For the most part,most mainstream RPGswon’t really punish players too much if they get a stat wrong here and there. Sure, there’s no denying that a person who veers off too much into a useless build will end up paying for it at some point, but most games don’t become totally impossible if a particular character is gimped.
RELATED:The Most Immersive Open World Games
However,certain hardcore RPGs place a major emphasis on a player’s skill distribution, to the point where progression becomes downright impossible. RPGs generally feature a ton of combat, and these titles ensure that players who end up being too experimental or just don’t put enough thought into their builds will be forced to pay for their mistakes time and time again.
8Bloodborne
Bloodborneis arguably FromSoftware’s greatest game, with Miyazaki going all out in the development of this stellar title. The combat was fast-paced and brutal, forcing players to get to grips with the faster battles of this game.
Failing to allocate stats properly can very well lead to players being one-shot by enemies or having their preferred weapons do absolutely no damage whatsoever. While players can still get by with weapon upgrades, it simply might not be enough to sustain a good level of damage.
7Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2is considered by many to beone of the greatest CRPGs of the modern generation. It’s easy to see why Larian Studios were given the honor of developing the next game in theBaldur’s Gateseries.
Original Sin 2is just as punishing as its prequel if players aren’t smart about allocating their stats. Focusing on crowd control and survival is a must, and using builds that don’t focus on either can have major repercussions further down the line when enemies churn out massive numbers of damage while the party can only muster a pittance.
6Final Fantasy 10
The Sphere Grid was a great system to experiment withinFinal Fantasy 10. While the Sphere Grid put players on fairly linear leveling paths, certain special spheres could let them jump to other spaces on the grid or acquire abilities that other characters already had.
RELATED:The Best Modern-Day JRPGs (According To Metacritic)
However, doing this is a pretty risky move if players don’t know what they’re doing. The linear path is enough to optimize the build of most party members, and jumping to another less powerful part of the grid can prove to be a costly mistake indeed.
5Dark Souls
Another FromSoftware game makes its way to this listin the form ofDark Souls. This action-adventure title is considered by many to be a legendary game that birthed a whole new genre and has been inspiring many other games as well.
Dark Soulsforced players to get acquainted with a particular build. Wasting Souls was a downright crime given how precious they are, meaning that players who still don’t see the warning signs and invest these points wherever they want will have a pretty rough time with this game.
4Disco Elysium
Disco Elysiumis one of the most innovative CRPGs to have come out in quite some time. It’s the only game on this list to have no combat whatsoever, with its story mainly flowing through many skill checks.
For what it’s worth, there’s not really a wrong skill inDisco Elysium. However, there are more unique skills that players have never seen before, which are bundled together with fairly run-of-the-mill skills that are pretty self-explanatory. A player’s mileage may vary, but not focusing on the more unique skills in the game means that players might not have access to content that is pretty well-written and interesting.
3Elden Ring
The latest game released by FromSoftware has quickly shot through the ranks to become one of the most popular video games of all time. This single title has sold more copies than the entireDark Soulsfranchise combined, which speaks volumes when it comes to how important this game is for FromSoftware.
RELATED:Best RPGs You Can Play On PlayStation Plus Extra & Premium
It’s to be expected thatElden Ringmakes stat allocation incredibly important, as is the case with FromSoftware’s other titles.The shift to an open world was widely celebrated, with the game boasting a massive amount of content that is pretty meaningful as well.
2Fallout
While the shift to 3D has reduced the importance of stat allocation inFalloutgames, there was a time when the isometric games forced players to be very careful about the stats they chose. This was something thatFallout: New Vegasalso replicated to great effect.
However, the first two games in the series punished poor stat allocation on a whole new level. The games were already hard as is, and being ineffective in combat was nothing short of a death sentence for most players.
1Final Fantasy 2
TheFinal Fantasyseries boasts a ton of incredible games…but the second title in the series is a blight that most people have pretty much forgotten. The game might’ve had some good ideas, but it was the manner in which players leveled up in this game that was downright odd.
InFinal Fantasy 2, a skill’s level depended on how much players used it in combat. Characters who got hit more would have their health increased, party members who attacked more saw an uptick in their physical stats, and so on and so forth. It was a needlessly complicated system that necessitated weird exploits and grinding to ensure that players don’t get absolutely hammered by enemies as they progress.
MORE:The Best Action RPGs To Play If You Like The Witcher 3
