History CombatPragmatist / VideoGames

** Senji Muramasa will kick his opponent in the groin before stabbing them with his sword. He also conceals a knife in his sleave.

* The enemy Archer in ''VideoGame/FateExtra'' likes booby traps and poison, and tries to snipe the player character in the arena during Week 2 before poisoning them with yew. Doing this angers his own Master, who spends a Command Seal telling Archer not to fight dishonorably, and being hampered by that Seal is what makes it possible for you to defeat him.

** Throughout the series, any stealth-focused PlayerCharacter qualifies. Ranged sneak attacks, {{Backstab}} {{Critical Hit}}s with daggers, HitAndRunTactics, using spells of [[{{Invisibility}} Invisibility and Chameleon]], using poisons, and much more are all within a stealthy character's bag of tricks. Pragmatism is the name of the game with a thief-type character, especially, because they're basically {{Glass Cannon}}s.

** The Master of Assassin is a hitman for the NGOSuperpower, so of course he believes in eliminating his targets before they can fight back. Whether it's crippling the Master candidates' Magic Circuits in the prelims to prevent them even summoning their Servants [[spoiler: as he did to the DecoyProtagonist]], hacking into the arena to sabotage other elimination battles, or ordering his Servant to [[RefugeInAudacity strangle unguarded Masters in the middle of the hallway]], he does ''not'' want survivors. [[spoiler: [[DeathSeeker Including himself]].]]

* ''VideoGame/ThePunisher'' game has this as a feature. If the player runs into an enemy, there are many choices. Hold him hostage, interrogate him, knock him out, shoot him in the head or just outright drive a k-bar into his brain. One of the many twists is the Punisher distracts the enemy by handing over his own gun, then it's knife-face time.

* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', Balrog and Cody both qualify. Granted, the rules of the tournament are shaky at best, but in Cody's case it's probably safe to say pulling a knife or hitting people in the spine with a pipe are probably against it (though, in a weird [[ZigZaggingTrope use of the trope]], he also [[HandicappedBadass fights in prison cuffs by his own choice]]. In Balrog's case, one of his Ultra combos involves him stepping on the opponent's toes to hold them in place before he beats them about the face. It ends with a hilarious "Who, me?" shrug towards an unseen ref, who may exist only in his head.

* Several characters in the ''StarWars: VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', especially Starkiller, who throws in punches, kicks, and grapples during lightsaber duels and can turn nearly anything into an ImprovisedWeapon with the Force. Special mention is his incarnation in the non-canon ''Ultimate Sith Edition'', [[spoiler: where he throws Luke Skywalker in the path of a snow speeder!]]

** Destroyman is all about fighting dirty. In his CharacterEstablishingMoment, he asks Travis to look the other way while he prepared himself, then tried to blast him with EyeBeams while he wasn't looking. He then apologized and offered to shake hands to prove his sportsmanship, only to zap Travis with electricity. [[spoiler:He attempts the same thing on Shinobu in the sequel, but she catches onto his scheme and turns the tables.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather 2'', Dominic can use vicious moves such as neck punches and arm breaks.* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather 2'', Dominic can use vicious moves such as neck punches and arm breaks.

* There is a reason why ''VideoGame/CondemnedCriminalOrigins'' and ''VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot'' have been called a bumfight simulators. 2x4s, pipes, axes, shovels, and bricks can be used in both games.

** Another contender for the most unfair fighter is the Poison-type. Their modus operandi is right there in the name. Apparently, according to many of their moves, Poison-types don't really like fighting upfront. Instead attacking by spitting/throwing up (Acid Spray, Gastro Acid), spewing gases (Smog, Poison Powder, Poison Gas), or setting up traps (Toxic Spikes).

** Even some non-Dark and Poison moves can get pretty dirty. As early as ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''[='=]s first route, you encounter Pidgeys that use Sand Attack to throw sand into your Pokémon's eyes, reducing their accuracy. Then later on, there's Mud-Slap (throwing mud at the opponent) and Feint (which bypasses guarding moves like Protect).

** Out of all the Dark-type Elite Four members, Grimsley displays this trope best. While Johto/Kanto's Karen and Hoenn's Sidney seem to like how cool they are, Grimsley has a firm belief that everything is fair game in battle, especially considering he used to come from a wealthy family that became impoverished. He even encourages the player to indulge in the same practice. The quotes section of the trope page has a gem from him that sums up his philosophy on battle:

* Lord Brevon from ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' deserves his spot as the game's FinalBoss, as he's lightning-fast and wields a [[KnifeNut knife]] that can slaughter the heroes in a couple of hits. But before he fights the heroes hand to hand, he'll try to run them over in a jet fighter and attempt to stomp them in a MiniMecha first.

* Kratos of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is pretty damned brutal, willing to stab Cyclopses in the eye, slashing their knees to open them up for attack, slam and throw enemies around, and even rip enemies apart with his bare hands. The final battle of the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarII second game]] has him [[spoiler:pulling off an ISurrenderSuckers on Zeus, asking to be executed which he takes as an opportunity to give Zeus a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown]]. By the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarIII third game]] he's able to [[GrievousHarmWithABody use enemies as battering rams]].

*** The introductory cinematic has Sothe - resident BadassNormal, devoted BodyguardCrush and famed PerpetualFrowner - appearing on the scene by cutting down an enemy soldier from the back, allowing [[BadassBookworm Micaiah]] to blind the dozen or so enemies surrounding them with a [[HolyHandGrenade spell]] so they can skedaddle.

* Virtually every single fight scene in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' devolves into a completely improvised mad dash to whatever object the characters can get a grip on and clubbing, beating, or stabbing it into their enemy, whether it's a samurai sword or a tv screen. Almost every fight has the players caught off guard, and every character has some form of handicap or inexperience leading their fighting style to be completely panicked.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' protagonist 47 will use virtually any means necessary to eliminate his target - ideally before said target even knows he exists or is in the area. Why get into a gunfight when you can put on a disguise and ambush him? Or plant a car bomb? Or just snipe him from a safe distance?

* In the first ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', HK-47 reveals that Revan used him to assassinate key figures that would have stood in his way, but his pragmatism went well beyond that of a former Jedi willing to use an assassin- the droid surmises that most of the Republic forces that were sent to Malachor V to fight the remainder of the Mandalorian fleet, were composed of soldiers and Jedi whose loyalty to Revan was in question. This made it exceptionally easy for Revan to [[spoiler:use a massively destructive super-weapon that annihilated most of the Mandalorian fleet and outright shocking the remainder into surrender while eliminating his detractors in one blow.]] Still, as effective as the move was, Revan was still horrified with just ''how'' destructive it was.
** That same pragmatism extended to Revan's battle against the Republic, and his use of the Star-Forge; a Force-sensitive construction platform that could make anything he needed. With every use, it would pull Revan closer to the dark side- he unwittingly limited his use of it, however, and continued to rely on tactics that could preserve the Republic's military and economy, things that he'd need in order to [[spoiler:protect the Republic and confront the Sith threat he'd felt in the Unknown Regions. When his former ally and second-in-command Malak betrayed him and caused Revan's capture, however, the new leader of the Sith forces threw those tactics out the window. He would bomb the surfaces of planets and render them uninhabitable, demonstrating his ignorance of how important preserving such worlds would be.]]

** Humans in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' have an equally pragmatic doctrine - they go after enemy supply lines and the like, leaving their forces to "wither on the vine". Unfortunately, this means humans have the same problem the salarians do in that their doctrine is ineffective against the Reapers, who do not have supply lines or any reliance on infrastructure.

* ''VideoGame/PerfectWorld''[='=]s Assassin class. They can turn invisible at will (Shadow Walk or Shadow Escape), teleport to you from longer than the range of a bow (Shadow Jump), do the same thing ''while stunning you for 3 seconds'' (Shadow Teleport), immobilize, seal, sleep, or stun you while doing probably illegal amounts of damage (Tackling Slash, Throatcut, Deep Sting, and Headhunt respectively - especially Headhunt), increase their already ridiculously high crit rate by a huge amount while doing damage (Power Dash), dodge 1/4 of all your skills (Focused Mind), and are not fun to fight in PK unless you're a really good barbarian. At least the fight is fast. Unless you're a [[StoneWall really good Barbarian.]]

* One of the "Signature Hero" {{Non Player Character}}s in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' is known to fight like this, and it's the last one you'd expect-- ThePaladin Sir Owen was, in the past, nearly expelled from the White Knights of Falador for [[HonorBeforeReason dishonorably sniping an enemy commander from behind]]. The Temple Knights of Saradomin recruited him immediately afterward, because it ''did'' get the job done, and he's still willing to fight nasty if a situation calls for it.

* ''[[VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater Tony Hawk's Undergound]]'' features this in an alternate ending. After beating the game once, {{Jerkass}} Eric Sparrow challenges [[PlayerCharacter your custom skater]] to win back the tape in a skate-off. Instead, you just deck Eric in the face and take the tape.

* ''VideoGame/FatalFury''
** Ryuji Yamazaki stomps people when they are on the ground and kicks dirt in their faces. And then there's his Drill super, which revolves around brutalizing the opponent as much as possible while they can't fight back. In one variant, ''he pulls out his knife and stabs them several dozen times''.
** Terry's fighting style is a mix of Hakkyoukuseiken techniques he learned from his father and Tung Fu Rue, mixed with other techniques and skills he picked up in his travels, making for a style that can be aptly described as "Whatever works for him".

* The ending of ''VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd'' sees Nathan Drake [[spoiler:doing decently in a SwordFight against Rafe Adler despite being untrained in fencing...until he isn't and is left lying on his back desperately blocking until Rafe breaks his saber with a strike from his own sword. Nathan manages to make this situation a NearVillainVictory by cutting a rope that's suspending a large bundle of treasure in a net over Rafe [[DeathFromAbove to drop it on his head]] while Rafe's pointing his saber monologuing at him.]]
* Perhaps the most surprising example of pragmatism in the ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' universe is...''[[KnightInShiningArmor Ky Kiske]]''. As it turns out, his general style of play (methodical, measured, focused on layered tactics and solid fundamentals) is how he fights when it's a duel, whether for sport or honor. If it's a ''real'' fight, or a ''war,'' well...perhaps he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTjgwTswuqE&t=25m puts it best]]:
-->'''Ky:''' You want to try again; I didn't give you enough warning; you'd be fine if you were ready. Excuses like that have no value. Unfairness and deceit are superior. The difference between life and death.
** It should be noted that the man he's lecturing to is ''[[PersonOfMassDestruction Sol Badguy]]'', someone who once annihilated a creature the size of Mt. Everest when he was being ''lazy''. This is the man who, when he first saw Ky fight for real, then found himself challenged by Ky to a duel, was by his own admission [[BringMyBrownPants scared shitless.]]
** Another thing to note is that one of his moves (introduced in ''Accent Core'') has him call down a lightning strike on his opponent while they're down, further reinforcing this trope.
* Kefka from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is this. Probably the most telling examples of this would be his encounters at Doma and his fight with Leo.
** In Doma, he sent a fake message from the Emperor to General Leo, calling him back to Vector. General Leo had to that point been both [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen a fair fighter against his opponents]] and AFatherToHisMen. No unnecessary casualties and no underhanded tactics. With Leo gone, Kefka just goes and poisons the water supply of Doma with a gleeful attitude, killing everyone inside Doma Castle in mere minutes, including a future party member's family and ''[[WeHaveReserves some of his own men]]''.
** Later in the game, General Leo works alongside the party to help pacify the Espers after they had rampaged around the Empire. Kefka comes out of nowhere to attack Leo. Leo and Kefka fight for a short time, but [[ISurrenderSuckers Kefka retreats]]. Shortly after, the Emperor himself shows up to affirm Leo's desire to see Kefka brought down, but then promptly stabs him, dealing a killing blow and revealing himself to have been Kefka the whole time.
* The protagonists of the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series tend to be brutally efficient combatants
** A big part of Altair's fighting style in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' is his willingness to be a ''brutal'' combatant. Included in his ''many'' nasty killing animations is punching a mook in the face to spin him around and then stabbing him in the lower back, through the hip, and ''[[{{Squick}} out his crotch]]''. Another involves breaking an opponent's leg by kicking out a knee, and another has him kick them in the crotch, and as they drop to their knees, stabbing them in the top of their head with his short blade.
*** Let's not forget his gruesome hidden blade counterattacks, which are so [[{{Pun}} underhanded]] many ''players'' don't even realize they exist.
** This seems to be something passed down [[BadassFamily from generation to generation]]. Ezio of the Renaissance fights even dirtier than Altair, aided by new weapons of the time period and some new skills (lacking the SuperDrowningSkills for one, allowing him to pull enemies into the water). He even learns to [[AHandfulForAnEye toss sand in enemies' eyes]].
*** Unfortunately for him, by ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' the polearm-wielding Seeker guards (and possibly other guards) will sometimes throw sand at Ezio's eyes or at your allies, while any guard is capable of grabbing Ezio -- leaving him unable to block or counter any enemy attack unless he escapes first -- and armored Regular guards will sometimes mount horses so as to charge and swing at Ezio, the only melee attack in the game that Ezio can not [[CounterAttack Counter]] with the Hidden Blade. Papal Guards will sometimes use a pistol, which like other projectile attacks can not be blocked or countered.
*** Although the guards get pragmatic-er, Ezio still wins the fighting dirty award for ''calling in henchmen to shank people''.
** [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII Connor]] is carrying on the legacy, adding a [[AnAxeToGrind tomahawk]] and a [[TheStraightAndArrowPath bow]] to his already long [[MultiMeleeMaster list of weapons.]] Not to mention the things he can do with a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUhraVG7Ow musket...]]
*** One of the first tasks Haytham is required to do upon his arrival in the Colonies is to buy a sword and a pistol. This combination proves highly lethal, as Haytham (and by extension Connor) can opt to simply [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim pull a pistol out of his coat and shoot an enemy]]. It's almost humorous to see the protagonist leaping around and violently slashing with swords and tomahawks, then calmly turn and shoot the last man standing.
*** Connor also isn't beyond fighting dirty, going for a nut shot in the fight against [[spoiler:Haytham]].
*** Desmond steps up to the plate, being perfectly willing to use [[spoiler:a handgun after a foe mocks him for just using a blade. So he kills him and takes his gun, allowing the player a taste of just what an assassin of Desmond's caliber can do with a semi-auto pistol. And when that proves inefficient, he whips out ''the Apple of Eden'', Old-Altair style.]]
** It runs in the family. Haytham's father Edward doesn't shy away from brutal tactics either. Then again, he's a pirate, so why would he? Honorable pirates don't survive the Caribbean. One of the trailers show him killing a defeated enemy using the ship's wheel. Also, the final requirement to take over a fort is to kill its commander, who is unarmed and begging for mercy.'
** Being street brawlers turned crime lords, [[Videogame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate the Frye twins]] are no stranger to streetfighting tactics. Even better is the fact that revolvers are now the primary firearms of the time, meaning that pulling out your gun to shoot at the rival crime boss you're chasing is a viable method.
* Kratos of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is pretty damned brutal, willing to stab Cyclopses in the eye, slashing their knees to open them up for attack, slam and throw enemies around, and even rip enemies apart with his bare hands. The final battle of the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarII second game]] has him [[spoiler:pulling off an ISurrenderSuckers on Zeus, asking to be executed which he takes as an opportunity to give Zeus a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown]]. By the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarIII third game]] he's able to [[GrievousHarmWithABody use enemies as battering rams]].
** Theseus breaks off direct combat to snipe Kratos and calls up minotaurs to aid him. Perseus turns himself invisible and reflects light with his shield into Kratos' eyes. Hercules calls up troops to aid him and throws chunks of the battlefield at Kratos.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'':
*** The introductory cinematic has Sothe - resident BadassNormal, devoted BodyguardCrush and famed PerpetualFrowner - appearing on the scene by cutting down an enemy soldier from the back, allowing [[BadassBookworm Micaiah]] to blind the dozen or so enemies surrounding them with a [[HolyHandGrenade spell]] so they can skedaddle.
*** Micaiah gets another one later in the game, where she shows she is quite willing to resort to dirty tactics like pouring oil on her enemies and lighting them on fire when the situation calls for it. Granted, this doesn't work so well when the Hawk King decides to retaliate with his own dirty strategy.
** Deconstructed with Virion in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' in his supports with [[PlayerCharacter The Avatar]]. Playing a chess game, Virion constantly wins because he always manages to outsmart the Avatar by using tactics that would work to win battles such as [[WeHaveReserves sacrifices his units]], while the Avatar, despite being a complete genius at strategy, tries to keep them all alive (Similar to what the player does over the course of the game). When the Avatar suggests that Virion lead the army, Virion points out that this is the reason he wins.
** That said, sacrificing their own allies seems to be the only tactic the Avatar ''won't'' stoop to. Everything else is fair game, including pitfall traps, sneak attacks, and setting half their navy on fire and ramming it into the enemy fleet. And that's not counting the ''[[GameBreaker/FireEmblemAwakening numerous]]'' [[GameBreaker Game Breakers]] you're free to exploit during actual gameplay.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', this comes up in a support conversation; Legault mentions to Isadora that this is (apparently) how the Black Fang assassins fight, and even messes with her sword sometime during the conversation so she can't draw it.
** The monsters in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' use all kinds of attacks from claws from the entombed to bites from a hellhound.
* The Amazon from ''VideoGame/ProWrestling'' is notorious for this. Some of the moves he uses to fight the other wrestlers include biting them, choking them, and stabbing them with a fork.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', many characters fight this way.
** Special mention goes to VideoGame/{{Wario}}. Some of his moves are: headbutts, shoulder strikes, clapping in the opponent´s body with his oversized hands, punch them in the groin, sit on them, gnaw on them like a shark eating his prey, and fart on their faces.
** In the ''Super Smash Bros''. series in general, players are encouraged to attack opponents from behind, seek out advantageous terrain, send opponents into obstacles, chase opponents off the edge after launching them [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown to prevent them from recovering,]] and think more warily about misdirection than traditional fighting games. In the [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Distant Planet]] stage, for instance, a Bulborb will sometimes open wide on the lower-right corner of the screen. A good throw can send an unsuspecting adversary into its mouth, and it will chomp down and inflict an instant KO. There is nothing a Super Smash Bros. fighter won't do to get an edge in battle.
** Kirby and the Villager can do this in every game. Kirby can absorb the standard specials of every character, while Villager can use all kinds of projectiles by catching them and flinging them back at the opponent.
** Ridley, by the time of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' - utilizing particularly violent moves that seem out of place for this series, such as his down special that involves [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaling the opponent]] with his tail, and seemingly outright ''killing them''. This extends to his reveal trailer where he attacks Mega Man and Mario first before engaging with Samus. Ridley picks off Megaman first since Mega Man's arsenal would make him the second biggest threat to Ridley. While Mario, being the most vulnerable target, might have been a better target to pick off last, Ridley picked him off too to purely get under Samus's skin.

* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Wario and Waluigi]] are these. Even though they live in a world where most characters can perform flashy super attacks (including them), they often resort to cheating and dirty tactics. Whether it's tossing bombs, brute force, blinding the opponent or set some monsters on their tracks, [[BumblingHenchmenDuo these two]] will stop at nothing to beat the competition.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** This is the main theme of the Dark-type (or "Evil-type" in Japanese). While a few Dark-type moves [[CastingAShadow utilize actual darkness]], the majority are made up of underhanded tactics and actions, like [[WoundedGazelleGambit Fake Tears]], Bite, [[IShallTauntYou Torment]], Feint Attack, and [[ISurrenderSuckers False Surrender]].
*** The dirtiest Dark-type attack of them all is Beat Up, which works by having ''all the other Pokémon in the party gang up on the opponent''. It's not called the Aku ("evil") type in Japanese for nothing.
*** The two types of Pokémon who take double damage from Dark-type moves are [[SoulPower Ghosts]] (who are ironically rather timid) and [[PsychicPowers Psychics]] (whose minds are broken by the sheer malice). But [[BareFistedMonk Fighting-types]] are trained combatants, and don't fall for such crap.
*** Bug-types and Fairy-types also have an advantage against Dark-types, the former likely due to the fact that Dark-type tricks are designed for Pokémon without the sensory advantages insects have, and Fairies likely because they represent the supernatural force of good.
*** As of [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]], Dark type attacks now deal neutral damage to Steel types instead of half the damage. They've learned how to [[AttackItsWeakPoint attack armored foes in the weak spots]]!
*** Generation VII granted Dark-types an immunity to the Prankster Ability, which itself is this trope since [[ActionInitiative it lets non-attacking moves like Swords Dance and Thunder Wave move first]].
** Another contender for the most unfair fighter is the Poison-type. Their modus operandi is right there in the name. Apparently, according to many of their moves, Poison-types don't really like fighting upfront. Instead attacking by spitting/throwing up (Acid Spray, Gastro Acid), spewing gases (Smog, Poison Powder, Poison Gas), or setting up traps (Toxic Spikes).
** Fairy-types surprisingly invoke this. While Fairy-types are often played up as a foil to the Dark-types, several of their attacks still involve rather deceitful tactics, and several of them are depicted as [[TheFairFolk pranksters or even flat out malicious]].
** Even some non-Dark and Poison moves can get pretty dirty. As early as ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''[='=]s first route, you encounter Pidgeys that use Sand Attack to throw sand into your Pokémon's eyes, reducing their accuracy. Then later on, there's Mud-Slap (throwing mud at the opponent) and Feint (which bypasses guarding moves like Protect).
** The Pokémon Croagunk and Toxicroak are like this, and learn a lot of Dark-type attacks despite not being Dark-type themselves. However, it's for survival, and some of those species are said to be laid back and perhaps good. That may come from being Fighting-type though, most of them are honourable.
** In terms of protagonists, Wes from ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' could definitely be considered this. He's an ex-criminal who, in the introduction, blows up his former team's base, steals their Snag Machine, and then steals their Shadow Pokemon away from them.
** And on the villains' end, Ghetsis in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' apparently waited while you battled N so he could [[BreakTheCutie mind-break]] and attack the winner while all their Pokemon were still weak. This, ''after'' you'd already spanner'd the rest of his masterful plot. In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', he just orders Kyurem to freeze the player character directly, instead of giving them the chance to beat him in a Pokemon battle (though this tactic fails).
** Out of all the Dark-type Elite Four members, Grimsley displays this trope best. While Johto/Kanto's Karen and Hoenn's Sidney seem to like how cool they are, Grimsley has a firm belief that everything is fair game in battle, especially considering he used to come from a wealthy family that became impoverished. He even encourages the player to indulge in the same practice. The quotes section of the trope page has a gem from him that sums up his philosophy on battle:
--->'''Grimsley''': A beautiful loss is still a loss, and an ugly win is still a win!
** Single Strike Urshifu also fits this trope. Not only is it Fighting/Dark-Type, but it also prefers to finish the fight the moment it starts by just rushing right at the opponent before they get a chance to react. Its signature move, Wicked Blow, paired with its Ability, Unseen Fist, even reflect that with one guaranteeing a critical every time its used and the other letting it bypass perfect defense moves like Protect or Obstruct if it uses attacks that make direct contact like Thunder Punch or Zen Headbutt. Not only that, but Single Strike Urshifu can learn more moves that benefit from Unseen Fist with 38, while Rapid Strike Urshifu has 35.
* ''VideoGame/ThePunisher'' game has this as a feature. If the player runs into an enemy, there are many choices. Hold him hostage, interrogate him, knock him out, shoot him in the head or just outright drive a k-bar into his brain. One of the many twists is the Punisher distracts the enemy by handing over his own gun, then it's knife-face time.
* There's not a lot in ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' that can't be [[ImprovisedWeapon picked up and used to bash/slice/(appropriate destructive verb here)]] zombie heads in. Even [[ImprobableWeaponUser CD cases, squeaky hammers, and entire mannequins.]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is based around this trope. Solid Snake, Big Boss, and Raiden are all expected to use whatever equipment they can scavenge (since their missions are black operations) in as many ways as possible. Basic examples include holding an enemy hostage in a firefight, knocking them out with sleeping darts, and distracting them by leaving Playboy magazines lying around. More advanced examples include "cheating" against various bosses. Snake can kill Sniper Wolf in complete safety with remote-controlled missiles. Raiden can neutralize the bullet-dodging Vamp by placing claymore mines in his path. Big Boss can land a cheap shot against Colonel Volgin by wearing a mask modeled after his lover, or skip The End entirely by assassinating him in his wheelchair or waiting for him to pass away. Each game has dozens of examples of this kind of trickery, and you are expected to discover and use these tactics. This however does not stop Big Boss from claiming somewhat ironically:
--->''I'm no assassin. Shooting a soldier with their guard down isn't my style.''
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' also has myriad ways in which players can safely dispose of rank-and-file soldiers, such as destroying weapon caches to deprive his enemies of ammunition, or destroying food stores to force his enemies to fight on empty stomachs (and also possibly distract them with food, which can be spoiled or poisonous).
** If you have inhuman strength in most games, it means you will use some kind of sword or other weapon. Of course, if you don't think about using a massive Gatling gun meant to be used in combat planes, like Vulcan Raven in the first Metal Gear Solid.
** Olga Gurlukovich is pretty fine at this too during her battle aboard the tanker. She does things like shoot the ropes to a tarp so the wind catches it to give herself cover, and repeatedly shoots a light so it aims right at you to blind you.
* ''VideoGame/PerfectWorld''[='=]s Assassin class. They can turn invisible at will (Shadow Walk or Shadow Escape), teleport to you from longer than the range of a bow (Shadow Jump), do the same thing ''while stunning you for 3 seconds'' (Shadow Teleport), immobilize, seal, sleep, or stun you while doing probably illegal amounts of damage (Tackling Slash, Throatcut, Deep Sting, and Headhunt respectively - especially Headhunt), increase their already ridiculously high crit rate by a huge amount while doing damage (Power Dash), dodge 1/4 of all your skills (Focused Mind), and are not fun to fight in PK unless you're a really good barbarian. At least the fight is fast. Unless you're a [[StoneWall really good Barbarian.]]
* Speaking of Assassins, ''Videogame/BladeAndSoul'' gives us their own. In a world of martial artists, all who have some degree of this trope (Blade Dancers force-choking an enemy and throwing them against a wall to fight later comes to mind, as well as a few Destroyer air combos) the Assassin makes this their primary means of murder. Almost entirely fighting from stealth, the Assassins boast every dirty trick the developers could think of:[[LauncherMove air combos]] taken straight out of Manga/{{Naruto}}, [[UniversalPoison Poison clouds]], [[StuffBlowingUp landmines]], flashbangs, wires, [[InescapableNet nets]], and of course a [[SmokeOut smoke bomb]]. The effectiveness of these and the sheer frequency of the Assassin's abuse of this trope is the source of many grumblings in the [=PvP=] world.
** Honorable mention to the Warlock class as well. Chains from the floor, a giant demon blocking you from counterattacking, and even the ability to sacrifice his own mook to unload a new level of pain on you.
* ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'' has the Tarka, whose [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy concept of "honor in battle"]] involves walking away with as few casualties as possible while leaving their enemies dead. Consequently they can and will employ almost any dirty trick in the book for an advantage; their favourite techs in-game are mines and torpedoes, and the game's novel has a Tarka commander betraying her own allies during a fight so that the telepaths they're fighting will be unable to learn her ''real'' battleplan from them -- a battleplan that involves basically gift-wrapping the main character and handing him over to them on a silver platter so she can sneak up and stab them in their backs while they're preoccupied with... [[MindRape "processing" him]].
** In a certain sense, the [[ActualPAcifist Liir]]. Usually, they are PerfectPacifistPeople. However, if you manage to ''really'' piss 'em off, they will sic their Black Swimmers on you. And said Swimmers have decided that, if they are going to infringe their ThouShallNotKill rule, then [[TheUnfettered nothing is sacred for them anymore]].
* In many {{RTS}} games, it is pretty much expected that players will fight dirty, and [[DevelopersForesight such games are designed accordingly.]]
** ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft II}}'' is a prime case. Throughout a match's early- to mid-game, players typically target their opponent's workers or key structures with hit-and-run tactics, trying to gain an upper hand.
*** While all three races have some ability to do this, the Terran seem largely geared specifically for it, as is fitting for the CrapSackWorld they live in. They have several units designed specifically for early game harassment and are easily able to deploy large armies in fast-flying dropships, all of which can do immeasurable damage and retreat before you've had a chance to fight back.
*** One of the most basic strategies for the Zerg race is the titular ZergRush, which isn't employed at high-level play but is a common staple of Zerg armies in bronze and silver league matches. It's common to see videos of salty comments by players outraged that their opponent threw seemingly endless quick units at them and hoovered up their resources and time, but there's nothing stopping them from doing so if the opponent lets them pull it off and win with it.
* In games that are played competitively or offer environment for competitive play, playing dirty and using mechanics that are considered overpowered by a large number of players is usually the norm. The game usually has a way of dealing with it or they are just things harder to counter than to employ, so they are 'overpowered' in lower levels of skill.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
** The Elites come off as a rather brutal example. They are [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy proud warrior-race guys]] who have no problem with '''turning invisible''' in the middle of a fight. They may take pride in combat, but that doesn't mean they're (completely) stupid when it comes to that combat, despite their occasional HonorBeforeReason tendencies.
*** [[TheDreaded Thel 'Vadam]] proved to be an exceptional CombatPragmatist compared to his comrades, at least once he became [[TheAtoner the Arbiter]]. When fighting the likes of [[ZombieApocalypse The Flood]], he was perfectly willing to grab and use human weapons if his normal plasma weaponry was out of the question, whereas a normal Elite would sooner [[HonorBeforeReason charge in with his bare hands before touching "heretic" equipment]].
** Humanity are huge on combat pragmatism, [[HopelessWar mostly because they absolutely have to]]. Since they're facing such a bad technology gap, they have to come up with devious and unusual strategies to make up for it. But even when they don't, their Office of Naval Intelligence still often uses particularly brutal methods. For example, they kidnapped 75 children, replaced them with short-lived clones, gave said children [[TrainingFromHell intense military training]], then subjected them to [[SuperSerum drug enhancement]] therapies which left about half of them dead or seriously crippled. All in order to make the [[SuperSoldier ultimate soldier]]: the SPARTAN-[=IIs=] (including the Master Chief himself). And that was all done ''before'' humanity even knew the Covenant existed.
*** The Spartans themselves fit this trope as well (particularly in the expanded universe); they might be capable of all sorts of ridiculous combat feats, but why bother directly fighting a horde of enemies when simply nuking them would work even better?
*** ''After'' the war with the Covenant is underway, ONI comes up with a slightly different program. At least the SPARTAN-[=IIs=] were designed to survive any conditions and come out on top, with most of those who lived through the augmentations surviving well into middle age. The SPARTAN-[=IIIs=] were trained to be cheap and disposable suicide soldiers, with most of them dead by the time they hit prematurely induced puberty.
* While most of the boxers of ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' have rather unconventional movesets, to put it mildly, there are characters who use Martial Arts alongside boxing (Dragon Chan) as well as weapons (Hoy Quarlow). [[{{Scotireland}} Aran]] [[AxCrazy Ryan]] in the Wii version however is the biggest example, using elbow strikes, head butts, putting horseshoes inside his gloves, and later on using a boxing glove whip against you that lets him get a free hit in upon knocking him out.
* It's hard to get more pragmatic than ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'''s Alex Mercer. Anything that isn't nailed down or on fire can be thrown at enemies, any civilians unlucky enough to be within range of his wild flailing get torn to shreds, and he heals himself by ''eating'' anyone still standing. He is also a shapeshifter, and not even slightly above becoming a soldier and accusing another soldier of being him to get them shot, or taking the shape of a commanding officer and ordering "his" troops to bomb each other, or playing dead to escape when cornered.
** This is taken further in ''VideoGame/Prototype2''; rather fighting fairly, it's possible to stealth inject a mook, prompting them to [[BodyHorror explode tentacles all over]] that latch onto and pull everything and everyone nearby inwards, crushing anyone unlucky enough to be close.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' Rogues are one of the dirtiest fighters in the game. They can become invisible in combat (Vanish), they have several abilities that incapacitate opponents, such as Blind, Kidney Shot, Backstab, Ambush, Cheap Shot, Garrote, and poisons on their weapons.
** It doesn't help that players behind the class are fond of attacking you while you're low on health or already engaged in combat, further capitalizing on their advantage.
*** In fairness, players of ''every'' class will do that.
** Really, many classes fight dirty when their spells are taken literally. Priests can use psychic magic-based abilities to mentally torment enemies to death, not to mention the ability to infect enemies with a literal Devouring Plague.
** Okay ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' [=PvP=] players, raise your hand if you've come across someone of the opposite faction battling with something, waited until their health was low, then attacked for the honor points. Rogues need not reply, assuming you haven't already stealthed and snuck up behind me.
** Players with the Engineering profession can take this to new heights, being able to use flamethrowers and rocket launchers in a high fantasy setting. This is taken to the fullest heights with the Big Daddy bomb, the highest-ranked bomb in the profession to date, which does massively increased damage if the enemy is out of combat, meaning that a level 70ish character can creep near an enemy respawn point, let everyone respawn, then hit the whole area with up to [[EarthShatteringKaboom 15,000 damage]], which is enough to one-shot most characters at that level.
* Dampierre from ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny]]'' loves to fight dirty. Along with his pair of hidden-below-the-forearm blades, he will also throw sucker punches during throws, and even [[DefensiveFeintTrap fake injury]] right before springing up and attacking again.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', one of the protagonist's main abilities is the ability to pick up and throw ''anything.'' Priceless golden idols, enemy corpses, {{Distressed Damsel}}s, you name it, he can throw it. Damsels can also be used for a host of things besides the reward you get for rescuing them, including the [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential infamous]] [[ActionBomb "damsel bomb"]] trick. Other pragmatic tricks include getting a BallisticDiscount at a shop, and luring enemies into the vicious {{Death Trap}}s meant for you.
* Some of Batman's moves in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' easily qualify for this trope. One of his delicate ways of saying 'stay down' is to wrench someone's lower leg by ninety degrees to the sound of breaking bones. That's gotta hurt.
** Aside from Batman's vow to never take a life, most of Arkham Asylum's combat is like this. In freeflow combat, he routinely breaks bones, dislocates joints, turns enemy weapons against them, and generally does whatever most expediently neutralizes the threat. When facing thugs with guns? Use stealth, environmental traps, misdirection, and psychological warfare to whittle them down one by one without a shot being fired (if you're good).
* The salarians in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' always start their wars with no warning, either hitting an enemy pre-emptively or assaulting their targets out of the blue. The Codex entry for their military doctrine even explicitly states that they view the concept of warning your enemy you're about to attack by declaring war is insane and stupid.
** The same codex entry states explicitly that Salarians believe that a war should be won before it begins.
*** Hence part of their problem in ''3'' is their sheer lack of experience on how to deal with prolonged war with entrenched Reaper forces.
** Shepard him/herself - a Renegade can sometimes punch/shoot potential problems through dialogue options. The Renegade ActionCommands in the second game more or less consist of attacking or threatening suddenly. [[AndZoidberg And punching that reporter.]]
** And now, in the sequel, there are optional Quick Time interrupts in which Shepard can cut people off by shooting them, punching them in the face, [[DestinationDefenestration throwing them out skyscraper windows]], etc. This has the bonus of making certain scenes ''a lot shorter'', not to mention easier. In one case, doing this will take out a half dozen opponents, leaving you to face only one. And all without taking damage, thanks to the [[CutscenePowerToTheMax magic of cutscenes]].
*** And due to the way the morality system works in the series, there's barely anything stopping a Paragon Shepard from being a full CombatPragmatist themselves. When the situation presents itself, s/he can take a Renegade option to even the odds (or greatly tip them) in a firefight with no effect on their Paragon ranking.
*** Infiltrators in particular have no moral objections to becoming completely invisible, using their omni-tools to set enemies on fire, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs setting enemies on fire while cloaked]], shooting people clean through walls with heavy sniper rifles, hacking turrets to go after the engineers deploying them, and even - with the correct DLC for ''3'' - mind-controlling enemies into beating the snot out of each other.
** Humans in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' have an equally pragmatic doctrine - they go after enemy supply lines and the like, leaving their forces to "wither on the vine". Unfortunately, this means humans have the same problem the salarians do in that their doctrine is ineffective against the Reapers, who do not have supply lines or any reliance on infrastructure.
** Humans are also said to be fond of DisproportionateRetribution. They don't have the manpower to guard each of their colonies, so they have a centralized rapid reaction force that can bring swift and terrible retaliation upon the attackers. Word travels around, so the human colonies are usually left alone...
** Humanity's tactic of keeping fleets of warships in arms reach of their colonies is said to have caught the Turians off-guard during the First Contact War. They thought that the vessels in orbit around Shanxi represented the bulk of Human military strength, only to have a collective OhCrap when they noticed an entire Fleet of angry Human Warships pouring through the Relay. There are two "Battles of Shanxi" for a reason.
** Inverted with the Geth (minus the Heretics), at least when fighting other geth. Due to their nature, they tell each other everything, even plans for attack. Legion finding out that the Heretics have been spying on the other geth horrifies them.
** The Cerberus Daily News goes into detail on just how vicious the turians are in combat, particularly when dealing with a rebellious province in one of their colonies. Since every turian is a soldier, turian military doctrine does not distinguish between civilian and soldier, and in a turian vs. turian war, they bomb their own cities indiscriminately. A common practice in these types of engagements is to establish "safe camps" near a combat zone, where enemy adult turians who do not wish to fight can surrender and move to remain out of combat. Any able-bodied enemy turian who isn't in the safe camp when combat commences is a legitimate target. This tendency was also shown when the humans were fighting the turians at Shanxi; the turians were not particularly concerned about civilian casualties and were consistently bombing human squads from orbit, destroying entire city blocks to kill individual fireteams. Against the Reapers, the turians take advantage of Reaper capital ships being larger and more powerful than theirs by exiting FTL extremely close to them, allowing them to turn and lock on faster than the Reapers can.
*** And then there's their handling of Tuchanka.
-->'''Joker:''' You gotta love the turians. After they beat you down and sterilize you, they strap a big old bomb to your planet. Y'know, just in case you get uppity again someday.
** Cerberus Daily News reports on the [[PrivateMilitaryContractors corporate invasion of Garvug]] shows ''humans'' being pragmatic to [[TheChessmaster chessmaster levels]]. When three human-run companies raise an army and use it to prop up a puppet government on Garvug, a Krogan warlord starts an insurgency. Rather than stick around and grind it out in a long, bloody, and costly counterinsurgency campaign, the companies "manufacture" a rift between them, one company pulls out outright, another one announces via a public shareholders meeting that they are pulling out, and even let their stock price tank. Once they pull out and the insurgents recapture Garvug's seat of government, the corporate forces deploy a cruiser fleet out of nowhere, and devastate Garvug's capital, inflicting massive casualties on the insurgency including its leader, and obliterating it. The withdrawal was an elaborate ruse to draw the insurgents out of hiding, concentrate them in one location, then finish them off.
** Kai Leng in ''Mass Effect 3'' is not above calling in a gunship to provide cover-fire while he recharges his shields or calling in reinforcements in boss battles.
*** The Renegade interrupt has Shepard respond in kind, kill [[HeroKiller Kai-Leng]] by breaking his sword (his only weapon), unfurl their [[KarmicDeath own omniblade]] and [[KickTheSonOfABitch stab him in the gut.]]
** This is basically the plan driving the plot of ''The Arrival'' DLC for Mass Effect 2. [[spoiler: The Alliance plans on blowing up a mass relay, which would temporarily stop the Reapers. Mass relays are pretty much nearly impossible to destroy through conventional means, and an Alliance Fleet showing up in batarian space would spark a war. So the Alliance team covertly straps engines to a small planetoid to [[ColonyDrop fire it at the relay]] Ironically, strapping rockets to a small moon to perform a ColonyDrop was the same trick the ''Batarians'' used in the ''Bring Down the Sky'' DLC from the first game, which was narrowly averted by Shepard. Clearly, humans learnt from the incident.]]
** [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow_Broker_Dossiers/Thane_Krios Thane has a list of preferred assassination methods for Humans, Asari, Turians, and Krogans]]. Each also comes with a list of alternate tactics, which are also hand-to-hand and end in a NeckSnap. Except for the one for [[LightningBruiser Krogan]], which is a single word: "[[StuffBlowingUp Bomb]]".
*** Considering that his hand-to-hand assassinations [[NoSell wouldn't work nearly as]] [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration well against]] [[DeflectorShields shielded opponents]] after the technological leap during the TimeSkip between the first and second games, he probably would use bombs for everyone, [[spoiler: [[AssassinOutclassin had he survived 3.]]]] Or a blast from the Acolyte pistol followed by his usual.
** The Reapers themselves don't have as much need for this trope because of their technological superiority, but they still use it if an opportunity arises. In a typical cycle, they initiate their invasion at the heart of galactic government, both decapitating the enemy immediately and gaining pretty much all the intelligence they'll possibly need. Once this is done, they lock down the mass relays so only Reapers can use them, preventing any sort of organized resistance against them, let alone real warfare. They turn the dead of other species into their own ground troops, reducing both their numbers and morale. The atypical cycle we see in the games has them making quick work of the batarian homeworld which is close to their arrival point and then rushing towards Palaven and Earth to immediately start beating down the races they expect to be the biggest problems.
** The lore makes it clear the fleet defending Illium was decidedly pragmatic when the Reapers invaded. Aware that their weapons would not be enough to destroy the Reaper [[NighInvulnerable capital ships]], they just blew up the Reaper's troop transports. Since the Reaper's goal is the ''harvesting'' of life rather than the annihilation of it, this effectively ground the invasion of Illium to a halt until more troops could be produced.
* Miguel from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' is a pretty dirty fighter, even having one move that starts off with you laughing at the opponent unguarded and then just punching them in the face for a one-hit KO.
** King is pretty pragmatic himself, with those crazy grapple combos, even grappling opponents while they're in mid-air.
** Also, pretty much any character that isn't human or that has superhuman capabilities can be considered a combat pragmatist.
** Yoshimitsu, for example, who comes to a fighting tournament in a suit of protective armor, the ability to teleport behind his enemies & regain health during a fight... oh yeah, and he uses a SWORD! In some versions of the game, it's practically a lightsaber!
* Gene from ''VideoGame/GodHand'' frequently [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown stomps on downed enemies]], knees people in the face repeatedly, dishes out {{Groin Attack}}s and throws everything he can get at them, including ExplodingBarrels and the occasional rocket launcher. [[NintendoHard You will need every advantage you can get.]]
** Apparently stomping on enemies is a ''divine'' move, as is attacking enemies in the crotch as both are in his Roulette Wheel (which has moves such as God Charge and Divine Smash). The latter is useless against women and {{Camp Gay}}s though.
---> End Credits: ''"Don't act like you don't like the Ball Buster!"''
* The MMO ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'' epitomises this trope with the "Brawler" subclass. The Brawler throws sand in the opponent's eyes, uses bladed fist weapons (though any fighter class can equip them, the Brawler specializes with them), poisons said weapons, throws nets at opponents, and more.

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''
** Destroyman is all about fighting dirty. In his CharacterEstablishingMoment, he asks Travis to look the other way while he prepared himself, then tried to blast him with EyeBeams while he wasn't looking. He then apologized and offered to shake hands to prove his sportsmanship, only to zap Travis with electricity. [[spoiler:He attempts the same thing on Shinobu in the sequel, but she catches onto his scheme and turns the tables.]]
** Holly Summers uses her environment to her advantage, digging holes in the beach to trap Travis in the hopes of blasting him with a grenade. She also isn't above kicking sand into his eyes and [[GetBackHereBoss playing keepaway]] to hold the advantage.
* The bosses in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II'' will always call reinforcements when you fight them. Particularly nasty is the [[BonusBoss Avatar of Khaine]], which likes to call in lots of tanks.
** Kind of justified considering that you can Deep Strike.

* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', Balrog and Cody both qualify. Granted, the rules of the tournament are shaky at best, but in Cody's case it's probably safe to say pulling a knife or hitting people in the spine with a pipe are probably against it (though, in a weird [[ZigZaggingTrope use of the trope]], he also [[HandicappedBadass fights in prison cuffs by his own choice]]. In Balrog's case, one of his Ultra combos involves him stepping on the opponent's toes to hold them in place before he beats them about the face. It ends with a hilarious "Who, me?" shrug towards an unseen ref, who may exist only in his head.
** As well as C. Viper, who hides various gadgets in her clothes.
** Though he's very much the CulturedBadass and Balrog's GoodCounterpart, Dudley isn't unwilling to use moves that would get an actual boxer disqualified, including all his throws. Unlike Balrog, though, it's indicated that Dudley only does this when he's street-fighting. It's possible that he does this to lure his opponents into a false sense of security.
** Rolento uses knives and ''hand grenades'' in his fighting style, and sometimes enlists the help of one of his cronies to lynch his opponent with a tripwire in his Take No Prisoner [[LimitBreak Super Combo]].

* In ''VideoGame/FreedomForce'', you can smack down thugs with lamp posts and traffic lights, [[EveryCarIsAPinto use cars as improvised hand grenades]], as well as [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill demolish buildings with thugs on top of them]].

* In the second ''[[VideoGame/FableII Fable]]'' game, you are sent to find the Hero of Skill and get them to join your group of Heroes. Reaver turns out to be...not as nice as the other Heroes on your team. His combat pragmatism becomes apparent when one finds out why his signature pistol is called the 'Dragonstomper .48', as discovered in the description of the pistol the 'Red Dragon'.
** The description of the 'Red Dragon' is: ''This unique and exotic pistol once belonged to Wicker, the finest shot Albion had ever seen. Until Reaver appeared. Wicker visited Reaver and challenged him to an honourable shooting challenge to decide who had the greatest skill. Reaver's reply was to shoot him in the head.''

* In ''VideoGame/DiverDown'' Drek fights like this in the cutscenes. No action is too underhanded or dishonorable when his survival is at stake. In gameplay, not so much.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' - it's said that if you're not winning, you're clearly not fighting dirty enough.
** Pretty much a staple of playing the Spy correctly; if you're not abusing the enemy's trust and tricking them for {{backstab}}s, ''you're doing it wrong.''
** Demomans could count as well, placing sticky bombs in front of the spawn entrance are a tactic used by the majority of players and bots as well.
*** Considering there are many counters to this (including airblasting and blowing them up before they blow you up), it is not as effective as before.
** Engineers can be just as dirty. Tip: ''Never'' assume you've got him at your mercy unless you like getting swiss cheesed by the sentry he led you to.
*** Engineers can trick unsuspecting players by weaponizing dispensers. While the "101 uses for a dispenser" series contain many things rigged for comedy, some of the uses for dispensers presented in it are pretty legit and can catch players off guard. Try having a friendly Demoman place sticky bombs behind a dispenser and detonate them when a Spy saps it someday.
** Medics forced to kill someone themselves ''never'' fight fair, they abuse their HealingFactor, superior speed, and their favorite weapon, the Blutsauger has LifeDrain to boot, they basically shoot you, get out with half health, heal up, repeat, until you're dead.
** Heavy may seem to be the simplest and most straightforward class. This is until you find one of the ''good'' ones doing things like sneaking behind the enemy team to mow down all of them before they realize the bullets are coming from the ''other'' way. Heavies with the Tomislav in particular are fond of waiting ''just'' behind a corner to mow down anyone who comes in.
** Pyro, being effectively a shorter-range but more mobile heavy, are practically built around this trope for effective front-line combat. They have a number of mobility tools to get behind you, at which point they can shred you with a flamethrower that gives critical hits from behind, a number of critical attack combos making use of an airblast's knockback, flanking from anywhere, reflecting projectile attacks at enemy players, or picking off lone enemies to build up crits for one flamethrower before charging into a horde and obliterating them
** Snipers getting powerful bodyshots or using the Machina and getting easy kills with it against enemies are often called out by the enemy team for not focusing on headshots. That said, there's nothing illegal about using any weapon in any way the game provides, and there's no penalty for a body-shot if you're still killing your targets.
* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather 2'', Dominic can use vicious moves such as neck punches and arm breaks.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' simultaneously subverts and plays this trope straight. Since the game puts a lot of value in stringing together combos and generally killing your opponents quickly, there are a lot of ways to make her fight very pragmatically from using her enemy's own weapon against them to shooting them while they are speaking. The subversion comes from the fact that while she plays unfairly in nearly all of her fights, she has a habit of being incredibly over the top to the point where whatever benefit she gained from dirty fighting is negated by her showy nature. Thankfully, her explosive power makes her make the best out of this situation without much of a problem.
* The Boss in the ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' series always finds a way to win, no matter the danger or absurdity of the situation. In addition to taking hostages, false surrenders, and having truly ludicrous proficiency with improvised weapons (fire hydrants, giant purple dildos, bricks, etc.), The Boss is a master of psychological warfare. They are perfectly willing to target loved ones, use humiliation tactics like winning a televised wrestling match against an enemy, or making demoralizing public media declarations. For example, in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'':
-->'''Akuji:''' Did you really think you could match my skill [with a [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]]]?\\
'''Protagonist:''' No. [''[[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight shoots him in the chest]]''] I'm gonna cheat.
** ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' also uses this trope for humor potential; this ranges from the basic melee attack ([[GroinAttack which prompts the player to swing a gun/fist into the victim's groin]]), to the sprinting attacks (one of which involves [[DynamicEntry jump-slamming an enemy's head into the concrete from behind]] before [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ziGJkWjvdA#t=31s striking a pose]]).
* Shadow from ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' is this. Despite having SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, and a [[KiManipulation slew]] [[TeleportSpam of other]] [[TimeStandsStill powers]], he is quite able and willing to wield any sort of weapon, be it guns, explosives, vehicles or improvise with debris. He doesn't naturally hold back against opponents, and also has no qualms against using lethal force against weaker or defeated foes in gameplay and several of the games. This goes against the DoesNotLikeGuns (Sonic) or BareFistedMonk (Knuckles) mentality of other characters.
* Rangers from ''VideoGame/GuildWars''. They have Throw Dirt which can blind enemies for a period, making melee attacks useless, can target enemies' legs and cripple them and slow movement, an assortment of landmine-like traps, and when the going gets tough, they even have a skill called Escape that lets them run faster while having a high chance to block any attack aimed their way. Fighting dirty indeed.
** Assassins also fit this trope. Aside from being the only class in the game that can teleport, their attacks also feature liberal use of poison, knockdowns, crippling, and disabling enemies in various ways. They also have their Dark Escape skill, which halves their damage intake and gives them a speed boost, making them very tough to kill when fleeing.
*** And let's not forget the Assassin's infamous Shadow Form skill, which in [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]], makes them ''IMMUNE TO ALL ATTACKS AND SPELLS'', while the Assassin is free to cause whatever damage he sees fit. There's a reason Assassins are feared in [=PvP=].
** Mesmers are practically the personification of this trope. Among their bag of nasty tricks, they can ''steal spells off your skill bar'', cancel nearly any skill you begin casting, inflict massive armor-ignoring damage on you for doing anything, including ''nothing at all'', completely drain your magic meter, and even send your skills into cooldown mode for absurdly long periods of time. Mesmers are also feared in [=PvP=] for this very reason.
** Etiquette hasn't gotten much better in [[VideoGame/GuildWars2 the sequel]]. Engineers have a "tool belt" which gives extra attacks depending on which kit or skill they have equipped, including firing a bullet (or ROCKET) from their belt buckle even when knocked down and stunned; Thieves fit the standard "stab everything in the back with a poisoned weapon" niche with at least one ability that makes EVERYONE AROUND THEM stealth for a few seconds; and one particularly viable PvE build for Rangers boils down to "poison, blind, cripple and generally render your enemy helpless while your pet walks up and casually eats their face."
* Rogues in ''Franchise/DragonAge'' are built around this, with a focus on backstabbing (especially the Assassin specialty), and such abilities as "Dirty Fighting," which appears to throw sand in an enemy's eyes to stun, and "Below the Belt," which is described as a "[[GroinAttack swift and unsportsmanlike kick]]".
** The game itself gives you a few opportunities to do this, even if your character is not a rogue. Your Warden can for example drug/poison his/her enemies before the fight.
** Grey Wardens in general are supposed to have this attitude. When you're the only thing standing between the world and a [[ZombieApocalypse Blight]], who cares if you have to resort to blackmail and BloodMagic?
* ''VideoGame/ArmyMen Sarge's Heroes'' In the cut scene before the final level, [[BigBad General Plastro]] has [[SergeantRock Sergeant Hawk]] at gunpoint.
-->'''Sarge''': Plastro! Why don't you drop that gun and [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen face me like a man]]?
-->'''Plastro''': [[CardCarryingVillain Because I'm the bad guy. That's why.]]
* From [[HeyYouHaymaker "Hey, You!" Haymakers]] to [[InTheBack shoving a blade through someone's spine]] to [[ImprobableWeaponUser crushing people beneath thrown vending machines]], Adam Jensen of ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' does not know ''how'' to play fair.
* The Smuggler class in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' uses abilities such as [[GroinAttack Dirty Kick]], [[ISurrenderSuckers Fake Surrender]] and, of course, Shoot First. One of their specializations is even called 'Dirty Fighting', and true to form, it can be used to greatly boost the potential of all the dirty tricks in your arsenal.
** Similarly, the Imperial Agent specializes in assassination, with poison, sniping, and backstabbing as their specialties. Considering that both classes are {{Badass Normal}}s going up against Jedi/Sith, they're going to need some tricks to even the odds a bit.
*** Also, if Kaliyo Djannis is around [[spoiler:when the Imperial Agent confronts Darth Jadus in the finale of the first act, she'll eventually decide to shoot him while he's gloating. Unfortunately for her, Jadus simply teleports away and responds with a Force Choke.]]
** The Bounty Hunter. To be a Muggle in a galaxy filled with Jedi, Sith, and Droids, they HadToBeSharp to be [[BadassNormal good at the job.]] For this reason, they end up killing more Force-users than any other non-Force-sensitive class in the game.
* Several characters in the ''StarWars: VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', especially Starkiller, who throws in punches, kicks, and grapples during lightsaber duels and can turn nearly anything into an ImprovisedWeapon with the Force. Special mention is his incarnation in the non-canon ''Ultimate Sith Edition'', [[spoiler: where he throws Luke Skywalker in the path of a snow speeder!]]
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** Johnny Cage from ' with his GroinAttack fits this trope. He also uses ''Creator/BruceLee'''s Jeet Kune Do.
** Stryker, Sektor and Cyrax also count. Stryker, being a police officer, has a gun, a nightstick, a stun gun, a flashlight, and a grenade (because... explosions are cool). Sektor and Cyrax, being robots, have a variety of gadgets, such as explosives (missiles and bombs, respectively), flamethrowers (Sektor), energy nets (Cyrax), and a chest saw (Cyrax).
** Erron Black from ''X'' is a gunslinger who doesn't really have a problem with shooting someone in the face at point-blank range. One of his Brutalities is him tackling the opponent to the floor and then [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill emptying every shot in his two revolvers into the poor sod's mug]].
** The Black Dragon mercenary [[PsychoForHire Kano]] employs knives in battle either for throwing or melee combat. His "[[StanceSystem Dirtbag]]" variation in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' sees him using every dirty street fighting trick to win.
** Jarek and Kira are fellow Black Dragon members to the aforementioned Kano in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' respectively and employ some of his moves with knives. Kira also uses Sonya's [[AHandfulForAnEye Kiss of Death]] move.
** Major Jax Briggs and Lieutenant Sonya Blade are members of the U.S. Special Forces and thus much of their movesets revolve around use of guns and explosives to deal with enemies. Sonya even gets an AttackDrone in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''.
** Jacqui Briggs and Cassie Cage are the [[GenerationXerox daughters]] Jax and Sonya respectively and follow in their parents' example of using technology to fight. Jacqui is the only member of her squad who doesn't use any kind of magic, instead relying on kickboxing and her {{ArmCannon}}s. Cassie combines aspects of her parents Johnny and Sonya by using groin attacks, guns and drones.
** Considering the high stakes of Mortal Kombat and the ever-encroaching threats of both Outworld and Netherrealm, Earthrealm's Kombatants can't afford the luxury of playing nice or fair.
* ''VideoGame/FallenEarth'' has a whole skill tree devoted to this tactic known as "Dirty Tricks". The skills include moves like "Dirty Steel", "Kneecap" and "Sabotage". The icon for the Dirty Tricks skill set is a man getting kicked in the junk.
* You won't make it far in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' without being one. Since almost everything is hostile to you and can easily kill you in a couple of hits, you need to use any means necessary to survive. Fighting a heavily armored enemy? Backstab it with a dagger to ignore its defense. Fighting an enemy that attacks quickly and rapidly? Use a shield to block and then counterattack or get a parrying shield to parry its attack and riposte it for massive damage. Facing enemies that are extremely difficult to fight in melee? Use ranged spells or bows to pick them off. Facing well-positioned snipers that can shoot you down before you reach them? Use poison arrows to poison them and wait for them to die from the effect.
** You can be one in when engaging in [=PvP=] as well. As a Black Phantom, you can use environmental traps, backstabs, and cliff ledges to ruin your target's day.
** There's a spell that disguises you as a random destructible object. Another spell makes you partially transparent. Another hides your weapon so your enemy can't guess your fighting style.
** Why engage in magic duel when you can just wait for your opponent to bow and then [[WaveMotionGun hit them with Dark Bead]].
** Equip the right armour sets and you can disguise yourself as a less experienced player... or even an NPC.
** The third installment is the ''king'' of this trope.
*** Invaded by a hostile player? Equip an item to automatically SummonBiggerFish to back you up. Then use a consumable item to make the level enemies hostile to the invader, [[XanatosGambit so either the [=NPCs=] kill the invader or the invader kills the [=NPCs=]]].
*** As an invader, use a combination of rings to make you look like a (non-tangible) ghost, then backstab your target while their guard is down.
*** Host makes the level {{Non Player Character}}s hostile to you? Aggro as many as you can, then [[HoistByHisOwnPetard lead them right to him!]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', the SpiritualSuccessor of ''Dark Souls,'' takes ''Dark Souls''' combat pragmaticism and turns it up to eleven by sheer necessity: You're no longer fighting knights in armour, you're fighting ''werewolves'' who are dangerous enough to render shields and armour obsolete. So, instead of a shield, you're carrying ''a firearm'' in your off-hand, and this is only the start of it.
** In the game's lore it's described how [[HunterOfMonsters The First Hunter]] reinvented combat in order to combat the lycanthropes; he got rid of armour, shields and even conventional weapons in order to develop a fighting style revolving around ''outspeeding'' the Beasts and making way for the [[SwissArmyWeapon Trick Weapons]]; an arsenal of largely atypical weapons that could swiftly change from one form to another. Like the iconic Saw Cleaver; a slab of metal affixed to a handle by a hinge that allowed it to change between a saw-toothed form particularly efficient at tearing Beasts to shreds, and a sharpened edge with a much longer reach.
** The various tools ''Bloodborne'' provides you with also allows this on a level that puts ''Dark Souls'' to shame... Sure, you ''can'' stroll into a duel and fight with honour and respect... or you can take out your Bone Marrow Ash, a consumable that increases the power of one shot from your sidearm, use it to enhance the ''[[ArmCannon Cannon]]'' you're wielding in your off-hand, equip a [[GunBlade Reiterpallasch]] in your main hand, stagger your opponent with a shot from the Reiterpallasch and then [[MemeticMutation wreck a fool with the bone ash'd cannon.]]
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** In series' background lore, the [[CatFolk Khajiit]] have this as a racial trait. The Khajiit language [[LanguageEqualsThought doesn't even have a word for "rules"]]; the closest concept is "foolish thoughts." Unsurprisingly, this extends to their methods in battle. They have no qualms with deception, trickery, and even outright fleeing battle if things don't go their way. They are more than willing to abandon their allies (after all, a smart ally would do the same!) or flee a fight if it means that they can turn around and come back later to stab their enemies in the back, raid their vulnerable supplies, or cut their throats while they sleep. As long as you win, anything goes.
** Throughout the series, any stealth-focused PlayerCharacter qualifies. Ranged sneak attacks, {{Backstab}} {{Critical Hit}}s with daggers, HitAndRunTactics, using spells of [[{{Invisibility}} Invisibility and Chameleon]], using poisons, and much more are all within a stealthy character's bag of tricks. Pragmatism is the name of the game with a thief-type character, especially, because they're basically {{Glass Cannon}}s.

* Only shooting people is so passe in ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}'' (2012). Blow up their weapons in their hands! Make them kill themselves or turn on their allies! Hack the environment to use it against them, like making a fuel line leak and ignite, or turning a sentry gun! See and shoot through or around cover!
* In the first ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', HK-47 reveals that Revan used him to assassinate key figures that would have stood in his way, but his pragmatism went well beyond that of a former Jedi willing to use an assassin- the droid surmises that most of the Republic forces that were sent to Malachor V to fight the remainder of the Mandalorian fleet, were composed of soldiers and Jedi whose loyalty to Revan was in question. This made it exceptionally easy for Revan to [[spoiler:use a massively destructive super-weapon that annihilated most of the Mandalorian fleet and outright shocking the remainder into surrender while eliminating his detractors in one blow.]] Still, as effective as the move was, Revan was still horrified with just ''how'' destructive it was.
** That same pragmatism extended to Revan's battle against the Republic, and his use of the Star-Forge; a Force-sensitive construction platform that could make anything he needed. With every use, it would pull Revan closer to the dark side- he unwittingly limited his use of it, however, and continued to rely on tactics that could preserve the Republic's military and economy, things that he'd need in order to [[spoiler:protect the Republic and confront the Sith threat he'd felt in the Unknown Regions. When his former ally and second-in-command Malak betrayed him and caused Revan's capture, however, the new leader of the Sith forces threw those tactics out the window. He would bomb the surfaces of planets and render them uninhabitable, demonstrating his ignorance of how important preserving such worlds would be.]]
** One Dark Side solution on Korriban is to pull an ''epic'' multiple-cross in which you poison both the people trying to manipulate you into helping them kill the other, then slaughter them both.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', the Exile is forbidden from using the Force during sparring matches with the Mandalorians. However, since Kreia is [[{{Synchronisation}} Force-bonded]] with the Exile, if she should happen to buff herself with Force abilities ''before'' the match...
** The sparring matches against the Handmaidens show why the Mandalorians included this rule. You can win every round by force-pushing your opponent out of the training circle.
** And due to a developer oversight, it was also possible to lay landmines around the training circle before the match started so that your opponents would instantly lose a large chunk of their health. However, the Steam version patched that out.
** According to Atton Rand and HK-47, Revan and his assassins used several underhanded tactics when fighting Jedi, such as wounding their Padawans and civilians to distract them or gunning down their allies in front of them as a form of psychological warfare.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezGunslinger'' allows you to draw your revolver in a duel earlier than your opponent, although this is regarded as a Dishonorable act and will give the player a much smaller reward.
* To ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' protagonist Booker [=DeWitt=], fighting unfair isn't just good tactics: it's the key to survival. From the opening in-game fight, (where he distracts the officers holding him hostage with a baseball before shoving one officer's face into the other's sawblades), his takedown methods with weapons (shootings, stabbings, decapitations), to his brutal Vigor-based executions (burning enemies alive, summoning man-eating crows, suspending enemies in the air where they can't defend themselves), he makes good on his advice to his companion Elizabeth: "If you don't draw first, you don't get to draw at all."
* Virtually every single fight scene in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' devolves into a completely improvised mad dash to whatever object the characters can get a grip on and clubbing, beating, or stabbing it into their enemy, whether it's a samurai sword or a tv screen. Almost every fight has the players caught off guard, and every character has some form of handicap or inexperience leading their fighting style to be completely panicked.
* Sora in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' is this; he's somewhat lacking in true swordsmanship, so he uses his Keyblade as a club. The second game, in particular, gives him numerous Action Commands that depict him disarming opponents and attacking from behind.
** Also, [[spoiler: Riku]] knows he can't beat [[spoiler: Roxas]] in a straight fight, so he simply gets his Guardian to strangle him from behind.
* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' protagonist 47 will use virtually any means necessary to eliminate his target - ideally before said target even knows he exists or is in the area. Why get into a gunfight when you can put on a disguise and ambush him? Or plant a car bomb? Or just snipe him from a safe distance?
** The very first set of missions in ''[[VideoGame/HitmanCodename47 Codename 47]]'' put this into a stark light: his target is a man in charge of a criminal empire, who never shows his face in public and is therefore unkillable by virtue of being untouchable. So 47 arranges for his empire to go to war with another empire, then drives it to increasingly violent ends, until the target is forced to show his face. 47 then (tries to) poison him.
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' players ''never'' play fair by anything other than the in-game limitations. The usual response to someone trying to counter an all-tank army with infantry is simply to explain that tracks and wheels are the best anti-infantry weapon in the game. And by explain, they mean show. The other guy better at Micro? Ignore micro and just focus on building a better economy while he's busy micromanaging his army and swamp him.
* At one point in ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'', Elodie may be challenged to a duel to the death. This is a dangerous situation if you lack skill with swords since the challenger won't take no for an answer. Unless, that is, you've been training up ''magic'', and just blow the guy up from a safe distance.
* The protagonists in ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' become increasingly pragmatic as the game progresses, using brutal takedowns and burying enemies under hundreds of kilos of sand.
* There is a reason why ''VideoGame/CondemnedCriminalOrigins'' and ''VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot'' have been called a bumfight simulators. 2x4s, pipes, axes, shovels, and bricks can be used in both games.
* Bristleback in ''[[{{VideoGame/Dota2}} Dota 2]]''. People generally fight ''less'' effectively if they are covered in snot, see, so he'll gladly shoot enormous gobs of the stuff out of his nose at you to help his chances.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gruntz}}'':
** Tool Thievez steal your Gruntz' tools and then use them against you, meaning your Gruntz have to fight them bare-handed!
** Toyerz are not above giving your Gruntz a toy and forcing them to play around. Even worse if it's a car, as your Gruntz will most likely drive into something hazardous.
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'': More than a few examples considering it's a ZombieApocalypse, but Jane really takes the cake. It is she who teaches Clementine to strike the back of a walker's knee to down them for an easy kill, she deals with [[TheDragon Troy]] by [[HoneyTrap sweet-talking him and then shooting him in the balls once his guard is down]], and in the final fight with [[spoiler:Kenny]], she demonstrates that she's not above slashing him with a knife, kneeing him in the groin, and [[spoiler:putting a thumb through his injured eye]].
* You can be one yourself in ''VideoGame/BushidoBlade'', if you so choose, pulling tricks like hurling a small set of throwing weapons at your opponent or kicking dust in their eyes. Just remember to stick to the Bushido rules when playing in Story mode, or your playthrough will be brutally interrupted by a NonStandardGameOver.
* One of the "Signature Hero" {{Non Player Character}}s in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' is known to fight like this, and it's the last one you'd expect-- ThePaladin Sir Owen was, in the past, nearly expelled from the White Knights of Falador for [[HonorBeforeReason dishonorably sniping an enemy commander from behind]]. The Temple Knights of Saradomin recruited him immediately afterward, because it ''did'' get the job done, and he's still willing to fight nasty if a situation calls for it.
** During the quest "Salt in the Wound", the player character is captured by Slug Queen Mother Mallum, and the remaining characters have to figure out how to kill the latter without killing the former. Eva Cashien, another Temple Knight, deliberately gets herself thrown to a nearby ledge and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim pushes over a nearby stone support pillar]].
** In "The Mighty Fall", we see what happened to Yelps the Goblin from the old Squeal of Fortune minigame: he cashed in all the unclaimed prizes to buy himself full Bandos armor, a God Sword, and a squad of mercenary bodyguards. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Hope you weren't expecting an easy fight against him]]!
* [[BigBad Murakumo]] from ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'' is a rather pragmatic and dirty fighter. Not only he knows ''very'' well [[IaijutsuPractitioner how to use]] [[KatanasAreJustBetter the katana he carries]], but also uses [[MasterOfIllusion illusions]] to [[ConfusionFu confuse his rivals]] and sets [[LandmineGoesClick bombs]] on the ground to keep others away.
* Fio in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Maximum Impact 2'', who utilizes guns, grenades, and landmines in a martial arts tournament.
* Shu of ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'', who serves as the strategist of the hero's army, is not a combatant himself, but shows (and outright states) that he will do whatever is necessary for the heroes to win against a vastly stronger and more numerous opposing army. When he learns that [[OneManArmy the insanely-strong Luca Blight]] is planning on leading a night raid, he turns the tables by ambushing his unit with several dozen archers that kill most of his troops and wound Blight himself, then sending THREE full teams of the strongest fighters in the army against him, then later filling Blight full of more arrows when he tries to escape. A bit later, he suspects [[spoiler:Jowy, the new king of Highland]] plans to betray Riou at a supposed peace treaty signing, so he sends in [[spoiler:Viktor, with orders to bring along Pilika, a little girl who serves as Jowy's MoralityPet. He does this knowing full well that Jowy wouldn't be able to have Riou and the others killed in front of Pilika, allowing the heroes to escape.]]
* The ''VideoGame/FireProWrestling'' series has moves based on the ROUGH offensive/defensive stat, which broadly includes dirty and illegal attacks like low blows, weapons, and chokeholds. Also governed by this stat: elbow/knee strikes, headbutts, and a lot of stuff you can do to downed opponents. These moves damage opponents' spirits, wearing them down for subsequent pin or submission attempts. The weapon attacks and strikes to the head or chest are also especially likely to cause bleeding, which usually dramatically decreases a wrestler's stamina and recovery. Since a lot of available fighting styles have high Affinity level for Rough attacks, the users of Rough style moves range from hardcore brawlers to giant power wrestlers to brutal shootfighters.
* Lord Brevon from ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' deserves his spot as the game's FinalBoss, as he's lightning-fast and wields a [[KnifeNut knife]] that can slaughter the heroes in a couple of hits. But before he fights the heroes hand to hand, he'll try to run them over in a jet fighter and attempt to stomp them in a MiniMecha first.
* In ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'', you have to be this as all the player characters are {{One Hit Point Wonder}}s. Baiting enemies into leaving favourable positions, lying in wait around a corner, [[TheDoorSlamsYou knocking foes down by slamming doors into them]], throwing weapons, making use of all and sundry {{Improvised Weapon}}s, shooting offscreen targets, even knowing when to and when not to use guns... You have to play dirty if you want [[NintendoHard a ghost of a chance]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'':
** The final boss of a Genocide run, [[spoiler:Sans the skeleton]], may be one of the most prolific examples in any medium. At this point in the game, you are a HumanoidAbomination with frighteningly high stats, capable of downing any enemy in one shot and taking absurd amounts of punishment. [[spoiler:Sans]], on the other hand, is declared by the game to be 'the weakest enemy', with 1HP, 1 ATK, 1 DEF. However, he uses an utterly ludicrous number of dirty tactics:
*** He takes the first attack, something no other enemy is able to do. Said first attack is absolutely face-meltingly powerful, intending to kill you within the first turn. He even comments that he never understands why people don't use their strongest attack first.
*** The reason for his attack being deadly despite his awful stats is that he can only inflict ScratchDamage, but doing so does not initiate your MercyInvincibility. Which means he does 1 damage ''per frame'', draining your health ''very'' quickly. On top of this, he also throws a DamageOverTime effect on you that gets worse ''with every hit.''
*** When you finally get the pattern of his first attack down enough to avoid it, he will on subsequent tries ''interrupt his own dialogue'' to initiate his first attack at unexpected moments in order to catch you off guard.
*** Survive the first attack and attempt to attack him, and he will dodge, something no other enemy has been able to do, and will continue to dodge [[MarathonBoss every subsequent attack.]]
*** Survive long enough, and he will stop attacking and give you dialogue about how he can feel a glimmer of a good person inside of you, appealing to your VideoGameCaringPotential and allowing you to use the Spare option, which in all past encounters ends the fight. If you do so, [[spoiler:he will sucker punch you with an unavoidable instant death attack and give you a NonStandardGameOver mocking your gullibility.]]
*** After this, he starts using {{Interface Screw}}s to mess with you, {{Smash Cut}}ting you into various attack patterns, giving you a split second to reassess your situation between his attacks. He also [[SecretAIMoves starts attacking you during your own turn by scrolling attacks across the options in the combat menu's interface]].
*** Survive ''everything'' he can throw at you, including a last montage of ridiculously hard to avoid attacks, and he will show you his Special Attack, which is... [[spoiler:literally nothing. He refuses to take his turn, reasoning that if it is never your turn you can never attack him, and that you will eventually get bored and turn off the game. Unfortunately, he then falls asleep, but still manages to dodge one more attack before finally succumbing to your own combat pragmatism which allows you to attack twice in one turn, killing him.]]
** The final boss of the neutral route, [[spoiler:Flowey]], who has at this point [[spoiler:achieved near godhood,]] will launch a veritable Bullet Hell of all manner of horrifying attacks at you, taking very little damage when you can fight him, and will even go as far as to [[spoiler:save and load the game at will]] to further confuse and disorientate you even further. Heck, you're only able to beat him because [[spoiler:the human souls Flowey has absorbed fight back against him to help you.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' encourages this. BackStab? Check. Using PoisonedWeapons? They bypass shields, so have fun. Abusing your RegeneratingShieldStaticHealth for HitAndRunTactics? Yup! Using your [[LeParkour superior mobility]] to avoid combat altogether? Definitely possible. Bringing a GrenadeLauncher to a gunfight? You bet! Using MindControl abilities to SetAMookToKillAMook? Nyx can do this. After all, you play space ninjas, and ninjas were actually pretty dirty fighters.

* [[Franchise/TheWitcher Geralt of Rivia]], whose day job requires him to have encyclopedic knowledge of every mutated/magical beast, curse, and herb in the known world; a huge part of the [[VideoGame/TheWitcher first]] and [[VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings second]] games is making the right potions, bombs, and traps for the task at hand. [[VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt The third game]] takes it UpToEleven as alchemy is [[AvertedTrope no longer]] [[TooAwesomeToUse permanently consumed]]; giving the player no reason not to chuck twenty grenades and swing poisoned swords during each encounter. Oh, and he [[MagicKnight knows basic cantrips.]]
* The world of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' is not one where fair play is rewarded, and so everyone on all sides is willing to do a lot to win except a tiny handful. It's even lampshaded in ''3'' that getting your hands dirty is a necessity to survive [[DeathWorld death worlds like Pandora, Promethea, Eden-6, etc.]]. Bandits turn up en masse, doing everything from fielding hulking mutants to sending swarms of suicidal people carrying grenades against their enemies. Hyperion troops use cloaked warriors with shotguns, high-powered sniper rifles, and swarms of cheap, sacrificial robots to solve problems, [[spoiler:and that's not counting Handsome Jack's lengthy BatmanGambit to destroy Sanctuary, nor his willingness to unleash a giant alien dragon-thing on 1-4 targets]]. The Vault Hunters don't exactly pull their punches either; [=Zer0=] in particular has pages in his playbook for sending decoys to distract his enemies (which can be rigged to explode), stabbing them in the back, shooting them while they're distracted, shooting them in the back at point-blank while they're distracted by the decoy, landing headshots on people who aren't even aware he's there (you get Badass Points for doing this a lot), attacking the wounded, and repeatedly murdering in order to extend cloak.
** The entire campaign of Borderlands 3 is effectively comprised of the main cast brute-forcing their way through an army led by two villains who are doing everything they can to be the dirtiest fighters out there. [[spoiler:At one moment you're told by Aurelia Hammerlock that she'll pay you to leave the planet and let her win. As you climb the stairs to speak with her, who is waiting? Why Troy Calypso of course! All a ruse by Aurelia and the Calypso Twins to catch you off guard and kill you, and if it weren't for Wainwright Jakobs catching Troy off guard with a shotgun blast, you'd have likely been dead then and there.]]
* The Phantom Thieves, from ''Videogame/Persona5'', stand out even among previous protagonists in the series. While parties from any ''Persona'' game never had any troubles ganging up on an opponent, the Thieves take it a step further. They have no troubles using both guns and normal weapons, and even hold up their foes at gunpoint when they're knocked down. Whenever they fight a major foe, the Thieves use special operations in order to weaken them and make the fight easier. They're also not above backstabbing or distracting their opponents to win, and are willing to confront people in the real world instead of the Metaverse if it means getting what they want.
* Velvet Crowe in ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' might be the most pragmatic protagonist out of the ''Tales'' series. She has no problems kicking people who are in the middle of a speech, attempting to stab people when they're off-guard, or even [[spoiler: headbutt the BigBad after said man blocked two of her attempts with both of their hands holding each other]]. Also, she says that "people are just tools to achieve my goals with." To that end, she cripples a city's economy and has goodness-knows-what consequences on the future of the world if it means getting her revenge; when holding hostages, she only does so as long as they're useful, after which she openly contemplates killing them.
* The protagonists of the ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' series are all brutal fighters who will use just about anything they can get their hands on in a fight. Not only are they willing to kick or stomp on an enemy while they're on the ground, they're willing to slam them around any surface they can find (up to suplexing them on railings). They're also not above using any weapon they can get their hands on, including blades and guns if they're available.
* One opportunity card in ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'' has a young man out to kill your character. One solution lets you agree to a duel with him, and when he asks when and where you shoot him in the head. The other solution has you challenge him and everyone else out for you to a fight at the docks, and then take up a sniping position and take them out one by one as they arrive.
* Everyone in ''VideoGame/TheWarriors'' will use their fists to dish out the pain, but they will also gladly use anything nearby as a weapon (knives, bottles, planks of wood, trash cans, scraps of food, etc) to get the upper hand. Some boss fights will even involve guns.

* For a game called ''VideoGame/ChivalryMedievalWarfare'', don't expect any players to show any. If you get into a melee duel that protracts out and nobody tries to steal the kill or pelt you with [=arrows/rocks/javelins=], then either everyone is dead or they're just really dumb. You can also kick or ShieldBash players to push them off cliffs, high walls, or into hazards like the arena spike pit or spike columns to kill them instantly. A few really crazy players will drop their weapons and just punch you to death, and because of the very high rate of attack, ''sometimes it works''.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'':
** Archer generally does whatever is necessary to win, and has a bit of an argument with Lancer about this in one route:
--->'''Lancer''': Archer... you have a fatal lack of pride in your sword skills!\\
'''Archer''': ...yes. As you say, I am devoid of pride. But so what? Does that disgrace the name of all heroes? Don't make me laugh! Dishonor can be washed away with success! As for your pride, you had best feed it to the dogs.
** True Assassin is fairly weak in direct combat, so he always strikes from the shadows, aiming to take his opponents off-guard, or lead them into traps. This is a trait shared by most Assassin-class Servants in general.
* In ''VideoGame/CryingSuns'', the Jericho-class battleship encourages you to spam status effects. Its core systems give your squadrons a 40% damage boost when attacking debuffed enemy squadrons (and a 10% damage penalty when attacking non-debuffed squadrons), and lets you start a battle with your non-direct damage battleship weapons halfway to being ready to fire. Load up some status-inducing weapons and squadrons, cripple your enemies and go to town on them.
* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': The eponymous character's attempts at a fair fight will usually end in a [[TheManyDeathsOfYou FAIL]], and as such he tends to rely on various items and cunning in order to beat his enemies. Notable examples include dropping a very heavy stolen giant diamond to take out a guard from above in ''Stealing the Diamond'', and beaning an enemy over the head with a stick after failing to spook them with a fake spider in ''Infiltrating the Airship''.
* Alfred in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'' is all about not giving a fair fight, as he knows Miriam is basically a [[OneManArmy walking nuclear bomb]] with all her demonic powers while he's [[VillainousUnderdog just an old human with some alchemy and potions at his disposal]]. He fights you in a circular arena where he can attack directly from the background while you have to close the distance to line up a shot, constantly runs away to keep out of your reach, saturates the playing field with attacks that prevent you from getting close, and most of his attacks [[StatusEffects slow you down, curse you to cap your health and mana at 1/2, and then poison you to sap what's left]]. He also ''immediately'' begins the fight by drilling a vial of poison at you and then running away, unlike every other boss in the game. The only thing stopping him from being ThatOneBoss is his own vulnerability to poison that you can exploit.
* [[{{Ninja}} Wraith]] and [[KillerRobot Revenant]] from ''VideoGame/ApexLegends'' are practically designed to turn a battle towards their squads' favor. Wraith is useful for ambushing, since she can [[StealthHiBye disappear pretty quickly to escape]]. Her ultimate can even provide a quick exit for the squad, for when things get too hairy. Revenant shines as a Disabler, [[PowerNullifier locking the abilities of his foes temporarily]] via Silence Bomb. But by far his most useful ability, is his Death Totem. It prevents the squad from being gunned down, essentially granting a [[NotQuiteDead second life]]. And who said Cheaters never prosper?

* From the protagonist of ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', though it's not the only example:

* Alfred in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'' is all about not giving a fair fight, as he knows Miriam is basically a [[OneManArmy walking nuclear bomb]] with all her demonic powers while he's [[VillainousUnderdog just an old human with some alchemy and potions at his disposal]]. He fights you in a circular arena where he can attack directly from the background while you have to close the distance to line up a shot, constantly runs away to keep out of your reach, saturates the playing field with attacks that prevent you from getting close, and most of his attacks [[StandardStatusAilments slow you down, curse you to cap your health and mana at 1/2, and then poison you to sap what's left]]. He also ''immediately'' begins the fight by drilling a vial of poison at you and then running away, unlike every other boss in the game. The only thing stopping him from being ThatOneBoss is his own vulnerability to poison that you can exploit.

* Something similar goes for, well, ''everyone'' in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''. All characters can use a crouching medium/kick attack on downed opponents to lift them off the ground and set them up for the next painful combo. That said, some characters have moves that are ''meant'' to be used on knocked down opponents.
** [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Ragna The Bloodedge]] can pull his downed opponent back up on their feet and sock them in the gut. [[{{Moe}} No]][[BadassAdorable el]] [[GunKata Vermi]][[GunFu llion]] can [[TheGunslinger shoot]] the opponent ''[[SpamAttack a lot of times]]'' while they're down. [[{{Cyborg}} Iron]] [[GeniusBruiser Tager]], being more civilized than most BB characters, simply magnetizes his opponents stuck to one of his fingers and pulls them up into the air. This move also magnetizes his opponent afterwards, [[YouWillNotEvadeMe making it difficult to avoid his follow-up attack]]. Arakune is fairly weak until his Curse activates, at which point he can start summoning insect projectiles from multiple directions. No amount of nerfing over the course of the series has stopped players of other characters from complaining that Arakune's bees are cheap if not outright unfair, and no amount of complaining has stopped Arakune players from watching their combo counter steadily rise... ''VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma'' also added [[BloodKnight Azrael]] who can ''jump'' on his opponent if he feels like it, but all of the above pale in comparison to [[{{Jerkass}} Yuuki]] [[AxCrazy Terumi]], who skips right over plain combat pragmatism and settles for downright ''VideoGameCrueltyPotential''. It's not enough that he has ''two'' moves that lets him [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown curbstomp a downed opponent]], no, some of his {{Victory Pose}}s has him ''[[BeatingADeadPlayer keep stomping]]''. Terumi also has both an easier time gaining meter than anyone else and literally more super moves than special moves; a good Terumi player will take every opportunity to charge and use them.

* Kratos of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is pretty damned brutal, willing to stab Cyclopses in the eye, slashing their knees to open them up for attack, slam and throw enemies around and even rip enemies apart with his bare hands. The final battle of the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarII second game]] has him [[spoiler:pulling off an ISurrenderSuckers on Zeus, asking to be executed which he takes as an opportunity to give Zeus a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown]]. By the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarIII third game]] he's able to [[GrievousHarmWithABody use enemies as battering rams]].

* The Amazon from ''VideoGame/ProWrestling'' is notorious for this. Some of the moves he uses to fight the other wrestlers include biting them, choking them and stabbing them with a fork.

** Special mention goes to VideoGame/{{Wario}}. Some of his moves are: headbutts, shoulder strikes, clapping in the opponent´s body with his oversized hands, punch them in the groin, sit on them, gnaw on them like a shark eating his prey and fart on their faces.

* Isaac Clarke from ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' wouldn't know "finesse" if it tried to claw his face off. Everything from frenzied curb stomping to strangulation while [[PistolWhipping beating his victim around the head with a gun]], the man can and will take any advantage offered in melee. Of course, when fighting a bunch of zombies, the idea of "rules of combat" go out the window, but Isaac still qualifies by virtue of the sheer brutality he gets up to.
** Isaac is less about brutality than panic-flailing. He is understandably freaked out by what's going on, and when attacked, he flails, panics, then gets a temporary advantage and freaks out, killing his opponent. Isaac is an engineer in a bad situation, he doesn't have any techniques or experience in that would help him; in essence, he fights dirty because he has no reasonable alternative.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is based around this trope. Solid Snake, Big Boss and Raiden are all expected to use whatever equipment they can scavenge (since their missions are black operations) in as many ways as possible. Basic examples include holding an enemy hostage in a firefight, knocking them out with sleeping darts, and distracting them by leaving Playboy magazines lying around. More advanced examples include "cheating" against various bosses. Snake can kill Sniper Wolf in complete safety with remote controlled missiles. Raiden can neutralize the bullet dodging Vamp by placing claymore mines in his path. Big Boss can land a cheap shot against Colonel Volgin by wearing a mask modeled after his lover, or skip The End entirely by assassinating him in his wheelchair or waiting for him to pass away. Each game has dozens of examples of this kind of trickery, and you are expected to discover and use these tactics. This however does not stop Big Boss from claiming somewhat ironically:

** In a certain sense, the [[ActualPAcifist Liir]]. Usually, they are PerfectPacifistPeople. However, if you manage to ''really'' piss 'em off, they will sic their Black Swimmers on you. And said Swimmers have decided that, if they are going to infrange their ThouShallNotKill rule, then [[TheUnfettered nothing is sacred for them anymore]].

** ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft II}}'' is a prime case. Throughout a match's early- to mid- game, players typically target their opponent's workers or key structures with hit-and-run tactics, trying to gain an upper hand.
*** While all three races have some ability to do this, the Terran seem largely geared specifically for it, as is fitting for the CrapSackWorld they live in. They have several units designed specifically for early game harassment and are easily able to deploy large armies in fast flying dropships, all of which can do immeasurable damage and retreat before you've had a chance to fight back.

** Humanity are huge on combat pragmatism, [[HopelessWar mostly because they absolutely have to]]. Since they're facing such a bad technology gap, they have to come up with devious and unusual strategies to make up for it. But even when they don't, their Office of Naval Intelligence still often uses particularly brutal methods. For example, they kidnapped 75 children, replaced them with short lived clones, gave said children [[TrainingFromHell intense military training]], then subjected them to [[SuperSerum drug enhancement]] therapies which left about half of them dead or seriously crippled. All in order to make the [[SuperSoldier ultimate soldier]]: the SPARTAN-[=IIs=] (including the Master Chief himself). And that was all done ''before'' humanity even knew the Covenant existed.

* While most of the boxers of ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' have rather unconventional movesets, to put it mildly there are characters who use Martial Arts alongside boxing (Dragon Chan) as well as weapons (Hoy Quarlow). [[{{Scotireland}} Aran]] [[AxCrazy Ryan]] in the Wii version however is the biggest example, using elbow strikes, head butts, putting horseshoes inside his gloves and later on using a boxing glove whip against you that lets him get a free hit in upon knocking him out.

** Really, many classes fight dirty when their spells are taken literally. Priests can use psychic-magic based abilities to mentally torment enemies to death, not to mention the ability to infect enemies with a literal Devouring Plague.

** Players with the Engineering profession can take this to new heights, being able to use flamethrowers and rocket launchers in a high fantasy setting. This is taken to the fullest heights with the Big Daddy bomb, the highest ranked bomb in the profession to date, which does massively increased damage if the enemy is out of combat, meaning that a level 70ish character can creep near an enemy respawn point, let everyone respawn, then hit the whole area with up to [[EarthShatteringKaboom 15,000 damage]], which is enough to one-shot most characters at that level.

** Aside from Batman's vow to never take a life, most of Arkham Asylum's combat is like this. In freeflow combat he routinely breaks bones, dislocates joints, turns enemy weapons against them and generally does whatever most expediently neutralizes the threat. When facing thugs with guns? Use stealth, environmental traps, misdirection and psychological warfare to whittle them down one by one without a shot being fired (if you're good).

*** And due to way the morality system works in the series, there's barely anything stopping a Paragon Shepard from being a full CombatPragmatist themselves. When the situation presents itself, s/he can take a Renegade option to even the odds (or greatly tip them) in a firefight with no effect on their Paragon ranking.

** Inverted with the Geth (minus the Heretics), at least when fighting other geth. Due to their nature they tell each other everything, even plans for attack. Legion finding out that the Heretics have been spying on the other geth horrifies them.
** The Cerberus Daily News goes into detail on just how vicious the turians are in combat, particularly when dealing with a rebellious province in one of their colonies. Since every turian is a soldier, turian military doctrine does not distinguish between civilian and soldier, and in a turian vs. turian war, they bomb their own cities indiscriminately. A common practice in these types of engagements is to establish "safe camps" near a combat zone, where enemy adult turians who do not wish to fight can surrender and move to to remain out of combat. Any able-bodied enemy turian who isn't in the safe camp when combat commences is a legitimate target. This tendency was also shown when the humans were fighting the turians at Shanxi; the turians were not particularly concerned about civilian casualties and were consistently bombing human squads from orbit, destroying entire city blocks to kill individual fireteams. Against the Reapers, the turians take advantage of Reaper capital ships being larger and more powerful than theirs by exiting FTL extremely close to them, allowing them to turn and lock on faster than the Reapers can.

-->'''Joker:''' You gotta love the turians. After they beat you down and sterilize you, they strap a big old bomb to your planet. Y'know, just in case you get uppity again some day.
** Cerberus Daily News reports on the [[PrivateMilitaryContractors corporate invasion of Garvug]] shows ''humans'' being pragmatic to [[TheChessmaster chessmaster levels]]. When three human run companies raise an army and use it to prop up a puppet government on Garvug, a Krogan warlord starts an insurgency. Rather than stick around and grind it out in a long, bloody and costly counterinsurgency campaign, the companies "manufacture" a rift between them, one company pulls out outright, another one announces via a public shareholders meeting that they are pulling out, and even let their stock price tank. Once they pull out and the insurgents recapture Garvug's seat of government, the corporate forces deploy a cruiser fleet out of nowhere, and devastate Garvug's capital, inflicting massive casualties on the insurgency including its leader, and obliterating it. The withdrawal was an elaborate ruse to draw the insurgents out of hiding, concentrate them in one location, then finish them off.

*** The Renegade interrupt has Shepard has Shepard respond in kind, kill [[HeroKiller Kai-Leng]] by breaking his sword (his only weapon), unfurl their [[KarmicDeath own omniblade]] and [[KickTheSonOfABitch stab him in the gut.]]
** This is basically the plan driving the plot of ''The Arrival'' DLC for Mass Effect 2. [[spoiler: The Alliance plans on blowing up a mass relay, which would temporarily stop the Reapers. Mass relays are pretty much nearly impossible to destroy through conventional means, and an Alliance Fleet showing up in batarian space would spark a war. So the Alliance team covertly straps engines to a small planetoid to [[ColonyDrop fire it at the relay]] Ironically, strapping rockets to a small moon to perform a ColonyDrop was the same trick the ''Batarians'' used in the ''Bring Down the Sky'' DLC from the first game, which was narrowly averted by Shepard. Clearly humans learnt from the incident.]]

** The Reapers themselves don't have as much need for this trope because of their technological superiority, but they still use it if an opportunity arises. In a typical cycle, they initiate their invasion at the heart of galactic government, both decapitating the enemy immediately and gaining pretty much all the intelligence they'll possibly need. Once this is done, they lock down the mass relays so only Reapers can use them, preventing any sort of organized resistance against them, let alone real warfare. They turn the dead of other species into their own ground troops, reducing both their numbers and morale. The atypical cycle we see in the games has them making quick work of the batarian homeworld which is close to their arrival point, and then rushing towards Palaven and Earth to immediately start beating down the races they expect to be the biggest problems.

* The MMO ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'' epitomises this trope with the "Brawler" subclass. The Brawler throws sand in the opponents eyes, uses bladed fist weapons (though any fighter class can equip them, the Brawler specializes with them), poisons said weapons, throws nets at opponents, and more.

** Holly Summers uses her enviornment to her advantage, digging holes in the beach to trap Travis in the hopes of blasting him with a grenade. She also isn't above kicking sand into his eyes and [[GetBackHereBoss playing keepaway]] to hold the advantage.

* Wrestling skill in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', aside from the obvious locks, throws and chokeholds, lets you do such interesting things as gouging out eyes, twisting your weapon in the wound, and tearing off parts of the other guy's face. The AI doesn't make very efficient use of it, while the community has distilled the most efficient techniques into a FantasticFightingStyle that rivals Krav Maga in pure filth: Sudden gut strikes to nauseate, snapping wrists in half, aiming for the same bodypart until reduced to chunky ketchup, throat bites, punches to the neck, eye-scratching and stealing weapons by grabbing them and either bodyslamming their wielders or ''scratching out their wrist tendons'' are all elements, and the only reason there's no {{Groin Attack}}s is because there's no way to target them directly other than aiming for the lower body and hoping for a gelding blow.

** A rather humorous example in Adventure Mode: werebeasts are extremely difficult to defeat in beast form unless you have weapons of the right material, but since they're only monster one night per lunar cycle and you know where they are anyway you can just attack them while they're a naked peasant.
* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', Balrog and Cody both qualify. Granted, the rules of the tournament are shaky at best, but in Cody's case it's probably safe to say pulling a knife or hitting people in the spine with a pipe are probably against it (though, in a weird [[ZigZaggingTrope use of the trope]], he also [[HandicappedBadass fights in prision cuffs by his own choice]]. In Balrog's case, one of his Ultra combos involves him stepping on the opponent's toes to hold them in place before he beats them about the face. It ends with a hilarious "Who, me?" shrug towards an unseen ref, who may exist only in his head.

* In the MMO ''VideoGame/EveOnline'', all the most successful players who fight other players will do anything to win, such as using ridiculously superior numbers to ensure a kill. Many will even engage in metagaming where they will infiltrate enemy alliances to find out where enemy players are, what ships why're flying and how they're fitted out, what tactics they use and how to counter them. Some will even infiltrate in order to pretend to be on the enemy's side, stabbing them in the back when a fight commences. All of these are considered acceptable tactics by not only the [=PvP=] playerbase, but also the game developers who actively encourage it. The common response from [=PvPers=] in ''EVE Online'' to anyone who complains about these unfair tactics is that a kill is still a kill, and there is no such thing as "Space-Bushido".

** There is another rumor that during a war between two ingame alliances, members of one alliance were planning to cut the power to the house of the fleet leader of the other alliance during a battle.
*** Of course it seems like both of the above mentioned tactics were in fact criminal in nature, trespassing and vandalism, and could have gotten the players arrested.

** Also the VATS targetting system makes getting a kill painfully easy as it is a turn-based system that allows you to target body parts and score better critical hits. The only thing limiting it is the number of action points you have available, meaning you're forced to fight in the conventional fps style from time to time. And even THIS limitation can be overcome by a high level perk that instantly refills your action points upon just one successful kill in VATS, which essentially means almost infinite use since enemies that can't be killed in a single VATS barrage are practically nonexistant past the first few player levels.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' gives you the option of playing as a Disco Bandit, who specialises in enemy-weakening attacks. These include a suckerpunch, an [[EyeScream eye-poke]], a face-stab, breaking your opponent's knees with a spinning kick, and pretending to run away then attacking while your opponent's guard is down.

** The description of the 'Red Dragon' is: ''This unique an exotic pistol once belonged to Wicker, the finest shot Albion had ever seen. Until Reaver appeared. Wicker visited Reaver and challenged him to an honourable shooting challenge to decide who had the greatest skill. Reaver's reply was to shoot him in the head.''

** Engineers can be just as dirty. Tip: ''Never'' assume you've got him at your mercy, unless you like getting swiss cheesed by the sentry he lead you to.

* From the protagonist of ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', though its not the only example:

* Shadow from ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' is this. Despite having SuperStrength, SuperSpeed , and a [[KiManipulation slew]] [[TeleportSpam of other]] [[TimeStandsStill powers]], he is quite able and willing to wield any sort of weapon, be it guns, explosives, vehicles or improvise with debris. He doesn't naturally hold back against opponents, and also has no qualms against using lethal force against weaker or defeated foes in gameplay and several of the games. This goes against the DoesNotLikeGuns (Sonic) or BareFistedMonk (Knuckles) mentality of other characters.

** Similarly, the Imperial Agent specializes in assassination, with poison, sniping and backstabbing as their specialties. Considering that both classes are {{Badass Normal}}s going up against Jedi/Sith, they're going to need some tricks to even the odds a bit.

** The Bounty Hunter. To be a Muggle in a galaxy filled with Jedi, Sith and Droids, they HadToBeSharp to be [[BadassNormal good at the job.]] For this reason, they end up killing more Force-users than any other non-Force-sensitive class in the game.

** Stryker, Sektor and Cyrax also count. Stryker, being a police officer, has a gun, a nightstick, a stun gun, a flashlight and a grenade (because... explosions are cool). Sektor and Cyrax, being robots, have a variety of gadgets, such as explosives (missiles and bombs, respectively), flamethrowers (Sektor), energy nets (Cyrax) and a chest saw (Cyrax).

** Jacqui Briggs and Cassie Cage are the [[GenerationXerox daughters]] Jax and Sonya respectively and follow in their parents example of using technology to fight. Jacqui is the only member of her squad who doesn't use any kind of magic instead relying on kickboxing and her {{ArmCannon}}s. Cassie combines aspects of her parents Johnny and Sonya by using groin attacks, guns and drones.

* You won't make it far in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' without being one. Since almost everything is hostile to you and can easily kill you in a couple of hits, you need to use any means necessary to survive. Fighting a heavily armored enemy? Backstab it with a dagger to ignore its defense. Fighting an enemy that attack quickly and rapidly? Use a shield to block and then counterattack or get a parrying shield to parry its attack and riposte it for massive damage. Facing enemies that are extremely difficult to fight in melee? Use ranged spells or bows to pick them off. Facing well positioned snipers that can shoot you down before you reach them? Use poison arrows to poison them and wait for them to die from the effect.
** You can be one in when engaging in [=PvP=] as well. As a Black Phantom, you can use environmental traps, back stabs, and cliff ledges to ruin your target's day.

** In the game's lore it's described how [[HunterOfMonsters The First Hunter]] reinvented combat in order to combat the lycanthropes; he got rid of armour, shields and even conventional weapons in order to develop a fighting style revolving around ''outspeeding'' the Beasts and making way for the [[SwissArmyWeapon Trick Weapons]]; an arsenal of largely atypical weapons that could swiftly change from one form to another. Like the iconic Saw Cleaver; a slab of metal affixed to a handle by a hinge that allowed it to change between a saw-toothed form particularily efficient at tearing Beasts to shreds, and a sharpened edge with a much longer reach.
** The various tools ''Bloodborne'' provides you with also allows this on a level that puts ''Dark Souls'' to shame... Sure, you ''can'' stroll into a duel and fight with honour and respect... or you can take out your Bone Marrow Ash, a consumable that increases the power of one shot from your sidearm, use it to enchance the ''[[ArmCannon Cannon]]'' you're wielding in your off-hand, equip a [[GunBlade Reiterpallasch]] in your main hand, stagger your opponent with a shot from the Reiterpallasch and then [[MemeticMutation wreck a fool with the bone ash'd cannon.]]

* In the first ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', HK-47 reveals that Revan used him to assassinate key figures that would have stood in his way, but his pragmatism went well beyond that of a former Jedi willing to use an assassin- the droid surmises that most of the Republic forces that were sent to Malachor V to fight the remainder of the Mandalorian fleet, were composed of soldiers and Jedi whose loyalty to Revan was in question. This made it exceptionally easy for Revan to [[spoiler:use a massively destructive super-weapon that annihilated most of the Mandalorian fleet and outright shocking the remaininder into surrender while eliminating his detractors in one blow.]] Still, as effective as the move was, Revan was still horrified with just ''how'' destructive it was.

* To ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' protagonist Booker [=DeWitt=], fighting unfair isn't just good tactics: it's the key to survival. From the opening ingame fight, (where he distracts the officers holding him hostage with a baseball before shoving one officer's face into the other's sawblades), his takedown methods with weapons (shootings, stabbings, decapitations), to his brutal Vigor-based executions (burning enemies alive, summoning man-eating crows, suspending enemies in the air where they can't defend themselves), he makes good on his advice to his companion Elizabeth: "If you don't draw first, you don't get to draw at all."
* Virtually every single fightscene in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' devolves into a completely improvised mad dash to whatever object the characters can get a grip on and clubbing, beating, or stabbing it into their enemy, whether it's a samurai sword or a tv screen. Almost every fight has the players caught off guard, and every characters has some form of handicap or inexperience leading their fighting style to be completely panicked.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' players ''never'' play fair by anything other than the in-game limitations. The usual response to someone trying to counter an all-tank army with infantry is simply to explain that tracks and wheels are the best anti infantry weapon in the game. And by explain, they mean show. The other guy better at Micro? Ignore micro and just focus on building a better economy while he's busy micromanaging his army and swamp him.
* At one point in ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'', Elodie may be challenged to a duel to the death. This is a dangerous situation if you lack skill with swords, since the challenger won't take no for an answer. Unless, that is, you've been training up ''magic'', and just blow the guy up from a safe distance.

* There is a reason why ''VideoGame/CondemnedCriminalOrigins'' and ''VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot'' have been called a bumfight simulators. 2x4s, pipes, axes, shovels and bricks can be used in both games.

** Tool Thievez steal your Gruntz' tools and then use them against you, meaning your Gruntz have to fight them bare handed!

* Fio in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Maximum Impact 2'', who utilizes guns, grenades and landmines in a martial arts tournament.

* The ''VideoGame/FireProWrestling'' series has moves based on the ROUGH offensive/defensive stat, which broadly includes dirty and illegal attacks like low blows, weapons, and choke holds. Also governed by this stat: elbow/knee strikes, headbutts, and a lot of stuff you can do to downed opponents. These moves damage opponents' spirits, wearing them down for subsequent pin or submission attempts. The weapon attacks and strikes to the head or chest are also especially likely to cause bleeding, which usually dramatically decreases a wrestler's stamina and recovery. Since a lot of available fighting styles have high Affinity level for Rough attacks, the users of Rough style moves range from hardcore brawlers to giant power wrestlers to brutal shootfighters.
* Lord Brevon from ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' deserves his spot as the game's FinalBoss, as he's lightning fast and wields a [[KnifeNut knife]] that can slaughter the heroes in a couple of hits. But before he fights the heroes hand to hand, he'll try to run them over in a jet fighter and attempt to stomp them in a MiniMecha first.

** The final boss of a Genocide run, [[spoiler:Sans the skeleton]], may be one of the most prolific examples in any medium. At this point in the game you are a HumanoidAbomination with frighteningly high stats, capable of downing any enemy in one shot and taking absurd amounts of punishment. [[spoiler:Sans]], on the other hand, is declared by the game to be 'the weakest enemy', with 1HP, 1 ATK, 1 DEF. However, he uses an utterly ludicrous number of dirty tactics:

*** After this, he starts using {{Interface Screw}}s to mess with you, {{Smash Cut}}ting you into various attack patterns, giving you a split second to reasses your situation between his attacks. He also [[SecretAIMoves starts attacking you during your own turn by scrolling attacks across the options in the combat menu's interface]].
*** Survive ''everything'' he can throw at you, including a last montage of ridiculously hard to avoid attacks, and he will show you his Special Attack, which is... [[spoiler:literally nothing. He refuses to take his turn, reasoning that if it is never your turn you can never attack him, and that you will eventually get bored and turn off the game. Unfortunately he then falls asleep, but still manages to dodge one more attack before finally succumbing to your own combat pragmatism which allows you to attack twice in one turn, killing him.]]

* [[Franchise/TheWitcher Geralt of Rivia]], whose day job requires him to have encyclopedic knowledge of every mutated/magical beast, curse, and herb in the known world; a huge part of the [[VideoGame/TheWitcher first]] and [[VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings second]] games is making the right potions, bombs and traps for the task at hand. [[VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt The third game]] takes it UpToEleven as alchemy is [[AvertedTrope no longer]] [[TooAwesomeToUse permanently consumed]]; giving the player no reason not to chuck twenty grenades and swing poisoned swords during each encounter. Oh, and he [[MagicKnight knows basic cantrips.]]

** The entire campaign of Borderlands 3 is effectively comprised of the main cast brute-forcing their way through an army led by two villains who are doing everything they can do be the dirtiest fighters out there. [[spoiler:At one moment you're told by Aurelia Hammerlock that she'll pay you to leave the planet and let her win. As you climb the stairs to speak with her, who is waiting? Why Troy Calypso of course! All a ruse by Aurelia and the Calypso Twins to catch you off guard and kill you, and if it weren't for Wainwright Jakobs catching Troy off guard with a shotgun blast, you'd have likely been dead then and there.]]

* ''VideoGame/MasterOfTheMonsterLair'': Certain rooms allow the player to fight enemies under... less than fair conditions. For example, enemies spawning in any of the three types of bedrooms (straw, fancy, or plush) will be asleep at the start of combat, allowing them to be easily picked off one-by-one. Other rooms that have things like this are the demon cell (enemies are sealed and can't use special abilities), cellar (enemies are groggy and have a chance to fall asleep each turn), and the refrigerator (enemies are chilled and have greatly reduced attack power). The game encourages you to use these rooms as much as possible.

* For a game called ''VideoGame/ChivalryMedievalWarfare'', don't expect any players to show any. If you get into a melee duel that protracts out and nobody tries to steal the kill or pelt you with [=arrows/rocks/javelins=], then either everyone is dead or they're just really dumb. You can also kick or ShieldBash players to push them off cliffs, high walls or into hazards like the arena spike pit or spike columns to kill them instantly. A few really crazy players will drop their weapons and just punch you to death, and because of the very high rate of attack, ''sometimes it works''.

** The titular character himself is probably the biggest example, since he uses every dirty swordplay trick and cheap shot in regular combat, stealth and evasion to kill his enemies before they know he's there, and prosthetic gadgets that almost seem designed to evoke this trope, allowing him to attack from range, blind his enemies, set them on fire, rip armour off, or plain hide under a massive shield and more. And dirtiest of all, he's straight-up immortal, which he can even exploit by tricking an enemy into thinking he's been killed.

* 'Franchise/MortalKombat'':

* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Wario and Waluigi]] are these. Even though they live in a world where most characters can perform flashy super attacks (including them), they often resort to cheating and dirty tactics. Whether it's tossing bombs, brute force, blinding the opponent or set some monsters on their tracks, [[ThoseTwoBadGuys these two]] will stop at nothing to beat the competition.