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Useless Useful Spell: Difference between revisions
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The opposite of this trope is [[Not Completely Useless]]. In fact, if an otherwise [[Useless Useful Spell]] is redeemed by being used against a specific boss, it may become just that.
{{examples
== Tabletop Games ==
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** Prior to ''Cataclysm'' Hunters could equip thrown weapons, but even though they didn't use ammunition in contrast to ranged weapons, you still needed a ranged weapon to use any of your Shots or Stings, rendering them useless for most hunters (especially ones specializing in the Marksmanship talent tree).
*** To be honest, thrown weapons are this in general. Rogues are the only class that will get any use out of them at all, and with the only other two classes that can use them, Hunters and Warriors, Hunters will, as mentioned, pretty much exclusively be using a type of bow or a gun, and Warriors really only need ranged weapons at all for a stat boost. The only other reason a Warrior might need a ranged weapon is when a mob runs away and they just don't feel like chasing after it. And even in the case of Rogues, there's a problem. Rogues are a close-combat class. Even if the mob runs away, you're probably better off just chasing it.
* ''[[Golden Sun (Video Game)|Golden Sun]]'' on any number of counts. That [[Infinity
** However, this is often averted in at least the first game, as bosses can be afflicted with various useful status effects (Like Sleep which, as you might guess, makes the target completely inactive for several rounds) reasonably often, sometimes even multiple times per fight. Sadly the same cannot be said for the summons of the second game, as mentioned above.
*** The first game's Tempest Lizard, especially. An optional boss that could be fought repeatedly, gives out loads of EXP, always dropped a potion when it was beaten, and could easily be effected by the Curse Psyenergy, which would make it go down after attacking a certain number of times? And it attacks twice per turn, speeding it up that much? Sign me up!
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** What made Jewel Satellite so great? Aside from not disappearing when it destroyed regular mooks, it ''reflected any and all shots, without disappearing''. You can actually kill a Sniper Joe or Met by standing in front of them and letting them kill themselves. Interestingly, Jewel Man himself gets a ''worse'' version of the shield.
** Flash Man's power, Time Stopper, was a Useless Useful for 95% of ''Mega Man II.'' Its only real use came against Quick Man, where it could be used to give you a free fall through a long sequence of insta-death beams, and could also knock off a major chunk of the boss's life bar.
** The Mirror Buster, which you get from Enker in the DLC, is ''awesome''. Sure it only creates a shield in front of you, but it costs nothing unless something actually hits it, in which case it sends back a powerful energy burst. Besides being great against Joes and Mets (and Punk and Enker himself), it works against things you wouldn't expect, like the Pointan's blocks and the big [[Frickin' Laser Beams]] fired by Sola 0.
*** For the record, the weapon showed up in the original [[Game Boy]] game as well, but there, it was compensated for by only showing up in the final level, and having to reserve it for the Wily Machine, which was weak to it.
* It could be argued that all Magirock spells in ''[[Terranigma]]'' falls under this category - most of the standard enemies are relatively easy to dispatch through conventional means, and Magirock is not usable in nearly all boss battles.
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** Finally, we have [[Standard Status Effects]]. Not only they have a great hit chance (which can be boosted), they are much powerful than normal. As an example, Poison deals high damage AND can kill. Finally, most status in the games (most of them, at least), drops the Critical Hit resistance ''a lot'', if not ensuring Critical Hits. That, coupled with Press Turn system, means that sometimes it's ''best to inflict an status effect on an enemy than directly kill him''.
* In most RPGs, status-altering skills are pointless. In ''[[Etrian Odyssey (Video Game)|Etrian Odyssey]]'', they're key to breaking the game wide open. For this reason, many ''Etrian Odyssey'' players warn newcomers against using Hexers, as they might ''[[Game Breaker|make the game too easy]]''. [[Magikarp Power|As long as you're willing to master the skills in question]], putting enemies to sleep, poisoning them, or even trying to kill them in one blow is a wonderfully valid tactic that will save you time and visits to the inn, as well as land you special conditional-drops that will lead towards better equipment and the money to buy it.
** Some enemy can take the usefulness [[Up to Eleven]] though. One of the [[Bonus Boss]] in the third game is notably easier if you play with a limited amount of party member and a Beastmaster to summon enough beast with the exact status altering skills, thus nulifying most of the boss attack, including its [[One
* Notably averted in the ''[[Wizardry (Video Game)|Wizardry]]'' games. Blinding Flash, Silence, and Sleep are absolutely vital spells up until the late game, and they even work (if unreliably) on bosses. The Alchemist and Psionic classes (and the classes that pick up spells from them) favor status effects, though Priests and Mages get some, too. However, monsters can and will [ab]use the same effects against you, usually earlier and more reliably than you can.
* Devastatingly averted in [[Jade Empire]]. Not only are the status-affecting "Support Styles" useful all the way up through the game (even on the [[Big Bad]]) but they cost no chi or focus to use, unlike the Magic and Weapon styles. Demons are immune to them, but of the two demon bosses in the entire game, one is a [[Puzzle Boss]] while the other is optional.
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* Also parodied in [http://rpgworldcomic.com/d/20030528.html this] [[RPG World]] strip.
* Both the ''[[SaGa]]'' series and the ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' series avert this trope; random encounters are generally much more difficult than in most RPGs, and some powerful bosses '''aren't''' immune to status effects or instant death, making using them a valid tactic. You have spells that double your attack power, double your defense, halve the bosses' defense, and can give the boss less than 10% accuracy or prevent them from casting ANY spells. And these, as a general rule, will work on 99% of all bosses in Dragon Quest games, including the Final Boss and Bonus Boss. Some bosses cast a spell that removes the buffs on your party or on the enemy party, but if they're wasting a turn removing buffs, they're not attacking.
** In fact, {{spoiler|the final boss of Final Fantasy Legend--the world's god--}} is actually weak to the chainsaw, which can {{spoiler|[[One
*** This is actually a bug. The chainsaw was only supposed to work on opponents with a lower strength stat than yours. Instead, it only works on opponents with a ''higher'' strength stat.
** Stone is very good in random encounters in [[Makaitoushi Sa Ga]]. Best of all, it works on an entire group of enemies.
** In ''[[Dragon Quest I (Video Game)|Dragon Quest I]]'', almost all combat spells eventually become nigh-useless near the end, thanks to the proclivity of magic-immune monsters and the dearth of MP-restoring items. The only spells that stay useful are Sleep and Stopspell, for the few enemies not immune.
** ''[[Dragon Quest IV (Video Game)|Dragon Quest IV]]'' did have one example of [[Useless Useful Spell]], but that was due to your allies playing [[AI Roulette]]. Specifically, [[Combat Medic|Kiryl]] turned stupid the moment he learned [[One
* Many relatively early [[RPG|RPGs]], like ''Wizardry'' and ''Might & Magic'', were created before this trope came into vogue, and are noticeably lacking it. By inheritance, games modeled after them, like ''[[Etrian Odyssey (Video Game)|Etrian Odyssey]]'', also tend to lack it, for the most part.
** In ''Wizardry'', the easiest way to kill Werdna was a critical hit from a Ninja. His escort of Vampire Lords tended to give you more trouble.
* The ''Bard's Tale'' games pretty much have no immunities or even significant resistances at all. The [[Big Bad]] of the first game can be killed by a relatively simple death spell, which is only fair considering he and his cohorts are flinging one-hit kills right back at you.
* Averted almost entirely in the ''[[Pokémon]]'' series. Most status-changing abilities are usually effective. If they aren't, it's either because it's a One-Hit KO move (Fissure), or it's because the status effect is an unexpected bonus (Ice Beam). Not only that but the "bosses" in Pokémon are simply leveled-up versions of those you find in the wild, meaning that Confuse Ray will work just as well on the Gym leader's level 50 Alakazam as it did on that level 3 Abra you found in the grass. Provided the Abra don't immediately use 'Teleport' after you attack it, [[Metal Slime|little bastards]].
** Unfortunately, the Stadium sidegames do have a rather awful variant of this, where the odds of it working and wearing off have been altered severely, as have the hit accuracies of everything, and the evasion chance, and the critical hit chance. Worse, [[
** There are still actual Useless Useful Spells, though; one move in particular (Feint) is intended to specifically bypass moves like Protect, the problem being it doesn't really do anything but bypass Protect, etc. Since so few Pokemon use those moves to begin with, you're better off giving up on it.
*** Although Feint is still a high priority move, like Quick Attack and the like, moreso, it deals more damage than Quick Attack.
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** ''[[Final Fantasy VI (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VI]]'' has Wreksoul, a [[Puzzle Boss]] whose gimmick is that he disappears mid-fight and "possesses" one of your party members, and in order to damage him you have to kill your party member thus forcing him to reappear. The two [[Mooks]] he leaves behind when he disappears are unkillable by normal means but are, however, vulnerable to the instant-death spell X-Zone - so if you cast it and kill both of them at once, the game glitches and views it as a victory.
*** [[Final Fantasy VI (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VI]] also has both magic and random encounters and magic that are more powerful than usual, and one counters the other. Single status effects aren't practical, but AoE spells like slowga, banish or graviga, and the flash tool can be quite useful. In addition, many bosses are vunerable to slow, including the mighty Ultima/Atma Weapon.
*** Several appendages of the final boss are vulnerable to the Death spell, a fact used in at least one [[Self
*** The Vanish status would prevent physical attacks, but make magic ''always'' hit. The check for Instant Death immunity (but not other status ailments) would be skipped if the target was Vanished. Result? [[Game Breaker|Almost every monster in the game could be killed by casting Vanish and Doom (or X-Zone) on it.]] The Playstation rerelease made a select few bosses that could break the game immune to '''''Vanish''''' of all things, before the Game Boy Advance version came along and quietly fixed the bug, making all three spells Useless Useful Spells again.
** ''Final Fantasy VIII'' averts this trope HARD when played right. Though most bosses will not fall to sudden death, they have at least a small chance of becoming poisoned, confused, etc, and as always, Revive Kills Zombie. But you would still have to do the spell quite a few times and use them from your stocks to get the effect, right? No. Junction 100 of a status spell to your ST-ATK-J (Status-Attack-Junction) and, considering all the physical attacking you'll be doing, you're almost guaranteed to get the effect on the boss.
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