10 Skill Upgrades That BROKE Video Games

Why play the game when you can fly right over it?

By James Metcalfe /

Making a video game is not an easy feat, and making one that is completely balanced for all players throughout their playtime is even harder.

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This is especially true for open-world, RPG, and online multiplayer titles, where there are more items in play and a variety of scalable skill and upgrade trees. And, if half a century or so of video games has taught us all anything, it's that where's there's an opportunity to exploit something overpowered, a gamer is going to find it.

And there's nothing wrong with flexing knowledge for the ins and outs and genuinely exploiting mechanics and features a game naturally dishes out, with developers often leaving handy hints and rewards for those players who invest the time and effort understanding their titles.

However, it is when things border into the game-breaking that issues start arising.

There are times when players are able to exploit perks, items or upgrades in-game to give themselves huge advantages over their enemies and surroundings, overcoming challenges with the kind of ease the developers didn't have in mind when creating a title.

10. Boom, Headshot! - The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds features a number of exploitable and overpowered mechanics, however, the chain effects that can come off a precise headshot is undoubtedly the most destructive and useful in the game.

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This perk is best reserved for players whose build revolves around taking cover and taking headshot potshots against Marauders attacking them. The perk causes enemies' heads to explode if they die from a headshot, with the added bonus of causing 25% worth of headshot damage to nearby opponents.

This can have some seriously destructive effects if there are enough enemies around as well, potentially causing a decent chain reaction if the damage done by one exploding head is enough to tip nearby enemies past the lethal range, and so on.

The effect feels unintentionally powerful with certain builds and playstyles, with entire levels of enemies being wiped out by players without posting nearly the kind of threat the developers were hoping for.

On top of the huge game-changing impact the perk can have for players, it is also available for companions, duplicating this overpowered AOE effect to even higher levels of destruction.

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