In Shoulders of Giants, a game where players will control a supernatural sentient space Frog who pilots a Robot (named GERM) and go from planet to planet to defeat the entropy of the universe, there are a few different factors that play into 'builds'.
Depending on what Frog Weapons, GERM Weapons, Skill Tree Skills, Frog Abilities, Robot Abilities, and GERM Cores they choose, this visually stunning roguelite could play completely differently. GERM Cores, in particular, play a huge part in this as they essentially function as the 'classes' in Shoulders of Giants. So, let's go over some of the best cores to look out for and rank them from worst to best.
8 Racer Core
First up is Racer, a GERM Core that adds racing stripes to GERM itself and gives it a buff for sprinting. When the player sprints for 2 seconds or longer, they automatically activate both a movement speed and attack power buff for a couple of seconds after they stop.
Normally, this would be awful considering players aren't going from sprinting to fighting all too often while clearing levels (using abilities to get around, dashing, or jumping usually works better) but the percentage attack power buff is pretty huge even at a level 1 core. At, say, level 6, this is a 40 percent buff, which is more than enough to warrant adjusting someone's playstyle around it.
7 Mecha Core
Honestly, the Mecha Core is really only on here because it's the best traversal Core by far. In terms of combat, almost any other Core would be a better choice. But, since the speed at which players clear levels usually has a large impact on their success rate, being able to get around quickly and easily is important.
The longer a player stays in a level, the more enemies spawn, and the more likely the groups of enemies they didn't kill will get the upper hand on them. Therefore, having a Core that allows the player to jump multiple times (depending on Core level) makes it easy to both get anywhere and stay just out of reach at all times. Additionally, Robot Weapons with great air attacks, such as the Electron Hammer or Gyro Fists, can get multiple attacks in the air thanks to the multiple jumps.
6 Knight Core
The Knight GERM Core is another one, like the Health Core, that's based around keeping GERM and Frog alive more than it is helping them deal more damage. While equipped, this Core makes it so that every defeated enemy grants the player a damage reduction buff, as long as they aren't getting hit.
As soon as they're hit, the buff disappears, but of course, the buff did reduce the damage of that one hit. It's not the best when roaming around clearing objectives (though it can come in clutch when a hit would've killed the player), but it's incredibly helpful against bosses. As long as the player makes sure to clear the right number of enemies before starting the boss fight, they can completely nullify the first hit the boss will do to them, which in most cases, is a whole lot of damage. It's a great Core for players who like GERM abilities that get in close, as the passive effect of the Core can protect them if they end up in a bad spot.
5 Demolition Core
The funny thing is, personally, the Demolition Core carried us through the entire game. But, it wasn't because of the Core's effect, per se. Rather, it was due to the fact that the randomized Ability it gave out was a Level 4 Sticky Grenade. Still, the Demolition's effect isn't bad, in fact, it's quite helpful against large groups of enemies.
This is because, when enemies are defeated with this Core equipped, they create a small explosion that deals a percentage of their max health as damage to anything in the explosion radius.
4 Eliminator Core
One of the best Frog abilities in the game, by far, is the Auto Turret ability. And, the reason for this is simple, having a gun that targets enemies and fires on its own is so immensely convenient and allows the player to focus their attention entirely on using other abilities or methods of damage at the same time.
And, this is also why the Eliminator Core is so good, as it puts a turret on GERM that automatically fires at nearby enemies every once in a while. The time between Turret shots is reduced, depending on the Core level, so this is one that's probably worth ignoring until players get one thats level 3 or higher.
3 Darkness Core
Almost for entirely the same reason as the Eliminator Core, the Darkness Core is also on here. And, like Eliminator, this is another one players can probably ignore if obtained at anything less than level 3. Essentially, the Darkness Core spawns little allies after an enemy is defeated, who then go and attack nearby enemies on their own. Not only is this helpful from a gameplay standpoint, but the cast of the game is fighting against entropy itself, which can get pretty lonely, so more allies is always a plus.
But, the maximum amount a player can have at once is determined by the Core's level, so this only becomes absurdly overpowered at levels 6 or higher. Still, it doesn't take too long to reach this point in the game, so keep an eye out on Planets for Core Upgrade Rewards to hopefully pump this Core level up as high as possible, as early as possible.
2 Junker Core
If there's one thing players will be doing constantly in Shoulders of Giants, it's collecting Energy. Whether it's from defeated enemies or just found from Energy shrines around the map, it's the resource they need to pick up abilities, so of course players will want it as often as possible. And, this is exactly why the Junker Core is ranked this highly.
Simply put, collecting Energy with this Core equipped creates a projectile that follows GERM. When they get near an enemy, the projectile seeks that enemy out and stuns them, which is often a death sentence in a game this fast-paced. And, depending on the level of the Junker Core, the cooldown for this projectile is pretty short, meaning that players can almost always keep at least a portion of each group they fight entirely stunned and defenseless.
1 Health Core
This next Core is a hugely helpful one for players that are struggling on the higher-Heat planets. As players raise their Heat level, the enemies on planets start to become more numerous and hit harder. It gets to a point where, if GERM and Frog stand still for even a second, a bunch of leaping enemies can land on them all at once and take them from 100 percent health to 0.
With this Core, however, players will get a bit of health back (the amount is determined by the Core level) with each bit of Energy picked up. And, since Energy can be found at shrines throughout each level or is dropped from defeated enemies, it isn't too hard to come by.
Shoulders of Giants is available now on Xbox and PC.