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Last Chance Hit Point: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
When a [[Video Game]] character receives an attack that would cause their [[Hit Points]] to bottom out at zero, usually [[Critical Existence Failure]] is the immediate result -- butresult—but sometimes, a character can endure the hit (regardless of how strong it was), then stand back up with just a trickle left on their [[Life Meter]]; often ''exactly'' 1 HP.
 
This is a character's [['''Last Chance Hit Point]]''': The previous hit ''should'' have killed them, but [[Heroic Resolve]] kept them alive and they can still continue to battle ... as long as you avoid taking any further damage. Because at this point, even [[Scratch Damage]] becomes fatal.
 
This can be an excellent opportunity to unleash a [[Desperation Attack]] of the highest order, but unless the player is prepared to improvise a [[No Damage Run]] (or at least quickly end the fight with a [[Finishing Move]]), the safer course of action is to extricate the character from combat (if possible) and [[Heal Thyself]] before attempting to continue the fight.
 
This can occasionally be [[Hand Wave|Hand Waved]]d if the character has multiple layers of [[Hit Points]] [[Call a Hit Point a Smeerp|with different explanations]], such as a character with a "Shield" or "Armor" meter where one layer must be fully depleted before the next layer takes damage.
 
Sometimes, a game may place restrictions on when characters are allowed to have a [['''Last Chance Hit Point]]''', such as requiring the character to be in good health or requiring that the attack would have inflicted significant damage (or a [[One-Hit Kill]]) in the first place. Otherwise, this can lead to [[Game Breaker]] situations where a character who can perform even trivial healing is [[Nigh Invulnerable]] since they cannot receive a KO unless their HP is first reduced to one, and they are never at that threshold long enough to receive a second hit.
 
Note that this trope only applies to cases where a character endures an ''otherwise lethal'' amount of damage without a knockout. If an attack happens to leave the player at 1 HP by exact count (say, they have 50 HP and a given attack inflicted 49 points), that's ordinary math, not a [['''Last Chance Hit Point]]'''.
 
Games featuring a [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]] are exempt from this trope as a rule, as any damage results in the loss of [[Video Game Lives|one life]] (and/or current [[Power-Up]]).
 
In [[RPG|RPGs]]s, this may be one of the effects of the [[Luck Stat]].
 
Compare [[Auto Revive]], an effect that can take place ''after'' suffering a KO, while this trope takes place ''before'' a KO.
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** Furthermore, having a high Luck stat gives you a good chance to survive that One Last Hit several times in a row.
* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', Sora can learn "Second Chance" to provide this effect against single hits; the sequel added a complementary ability ("Once More") that worked on enemy [[Combos]]; equipping both at the same time could allow Sora to endure [[How Much More Can He Take?|incredible amounts of damage]] before a KO.
** ''[[Birth By Sleep]]'' includes both Second Chance and Once More (and they work just like in the previous games), but the [[Final Boss|Final]] and [[Bonus Boss|Bonus Bosses]]es all have ways to get around it, either by using non-consecutive blows so quickly that they might as well be consecutive, or stunlocking you at 1HP until they can hit you with something else. Needless to say, they're some of the hardest bosses in KH history.
* ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' has an equippable program ("Undershrt") providing this effect. This can lead to a [[Game Breaker]] in the right circumstances. If you use a Wood style (which regains health while standing on grass), and turn the stage to grass, and your opponent has no way to change the stage tiles and no fire attacks (which burn grass) - then you become impossible to kill with Undershirt. Whenever your opponent hits you with a mortal blow, you'll hit 1 HP for a split second, then immediately start gaining health before they can hit you again. (That said, many opponents do have ways of changing the stage tiles, so you'll have to use one of the other many game breakers in the Battle Network series against them.)
** Was fixed starting from the fourth game, where the rate of HP regen became dependent on how much HP you have left, slowing to a crawl while you have one HP left so that you're vulnerable for a period of time.
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* In ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius]]'', [[White Magician Girl|Mist]] starts with a skill called "Miracle" that halves any lethal damage, making it possible to survive with or close to 1HP. Of course, if even half damage isn't enough...
** In ''Radiant Dawn'', with the new Skill system, anyone can use Miracle now, and the skill was changed so that a lethal attack instead halves the unit's HP (or deals 0, if the unit is down to 1 HP already.)
* In the ''[[Gundam vs. Series]]'', the older games had the Revival ability, which would sacrifice a [[Humongous Mecha|Mobile Suit]]'s limb (and a degree of performance) in exchange for about 100 hit points. If you stay alive long enough to refill the meter, you can get a Second Last Change Hit Point, losing another limb. In the crossover games, a few MS have the ability in imitation of [[Signature Scene|Signature Scenes]]s from the anime; for example, the [[Mobile Suit Gundam|Zeong]]'s head can continue fighting without the body, while Gundam Exia becomes the Repair version from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'''s second season.
* In ''[[Rifts]]'', if your MDC armor is totaled, it absorbs all the damage from the attack that destroyed it - no spillover. This is an example because one point of MDC damage to an unarmored human invokes the [[Chunky Salsa Rule]].
* In ''[[Gods Eater Burst]]'', certain pieces of equipment have either the passive skill "Firm Stand" or "Prepared". The former ensures that you will always survive any attack with at least 1 HP if you have at least 51 HP remaining when you get hit (which would be 51% of your base HP), provided you successfully guard the hit, which requires that you have enough stamina remaining. The latter is similar, but has no HP threshold. You're far from invincible, but with "Expand Guard Area" (extends your guard area so that it surrounds you completely) and skills to minimize stamina usage from guarding attacks...
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