History Main / NecessaryDrawback

* In ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', the Casey Bat is Ness's most powerful weapon... until you figure in that it has a 75% miss chance. This is explained in that the bat makes you want to swing with all your might... but you might "just whiff". When it connects, though? Whoo boy. Remember, Casey struck out.

** The [[ElementalPowers elemental benders]] have weaknesses and strengths to balance out everyone, making it a matter concerning the skill of the user rather then the actual bending practice that has the advantage. Fire is less effective in cold environments and gone during a solar eclipse. Water can easily be removed from the bender and is gone during a lunar eclipse. Earth only works with direct contact with the earth (although some powerful benders like King Bumi can overcome this weakness). Air has a limitless power supply, but is usually not an aggressive fighting style and does not feature any type of finishing move.

** The two moves with the highest Base Power out of all Pokemon attacks, [[EarthShatteringKaboom Selfdestruct and Explosion]], deal massive damage, hits all Pokemon on the field save for Ghosts, and halves the target's Defense on damage calculations,[[note]]that is until Gen V, where such attacks doesn't reduce the target's defense anymore, so instead of 400 and 500 BP as a result, it has only their mentioned values, 200 and 250 BP,[[/note]] [[SuicideAttack but causes the user to faint.]] The Damp ability also nullifies these.

** The [[FrickinLaserBeams Tactical Laser Systems]] have incredible range and power and will always hit what's in the targeting circle. However, that accuracy is also their greatest weakness; being unguided, if you can't keep the target in the circle then it is not going to get fried. Start working on your gunkills!

* In computer programming, you can make something faster at the cost of needing more (random access) memory, or decrease its memory needs at the cost of being slower. A _lot_ of computer evolution, both in hardware and software, has been finding ways to improve the exchange rate or just straight increase the amount of resources available to fiddle with.

* Project management. The variables are budget, schedule and scope. You can fix only two of those variable at the time. If you know how much it costs and how much time you have, you cannot know what you can get to do. If you know what to do and on which price, you won't know how long it will take. It you have schedule and a well-defined task, you will not know how much it will cost.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' has not one but two drawbacks to getting the Grand Trunk back online: "Do you want it fast or good or cheap, gentlemen?"

* In ''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}} 2048'' Prototype crafts usually has some kind of drawback to secure that they are used either skillfully or doesn't become overpowered. [[MagikarpPower The Feisar Prototype]] is a good first example: It's one of the fastest crafts you can get, but it starts off slow. It gains more speed as you pass over speed pads, usually exceeding most Speed class crafts. The Auricom Prototype counts too, as it deals decent damage, doesn't get slowed down or wipes out upon contact with enemy weapons, but can't pick-up defensive weapons.

** Powerful weapons are often slower or have longer recovery times, while more protective armor is almost always heavier and more movement-hindering. In reality, however, a two-handed sword is actually ''faster'' to swing and recover than a one-handed sword while also doing more damage (the weight difference between the two is minimal, while the power and maneuverability you can deliver with both hands increases considerably.) The real trade-off is that you can't carry a shield which, prior to the advent of plate armor, was a very risky proposition.

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* In ''VideoGame/SplinterCellConviction'', the various guns show this. The Five-Seven has the most number of Marks of all, but isn't the strongest for the chaos of CQC when you don't have time to line up headshots. Scope-attachable assault rifles like the G36 or AK have the best range but can't be suppressed. The [=SC3000=] is a good, suppressible infighter but lacks a scope and has only a measly two Marks. So on and so forth.

* PowerAtAPrice - and associated tropes

* Warships and other military vehicles (e.g. tanks, aircraft, etc) have a "design triangle": You can have '''firepower''', '''armor protection'', or '''mobility'''; Pick two. This is because weapons and armor are heavy, so the more you add the harder it is to move the thing. Sometimes it's possible to get all three, but then the "triangle" becomes a "quadrilateral", because creating a vehicle that is heavily armed, well protected, ''and'' highly mobile will come at an extremely high '''cost'''. Some examples of the extremes:

'''College/University: '''Good social life. Good grades. Sleep.Pick two.\\

'''College/University:'''Good social life. Good grades. Sleep.Pick two.\\

'''College/University:''' ->'''College/University:''' Good social life. Good grades. Sleep. SadisticChoice Pick two.\\

'''College/University:''' ->'''College/University:''' Good social life. Good grades. Sleep. [[SadisticChoice Pick two.\\

]]

->'''College/University:''' Good social life. Good grades. Sleep. [[SadisticChoice Pick two.]]

* Mysterion from ''[[VideoGame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole The Fractured but Whole]]'' turns into Dead Mysterion after being knocked out or using his LimitBreak. Dead Mysterion can inflict various status effects and is invincible, but cannot inflict any damage, and he can only be resurrected by his secondary LimitBreak. On top of that, if Dead Mysterion is the only character left standing, you automatically lose the battle.

** Trafalgar Law's Ope-Ope Fruit allows him to create "Rooms" where they can cut up and rearrange ''absolutely anything'' inside of it, including switching around people's souls. This would be a StoryBreakerPower if it wasn't for its drawbacks: first, he has to create a "Room" before using his techniques; he can only affect what is inside the current one; and he has to concentrate on what he's trying to affect, and if he's unable to (for example, if his target moves so fast he isn't able to follow them), he cannot affect them. Most importantly, unlike literally any other Devil Fruit, his abilities consume his stamina.

* In ''Franchise/Dragonball'', many powerful attacks [[MightyGlacier require a long charge time]]:

->'''Cars:''' Fast. Reliable. Cheap. Pick two.\\
'''Jobs:''' Fun. Well-paid. Legal. Pick two.\\
'''College/University:''' Good social life. Good grades. Sleep. Pick two.\\
'''People in General:''' Intelligent. Nice. Ambitious. Pick two.

** Ochako Uraraka's Quirk, [[GravityMaster Zero Gravity]], makes her sick to her stomach if she overexerts it, or attempts to use it on herself.

* The title character of ''{{Naruto}}'' can't pull off Sage Mode without risking transforming into a frog; requiring frog oil from a mountain a month away from home; a reverse summoning to send his clones home to help in a timely manner; and he only prepared a limited number of clones to refill his powers with, for reasons probably related to lack of infinite summoning; he also needs to be motionless to get natural energy (clone) ''and'' mobile to use it (real Naruto) so only he can pull this particular method off because of his ability to keep clones going a very long time. His weaknesses to these modes do go away: Naruto can enter Sage Mode near instantly and keep it active for a relatively long time later on. For his Nine-Tailed Chakra Mode, the risk was that Kurama (the Kyubi) would consume his chakra to the point where he could die from chakra exhaustion, and his trademark technique Kage Bushin would accelerate the process, thus he could only use it sparingly. [[spoiler:However, after he and Kurama become partners there aren't any risks to the form, and it can even be used as a FantasticLightSource.]]

* In ''Anime/DragonballZ'', many powerful attacks [[MightyGlacier require a long charge time]]:
** In its first appearance, Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon is a DiscOneNuke in terms of attack power, but takes [[MightyGlacier five]] ''[[MightyGlacier minutes]]'' [[MightyGlacier to charge up]]. He is only able to successfully use it on Raditz by having Goku make a HeroicSacrifice to hold him in place. The charging problem is largely corrected in subsequent appearances, presumably because Piccolo trained to perfect the technique. [[spoiler: Until ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuper Dragon Ball Super]]'', when Piccolo charges the Special Beam Cannon against Frost and it is specifically noted that this is the first time he's charged the technique to full power since the fight with Raditz.]]

*** A filler arc in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' has Goku combine the Kaioken with his [[SuperMode Super Saiyan Blue]] form, which massively enhances the benefits of the former while temporarily suppressing the drawbacks. However, this has some ''new'' major drawbacks: besides requiring a very precise ''ki'' control, lest it misfires and kills the user (which is why Goku never attemtped this until he obtained Super Saiyan Blue, which comes with perfect ki control), it causes "[[HeroicRROD Delayed Onset Ki Disorder]]", aka a temporary loss of ki and control of the user's powers some time after turning back to normal - and, if the technique is used too mach, the power loss becomes permanent.

** In the battle against [[spoiler:Fusion Zamasu]] in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Goku and Vegeta [[spoiler:fuse into Vegito and use the Final Kamehameha against him as a way to severely damage him. After the two defused]] and tried to turn into Super Saiyans in an attempt to deal with [[spoiler:Zamasu's spirit, both of them are unable to maintain the energy because of all of the energy they used for the Final Kamehameha beforehand]].

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* In the ''Franchise/StarWars: Episode III'' ExpandedUniverse, the Jedi debated on who should fight General Grievous. Mace Windu concluded that while both he and Yoda are more powerful Jedi, their fighting styles come with inherent weaknesses that could be their downfall. Windu's Vaapad style was [[GlassCannon overly aggressive with minimal defense]] and Yoda's [[FragileSpeedster Ataru]] was a matter of compensating for his height, involving a lot of acrobatics. Obi-Wan Kenobi, on the other hand, mastered the Soresu style -- [[StoneWall offensively weak but with no defensive flaws]], allowing him to maintain his position effectively even against the four-armed Grievous while waiting for the right moment to strike. (Its "weakness" was that a Soresu user might have to count on an opportunity arriving instead of creating one.)

* In ''TheHouseOfGod'', medical interns are advised that they can be lazy, incompetent, or assholes, but not more than one.

* ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' has not one but two drawbacks to getting the Grand Trunk back online: "Do you want it fast or good or cheap, gentlemen?"

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* ''Series/BurnNotice'' has mentioned repeatedly about how to properly search a location and hide your own valuables. A hiding spot that would be difficult for crooks to locate also has to be difficult for yourself to retrieve easily. Thus hiding something in the wall will require straight up demolition to find. Most of the show is about learning where those drawbacks are and finding the most efficient advantage, thus Michael hid a key card in the door frame behind the hinge using a saw and then covering it up. No one would think to look there and recovery just required 30 seconds and a screwdriver.

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

* This is an explicit design rule of ''[[MagicTheGathering Magic: The Gathering]]'', as stated by R&D director Mark Rosewater. A card can have only two of the following: a low mana cost, high power, or no drawback. An entire [[PlayerArchetypes Player Archetype]], "Johnny", enjoys building decks around cards with quirky drawbacks.

* A recurring theme in the ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' construction rules is that equipment made of lighter materials than normal ends up being ''bigger'' than normal ([[MST3KMantra never mind the logic behind that]]) and thus eats up more internal space; classic examples are extralight fusion engines, endosteel internal structure, ferro-fibrous armor, and double heat sinks. Where this principle isn't followed -- XL engines on aerospace fighters are notorious offenders, and double heat sinks arguably also qualify since, when done right, they can actually end up ''saving'' internal space as well as weight relative to the standard model, -- the items in question do acquire certain GameBreaker qualities. (In-universe these things may be to some degree balanced by cost -- indeed, quite possibly the only reason internal combustion engines are still used at all is that they're notionally cheap and available, because they certainly have no actual in-game advantages whatsoever to compensate for their drawbacks, -- but in actual gaming practice certain pieces of gear are just flat-out preferable to others. The Battle Value system tries to help balance things out, but it ultimately remains an ''optional'' rule that even after a couple of decades of development cannot hope to account for everything and retains a number of bugs.)
** From a material sciences point of view it makes a lot of sense. It is very very rare for one substance to be just plain better than another. For example, steel is much stronger per unit volume than titanium, but we use titanium quite often in aerospace construction where a bulkier (you still need to pass certain mechanical limits) but lighter structure is better. We rarely bother to use titanium in a tank.
* In-universe example, from ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea'': Every school of swordfighting has one flaw, which can be exploited if you're familiar with the school (represented in-game by bonuses if you're fighting someone of a school you know). For example, one school teaches its students to fight by playing a song in their heads and attacking in time to it. The flaw? The chorus - the only time in the song where your motions will always be the same.
* Within ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'', every power has a point cost. Adding flaws and drawbacks reduces the cost. In addition, heroes can pull out related powers in a crisis by expending Hero Points, but said power has to match the point value of the original power. Therefore, a common method is to take the regular power and add a flaw for the single usage such as the power taking longer to charge up, causing the power to tire out the user, adding a side effect, or preventing dodging while the power is being used.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' generally ''tries'' to have this, with level of success varying, sometimes wildly, depending on who wrote the codex - one of the reasons a Space Marine bike list became powerful in late 7th edition was that bikes brought with them speed ''and'' durability ''and'' a decent amount of hitting power, without being all that expensive.
* Goblin Contracts from ''Tabletop/ChangelingTheLost'' have powerful effects balanced by significant drawback, but there's one noteworthy [[InvertedTrope inversion:]] [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Call The Hunt]]. It summons a Fae hunting party to your location without any drawback, ''because its effect is already its own drawback.'' Needless to say, only Loyalists or the [[GodzillaThreshold truly desperate]] will use it.
* This is a gameplay mechanic in ''TabletopGame/MyLifeWithMaster''. All players possess a "More Than Human" power which allows them to do a certain action and automatically succeed; however, they can't use their power in a [[WeaksauceWeakness specific situation]] (for example: they can move silently, except in presence of babies). Additionally, they possess a "Less Than Human" weakness that works in reverse: it makes them automatically fail a certain action unless they're in a specific situation (for example: they can't talk except when in their Master's presence). Often, players make it so that the thing that prevents them from using their power is the same thing that temporarily suppresses their weakness.

[[folder:VideoGames]]

* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' has these with its super-powerful passive skills called "Keystone Passives." They balance excellent advantages with harsh disadvantages, to the point that choosing one may fundamentally change how the game is played. Among them: your attacks [[AlwaysAccurateAttack will never miss]] at the cost of never being able to deal a CriticalHit, your summons deal much more damage but you can't deal any damage yourself, and being unable to dodge but being immune to stun.
** Several unique items also balance traits impossible to get on the RandomlyGeneratedLoot with significant drawbacks. Immortal Flesh gives enormous life regeneration and physical damage resistance but also greatly lowers elemental resistance, Saffel's Frame can block spells but not physical attacks, Void Battery actually reduces your spell damage if you haven't optimized your build around power charges, and so on.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' makes this trope a basis for every non stock weapon as a balancing factor, so that pretty much everything is designed to be more a sidegrade than an upgrade in general use.
** This is part of the reason the Engineer rarely ever gets new weapons.
** One notable subversion is the Third Degree, which is a straight upgrade to the Pyro's stock Fire Axe, being able to hit both an enemy and the Medic healing them, but this usually means [[InstantDeathRadius charging at an overhealed Heavy Weapon Guy]] and only with the strength of a regular fire ax. The Solemn Vow and Holy Mackerel/Unarmed Combat also provide upgrades without any particular downsides (StatOVision in the former and denying Spies who try FakingTheDead in the latter).
** ''Team Fortress 2'''s entire design philosophy is based around the idea that nothing can go without a flaw, even with stock equipment and classes. The classes with a OneHitKill are fragile and forced to play dangerously to do their jobs. The faster battle classes must go to close range to do damage and risk being counterattacked. The classes with the biggest guns are slow and easily targeted, but make up for it with higher health (or Sentry health in the case of the Engineer). The classes with the ability to deal widespread explosive damage are hampered by lower speed, self-damage, and long reload times.
** This can play hell with the meta however: Pyro used to have the "Puff and Sting" with the Degreaser flamethrower (which switches faster) and the Axtingusher (which has extra damage on burning enemies). Before this was ''the'' way the Pyro was supposed to get kills instead of using using fire and afterburn.[[labelnote: The reason]]Fire is extremely unreliable due to the hit detection going farther than the particles show and lag compensation makes it go farther along with the may ways to extinguish afterburn (or at least shrug it off).[[/labelnote]] In an effort to {{nerf}} the strategy the devs gave Axtingusher a ''75%'' slower switch-to speed (making it slower than molasses even with the Degreaser's 60% switch speed buff) and 20% slower attack speed (along with doing 1/3 less damage). This drawback was so severe that the Axtingusher stopped being the go to weapon for pyro, even as a sidegrade.

* Traditionally, in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series, the various types of magnum are extremely powerful weapons, capable of killing multiple enemies in a single shot. However it has a very slow firing rate and ammunition is typically rare. In the few instances the game does start giving you more bullets to play with, [[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity it typically means you're gonna' need every bullet you have for whatever is coming next]].

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games that use the Active Time Battle system usually couple powerful spells with longer wait times between inputting the command and the actual execution, in addition to the obviously higher MP costs. This can be deadly in a heated battle against enemies who like to spam powerful spells, since these restrictions [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard don't seem to apply to them]]; when your only option for healing is Curaja, everybody ''else'' will likely have had their turn before the casting is finished. [[note]] The cast time restrictions do apply to to the AI, but it uses inhumanly precise micromanagement to avoid common human mistakes so the point still stands. [[/note]].
* The ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' series categorizes each plane as an Attacker optimized for air-to-surface (ground or naval), a Fighter optimized for air-to-air, or a Multirole plane that have a mix of both air-to-air and air-to-surface special ("SP") weapons. The most common "drawback" is Attackers and Fighters lacking SP weapons for the other role with some exceptions, or Multirole planes whose SP weapons don't particularly excel at their role. (Multirole planes will have to lean towards Attack or Fighter since planes can only carry one SP weapon type at a time, but in games that allow SP weapon switches the mix allows them to tackle missions with mixed opposition.) Of course, some planes (including the [[GameBreaker superfighters]]) will blur these lines...
** Specific examples for air-to-ground SP weapons: Precision Guided Bombs/Guided Penetration Bombs (PGB/GPB) have a relatively short lock-on range and a small blast radius in return for the player being able to "fire and forget" and deal high damage to a single target. Advanced/4-Target Air-to-Ground Missiles (XAGM or 4AGM) has a decent lock-on range and can hit targets that are further spread-out than a bomb could, but can be wasted against large groups ground targets clustered together which could have been defeated by a single Unguided Bomb (UGB). Long-Range Air-to-Ground or Air-to-Surface Missiles (LAGM and LASM) have extremely long range and high power, but with a much smaller explosive radius than bombs, the former deals less damage to naval targets, and the latter's unique flight path prevents it from actually hitting non-naval targets.
** Even the QAAM has ''one'' drawback: it has the same lock-on range as the regular missiles. (Not that this balances against the [[GameBreaker unGodly agility]].) Later games lowered the agility of the QAAM, changing it from a "hit eventually" weapon to a "probably hit eventually" weapon. In addition, the ''range'' of the QAAM dropped significantly starting in Ace Combat Zero, making it fly a much shorter distance than standard missiles, meaning that the player would have to get much closer to the target than the lock-on range to ensure a hit.
** The add-on parts in ''Skies of Deception'' almost always have trade-offs, such as armour throwing away speed for defense or engines that do the reverse.
** The [[FrickinLaserBeams Tactical Laser Systems]] have incredible range and power and will always hit what's in the targeting circle. However, that accuracy is also their greatest weakness; being unguided, if you can't keep the target in the circle then it is not going to get fried. Start working on your gunkills!
* ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'' shows this: Early-/mid-game gankers and mages have strong spells that can kill enemies easily at first, but the damage is fixed and therefore as the enemy builds health, the spells become less powerful, plus they usually lack passives that scale well with items. Lategame carries are weak at first both in health and damage, but become very powerful with farming and usually have passives that scale with their growth. You do have some semicarries who can both gank and carry, but they can't do either as well as a hero dedicated to either archetype. Even within spells there are tradeoffs; for example ranged fire-and-forget (almost) sure-hit stuns like Storm Bolt have a low stun time compared to, say, Shackles that needs the user to stand still and channel, leaving himself open, or Elune's Arrow where the target needs to be led a certain distance in order to achieve a long stun and the projectile is rather easily dodged.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', the Casey Bat is Ness's most powerful weapon... until you figure in that it has a 75% miss chance. This is explained in that the bat makes you want to swing with all your might... but you might "just whiff." When it connects, though? Whoo boy. Remember, Casey struck out.

* In-universe example in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. Mages have incredibly power literally at their fingetips. However, this power draws the attention of demons, meaning that anyone who shows signs of magical ability is sent to the Circle Tower to be trained as a mage--under the watchful eye of the Templars, who will kill anyone who shows even a hint of consorting with demons. On top of this, all mages must provide a sample of blood for their "phylactery," a device that can be used to track them flawlessly, should they escape the Templars. Even if a mage ''does'' completely break free, they are still in very real danger from the actual demons.
* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' has a couple of examples:
** From ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed2'' on, you have firearms, which are an instant kill on almost all enemies, but take several seconds to aim and also alert any guards in the area.
** In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', you can send novice Assassins out on missions by themselves. There is a chance that they can fail. The chance of success can be improved by sending multiple or more experienced Assassins on the mission, but doing the former means that the benefits of success are split amongst them, while doing the latter can result in the less experienced Assassins losing out on leveling opportunities.
* ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars''
** Weapons: The weapon higher up the TechTree may deal more damage and have better range but is costlier to mount, fires less often and may need a larger turret that tracks more slowly. [[ArmorPiercingAttack Armor piercing]] mass drivers suffer a loss in actual damage and [[BlownAcrossTheRoom knockback]] in order to get higher accuracy, range and less deflection off armour.\\
\\
The sequel adds more complexity with the armour layer system. Some weapons deal incredible damage to ship internals but absolutely horrendous armour damage. Some weapons deal "deep" but "narrow" armour damage, meaning you have to get lucky but will quickly get to the innards when they hit the same spots. Others deal wide but shallow armour damage, meaning less penetration but you don't have to be as accurate. This is however averted with most lategame weapons that have deep ''and'' wide armour penetration and also greatly damage internals.
** FTL drives also have their own advantages and drawbacks. [[BugWar Hivers]] have to STL anywhere but can set up gates that enable one-turn movement. In Antimatter era they get the Farcaster tech that allows them to "teleport" to a system within 10 lightyears, but there is a chance of missing by up to two lightyears. Human node drive has the second highest stated speed but must follow the natural paths, which are rarely straight-line between any two distant systems. [[SapientCetaceans Liir]] Stutterwarp has a comparable speed and can move directly between any systems, but slow down severely near gravity wells. [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Morrigi]] Void Cutter can theoretically attain the highest straight-line speed but requires large fleets; single-ships move slow even with maxed upgrades. [[LizardFolk Tar]][[KillerSpaceMonkey ka]] Hyperdrive is the simplest straight-line system, no funny conditions or effects, but isn't very fast. [[AbsoluteXenophobe Zuul]] tunnel drive is similar to humans' but being able to form their own paths comes at the cost of not being as fast (their paths also collapse over time, accelerated by continuous use). Whew!

* In ''VideoGame/RustyHearts'', bonuses to physical defence often come as the cost of penalties to magic defence and vice versa.
* ''VideoGame/BattlestarGalacticaOnline'':
** Weapons are divided into three types. One gives MoreDakka but is short-ranged, one has long range but poor rate of fire and the third offers a balance.
** Hull plating offers bonuses to [[CallAHitPointASmeerp hull points]], defence against normal attacks, defence against critical hits or a mix of two or more of those. The mixes give less of each individual attribute.
* Some custom parts in ''VideoGame/GhostRecon: Future Soldier'' work like this - modifying a part on a gun will usually confer a bonus but also add a drawback. A long barrel will increase accuracy but also reduce maneuverability, an overpowered gas system will increase the rate of fire but also make it harder to control, and so on. On the other hand, some parts are objectively better than others; for example, the Gripod combines all the advantages of a bipod and vertical grip, and almost all attachments are better than no attachment at all.
* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', the ''Normandy's'' revolutionary stealth-drive relies on storing all outbound emissions in massive heat-sinks, thus making it virtually undetectable to other vessels. However the ship can only remain in stealth for a few hours at the most, otherwise the massive build up of heat will slowly begin to cook the crew alive.
** It also doesn't have any form of optical stealth, so even at maximum concealment it's 100% detectable if the enemy so much as looks out their window. This is a non-issue in practice, however, since the vast distances of space mean that combat virtually never happens in visual range.
** The hybrid classes - Infiltrator, Sentinel and Vanguard - make up for their talent flexibility with a lack of focus; a Vanguard won't have the nastiest talents a Soldier or Adept can bring to bear, for example. Then they got unique abilities, which gave them stronger definition but reduced flexibility - while neither a Soldier nor an Engineer can use a Vanguard's biotic charge, it does tend to push Vanguards into a tactical model of screaming and charging.

* All the more powerful gear in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'' comes under this in some way, with the increased stats being part of a tradeoff for some other drawback. The Crystal items raise stats massively, but can break during use and be destroyed. The Dark items do the same, but hurt the wielder for every attack. And the Legendary Wear boosts every stat you have by a pretty big amount... with the not so minor drawback that you automatically get [=KOed=] in two turns. There are also a few badge effects which have great effects for the user... 50% of the time (with the alternative being 'potentially KO everyone on the field at once').
* Most equipment in ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' have this. A certain magazine type may increase ammo capacity but penalise stability. Armored joints increase Endurance but make more noise. Stealth armour has good sound dampening but inferior Endurance bonuses to combat armour. Even the stuff that is a straight upgrade over base gear, usually guns manufactured by Hamilton, usually has inferior stats in certain areas compared to other manufacturers' weapons that greatly improve one or two areas in exchange for penalising others.
* In ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'', right-clicking while Jake is using the Dallas mask causes him to whip out nunchucks and turn into a human buzzsaw that shreds any mooks he gets near to, plus greatly increases his speed. However, it has a long windup and cooldown time during which he's completely immobile.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' has Cheat Tuners that can be toggled for some sort of gameplay benefit, but most also come with a penalty. The Loot Cheat increases the chances of random item drops but decreases PlayerCharacter Sora's HP, the Prize Cheat increases the prize drop chance but increases enemy damage, the CP Cheat increases the amount of CP awarded but decreases the amount of EXP that is gained, and the HP Cheat reduces enemy HP but Sora's is decreased by the same amount.
* In ''VideoGame/JediOutcast'' you can switch among three light saber stances: the Strong stance has powerful attacks that can overcome the defenses of melee opponents, but is slow and defensively weak. The Quick stance has very fast but weak attacks, is strong defensively, and is the most effective at deflecting blaster shots. The Medium stance (the first one you learn) is a balance between the two, with better defense than the Strong stance and better offense than the Quick stance.
* ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'': The Salmon Run-exclusive Grizzco weapons are generally enormously powered-up versions of the normal weapon types. To keep them from being ''too'' powerful [[ItsEasySoItSucks to be fun]], they each have at least one glaring weakness to balance things out. In particular, almost all of them have insane ink consumption, the Grizzco Brella lacks any shield, and the Grizzco Slosher has a PainfullySlowProjectile (albeit one that [[ArmorPiercingAttack that can damage normally-invincible enemies]]).

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* Shadows, the EliteMooks of the Order of Denderah in ''WebVideo/Lonelygirl15'', take a number of drugs that raise their awareness, build muscles and remove the need for sleep, but as a side effect, few can survive past the age of 30.

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Torg's [[EmpathicWeapon talking sword]] Chaz in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' is able to kill just about any supernatural creature in a single strike, but it has to feed on the blood of the innocent to pull this off. Torg, being a good person himself, is naturally against the idea of using the obvious sources of such a commodity.
* The [[ArtifactOfDoom Dewitchery Diamond]] in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', to the point that in the most extreme cases it's a horrible idea to use it. All its creator Abraham wanted was a spell that would cure lycanthropy. Unfortunately, the lycanthropy had to go somewhere, so the werewolf form became a separate rampaging entity. And if you use it on someone with cosmetic magic on, then the magic is separated and becomes a clone. And added fun comes if the subject of cloning has lots of latent magic abilities... As a result of this, he's become an infamous AntiRoleModel in magical education -- the ''correct'' answer would have been to ''sell'' the massive diamond and ''hire a competent mage'' to break the curse.
* [[UpliftedAnimal Bowman's Wolves]] in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' can react properly to human gestures and body language, because Dr. Bowman repurposed their mirror neurons. They ''can't'' react properly to the body language of their own species. The current population of the Bowman's Wolf species is 14, so reacting properly to humans is, at least, far more valuable.
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* The most common explanation of the silver age ''GreenLantern'''s inability to affect yellow objects was that his ring and power battery had a "necessary impurity" in their composition.