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* ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'': The point of the games is to successfully operate an alchemy lab, and you basically dungeon crawl solely to get ingredients or field-test creations (direct combat is left up to the overpowered mercenaries you can hire for protection.) A couple of games in the series reversed this for a standard "save the world" plot, but they were the exceptions rather than the norm.

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* ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'': ''VideoGame/AtelierSeries'': The point of the games is to successfully operate an alchemy lab, and you basically dungeon crawl solely to get ingredients or field-test creations (direct combat is left up to the overpowered mercenaries you can hire for protection.) A couple of games in the series reversed this for a standard "save the world" plot, but they were the exceptions rather than the norm.
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Obvious Beta is YMMV. Cleanup: (re)moving wick from trope/work example lists


* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' games tend to play this trope very straight, but you can top level ten or so in the final installment without getting in a single fight. [[ObviousBeta This, of course, was unintentional]].

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* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' games tend to play this trope very straight, but you can top level ten or so in the final installment without getting in a single fight. [[ObviousBeta This, of course, was unintentional]].
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Replacing link to disambiguation page.


When a video game is described as having "RPGElements", you generally don't expect that to mean a [[StoryBranching branching story path]] with lots of opportunities for you to decide how the character acts. That's more like an AdventureGame. No, it usually just means that you kill enemies, take their stuff, and LevelUp.

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When a video game is described as having "RPGElements", you generally don't expect that to mean a [[StoryBranching branching story path]] with lots of opportunities for you to decide how the character acts. That's more like an AdventureGame. No, it usually just means that you kill enemies, take their stuff, and LevelUp.
[[CharacterLevel level up]].
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* ''TabletopGame/ViolenceTheRoleplayingGameOfEgregiousAndRepulsiveBloodshed'' plays this trope painfully straight, as a [[BlackComedy dark satire]] of the entire trope.

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* ''TabletopGame/ViolenceTheRoleplayingGameOfEgregiousAndRepulsiveBloodshed'' plays this trope painfully straight, as a [[BlackComedy dark satire]] of and extended AuthorTract against the entire trope.
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* ''TabletopGame/ViolenceTheRoleplayingGameOfEgregiousAndRepulsiveBloodshed'' plays this trope painfully straight, as a [[BlackComedy dark satire]] of the entire trope.
-->"You're playing a fucking role, okay, you're supposed to act like a real character in this world. And yet you saunter around, killing intelligent creatures like they're just another widget, a bunch of pixels to blow away, a mechanism for obtaining experience points and treasure. That isn't roleplaying."
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[[AC:FirstPersonShooter]]

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[[AC:FirstPersonShooter]][[folder:First-Person Shooters]]



* ''{{VideoGame/Strife}}'' is one of the first first-person shooters to include RPGElements, but managed to avert this trope. In addition to being able to enhance the player character's abilities, it also includes [=NPCs=] that you can talk to, as well as MultipleEndings. And even then, ability upgrades aren't obtained by killing enemies for ExperiencePoints, but instead over the course of the story by completing the main plot missions, and they come in the form of training sessions and biotech implants that become available one by one as you advance in the main storyline.

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* ''{{VideoGame/Strife}}'' ''VideoGame/{{Strife}}'' is one of the first first-person shooters to include RPGElements, but managed to avert this trope. In addition to being able to enhance the player character's abilities, it also includes [=NPCs=] that you can talk to, as well as MultipleEndings. And even then, ability upgrades aren't obtained by killing enemies for ExperiencePoints, but instead over the course of the story by completing the main plot missions, and they come in the form of training sessions and biotech implants that become available one by one as you advance in the main storyline.




[[AC:Roguelike]]

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\n[[AC:Roguelike]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Roguelike]]




[[AC:RolePlayingGame]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' CRPG series, it is possible to gain a great deal of XP and even complete the game just by talking to people, sneaking around, messing with machines, or stealing stuff.
** This holds true even for ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]''. 10 INT and 10 CHR is just as much as a GameBreaker as carrying around 20 Epic weapons and a good portion of the stuff you find has non-combat value. You can even avoid the majority of the non-random combats (including [[spoiler: the final boss of the main storyline]]) if your speech and barter skills are high enough.
* ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', where there are plenty of ''potential'' combat situations, but only about three people that absolutely have to be fought and one of those is part of the tutorial.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' gives you XP for not just mowing down hordes of MechaMooks, but for talking to people, successfully picking locks and hacking computers, finding things, and even ''looking at points of interest''. Although most of the XP you get comes from mowing down the mooks, and actually advancing through the plot pretty much requires it. Though you can still gain 10+ levels on the Citadel, where the vast majority of missions are talking and diplomacy-based.
** Not only do enemies give a far greater proportion of your EXP than anything else, and avoiding enemies with negotiation does not get you the same EXP as killing them (in one notable example, there was a base filled with fairly easily killed enemies. They were peaceful unless you couldn't come to an agreement with their leader or shot them… but you could still talk to the leader after shooting them (and get no Renegade points, which are supposed to be what you get for being impulsive and using violence over persuasion). So the most EXP was acquired by killing everybody in a base, and then convincing their leader that you didn't want to hurt anybody.
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', on the other hand, doesn't give ''any'' [=XP=] for killing enemies; all experience is gained by completing quests. However, this doesn't make much of a difference in practice since, like the previous game, most quests involve killing large amounts of enemies.
* ''VideoGame/UltimaVII''; while the early games in the series were essentially the TropeMaker, ''The Black Gate'' focuses so much on dialogue and puzzle-solving that you can play 6-7 hours in before even encountering any combat, and then discover you have no idea how combat works in the game.
* While not an aversion, the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' turned this trope into a plot point: [[spoiler:the Jedi masters see the Exile grow stronger in the Force by killing people, and claim this to be proof that the Exile has been turned into a walking wound in the Force.]]
* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' games tend to play this trope very straight, but you could top level ten or so in the final installment without getting in a single fight. [[ObviousBeta This, of course, was unintentional]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'', while strongly combat-oriented, isn't exactly combat-focused. The fourth game even allows for a PacifistRun, though it's described as unreasonably difficult. It's either less or more straight because there's no way to LevelGrind, so if you miss opportunities to level up by killing everything that moves, it'll be harder to kill the enemies in the next, tougher area of the game if you do resort to combat.
** The series also has branching story paths in each game, and the player character has a strong impact on the course of the game.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Elvira}} Elvira II: Jaws of Cerberus]]'' also gives you experience for casting spells and [[CartographySidequest visiting previously unseen map squares]].

to:

\n[[AC:RolePlayingGame]]\n* In the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' CRPG series, it is possible to gain a great deal of XP and even complete the game just by talking to people, sneaking around, messing with machines, or stealing stuff.\n** This holds true even for ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]''. 10 INT and 10 CHR is just as much as a GameBreaker as carrying around 20 Epic weapons and a good portion of the stuff you find has non-combat value. You can even avoid the majority of the non-random combats (including [[spoiler: the final boss of the main storyline]]) if your speech and barter skills are high enough.\n* ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', where there are plenty of ''potential'' combat situations, but only about three people that absolutely have to be fought and one of those is part of the tutorial.\n* ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' gives you XP for not just mowing down hordes of MechaMooks, but for talking to people, successfully picking locks and hacking computers, finding things, and even ''looking at points of interest''. Although most of the XP you get comes from mowing down the mooks, and actually advancing through the plot pretty much requires it. Though you can still gain 10+ levels on the Citadel, where the vast majority of missions are talking and diplomacy-based.\n** Not only do enemies give a far greater proportion of your EXP than anything else, and avoiding enemies with negotiation does not get you the same EXP as killing them (in one notable example, there was a base filled with fairly easily killed enemies. They were peaceful unless you couldn't come to an agreement with their leader or shot them… but you could still talk to the leader after shooting them (and get no Renegade points, which are supposed to be what you get for being impulsive and using violence over persuasion). So the most EXP was acquired by killing everybody in a base, and then convincing their leader that you didn't want to hurt anybody.\n** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', on the other hand, doesn't give ''any'' [=XP=] for killing enemies; all experience is gained by completing quests. However, this doesn't make much of a difference in practice since, like the previous game, most quests involve killing large amounts of enemies.\n* ''VideoGame/UltimaVII''; while the early games in the series were essentially the TropeMaker, ''The Black Gate'' focuses so much on dialogue and puzzle-solving that you can play 6-7 hours in before even encountering any combat, and then discover you have no idea how combat works in the game.\n* While not an aversion, the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' turned this trope into a plot point: [[spoiler:the Jedi masters see the Exile grow stronger in the Force by killing people, and claim this to be proof that the Exile has been turned into a walking wound in the Force.]]\n* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' games tend to play this trope very straight, but you could top level ten or so in the final installment without getting in a single fight. [[ObviousBeta This, of course, was unintentional]].\n* ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'', while strongly combat-oriented, isn't exactly combat-focused. The fourth game even allows for a PacifistRun, though it's described as unreasonably difficult. It's either less or more straight because there's no way to LevelGrind, so if you miss opportunities to level up by killing everything that moves, it'll be harder to kill the enemies in the next, tougher area of the game if you do resort to combat. \n** The series also has branching story paths in each game, and the player character has a strong impact on the course of the game.\n* ''[[VideoGame/{{Elvira}} Elvira II: Jaws of Cerberus]]'' also gives you experience for casting spells and [[CartographySidequest visiting previously unseen map squares]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Role-Playing Games]]



* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' Avert this most of the time. Both experience and money is gained through plot triggers and quest solving rather than fighting. Several quests give you more XP for being stealthy or non-violent and there are very little quests available in general that has no solution other than violence. Unfortunately, at least 6 mandatory boss fights and 2 encounters with mooks would needs to be finished in order to complete the main story and they will require an actual confrontation. But aside from those rare situations most of the time the player will just explore the world, read, pick locks, solve puzzles, hack the computers, search something, do some platforming, talk to a lot of characters and runaway/hide from enemies if playing as an diplomacy- or stealth-oriented hero. Contrary to popular belief, the infamous sewers section has no actual unavoidable fights and both final stages is on 99%(cause bosses) beatable by sneaking.
* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'', while you still only gain experience towards leveling up from combat, everything else you do in the game also has a direct effect on your stats, be it fishing, farming, mining, cooking... even ''walking'' and ''sleeping'' will power you up in some way.
** Even in the games in the ''VideoGame/RuneFactory'' series which don't use this system, although you still need to fight to progress in the story, there's a huge emphasis on non-combat activities such as farming, raising monsters, crafting, and social interaction with townspeople. Given the series started as a ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' spinoff, this isn't terribly surprising.
* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' gives you experience points for reading the book stands and scrolls found all over the game world. The yield from each read increases the more you've read before, with some prodigious sums at the end. There's even a gem you can equip that increases the bonus you get. You can essentially get massive levels from ''light reading''. Most of the time it not even essential information, just background setting material.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** The series averts this trope in general by having Skills increase through use, rather than give you an EXP gain. After you've increased a certain number of skills (typically 10), you'll level up. What this means in practice is that a Warrior character who smashes everything that moves with an axe, a Mage who makes extensive use of charms to make others do his dirty work for him, and a Thief who sneaks around and robs people blind will all level up at roughly the same rate.
** That said, there are typically several cases per game where combat is unavoidable. Given that (with the sole exception of ''Morrowind'') the series uses fairly strict LevelScaling, increasing non-combat related skills can leave you at a severe disadvantage in these situations as the enemy will be scaled to your level, not your actual combat ability.
** This trope also heavily sticks out in the [[MagicalSociety Mages Guild]] (or equivalent) questlines. being set in universities or research institutions, NPC mages are often shown doing weird and wonderful things and investigating the fabric of the universe, but for obvious reasons the player is left unable to actually do anything with magic other than fight or buff using other people's spells. One of the weirdest examples of this is in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' with Arniel Gane; the Winterhold mage, Alteration professor, and researcher of the Dwemer tries to figure out what happened to them and recreate it. [[spoiler:He does]]. Later you can summon him (or rather, [[spoiler:his shade]]) to aid in combat in combat. A three-part quest about the fascinating question on how the Dwemer disappeared spent running errands and combating Dwemer mechs only to get a (admittedly useful) Conjuring spell.
* ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'' completely averts this in the core game aspect of running the store. Your Merchant level increases based on sucessful sales, nothing else. Played straight for the Dungeon-crawling aspect.
** Its inspiration, the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series, also holds true to this. The point of the games are to successfully operate an alchemy lab, and you basically dungeon crawl solely to get ingredients or field-test creations (direct combat is left up to the overpowered mercenaries you can hire for protection.) A couple of games in the series reversed this for a standard "save the world" plot, but they were the exceptions rather than the norm.
* ''VideoGame/EmbricOfWulfhammersCastle'' feels far more like an AdventureGame, or a TabletopGame in video game form, than anything else. Combat is limited to certain scenarios that are only unlocked later in the game; experience is mostly earned through interaction with the game's many characters. To drive the point home, any actual fights are introduced with the message, "Negotiations have failed!"
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is mostly combat oriented, but you also get experience from discovering new areas, completing quests that don't involve combat such as most fishing and cooking dailies, gathering herbs and ore and surveying for archeology fragments. A handful of players attempted to avert this and make it to the maximum level (varied depending on which expansion they did it during) without ever killing anything or setting foot in a dungeon, opting only to gather materials, craft, and explore. The most recent reported case was [[http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/14/3502778/pacifist-world-of-warcraft-player-maxes-level-without-killing the druid Irenic]], who made it to level 90 during ''Mists of Pandaria''.

to:

* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' Avert this most of the time. Both experience and money is gained through plot triggers and quest solving rather than fighting. Several quests give you more XP for being stealthy or non-violent and there are very little quests available in general that has no solution other than violence. Unfortunately, at least 6 mandatory boss fights and 2 encounters with mooks would needs to be finished in order to complete the main story and they will require an actual confrontation. But aside from those rare situations most of the time the player will just explore the world, read, pick locks, solve puzzles, hack the computers, search something, do some platforming, talk to a lot of characters and runaway/hide from enemies if playing as an diplomacy- or stealth-oriented hero. Contrary to popular belief, the infamous sewers section has no actual unavoidable fights and both final stages is on 99%(cause bosses) beatable by sneaking.
* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'', while you still only gain experience towards leveling up from combat, everything else you do in the game also has a direct effect on your stats, be it fishing, farming, mining, cooking... even ''walking'' and ''sleeping'' will power you up in some way.
** Even in the games in the ''VideoGame/RuneFactory'' series which don't use this system, although you still need to fight to progress in the story, there's a huge emphasis on non-combat activities such as farming, raising monsters, crafting, and social interaction with townspeople. Given the series started as a ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' spinoff, this isn't terribly surprising.
* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' gives you experience points for reading the book stands and scrolls found all over the game world. The yield from each read increases the more you've read before, with some prodigious sums at the end. There's even a gem you can equip that increases the bonus you get. You can essentially get massive levels from ''light reading''. Most of the time it not even essential information, just background setting material.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** The series averts this trope in general by having Skills increase through use, rather than give you an EXP gain. After you've increased a certain number of skills (typically 10), you'll level up. What this means in practice is that a Warrior character who smashes everything that moves with an axe, a Mage who makes extensive use of charms to make others do his dirty work for him, and a Thief who sneaks around and robs people blind will all level up at roughly the same rate.
** That said, there are typically several cases per game where combat is unavoidable. Given that (with the sole exception of ''Morrowind'') the series uses fairly strict LevelScaling, increasing non-combat related skills can leave you at a severe disadvantage in these situations as the enemy will be scaled to your level, not your actual combat ability.
** This trope also heavily sticks out in the [[MagicalSociety Mages Guild]] (or equivalent) questlines. being set in universities or research institutions, NPC mages are often shown doing weird and wonderful things and investigating the fabric of the universe, but for obvious reasons the player is left unable to actually do anything with magic other than fight or buff using other people's spells. One of the weirdest examples of this is in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' with Arniel Gane; the Winterhold mage, Alteration professor, and researcher of the Dwemer tries to figure out what happened to them and recreate it. [[spoiler:He does]]. Later you can summon him (or rather, [[spoiler:his shade]]) to aid in combat in combat. A three-part quest about the fascinating question on how the Dwemer disappeared spent running errands and combating Dwemer mechs only to get a (admittedly useful) Conjuring spell.
* ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'' completely averts this in the core game aspect of running the store. Your Merchant level increases based on sucessful sales, nothing else. Played straight for the Dungeon-crawling aspect.
** Its inspiration, the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series, also holds true to this.
''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'': The point of the games are is to successfully operate an alchemy lab, and you basically dungeon crawl solely to get ingredients or field-test creations (direct combat is left up to the overpowered mercenaries you can hire for protection.) A couple of games in the series reversed this for a standard "save the world" plot, but they were the exceptions rather than the norm.
* ''VideoGame/EmbricOfWulfhammersCastle'' feels far more like an AdventureGame, or a TabletopGame in video game form, than anything else. Combat is limited to certain scenarios that are only unlocked later in the game; experience is mostly earned through interaction with the game's many characters. To drive the point home, any actual fights are introduced with the message, "Negotiations have failed!"
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is mostly combat oriented, but you also get experience from discovering new areas, completing quests that don't involve combat such as most fishing and cooking dailies, gathering herbs and ore and surveying for archeology fragments. A handful of players attempted to avert this and make it to the maximum level (varied depending on which expansion they did it during) without ever killing anything or setting foot in a dungeon, opting only to gather materials, craft, and explore. The most recent reported case was [[http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/14/3502778/pacifist-world-of-warcraft-player-maxes-level-without-killing the druid Irenic]], who made it to level 90 during ''Mists of Pandaria''.
norm.



* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', combat is downplayed in the Wild West and Science Fiction chapters. Neither scenario includes any RandomEncounters or any opportunity for LevelGrinding. The Wild West chapter has a total of two player-controlled battles, and what little combat the Science Fiction chapter has takes place [[GameWithinAGame inside an arcade cabinet]]. The present-day chapter, by contrast, is focused ''exclusively'' on combat.
* It's possible to go through ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' without killing ''anything''. Every monster and boss can be either fought or negated in a different manner, turning every enemy into a PuzzleBoss to one degree or another. [[spoiler:In fact, going into the game with this trope in mind will get you a bad ending.]] That said, it still counts as this trope, because killing enemies and sparing them use ''exactly the same interface'', just pressing different buttons. You're still getting into fights all the time, you're just trying to accomplish different goals.

to:

* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', combat is downplayed in the Wild West ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuTheOfficialVideoGame'': Averted, and Science Fiction chapters. Neither scenario includes any RandomEncounters or any opportunity for LevelGrinding. The Wild West chapter has a total of two player-controlled battles, and what little combat the Science Fiction chapter has takes place [[GameWithinAGame inside an arcade cabinet]]. The present-day chapter, by contrast, is focused ''exclusively'' on combat.
* It's possible to go through ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' without killing ''anything''. Every monster and boss can be either fought or negated in a different manner, turning every enemy into a PuzzleBoss to one degree or another. [[spoiler:In fact, going into the game
with this trope in mind will get you a bad ending.]] That said, it still counts as this trope, because killing enemies and sparing them use ''exactly the same interface'', just pressing different buttons. You're still getting into fights all the time, good reason; you're just trying a mere human with a few dozen cantrips. Your enemies are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s whose weakest mooks could swat you to accomplish different goals.death. When you're not dealing with humans or fishmen, the best way to 'win' an encounter is to run and hide for exp.



* ''VideoGame/{{Oneshot}}'' has no combat, only item puzzles and {{Fetch Quest}}s.



* Averted in ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuTheOfficialVideoGame'', and with good reason; you're a mere human with a few dozen cantrips. Your enemies are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s whose weakest mooks could swat you to death. When you're not dealing with humans or fishmen, the best way to 'win' an encounter is to run and hide for exp.



* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** The series averts this trope in general by having Skills increase through use, rather than give you an EXP gain. After you've increased a certain number of skills (typically ten), you'll level up. What this means in practice is that a Warrior character who smashes everything that moves with an axe, a Mage who makes extensive use of charms to make others do his dirty work for him, and a Thief who sneaks around and robs people blind will all level up at roughly the same rate.
** That said, there are typically several cases per game where combat is unavoidable. Given that (with the sole exception of ''Morrowind'') the series uses fairly strict LevelScaling, increasing non-combat related skills can leave you at a severe disadvantage in these situations as the enemy will be scaled to your level, not your actual combat ability.
** This trope also heavily sticks out in the [[MagicalSociety Mages Guild]] (or equivalent) questlines. being set in universities or research institutions, NPC mages are often shown doing weird and wonderful things and investigating the fabric of the universe, but for obvious reasons the player is left unable to actually do anything with magic other than fight or buff using other people's spells. One of the weirdest examples of this is in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' with Arniel Gane; the Winterhold mage, Alteration professor, and researcher of the Dwemer tries to figure out what happened to them and recreate it. [[spoiler:He does]]. Later you can summon him (or rather, [[spoiler:his shade]]) to aid in combat in combat. A three-part quest about the fascinating question on how the Dwemer disappeared spent running errands and combating Dwemer mechs only to get a (admittedly useful) Conjuring spell.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Elvira}} Elvira II: Jaws of Cerberus]]'' also gives you experience for casting spells and [[CartographySidequest visiting previously unseen map squares]].
* ''VideoGame/EmbricOfWulfhammersCastle'' feels far more like an AdventureGame, or a TabletopGame in video game form, than anything else. Combat is limited to certain scenarios that are only unlocked later in the game; experience is mostly earned through interaction with the game's many characters. To drive the point home, any actual fights are introduced with the message, "Negotiations have failed!"
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': It's possible to gain a great deal of XP and even complete the game just by talking to people, sneaking around, messing with machines, or stealing stuff. This holds true even for ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]''. 10 INT and 10 CHR is just as much as a GameBreaker as carrying around 20 Epic weapons and a good portion of the stuff you find has non-combat value. You can even avoid the majority of the non-random combats (including [[spoiler: the final boss of the main storyline]]) if your speech and barter skills are high enough.
* ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'', while strongly combat-oriented, isn't exactly combat-focused. The fourth game even allows for a PacifistRun, though it's described as unreasonably difficult. It's either less or more straight because there's no way to LevelGrind, so if you miss opportunities to level up by killing everything that moves, it'll be harder to kill the enemies in the next, tougher area of the game if you do resort to combat. The series also has branching story paths in each game, and the player character has a strong impact on the course of the game.
* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' gives you experience points for reading the book stands and scrolls found all over the game world. The yield from each read increases the more you've read before, with some prodigious sums at the end. There's even a gem you can equip that increases the bonus you get. You can essentially get massive levels from ''light reading''. Most of the time it not even essential information, just background setting material.
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' turns this trope into a plot point: [[spoiler:the Jedi masters see the Exile grow stronger in the Force by killing people, and claim this to be proof that the Exile has been turned into a walking wound in the Force]].
* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': Combat is downplayed in the Wild West and Science Fiction chapters. Neither scenario includes any RandomEncounters or any opportunity for LevelGrinding. The Wild West chapter has a total of two player-controlled battles, and what little combat the Science Fiction chapter has takes place [[GameWithinAGame inside an arcade cabinet]]. The present-day chapter, by contrast, is focused ''exclusively'' on combat.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' gives you XP for not just mowing down hordes of MechaMooks, but for talking to people, successfully picking locks and hacking computers, finding things, and even ''looking at points of interest''. However, most of the XP you get comes from mowing down the mooks, and actually advancing through the plot pretty much requires it. Although you can still gain 10+ levels on the Citadel, where the vast majority of missions are talking and diplomacy-based. Not only do enemies give a far greater proportion of your EXP than anything else, and avoiding enemies with negotiation does not get you the same EXP as killing them (in one notable example, there's a base filled with fairly easily-killed enemies. They're peaceful unless you can't come to an agreement with their leader or shoot them... but you can still talk to the leader after shooting them (and get no Renegade points, which are supposed to be what you get for being impulsive and using violence over persuasion). So the most EXP is acquired by killing everybody in a base, and then convincing their leader that you didn't want to hurt anybody.
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', on the other hand, doesn't give ''any'' [=XP=] for killing enemies; all experience is gained by completing quests. However, this doesn't make much of a difference in practice since, like the previous game, most quests involve killing large amounts of enemies.
* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' games tend to play this trope very straight, but you can top level ten or so in the final installment without getting in a single fight. [[ObviousBeta This, of course, was unintentional]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Oneshot}}'' has no combat, only item puzzles and {{Fetch Quest}}s.
* ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', where there are plenty of ''potential'' combat situations, but only about three people that absolutely have to be fought and one of those is part of the tutorial.
* ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'' completely averts this in the core game aspect of running the store. Your Merchant level increases based on sucessful sales, nothing else. Played straight for the Dungeon-crawling aspect.
* ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'': While you still only gain experience towards leveling up from combat, everything else you do in the game also has a direct effect on your stats, be it fishing, farming, mining, cooking... even ''walking'' and ''sleeping'' will power you up in some way. Even in the games in the ''VideoGame/RuneFactory'' series which don't use this system, although you still need to fight to progress in the story, there's a huge emphasis on non-combat activities such as farming, raising monsters, crafting, and social interaction with townspeople. Given the series started as a ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' spinoff, this isn't terribly surprising.
* ''VideoGame/UltimaVII''; while the early games in the series were essentially the TropeMaker, ''The Black Gate'' focuses so much on dialogue and puzzle-solving that you can play 6-7 hours in before even encountering any combat, and then discover you have no idea how combat works in the game.




[[AC:VisualNovel]]

to:

\n[[AC:VisualNovel]]* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': It's possible to go through the game without killing ''anything''. Every monster and boss can be either fought or negated in a different manner, turning every enemy into a PuzzleBoss to one degree or another. [[spoiler:In fact, going into the game with this trope in mind will get you a bad ending.]] That said, it still counts as this trope, because killing enemies and sparing them use ''exactly the same interface'', just pressing different buttons. You're still getting into fights all the time, you're just trying to accomplish different goals.
* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' Avert this most of the time. Both experience and money is gained through plot triggers and quest solving rather than fighting. Several quests give you more XP for being stealthy or non-violent and there are very little quests available in general that has no solution other than violence. Unfortunately, at least 6 mandatory boss fights and 2 encounters with mooks would needs to be finished in order to complete the main story and they will require an actual confrontation. But aside from those rare situations most of the time the player will just explore the world, read, pick locks, solve puzzles, hack the computers, search something, do some platforming, talk to a lot of characters and runaway/hide from enemies if playing as an diplomacy- or stealth-oriented hero. Contrary to popular belief, the infamous sewers section has no actual unavoidable fights and both final stages is on 99%(cause bosses) beatable by sneaking.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is mostly combat oriented, but you also get experience from discovering new areas, completing quests that don't involve combat such as most fishing and cooking dailies, gathering herbs and ore and surveying for archeology fragments. A handful of players attempted to avert this and make it to the maximum level (varied depending on which expansion they did it during) without ever killing anything or setting foot in a dungeon, opting only to gather materials, craft, and explore. The most recent reported case was [[http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/14/3502778/pacifist-world-of-warcraft-player-maxes-level-without-killing the druid Irenic]], who made it to level 90 during ''Mists of Pandaria''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novel]]




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[[/folder]]



[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* While the monstrously popular ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' largely plays this straight, many new indie [=RPG=]s have been trying to avert it in claimed contrast with ''Dungeons & Dragons''. In recent years, there's been an RPG ([[http://www.atomicsockmonkey.com/products/di.asp Dead Inside]] by Atomic Sock Monkey Press) described as “reverse ''D&D''” and one where you help people in order to regrow your lost soul. Ironically, ''Dungeons & Dragons'' itself has had experience rewards for non-combative actions since the 1980s, longer than almost all of its competitors have even existed (though they typically only existed through the intervention of [[GameMaster Rule Zero]].)
** The original editions of D&D only gave you experience for the treasure you successfully collected, regardless of whether or not you defeated the monster. Fights were actually things to avoid, as they expended your resources with no direct reward.
** The 3.5 rulebook even gives another example - if your goal is to get a minotaur's treasure, then obtaining the treasure means that you have overcome the challenge, regardless of whether you did this by killing the minotaur or by sneaking past it. Either way, you earn the same amount of XP.
*** 2nd Edition stresses that the XP rewards are for ''defeating'' enemies, which includes intimidating them into surrender, tricking them, etc. as well as just killing them, and basically states that if you could talk a dragon out of destroying the village, you probably deserve ''more'' XP than you would get for killing it.
** And in 4th Edition, there are even explicit rules for gaining XP for solving Skill Challenges - roughly speaking, skill tests that are particularly important to progress in an adventure. There are also guidelines for how much XP the GM should award for completed quests.
** The party also gains experience for overcoming traps. This may mean disabling it, finding an alternate route, or setting it off and somehow surviving it.
** In reality, it's only because of console and computer gaming that the concept of experience-''only''-as-reward-for-monster-killing exists, as the limits of a computer program are still heavily trumped by human imagination and ingenuity. Every edition of [=DnD=] encourages in print the rewarding of xp for overcoming non combat challenges. Its just that depending on the edition and the type of challenge, there may or may not be explicit rules for calculating this XP.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' mostly follows ''D&D'' conventions (it is a spinoff of 3rd edition), granting experience rewards based on your "overcoming" a challenge, regardless of whether you did so through combat, stealth, diplomacy, etc. The Adventure Paths also have guidelines for what level a character should be at a certain point in the storyline, so the GM can dispense with experience entirely and just level the party when they get to the right story event.
* Averted in ''TabletopGame/{{Risus}}''. The majority of the (four-page) rulebook describes the all-important combat rules, and the Risus RPG really does equal combat. However, combat doesn't necessarily equal violence - possible combats described include playing chess, getting an unreliable vending machine to work, beating rush-hour traffic to stop the BigBad…

to:

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* While the monstrously popular ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' largely plays this straight, many new indie [=RPG=]s have been trying to avert it in claimed contrast with ''Dungeons & Dragons''. In recent years, there's been an RPG ([[http://www.atomicsockmonkey.com/products/di.asp Dead Inside]] by Atomic Sock Monkey Press) described as “reverse ''D&D''” and one where you help people in order to regrow your lost soul. Ironically, ''Dungeons & Dragons'' itself has had experience rewards for non-combative actions since the 1980s, longer than almost all of its competitors have even existed (though they typically only existed through the intervention of [[GameMaster Rule Zero]].)
** The original editions of D&D only gave you experience for the treasure you successfully collected, regardless of whether or not you defeated the monster. Fights were actually things to avoid, as they expended your resources with no direct reward.
** The 3.5 rulebook even gives another example - if your goal is to get a minotaur's treasure, then obtaining the treasure means that you have overcome the challenge, regardless of whether you did this by killing the minotaur or by sneaking past it. Either way, you earn the same amount of XP.
*** 2nd Edition stresses that the XP rewards are for ''defeating'' enemies, which includes intimidating them into surrender, tricking them, etc. as well as just killing them, and basically states that if you could talk a dragon out of destroying the village, you probably deserve ''more'' XP than you would get for killing it.
** And in 4th Edition, there are even explicit rules for gaining XP for solving Skill Challenges - roughly speaking, skill tests that are particularly important to progress in an adventure. There are also guidelines for how much XP the GM should award for completed quests.
** The party also gains experience for overcoming traps. This may mean disabling it, finding an alternate route, or setting it off and somehow surviving it.
** In reality, it's only because of console and computer gaming that the concept of experience-''only''-as-reward-for-monster-killing exists, as the limits of a computer program are still heavily trumped by human imagination and ingenuity. Every edition of [=DnD=] encourages in print the rewarding of xp for overcoming non combat challenges. Its just that depending on the edition and the type of challenge, there may or may not be explicit rules for calculating this XP.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' mostly follows ''D&D'' conventions (it is a spinoff of 3rd edition), granting experience rewards based on your "overcoming" a challenge, regardless of whether you did so through combat, stealth, diplomacy, etc. The Adventure Paths also have guidelines for what level a character should be at a certain point in the storyline, so the GM can dispense with experience entirely and just level the party when they get to the right story event.
* Averted in ''TabletopGame/{{Risus}}''. The majority of the (four-page) rulebook describes the all-important combat rules, and the Risus RPG really does equal combat. However, combat doesn't necessarily equal violence - possible combats described include playing chess, getting an unreliable vending machine to work, beating rush-hour traffic to stop the BigBad…
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]



* Averted in ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'', of all things. The experience tables list rewards for accomplishing goals or neutralizing threats, with no direct correlation between enemies killed and XP gained.
* In ''TabletopGame/TheRiddleOfSteel'', characters have special stats called Spiritual Attributes. Five of these are selected at character creations, with the details filled out by the player (for instance, one Spiritual Attribute may be Drive: To rescue his daughter). Whenever an action contributes to the goal, temperament or ethics of a Spiritual Attribute, that Spiritual Attribute grows. They can be used to ways:

to:

* Averted ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': While the game plays this straight, many new indie [=RPG=]s have been trying to avert it in ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'', of all things. The claimed contrast with ''Dungeons & Dragons''. In recent years, there's been an RPG ([[http://www.atomicsockmonkey.com/products/di.asp Dead Inside]] by Atomic Sock Monkey Press) described as "reverse ''D&D''" and one where you help people in order to regrow your lost soul. Ironically, ''Dungeons & Dragons'' itself has had experience tables list rewards for accomplishing goals non-combative actions since the 1980s, longer than almost all of its competitors have even existed (though they typically only existed through the intervention of [[GameMaster Rule Zero]].)
** The original editions of ''D&D'' only gave you experience for the treasure you successfully collected, regardless of whether
or neutralizing threats, not you defeated the monster. Fights were actually things to avoid, as they expended your resources with no direct correlation reward.
** 2nd Edition stresses that the XP rewards are for ''defeating'' enemies, which includes intimidating them into surrender, tricking them, etc. as well as just killing them, and basically states that if you could talk a dragon out of destroying the village, you probably deserve ''more'' XP than you would get for killing it.
** The 3.5 rulebook even gives another example -- if your goal is to get a minotaur's treasure, then obtaining the treasure means that you have overcome the challenge, regardless of whether you did this by killing the minotaur or by sneaking past it. Either way, you earn the same amount of XP.
** 4th Edition has explicit rules for gaining XP for solving Skill Challenges -- roughly speaking, skill tests that are particularly important to progress in an adventure. There are also guidelines for how much XP the GM should award for completed quests.
** The party also gains experience for overcoming traps. This may mean disabling it, finding an alternate route, or setting it off and somehow surviving it.
** In reality, it's only because of console and computer gaming that the concept of experience-''only''-as-reward-for-monster-killing exists, as the limits of a computer program are still heavily trumped by human imagination and ingenuity. Every edition of ''[=DnD=]'' encourages in print the rewarding of xp for overcoming non combat challenges. Its just that depending on the edition and the type of challenge, there may or may not be explicit rules for calculating this XP.
* ''TabletopGame/GoldenSkyStories'': Averted. Not only is combat resolved with a single opposed check like any other contest
between enemies killed two different characters, but it's actively disincentivized -- if you have a Connection to the town of more more than 2, getting in a fight will drop it back to 2, hurting your ability to generate the Wonder used to fuel your Henge's supernatural abilities and XP gained.
wasting the Dreams and roleplaying used to increase it. Thus, violence is an ''absolute'' last resort to be used only when there's absolutely no other options for solving the current problem.
* In ''TabletopGame/TheRiddleOfSteel'', characters ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' mostly follows ''D&D'' conventions (it is a spinoff of 3rd edition), granting experience rewards based on your "overcoming" a challenge, regardless of whether you do so through combat, stealth, diplomacy, or some other way. The Adventure Paths also have guidelines for what level a character should be at a certain point in the storyline, so the GM can dispense with experience entirely and just level the party when they get to the right story event.
* ''TabletopGame/TheRiddleOfSteel'': Characters
have special stats called Spiritual Attributes. Five of these are selected at character creations, with the details filled out by the player (for instance, one Spiritual Attribute may be Drive: To rescue his daughter). Whenever an action contributes to the goal, temperament or ethics of a Spiritual Attribute, that Spiritual Attribute grows. They can be used to ways:



* Massively averted in ''TabletopGame/GoldenSkyStories''. Not only is combat resolved with a single opposed check like any other contest between two different characters, but it's actively disincentivized -- if you have a Connection to the town of more more than 2, getting in a fight will drop it back to 2, hurting your ability to generate the Wonder used to fuel your Henge's supernatural abilities and wasting the Dreams and roleplaying used to increase it. Thus, violence is an ''absolute'' last resort to be used only when there's absolutely no other options for solving the current problem.
* The ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' and ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' are supposed to be more about politics, intrigue, social interaction, background fluff and the internal struggles of its characters as they try to avoid becoming monsters, so combat is intended as more of a climactic experience, rather than an everyday occurence. A pure combat-built character generally wouldn't make it long in vampiric society without political allies to shield them from betrayal, at least in theory. In practice, many groups prefered to ditch the whole psychological horror aspect and play it as an action game instead.

to:

* Massively averted in ''TabletopGame/GoldenSkyStories''. Not only is combat resolved ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'': Averted. The experience tables list rewards for accomplishing goals or neutralizing threats, with a single opposed check like any other contest no direct correlation between two different characters, but enemies killed and XP gained.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Risus}}'': Averted. The majority of the (four-page) rulebook describes the all-important combat rules, and the Risus RPG really does equal combat. However, combat doesn't necessarily equal violence -- possible combats described include playing chess, getting an unreliable vending machine to work, beating rush-hour traffic to stop the BigBad...
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' is all about going on [[TheCaper shadowruns]], and while combat can occasionally be expected,
it's actively disincentivized -- if you have a Connection to hardly ''inevitable''. Karma is never awarded for killing things, only for final success in runs or during campaign milestones, and 'feel good' runs where the town of more more than 2, getting in a party fight will drop it back to 2, hurting your for a good cause and end up ''not'' killing anyone pay double karma (in return for usually not paying you any money). A reason the game became the TropeNamer for ThePornomancer is that the ability to generate regularly toss 50+ dice at diplomacy can and will break the Wonder used to fuel game; justify your Henge's supernatural abilities rolls well enough and wasting the Dreams and roleplaying used to increase it. Thus, practically anything ''can'' become a diplomacy challenge.
* ''TabletopGame/TailsOfEquestria'': While there are rules for combat, using
violence to solve your problems is an ''absolute'' last resort to be used only when there's absolutely no other options for solving the current problem.
generally discouraged.
* The ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' and ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' are supposed to be more about politics, intrigue, social interaction, background fluff and the internal struggles of its characters as they try to avoid becoming monsters, so combat is intended as more of a climactic experience, rather than an everyday occurence. A pure combat-built character generally wouldn't make it long in vampiric society without political allies to shield them from betrayal, at least in theory. In practice, many groups prefered to ditch the whole psychological horror aspect and play it as an action game instead.



* In ''TabletopGame/TailsOfEquestria'', while there are rules for combat, using violence to solve your problems is generally discouraged.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' is all about going on [[TheCaper shadowruns]], and while combat can occasionally be expected, it's hardly ''inevitable''. Karma is never awarded for killing things, only for final success in runs or during campaign milestones, and 'feel good' runs where the party fight for a good cause and end up ''not'' killing anyone pay double karma (in return for usually not paying you any money). A reason the game became the TropeNamer for ThePornomancer is that the ability to regularly toss 50+ dice at diplomacy can and will break the game; justify your rolls well enough and practically anything ''can'' become a diplomacy challenge.

[[AC:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', [[AuthorAvatar Dan]] plays a MUD which awards XP for walking averting this for newbies.

to:

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''TabletopGame/TailsOfEquestria'', while there are rules for combat, using violence to solve your problems is generally discouraged.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' is all about going on [[TheCaper shadowruns]], and while combat can occasionally be expected, it's hardly ''inevitable''. Karma is never awarded for killing things, only for final success in runs or during campaign milestones, and 'feel good' runs where the party fight for a good cause and end up ''not'' killing anyone pay double karma (in return for usually not paying you any money). A reason the game became the TropeNamer for ThePornomancer is that the ability to regularly toss 50+ dice at diplomacy can and will break the game; justify your rolls well enough and practically anything ''can'' become a diplomacy challenge.

[[AC:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'',
''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': [[AuthorAvatar Dan]] plays a MUD which awards XP for walking walking, averting this for newbies. newbies.
[[/folder]]

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