Power Equals Rarity: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

That's not the case with games, though. Generally, for balancing purposes, the more powerful an item/mon/etc. is in a game, the harder it is to find. While various reasons are given in the plot (if at all) as to ''why'' these things are so rare, in the meta-sense, it's for balance. If the player has unlimited access to game-changing stuff, then the game is tipped entirely in their favor.

** You can not-entirely-infrequently find the second best category of loot in ''stores''. This [[Fridge Brilliance|makes some sense]]: if every other adventurer out there finds and sells as much blue/purple loot as you do...

** The effects are much more pronounced in co-op play, possibly to cut down on infighting.

* ''[[Earthbound]]'' has one particularly glaring one, the Sword of Kings, the only weapon Poo can use effectively can only be obtained from one enemy, which is only available temporarily, in one dungeon, and it has a drop rate of 1/128.

** Less notorious but even worse to get is the Gutsy bat. 1/128 droprate dropped by the strongest single enemy in the game, the Bionic Kraken. Also extremely rare, spawns in only one place so you'll probably go through the entire game without seeing one, and so close to the end of the game that all you can use it for is the final boss. It is satisfying to see every other hit be a [[Critical Hit|Smaaaaash!]] though.

* Most weapons in the ''[[Disgaea]]'' series can be of common, rare, or legendary quality ([[Infinity+1 Sword|The best weapon]] of each type is always legendary). The better the quality, the better the item's base stats will be, and the degree to which its stats can be boosted in the Item World will be much higher, as well.

* ''[[Billy vs. SNAKEMAN]]'' has this, not at the level of individual pieces of equipment (The way equipment works in the game means that [http://bvs.wikidot.com/items:billycon-emblem rare gear] doesn't have to be any more powerful than [http://bvs.wikidot.com/items:chakra-armor common gear] to be worth the extra effort), but in the ''kinds'' of bonuses that they give. A full set of equipment gives somewhere in the neighborhood of + 40-60 of the inherently diminishing rewards bonuses, but Strength, which can make challenges auto-win in great enough quantities, gets only +16, and Successes, an even ''more'' "[[Game Breaker]] in excess" bonus, has a mere + 3.

** Also of note are items that ''were'' rare boss-only drops, but became regular enemy drops in the DLC stages. These include Simon's Plate (previously exclusive to Hard mode Dracula, now available from the numerous and ''much'' easier Hellmont of Chapter 11), Berserker Mail, and Death's Robe. However, the latter two are still somewhat annoying to get because they drop from mini bosses on [[Marathon Level|Chapter 10]], and both are a ways into the level. Still easier than trying to get them from Hard mode Death, as the Chapter 10 versions also drop on Normal.

* ''[[Einhander]]'' has the Flash Weapon Pod, a [[Guide Dang It]] to obtain normally and can only be obtained twice in an entire game. It's one of the strongest weapons in the game, firing out a pink laser that penetrates enemies and does massive damage in general.

== [[Real Life]] ==

* This actually comes in to play fairly often with bleeding-edge military technologies, because highly precise, sophisticated equipment often requires manufacturing processes which preclude effective mass production. There were, for instance, only 21 B-2 Stealth Bombers ever produced, each costing over $1.7 billion. They are, however, the most effective low-observability planes currently in existence. The F-22 is going a similar way, with its production currently capped at less than 200 planes, whereas cheaper, less advanced and effective planes such as the F-16 have had production runs of 4500 planes and counting.

* As Comrade Stalin says "Quantity has a Quality all its own."

* While stronger life forms tend to out-compete weaker ones within their own species (or niche), small species tend to be more numerous than large ones, and prey tend to be more common than the predators that eat them. This comes down to available energy. A general rule of only 10% of the energy that goes into an organism is transferred to the organism that eats it, the rest is used up by the prey species' own life processes. This limits the amount of energy available to predators thus reducing the possible number of the predator.

*** Indeed all [[Badass|apex predators]] are always very thin on the ground and thrive when their numbers are such that small prey animals on the scale of mice would be considered on the brink of extinction. Subverted by [[The Horde|humans]], if only because we're [[Extreme Omnivore|not so picky with our food]].

 

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[[Category:Acceptable Breaks From Reality]]

[[Category:Game Tropes]]

[[Category:Power Equals Rarity]]

[[Category:Power]]