From high fantasy to dystopian cyberpunk,open-world gameshave covered nearly every setting imaginable; naturally, this means they have also pushed their share of protagonist archetypes. Putting aside projects that do not emphasize combat, most titles seem to lean into either melee or gun-based gameplay, allowing you to put togetheryour version of a powerful herowho can demolish massive enemies and look fashionable while doing it.
Plenty of games incorporate magic to an extent, but these systems tend to exist in support of other combat avenues rather than stand on their own. As such, it can be difficult to put together apowerful mage in an open-world game, especially if you do not want to complement spell play with a close-range melee weapon. So, let’s go through a few games that allow you to go full battle mage.
Some criteria and points:
Sometimes, an overall underwhelming experience can overshadow any positives, andForspokenhas issues that threaten to render obsolete any of its strengths. With its frustrating protagonist and companion, vast but largely empty world, and a short story that struggles to pick up much momentum, Square Enix’s game is straight-up difficult to recommend; however, the combat and movement systems can be quite fun when viewed in a vacuum.
Once she is isekai’d into her new world, Frey fairly quickly picks up a magic-based movement skill that makes traversal snappy and fun, along with an elemental attack. As the campaign progresses, she unlocks moremagic options and upgradesthat add quite a bit of variety, turning combat into a spectacular showcase of mage skills. The gameplay is not particularly deep or all that customizable, but it is visually exciting.
Obsidian’sAvowedis a pretty good RPG that shines in one precise area: Combat. Don’t get me wrong, the writing is decent and the visuals are gorgeous, but neither aspect is strong enough to warrant a recommendation on its own. Fortunately, the gameplay is incredible, and that goes for all three class types. Personally, I initially opted to walk the Fighter’s path, just because that is my go-to for first playthroughs; however,Avowed's Wizard classis the most entertaining and empowering.
Now, it should be said that Wizards are not born OP inAvowed, and you will need to spend quite a few hours leveling up your Grimoire Mastery and unlocking higher-level spells to achieve a state of magical domination. Even then, OP builds are not extremely easy to come by, so enemies will still offer a degree of difficulty throughout a fight. However,Avowednails its presentation, ensuring that the act of executing spells is awe-inspiring and satisfying. The game also gives just enough customization options to allow for a handful of different mage types, but the selection is quite streamlined compared to, say,Pillars of Eternity. If you want to feel like a cool battle mage, this game is a great place to start, especially if you have Game Pass.
If somebody is new toElden Ring, they need to prepare themselves for a tough ride, regardless of their preferred build. Historically, FromSoftware’s Souls games have used magic builds as unofficial easy modes, with the originalDark Soulsbeing probably the most infamous example.
While that is still somewhat the case inElden Ring, mages are not as overwhelmingly powerful, at least not initially. Once you level upIntelligence enough that you can use Sorceries like Comet Azur and equip weapons like Lusat’s Glintstone Staff, you should be in a position to stomp most bosses, but reaching that point is a long and exhausting road. The thing is, mages do not need to be one-shot powerful to be a blast to use inElden Ring, and the build variety means players can craft all sorts of hybrids that combine close and ranged combat.
Two Worlds 2has plenty of issues that not only make it hard to outright recommend nowadays, but also hurt its appeal back in the early 2010s. That said, the game has a few things in its favor. For the most part, the visuals were technically impressive for the era, even if the actual aesthetic was not that great. The open-world is expansive without being overwhelming, so exploration is not too exhausting.
Finally, and most importantly,Two Worlds 2’s magic system is comfortably its strongest feature. Basically, spells utilize cards, with players being able to stack them to create pretty wild effects. You can add modifiers that extend a spell’s time or even reverse its usage, turning a damaging attack into a protective one (or vice versa). There is not a huge range of cards to play with, but the fun comes from experimenting with different combinations. While the combat is not that smooth, mage builds are the way to go.
Hogwarts Legacycame the closest to providing a proper opportunity to exist within theHarry Potteruniverse, enabling fans to become their own Wizards and Witches. While not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination, Avalanche did a great job of making players feel strong through a flashy and fairly simple combat system that revolves primarily around spells.
Despite lacking the depth found in full-blown open-world RPGs,Hogwarts Legacystill supplies a respectable range of build optionsthat are all mage-focused, and enemy encounters are easy enough that it does not take that long to start feeling overpowered (even if you need to master spells to become truly unstoppable). The open-world itself is probablyHogwarts Legacy’s weakest element, but it does not detract too much from the overall package.
Honestly, all three recent mainlineElder Scrollsgames are great forOP mage builds, and they are all masterpieces in their own right.Morrowindhas received the nod simply because its magic system can be broken more thanOblivion’sandSkyrim’s, and that is by no means meant as a negative. Mage builds take quite a bit of work to effectively grow inMorrowind, but they also feel like the sky is their limit.
Armed with high intelligence and some willpower, you may create a mage that specializes in mysticism, alchemy, destruction, conjuration, and/or healing, and all these roads are perfectly valid and prone to satisfying displays of jaw-dropping magic.Morrowindis quite oldby this point, and its age can be off-putting for people who are mostly familiar with modern open-world games; however, its strengths still shine through, and magic is one of them.
Kingdoms of Amaluris the ultimate power fantasy RPG. Frankly, players need to go out of their way to avoid becoming overpowered rather than the other way round, and that goes for nearly every type of build. While I tend to prefer melee due to the game’s addictive close-quarters combat, if you want to become ridiculously powerful very quickly, Sorcery skills are the way to go. Even Tier 1 and 2 abilities, like Staff Mastery and Mark of Flame, are incredibly strong and can trivialize encounters if used wisely.
Now, most people playingKOAseem to prefer hybrid builds rather than pure mages, and I recommend throwing in a few Might skills to facilitate weapon and spell combos. On normal difficulty, the game is easy, so the best strategy is to pick a character that provides enough variety to keep things interesting throughout the 30-hour campaign.
Dragon’s Dogmaand its sequel are special cases, as the Mage vocation is not particularly overpowered and is destined to serve a support role. That does not mean you won’t eventually gain access to impressive spells, but you won’t be demolishing enemies too easily while actively playing as this class.
However, you should unlock advanced vocations after completing certain quests; after that point, you will want topursue the Sorcerer routeto receive the most overpowered magic in the game. Compared to standard Mages, Sorcerers are far more adept at handling groups of enemies and executing magic that not only hits strong, but also delivers damage over a set time.Dragon Dogma 2’s combat, in general, takes a while to hit its stride, and that extends to the Sorcerer class; that said, the effort is generally worth it.
Magick Archer can also be quite fun, although it is not that strong compared to Sorcerer.
