LogFAQs > #923784683

Today's trope is Disc One Nuke. Here is the link: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DiscOneNuke

A minor form of munchkining, wherein a player exploits the ability to gain a powerful item, weapon, ability, Mon, or character early in the game. This allows the player to rush through the first (potentially tedious) parts of the game without major challenges. There are a few ways this can happen:

Utilize Save Scumming until you get a particularly powerful Random Drop from a foe. Even if you don't want to/cannot use the dropped item, it can often be sold for a nuke-level fortune.
Find a way to defeat a Beef Gate which is not supposed to be beatable at such an early point. Often drops powerful/valuable items, money, or tons of experience to power you up. (May involve the use of an Outside-the-Box Tactic strategy, a Useless Useful Spell which is particularly effective against this foe, an otherwise impractical ability, or simply lots of effort and luck.)
Excessive Level Grinding, particularly if there is an early game Peninsula of Power Leveling. Either your leveled up characters/Mons become the nuke, or they allow access to it (such as Level-Locked Loot or a higher-level ability).
Abuse a game's Item Crafting mode. In many cases, this involves using seemingly useless item(s) to craft a rare item either to sell or use.
Grind early game sources of (typically low) prize/reward money such as mini-games or repeatable quests in order to purchase what is supposed to be Teaser Equipment or items behind a Cash Gate.
Steal equipment from a temporary party member. (Essentially So Long, and Thanks for All the Gear in reverse.)
Pushing a Crutch Character into an early powerhouse, especially in some form of Crippling Overspecialization.
Being given a Taste of Power or something Awesome, but Temporary, and then finding a way to keep it permanently.
Having the creator "encourage" buying a previous game to automatically obtain that item from the previous game.
Acquiring powerful DLC items/abilities/Mons, which are sometimes available for free from the very start of the game.

It should be noted that many of these options can be used in tandem depending on the nature of the game. For example, a rare item drop can be used to item craft a niche weapon to be used in another area where it is particularly effective against the local enemies for easy grinding.

More dishonestly, you can outright cheat (such as using the various popular "all items" Cheat Codes) or make use of exploits/glitches.

TL,DR: Obtaining powerful characters, abilities or equipment early on, that will last you a long time afterwards.

Nominations:
Triple Triad (Final Fantasy VIII)
Mini Chainsaw (Dead Rising)
Gible after the second Gym (Pokemon Platinum)