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The best dunkers in NBA 2K22

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Is there anything more exciting in basketball than a high-flying dunk? A solid dunk is just as wild in NBA 2K22 — an energetic slam can embarrass your opponent, rev up the crowd, and turn the tide of a game if your team uses it as fuel. Most players in NBA 2K22 can dunk here and there, but you’re going to want to check out the best dunkers in the game at some point.

Whether you’re building a team of ultimate athletes in MyLeague or just want to throw down on a friend in PlayNow, these are the best dunkers in NBA 2K22 that you’ll want to play with.

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Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson in NBA 2K22.
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Zion Williamson is an absolute tank. The star forward and center for the New Orleans Pelicans is massive (just look at this man’s arms) but is somehow still athletic enough to throw down monster dunks at will against anyone who dares step in his way. In NBA 2K22, Williamson has a standing dunk rating of 95 and a driving dunk rating of 97, combined with a vertical rating of 99. In other words, you better get out of the way if you see Williamson headed to the rim.

Zach LaVine

Zach Lavine in NBA 2K22.
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Two-time NBA Dunk Contest winner Zach LaVine may have upped his shooting over the past couple of seasons, but he’s still a dunk master. Built as a Scoring Machine archetype in 2K22, LaVine can score from anywhere on the court. This just makes him a more dangerous dunker. Pump fake your defender out of his shoes at the 3-point line, then take it to the hole for a monster slam. Unlike other dunkers on this list, LaVine has the ball-handling skills and speed to beat his defender and get to the rim with ease.

Aaron Gordon

Aaron Gordon in NBA 2K22.
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An NBA Dunk Contest legend at this point, Aaron Gordon has more perfect-score dunks in the competition than any other participant in its history. Somehow, he’s never actually taken home the title, but he’s made up for it with some wild dunks in the regular season. Though the Denver Nuggets forward only has an overall rating of 78, his dunk-related states are top-notch — he’s got a 95 standing and driving dunk rating and a 92 vertical rating. He’s got ups.

Derrick Jones Jr.

Derrick Jones Jr. in NBA 2K22.
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At just a 75 overall rating, and as the only player on this list coming off the bench, Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Jones Jr. isn’t the best player to run your entire offensive through. He is the best player to put on your squad if you want fantastic dunks on back-to-back fastbreaks, though. Jones took home the NBA Dunk Contest crown in 2020 and can throw down just-as-impressive slams on the court. An Athletic Finisher archetype player, Jones has a 94 driving dunk rating, 93 vertical rating, and 90 hands rating, making him a great target for alley-oop passes.

Ja Morant

Ja Morant in NBA 2K22.
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Ja Morant is one of the rare dunking point guards in the league. The young Memphis Grizzlies is an offensive threat from anywhere on the floor but is known for downright embarrassing defenders who try to get in the way of his dunk attempts. Like LaVine, Morant has the ball-handling skills to take the ball to the rack all on his own. Combine his 92 ball-handle rating with a 94 driving-dunk rating and a speed rating of 92 — he’ll throw down a dunk and be back on defense before his defender realizes what happened.

These are the top five best dunkers in NBA 2K22, but they aren’t the only impressive athletes in the game. The list of other top-rated dunkers in 2K22 includes John Collins, Hamidou Diallo, Donovan Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, and others.

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Sam Hill
Sam Hill
Gaming Guides Editor
Sam Hill is a journalist and the gaming guides editor at Digital Trends. He's also written tech guides for Input and has…
The best item recipes in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Believe it or not, your Arisen in Dragon's Dogma 2 is very skilled at crafting. We're not talking about building structures, tools, or weapons, but item crafting. By combining specific pairs of ingredients in your inventory, you can produce some extremely potent consumables. As you will discover for yourself on your first long trip across the land, there are a ton of materials to discover, leading to hundreds or thousands of possible combinations. Knowing what items are best saved to make something special can save you from having to scour the world looking for more or struggling without it. Here are the best recipes that not even the best pawns will tell you about.
Best item recipes

Salburious Drought
This green liquid will be your most common healing item in Dragon's Dogma 2 and also the item you will probably craft first. It probably has the most possible combinations of ingredients to make and will always be a more effective way to get the most healing out of any individual ingredients. If you have a Greenwarish and combine it with almost any fruit, you can whip this tonic up.
Detoxifying Decoction
Status effects are no joke in Dragon's Dogma 2. If you get poisoned, it isn't going away until you cure it or rest at an in or camp. And that's if you have enough healing items to keep yourself alive long enough to make it there. Detoxifying Decoctions will cure what ails you and keep you adventuring instead of scrambling to get back to town. An easy way to make it is by combining Pitywort and Syrupwort leaves.
Exquisite Dried Spud
Stamina regenerates naturally, so you may not think an item that replenishes it would be all that important. Ask yourself that when you're clinging to the back of a Griffen 100 feet above the ground and your grip is slipping. Pop an Exquisite Dried Spud to keep climbing or running in those touchy moments. Just smash two Ripened Princess Harspuds together to make it.
Mighty Robrant
For a more flavorful and alternative healing item, the Mighty Robrant will be able to take you from close to death to full HP for the majority of the game. This is a second-level item made by first crafting a Fruit Robrant and then combining that with Cinnamon Bark.
Miracle Robrant
The ultimate consumable that you can make is the Miracle Robrant. This will heal a massive amount of HP and refill your stamina all in one. These take a bit more work to get, so save them for emergencies. Make one with any Fine Robrant and a Saurian's Tail.
Bunch of Flowers
Finally, make a nice gift for someone with a Bunch of Flowers to earn some favor. You can give gifts to almost any important character in the game, and while not all will like flowers, a good deal will, and they're free to make. We craft ours out of Sunbloom and Noonblooms, but most flower combinations will do the job.

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The best vocations in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2 key art featuring a knight with a fiery hole in their chest.

Your Vocation defines your role in combat in Dragon's Dogma 2. Everything from your skills to what weapons and armor you can use is tied to this class. You will pick from just a handful at the beginning of the game, but can easily change Vocations later on, as well as unlock more than twice as many new options than what you start with. It can take a while to really get a feel for a Vocation and how it performs in combat, as well as to look through all of its skills and augments, before knowing if it's worth sticking with to level up. Personal preference will play a part to some degree, but these Vocations have the most potential to make you the strongest Arisen in history.
The best vocations in Dragon's Dogma 2

You can pick from 4 Vocations at the start of Dragon's Dogma 2, but will end up with a total of 10 by the end of the game if you unlock them all. New Vocations are unlocked by completing quests, but they are almost unmissable. Four Vocations -- the Magick Archer, Mystic Spearhand, Trickster, and Warfarer -- can only be used by your character and not any Pawns.
Warfarer
There's very little downside to being a jack-of-all-trades in Dragon's Dogma 2, which is exactly what the Warfarer is. This is the only Vocation that can use any weapon in the game AND learn any skill from other Vocations. This is the only Vocation that really lets you build whatever class you want and gives you the ability to adapt to any situation you find yourself in. The main downside to this class is it has the lowest base stats, but that is a small price to pay for how versatile you can be.
Mystic Spearhand
Hybrid Vocations are all quite powerful, but we put the Mystic Spearhand at the top of the heap. This class turns you into a fighter that can take advantage of magic to output crazy damage. The two almost overpowered abilities you get here are the ability to slow enemies for a short time and to create a magical mimic that doubles all your actions. It is great for both crowd control and large single targets, but takes a while to unlock and lacks some range.
Warrior
If you're going to be a straight-up melee fighter, you might as well hit with the biggest weapon you can, right? The Warrior swings swords large enough to make Guts blush and is a full-on tank. You won't be doing anything fancy with this vocation beyond charging up and swinging as hard as possible. The obvious drawback is any flying or ranged enemy will counter you, so bring some Pawns in those classes to cover your bases.
Sorcerer
For those who fancy themselves a pure mage, stick to the Sorcerer over the actual Mage vocation. While the Mage is more focused on healing, it is the Sorcerer who gets the best offensive spells you will want to be casting. If you have a second Sorcerer with you, you can even sync up and decrease your casting time. If not, you will need some tanks to take aggro while you deal with some slightly long casting times and low total health.
Thief
As far as the starting Vocations go, the Thief is the one we find the most fun and viable for the entire game. This is a light and speedy build focused on critical hits and being able to climb and hang on to large beasts. Once on, you have a number of great skills to stagger and knock down an enemy so the rest of your squad to gang up on it. Just don't get hit because you're one of the squishier Vocations.

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The best ship modules in Helldivers 2
A scene from Helldiver 2's opening cutscene.

While the majority of your success lies in which weapons and armor you carry when facing off against the Terminids and Automatons on various missions in Helldivers 2, you shouldn't overlook what your ship can do to support you. Besides just naming your destroyer, there's far more you can do to customize it with modules. Whereas weapons and Boosters will impact you and your squad on a more constant basis, ship modules come in clutch when you need to bring out the big guns, aka Stratagems. These power weapons are already enough to turn the tide of a tough fight, but when you add in the right ship modules, you'll be cooking bugs for breakfast.
The best ship modules in Helldivers 2
Ship modules are purchased on your ship via the Ship Management Terminal. There are 18 in total, split between the Patriotic Administration Center, Orbital Cannon, Hangar Ship, Bridge Ship, and Engineer Bay categories. They are unlocked by spending samples you can collect during missions.
Donation Access License

Look, sometimes you can't argue with simplicity, and the Donation Access License is about as basic as they come. This mod gives any support weapons you call in more ammo by default, granting you more time blasting and less time waiting to call in your next one. It is a versatile mod as well since it can be applied to multiple Strategems. It applies to things like the Laser Cannon, Grenade Launcher, Railgun, Flamethrower, and more.
Liquid-Ventilated Cockpit

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