History Main / COMBOBREAKER

* ''{{VideoGame/Skullgirls}}'' has an infinite-combo prevention system built into the engine. When the game's AI detects one of the fighters executing a looping combo, the amount of damage done by individual hits plummets and the other fighter can "burst" out of the loop. The longer a combo goes on, the pickier the game is about loops.

* In the ''ArcanaHeart'' games, going into the once-per-round [[SuperMode Arcana Force]] mode will automatically free a player from a normal combo, though super attacks cannot be escaped.

*** There is a way to pull an Assist Break and not be stuck in a lock - if you have a full bar and time it right, using L+Square (as opposed to L+Circle) will reflect the hit and ''not'' get the assist character locked.
* The ''Budokai'' and ''Tenkaichi'' FightingGame series of ''DragonBallZ'' games have a lot of variations, more specificly the Tenkaichi series, from pressing the "block" button with precise timing to teleport and [[MegatonPunch send the opponent flying]] when they attack, but uses up {{Ki}} and the opponent can counter ''your'' counter attack, to having a BeehiveBarrier sort of shield appear with a secondary ManaMeter that's ''not'' the {{Ki}} Gauge, but the delay is longer than the opponents recovery time, so you can't start a combo with it, and an easily executable knockback wave CastFromHitPoints that gives you a fair chance to counter attack and start a combo.
* ''FateUnlimitedCodes'' has the magic burst, which frees a character from a normal combo (blasting the other person away for no damage) and costs 200% magic circuit (two bars), but is rather vital in a game based so strongly in {{Combo}} gameplay. Lancer's burst ability (called "Battle Continuation" in a ShoutOut to the [[FateStayNight original game]]) lowers the requirement to one bar.

** Its SpiritualSuccessor ''BlazBlue'' also have a similar property called Barrier/Break Burst. The former is for ''Calamity Trigger'' which has a penalty of taking 1.5x damage and disables Barrier Block for the rest of a round. Whereas the latter is for ''Continuum Shift'', which can only be performed twice in a single match, and its second use can only become available if you lose a round.
* ''MortalKombatDeception'' and ''MortalKombatArmageddon'', limited to three times per match. ''MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' has these as well. ''MortalKombat9'' allows players to earn these in the second segment of their super meter.
* In the ''{{Naruto}}: Ultimate Ninja'' series of games, blocking reduces damage by half and avoids knockdown, but blocking with ''precisely'' the right timing results in a [[NinjaLog Substitution Jutsu]] with your character teleporting behind the attacker, although it also depletes the character's Chakra.
* The ''StreetFighterIII'' games have the Parry system. Rather than block an opponent's attack, the player presses the joystick forward at exactly the moment or slightly before the hit connects. Doing it successfully nullifies damage (saving them [[DeathByAThousandCuts chip damage]]) and [[LagCancel immediately puts them in a position to strike back, escape, or parry the next hit if necessary]] (as parrying does not stop the opponent). One of the most famous ''Street Fighter'' matches of all time [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtuA5we0RZU was done by a master of this technique]].

* The {{Touhou}} fighting games, while not allowing you to break a combo, allow you to escape your opponent's blockstrings:
** ''Immaterial and Missing Power'' lets you use Bombs while in blockstun, knocking down the opponent but causing no damage. Bombs are limited and can miss, leaving the user wide open.
** ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' lets you sacrifice one spirit orb (used for projectiles and grazing) to use a Border Escape, which ends your blockstun and lets you move wherever you specified. The opponent can hit you if they predict it. A few system cards in Hisoutensoku can be used during blockstun to push the opponent away or counterattack during blockstun.
** There is also the limit system used in SWR and Hisoutensoku that automatically induces invincibility after a combo fills the limit counter to 100% or beyond, also known as blue-ringing. However, getting blue-ringed also makes it so that you cannot tech after your opponent's combo ends.

* King and Armor King from the ''{{Tekken}}'' series have chain throws-- throws that can combo into other throws. A five-throw chain typically depletes over half of the opponent's life bar. Each throw after the first allows specific commands the opponent can enter to escape the new throw, but this usually requires at least as much knowledge of King's moves as chaining the throws in the first place.

* The ''StreetFighterIII'' games have the Parry system. Rather than block an opponent's attack, the player presses the joystick forward at exactly the moment or slightly before the hit connects. Doing it successfully nullifies damage (saving them [[DeathByAThousandCuts chip damage]]) and [[LagCancel immediately puts them in a position to strike back, escape, or parry the next hit if necessary]] (as parrying does not stop the opponent).

* ''TatsunokoVsCapcom'' has the Megacrash, which costs two super meters and a percentage of health.

* ''[=~Mortal Kombat: Deception~=]'' and ''[=~Mortal Kombat: Armageddon~=]'' have a form of this, limited to three times per match.
** ''[[MortalKombatVsDCUniverse vs. DC Universe]]'' has these as well. ''MortalKombat9'' allows players to earn these in the second segment of their super meter.

* The Budokai and Tenkaichi series of DragonBallZ games have a lot of variations, more specificly the Tenkaichi series, from pressing the "block" button with precise timing to teleport and [[MegatonPunch send the opponent flying]] when they attack, but uses up {{Ki}} and the opponent can counter ''your'' counter attack, to having a BeehiveBarrier sort of shield appear with a secondary ManaMeter that's ''not'' the {{Ki}} Gauge, but the delay is longer than the opponents recovery time, so you can't start a combo with it, and an easily executable knockback wave CastFromHitPoints that gives you a fair chance to counter attack and start a combo.

* In the original ''DissidiaFinalFantasy'', activating one's [[SuperMode EX Mode]], commonly called an "EX Defense" or "EX Counter", among other things, would allow the activator to break free of almost any attack, simultaneously gaining the benefits of the SuperMode and leaving the original attacker reeling and wide open for an attack. Of course, since some attacks were still very hard if not impossible to avoid in this manner and it required the EX gauge being full and the prospective counter-er not already in EX Mode, it wasn't a fool-proof solution.
** The prequel to ''Dissida, Duodecim'', changes this. Activating EX Mode will no longer free characters--but if a character has a full EX Gauge, they can initiate something called "EX Revenge", which breaks the character free of the combo and staggers the original attacker, as well as [[TimeStandsStill slowing down time for them]] so that the revenge-taker can deal some choice damage, at the cost of depleting the entire EX gauge. Also, a character caught in a combo can, provided their Assist gauge is charged enough, call on the AssistCharacter to bail them out. However, in ''Duodecim'' if an Assist is hit by the opponent's attacks, it locks the caller's Assist gauge for some time--and calling on the Assist when stuck in a combo guarantees the Assist will be hit and thus locked for a period of time. So essentially, while one can (and should) Combo Break in ''Duodecim'', it's not without costs.
* ''FateUnlimitedCodes'' has the magic burst, which frees a character from a normal combo (blasting the other person away for no damage) and costs 200% magic circuit (two bars), but is rather vital in a game based so strongly in {{Combo}} gameplay. Lancer's burst ability (called "Battle Continuation" in a ShoutOut to the [[FateStayNight original game]]) lowers the requirement to one bar.
* In the ''ArcanaHeart'' games, going into the once-per-round [[SuperMode Arcana Force]] mode will automatically free a player from a normal combo, though super attacks cannot be escaped.

[[caption-width-right:300:The TropeNamer game shows us how it's done.]]

* The [[Touhou]] fighting games, while not allowing you to break a combo, allow you to escape your opponent's blockstrings:

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/384987-killer_instinct_gold2_large_4774.jpg]]

* The ''StreetFighterIII'' games have the Parry system.

* ''TatsunokoVsCapcom'' has the Megacrash, which costs a level in the power gauge.

* ''KillerInstinct'' is the TropeNamer.

The ability to string together very long and damaging Combos is a mark of skill among the [[StopHavingFunGuys elite gamers]], but if a player can make their fighter string together a nearly infinite sequence of hits, with the opponent unable to escape the inevitable [[DeathOfAThousandCuts Death Of A Thousand Punches]], how does a game developer keep Combos from becoming a GameBreaker?

Enter the ComboBreaker: A game mechanic that allows a player to escape from the middle of a combo attack so they can retaliate while the opponent is open, rather than stand their helplessly as their HitPoints are battered away. Depending on the game, this may involve a separate button combination than the usual defensive command, or it may incur some kind of cost to discourage players from overusing it (such as relying on a power gauge, or being CastFromHitPoints).

Thus, a truly skilled fighter must not only master the ability to string together combos, but the ability to escape them as well. Should two players who have mastered the ComboBreaker technique fight head-to-head, the ensuing battle will involve a lot of tactical improvisation as the two fighters continuously break out from underneath their opponent's attacks.

This is a mechanic for breaking out of a {{combo}} attack before your opponent is finished with you. It became almost a necessity as fighting games became more and more combo-happy.

These mechanics normally have a cost, such as a level of the power gauge in a FightingGame.

* In the ''{{Naruto}}: Ultimate Ninja'' series of games, blocking reduces damage by half and avoids knockdown, but blocking with ''precisely'' the right timing results in a [[NinjaLog Substitution Jutsu]] with your character teleporting behind the attacker.

This is a mechanic in any game (mostly in {{Fighting Game}}s, but other game genres have other forms of this as well) which prevents many forms of {{Game Breaker}}s (and possibly {{Game Breaking Bug}}s) to screw up the game and render it unenjoyable. It also serves to stop {{Combos}} from increasing the number.

Very often, the ComboBreaker reduces the damage from very little to zero, as the main benefit. However, these mechanics normally have a cost, such as a level of the power gauge in a FightingGame or some amounts of money[=/=][[YouRequireMoreVespeneGas gold/wood/stone/food]]/whatever in RealTimeStrategy games, to prevent said mechanic to become a GameBreaker itself.

'''NOTE: For an example to count, it has to be an actual game mechanic. Awards, achievements and rewards are NOT examples, unless the use of the Breaker mechanic is a/the way to achieve said prize.'''

Examples:

[[AC:{{Fighting Game}}s]]

[[AC:RealTimeStrategy]]
* In ''AgeOfEmpires III: [[ExpansionPack The Asian Dynasties]]'', the Indian civilization can build the Taj Mahal wonder, which has the ability to stop the war for two minutes. Comes with the cost of taking two minutes to reload.

* The ''GuiltyGear'' series has the Counter Burst, a move any character can use while they are being hit or from blocking which turns them invincible for a second while delivering a no-damage hit in an area around the user. Each use costs them a full Burst bar, but they can get some of it back if it hits an opponent.

* ''[=~Mortal Kombat: Deception~=]'' and ''[=~Mortal Kombat: Armageddon~=]'' have a form of this, limited up to 3 times per match.

* In ''AgeOfEmpires III: [[ExpansionPack The Asian Dynasties]]'', the Indian civilization can build the Taj Mahal wonder, which has the ability to stop the war for two minutes. Comes with the cost of taking two minutes to reload.

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