Alpha Strike: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Sometimes you just need to pull out all the stops and kill stuff but good. An alpha strike is just the thing to help you accomplish that! An alpha strike refers to a unit attacking a single target with every weapon it has, all at once. When successful, the result is an absolutely devastating bombardment that turns its hapless target into a smoking crater. When ''un''successful, the attacking unit will usually be in for a world of hurt, as overextending itself with an alpha strike usually leaves it vulnerable to [[Counter Attack]] (which will be even worse if the attacker is a [[Glass Cannon]]).

 

During an alpha strike, expect to see [[Beam Spam]], [[Macross Missile Massacre]]s, [[More Dakka]], and any other [[Spam Attack]] that the attacker has handy, all used ''simultaneously''. Sometimes a type of [[Attack Pattern Alpha]]. Often a form of [[Death or Glory Attack]]. See also [[No Kill Like Overkill]]. Vulnerable to becoming the [[Worf Barrage]] if it's shown to be ineffective.

 

* ''[[Zoids]]'' has several examples.

** In ''[[Zoids: Chaotic Century]]'', Thomas uses an attack called Megalomax, which fires all ''seventeen'' of his Dibison's [[BFG|artillery cannons]] simultaneously (which [[Bellisario's Maxim|somehow]] combined the individual shots into a [[Wave Motion Gun]]). Sadly for Thomas, it [[Worf Barrage|never worked]].

** In [[The Movie]], ''Do You Remember Love?'' the Macross teams up with Zentradi and Meltrandi armadas to assault Boddol Zer's flagship. When the attack starts, the screen basically becomes hundreds of straight lines sprouting from every single ship to impact on the giant fortress, and it doesn't let up until, once again, the Macross flies inside to release Hikaru's Super Valkyrie into its bowels.

 

* MegaGargomon uses this ''twice'' during the ''[[Tamers Forever Series]]'', unloading his entire arsenal in an ultimately futile attempt to bring down {{spoiler|Daemon}}

 

* In [[The Dresden Files]], any time Harry uses the spell he calls "[[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|Pyrofuego]]," which he's done only twice in thirteen novels.

 

* This is the modus operandi of Ultrazords in ''[[Power Rangers]]'' (and their ''[[Super Sentai]]'' equivalents). Usually it's part of a [[Lensman Arms Race]] against the [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]], but sometimes a random late-appearing monster gets caught up in the attack.

** ''[[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger]]'' has this with the Gokai Kanzen Super Burst, where Kanzen GokaiOh and all the Legend Mecha blast the opponent at full power all at once.

* The ''[[Cool Starship|Excalibur]]'' in ''[[Crusade]]'' has a variation. Rather than firing all her weapons at once, she can pour all her ''power'' into one [[Wave Motion Gun|weapon]]. The effect is the same, as afterwards it takes 60 seconds to power back up again.

 

* ''[[BattleTech]]'': The originator of the term as we're using it here. Firing every weapon a 'mech has equipped has the potential to do ridiculous damage, but also generates enormous amounts of heat, requiring a cooldown period at the very least and at worst destroying the 'mech entirely—either by cooking off its ammo or just exceeding its heat limit by such a wide margin that it spontaneously explodes.

** Also seen in the (defunct) trading card game, where "Alpha Strike" was specifically an ability of certain units—mostly 'Mechs, but also some vehicles after those were added as their own unit type. Using it let that unit do more damage in a given fight at the cost of becoming temporarily depleted and having to sit out the next turn.

* ''[[Star Fleet Battles]]'': Knowing when to use an alpha strike can win you the game.

 

* The term Alpha Strike is frequently used in ''[[City of Heroes]]'' to refer to the initial barrage of attacks any given mob is capable of using. This is because, with the exception of gimmick abilities tied to health or a timer, an AI opponent can and will throw ''everything' it is capable of throwing at you at the beginning of the fight. "Taking the Alpha Strike" is a common enough term in the game that one defense set has "difficulty taking Alpha Strikes" as its only weakness, and an issue and task force were named after the trope. Naturally, players also can perform alpha strikes.

* ''[[MS Saga]]'': Several [[Special Attack|boost attacks]] qualify. There's Gatling Body, which requires at least three fixed (ie, not hand-held) weapons, and fires them all at once. Gatling Fire is an upgraded version, which requires at least ''four'' weapons, but includes hand-held weapons in the barrage. Ultimate Weapon is an upgrade of ''that'', which fires every weapon you have equipped (like Gatling Fire), but follows up with a melee attack [[No Kill Like Overkill|for good measure]].