Hit and Run Tactics: Difference between revisions

 

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* It can happen in ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'', mainly in rooms with a group of gun toting thugs. Although the game gives you enough moves to use other tactics like traps, or sending them over ledges with your weapons.

* This is the second best way to deal with a Tank in ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'', provided you're not injured. The best is with [[Kill It with Fire|a molotov.]]

 

 

* As [[Spawn]] in ''[[Soul Calibur]] II'', you can potentially do this using the acid/fireballs he shoots out as one of his signature moves. Any reasonably competent AI or player will be able to dodge them though.

** Dampierre's mobility and quirky, stun-heavy moveset makes him excellent for this.

 

 

* In ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', this tactic is integral for fighting your opponents - virtually all of your enemies would still shoot you, yes, but since your health didn't regenerate while [[Body Armour As Hit Points|your shields did]], the player must avoid getting hit while their shields are down since there were a limited amount of [[Heal Thyself|health packs]] reachable at one time in the level (or if you didn't use one, it could be very inconvenient to run all the way back to where you last saw one.) Thus, the player would be best off shooting their enemies until their shields went low, at which they should retreat a little bit away, take cover and regenerate their shields. The sequels made this less necessary since [[Regenerating Health|all of your health regenerated if you waited long enough without being hit]], so a player who survived a fight would not be permanently penalized with health damage they would be unable to fix without a health pack.

** The general method of shooting at range to avoid melee combat of hit and run tactics is still prefered in ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' against enemies who can melee attack you in the game also, since even if you beat them at melee range, their melee attacks would still deplete your shields and possibly harm your health.

 

 

* This is the favourite tactic of the Rogue in ''[[Diablo (series)|Diablo]] 1''. Its also favoured by any ranged enemies. (Damn snow witches!) The sorceror can also do it with spells, and the warrior can try it with a bow, though he's not nearly as good at it.

** In ''[[Diablo (series)|Diablo]] 2'', you could specialize in this strategy by using items and charms with FRW (faster run/walk) and self-guided missiles (the Amazon's Guided Arrow or the Necromancer's Bone Spirit.)

 

 

* ''[[RuneScape]]'' has two kinds of kiting, one of which makes sense and one of which does not:

** Mages have freezing spells they can use to hit and run in the conventional sense...

 

 

* The original inspiration for this trope was the horse archers of ''[[Age of Empires II]]''. Used correctly, these guys could whittle down entire armies without taking a scratch when used right, shooting any melee units to death before tackling the now outnumbered archers. Combined with siege weapons, this took a [[Fragile Speedster]] force and made it into a [[Lightning Bruiser]] army from hell. Interestingly, there was an upgrade called Parthian Tactics in that game, though all it did was improve the armour of your horse archers - presumably, the logic behind it was the armour made the tactic more effective as enemy archers could still hit your horses since [[Do Not Run with a Gun|no units could attack while moving]].

** Truth In Television, of course; effective Horse Archery was the [[Game Breaker]] that allowed the Mongols to conquer empire after empire. The Mongols in the game had a unique unit which was even ''more'' deadly with these tactics.

* The Rocket Buggy in ''[[Command & Conquer: Generals]]'' is built for this trope. It's a fast-moving buggy with a long ranged, turret mounted launcher that fires salvos of rockets before reloading. The Humvee is good at it too: it's fast, can carry up to 5 infantry that can fire while moving (including snipers and missile infantry) and can benefit from a global +20% range buff.

 

* In ''[[Star Fleet Battles]]'' this is known as the "Kaufman Retrograde". Federation ships could retreat from a pursuing enemy, using their photon torpedoes to slowly destroy the enemy's shields and then the enemy themselves. It worked fine as long as you had room to run, but not so well when defending a fixed position.

* In Palladium Books' ''[[Robotech]]'' [[Tabletop RPG]] 'verse a machine gun has to do 100 HP of damage (in a single burst, which is all but impossible) to a [[Humongous Mecha]] before it counts, so people with ordinary weapons can't use this strategy against heavy armor. However, you can use this strategy with land mines vs [[Humongous Mecha]] or [[Humongous Mecha]] vs naval or space craft.

 

 

* ''[[Mount & Blade]]'' features this tactic being used by [[Goddamn Bats|Khergit horse archers and steppe bandits]] who will often circle around you or away from your force and pelt you with arrows thanks to their uncanny accuracy. Approaches [[Demonic Spider]] levels for starting characters. Of course, the game itself provides a skill which allows the player to do the same thing. [[Hoist by His Own Petard|Cue riding circles around enemy teams and picking them off with arrows.]]

* Some of ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'''s [[The War Sequence|War events]] can only be beaten within a reasonable timeframe like this. More specifically, the events where you are pitted against infected while wielding a grenade launcher. Since the weapon's splash damage will knock you on your back and cost you valuable seconds, fighting [[Elite Mook|Hunters]] takes the form of targeting the Hunter and running backwards(or using the hang time during a jump) while [[Button Mashing]] the fire button (taking advantage of the infinite ammo for the duration of the event). Although it takes quite a few hits to kill a Hunter with a grenade launcher, hitting it repeatedly will essentially stunlock it.

 

* Usopp of ''[[One Piece]]'' uses this fighting style.

* In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', the Sinnoh Gym Leaders employ this when fighting the Galactic admins. Whenever one of their Pokemon was close to fainting, Byron would pop it underground, give it a Potion, then pop it back out so it could continue fighting.

 

 

* Parodied in ''[[Life of Brian]]'' - a lightly armoured gladiator uses what can only be described as 'Run & Run' tactics. He drops his weapon and sprints off around the circular ring, as his heavier-armoured opponent gives chase. A considerable time later "Urk... I think I'm having a cardiac arrest!"

 

 

* {{spoiler|Prince Oberyn Martell}} from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' uses these tactics in a duel against {{spoiler|Ser Gregor Clegane (known as "The Mountain That Rides")}}. {{spoiler|Oberyn}} uses a spear to keep his distance, and spends much of the duel simply toying with {{spoiler|Clegane, trying to force him to admit to the murder of Oberyn's sister Elia Martell}}. After wearing {{spoiler|Clegane}} down, he delivers the final blow, but underestimates {{spoiler|Clegane's}} endurance. Though exhausted from a lengthy duel spent chasing {{spoiler|Oberyn}} around and impaled by his spear, {{spoiler|Clegane}} manages to kill {{spoiler|Oberyn}} with his bare hands. In the end, {{spoiler|Clegane}} dies because {{spoiler|Oberyn}}, living up to his nickname of "The Red Viper", coated his spear with a nasty poison that induced a drawn-out and painful death.

** Bronn also uses these tactics when he fights in Tyrion's first [[Combat by Champion]]. Using only light armour and a shield, he lets his heavily mailed knightly opponent on a merry chase around the arena, using terrain and hit-and-run until the knight is too tired to fight properly. At which point Bronn kills him.

 

 

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', a half-ogre with a spiked chain tries this against high-level fighter Roy. Unfortunately for the half-ogre, Roy manages to trick him into backing up toward a cliff.

** Also Belkar's approach toward fighting Miko when she pursued him after he broke out of prison.

 

 

* This was a favorite tactic of the Parthians and other cultures of the Eurasian steppes. The Parthians used well-armored cavalry armed with powerful compound bows to deliver a crushing victory over the Romans in the Battle of Carrhae. The 'Parthian Shot' (meaning a hostile gesture or remark made while leaving) is named for them.

** This tactic required an amazing amount of ability at the time, as stirrups were not invented yet and the rider would have to control his horse with only his legs since he was busy with his back turned shooting his bow.

* There are Mixed Martial Artists who use this. Diego Nunes, for example. Kick and move, kick and move.

** "Sticking and moving" has been a boxing staple for decades.

**Likewise one reason that has changed to some degree in the last century is because the resources at the command of industrialized forces can make giving battle openly suicidal, while ideology often allows one side to count on loyalty in circumstances it otherwise would not.