History Main / HelmetsArehardlyHeroic

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[Machinima/FreemansMind WHERE'S MY HELMET!?]]" is not what he's yelling, though it probably should be.]]

* It became a runningGag throughout ''Machinima/FreemansMind'' and into its sequel that Gordon Freeman would always be without a helmet, and keenly regretful of this fact. There are meta-reasons for this portrayal: partly a commentary on the official art in ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' (see above), and partly a justification to disable the in-game HUD, which would be distracting to a viewer. Based on Freeman's commentary, we can infer that he acquires a lot of lacerations and other facial wounds throughout the series as a result.

!!!'''By Series:'''

* This Trope, played straight, may have actually saved the army for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhus_of_Epirus Pyrrhus of Epirus]] at the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Heraclea Battle of Heraclea]]. During the battle, he was knocked off his horse and badly shaken, so he had his armor and helmet taken up by Megacles, who was of similar build to him. A Roman horseman manages to kill Megacles and sever his head, holding it up and riding down the lines to show that he had killed the Epirote king. The Epirote army began to falter, until Pyrrhus took up a horse and started riding along the lines without a helmet, showing his men he was alive.

* ''Series/TwentyFour'': Every time Jack Bauer storms a room alongside fully equipped and helmeted SWAT members, he goes in practically naked (sometimes he will get a bullet-proof vest). Same goes for any other credited co-star going in with him.

* The full helmets of the high mediaeval period seriously restricted the wearer's vision. As such, a lot of knights chose to raise or remove their visors for hand-to-hand combat, accepting the increased risk as a necessary sacrifice in order to remain aware of what was going on around them. Of course, they were very seldom dumb enough to go ''bareheaded''.

HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic/VideoGames

!!Examples:

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Generally, a lot of [=MMORPGs=] have helmet visibility options, partially due to this trope and partially to make the choice of the avatar's hair matter.
* Actually a plot point in ''VideoGame/TheBannerSaga'', where the [[CloudCuckooLander insane spearman Tryggvi]] warns [[PlayerCharacter Rook]] that men who wear helmets can’t be trusted. [[spoiler: Sure enough, Ekkill leads your party into an ambush, Onef leads a mutiny, and Dagr in the sequel takes part in a second mutiny ''and'' kills some of your men if you spare him. All three men are wearing helmets, and they’re the only party members in the Skogr caravan to do so.]]
* Not a single major character in David Mason's squad in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' wears a helmet, including David himself -- the only member of the squad who does, Crosby, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse completely disappears from the plot]] after his first mission and only reappears much later in the story to get non-fatally shot. The only time Harper is ever seen wearing one is during the wingsuit sequence in "Celerium" and the jetpack one in "Judgment Day", and even then, he actually ''takes it off'' after landing.
* A weird, villainous version in ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline''. In ''Champions'', your equipment ''never'' affects your appearance, so you can go naked if you want. However, bad guy organization VIPER have units called [[{{Jetpack}} Air Cavalry]]... and [[AcePilot Air Cavalry Ace]]. The Air Cavs have the standard VIPER full-concealment helmet, but the Aces only wear goggles. Then, eventually, [=VIPER=] subverts it with Viper-X, apparently the leader of the Air Cavalry, who does not appear to wear a helmet (and then it slides into place when he enters combat).
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', in which party member Zoah wears a helmet... And pretty much nothing else.
* Most units in the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series wear full armor with helmets, but Commando units usually don't. In Tanya's case, she barely wears anything protective at all.
* Taking its cue from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', most Imperial squad leaders and heroes in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' fight bareheaded. The only exceptions are Ogryn [=BONEheads=] who wear a horned helmet and some Battle Sister squad leaders. Squad leaders and heroes of other factions vary a good deal: The Chaos Lord is bareheaded (though Eliphas gets a helmet), the Eldar Farseer, Tau commander and Shas'ui (unlike the tabletop) have helmets. A line from the helmetless Force Commander of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar 2'' "My faith is my shield!...", combined with his somewhat-unlikely [[PrettyBoy chiseled and handsome visage]] has led to the popular MemeticMutation "My face is my shield!"
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' if you equip a helmet on any character, it shows whether you like it or not, but is magically removed during all dialogue scenes. [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII The sequel]] goes further and restricts your party members to their unique ungradable armor sets (''[=ME2=]''-style), none of which features anything remotely face-concealing. Hawke may still wear a helmet but it is magically removed during dialogue, like in the first game. In ''Dragon Age II'' you can check the "Hide Helmet" box in the interface settings, found in the options. [[FridgeBrilliance Why, of course they would be removed during dialogs]]! It's rude to talk to somebody with your helmet on.
* ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuest Kenshin Dragon Quest]]'', the spinoff-remake of the original ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest|I}}'', removes [[DubNameChange Loto/Edrick's]] helmet, showing his gold Super Saiyan-ish hair. Loto's LimitBreak in ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters Battle Road]]'' series shows him [[SaveThePrincess rescuing the princess]] without his helmet as it has turned into his MidSeasonUpgrade of some sort.
* Played with in''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline:'' The character usually keeps their helmet on at all times, but the player can set helmets to invisible and invoke this trope. The only time the game forces you to go helmetless is when a crafting station is used. Which makes perfect sense, as delicate craftsmanship would be a lot harder with a face covering helmet on.
* Hope Girl, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Fairune}}'', never wears a helmet.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Fallout}} Fallout Series]]''
** ''VideoGame/Fallout1'': A rare ''[[InvertedTrope inversion]]'' of this trope -- all characters in the game who wear PoweredArmor do not wear the helmet with it -- ''except'' the PlayerCharacter.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'': In this installment, armor was changed so that helmets and body armor take up separate equipment slots. There's one armor in the game that doesn't work that way, and it's the [[InvisibilityCloak Chinese Stealth Armor]] from the [[DownloadableContent Operation Anchorage DLC.]]
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'': has Paladin Danse. Despite the fact that he [[TwentyFourHourArmor never takes off his armor]], he [[ViolationOfCommonSense almost never puts on the helmet.]] He wears it exactly once, and even then the game tends to glitch so that he's not wearing it anyway.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', [[TheHero Cecil]] wears a helmet that covers most of his face when he's a [[BlackKnight Dark Knight]], but opts for a headband when he becomes a [[KnightInShiningArmor Paladin]]. And in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', [[spoiler:[[EnsembleDarkhorse Kain]] purges]] himself of his dark side for good and gets a new [[spoiler:Holy Dragoon]] job class. As a part of his new costume, his full helmet is replaced with a sort of tiara that shows his [[{{Bishounen}} good looks]]. [[spoiler:Golbez]] no longer wears a helmet either, instead becoming a rare male example of {{Stripperific}}.
** No main character from SOLDIER wears their helmet in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' or ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. Partly justified in that 1st Class [=SOLDIERs=] can wear whatever they want, but Zack doesn't do it even when he's 2nd Class.
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy 012: Duodecim'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI the Warrior of Light]] has a couple of alternate outfits that remove his helmet. [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/0/09/WoLAltEXMode.png/revision/latest?cb=20110120222239 One]] is styled after the appearance of the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/1/1b/Warrior-ff1-nes.png/revision/latest?cb=20120701232954 Fighter/Warrior job class]] from the original NES games, and [[https://thebuddhistcentre.com/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_full_size/public/users/3052/groups/images/images_18.jpg the other]] is practically identical to his regular armour, sans the helmet.
** Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', at least for the player character, where actually equipping helmets and other headgear is a necessity to make the most out of your gear, but actually having them be enclosed or even visible on your head is strictly optional; there are commands both for making your headgear invisible and for moving its face-concealing parts out of the way, on top of a system to use a glamour prism to make it look like something else entirely, like a simple beret, bandanna, or a feather in your hair. Cutscenes beginning from ''Heavensward'' start to enforce this, as even if you have your helmet visible, it will be toggled off for certain cutscenes. A particular standout is in the Grand Melee about halfway through ''Heavensward''[='=]s post-release story, where your current outfit is temporarily glamoured into a set of Ishgardian armor -- minus any sort of helmet, even if you toggle it visible -- while, in an inversion, [[spoiler:Raubahn]] wears a helmet with a face-concealing visor for the first time in his fight against you.
* Armored knights/generals in ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games generally wear helmets that obscure their faces while in combat, especially in the GBA games, where characters of a class shared the same battle sprites -- but will be helmetless in dialogue. In, say, ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn'', your generals won't bother. Admittedly, in Gatrie's case, his armor hides the lower half of his face anyway.
** None of ''Radiant Dawn's'' Marshalls (third-tier armored knights) wear helmets. While Gatrie and Brom never use headgear in RD, Tauroneo and new addition Meg do start out helmeted. That's right -- they promote ''out'' of helmets.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'':
** In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar1'', the protagonists don't wear helmets, and doing so seems to doom you to an untimely death. The helmet design makes it difficult to spot snipers with only two small spots for your eyes to look out of.
** ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2'' has a couple instances where the protagonists and Ben Carmine (who wears a helmet at all times) point out situations where wearing the helmet would have been incredibly useful.
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'' with Clayton Carmine, who is shot in the head by a friendly sniper mistaking him for a hostile... but the poor angle of the impact causes the round to glance off his helmet, leaving him stunned but unhurt. If he had not been wearing the helmet, it would have killed him. Clayton's tattoo he got in memorial of his fallen brothers shows their helmets. For the Carmine family, their helmets ''are'' their real faces. Each of them even wears a unique helmet design.
** Referenced in the first panel of [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=218 this]] ''Webcomic/VGCats'' comic.
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', right at a moment where the guys might ''need'' a helmet!
* Played with in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI'' as Kratos is badass enough that he barely wears any armor at all let alone a helmet, however early concept art from the game had him dressed in full Hoplite suits. The developers actually started removing the armor, helmet included, because he looked ''too'' heroic.
* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars'', helmet visibility is optional. Likewise, one of the starting options for warriors in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' is "no helmet at all." A symbol of the warrior's lack of fear of death.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': Gordon Freeman is never depicted with his helmet on in official art, despite his HEV suit coming with one and every other HEV wearer wearing one. [[FanWank Arguments have been made]] over why nobody shoots him in the head and why he can breathe on Xen, the consensus being that he does have a helmet. He just doesn't wear it all the time.
* [[TwentyFourHourArmor Inverted]] in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series. The helmet of the Master Chief is one of the iconic images of the series and looks pretty awesome; no wonder we never see his head without it!
** In ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' the faceless Rookie always wears his helmet, but the rest of his unit will take theirs off or de-tint the visors whenever they're not in combat. You also have an option to play as one of the other squad members in Firefight without a helmet, and you'll take the same amount of headshot damage either way.
** A similar situation happens in ''VideoGame/HaloReach''; the members of NOBLE Team always wear their helmets during combat situations, but only [[PlayerCharacter Noble Six]] and Emile will keep them on when the shooting stops.
** Played straight in ''VideoGame/HaloWars'' with Sergeant Forge, who is the only UNSC ground pounder in the game to never wear a helmet.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', this is played almost completely straight by Sarah Palmer.
** The various UNSC Army and Marine sergeants all seem to prefer wearing caps as opposed to the helmets worn by their subordinates.
** PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/HaloWars2'' multiplayer; the given reason for Sergeant Johnson's super-advanced PoweredArmor not having a helmet is "Well, would YOU hide behind an armored faceplate if you had Sergeant Johnson's rugged good looks?"
* ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade'' completely inverts this trope: every character is never seen without their helmet, even the enemies that [[FanDisservice wear no armor at all]]. The later games show the main characters without helmets here and there, but this is only for a short while before they re-equip their armor around the clock.
* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' has Lex Luthor in his trademark power armour with his face exposed. This is particularly silly within the game's story mode since [[TheMole Lex is secretly working against Evil!Superman]] and so anonymity would be a major advantage.
* Used in ''VideoGame/Killzone2''. While the main cast of heroes never wear combat helmets, virtually everybody else does. In fact, combat helmets act as an actual gameplay mechanic, with few weapons being capable of penetrating an enemys helmet on impact. The helmet is however knocked off the enemy mook, ensuring the next headshot to be fatal. Finally, the trope itself is lampshaded in the games cinematic intro, with a news topic briefly scrolling during the {{big bad}}s speech. The topic reads: "Combat helmets, are they really necessary?"
* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Zack]] wears a helmet meant to resemble a Greek helmet and the SOLDIER helmet for all of 10 seconds, plus however long it takes you to beat the first battle with him. Once it's knocked off, he never wears it again.
** Meanwhile, the main characters in ''Birth By Sleep'' all wear armor into combat, only for them to lose the helmets for one reason or another (Terra remove his, Aqua's is knocked off by an attack, and Ventus' is smashed against a cliff).
* One of the gameplay options in ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' lets players hide helmets on their character.
* A lot of human characters (and Poppy) in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' wear full armor, but no helmet. Garen and Darius are completely bareheaded, while Leona and Diana wear headdresses that don't seem to provide much protection. Some champions have an excuse in that they can protect themselves with magic (like Lux's shield ability) or have personal reasons for going armorless (Draven, who's a gladiator). Of course, there are also plenty of characters who ''do'' wear helmets, like Jarvan IV, Kayle, Master Yi, Pantheon, and Quinn. Nautilus is a special case in that he's fused to his armor, and Kai'sa does have a helmet -- but it's off by default and is only toggled on during her dash or if the player wants it on.
* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' game ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' even before getting the hero garb, Link doesn't wear the helmet of the Hylian soldier uniform. The same applies to ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' (though the player can choose to wear the helmet after the first battle).
* In ''VideoGame/LuminousArc'' games, as with a lot of [=SRPGs=], the player spends a considerable amount of money on helmets, hoods, hats and other headgear which NEVER makes a difference to the character designs in-game.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'', all characters except Tali have a helmet on/off option with no disadvantage for not wearing a helmet. Only when the atmosphere isn't breathable do all characters wear their helmets. This might be justified by the fact that the character rely more on shields than physical armor to protect them from high-tech weaponry. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', however, wearing a helmet does give you stat advantages... you alone, and the bonus for wearing most helmets isn't really all that impressive, with both of your starting helmets providing a whopping 5% more health. Your allies don't even get the ''option'' anymore. In the [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 third installment]], you have the option of helmet visibility for cutcenes for Shepard and squadmates separately. The Mars level is still kind of weird, as we ''see'' Shepard's team taking their helmets on and off whenever is convenient. It's unclear where exactly they go, or why -- when set to "off in conversations" -- everyone's helmets will disintegrate the moment you stop to chat, then rematerialise as soon as the conversation ends.
** It's also zigzagged throughout ''Mass Effect 3'''s Multiplayer. All human characters wear helmets, some turians and krogans do and some don't, ''none'' of the asari or drell wear helmets, all quarians wear helmets and the geth are completely helmetless. Because they're robots.
** Many players deliberately invoke this trope, as wearing the helmet obscures the character's face during the cutscenes when they wear them (hence the option to remove them in [=ME3=] in case the player wants the stat boosts a helmet provides). Conversely, some helmets in the second and third games make the character look disturbing, as they cover up the upper part of the face and have no eye pieces (there are displays on the inside of the helmet so Shepard can see).
* Heroes in ''VideoGame/MassiveChalice'' won't wear helmets to show off the unique features of the characters which is determined by their lineage (which you control).
* [[VideoGame/{{Medievil}} Sir Daniel Fortesque]] was once a [[BlatantLies "gallant]] [[FakeUltimateHero knight"]] of Gallowmere who led the kingdom's armies against those of the EvilSorceror Zarok. He elected to not wear a helmet for the battle, and, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome rather predictably]], [[EyeScream died horribly in the first arrow volley]].
* Inverted in ''Franchise/MegaMan'' for the most part as an iconic part of Mega Man's wardrobe is his helmet.
** The [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic original Mega Man]] has his helmet off during the title screen and intro sequence of ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'' retrospectively, and he also takes off his helmet during the ending sequences of both games. In ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'', there's a shop item that can be bought that removes Mega Man's helmet, but in turn causes him to take double damage, and it wears off after a death.
** [[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Mega Man Volnutt]] is the only Mega Man incarnation who doesn't wear a helmet by default. While he ''can'' wear one in both ''Legends'' games, his artwork and crossover appearances (such as in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' or ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U'') often depict him without one.
** In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'', Giro Megamerged with [[TransformationTrinket Model Z]] is the only Mega Man who doesn't wear a helmet (open-faced or otherwise) in the entire series, instead getting a black visor. Especially noticeably since Vent/Aile as Model ZX get the helmet. It's implied to be a ContinuityNod to [[spoiler:how Zero's [[DeadHatShot wrecked helmet]] was the only thing found of him in the ending of ''Mega Man Zero 4''.]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'': [[PlayerCharacter Raiden]] and the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Winds of Destruction]] all wear some sort of CollapsibleHelmet or visor (save for Mistral), but save for Raiden they're almost never seen actually employing them. During normal levels Raiden's visor only ever closes whenever he's using its AR functions to scan for enemies, something that can't be done during normal attacks (in other words, he reopens his visor whenever he ''fights'' said enemies). Raiden and the Winds of Destruction ''do'' engage their helmets/visors whenever they fight each other, but only right at the end of the cutscene just before they fight. Raiden does consistently wear his visor when he fights the FinalBoss, but only so that said boss can shatter the visor early on and expose Raiden's face for the rest of the game.
* Played with occasionally in the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series. Usually Samus subverts this trope by wearing a helmet that fully conceals her face, but in some games [[InSpaceEveryoneCanSeeYourFace her visor is fully transparent]]. In ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'' she can polarize and depolarize the opacity of her visor at will (she depolarizes the visor when speaking to people to appear less intimidating, but otherwise has it opaque during combat). The [[SpaceMarine Federation Marines]] in ''Other M'' try to find a medium by having helmets that mechanically open to completely reveal their faces (unfortunately the opened helmets look a bit top-heavy, giving them a tendency towards [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} Dark Helmet Syndrome]]).
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'', the helmet can apparently be teleported on and off at Samus's whim, but the only times she does it is when an overdose of Phazon causes her to vomit, and parts of the ending. Otherwise she never takes off the helmet during a mission, even on planets with earthlike atmosphere. Nor does anyone else, except for Admiral Dane.
* Zigzagged in the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' series, though you obviously can't tell if the player character is wearing a helmet:
** The SAS only wear helmets if they are also wearing gas masks. They do like hats though, most wear beanies, Gaz wears a baseball cap, and Captain Price is ''never'' seen without some type of hat. Soap may have been concerned that a helmet might mess up his Mohawk.
** None of the significant characters in Task Force 141 wear helmets, though the minor characters often do.
** The US forces (Marine Force Recon, Rangers, and Delta) however are consistently shown wearing helmets. Griggs, curiously, is shown wearing a helmet when working with other Marines, but keeps it hanging from his side once he joins forces with the SAS. [[spoiler:He's killed when he gets shot in the face (possibly eye), so a helmet wouldn't have helped anyway.]]
* ''Videogame/{{MORDHAU}}:'' Somewhat invoked by players who have a character to cosplay, thanks to the extensive character building possibilities letting you build some very good resemblances of other, preexisting characters. Naturally, other players see them as free kills, because [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome getting your skull tenderized/impaled/sliced off is basically an inevitability without a helmet]] -- almost all two-handed weapons can kill a bareheaded player in a single stab or slash to the noggin.
* Played with in the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' series. Being based on 3rd Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', helmets ''usually'' don't add anything to Armor Class, but to an extent ArmorIsUseless at higher levels anyway. The real reason to wear a helmet is for its enchantments: most basic helmets (particularly in [[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2 the sequel]]) will add +1 to Concentration, which is useful to spellcasters.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' animated short, ''Honor and Glory'' reveals that [[BoisterousBruiser Reinhardt]] was guilty of this in his younger days as a crusader because he loved the feeling of the wind in his hair. Unfortunately for him, it was this same way of thinking that led to an omnic [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome blinding]] [[EyeScream his left eye]] with a LaserBlade. Even in his older years he was guilty of this, as his Lt. Wilhelm skin (His canonical appearance during the Null Sector incident set a mere 7 years before the games present time) is ''still'' lacking a helmet.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The protagonist of the ''Pokémon'' games never wears a helmet or any sort of padding while biking, even in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] where you are able to perform dangerous tricks. Partly because they don't want to remove their NiceHat.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' when you ride Pokémon. The Riders Gear contains a helmet. This contrasts with the [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY previous games']] allowing you to ride Rhyhorn, Mamoswine, and Gogoat without any equipment.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', [[spoiler:in the ending sequence, Raz finally ditches his aviator helmet and {{goggles|DoNothing}} upon transitioning to an official Psychonaut uniform]].
* Played straight in ''Videogame/ResidentEvil6''. In Chris's campaign, he and another playable character Piers are the only ones in his squad who don't wear helmets. Though, given [[TheVirus what]] [[SuperSoldier they]] [[LovecraftianSuperpower usually]] [[OneWIngedAngel fight]] and Chris's experience and general ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight altitude, this may be the case of ArmorIsUseless. Lampshaded by Jake, who makes a caustic comment about jarheads who look all the same to him.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/{{Section 8}}''. Your character is almost never seen without his helmet, which also applies to some allies, while villains are usually seen helmetless.
** Dropping in from orbit without a helmet may be hazardous to your health.
* Done oddly in ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval'': men wear helmets, women don't. The default armor for women is otherwise sensible (it's not a ChainmailBikini and may even cover her more than her regular outfit) but there is no helmet, unlike the default men's armor. However, some other armors include helmets whether they're worn by men or women.
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' makes a point of giving all the power-armored characters helmets with reflective (and presumably armored) visors. They tend to raise them fairly often in cutscenes, even when sometimes a little extra protection seems like it would be quite worthwhile. At least there's a second, transparent visor behind the outer one that keeps the suit sealed.
** The marine helmets [[ArmorIsUseless don't tend to protect them]] against enemy attack though. The one time a visor is shown lowered in battle, that marine almost immediately gets impaled through the visor.
** Ground vehicle pilots tend to not have any sort of helmets at all, odd when compared to their original Starcraft equivalents sometimes epic headgear. The new siege tank driver looks like he's driving a tank in an officer's dress uniform, sans topper. Special mention must go to the Viking pilot, who opens and closes his faceplate when the unit changes form, and the Banshee pilot, who lowers a display eyeshield and blacks out the cockpit glass when she cloaks.
** The Protoss also invert this trope pretty hard. The base infantry Zealot goes bareheaded, but the unit portraits for some of the heroic and pilot characters feature some really epic headgear. Of course, protoss don't have much in the way of a face, so concealing it isn't that big an issue.
* Subverted in ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. Like recent Bioware games, you can mark any headgear you wear to show or not ([[AllegedlyFreeGame though not if you haven't subscribed or bought the unlock for that feature]]). This is quite welcome, as some early headgear can look quite dorky.[[note]] In addition to looking "dorky," some of the headgear could cause clipping issues with Miraluka masks or Twi'lek head-tails [[/note]] If you don't hide your headgear, your character doesn't even remove it in conversation except with your companions, which always take place in rest zones (i.e. a safe place), and your voice is mechanically or electronically filtered. And because it's Franchise/StarWars, many players leave the headgear on -- especially Troopers, Bounty Hunters, and Sith -- as they are quite proud of the masks and helmets they bought, hunted down, or fought for completing the character's look.
* This trope is common throughout the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series, as its main characters rarely wear helmets, even when riding at the head of helmet-clad troops.
* ''VideoGame/TelepathTactics'' is a big offender, at least in the campaign. Ebon Raban is the only named character whose CharacterPortrait features a full helmet; everyone else has their entire head visible. This also extends to character classes who normally wear [[InTheHood hoods]], such as with Gavrielle; Tremolo and Nalia don't wear the assassins' usual face-mask either.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/UltimaVIII: Pagan'', where the Avatar's in-game appearance, [[InformedEquipment even when he is not wearing any armour at all]], features a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_helm Great Helm]] that [[http://raoow.blogspot.ch/2010_06_01_archive.html completely obscures his features]]. This led to some fans giving him the nickname [[FanNickname Ol' Bucket-Head]]. The Avatar's CrossOver appearance in ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' is modelled after the sprite from Pagan.
** The Knights in both ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' games also wear helmets, be they [[KnightInShiningArmour good]] or [[BlackKnight evil]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'''s multiplayer, only villains wore helmets. Taken to eleven in Uncharted 3's multiplayer, where you can buy ten different helmets for your custom villain -- and the only one a hero can get is the [[VideoGame/{{Killzone}} ISA helmet]], which you need real money to buy.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Undyne chases you through Waterfall in full armor, which ''does'' include a helmet...until the boss fight, where she takes it off for no apparent reason other than RuleOfCool.
** Lesser Dog and Greater Dog in Snowdin both wear armor, but not helmets, perhaps because they just want you to pet them that badly. However, the Royal Guard members in Hotland are never seen without their helmets. Even in ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', where there is no Royal Guard, they still wear helmets with their normal clothing for no apparent reason.
* In the ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' games none of your soldiers wear helmets even while fighting in a civil war or against [[TheEmpire a whole empire]], since they've got to show off their unique appearances and personalities. In contrast the villainous {{mooks}} and morally ambiguous [[RedShirts red shirts]] wear helmets that either [[FacelessGoons cover their faces]] or hide their eyes.
* Played absolutely straight in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'', as with all other 40K examples. Titus, Sidonus, Inquisitor Drogan, Lt. Mira, and Inquisitor Thrax ''all'' go without helmets. Leandros has one to start with, but it is damaged and promptly discarded during the scene in which you meet up with him. The Orks of course don't wear helmets, though almost all of the other various mook-of-the-minute types (the Imperial guardsmen, Chaos militia, etc.) all wear helmets.
* In ''VideoGame/WarhammerOnline'', helmet visibility is optional.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} VideoGame/TheEndTimesVermintide'': This trope is generally inverted; the heroic members of your party can wear helmets (or not, using this trope), while your less paragon members wear fashionable hats and hoods and extremely open bracers, or faceplates at best. Also, the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Skaven]] generally refuse metal headgear, mainly because they need the flexibility to scan the battlefield and plan their assault for a few seconds before they charge in, but this leaves all enemies vulnerable to headshots. There's even a bow and a weapon skill designed for automatically hitting heads!
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', a helmet is an integral and necessary part of any player's kit. Nonetheless, it's completely optional whether or not your helmet is visible on your character. However, it remains equipped either way. Of course, most of the important [=NPCs=] aren't wearing helmets either, although there are still some notable [=NPCs=] who always wear them (Maiev and Darion Mograine) or for an important battle (Tirion Fordring, Varok Saurfang and Muradin Bronzebeard in Icecrown Citadel).
* Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really [[UpToEleven goes the extra mile in regards to this trope]], however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.
** The original ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefence'' played it both ways. Your troops initially went into battle wearing ordinary military fatigues and no helmets, but that was justified because until you could capture and reverse-engineer some alien tech, any existing helmets or body armour were [[ArmourIsUseless so much dead weight]] versus the [[PlasmaCannon plasma weaponry]] your enemies were toting. The first set of armour you can hand out has some rather goofy-looking protective headgear that still leaves the wearer's face and eyes exposed but is probably better than nothing, and the more advanced sets upgrade to a full-face helmet.
* Inverted by ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', which is very much a spiritual remake to the above game, which uses much the same justification for not giving your troops any armour but for some reason the in-game art always shows your soldiers wearing a regular steel helmet.
* Headgear in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' tends to fall into one of two categories: more like hair decorations than protection, or practical-looking helmets with opaque visors that can make cutscenes look weird -- particularly for [[PlayerCharacter Rook]], who communicates a great deal by [[HeroicMime facial expression and body language]]. Fortunately helmet visibility can be toggled off entirely, or visually overridden by putting something in the Fashion Armor slot. The funny thing about all this (for the human characters anyway) is [[spoiler:they're all robots anyway, and reasonably durable ones at that, so most of them could get away with a lack of face protection in hostile environments]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Film — Animation]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

!!!'''In General:'''
* Virtually every PoliceProcedural will include scenes with fully armoured and helmeted SWAT officers accompanied by the main characters wearing bulletproof vests as their only protection.

* A RunningGag in ''Machinima/FreemansMind'' is Gordon complaining about his lack of a helmet, which he quite correctly believes would be very useful for him to have. He ''used'' to have one, but somebody apparently stole it prior to the series. Thankfully, the bright orange colour of the HEV suit apparently makes it such an irresistible target that enemies can't help but shoot at it instead of his completely unprotected head.

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Alternately, the armor the main character wears might not be distinctive enough to make him stand out from other people wearing armor; we wouldn't want to lose track of our hero among the Faceless Goons, after all. Writers and artists often try to alleviate this by giving [[NonUniformUniform main characters almost, but not quite the same uniform as]] the Faceless Goons — or cheat by giving the hero a helmet, but one that shows their face clearly, while everyone else wears a full face helmet. When this is used to distinguish someone from an identical group of mooks, it's also UniformityException. Real life battlefield recognition solutions adopted by armored warriors such as knights and samurai included elaborate helmet crests; heraldic colors on shields, surcoats, or horse trappings; armors decorated with etching, inlay, appliqué ornaments, heat/chemical bluing, paint, lacquer, or textile covering; and all kinds of BlingOfWar. Often, fiction will not take full advantage of these options. Also, curiously enough, this trope is especially common for [[MarqueeAlterEgo superheroes]] even though almost all of them ''do'' have a completely unique costume that would be instantly recognizable even if the wearer's face weren’t visible.

* In ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'', Laios, Kabru and Shuro (two knights and a samurai, respectively) all wear full armor below the neck but lack helmets.
* It usually doesn't last long in ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' before the main heroes start losing their helmets early in the battle for the rest of the arc.
** Of all the Gold Saints, only two ''always'' wear their helmets: Aldebaran, who has a reputation as a jobber, and the local PsychoForHire Deathmask.

* Some of the [[InstantArmor Barrier Jackets]] in ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' [[BattleBallgown have actual armor on them]], but even those never have helmets unless they're being used by mooks. Justified by the fact that Barrier Jackets protect the entire body regardless of what's covered, a helmet would just block their peripheral vision.
* Erza of ''Manga/FairyTail'' has many, many suits of InstantArmor. Though most have some sort of headwear, only ''one'' has an actual helmet (fittingly, it's also the one [[StoneWall that is purely defensive in nature]]), and even that one doesn't actually cover her face. It's {{justified|Trope}}, because she's wearing ''magic'' armor. Some suits protect her from magic attacks while others boost her physical abilities and yet others give her different magical abilities to work with. So, the helmet is decorative. As are [[MsFanservice legplates, armbands]], [[AbsoluteCleavage a chestpiece]] sometimes...
* Zigzagged in ''Manga/DesertPunk'': pretty much everyone wears desert suits with {{Cool Helmet}}s whenever their traveling or are in combat, main characters included. However, Kanta semi-frequently loses use of his entire suit, generally before doing something incredibly badass (like disabling a ''tank'' by himself, with a shotgun). [[TheVamp Junko]], out of shear vanity, wears her suit's helmet only when absolutely necessary.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Discussed at the end of the Soul Society arc. In the middle of the arc, the helmet [[{{Samurai}} Captain Komamura]] always wore is broken in battle by Captain Zaraki. He'd been trying to hide the shame of being an [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent anthropomorphic wolf]] instead of human. However, once everyone learns the truth, they accept him on the grounds that wearing helmets make a person come across as untrustworthy whereas showing his face makes him seem honest and therefore reliable - good guys don't wear helmets, only people who are up to no good hide their faces.
* In episode 12 of ''LightNovel/AntiMagicAcademyThe35thTestPlatoon'', for the final battle Takeru loses the face-concealing helmet he normally wears in his Witch Hunter form.

* Ryuuko from ''LightNovel/GroundControlToPsychoelectricGirl'' is considered unusual for wearing a helmet while riding her bicycle.

* ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer'', from the series of the same name, subverts this trope to the point of parody. He wears his helmet ([[TwentyFourHourArmor and the rest of his armor]]) almost all of the time, only taking it off for maintenance or when he sleeps in the safety of home. It reflects his ProperlyParanoid attitude towards being attacked by goblins. He's somehow capable of even ''eating and drinking'' through the slits of his helmet. Ironically, even though his face is never shown to the audience, he nevertheless has a distinctive appearance because of his helmet and armor.
** Other characters in the series tend to play this trope straight. One episode shows clearly why not equipping a helmet is a ''very'' bad idea: the party of novice adventurers get ambushed by goblins and ''immediately'' lose their leader to a well-placed stone slinged at the back of her head. From there, the goblins just proceed to pick them off one by one. When they try the same trick on Goblin Slayer, it fails spectacularly every time, only infuriating him and giving the goblins an OhCrap moment.
** It also subverted and justified concerning the Chosen Heroine. [[spoiler:Due to her meeting with Goblin Slayer as a child]] she actually does acknowledge the merits of using helmets for adventurers. The reason she doesn't wear one herself is because the enemies she's often up against are powerful enough to kill her in one hit even with armor, so she chooses to forgo a helmet for a better range of view.
* A variation in ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer''; the named tank commanders tend to peek over the cupola, thus making their tanks more noticeable compared to their mooks, while the less important tank commanders don't. Despite the amount of shells and machinegun rounds flying around during the match, the named commanders always capable of dodging them and never got shot as a show of their badassery.

* ''ComicBook/BatwomanRebirth'':
** A flashback of Kate sparring with her girlfriend Sophie shows that not only are the two fighting without boxing or MMA gloves, they also lack headgear and mouthguards.
** [[spoiler:Colony!Kate's]] uniform seems to lack a helmet.
* Played straight throughout the entirety of the UsefulNotes/WorldWarI serial ''ComicBook/GoldenEyesAndHerHeroBill''. Golden Eyes, an ambulance driver, is never shown with a helmet [[note]]though the standard ambulance driver's uniform of the time was as likely as not to include a helmet for protection[[/note]]. Bill, an actual soldier, is only ever depicted in his helmet ''once'' throughout the series' run, and that's when he storms the German trenches to rescue Golden Eyes. Other members of the allied force are [[http://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/nellbrinkley/5.php#anchor intermittently]] [[http://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/nellbrinkley/6.php#anchor depicted]] [[http://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/nellbrinkley/7.php#anchor in their helmets]], while the villainous German officer who captures Golden Eyes is [[http://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/nellbrinkley/8.php#anchor introduced]] wearing a [[UsefulNotes/PrussiansInPickelhauben prominent picklehaube]], and wears a hat for the majority of his other appearances.
* A weird example in the Star Wars ''Empire'' arc covering the Imperial backstory of Biggs Darklighter that somehow averts and plays the trope straight at the same time. Instead of the faceless TIE helmets seen in the movie, Biggs, Hobbie, and other main characters in the arc wear a helmet where we can see their faces while piloting their fighters. These helmets are never seen again in the Franchise/StarWarsLegends continuity.
** Strangely, this is the type of helmet that Han's shown wearing in a ''Film/{{Solo}}'' deleted scene.
* {{Defied}} in ''ComicBook/{{Sturmtruppen}}'': while the characters aren't exactly heroes they're still soldiers, and quick to note that not wearing a helmet during a shelling is just plain stupid (though not as much as not taking cover). Notably, during the famous story arc where [[NakedPeopleAreFunny the troopers had discovered the regulations didn't state they had to wear the uniform]] the only item of clothing they consistently wore was the helmet, both in the barracks and when attacking the enemy.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: The Amazons have helmets, but even when Diana, Mala or other named Amazons are donning more armor and protective gear they never grab a helmet. The exception to this is ComicBook/{{Nubia}}, who is a named recurring Amazon who usually wears a helmet.

* Played straight in the ''Film/JudgeDredd'' film adaptation. And yet criminals recognize him primary by his chin.

* ''FIlm/AKnightsTale'' takes this up to eleven: Will is injured just before the final lance, which will determine who wins the world championships. Not only does he opt not to wear his helmet, he takes off ''all his armour'', saying he "can't breathe with it on." You won't breathe if you take it off either, Will, ''because you will be dead.'' In the commentary, the director talks about the convenience of cutting from the actor slamming down their visor to the stunt man in full armor and helmet.

** In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', Steve wears his helmet for most fight scenes, but ditches it for the final battle, and the reason why got cut from the actual release - on arriving in Sokovia, the first thing he sees is graffiti of his old look with "fascist" written on it.

** Although he's [[InvertedTrope not a hero]] (unless you see him as [[VillainProtagonist the main character of the movie]]), ''[[Film/AvengersInfinityWar Infinity War]]'' was widely mocked online for the fact that Thanos ''never'' wears his iconic golden helmet - or any armor at all, for that matter - when actually fighting, sticking with a sleeveless shirt and going for a bareheaded look that some fans described as [[{{Narm}} "high school gym coach" or "your fat uncle on casual Friday at work".]]

** Subverted by Eowyn, who removes her helmet just before delivering the final fatal blow to Witch King - to demonstrate [[ExactWords she is no man]].

* ''Literature/ALittleHatred'': The warrior prince Stour Nightfall goes into battle without a helmet, which is implied to be an expression of his extreme arrogance. When dueling him, Leo dan Brock also forgoes his helmet to match him.
* ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'': Helmets are only allowed to a select few (never protagonists). The Guards, [[VestigialEmpire Vestigial Imperialists]], Barbary Vikings ([[HornyVikings with horns]]), mooks of the Dark Lord (to render them [[FacelessGoons faceless]]) and foreigners (so they can have exotic shapes). Armies will rarely get them, unless having boiling oil poured on them happens during a Siege.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem "The Sontaran Stratagem"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky "The Poison Sky"]]: This is handwaved as being due to Sontaran honour — it's a sign of bravery for this ProudWarriorRace to face their enemy unprotected. After seeing his commander has taken off his helmet so he can [[WorthyOpponent look the Doctor in the eye]], his NumberTwo requests permission to do likewise. However his mooks keep their helmets on; as they're all supposed to be identical clones, this saves on special effects.

** The Hound can also justify it as psychological warfare - half his face being burnt and him towering over everyone else. It does rather defeat the purpose of his impractically elaborate snarling dog helm, though.

** Another of the justifications, for the Space Wolves, is that much of their method of fighting as well as communication between each other is derived from their amazing senses of smell and hearing (Even compared to other marines), and producing helmets with auto-senses precise enough to avoid losing information is incredibly challenging[[note]]So much so that, in the case of smell, the few helmets that are modified to allow them to take advantage of their senses just use a small air chamber which takes in small amounts of the surrounding air when needed.[[/note]]. Also justified among the Space Wolves because they are [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Space Vikings]], [[BoisterousBruiser with all that implies]] - it's not enough to just ''say'' you killed an alien beast the size of a tank in single combat, ''somebody has to see you do it''.

* Exalts in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' rarely wear helmets along with their glowing MagiTek PoweredArmor. Storytellers are explicitly discouraged from allowing called shots to the head (or any other unarmored location), as making the [=PCs=] do practical things like put on helmets and not wear {{Chainmail Bikini}}s is antithetical to the intended atmosphere of the game. Exact wording in the rulebook puts fancy helmet on the same level of importance as a good hairdo -- purely cosmetic.
* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', helmets are usually purely for flavor. Whether or not you wear one makes no difference to Armor Class, barring enchantments. One exception exists in the ''Complete Fighter's Handbook'' for AD&D's 2nd edition, which discusses a more detailed treatment of helmets as an optional rule...by which they mostly provide penalties to sight and hearing in exchange for some minor side benefits and ''still'' don't affect overall armor class. An attacker could in theory, using another optional rule, make an attack specifically against an unarmored head's "natural" armor class rather than that of the actual body armor they're wearing, but said rule then itself penalizes head shots sufficiently that it'd take a pretty extreme contrast to actually make that worthwhile.
* ''TableTopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':
** Deconstructed: as a child, Seelah stole a paladin's helmet, which resulted in said paladin getting killed in battle. Seelah became a paladin herself to atone for this, and never goes without her helmet for perfectly understandable reasons.
** Also played with in the case of Acemi, the paladin whom Seelah stole the helmet from. Acemi knew that Seelah had stolen her helmet, but chose to let her keep it because she figured that Seelah, an orphaned StreetUrchin at the time, would benefit more from selling it than Acemi would from taking it back.
* ''TableTopGame/IronKingdoms'':
** Inverted by [[ChurchMilitant the Protectorate of Menoth]]. EVERYONE wears something to cover their head and at least part of their face.
** Played straight by most Cygnaran, Iosan, and Khadoran warcasters.
** Inverted by infantry unit leaders, almost all of whom wear the same helmet as the rest of the unit.
* Somewhat inverted by ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'''s [=MechWarriors=] -- their (neuro)helmets are obligatory in the cockpit because they're a key part of the human/machine interface, but aside from those and their cooling vests they tend to traditionally wear as little ''else'' as they can get away with while still giving a nod to modesty because the same cockpit can get sauna-level hot in a hurry in combat. If you AREN'T wearing a helmet, you're probably using [[BrainComputerInterface Enhanced Imaging or Direct Neural Interface implants]], in which case, [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity you're probably too insane at this point to care about appearances]].
* One advantage of the fish-bowl helmet in ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' is that you are visually un-helmeted, while many of the enemies, such as the Nazis, wear regular helmets and gas masks.
* ''TabletopGame/TheOneRing'': Downplayed. Wearing helmets increases your fatigue score like all gear. Unlike other gear, though, you can cast aside your helmet during battle to undo some of that increase, which is most useful if your [[HitPoints Endurance]] is getting low and you can't cope with as much fatigue without getting Weary. So adventurers might start off wearing helmets, but then take them off when things get really dangerous.

* Hope Girl, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Fairune}}'', never wears a helmet.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Fallout}} Fallout Series]]''
** ''VideoGame/Fallout1'': A rare ''[[InvertedTrope inversion]]'' of this trope - all characters in the game who wear PoweredArmor do not wear the helmet with it - ''except'' the PlayerCharacter.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'': In this installment, armor was changed so that helmets and body armor take up separate equipment slots. There's one armor in the game that doesn't work that way, and it's the [[InvisibilityCloak Chinese Stealth Armor]] from the [[DownloadableContent Operation Anchorage DLC.]]
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'': has Paladin Danse. Despite the fact that he [[TwentyFourHourArmor never takes off his armor]], he [[ViolationOfCommonSense almost never puts on the helmet.]] He wears it exactly once, and even then the game tends to glitch so that he's not wearing it anyway.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', a helmet is an integral and necessary part of any player's kit. Nonetheless, it's completely optional whether or not your helmet is visible on your character. However, it remains equipped either way. Of course, most of the important [=NPCs=] aren't wearing helmets either, although there are still some notable [=NPCs=] who always wear them (Maiev and Darion Mograine) or for an important battle (Tirion Fordring, Varok Saurfang and Muradin Bronzebeard in Icecrown Citadel).
* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars'', helmet visibility is optional. Likewise, one of the starting options for warriors in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' is "no helmet at all." A symbol of the warrior's lack of fear of death.
* In ''VideoGame/WarhammerOnline'', helmet visibility is optional.

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': Gordon Freeman is never depicted with his helmet on in official art, despite his HEV suit coming with one and every other HEV wearer wearing one. [[FanWank Arguments have been made]] over why nobody shoots him in the head and why he can breathe on Xen, the consensus being that he does have a helmet. He just doesn't wear it all the time.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'':
** In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar1'', the protagonists don't wear helmets, and doing so seems to doom you to an untimely death. The helmet design makes it difficult to spot snipers with only two small spots for your eyes to look out of.
** ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2'' has a couple instances where the protagonists and Ben Carmine (who wears a helmet at all times) point out situations where wearing the helmet would have been incredibly useful.
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'' with Clayton Carmine, who is shot in the head by a friendly sniper mistaking him for a hostile... but the poor angle of the impact causes the round to glance off his helmet, leaving him stunned but unhurt. If he had not been wearing the helmet, it would have killed him. Clayton's tattoo he got in memorial of his fallen brothers shows their helmets. For the Carmine family, their helmets ''are'' their real faces. Each of them even wears a unique helmet design.
** Referenced in the first panel of [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=218 this]] ''Webcomic/VGCats'' comic.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'', all characters except Tali have a helmet on/off option with no disadvantage for not wearing a helmet. Only when the atmosphere isn't breathable do all characters wear their helmets. This might be justified by the fact that the character rely more on shields than physical armor to protect them from high-tech weaponry. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', however, wearing a helmet does give you stat advantages... you alone, and the bonus for wearing most helmets isn't really all that impressive, with both of your starting helmets providing a whopping 5% more health. Your allies don't even get the ''option'' anymore. In the [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 third installment]], you have the option of helmet visibility for cutcenes for Shepard and squadmates separately. The Mars level is still kind of weird, as we ''see'' Shepard's team taking their helmets on and off whenever is convenient. It's unclear where exactly they go, or why - when set to "off in conversations" - everyone's helmets will disintegrate the moment you stop to chat, then rematerialise as soon as the conversation ends.
** It's also zigzagged throughout ''Mass Effect 3'''s Multiplayer. All human characters wear helmets, some turians and krogans do and some don't, ''none'' of the asari or drell wear helmets, all quarians wear helmets and the geth are completely helmetless. Because they're robots.
** Many players deliberately invoke this trope, as wearing the helmet obscures the character's face during the cutscenes when they wear them (hence the option to remove them in [=ME3=] in case the player wants the stat boosts a helmet provides). Conversely, some helmets in the second and third games make the character look disturbing, as they cover up the upper part of the face and have no eye pieces (there are displays on the inside of the helmet so Shepard can see).

* In ''VideoGame/LuminousArc'' games, as with a lot of [=SRPGs=], the player spends a considerable amount of money on helmets, hoods, hats and other headgear which NEVER makes a difference to the character designs in-game.

* Used in ''VideoGame/Killzone2''. While the main cast of heroes never wear combat helmets, virtually everybody else does. In fact, combat helmets act as an actual gameplay mechanic, with few weapons being capable of penetrating an enemys helmet on impact. The helmet is however knocked off the enemy mook, ensuring the next headshot to be fatal. Finally, the trope itself is lampshaded in the games cinematic intro, with a news topic briefly scrolling during the {{big bad}}s speech. The topic reads: "Combat helmets, are they really necessary?"

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/UltimaVIII: Pagan'', where the Avatar's in-game appearance, [[InformedEquipment even when he is not wearing any armour at all]], features a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_helm Great Helm]] that [[http://raoow.blogspot.ch/2010_06_01_archive.html completely obscures his features]]. This led to some fans giving him the nickname [[FanNickname Ol' Bucket-Head]]. The Avatar's CrossOver appearance in ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' is modelled after the sprite from Pagan.
** The Knights in both ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' games also wear helmets, be they [[KnightInShiningArmour good]] or [[BlackKnight evil]].
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' makes a point of giving all the power-armored characters helmets with reflective (and presumably armored) visors. They tend to raise them fairly often in cutscenes, even when sometimes a little extra protection seems like it would be quite worthwhile. At least there's a second, transparent visor behind the outer one that keeps the suit sealed.
** The marine helmets [[ArmorIsUseless don't tend to protect them]] against enemy attack though. The one time a visor is shown lowered in battle, that marine almost immediately gets impaled through the visor.
** Ground vehicle pilots tend to not have any sort of helmets at all, odd when compared to their original Starcraft equivalents sometimes epic headgear. The new siege tank driver looks like he's driving a tank in an officer's dress uniform, sans topper. Special mention must go to the Viking pilot, who opens and closes his faceplate when the unit changes form, and the Banshee pilot, who lowers a display eyeshield and blacks out the cockpit glass when she cloaks.
** The Protoss also invert this trope pretty hard. The base infantry Zealot goes bareheaded, but the unit portraits for some of the heroic and pilot characters feature some really epic headgear. Of course, protoss don't have much in the way of a face, so concealing it isn't that big an issue.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', [[TheHero Cecil]] wears a helmet that covers most of his face when he's a [[BlackKnight Dark Knight]], but opts for a headband when he becomes a [[KnightInShiningArmor Paladin]]. And in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', [[spoiler:[[EnsembleDarkhorse Kain]] purges]] himself of his dark side for good and gets a new [[spoiler:Holy Dragoon]] job class. As a part of his new costume, his full helmet is replaced with a sort of tiara that shows his [[{{Bishounen}} good looks]]. [[spoiler:Golbez]] no longer wears a helmet either, instead becoming a rare male example of {{Stripperific}}.
** No main character from SOLDIER wears their helmet in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' or ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. Partly justified in that 1st Class [=SOLDIERs=] can wear whatever they want, but Zack doesn't do it even when he's 2nd Class.
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy 012: Duodecim'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI the Warrior of Light]] has a couple of alternate outfits that remove his helmet. [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/0/09/WoLAltEXMode.png/revision/latest?cb=20110120222239 One]] is styled after the appearance of the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/1/1b/Warrior-ff1-nes.png/revision/latest?cb=20120701232954 Fighter/Warrior job class]] from the original NES games, and [[https://thebuddhistcentre.com/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_full_size/public/users/3052/groups/images/images_18.jpg the other]] is practically identical to his regular armour, sans the helmet.
** Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', at least for the player character, where actually equipping helmets and other headgear is a necessity to make the most out of your gear, but actually having them be enclosed or even visible on your head is strictly optional; there are commands both for making your headgear invisible and for moving its face-concealing parts out of the way, on top of a system to use a glamour prism to make it look like something else entirely, like a simple beret, bandanna, or a feather in your hair. Cutscenes beginning from ''Heavensward'' start to enforce this, as even if you have your helmet visible, it will be toggled off for certain cutscenes. A particular standout is in the Grand Melee about halfway through ''Heavensward''[='=]s post-release story, where your current outfit is temporarily glamoured into a set of Ishgardian armor - minus any sort of helmet, even if you toggle it visible - while, in an inversion, [[spoiler:Raubahn]] wears a helmet with a face-concealing visor for the first time in his fight against you.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', in which party member Zoah wears a helmet... And pretty much nothing else.
* In the ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' games none of your soldiers wear helmets even while fighting in a civil war or against [[TheEmpire a whole empire]], since they've got to show off their unique appearances and personalities. In contrast the villainous {{mooks}} and morally ambiguous [[RedShirts red shirts]] wear helmets that either [[FacelessGoons cover their faces]] or hide their eyes.
* Played with occasionally in the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series. Usually Samus subverts this trope by wearing a helmet that fully conceals her face, but in some games [[InSpaceEveryoneCanSeeYourFace her visor is fully transparent]]. In ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'' she can polarize and depolarize the opacity of her visor at will (she depolarizes the visor when speaking to people to appear less intimidating, but otherwise has it opaque during combat). The [[SpaceMarine Federation Marines]] in ''Other M'' try to find a medium by having helmets that mechanically open to completely reveal their faces (unfortunately the opened helmets look a bit top-heavy, giving them a tendency towards [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} Dark Helmet Syndrome]]).
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'', the helmet can apparently be teleported on and off at Samus's whim, but the only times she does it is when an overdose of Phazon causes her to vomit, and parts of the ending. Otherwise she never takes off the helmet during a mission, even on planets with earthlike atmosphere. Nor does anyone else, except for Admiral Dane.
* ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuest Kenshin Dragon Quest]]'', the spinoff-remake of the original ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest|I}}'', removes [[DubNameChange Loto/Edrick's]] helmet, showing his gold Super Saiyan-ish hair. Loto's LimitBreak in ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters Battle Road]]'' series shows him [[SaveThePrincess rescuing the princess]] without his helmet as it has turned into his MidSeasonUpgrade of some sort.
* Taking its cue from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', most Imperial squad leaders and heroes in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' fight bareheaded. The only exceptions are Ogryn [=BONEheads=] who wear a horned helmet and some Battle Sister squad leaders. Squad leaders and heroes of other factions vary a good deal: The Chaos Lord is bareheaded (though Eliphas gets a helmet), the Eldar Farseer, Tau commander and Shas'ui (unlike the tabletop) have helmets. A line from the helmetless Force Commander of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar 2'' "My faith is my shield!...", combined with his somewhat-unlikely [[PrettyBoy chiseled and handsome visage]] has led to the popular MemeticMutation "My face is my shield!"
* Played absolutely straight in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'', as with all other 40K examples. Titus, Sidonus, Inquisitor Drogan, Lt. Mira, and Inquisitor Thrax ''all'' go without helmets. Leandros has one to start with, but it is damaged and promptly discarded during the scene in which you meet up with him. The Orks of course don't wear helmets, though almost all of the other various mook-of-the-minute types (the Imperial guardsmen, Chaos militia, etc.) all wear helmets.

* Most units in the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series wear full armor with helmets, but Commando units usually don't. In Tanya's case, she barely wears anything protective at all.
* This trope is common throughout the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series, as its main characters rarely wear helmets, even when riding at the head of helmet-clad troops.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'''s multiplayer, only villains wore helmets. Taken to eleven in Uncharted 3's multiplayer, where you can buy ten different helmets for your custom villain -- and the only one a hero can get is the [[VideoGame/{{Killzone}} ISA helmet]], which you need real money to buy.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/{{Section 8}}''. Your character is almost never seen without his helmet, which also applies to some allies, while villains are usually seen helmetless.
** Dropping in from orbit without a helmet may be hazardous to your health.
* Played with in the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' series. Being based on 3rd Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', helmets ''usually'' don't add anything to Armor Class, but to an extent ArmorIsUseless at higher levels anyway. The real reason to wear a helmet is for its enchantments: most basic helmets (particularly in [[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2 the sequel]]) will add +1 to Concentration, which is useful to spellcasters.

* A weird, villainous version in ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline''. In ''Champions'', your equipment ''never'' affects your appearance, so you can go naked if you want. However, bad guy organization VIPER have units called [[{{Jetpack}} Air Cavalry]]... and [[AcePilot Air Cavalry Ace]]. The Air Cavs have the standard VIPER full-concealment helmet, but the Aces only wear goggles. Then, eventually, [=VIPER=] subverts it with Viper-X, apparently the leader of the Air Cavalry, who does not appear to wear a helmet (and then it slides into place when he enters combat).
* ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade'' completely inverts this trope: every character is never seen without their helmet, even the enemies that [[FanDisservice wear no armor at all]]. The later games show the main characters without helmets here and there, but this is only for a short while before they re-equip their armor around the clock.
* Played with in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI'' as Kratos is badass enough that he barely wears any armor at all let alone a helmet, however early concept art from the game had him dressed in full Hoplite suits. The developers actually started removing the armor, helmet included, because he looked ''too'' heroic.
* Not a single major character in David Mason's squad in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' wears a helmet, including David himself - the only member of the squad who does, Crosby, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse completely disappears from the plot]] after his first mission and only reappears much later in the story to get non-fatally shot. The only time Harper is ever seen wearing one is during the wingsuit sequence in "Celerium" and the jetpack one in "Judgment Day", and even then, he actually ''takes it off'' after landing.
* Played with in''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline:'' The character usually keeps their helmet on at all times, but the player can set helmets to invisible and invoke this trope. The only time the game forces you to go helmetless is when a crafting station is used. Which makes perfect sense, as delicate craftsmanship would be a lot harder with a face covering helmet on.
* Done oddly in ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval'': men wear helmets, women don't. The default armor for women is otherwise sensible (it's not a ChainmailBikini and may even cover her more than her regular outfit) but there is no helmet, unlike the default men's armor. However, some other armors include helmets whether they're worn by men or women.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The protagonist of the ''Pokémon'' games never wears a helmet or any sort of padding while biking, even in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] where you are able to perform dangerous tricks. Partly because they don't want to remove their NiceHat.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' when you ride Pokémon. The Riders Gear contains a helmet. This contrasts with the [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY previous games']] allowing you to ride Rhyhorn, Mamoswine, and Gogoat without any equipment.

* Subverted in ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. Like recent Bioware games, you can mark any headgear you wear to show or not ([[AllegedlyFreeGame though not if you haven't subscribed or bought the unlock for that feature]]). This is quite welcome, as some early headgear can look quite dorky.[[note]] In addition to looking "dorky," some of the headgear could cause clipping issues with Miraluka masks or Twi'lek head-tails [[/note]] If you don't hide your headgear, your character doesn't even remove it in conversation except with your companions, which always take place in rest zones (i.e. a safe place), and your voice is mechanically or electronically filtered. And because it's Franchise/StarWars, many players leave the headgear on--especially Troopers, Bounty Hunters, and Sith--as they are quite proud of the masks and helmets they bought, hunted down, or fought for completing the character's look.
* Played straight in ''Videogame/ResidentEvil6''. In Chris's campaign, he and another playable character Piers are the only ones in his squad who don't wear helmets. Though, given [[TheVirus what]] [[SuperSoldier they]] [[LovecraftianSuperpower usually]] [[OneWIngedAngel fight]] and Chris's experience and general ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight altitude, this may be the case of ArmorIsUseless. Lampshaded by Jake, who makes a caustic comment about jarheads who look all the same to him.
* Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really [[UpToEleven goes the extra mile in regards to this trope]], however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.

* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' has Lex Luthor in his trademark power armour with his face exposed. This is particularly silly within the game's story mode since [[TheMole Lex is secretly working against Evil!Superman]] and so anonymity would be a major advantage.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', [[spoiler:in the ending sequence, Raz finally ditches his aviator helmet and {{goggles|DoNothing}} upon transitioning to an official Psychonaut uniform]].

* ''VideoGame/TelepathTactics'' is a big offender, at least in the campaign. Ebon Raban is the only named character whose CharacterPortrait features a full helmet; everyone else has their entire head visible. This also extends to character classes who normally wear [[InTheHood hoods]], such as with Gavrielle; Tremolo and Nalia don't wear the assassins' usual face-mask either.
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', right at a moment where the guys might ''need'' a helmet!
* Headgear in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' tends to fall into one of two categories: more like hair decorations than protection, or practical-looking helmets with opaque visors that can make cutscenes look weird - particularly for [[PlayerCharacter Rook]], who communicates a great deal by [[HeroicMime facial expression and body language]]. Fortunately helmet visibility can be toggled off entirely, or visually overridden by putting something in the Fashion Armor slot. The funny thing about all this (for the human characters anyway) is [[spoiler:they're all robots anyway, and reasonably durable ones at that, so most of them could get away with a lack of face protection in hostile environments]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Undyne chases you through Waterfall in full armor, which ''does'' include a helmet...until the boss fight, where she takes it off for no apparent reason other than RuleOfCool.
** Lesser Dog and Greater Dog in Snowdin both wear armor, but not helmets, perhaps because they just want you to pet them that badly. However, the Royal Guard members in Hotland are never seen without their helmets. Even in ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', where there is no Royal Guard, they still wear helmets with their normal clothing for no apparent reason.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} VideoGame/TheEndTimesVermintide'': This trope is generally inverted; the heroic members of your party can wear helmets (or not, using this trope), while your less paragon members wear fashionable hats and hoods and extremely open bracers, or faceplates at best. Also, the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Skaven]] generally refuse metal headgear, mainly because they need the flexibility to scan the battlefield and plan their assault for a few seconds before they charge in, but this leaves all enemies vulnerable to headshots. There's even a bow and a weapon skill designed for automatically hitting heads!
* The ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' animated short, ''Honor and Glory'' reveals that [[BoisterousBruiser Reinhardt]] was guilty of this in his younger days as a crusader because he loved the feeling of the wind in his hair. Unfortunately for him, it was this same way of thinking that led to an omnic [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome blinding]] [[EyeScream his left eye]] with a LaserBlade. Even in his older years he was guilty of this, as his Lt. Wilhelm skin (His canonical appearance during the Null Sector incident set a mere 7 years before the games present time) is ''still'' lacking a helmet.

* A lot of human characters (and Poppy) in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' wear full armor, but no helmet. Garen and Darius are completely bareheaded, while Leona and Diana wear headdresses that don't seem to provide much protection. Some champions have an excuse in that they can protect themselves with magic (like Lux's shield ability) or have personal reasons for going armorless (Draven, who's a gladiator). Of course, there are also plenty of characters who ''do'' wear helmets, like Jarvan IV, Kayle, Master Yi, Pantheon, and Quinn. Nautilus is a special case in that he's fused to his armor, and Kai'sa does have a helmet- but it's off by default and is only toggled on during her dash or if the player wants it on.
* Actually a plot point in ''VideoGame/TheBannerSaga'', where the [[CloudCuckooLander insane spearman Tryggvi]] warns [[PlayerCharacter Rook]] that men who wear helmets can’t be trusted. [[spoiler: Sure enough, Ekkill leads your party into an ambush, Onef leads a mutiny, and Dagr in the sequel takes part in a second mutiny ''and'' kills some of your men if you spare him. All three men are wearing helmets, and they’re the only party members in the Skogr caravan to do so.]]
* ''Videogame/{{MORDHAU}}:'' Somewhat invoked by players who have a character to cosplay, thanks to the extensive character building possibilities letting you build some very good resemblances of other, preexisting characters. Naturally, other players see them as free kills, because [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome getting your skull tenderized/impaled/sliced off is basically an inevitability without a helmet]] - almost all two-handed weapons can kill a bareheaded player in a single stab or slash to the noggin.

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' game ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' even before getting the hero garb, Link doesn't wear the helmet of the Hylian soldier uniform. The same applies to ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' (though the player can choose to wear the helmet after the first battle).

** Before the NFL mandated wearing a helmet in 1939, some players- most famously Philadelphia Eagles end Bill Hewitt- refused to wear one, believing it would impede their senses and reaction time.

** The one time the Wolf wears any kind of head protection, it's not a helmet but kind of spiked coronet ([[spoiler:while it's not explicitly stated, one item of wargear is a CrownOfThorns that regenerates wounds]]).

** Chapter 11 features a clone named Howzer who is still loyal to the Empire, but still seems to retain his individuality. He lets young Hera Syndulla off with a warning after catching her spying on an imperial outpost and [[spoiler: is visibly shaken when Admiral Rampart has Senator Taa killed by Crosshair]].

** A number of Southern nobles and knights refuse to wear helmets in ground combat on this basis. [[RealityEnsues It gets them killed]], with Janos Slynt's POV sections making this especially blatant.

** Inverted in ''Film/IronMan2''. In the final battle, [[spoiler: the heroes wear helmets but Vanko takes his off. [[RealityEnsues Tony tries to shoot him]]. [[ZigZaggingTrope It automatically pops back on]]. Then he takes it off again. However, having the helmet down when he thinks he's got Tony and Rhodey on the ropes leaves him vulnerable to Stark and Rhodes' finishing move, which he never saw before]]. The ''Film/IronMan'' series generally averts this with Tony keeping his faceplate down in most situations, but makes up for it by inter-cutting shots of Tony's face from inside the helmet in the form of a HeadsUpDisplay, which still allows him to emote and react to what's happening. Ditto for Rhodey. In later films, the helmet becomes fully {{collapsible|Helmet}}, able to show Creator/RobertDowneyJr's whole head instead of just his face, though he keeps it up in combat.

* [[VideoGame/{{Medievil}} Sir Daniel Fortesque]] was once a [[BlatantLies "gallant]] [[FakeUltimateHero knight"]] of Gallowmere who led the kingdom's armies against those of the EvilSorceror Zarok. He elected to not wear a helmet for the battle, and, [[RealityEnsues rather predictably]], [[EyeScream died horribly in the first arrow volley]].

* The ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' animated short, ''Honor and Glory'' reveals that [[BoisterousBruiser Reinhardt]] was guilty of this in his younger days as a crusader because he loved the feeling of the wind in his hair. Unfortunately for him, it was this same way of thinking that led to an omnic [[RealityEnsues blinding]] [[EyeScream his left eye]] with a LaserBlade. Even in his older years he was guilty of this, as his Lt. Wilhelm skin (His canonical appearance during the Null Sector incident set a mere 7 years before the games present time) is ''still'' lacking a helmet.

* ''Videogame/{{MORDHAU}}:'' Somewhat invoked by players who have a character to cosplay, thanks to the extensive character building possibilities letting you build some very good resemblances of other, preexisting characters. Naturally, other players see them as free kills, because [[RealityEnsues getting your skull tenderized/impaled/sliced off is basically an inevitability without a helmet]] - almost all two-handed weapons can kill a bareheaded player in a single stab or slash to the noggin.

* Taking its cue from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', most Imperial squad leaders and heroes in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' fight bareheaded. The only exceptions are Ogryn [=BONEheads=] who wear a horned helmet and some Battle Sister squad leaders. Squad leaders and heroes of other factions vary a good deal: The Chaos Lord is bareheaded (though Eliphas gets a helmet), the Eldar Farseer, Tau commander and Shas'ui (unlike the tabletop) have helmets. A line from the helmetless Force Commander of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar 2'' "My faith is my shield!...", combined with his somewhat-unlikely [[PrettyBoy chiseled and handsome visage]] has led to the popular {{Mondegreen}} of "My face is my shield!"

A variation is that when modern characters are depicted in boxing or martial arts training, they will rarely be shown wearing padded headgear that would generally be mandatory.

** Subverted by Eowyn, who removes her helmet just before delivering the final fatal blow to Witch King - to demonstrate [[ExactWords|she is no man]].

** Other characters in the series tend to play this trope straight. One episode shows clearly why not equipping a helmet is a ''very'' bad idea: the party of novice adventurers get ambushed by goblins and ''immediately'' lose their leader to a well-placed stone slinged at the back of her head. From there, the goblins just proceed to pick them off one by one.

** Other characters in the series tend to play this trope straight. The very first episode shows clearly why not equipping a helmet is a ''very'' bad idea: the party of novice adventurers get ambushed by goblins and ''immediately'' lose their leader to a well-placed stone slinged at the back of her head. From there, the goblins just proceed to pick them off one by one.