With the boom in technology, it's no surprise that video games have evolved drastically throughout the years. Where controllers shrunk, televisions grew in size. Story arcs grew more elaborate, and characters developed. But the variation in weaponry has remained expansive and thrillingly unpredictable.
Typically, every game has a balance or equilibrium to control the progress of its players. That said, this doesn't eliminate the existence of terrible or over-powered (OP) weapons.
Now OP weapons are not necessarily almighty and conquering. No, they're weapons that are simply excessively powerful for the level or setting of the game provided. Sometimes compared to glitches in the system, they're weapons that break the simulation, ruin friendships, and hurt feelings through upsets. But you do have to respect the atrociously terrible weapons. Weapons that don't discriminate against its players, and that knock the elite down several pegs.
While a source of tranquility for some, the world of gaming is relatively an aggressive and pride driven sphere. My dad used to say "a fair is a place where pigs go to win medals," and since I'm not a pig I need to learn how to take advantage of life's unfairness. The existence of OP and unfortunately weak weapons creates this unfairness in all games. It's up to the gamer to take that unfairness and weaponize it.
Here's an ode to the OP and the weak. A list dedicated to weapons who break the game, and flip the odds.
30 Weakest: Rolling Block Rifle (Red Dead Redemption 2)
You might as well lie down and roll over if you select this rifle in combat.
The Rolling Block is a hot tease, with its long range scope, various zoom levels, high damage, and extreme accuracy. While it is a single shot weapon, the gun is one of Red Dead Redemption 2's strongest long range weapons.
But in terms of close combat, the gun will get you absolutely smacked by your opponents. The Rolling Block Rifle just takes too long to reload, and the recoil makes it impossible to use its boosted accuracy when you're betting brutalized by enemy fire.
29 OP: Kung Lao’s Razor Rimmed Hat (Mortal Kombat)
Kung Lao’s Razor Rimmed Hat is feared and revered in the Mortal Kombat community. Whether used to decapitate opponents or slice them in half, Lao’s Hat violently brutalized countless friendships between game players.
The Hat was also used in various power plays outside of Lao’s famous fatalities, such as for boomerang and ricochet type retrieval weapons.
However, just as Kung Lao’s hat is a trademarked for its cutting edge assaults, it is also known for its stainless appearance after a bloody attack.
28 Weakest: Bowcaster (Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy)
May the force be with you if you have to use the Wookie Crossbow.
The weapon showers your enemy in practically harmless green ammunition. Of course, if you spend the extra time charging up, you'll be let down again by shooting several bolts of even more harmless green light instead of just one. While shooting a single repetitive bolt at your enemy does have some effect, it's more of an annoyance than threat. And when firing the charged bullets, you're more likely to miss your enemy with its increasingly bad accuracy.
27 OP: UMP 45 (Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)
The UMP45 is a player stable weapon.
While little skill is needed to operate the common submachine gun, it is still a notably well rounded weapon. With only a damage difference of five between the maximum and minimum settings, the gun has a remarkably low damage drop-off. Furthermore, the weapon dispels high damage, with profiles of three-hit, and sometimes two-hit, defeats.
With its impressive accuracy and ammunition management, the UMP45 is one of the more popular weapons of choice in Modern Warfare 2.
26 Weakest: Needler (Halo)
Use this weapon, and get hit before your ammo even reaches your opponent.
The needler simply takes too long to fire. With a pretty self explanatory name, the gun launched needles at its opponent. The needles seek its target before impaling them and detonating seconds later. While an interesting concept, it lacks efficiency as a single needle detonation only causes low damage assaults.
The Needler simply takes too long and does too little, leaving yourself wide open to the opposition.
25 OP: DK Hammer (Super Smash Bros.)
All Super Smash Bros. players are familiar with the efficiency of the DK Hammer.
Turning any character into a fearsome machine, the weapon is a close range combat tool. When retrieved, the Hammer sends the player into a dangerous swinging frenzy. The weapon delivers high damage blows per contact, with high vertical knock-back.
There is a possibility of the Hammer’s head falling off during the frenzy, but landing a hit is such a great way of dealing damage that it's always worth rushing straight towards the Hammer whenever it drops.
24 Weakest: Grey Pistol (Fortnite)
Worth noting that this is the ONLY Fortnite weapon included on the list. No disrespect to its players, but I wanted to explore the open perimeters of weapons in all of gaming.
So without further ado:
The pistol does no damage, has a lackluster fire rate, unreadable coil, and is overall just a bad gun. After you land and scatter to find a weapon, pray to the higher powers if the grey pistol is all you can find. Truly, the pistol inspires the most vulgar of language.
23 OP: Bullet Bill (Mario Kart)
Bullet Bill is more lethal than the Blue Shell. I said what I said, and I’m sticking to it.
In regard to strategic practices, both bullet and shell, are typically gifted to players in the lowest ranks of the race. However, while the shell is escapable, no one can dodge the bullet.
To the average player who participates in Mario Kart races for recreation, the Bullet Bill is a heaven-sent recovery item. A lucky draw, that might take the racer from the bottom three places to the top five. To the experienced driver, when used strategically, Bullet Bill is a secured first place victory.
22 Weakest: Banana (Mario Kart)
To most, a banana peel is useless, but it really is a gift of honor. Given consistently to top tier racers, the peel acts as a brief diversion when thrown accurately or strategically. Although a stationary item, plant enough in your route and your competitors won't be able to touch you.
So don't be too disappointed if you keep receiving bananas. Think of it as trying to find a gift for a billionaire. Rocking out in first place, what else could the game give you that won't insult your dominance?
21 OP: Pac-Man Energizer
Oh how quickly the tables turned when Pac-Man got his jaws around an energizer. Chomping down on the power pellet, the ghoulish villains turned blue, becoming vulnerable to Pac-Man’s digestive system.
While the ghosts don't remain deceased, returning to the center panel to rejuvenate, the pellets give Pac-Man a brief respite from the constant pursuit in order to scavenge for the rest of the dots. The Energizer Pellets are a strategic weapon of quick self-defense when on the run, and a greater offense when on the hunt.
20 Weakest: Strawberry Pac-Man (Super Smash Bros.)
The Pac-Man bonus strawberry is the Cherry's distant and less iconic relative. And it's just as disappointing. Taking longer to charge, the Strawberry has the same abilities as the Cherry.
When thrown, the bonus item bounces three times before disappearing. It truly is as intimidating as it is damaging, meaning it's very inefficient. Which is such a shame, seeing as besides all of the bonus fruit options, Pac-Man is a pretty ripped character.
In general, I recommend focusing on Pac-Man's other attacks. If you use a bonus fruit, hope the game glitches over the strawberry.
19 OP: Energy Sword (Halo)
To many gamers, the Halo Energy Sword is synonymous with "one-hit-defeat."
Consisting of a dual ended blade formed from magnetically fastened plasma, the Sangheili weapon was constructed specifically for hand to hand combat. The sword absolutely dominates in close range altercations, easily slicing through the strongest of metals, opponents’ energy shields, armor, and flesh.
The Energy Sword is considered a holy weapon by the Sangheili, and its practice is used to convey, protect, and redeem the pride of its swordsman. However, while the blade is recognized for its single strike fatality, using only the sword to defend yourself in long range combat will likely make you an easy 0ne-shot-defeat.
18 Weakest: Pocket Knife (Resident Evil 7)
Choose between a swing or a quick jab– either way, you'll probably be slain shortly thereafter.
The pocket knife is not only short-ranged, but also does pretty much the minimum amount of damage possible. As the knife is more efficient in opening cans and blocking attacks, you should quickly scavenge for anything else. Skilled players make the most of the useless weapon when confronted by an enemy, but if you’re just a dabbling player in the Resident Evil-verse, your best option is probably to run.
17 OP: Ray Gun (Call Of Duty Zombies)
When fighting against monstrous zombies, you would want an equally monstrous weapon.
The Ray Gun is the first weapon introduced in Call of Duty’s notable "Wonder Weapons" series. The weapon appears in every Call of Duty Zombie map, and while it undergoes several alterations, it remains specifically devastating to zombies.
The gun fires green rays so lethal to zombies, they do not create crawler zombies. With its larger magazine and sharp accuracy, the Ray Gun is held in high regard among gamers.
16 Weakest: Brass Knuckles (Doom)
Brass Knuckles are truly the epitome of unsolicited showing off. Running through a universe of violent, blood-thirsty demons, no one asked you to fight with your fists. And no one looks intimidating getting absolutely ripped by a demon hoard because they chose to fight with their fists.
Choose self-resect over your ego, and choose a more defensive and efficient weapon. It's fun to knock out a couple of demons with just your fists, but it can't last. We promise you, people will be more impressed if you're alive.
15 OP: Atomic Bomb (Civilization V)
Pretty self explanatory, no?
The Atomic Bomb is purposely over-powered. The weapon is depicted as a bomber unit airplane and can be transferred between bases. The bomb can be launched to a target up to ten tiles away and will demolish all units on the tile it's detonated on.
In a game full of explosives and offensive plays, players strive to build an arsenal of Atomic Bombs and Nuclear Missiles. In a game of strategy, players are forced to battle within the line of fairness as an uncorrected glitch in the game prevents bombs from being intercepted.
Either you’re the bomb, or get bombed.
14 Weakest: D.Va's Shotguns (Overwatch)
Gamers love D.Va. Whether they love her for her basic attacks, because she pilots a rocket toting mech, or because she's cute as heck, D.Va remains a fan favorite. Which brings up the frequent question of:
Why are DVa's guns so bad? We get it, sometimes characters need to be balanced out to not be OP, but D.Va's guns are pure sabotage.
Dealing out low damage from afar while difficult to aim with close or moving targets, the shotguns are a disappointment. Of course, if you're a D.Va fan, this just means you can spend more time with your favorite waifu getting gunned down without casualty.
13 OP: Experimental MIRV (Fallout 3)
When someone yells, “BRING OUT THE BIG GUNS,” they’re referring to The Experimental MIRV.
The most destructive gun in Fallout 3, the MIRV is a variation of the classic Fat Man. Similar to a shotgun, the Experimental MIRV expels eight mini nukes all in one shot. However, the gun won’t shoot unless you acquire all eight nukes, and will continue to reload without discharge until the full ammunition is collected.
While the weapon is damaging, it's held back by its inaccuracy. While efficiency should not be a huge concern with eight mini nukes to expend, the gun does pose somewhat of a threat to its shooter in close range explosions.
12 Weakest: Rosalina & Luma Ultimate (Super Smash Bros.)
Rosalina's creators got lazy. They pretty much just copied and pasted the abilities of previous characters into a subpar, magic wielding Princess Peach with a puppet version of Jigglypuff. But, if you’re going to copy an assignment, you might as well make it better.
While her character is new, her design is so far from original and just simply boring. Given that she's a major character in Super Mario Galaxy, it makes sense as to how she would make it into Smash, but it's disappointing that more time wasn't put into refining her character or bringing her more unique elements front and center.
11 OP: Master Ball (Pokémon)
Misuse the Master Ball and you just about have to restart the whole game. Single use with an unbreakable hold, the weapon is to be used sparingly and at the Trainer's discretion. The Poké Ball can be used to catch any Pokémon of any caliber, leveling the playing fields between the elite and the mediocre.
The Master Ball practically grants instant entry into the League of your region, with the capture of a Legendary Pokémon. However, devoted and experienced trainers won't use the Ball for its instant success, choosing instead to level up their personal roster.