10 Character Builds That BROKE Video Games

So OP there's no going back.

divinity original sin 2
Larian Studios

There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to character builds that are capable of breaking video games. You either think they’re a waste of time and don’t understand why someone would want to bust their own game or they’re awesome to discover and if you can pull it off, you totally earned being the unstoppable menace you’ve become.

Love them or hate them, character builds capable of breaking video games are an inevitability with any RPG or strategy game that gives you different gear, ability, and specialisation options.

There’s an art to discovering how to best exploit the systems of any given game and the clever players who worked out the following ten builds absolutely figured that out.

10. Power Bounce - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

paper mario power bounce
Nintendo

Paper Mario probably wasn’t the first game you thought you’d hear about in this list detailing a bunch of expertly crafted and carefully constructed builds designed to break games but the build is there and boy is it effective.

In short, Power Bounce is broken, and if you want to rampage through this one you’re going to want to pair it with Charge and become the destructive force Mario was always supposed to be.

Power Bounce is a badge that lets you continuously jump on an enemy so long as you can execute the action command perfectly. It’s relatively cheap to use and if you can pull off the command timing you’ll be able to do a huge chunk of damage, especially if you set yourself up a couple of turns ahead of time. Pairing it with the Charge badge, which buffs Mario’s next attack, makes this even more effective especially as everything stacks. Execute everything just right and you should be one-shotting bosses.

Not bad for a little moustachioed plumber in overalls.

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Contributor
Contributor

Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.