Unless you’re playing a game where you’remade to feel instantly overpowered, which is a bit of a rarity, you can expect to find yourself in a position where you need to start from the bottom, grind for XP, and gather items that will make your adventure a little bit easier.
11 Best Games Where You’re Instantly Overpowered
Forget zero to hero. How about a hero on the path to godliness?
Usually, there is a gradual progression where these items and weapons offer a steady but incremental increase to your overall power. But, if you’re savvy, and you know where to look, you just might find a weapon that is so powerful that it trivializes a lot of the early-game action.
It might be something that has superior damage output, a perk that makes the weapon irresistible, or it might be an all-rounder that is so good you’ll use it right until the game’s end.
Whatever the case, we want to rank once and for all which of the early game weapons within the medium are the most overpowered of all.
All weapons will be those that can be acquired in the first few hours of the game, even if that happens to be through very specific means. We will also be considering weapons that start balanced but become devastatingly powerful. Also, the earlier you get the weapon, the more likely it is to appear on this list.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
There have been many unbalanced and overpowered weapons throughoutCall of Duty’s long and successful run, with weapons like the MP40, the P90, and the Model 1887 all springing to mind. But, for me, the standout has to be the M16.
This is a gun that was inexplicably listed as one of the five starter classes available to anyone right from the moment you hopped into a multiplayer lobby, and once you unlocked the red dot sight on that bad boy, it was over for your enemies.
The hyper-accurate three-pulse fire with stopping power was utterly devastating and made long-range massacres a cinch, and if you wanted to really go all out for the most OP setup of all, slap a noob tube on that thing, and you’re golden.
In more close-quarters, this one isn’t all that great, so there is a need to switch this out every now and again. But you could easily rely on this one through every single rank leading up to an inevitable prestige.
9Wandering Wight
Black Myth Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong
Fextralife Wiki
This might be cheating just a little, as this is more of a spell than it is a weapon, but considering it’s something that deals damage acquired early in the game, we will include this one as a wacky wildcard.
As you kill mini-bosses in Black Myth Wukong, you acquire spirits which you may call upon in battle, each with unique skills, varied cooldown times, and situational uses. However, these abilities aren’t created equal, and the player can acquire one of the most powerful Spirits early on, provided they can win a tough early fight.
Players will need totake down the Wandering Wight,who is a towering figure with a big head and a powerful stomp. However, if you do manage to take them down, you’ll gain their unique ability.
This allows you to run up to bosses, use the ability to perform a powerful headbutt right off the bat, and melt a sizable chunk of their health bar. It’s simple, but very effective, and well worth upgrading as you workthrough this Soulslike adventure.
8Veredicto
Blasphemous 2
Blasphemous, as a series, has always prided itself on its ability to offer a gritty andpunishing 2D Soulslike experiencethat pulls no punches. However, there is one way to avoid enduring the sequel’s humbling difficulty, and it starts with your early game weapon choice.
The game’s progression is tied to the three weapons on offer at the start of the game, and your choice will dictate your path through the map. However, if you want an easy time with the game’s starter bosses, you’ll want to choose Veredicto, as it’s insanely overpowered.
It’s supposed to be the slow-but-heavy hitter, and it is. But in the case of Veredicto, it’s not really that slow, and it hits like a truck. Basically, making the two other choices pointless unless you need them for traversal or situational moments.
Otherwise tricky bosses are trivialized with this glorious flail. It’s effectively like playing the game on easy mode, and in a Soulslike, that is a rare treat worth experiencing.
I was on the fence about whether to include the classic Half-Life wrench, or the Bioshock version, which is a nod to Valve’s standout shooter. But, in the end, I went for the latter simply because of the potential upgrades that make the Wrench irresistible as you explore Rapture.
The Wrench is your first weapon, and even minutes into your underwater escapades, the ol' Electro Bolt 1-2 punch works a treat to take down Splicers, making it a better choice than starter weapons in most cases.
However, as you gain ADAM, you’ll be able to unlock Wrench Jockey upgrades that make your melee weapon unnaturally effective, rendering bullets wholly unnecessary unless you need to avoid close-quarters combat.
They say that a shoddy workman blames his tools, and with tools like this, you have absolutely no excuses.
6Saw Cleaver
Bloodborne
Bloodborne is one of the most incredible Soulsborne games on the market, mainly down to its gothic horror vibe and aesthetic, its enigmatic world, and its dynamic, risk and reward-focused combat. However, build variety is not exactly this game’s forte.
This is why your starter weapon, the Saw Cleaver, remains one of the most deadly pieces of equipment you can possibly ownas you travel through Yharnam, provided you take the time to upgrade this weapon over time, and apply Runes for good measure.
What makes this weapon stand out is the fast-paced slashing motion it allows for, as well as the option to extend the blade for added range when the need arises.
Sure, there are worthy alternatives, like the Kirkhammer or Ludwig’s Holy Blade, but considering you get this at the start line, it’s a weapon that’s very hard to replace.
5Plasma Cutter
Dead Space
Dead Space is a tough game where combat asks a lot of the player. You can’t spray and pray, as the only way to take the Necromorphs down efficiently is by shooting their limbs. Otherwise, you’ll always be running low on ammo and leaving yourself open to avery gory and visceral death.
The game does throw a lot of engineer tools turned weapons to help you out, but across all Dead Space titles, I never quite vibed with a weapon more than the one given to the player right from the off. The Plasma Cutter.
Thanks to the accuracy of this weapon, as well as the horizontal and vertical laceration options, there’s little reason to swap out this pinpoint pistol unless you’re out of rounds.
What’s crazy is that you get given this as your default weapon, and even though more flashy toys come along. I assure you, you’ll be using this weapon religiously as you walk the halls of the Ishimura.
4Everburn Blade
Baldur’s Gate 3
It’s hard to define what an early game weapon is in Baldur’s Gate 3, as you could easily spend over one hundred hours playing this game and still be working through the first act. But if we use the first act as the measuring stick, then the Everburn Blade is the clear winner in my eyes.
This is because it’s a weapon that is generally useful to all players, as you don’t need a super-specific class build to make use of it, and it’s more powerful than all greatswords you will find for tens of hours of playtime.
But why it fits the bill perfectly here is that you can get this weapon before you even clear the tutorial/intro section, as this weapon can be looted from Commander Zhalk. Granted, that’s easier said than done, but it’s worth the hassle if you want everything off the Mindflayer ship immediately after to be a breeze.
Plus, it’s a sword that is constantly on fire. Need I say more?
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
In Elder Scrolls games, it’s pretty common knowledge that Daedric artifacts tend to be some of the most useful and powerful items in these games, whether it’s the Wabbajack that can turn enemies into cheese, or Mehrunes' Razor that can kill enemies in one hit if your luck is in, the general consensus is that you want to get these items fast.
The problem is that most of these items are locked behind level requirements and also require specific gifts and sacrifices to access each questline. However, that isn’t true of Clavicus Vile’s questline, as you’re able to take it on right away.
That said, you’ll never want to turn in this quest, as you’ll want to keep Umbra, the very sword that this Daedric Lord sends you to fetch. It’s a seriously powerful weapon with a 120-second Soul Trap, meaning you’ll be able to keep all your items enchanted with ease.
Plus, you’ll also get the associated Ebony Armor, too, provided you can kill the Bosmer named Umbra at the Vindasel Alyeid Ruin. Get this sword, and there’s really no need to get another for the rest of your playthrough. It’s that good.
2Alien Blaster
Fallout New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas
Keeping things Bethesda, we turn our attention to the Wasteland, where you’ll be able to find an intergalactic oddity no matter what iteration of the modern Fallout franchise you choose to play. But, the game where you’ll be able to get this earliest is Fallout New Vegas.
Provided you take the Wild Wasteland perk at the start of the game, which is highly recommended if you want to see the weirdest encounters the Mojave has to offer, you’ll be able to seek out the Alien Blaster right away.
From Goodsprings, you can book it toward the Horowitz Farmstead, and north of there, you’ll find a UFO crash site, and sitting there just begging to be put to good use is the Alien Blaster. Provided you can kill the two living, breathing aliens roaming the area.
The only downside to this gun is the unique ammo, so once you use up the rounds found near the crash site, the weapon is no longer of use. But, early on, this thing will cut through armies of enemies like a knife through butter. So, enjoy it while the ammo lasts.
1Drake Sword
Dark Souls
When I think of overpowered early-game weapons, this is the weapon that automatically springs to mind without a millisecond of hesitation.
It’s down to the power of the weapon. It’s because of the rather unique and secret method that you need to follow to get your hands on the weapon, and it’s the fact that it allowed Souls noobs like me to stand a chance of completing Dark Souls back in the day.
All these factors culminate to make this weapon a truly iconic early game weapon that made one of the hardest games of the era a little more manageable and approachable. And I say, a little, because by the mid-game, it ain’t a cheat code weapon anymore.
But, for those early encounters against the Bell Gargoyles, the Gaping Dragon, and even as far as Ornstien and Smough, this weapon is a lifesaver.
10 Most Useless Video Game Weapons
In games like GoldenEye, Just Cause 2, and Oblivion, you can find weapons that are less than bad: they’re completely useless.
