The charm of games like D&D is undoubtedly the freedom they come with, and how a party of players can set out on an adventure together with wildly different characters and playstyles. This has been emulated in a ton of different video games throughout the years, generally most prominent in RPGs or MMOs, where buildcrafting can get delightfully complex and even a little convoluted.
Having these different builds, though, especially in a co-op game where players roam an open-world environment with their squad, is quite nice because of how it creates balanced parties. Someone might be focused on supporting and healing, while another person controls a crowd of enemies and tanks all the damage. Finally, one player will deal damage, possibly as a powerful glass cannon. Building this synergy is something the following games are great at, thanks to the immense amount of customization options that will directly affect the way each player experiences combat and general gameplay.
Warframe
Your Frame Determines Your Playstyle
In Warframe, choosing your frame is what will greatly influence the selection of abilities and the general role you will have, though even then, you have a fair bit of flexibility and buildcrafting freedom to shape your frame in a way that best fits your playstyle and preferences. With 60 base frames available, there's absolutely no shortage of creativity.
Each frame comes with its own special sauce. For example, Ash plays into the stealthy ninja power fantasy with abilities like shuriken and invisibility. Then there's Kullervo, a frame known for his incredible melee capabilities, or something like Protea, with turrets and shields, and solid support for allies in the form of her Dispensary skill. With how nuanced and varied all these frames are, a typical 4-man squad in Warframe is bound to be diverse.
Enshrouded
A Flexible Customization System Inspired By Classic RPG Classes
Though Enshrouded has a skill tree that names three different groups of classic RPG archetypes, from mobile rangers and assassins to magic-wielding wizards and healers, and finally to strong barbarians and tanks, there's freedom in how you mix and match gear and skills from multiple archetypes to your liking.
Even if you never grab any skills from the magic tree, you can still wield a wand, for instance. Of course, there's a benefit to creating a tighter and effective build, as you can min-max attributes and skills more easily. There's also the choice of gear to figure out, as some gear is better adjusted to tanky, melee gameplay, and others a best suited for any battlemages or wizards. Given the size and variety in the skill tree, and just how flexible it can get, it's easy to make a group where every player will specialize differently.
Outward
No Classes, But Skills Greatly Influence Your Role And Affect Survival
Outward is a marriage of survival and RPG gameplay, and though it doesn't exactly have classes, the skills that players choose to unlock will be the spice that determines what everyone's role and specialty is in a co-op group. Since survival is key and the world is unforgiving (and death a common occurrence a la Kenshi), it's actually pretty important to have the right skills and to take full advantage of them.
Talking to teachers and trainers is the number one way to get new skills, though it's also possible to earn them through quest completion rewards. Like in all classic RPGs, there are skill options for mages (Rune Sage) and melee-oriented characters (Warrior Monk), and everything in between, like spellblades. In a co-op group, everyone will find something unique fit for their preferences, thanks to the staggering number of weapons ranging from bows and arrows to pistols.
The Elder Scrolls Online
Race, Class, Armor, Weapons, and Guilds All Define Your Role In A Group
A lot of the games mentioned here focus on skulls, attributes, perks, items, and such to customize characters, but The Elder Scrolls Onlinegoes a bit further, with a lot of the game focused on players roughly falling into categories of tanks, damage dealers, or healers. Depending on your race, you'll enjoy certain perks, fit for these roles, specific classes, and builds.
Redguards will have a nice starting bonus to their stamina, whereas High Elves are a go-to for anyone looking to make a powerful mage. These will all complement the choice of class you'll make. You can become a Sorcerer, a Templar, or even a Necromancer. Once you start leveling up and gain attribute points and skill points, the buildcrafting gets even more complex, as more skill trees as unlocked and discovered through gameplay and quests. Thanks to all these variables and subclassing, it's pretty easy to have a group of four, each with its own flavor of gameplay that complements the others.
Dying Light
Robust Skill Trees Determine Each Kyle's Specialty
Everything in Dying Light can be experienced in co-op, from free-roaming the massive world to playing through the campaign and the side missions. It also comes with a commendable number of skills, divided into several trees ranging from Power, Agility, to Survivor, and then later on Legend and even Driver, if players have the DLC.
These skills greatly affect your playstyle and determine whether you're an explosive expert, a crafting enthusiast, a melee menace, or the ultimate parkour god that no infected can ever catch up with. Of course, some skills are more general and useful for everyone when it comes to surviving against the infected. However, there are some really funny, unique options, too, like vaulting over enemies and stunning them while doing so, so a co-op group will easily end up with friends playing in wildly different styles in no time.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
