Most Broken techniques/strategies in video games

[Shadow Mir]

Master Knights in FE4.

I can't agree for the same reasons Integ and Darros stated. They're good, but not on a gamebreaking level.

[Integrity]

I disagree, actually. Sure, Master Knights are amazing, but they don't start that way, and they don't exactly break their game by eliminating the need for training other characters in the game like Seth does.

EDIT: Integ beat me to it.

Eh, to be perfectly true I'd argue that Seth isn't near a Most Broken status. Yeah, he can solo his game, but it's not exactly easy - either relatively or absolutely - so he's mostly a powerful anchor. Like a Master Knight.

I'd say he has a larger claim to it than Lachesis/Leaf, certainly, but by your criteria right there Seth doesn't fit the bill.

[shadowofchaos]

Tales of Vesperia PS3:

Limits Team 3 + Limits Octet (Gives you 8 Overlimit Bars) + Limits Up (Overlimit level you activate + 1. So you only need two bars for Overlimit Level 3) = Mystic Arte Spam fight. Though in the video they only had 4 overlimit bars.

Edited September 2, 2012 by shadowofchaos

[Keiya]

Aura's broken. Period. GF's? What are they? I only need them for my commands.

lol. Lion Heart killed the 2nd to last form and then The End on the last... I should have just attacked 10 times with the "attack" move... but that would have killed the "epicness" of Limit Break spam.

http://finalfantasy....ki/Crisis_Level

The best way to take advantage of the Crisis Level is to cast Aura right before the final boss uses Hell's Judgment or Maelstrom, or Omega Weapon uses Megiddo Flame. And then use Hero/Holy War for invincibility.

Barring The End, the best Limit Break is Zell's Duel if you know the exploit.

http://finalfantasy....a.com/wiki/Duel

It's a lot of fun since you pretty much just need to get the timing and execution right, and you can deal 700,000+ damage, which can kill off a Ruby Dragon in one shot, even if you get back-attacked.

Actually, you know what, of all the broken Limit Breaks in FFVIII, Zell's Duel is probably the most broken, since you can spam Booya/Heel Drop/Punch Rush at the start of the game, and it just gets progressively stronger as you get weapons and Meltdown. Even with 4 seconds, you can deal a lot more damage than Shot/Renzokuken.

As for Symphony of the Night, there's a lot of broken weapons, easiest to gain of which are the various Shield Rod combos. However, the real game breaker in SoTN is the Soul Steal spell. As long as you have 50MP and can execute the move, it deals quite a bit of damage AND heals you. And it's available from the get-go.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Keiya

[Shadow Mir]

http://finalfantasy....ki/Crisis_Level

The best way to take advantage of the Crisis Level is to cast Aura right before the final boss uses Hell's Judgment or Maelstrom, or Omega Weapon uses Megiddo Flame. And then use Hero/Holy War for invincibility.

Barring The End, the best Limit Break is Zell's Duel if you know the exploit.

http://finalfantasy....a.com/wiki/Duel

It's a lot of fun since you pretty much just need to get the timing and execution right, and you can deal 700,000+ damage, which can kill off a Ruby Dragon in one shot, even if you get back-attacked.

Actually, you know what, of all the broken Limit Breaks in FFVIII, Zell's Duel is probably the most broken, since you can spam Booya/Heel Drop/Punch Rush at the start of the game, and it just gets progressively stronger as you get weapons and Meltdown.

As for Symphony of the Night, there's a lot of broken weapons, easiest to gain of which are the various Shield Rod combos. However, the real game breaker in SoTN is the Soul Steal spell. As long as you have 50MP and can execute the move, it deals quite a bit of damage AND heals you. And it's available from the get-go.

What about Quistis's Degenerator? It's essentially a big "screw you" to pretty much any non-boss enemy in the game, as it always works.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Golden Cucco

[shadowofchaos]

What about Quistis's Degenerator? It's essentially a big "screw you" to pretty much any non-boss enemy in the game, as it always works.

It's a hell of a lot better than the Death spell. XD

[Shadow Mir]

It's a hell of a lot better than the Death spell. XD

And you get it a hell of a lot earlier too. XD (At least I think... I dunno when you can first get the Death spell.)

Edited September 2, 2012 by Golden Cucco

[Stark]

Tales of Vesperia PS3:

Limits Team 3 + Limits Octet (Gives you 8 Overlimit Bars) + Limits Up (Overlimit level you activate + 1. So you only need two bars for Overlimit Level 3) = Mystic Arte Spam fight. Though in the video they only had 4 overlimit bars.

And for the english version, Rita completely breaks the game, considering you can BLAH BLAH BLAH TIDAL WAVE forever. Use violent pain on bosses if you need variety.

Why does the Japanese version get so much cooler stuff...

[shadowofchaos]

And for the english version, Rita completely breaks the game, considering you can BLAH BLAH BLAH TIDAL WAVE forever.

She kinda still does that...

The AI does that as well... when she's facing YOU.

[Shadow Mir]

She kinda still does that...

The AI does that as well... when she's facing YOU.

Ouch Rey.

Also, Yuri's pretty broken.

[Keiya]

And you get it a hell of a lot earlier too. XD (At least I think... I dunno when you can first get the Death spell.)

You can draw it from Tonberries, or refine it from items.

Yeah, Degenerator's awesome, and you can get it earlier than Death if you get a bunch of Gesper cards right away. For sheer damage (and bosses), though, I'd still go with Duel. Especially since you can use everything from the get-go.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Keiya

[Shadow Mir]

And speaking of broken...

Ouch man... It killed your wifi. That's broken.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Golden Cucco

[Original Alear]

RPG: Hurt 'n Heal

WC3 human: Healing crystals

[Shadow Mir]

RPG: Hurt 'n Heal

WC3 human: Healing crystals

Haven't played Warcraft, but I consider attacks that deal damage and heal to only be useful if the life regained by the attack is enough to be worth using and there are no factors that make said attack's practicality questionable. (i.e. Nosferatu in FE7, FE8 and FE9 doesn't qualify; I'd also say Pokemon's life draining attacks wouldn't count since most of them were pretty weak)

That aside, healing or buffing an ally in Luminous Arc gave 30 exp every time you did so. You need 100 exp to level up. Your HP and MP are refilled after a level up. The exploit should be obvious, with all I've said. (In case you're wondering, this isn't the case in LA2)

Edited September 7, 2012 by Golden Cucco

[Original Alear]

Haven't played Warcraft, but I consider attacks that deal damage and heal to only be useful if the life regained by the attack is enough to be worth using and there are no factors that make said attack's practicality questionable. (i.e. Nosferatu in FE7, FE8 and FE9 doesn't qualify; I'd also say Pokemon's life draining attacks wouldn't count since most of them were pretty weak)

Amazing. Do you mean to tell me that attacks which aren't worth using aren't useful? And that attacks of questionable practicality aren't worth using? These are revolutionary concepts that have never struck me. Is it possible you also believe that attacks with unquestionable practicality are worth using? Or are those also not worth using?

Also, by "hurt 'n heal" I wasn't exclusively referring to attacks that hurt the enemy unit/team and heal your unit/team. I was referring to a strategy, not a technique, and a strategy doesn't have to be contained entirely in one attack/manuever/technique/whatever. And yes, the point is that it's a totally cookie cutter strategy. Also, I think SRPGs such as Fire Emblem tend to be pretty different from RPGs, though I'm not sure if the difference affects the power of an attack that hurts and heals at the same time. I think that such an attack would (other things being equal) generally be better in the SRPGs I've played because of the nature of tanking in those games (frequently able to counter, and being able to eat a bunch of counters due to enemy phase regen can be useful)...could be off base though.

I guess it wouldn't always be useful in Advance Wars if the damage healed is based on damage done, since you do more damage when you're at higher HP. There are attacks in video games that hurt the enemy and heal you without one being a function of the other, though.

[Life]

I'm looking at my video games and one of them stands out.

Detective Mode in Batman: Arkham Asylum. That is all.

Actually... Rita's Tidal Wave is also pretty sick. ToV of course.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Dat Kumtah

[Shadow Mir]

Amazing. Do you mean to tell me that attacks which aren't worth using aren't useful? And that attacks of questionable practicality aren't worth using? These are revolutionary concepts that have never struck me. Is it possible you also believe that attacks with unquestionable practicality are worth using? Or are those also not worth using?

Also, by "hurt 'n heal" I wasn't exclusively referring to attacks that hurt the enemy unit/team and heal your unit/team. I was referring to a strategy, not a technique, and a strategy doesn't have to be contained entirely in one attack/manuever/technique/whatever. And yes, the point is that it's a totally cookie cutter strategy. Also, I think SRPGs such as Fire Emblem tend to be pretty different from RPGs, though I'm not sure if the difference affects the power of an attack that hurts and heals at the same time. I think that such an attack would (other things being equal) generally be better in the SRPGs I've played because of the nature of tanking in those games (frequently able to counter, and being able to eat a bunch of counters due to enemy phase regen can be useful)...could be off base though.

I guess it wouldn't always be useful in Advance Wars if the damage healed is based on damage done, since you do more damage when you're at higher HP. There are attacks in video games that hurt the enemy and heal you without one being a function of the other, though.

I didn't realize you meant a strategy, which led me to respond the way I did. Whoops. (I really need to stop winding up missing the point...) Either way, I suppose I agree.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Golden Cucco

[Nightmare]

-The Blood Cloak, which converts damage to hearts, allowing you to spam the very powerful cross subweapon.

I think this is scraping the bottom as well. By the time you get damaged enough to use the Cross again (100 hearts), you'll probably be dead or nearly dead, or the boss will be dead (assuming you have like 200-300 hearts). If it nets you a boss kill though, hey, I'm not complaining. Otherwise, that list is pretty true (it's Crissaegrim, btw).

For the time being, I can remember these from God Hand:

- Yes Man Kablaam! strategy

- Drunken Twist cancel

- Additionally, any of these moves are bound to break the game (especially if used well): Palm Smash, High Side Kick 3 (with cancels, oh my God, with cancels this is terrifying), Right Roundhouse 3, Chin Rocker, Half-Moon Kick, Jab of God, Godly Straight, God Hook, God Uppercut, God Smack, Pay Up NOW!, Godly Chop, Godly Low Kick, Haymaker of God, God Breaker, God Charged Punch, Fist of God, Invincible Fist

- Probably other things I'm forgetting

Edited September 9, 2012 by Nightmare

[Ein]

Isn't there an attack-dodge cancel thing that can place enemies in huge amounts of hit stun?

[Nightmare]

Isn't there an attack-dodge cancel thing that can place enemies in huge amounts of hit stun?

That would be the Drunken Twist cancel. If there's anything else, then I probably don't know it, but that's the most famous attack --> cancel strategy I know of, besides Yes Man Kablaam! which doesn't stun, but does fill up your tension metre graciously.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Nightmare

[BrightBow]

For Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, there is the Death Ring and the Dominus Agony Glyph to trivialize endgame. Each of them pretty much doubles all your stats. This allows you to supercharge cheap glyph combo's.

Having the Death Ring equipped will kill you when hit but with those boasts, nothing will survive long to get a chance for that. Especially with the Light + Dark combo, since it freezes time while it's performed, so you can blast everything on the screen without any risk at all until your hearts run out. Though, using the ridiculously oversized lightblade of the Nitesco + weapon combo should usually be enough to trivialize all possible resistance.

Besides, you can enter the menu any time to unequip the Ring before taking damage, so there is really no risk involved. in using it.

What makes this worse, is that the Dominus Agony Glyph is a quest item and can't be missed. The Death Ring isn't but it's in a very likely to be found since it's behind a breakable wall in a room with nothing else in it but a death end.

Dracula is so outmatched in this game.

And for Golden Sun there are the summons. Pretty much all of them, really.

The problem with those is that they also case percentage based damage. That way they slice through bosses like butter regardless of how much HP they have.

All you need to do to defeat even the strongest foes is to set all the Dshinns on standby before a fight and let the sparks fly. Even the bonus boss Dullahan goes down like a Goomba that way.

Edited September 9, 2012 by BrightBow

[Shadow Mir]

And for Golden Sun there are the summons. Pretty much all of them, really.

The problem with those is that they also case percentage based damage. That way they slice through bosses like butter regardless of how much HP they have.

All you need to do to defeat even the strongest foes is to set all the Dshinns on standby before a fight and let the sparks fly. Even the bonus boss Dullahan goes down like a Goomba that way.

I see where you're coming from, but personally, I see summon rushing as a double edged sword. While it can easily win you a battle, at the same time it's pretty likely that you get wiped thanks to statistical weakness that results from having all your Djinn on standby. Also, it's rather ineffective on The Lost Age's last boss.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Golden Cucco

[Ein]

If you can summon rush Dullahan you can do the same for the Doom Dragon. Only thing preventing you is how the last boss' phases.

[Shadow Mir]

If you can summon rush Dullahan you can do the same for the Doom Dragon. Only thing preventing you is how the last boss' phases.

Which is why I mentioned summon rushing being ineffective on the Doom Dragon. And of course, there's Djinn Blast (and later, Djinn Storm)... Which reminds me, summon rushing Dullahan is basically "hope that it doesn't use Djinn Storm, else you're royally fucked" (though in all fairness, a summon rush is basically the only reasonable strategy against him). Also, the Doom Dragon may use Guard Aura, which basically means it takes next to no damage for that turn.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Golden Cucco

[BrightBow]

If you can summon rush Dullahan you can do the same for the Doom Dragon. Only thing preventing you is how the last boss' phases.

"Only thing?" But because of them you are facing three bosses with like 5000 HP each, rather then one with 15000. That's hardly a small issue, since summon attacks will deal way less damage that way. They would all be wasted on the first head.

I see where you're coming from, but personally, I see summon rushing as a double edged sword. While it can easily win you a battle, at the same time it's pretty likely that you get wiped thanks to statistical weakness that results from having all your Djinn on standby. Also, it's rather ineffective on The Lost Age's last boss.

But there are also Dshinns that reduce the damage taken by 90%, 60% and 50% respectively. And anyone who uses them, will automatically go first. That should buy the time needed to pull it off.