10 Most Useless Video Game Skills, Perks & Abilities – WGB

Video video games normally hand you flashy powers and badass perks to make you’re feeling like a god amongst NPCs. However typically, both accidentally or with a wink from the builders, you’re handed an “skill” that’s so spectacularly pointless you’ll marvel if it was designed purely to make you endure. Listed below are ten of the worst offenders—abilities, perks, and upgrades so hilariously ineffective that spending factors on them ought to include a warning label.

In fact, this listing is solely for enjoyable, and a few folks have managed to seek out intriguing and loopy makes use of for a few of the entries.

1. Encourage – Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Neglect buffs or harm bonuses—Good-looking Jack’s “Encourage” ability is simply him yelling vaguely encouraging nonsense at you. When activated, he bellows issues like “You are able to do it!” whereas a glittery “Impressed!” splashes throughout the display like a nasty motivational meme. And when you die? He mocks you with “Disillusioned,” full with falling tears. Functionally ineffective, it does completely nothing. It’s a joke skill—actually. And when you spent some extent on it… congrats, you’ve been Good-looking Jack’d.

2. Graug Hunter – Center-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Whereas Good-looking Jack’s jokey skill was by design, this subsequent one is because of stupidity. This ability allows you to tame and experience large Graugs—epic, proper? Besides when you’re enjoying on PS3 or Xbox 360, Graugs are rarer than Gollum’s moments of sanity. They have been minimize virtually completely resulting from {hardware} limitations, however the ability nonetheless reveals up in your tree like some merciless joke. So when you adopted a information meant for newer consoles, you have been in for a impolite, Graug-less awakening. In complete, solely three Graugs exist within the PS3 and Xbox 360 variations of the sport, and so they solely pop up in missions. There are zero to be present in free-roam. As such, all of the Graug-based Achievements/Trophies have been eliminated. However not the ability itself.

3. In Shining Armor – Fallout: New Vegas – Lifeless Cash DLC

On paper, this perk feels like a satisfactory use for a ability level: bonus harm resistance from vitality weapons whereas carrying metallic armour and sun shades. Very “post-apocalyptic stylish.” Sadly, it’s fully damaged. Because of a coding oversight, the perk appears to be like for a nonexistent “vitality” harm kind, which means it by no means prompts. It’s the equal of placing sun shades in your hopes and goals—cool-looking, however in the end pointless.

The perk was by no means formally mounted, however unofficially, some mods kind out the issue.

4. Commando – Cyberpunk 2077 (Eliminated)

This stealth perk allow you to stay undetected underwater. Helpful, if Cyberpunk had significant underwater content material. It doesn’t. There’s one mission the place you must swim, and it has no enemies. Exterior of that, our bodies of water are tough to seek out, in all probability due to the entire cyberpunk metropolis vibe. CD Projekt Purple ultimately patched it out completely in replace 1.5, changing it with Look Sharp, a perk that blinded enemies after they have been hit with a throwing knife within the face. Nobody observed Commando had vanished. Or cared.

As for the Trying Sharp perk that changed Commando, I’d argue that being blinded by a knife to the face is one thing that type of occurs no matter whether or not there’s a perk concerned.

5. Velocity Demon – Undertaking Zomboid

Wish to drive quick through the zombie apocalypse? Velocity Demon’s your perk… when you like wrapping your automotive round a tree. Quicker driving in Undertaking Zomboid normally simply means sooner loss of life. The sport’s janky physics, slender roads, and gradual zombies make velocity pointless and harmful. With Velocity Demon geared up, by the point a nook seems it’s already too late to brake, and too late to kiss your ass goodbye. Any time you saved by travelling on the velocity of sound was negated by the fixed crashing.

6. Right here and Now – Fallout Sequence

This perk reveals up throughout a number of Fallout video games, providing one free stage immediately. Sounds tempting—till you realise XP is limitless, whereas perk slots usually are not. You’re principally buying and selling a uncommon, finite improve slot for one thing you’d get anyway simply by enjoying. Even the sport itself tries to warn you by locking this perk behind early-level necessities, which is the perk equal of the devs muttering “Don’t do it, man.”

Enjoyable reality: in Fallout: New Vegas, the Right here and Now perk will be much more ineffective! How? As a result of when you get the ability trait at first of the sport which reduces XP by 10%, Right here and Now provides you with 90% of the XP required to stage up. So it doesn’t even do the one factor it’s alleged to do. Neat!

7. Swimming Ability – Deus Ex (and buddies)

Hey, look! It’s one other water-based ability! The OG “why is that this even right here?” ability, actually. In Deus Ex, upgrading swimming allows you to keep underwater longer and swim sooner—which might be nice if the sport had greater than, like, two underwater sections. You’re higher off holding your breath and operating by means of the water with no upgrades in any respect, or simply grabbing a rebreather.

Honourable point out goes to video games like Two Worlds, the place you’ll be able to spend factors to put on armour whereas swimming… though drowning isn’t a factor and there are not any enemies within the water. Severely. Technically, this might have been entry quantity 8, however I didn’t wish to put 3 water-based perks in a single listing.

8. Artful – LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

The Scavenger class’s “Artful” perk allows you to… give your instruments a contemporary coat of paint. That’s it. No stat increase, no bonus talents—simply aesthetics. In a recreation the place Kyber Bricks are priceless and upgrades matter, blowing them on a glorified spray paint can feels just like the Jedi equal of buying and selling Grasp standing for a nicer gown.

9. Large’s Knife – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Not a ability, but it surely deserves a spot right here for sheer scamminess. For 200 rupees, you should buy the Large’s Knife, which has double the ability of the Grasp Sword—till it snaps like a breadstick after 4 hits. You’ll be able to preserve repairing it (for an additional 200 rupees) or simply cry into your empty pockets. Finally, you will get the Biggoron’s Sword, which is an identical however unbreakable… without cost. Nintendo performed you want a Deku flute.

10. Rhythm Dodge Pull Cancel – Hello-Fi Rush

This one’s a straight-up prank by the devs. Late within the recreation, a facet character gives an “improve” that sounds vaguely helpful, however truly nerfs your character when geared up. Better of all, it’s defined in-game as one of many lead character’s buddies checking to see if he truly reads issues earlier than shopping for them.

There’s no reward, no achievement—simply the quiet disgrace of realising you didn’t learn the merchandise description earlier than smacking the purchase button like a chimpanzee that’s simply found Uber Eats. What an excellent, superior recreation.

Honorable Mentions:

• Goldeen – Tremendous Smash Bros.: Pops out of a Pokéball, flops uselessly, leaves. Not technically a ability or perk or skill, however hilarious nonetheless.
• Wood Defend – Bloodborne: Exists to remind you that protection is for cowards.
• Punch By way of Partitions – Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Spends Praxis Factors to do what a grenade or wall panel already does. However didn’t make it onto the listing as a result of punching by means of partitions is badass.
• Water Respiration – The Elder Scrolls Sequence: Helpful for Argonians. For everybody else? You’ll hardly ever want it—and even if you do, a potion or enchantment works simply as nicely.

Whether or not they’re inside jokes from the dev group or simply victims of dangerous design, these abilities all share one factor in frequent: they’re completely, gloriously, hilariously ineffective. So subsequent time you’re constructing your character, take a second to learn the advantageous print. Or don’t—and luxuriate in Good-looking Jack’s shit makes an attempt at inspiring you whilst you bleed out on the ground.