History Main / InvisibilityWithDrawbacks

* In most ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' video games, active camouflage is less effective while moving, and the user becomes completely visible for a few seconds whenever a weapon is fired. Melee attacks don't break the invisibility, but [[LaserBlade Covenant energy swords]] remain visible even when the wielder is camouflaged.

* Klingon warships in ''Franchise/StarTrek'' have extremely effective cloaking devices, but cloaking takes up so much power that they can't fire any of their weapons while cloaked.

* [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy ''Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy'']] had Grand Admiral Thrawn discovering the Emperor's secret cloaking technology early in the first book. His initial plan is to use it to cloak the Empire's ships, however, it's discovered the invisibility, which in this novel works by bending light ''around'' the cloaked object instead of letting it go through, renders the ship totally blind. Thrawn, [[MagnificentBastard being Thrawn]], instead puts the cloak to alternative use: [[spoiler: he straps a bunch of cloaking devices to small asteroids which he then dumps in Coruscant's orbit, effectively grounding the planetary defenses.]]

* Although it isn't explicitly stated, observation of the Chozo Ghosts in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' makes it clear that they have to become visible to throw those projectiles.
** And all invisibility is simply shifted visibility. No enemy is invisible to all the visors, after all. Said Ghosts are always visible to the X-Ray Visor; the Cloaked Drone is ''only'' visible to the Thermal Visor; the second form of the Metroid Prime itself is only visible to one Visor at any given time, but which one that is changes... Once you have all the visors, you'll need to switch them from time to time, but that's it for enemies being able to hide completely.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' the invisibility status effect makes the target able to dodge all physical attacks, but also makes them 100% susceptible to magic. This [[GoodBadBugs led to a bug]] [[OneHitKill that let you one-shot bosses]] [[UselessUsefulSpell with normally unreliable insta-kill spells]].
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''' version of the Invisibility spell is automatically lifted whenever you attack or interact with an object. The related Chameleon spell only turns you partially invisible and has a higher cost, but has no such restrictions, making it [[GameBreaker particularly potent]] when combined with custom spells or enchanting.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic,'' you can't attack without breaking stealth, nor can you use it sneak past most droid opponents. In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic,'' stealth is limited to a handful of classes (Operative, Scoundrel, Shadow, Assassin), you won't be able to sneak past higher-level enemies, you can't use objects or attack while stealthed, and you have to keep a certain distance from enemies at all times to avoid detection. This is not to say a good Shadow or Operative can't learn how to use a combination of hit/stun/run/stealth to handle missions they shouldn't be able to solo.
* Invisibility in ''Videogame/BioShock1'' is only active when you stay completely still and takes a few seconds to recharge whenever you move or attack an enemy.
* In ''VideoGame/AvencastRiseOfTheMage'', the powerful Shadow Walk spell can only be activated while no one is watching.

* The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft was practically undetectable to Cold War era radar. Even with heavy upgrades and software modernization, which allowed limited detection but not active tracking of the F-117, anti-aircraft radar couldn't "lock on" to the plane until it opened its weapon bay doors to attack, which reduced it's electronic invisibility enough to make them vulnerable. The plane could not attack and be stealthy simultaneously. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_F-117A_shootdown This is how the Yugoslav shot them down]], and the fatal flaw convinced the [=USAF=] to retire its entire fleet of them to redistribute funds for the far superior B-2 and F-22.

* The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft was practically undetectable to Cold War era radar. Even with heavy upgrades and software modernization, which allowed limited detection but not active tracking of the F-117, anti-aircraft radar couldn't "lock on" to the plane until it opened its weapon bay doors to attack, which reduced it's electronic invisibility enough to make them vulnerable. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_F-117A_shootdown This is how the Yugoslav shot them down]], and the lethal flaw convinced the [=USAF=] to retire its entire fleet of them to redistribute funds for the far superior B-2 and F-22.

* [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy ''Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy'']] had Grand Admiral Thrawn discovering the Emperor's secret cloaking technology early in the first book. His initial plan is to use it to cloak the Empire's ships, however, it's discovered the invisibility, which in this novel works by bending light ''around'' the cloaked object instead of letting it go through, renders the ship totally blind. Thrawn, [[MagnificentBastard being Thrawn]], instead puts the cloak to alternative use: [[he straps a bunch of cloaking devices to small asteroids which he then dumps in Coruscant's orbit, effectively grounding the planetary defenses.]]

* The ''invisibility'' spell in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has retained the same drawbacks in most rules editions, which were specifically designed with warriors, rogues, and [[GlassCannon evocation spellcasters]] in mind. Objects the target picks up remain visible (unless placed in an invisible pocket or bag), and the spell is broken when the target attacks or casts an offensive spell.

* In most ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' video games, active camouflage is less effective while moving, and the user becomes completely visible for a few seconds whenever a weapon is fired. Melee attacks don't break the invisibility, but [[LaserBlade Covenant energy swords]] remain visible even when the wielder is camouflaged.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrolls''' version of the Invisibility spell is automatically lifted whenever you attack or interact with an object. The related Chameleon spell only turns you partially invisible and has a higher cost, but has no such restrictions, making it [[GameBreaker particularly potent]] when combined with custom spells or enchanting.

* Invisibility in ''Videogame/BioShock1'' is only active when you are completely still and takes a few seconds to recharge whenever you move or attack an enemy.

* [[Literature/LordOfTheRings The One Ring]] grants extremely good invisibility, even so far as to make dust and mud and carried objects invisible too. However, [[SealedEvilInACan it also eats away at your soul.]]

[[AC: Live Action TV]]

The most common drawback is that the invisibility stops working when the character attacks. This is often introduced by game designers to [[InvisibleMeansUndodgeable prevent it from becoming]] a GameBreaker and keep invisibility balanced with other options. In other media it's often used as a plot point which the hero can exploit.

** Touching enemies and taking damage will make you visible for a short time and make you flash your team color.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' the invisibility status effect makes the target dodge all physical attacks, but also 100% susceptible to magic. This [[GoodBadBugs led to a bug]] [[OneHitKill that let you one-shot bosses]] [[UselessUsefulSpell with normally unreliable insta-kill spells]].

It's very common for the power of {{Invisibility}} in games and other media to have some inherent drawbacks that limit it to only being situationally useful.

* Klingon warships in StarTrek have extremely effective cloaking devices, but cloaking takes up so much power that they can't fire any of their weapons while cloaked.

* The ''invisibility'' spell in DungeonsAndDragons has retained the same drawbacks in most rules editions, which were specifically designed with warriors, rogues, and [[GlassCannon evocation spellcasters]] in mind. Objects the target picks up remain visible (unless placed in an invisible pocket or bag), and the spell is broken when the target attacks or casts an offensive spell.

* In most {{Halo}} video games active camouflage is less effective while moving, and the user becomes completely visible for a few seconds whenever a weapon is fired. Melee attacks don't break the invisibility, but [[LaserBlade Covenant energy swords]] remain visible even when the wielder is camouflaged.
* In TeamFortress2 the spy's cloaking ability has several drawbacks:

** You can collide with enemies while cloaked, which is even easier to notice than the flashing.

It's very common for the power of {{Invisibility}} in tabletop games, video games, and other media to have some inherent drawbacks that limit it to only being situationally useful.

The most common drawback is that the invisibility stops working when the character attacks. This is often introduced by creators of games to balance invisibility and [[InvisibleMeansUndodgeable prevent it from becoming]] a GameBreaker. In other media it's used as a plot point which the hero can exploit.

* In most {{Halo}} video games active camouflage is less effective while moving, and the user becomes completely visible for a few seconds whenever a weapon is fired. Melee attacks don't break the invisibility, but [[LaserBlade Covenant energy swords]] remain visible even when the wielder is camouflaged.

It's very common for the power of {{Invisibility}} in tabletop games, video games, and other media to have some inherent drawbacks that limit it to only being situationally useful. The most common drawback is that the invisibility stops working when the character attacks.

This is often introduced by creators of games to balance invisibility and [[InvisibleMeansUndodgeable prevent it from becoming]] a GameBreaker. In other media it's often used as a plot point which the hero can exploit.

* [[LordOfTheRings The One Ring]] grants extremely good invisibility, even so far as to make dust and mud and carried objects invisible too. However, [[SealedEvilInACan it also eats away at your soul.]]