early game — arrows are the safest way to do it, and the Drake Sword is a powerful crutch until you finally reach Sen’s Fortress.
#2: Enemy Skill Material (Final Fantasy 7)
Enemy Skill is an all-powerful materia you can acquire in Hojo’s Lab, just a few hours into the epic story of FF7. With Enemy Skill equipped, your party can learn insane abilities from enemies just by absorbing their attacks — and if you learn the right abilities, you’ll easily crush the rest of the campaign. Enemy Skill is infamously broken, and even more useful than ridiculous summons like Knights of The Round, which can only be obtained right before the end of the game.
The best skills to learn? Beta (from the Midgar Zolom snake), Aqualung (from Harpies / Serpents) and Trine (from the Godo / Silva bosses) are some of the best elemental attacks in the entire game. Even better, you can equip multiple Enemy Skill materia on the same character to earn skills, then give the materia to other characters to share the abilities with your party. With the right combos, you can become absurdly strong.
See how to break even more games on the next page of our list.
