Line #1 GameBreaker/MegaManX


1	!! General
2	* An obscure feature of the first two games is that firing the buster while dashing deals two damage a shot, which can shred through bosses much faster.
3	* In the first two games, X can find some well-hidden ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII''-inspired {{Easter Egg}}s that let him perform a one-hit kill (or near one-hit kill) attack, thus making the game a whole lot easier after finding them. This is balanced out by the fact that they usually can only be found in the final boss stages and can only be used at full health, in addition to requiring ''Street Fighter''-like input commands that make them difficult to use in battle. Examples of this are the [[KamehameHadoken Hadoken]] in ''X1'' (which had an added problem of being hard to aim against Sigma and in [[VideoGame/MegaManX1 the original release of the first game]] [[NoSell is completely ineffective against his second form]]) and the Shoryuken in ''X2''.
4	* ''X4''-''X6'' gave X the Ultimate Armor, with infinite usage of the Giga Attack, Nova Strike, while ''X8'' had an upgraded version of this. Unlike ''X'' and ''X2'', none of these required you to have full health. None of them were one-hit finishers either, although several were two-hitters. In other armors, their Giga Attack is an attack that affected either the entire screen weakly or one particular area strongly, and then required the player to take damage in order to recharge the attack. The Nova Strike (which is also the Fourth/[[FanNickname Nova]] Armor's Giga Attack), has X fly forwards and deal massive amounts of damage to anything in his path, being completely invulnerable for the duration. And in his Ultimate Armor, X can use the Nova Strike in rapid succession. In addition to unleashing a devastating attack that can take out ''any'' boss in about ten seconds, the Ultimate Armor also allowed X to traverse difficult platforming sections by granting the ability of unimpeded ''flight''.
5	* ''X4''-''X6'' also has Zero's "[[LagCancel dash-saber cancel]]" trick: you can cancel any part of his 3-slash combo into a dash, and then the dash into the saber combo. As his first 2 slashes don't trigger MercyInvincibility on bosses, you can use this trick to shred through their life bars faster than using their weakness weapons. You might ruin it in ''X5'', however, in that [[PowerUpLetdown Wind Shredder's]] command is the slash button after dashing; it's often advisable to not defeat Spiral Pegasus (as you get that technique from him) and just launch the Shuttle without doing so.
6
7	!! ''VideoGame/MegaManX1''/''VideoGame/MegaManMaverickHunterX''
8	* [[BlowYouAway Storm Tornado]]. Storm Eagle wasn't exactly hard to defeat if you chose him first, but the weapon he gives you can kill almost every non-boss in one shot and do a lot of damage to bosses, especially Flame Mammoth.
9	* Homing Torpedo shoots out homing missiles and the energy usage is moderately cheap, making stages a breeze. It doesn't deal that much damage, though.
10	* Chameleon Sting's charged up version allows X to be invincible for a limited amount of time. This makes one of the hardest sections of Sigma's fortress a cakewalk when you can just walk through them without taking damage.
11	* In ''Maverick Hunter X'', you get to play as Vile, who's got a few breakers up his sleeve. The kicker? ''[[BottomlessMagazines There's no limit to how many times you can use ANY of his weapons]]'':
12	** The Stubborn Crawler absolutely murders anything on a ground or wall ''faster than you can blink''. In addition, not one, but ''two'' bosses are weak to it.
13	** The Parasite Sword can hit anywhere on the screen if you're positioned properly. It cannot be destroyed, and it's pretty powerful, too.
14	** The Distance Needler is acquired by beating Chill Penguin and has a slower firing rate than other vulcan weapons. However, it does have a longer range, can pass through just about any enemy (even shielded ones), and deals a pretty good amount of damage per shot. Plus, this weapon can be equipped with both Stubborn Crawler and Parasite Sword, thereby validating Vile's character as a one-Reploid murder machine.
15	** The Popcorn Demon fires one missile that splits into three. The firing rate on the parent missile makes it very easy to fill half the screen with missiles. If you're playing the UMD version of the game, this will cause your PSP to lag, creating a temporary BulletTime effect that lasts as long as you keep spamming missiles. This does not work in the [=PlayStation=] Network digital re-release.
16	* ''Maverick Hunter X'' also tweaked some of X's weapons. The arm upgrade you get from Zero is stronger than the normal version, making the buster a good alternative to Rolling Shield against Sigma's second form and encouraging you to hold off on the arm parts until the Vile fight. Chameleon Sting now immediately fires a spread of moderately powerful lasers instead of a single laser that spreads after moving a distance, on top of its charged version making you [[InvincibilityPowerUp fully invincible]] ''and'' letting you change weapons after activating it. Charged Electric Spark now creates a blast that hits ''full screen'', demolishing any kind of enemy and making it easier to hit Armored Armadillo. Rolling Shield got the most out of it though, as you can switch weapons while the charged barrier is up, so you can have the free hit and fire anything (including the Hadouken).
17	* In ''Maverick Hunter X'', if you're holding a charge using the primary fire button, you can use the X-Buster button to execute the Hadouken without dropping the charge on X's main weapon. You can also remap either button to one of the PSP's shoulder buttons to make it easier to pull this off.
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19	!! ''VideoGame/MegaManX2''
20	* The Second Armor's arm parts, which grants X the ability to fire ''two'' charged shots for three damage each, while the second shot is capable of ignoring bosses' invincibility frames and forcing them out of attack animations, allowing X to dish out a powerful one-two punch of charge shots against them. It takes a while to fully charge both shots, [[DifficultButAwesome but the payoff certainly makes up for it]]. The kicker? Getting the arm parts was intended to require using the leg parts from Overdrive Ostrich's stage, but through a tricky, pixel-perfect jump, it's possible to get the arm parts [[https://youtu.be/usaiJPrLalM?t=30 as early as the beginning of the game]] without any items! [[note]]Alternatively, it's also possible to reach the Light Capsule more easily with the Strike Chain from Wire Sponge, a [[WarmUpBoss a common pick for the first boss]] due to him being a pushover.[[/note]] This is one of the easiest games to do a buster-only run on.
21	* Spinning Wheel fires a sawblade that runs along the ground, hits enemies multiple times, and opens up secret breakable walls and floors. Its charged version is no slouch either (i.e. firing a larger sawblade that fires shots all over the screen).
22	* Sonic Slicer fires sets of RazorWind that cuts through everything and ricochets off walls and ceilings. Its charged version rains crescent beams that deal significant damage, even to minibosses.
23
24	!! ''VideoGame/MegaManX3''
25	* Spinning Blade. Think Franchise/{{Kirby}}'s Cutter power, except you fire two at once (one goes up, the other goes down), and it cuts through multiple enemies. It also deals a lot of damage especially when fired point-blank (3 damage per blade, can be fired at point-blank for ''six damage total'', and doing so also [[OneBulletAtATime allows it to be spammed]]), and it's also very energy efficient (two shots per energy unit for 56 shots). Its charged version lets you control a giant yo-yo to shreds enemies around you.
26	* Triad Thunder turns X into an InstantDeathRadius by causing a triangle of drones to form a massively-damaging triangle electrical barrier around him, discharge the electricity out, then drop off the screen. The drones can also be repositioned to use the electric barrier again up to two more times by firing the weapon before the drones discharge. Its charged attack is no slouch either, causing X to perform a GroundPunch that not only uncovers secret areas, but also deals a metric ton of damage to everything grounded.
27	* X [[TakeUpMySword wielding Zero's beam saber]], which was more versatile as it was an upgrade to the charge shot and didn't need a health requirement to fire. With a proper hit, it kills any non-boss enemy instantly and had piercing features on top of that (a novelty, but occasionally useful). Any boss enemy would, with a proper hit, be reduced to 20% of their max HP, including the final boss (if you know at which height to hit its tiny weak point, that is). It's balanced out by requiring you to charge your buster to level 4, which takes about ten seconds... Unless you purposely forgo the buster upgrade,[[note]]widely agreed to be a ScrappyWeapon[[/note]] which makes the ''saber'' your level 3 charge shot instead.
28	* The [[GoldenSuperMode Gold Armor]]/[[FanNickname MAX Hyper Armor]], which is a true game breaker. There are four booster chips in the game: armor booster that gives a 75% damage reduction shield when hit, a special weapon that allows you to spam Charge Shots, the power to dash twice before dropping to the ground, or a HealingFactor that would not only restore your health but fill sub-tanks as long as you stand still for a while. Thing is, if you take any one of these, you can't take the other chips. BUT! If you don't collect any of those but do find every other item in the game, you can get the secret Hyper Chip early in the fortress, which gives you all four abilities. In other words, you get nearly four times your normal health in addition to a host of abilities that make your character quite unstoppable. The only drawback is that it's not saved in passwords.
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30	!! ''VideoGame/MegaManXtreme2''
31	* ''Xtreme 2'', a game for the Game Boy Color, had a part system like the one in ''X5''. X could equip up to four upgrade parts as long as he didn't have all his armor parts, if he did only two were possible. So as long as your were willing to give up the upgrade for the ''Street Fighter'' moves, ''much'' weaker than the console versions, you could skip the helmet, which was identical to the ''X1'' version. The best part loadout was Buster +1, Buster +2, Ultimate Buster, and Speed Shot, letting you forget the special weapons and just blast away with a high speed barrage of double-strength charge shots from the X buster. Or you could skip speed shot for the Hyper Dash, which makes you invincible when dashing, and add some defense to your still hideously overpowering offense.
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33	!! ''VideoGame/MegaManX4''
34	* X's Plasma Buster Upgrade for the Fourth/[[FanNickname Nova]] Armor debuts in this game. It fires a large and damaging plasma shot that penetrates everything, and leaves behind up to two balls of energy that do continuous damage to rip up Mooks and bosses to shreds. Compare to the other arm option that lets you stock up to four charge shots but of a smaller size, the Plasma Buster outclasses it by miles. The only minor downside is the fact that the Plasma Buster arms are colored black and red, making it not match with the rest of the armor (''X5'' fixes this so it all matches). The Ultimate Armor, being based on this armor, also has these two features. It got nerfed in ''X5'' by making the Plasma Shot unable to hit through walls and only left behind one energy ball with the first hit also triggering invulnerability frames in the bosses, making it only good against mooks.
35	* The Helmet Upgrade made all of X's non-charged special weapons ''[[BottomlessMagazines cost no ammo]]''. This allows easy spamming of rapid-firing weapons like Ground Hunter or Twin Slasher, and if it wasn't already overpowered, the Ultimate Armor in ''X4'' also had this. Tellingly, ''X5'' nerfed this by making the head part only halve the use of special weapons instead of negating it.
36
37	!! ''VideoGame/MegaManX5''
38	* The Falcon Armor could be obtained pretty early on if you knew where to look. As the name suggests, this armor gave X the ability of outright ''flight''. Not brief flight, either; flight time was very generous and could be instantly reset simply by landing and taking off again (even a wall cling would suffice), in addition to flight speed being pretty good. Furthermore, the flight also comes with a BattleAura that can cause damage or outright kill weaker enemies (and some bullets), though you couldn't just plow through everything. It didn't even have any real drawbacks, either (beyond not being able to charge special weapons). In exchange for a trivial reduction in charge shot size and the inability to charge special weapons, X gets a piercing attack that is extremely useful and a screen-cleaning Giga Attack. This was so powerful that it was brutally [[{{Nerf}} nerfed]] in ''X6'', completely eliminating the flight ability, reducing the Buster power, and reducing the Giga Attack damage so much that it was weaker than its Charge Shot, but gave the armor the ability to charge special weapons. Next to the Ultimate Armor, this is probably the biggest Game Breaker in the ''X'' series and the biggest nerf it ever received as well during game transition.
39	* The [[MightyGlacier Gaea Armor]], while it slows X's dashing speed, has short-ranged shots, prevents him from using any parts and special weapons, and lacks air-dashing, gives him a powerful X-Buster that not only can destroy some enemy shots, but has a ridiculous charge speed. He can literally spam charge shots like no tomorrow, and these charge shots ignore bosses' MercyInvincibility frames, allowing him to create a CycleOfHurting on bosses. Most importantly, it gives him immunity to spikes, meaning that if you can trivialize [[ThatOneBoss Rangda Bangda]] by removing [[ThatOneAttack its biggest cheap trick]].
40	* Zero's Black Armor goes from only an aesthetic change to a powerful upgrade. It changes Zero's FragileSpeedster status and puts him on equal footing with X by automatically adding the Shock Buffer (reduces damage and stun to half) and the Shot Eraser (allows Z-saber to destroy enemy shots) parts while also allowing Zero to equip the standard 4 parts. It also increases his weapon energy by 50% allowing you to spam [[TimeStandsStill Dark Hold]] and his Giga Attack more consistently.
41	* Firefly Laser normally isn't too game-breaking - it fires a firefly-shaped missile that you can guide in any of the 4 directions, which also leaves a trail of light (think ''{{Franchise/Tron}}'') and it has a somewhat large energy usage compared to others. The damage from the missile isn't too great - the real trick is to damage enemies with the trail of light. It's possible to kill a big pack of enemies by careful manipulation of the missile. Its charged version, on the other hand, is pretty straightforward: [[WaveMotionGun a continuous big laser]] that keeps firing for several seconds. Shame it is ridiculously useless on the boss that should be weak to it, Dark Necrobat.
42	* Crescent Shot also isn't that game-breaking, but its charged version is basically the successor to Rolling Shield's charged version. And Zero gets the Crescent Sword, an attack similar to Kuuenzan in ''X4'' (rolling slash in the air + DoubleJump) except more powerful (and effective against Tidal Whale). The best part is, you get it from Crescent Grizzly, the easiest Maverick boss in the game.
43	* Ground Fire is a short-ranged projectile packing a serious punch. It can destroy every enemy in one or two shots, and you can fire ''two at once'', making it an absolute killer at point-blank. The end result is you have something with the same power as a Plasma Shot sans charge time, its only drawback being its range. And if coupled with the energy-saving Armor upgrades and parts, you get a whopping ''112'' shots. It also holds the distinction of being the series’ first fire-based weapon to work underwater.
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45	!! ''VideoGame/MegaManX6''
46	* ''X6'''s parts system manages to be far better than its ''Xtreme'' and ''X5'' counterparts. While it has some restrictions (you need to waste hours farming for Nightmare Souls), you can customize your character to be a walking death machine or the ultimate tank.
47	** A defensive load for (normal) Zero in ''X6'' is Saber Plus, Energy Saver, Damage Barrier, Shock Buffer, and Life Recover as the Limited Part. You get enhanced attack power, extra 50% weapon energy, double defense, double MercyInvincibility after getting hit, and basically a third Sub-Tank.
48	** You can increase your mobility by equipping Speedster, Jumper and Hyper Dash allowing X/Zero to reach otherwise unaccessible places with Heart Tanks and Armor upgrades. The biggest use comes in Gate's Lab as it allows unarmored X/Shadow Armor X to navigate a stage that normally would be a death trap for him.
49	* The Shadow Armor allows X to cling to ceilings and walk in spikes in exchange for the air dash. By forgoing special weapon usage, X's standard shot becomes a spread of ninja stars and his charged shot becomes a charged Z-Saber slash. By adding the previous mobility load onto the armor along with the Power Drive and the Quick Charge you get a LightningBruiser that thanks to the parts overcoming the sole weakness of the Shadow Armor.
50	* Zero's Black Armor makes a comeback. This time he gets the Z-Saber Plus part instead of the useless Virus Buster along with the remaining five-parts load.
51	* The Metal Anchor. As X, you could destroy most enemies in one shot, and if you charged it up, the attack hit the majority of the screen and destroyed mid-bosses, regular bosses, and even Sigma was vulnerable to it.
52	* Thanks to a GoodBadBug, Guard Shell becomes this for Zero. Basically, the shield normally only reflects attack as its name and the game text would imply. However for Zero it has two effects: one is the written effect, and the second effect is doubling the hit count of close range attacks, while ignoring MercyInvincibility. Essentially, you can beat most bosses in the game in two seconds using this move. X can also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplALCBoQcw exploit this bug too]].
53	* Yammar Option is among the best OrbitingParticleShield weapons in the entire series. They're basically AttackDrones that protect you from close enemies and increase your firepower as they can ''also'' shoot alongside you; better yet, you only consume its energy when you summon the drones, and not when you shoot with them. Its charged effect makes the drones temporarily invincible as well as shooting in multiple different directions as you move around. The fact that Zero has access to this weapon is just icing on the cake.
54	* Ensuizan for Zero is essentially the upgraded Crescent Sword, though it works differently: it can also be done on the ground, and if done in midair, Zero freezes in place as he rolls. He can roll several times at once, dealing high damage to anything around him. Be careful, however, in that when he rolls, he goes out of MercyInvincibility immediately if you were in that state.
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56	!! ''VideoGame/MegaManX7''
57	* X himself. His charged shots have an extremely high damage output, hitting the bosses ''harder'' than their intended weakness. Add the game's mechanics (said Charge Shot homes in and as big as half of the screen) and you start to understand why X was restricted from the start.
58	* Explosion deals rather immense damage to anything that'll stand still, having great base power and hitting a good four times per shot. What holds it back is its energy usage, so high that you can fire it once without any weapon energy upgrades, and four times if you give them all to a single character. X can make good use of its charged shots, but he'll have to fall back to normal charge shots partway through the battle. Why's it mentioned here? Because on top of its crazy damage output, in the hands of Axl setting Explosion as your active special attack sets you with the almighty Grenade Launcher, a beast of a weapon that essentially shoots charged shots three times as fast as X with the Quick Charge. Though it has a smaller firing range (The X buster can hit things off to the side that the Grenade Launcher can't, and potentially has a longer range), commits you to a jump if you shoot while jumping (like how [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaI Simon Belmont]] [[JumpPhysics jumps]]), and gets blocked by some things the X Buster goes through (the two transparent blue blocks during the fight with The Professor come to mind), it essentially is a version of Explosion with longer range and infinite ammo, and will shred anything that'll stand still long enough for you to peg it a few times before it moves again. This means it falters against the likes of Flame Hyenard and Vanishing Gungaroo (that he's so jumpy is the ONLY reason you can't annihilate him with his own weapon), you'll have no problem crushing pretty much anything else. Axl himself gets a huge leg up on X if you make good use of the Rapid Fire option so you don't have to hit the attack button for every shot, the Grenade Launcher to compensate for the lack of a charged shot, and his invincible roll to cut through things liable to hit you. While it doesn't make him an absolute superior killer to X, the common impression that he's significantly worse is not true in the least.
59	* Zero's Raijinshou technique he learns from Tornado Tonion, which can be easily obtained as the boss himself is a pushover, allows Zero to shred most enemies in 1-2 hits.
60
61	!!''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission''
62	* Axl's Bait/Stealth Form, made him always be the target of any single targeting attack and not take damage. Not a perfect lock, as attacks that hit the whole party would still be able to hit the rest of the party, but good enough to make many boss battles a lot easier. Axl will be able to handily redirect all incoming single target damage to himself and have it be completely wasted, allowing the more frail characters some breathing room.
63	%% * X's Ultimate Armor and Zero's Absolute Zero armors, which increase your attack power to the point that 25K damage can be done with each character. Boss battles will NOT last long enough for the power-ups to eventually wane like they do after a few turns if you use Build Hypers to increase the time the power-ups last. Add SFM Fragment Alpha and you can get a LimitBreak out EVERY TURN.
64	%% * It should be noted, however, that the Ultimate Armor and Absolute Zero are more [[InfinityPlusOneSword infinity plus one forms]] rather than actual game breakers. Both require you to defeat a ridiculously hard lategame {{Superboss}} for each one (The Mole Brothers for Absolute Zero, Rafflesia for Ultimate Armor X). The aforementioned SFM Fragment Alpha can only be obtained using Marino's LimitBreak on the FinalBoss of the game.
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66	!!''VideoGame/MegaManX8''
67	* The D-Glaive gives Zero hugely increased reach at the cost of a more awkward attack range. Combining this with Rasetsusen turns Zero into a whirling buzzsaw of death with ridiculous reach that can trivialize harder levels, and it replaces the powerful but short-ranged Yodantotsu into Renyoudan, a multi-stabbing mid-ranged attack that also breaks guards.
68	* The Σ Blade, the sword Sigma uses in the final battle. Zero becomes a literal walking murder machine with it thanks to its massive size and absurd damage. It's normally only obtainable in a NewGamePlus, but you can also make it available for purchase in the shop by inputting a code on the title screen.
69	* The heroes' Infinity+1 Armors in obtainable in a NewGamePlus:
70	** X's [[PurpleIsPowerful Ultimate Armor]] in this game has the limited Nova Strike, however it will damage them ''severely'' (about 97% of their HP gone in a single hit) and charges REALLY fast. It also takes ''X4''[='=]s helmet upgrade to the extreme by allowing him to have infinite special weapon energy for both normal ''AND'' charged attacks. Not only does it the Plasma charge shot upgrade back, but the leg parts ''combines'' the two leg parts you normally can only use individually. X also has access to the Shoryuken, and unlike the previous games, he can perform this attack without needing a full Life Meter. It also has the same benefits of the Icarus Body parts, meaning [[ImmuneToFlinching X can shrug off most injuries]] and his Recovery Gauge won't deplete over time while he's taking point.
71	** Zero's Black Armor fixes his short dashing distance and turns him into a GlassCannon. Combining this with the aforementioned Σ Blade lets Zero turn enemies into mincemeat.
72	** And finally Axl's White Armor gives him indefinite hovering while firing his weapons, faster dashes, and unlimited transformation time. Feel free to speedrun your way to an AAA/S rank with ease.
73	* Mixing X's Hermes Helmet with the Icarus Buster parts allows X to spam fully-charged charged shots (not the WaveMotionGun that comes after it although that can also be spammed) like crazy, similar to ''X5''[='=]s Gaea Armor only without the crippled dashing speed and retaining the use of his special weapons. These shots can easily break an enemy's guard and ignore the bosses' invincibility frames (except when they're using their DesperationAttack) instead of triggering it, allowing X to make short work of them.
74	* Once Axl gets Ray Gun, there's basically no reason to ever use his default gun ever again. It has a higher DPS rate, higher damage ''and'' can pierce some enemies. To cap it off, it uses no weapon energy at all. It's so potent that it can shred through high HP enemies with little effort ''and'' rack up a high combo count.
75	* Similarly to ''X7'', Axl's G-Launcher not only can wreck enemies with ease, each shot can be lobbed in quick bursts and enemies can be caught in a continuous barrage of explosions until they're dead, which can also trivialize certain mini-bosses in the Troia Base trials.
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Context GameBreaker / MegaManX