History Main / HoldTheLine

*** In Grunt's sidequest, his RiteOfPassage to join a clan consists of Holding the Holy Site against several waves of enemies. The final foe is a gigantic monster that you must merely survive against for a certain time, but if you manage to kill it, it nets you and Grunt much prestige.

A Hold the Line mission is a type of TimedMission, where instead of completing a mission in a set time, you have to prevent the enemy from completing their objective before the time runs out. This usually means you are defending your base, or a certain character, until reinforcements arrive, or vital repairs are carried out on the base. [[MyDefenseNeedNotProtectMeForever Your Defense Need Not Protect You Forever]]. Sometimes the enemy is an overwhelming force, so actually defeating the enemy, or even surviving much beyond the time limit, would be impossible. Fortunately for you, victory will usually occur [[InstantWinCondition instantly and automatically as soon as the time runs out]], even if you were moments away from defeat.

When the "objective" is to kill the enemies, you've got yourself a MultiMookMelee.

TowerDefense has this trope as its central gameplay element. ProtectionMission is this combined with defending a stationary object. Sometimes leads to a VictoryByEndurance. Compare TheSiege. It is similar to and yet quite different from HoldingTheFloor; talking for a long period of time without pause instead of fighting. Not to be confused with waiting for someone else on the phone.

*** Despite being the current page quote for the trope, the mission [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXLVFnl3WcE that speech]] occurs during is a quasi-aversion: it's an ordinary mission for you, but your NPC allies are Holding the Line for you offscreen.
*** There is a DLC mission where you take on a simulation of a mission by one of your commanders, which involves you waiting for 5 minutes fighting off wave after wave of enemies.

** The series goes in this direction when you fight certain gigantic monsters, namely the huge crab Shen Gaoren in , ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter2Dos'' and the even bigger dragon Lao-Shan Lung in the original ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004 Monster Hunter]]'' (and by extension the Ashen subspecies of the latter monster). Instead of hunting them like you do with other monsters, the creature shows up at one end of a linear area, and past multiple obstacles is a fort on the other end of the map. You have to prevent it from destroying the fort, by either killing it before the timer runs out, or repelling it by dealing enough damage that when the timer hits 0, it flees. If you run out of time before damaging the monster enough, get knocked out three times, or let the fort get destroyed, you lose.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Neo Contra]]'''s final stage, [[TrueFinalBoss in which accessible on better ranks]], has you fighting Master Contra in his true final form, a huge head. You can attack him using lock-on weapons, or simply dodge/evade all his attacks, [[TakeAThirdOption or wiping the bullets out]] (if you have [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katana]] or [[KillItWithFire Fire Whip]], depending on weapon sets), until he decays and burns up in the atmosphere.

Sometimes, [[MyDefenseNeedNotProtectMeForever Your Defense Need Not Protect You Forever]].

A Hold the Line mission is a type of TimedMission, where instead of completing a mission in a set time, you have to prevent the enemy from completing their objective before the time runs out. This usually means you are defending your base, or a certain character, until reinforcements arrive, or vital repairs are carried out on the base. Sometimes the enemy is an overwhelming force, so actually defeating the enemy, or even surviving much beyond the time limit, would be impossible, without reinforcements or similar. Fortunately for you, victory will usually occur [[InstantWinCondition instantly and automatically as soon as the time runs out]], even if you were moments away from defeat.

In multiplayer, this mode of gameplay also exists, usually with the teams switching after the attackers win or the timer runs out. In many cases, there are several lines, and the defining criteria (if neither team manages to break through them all) are usually which team got further or which team got to the same line first. Naturally this can result in tie games. Strategy games of all kinds love this trope -- there are very, very few that do ''not'' have an example of a Hold The Line mission.

Fictionally, it is often a form of YouShallNotPass or LastStand, but the goals differ. In the first, the objective is to save the rest of the unit. In the second, the goal is to defeat as many of the enemy as possible before being killed. In this trope, the objective is to stall for time.

*** Despite being the current page quote for the trope, the mission [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXLVFnl3WcE that speech]] occurs during is a quasi-aversion; it's an ordinary mission for you, though it's implied that the [=NPCs=] offscreen are going through one on your behalf.

*** There's also a mission on the minor planet Nepmos where your squad has to hold off several waves of BrainwashedAndCrazy [[spoiler:rachni]] in conjunction with a fireteam of Alliance Marines. You can do it either on foot or in the Mako.

*** The Archangel recruitment mission has you and your squad fend off an entire army of mercenaries trying to kill the local VigilanteMan.
*** The DownloadableContent ''Arrival'' has this as a sort of OptionalBoss: Holding the line against five large waves of [[ArtificialBrilliance exceptionally intelligent attackers]] and one MiniBoss. If you die, the mission continues to the next area. But if you succeed, you'll get an achievement, plus [[TheDreaded the attacker's fearful cries]] of [[OneManArmy how unstoppable you are]], and [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu another opportunity to flip off Cthulhu]].
*** [[DeadlyDoctor Mordin]] (who used to work with Kirrahe) uses this as an infrequent catchphrase. If you let him [[spoiler:get killed, it's even his last words]]. Of course when you first mention Kirrahe to Mordin, the good doctor mentions how he did find the speeches somewhat stirring ... if [[LargeHam excessive]]. It's mentioned that "hold the line" is one of Kirrahe's favorite things to spout out.

*** The prologue on Earth pits you against a mob of mutated husks while you wait for the Normandy to pick you up. Somewhat subverted in that the Normandy will arrive the moment you run out of ammunition instead of having to hold out for a set time. Double subverted by the fact that you can abuse a particular build (Soldier class, no weapons, spam concussive shot) to hold out nearly indefinitely. The Normandy still comes to pick you up anyway.

* Some of the scenarios in ''VideoGame/{{Wolf}}'' require you to keep your mate or cubs alive for a certain number of days.

*** [[DeadlyDoctor Mordin]] (who used to work with Kirrahe) uses this as an infrequent CatchPhrase. If you let him [[spoiler:get killed, it's even his last words]]. Of course when you first mention Kirrahe to Mordin, the good doctor mentions how he did find the speeches somewhat stirring ... if [[LargeHam excessive]]. It's mentioned that "hold the line" is one of Kirrahe's favorite things to spout out.

** This is the goal in the new gameplay mode "Mann VS Machine" - beating back progressively larger waves of computer-controlled robotic enemies, along with the occasional boss enemy; and a tank that, while having no direct attacks, can absorb a ton of damage and will dish out an instant loss if it can deploy its bomb before you destroy it.

* The entirety of ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense'' is a Hold The Line mission. Every alien ship and base the player destroys only serves to hinder the aliens' progress until the player has the knowledge and technology to attack the alien home base. No matter how many weapons the player builds and no matter how many aliens they successfully destroy, the Earth will slowly but surely fall into alien hands unless the final mission is carried out.
* This is mostly true for most of the games in the ''{{VideoGame/XCOM}}'' series and even lots of those inspired by it. In ''VideoGame/XCOMTerrorFromTheDeep'' this unsurprisingly is the same as in [[VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense the original]]. In ''[[VideoGame/XCOMApocalypse Apocalypse]]'', you actually take the fight to the enemy after a while (however, mostly you'll be holding the line at home while you carry out covops-style missions in the alien dimension. And the only way to actually win is to destroy the one last buildings the aliens have -- and you can't skip buildings). In ''X-COM: Interceptor'' you are delaying the [[spoiler:construction of a planet destroyer weapon designed to eliminate Earth (which is out of reach for the player)]]. In ''VideoGame/UFOExtraterrestrials'', you are holding the line to prevent the alien mothership [[spoiler:which is parked near Earth (the game itself is set on a far away colony of Esperanza) from refuelling after being attacked by Earths LaResistance]]. Again, in the end you go and kick their ass. Most of the time though, you are fighting against better equipped and numerous aliens which are out of your reach.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' allows the player to come across the Akkala Citadel, where [[spoiler:the last of Hyrule's knights and soldiers gathered for a last stand against the Guardians after the deaths of the King and the Champions. Sadly, they were quickly overrun and slaughtered. 100 years later, the area is overrun with Plight and has flying Guardians patrolling the base of the tower.]]

** The climax of the Dressrosa arc boils down to the country's citizens, the Marines, the Corrida Colosseum gladiators, the Tontatta Tribe and the Straw Hat Pirates holding off Doflamingo's [[AdvancingWallOfDoom Birdcage]] through whatever means necessary, with every ounce of strength they can muster, until Luffy can finish him off, or else the entire country will be [[PaintTheTownRed painted red]].

** The climax of the Dressrosa arc boils down to the country's citizens, the Marines, the Corrida Colosseum gladiators, the Tontatta Tribe and the Straw Hat Pirates holding off Doflamingo's [[AdvancingWallOfDoom Birdcage]] until Luffy can finish him off, or else the entire country will be [[RazorFloss painted red]].

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Battles involving [[RankScalesWithAsskicking King Elizabello]] are usually this on Elizabello's side. He has a ChargedAttack, the King Punch, that requires a very long amount of time, ranging from hours to entire days depending on his intended output, and he cannot be interrupted during then. Once unleashed, it can destroy a castle at minimum or level an entire city at its strongest. As a result, his allies work to prevent enemies from reaching Elizabello until he can execute his King Punch, especially if a battle requires more than one.

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'' often did this with swarms of literal DemonicSpiders (Trites and Ticks), such as when waiting for a ladder to drop down.

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' does this from time to time, with the player needing to protect Alyx (who is thankfully rather durable) as she completed some task or other. In ''Half-Life 2: Episode One'', the developer's commentary at one point says that they specifically ''didn't'' include this sort of situation, because it just looked "robotic" to have her either just sit there and take the abuse from the Combine or zombies, or stop what she was doing to fight back and then start all over again.
** ...but then they make a similar scenario into the final boss fight for ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two.''
** Indeed, in Episode One, this occurs the other way round, with Alyx defending you.
** More importantly, the entire series is rife with elevators and teleporters that the player has to defend himself while waiting for.

* One physical challenge in ''[[DoubleDare1986 Double Dare]]'' was an inversion of the common "fill this container past the red line" challenges, where the liquid ''started'' above the line, and when the challenge started, began draining out of three containers through spouts shaped like noses. The contestants had to stuff rags up the noses to stem the flow of the liquid. The containers had to stay filled above the line for 30 seconds; at least two playings of this challenge exist, one requiring two containers to survive the duration, and the other requiring all three.

* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'''s Salmon Run mode, the Salmonids will all stop attacking and retreat back into the water once time runs out. It doesn't matter if they've defeated everyone on the team but one and the last remaining player is cornered and helpless; the Salmonids are done fighting. Combined with TimedMission in that if the players have taken enough Golden Eggs from them to meet the quota, the players all pass, and if there are more Salmonid groups to fight, any defeated players are revived good as new.

* At the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, the 20th Maine, which held the far left end of the Union line on the second day of battle, was nearly overwhelmed by Confederate forces attempting to flank the formation and break through to the Union rear area. Colonel Joushua Lawrence Chamberlin, the 20th's commanding officer, ordered his men to increase their spacing to extend his position, "refuse the line" (draw back at a right angle to the existing formation), and hold position. After enduring multiple waves of oncoming Confederate soldiers, and with nearly the entire unit either dead, injured, or out of ammunition, Chamberlin ordered his men to meet the final assault with a bayonet charge. The tactic caught the Confederate forces off guard, and broke their momentum, saving the Union flank.

* The 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment to the point the prevented the Union from losing the battle. In the 2nd day of fighting the Confederates were rapidly moving towards the Union's artiliery. With little time to spare, Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock quickly road out to the first unit he could find, which was the 1st Minnesota guarding the Artillery battery. He told them to " Attack that line". They were outnumbered five to one. [[BadassArmy They fixed bayonets and charged up Cemetery ridge with no hesitation.]] Their banner fell five times, and was picked up every time. 265 men charged up that hill, [[HeroicSacrifice 47 came back.]] They hold the honor of the most causalities inflicted on a unit that wasn't wiped out completely in the US Military.

* VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim, if you side with the Imperials, the Battle for Whiterun has you holding the line against countless Stormcloaks. You can fall back through the city, but ultimately your goal is to protect the Jarl. And winning it treats you to Jarl Balgruuf giving you one of the coolest victory speeches in the entire game. If you're more sympathetic to the Imperial cause, that is.

** The series goes in this direction when you fight certain gigantic monsters, namely the huge crab Shen Gaoren in , ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter2Dos'' and the even bigger dragon Lao-Shan Lung in the original ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004 Monster Hunter]]''. Instead of hunting them like you do with other monsters, the creature shows up at one end of a linear area, and past multiple obstacles is a fort on the other end of the map. You have to prevent it from destroying the fort, by either killing it before the timer runs out, or repelling it by dealing enough damage that when the timer hits 0, it flees. If you run out of time before damaging the monster enough, get knocked out three times, or let the fort get destroyed, you lose.
** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri'': The Jhen Mohran fight is a two-parter. The first involves chasing and causing whatever damage you can to it on your Dragonship, and the second is this trope. Again, if you clock out before hitting the "repel" damage threshold, you expire your faint tally, or the Dragonship is destroyed, you fail. It's possible, however unlikely, that the Dragonship will be wrecked on the first phase; hope your team isn't that sloppy. The fight against Dah'ren Mohran in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter4'' operates this same way.

** ''VideoGame/UnrealIITheAwakening'' has two missions where the objective is to hold off Skaarj invasions until an evacuation ship comes to your aid or your ship is fully repaired. Another mission requires you to defend a (very annoying) scientist during some time from Liandri assassins.

** ''2004'' (and ''2003''[='=]s [[DownloadableContent Epic Bonus Pack]]) feature the Invasion gametype, which pits you and the rest of the players, grouped as a team, against several monsters from ''VideoGame/{{Unreal|I}}''. You have to survive up to 16 waves if you want to win, though that's easier said than done.

** In ''2004'' and ''[[VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII UT3]]'', holding the line is a good Onslaught tactic for the side that already has the points to win. A team with control of a Leviathan, and a coordinated defense, can simply count frags until the clock runs out.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Battles involving [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking King Elizabello]] are usually this on Elizabello's side. He has a ChargedAttack, the King Punch, that requires a very long amount of time, ranging from hours to entire days depending on his intended output, and he cannot be interrupted during then. Once unleashed, it can destroy a castle at minimum or level an entire city at its strongest. As a result, his allies work to prevent enemies from reaching Elizabello until he can execute his King Punch, especially if a battle requires more than one.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' was especially fond of this, and in cases got pretty ridiculous. Especially when you first take control of Sora and have to fight a group of Nobodies, Sure, there are a lot of them and you're back to level 1, but you could ''so'' take them.

* Creator/DavidGemmell's first novel, ''Literature/{{Legend}}'', is one big case of holding the line, as an undermanned and undertrained garrison attempts to hold a pass against an invading horde that massively outnumbers them, in the hope of slowing the horde down long enough for reinforcements to arrive. [[spoiler:They don't, but they do delay the horde just barely long enough for internal strife to force the horde to turn around and go home.]] A prequel, ''Literature/TheFirstChroniclesOfDrussTheLegend'' also features a hold the line action in its last act, with a FantasyCounterpartCulture version of the Spartans holding the line at Thermopylae.

** ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' has several of these missions spanning across its three games.

*** ''Wings of Liberty'''s campaign mode closes with "All In". You have to defend an artifact for 30 minutes against endless Zerg forces (And [[OneManArmy Kerrigan]] that comes up from time to time). The artifact actually helps in that once in some minutes it can wipe out almost all Zerg units near you, but an achievement needs you to not use it more than once... Attacking the enemy bases is impractical at best (you're better off keeping your forces for defense), and the bases are quickly rebuilt rendering it pointless.

*** The first mission in ''Legacy of the Void'' in this trope style is "Last Stand" - protecting the Xel'Naga temple on Shakuras until you destroy three pillars and the Zerg counter reaches 1 billion. Unlike other examples, after the counter reaches said mark, the mission does not end, and it only does so when ''you'' decide to overload the temple - a bonus objective requires you to hold out until 1.5 billion[[note]]Technically, you hold out until your forces can extract the solarite beneath the temple, this is simply marked as 1.5 billion for conveniences sake[[/note]] and an achievement asks you to reach 1.8 billion, which are easier said than done.
*** The final mission in ''Legacy of the Void'''s main campaign, "Salvation", is very similar in concept to "All In" and map style to "In Utter Darkness" from ''Wings of Liberty''. You (And your allies [[ArtificialStupidity and their weak defenses]]) have to defend the Keystone until it's fully charged against Zerg and Protoss forces. Vorazun and Karax even mention the trope in some of their lines.

** [[spoiler:The Unnamed 771]], the [[BonusBoss boss of the "The Way of All Flesh" extra stage]], also cannot be defeated prematurely, as the entire stage is set to the music.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Battles involving [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking King Elizabello]] are usually this on Elizabello's side. He has a ChargeAttack, the King Punch, that requires a very long amount of time, ranging from hours to entire days depending on his intended output, and he cannot be interrupted during then. Once unleashed, it can destroy a castle at minimum or level an entire city at its strongest. As a result, his allies work to prevent enemies from reaching Elizabello until he can execute his King Punch, especially if a battle requires more than one.