History Main / SecondHourSuperpower

* Functionally, this occurs in ''TableTopGame/DungeonsAndDragons and ''TableTopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' for non-magic using characters. By fourth level or so, many can do things or survive wounds that would be virtually impossible for flesh-and-blood humans. Alternatively, a character could begin without any unusual powers and take a magic-using class at second level. Magic users start with supernatural powers.

* In most ''RollerCoasterTycoon'', you generally start each category with the absolute basic ride types and have to work with those to earn money for the bigger rides. It often takes a few months of research in order to develop those rides, as well, and may take longer or shorter depending on how much you set your research to. Specific examples:

* Similar to RCT above, ''ZooTycoon'' gives you animals that are fairly easy to take care of at first, and whose requirements to be satisfied are easier to fulfill. A few have a big draw (such as the lion), but most of the big draw animals tend to be after you've placed a few exhibits with animals that are easier to satisfy first.

* ''VideoGame/WildArms2'' had the protagonist Ashley being able to transform into Knight Blazer, a SuperpoweredEvilSide armored guy and Ashley gains new attacks and a really awesome theme music.
* The [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Monado]] from ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' is initially introduced only as the one weapon that can damage the [[MechanicalMonster Mechon]] while [[DecoyProtagonist Dunban]] is wielding it in the prologue. Its key ability to [[CombatClairvoyance show its wielder the future]] -- and thus give them a chance to [[ScrewDestiny do something about it]] -- doesn't make a gameplay appearance until Shulk officially picks it up a few hours in.
* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2, Rex starts out as a regular fighter and doesn't become a Driver until the end of chapter 1, when he bonds with the Aegis. The party also doesn't gain access to the ability to bond with Blades other than the story ones until they reach the second town.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' starts with the Handguns weapon equipped in the prologue of the first game, whose moveset is functionally identical to the guns you get at the end of the prologue, except that Wicked Weaves can’t be used for {{HandWave/story reasons}}, allowing players to get used to the combo system before permanently upgrading combo finishers in every subsequent chapter with flashy AoE attacks.

* {{{''VideoGame/Bayonetta''}}} starts with the Handguns weapon equipped in the prologue of the first game, whose moveset is functionally identical to the guns you get at the end of the prologue, except that Wicked Weaves can’t be used for {{HandWave/story reasons}}, allowing players to get used to the combo system before permanently upgrading combo finishers in every subsequent chapter with flashy AoE attacks.

* ''VideoGame/Bayonetta'' starts with the Handguns weapon equipped in the prologue of the first game, whose moveset is functionally identical to the guns you get at the end of the prologue, except that Wicked Weaves can’t be used for {{HandWave/story reasons}}, allowing players to get used to the combo system before permanently upgrading combo finishers in every subsequent chapter with flashy AoE attacks.

* ‘’VideoGame/Bayonetta’’ starts with the Handguns weapon equipped in the prologue of the first game, whose moveset is functionally identical to the guns you get at the end of the prologue, except that Wicked Weaves can’t be used for {{HandWave/story reasons}}, allowing players to get used to the combo system before permanently upgrading combo finishers in every subsequent chapter with flashy AoE attacks.

* ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia''
** In the first game, each of the three main characters have a period of time when they first join where they don't have a Ra-Seru, which greatly increases their ATK stat and allows them to catch Seru and learn magic. Particularly pronounced in Gala's case, where he will be very much TheLoad for the first two dungeons you explore when he joins.
* In the sequel, ''Legaia2DuelSaga'', Lang doesn't gain access to his Origin, Galea, until about a fifth of the way through the game.

** In the first game, each of the three main characters adventures with the party for a period of time before getting access to their Ra-Seru, which greatly increases their ATK stat and gives them access to magic. Particularly pronounced in Gala's case, where he will be very much TheLoad for the first two dungeons you explore with him.
** In the sequel, ''Duel Saga'', Lang doesn't gain access to his Origin, Galea, until about a fifth of the way through the game.

** [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]] games introduce Mega Evolution after either the third gym (X and Y) or the fifth (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire).
** VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon didn't allow use of [[LimitBreak Z-Moves]] until after completing the first trial.

* The monster detecting radios from the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series.
** ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' combines this with ATasteOfPower. The opening level gives you both the flashlight and the radio, but since said segment is actually a [[ItWasAllADream nightmare]] Alex was having while being driven to his home town, you lose them once you wake up and find them both in Alex's house. Oddly, [[MindScrew you get to keep the combat knife and first-aid kits you found in the nightmare]].
* ''VideoGame/SecondSight'' plays with this one a bit thanks to the AnachronicOrder the levels are played in. In the first level you actually play, Vattic gains his basic powers as he needs them in the early levels (e.g. psyblast when he's caught by an armed guard, charm when he's about to be found, etc). But in the second level, which is actually a FlashBack, he's got no powers at all.
* In ''VideoGame/InFamous'', the game starts out right after the explosion, and Cole has to limp his way to safety without any powers. By the second level, he can shoot lightning out of his hands, although his more spectacular abilities don't manifest until much later.
* In ''VideoGame/InFamousSecondSon'', Delsin doesn't get his powers until he's made a run across the shoreline to get to a party at his tribe's longhouse, pulling off potentially lethal parkour stunts in the process.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption''. You start the game with the general Samus gear, but after the assault on Norion and Samus successfully saving the planet from destruction, she gains [[SuperMode Hypermode.]]
* In the first ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' game, you play for about two minutes as a human (literally as soon as you walk out of the first room, you're in a HopelessBossFight), then spend the rest of the game as a super-powerful vampire.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'', Heller doesn't get infected until after the tutorial level.
* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'', you gain the ability to sprint really fast and jump ridiculous heights not too far into the game. The powers are very useful (for the most part) and remain so for the entire game. The Super Jump lets you scale buildings easily and long jump far distances while the Super Sprint power renders cars obsolete as you can run faster than everything else. Some powers aren't so useful such as Death From Above (you need to go '''really high''' to deal a lot of damage) and the Super Sprint tornado (cause a tornado behind you, good for Mayhem missions but bad for ''actually running'').

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', the four Sheikah Slate runes (Bombs, Cryonis, Magnisis, and Stasis) are aquired throughout the Great Plateau. Completing each Sheikah rune shine is required for getting the Paraglider, which itself is required to get down from the Great Plateau without dying.

* In ''VideoGame/OnimushaWarlords'', your attacks do hurt the demons, but won't kill them. You shortly later gain the Oni Gauntlet.

* In ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'', you don't get the [[TransformationTrinket V-Watch]] until shortly into the first level. Barely an example, but you do have to fight your first few enemies without it.
* ''VideoGame/SonicColors DS'' doesn't give you the well known boost (it's basically a pseudo-third installment in the ''VideoGame/SonicRush'' series with some alterations) until Tropical Resort Act ''2''. The first "real" wisp power after that (Red Burst) is at the start of the second zone, where once you've got used to the boost, the wisp powers really come into play. Additionally, the Wii version doesn't give you your first "real" wisp power (Cyan Laser) until Tropical Resort Act 3, but you get the boost from the start of the game.
* X does not get his dash in ''VideoGame/MegaManX1'' until he comes across an Armor Capsule in Chill Penguin's stage. However since ''VideoGame/MegaManX2'', the dash has been a default ability of X.
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'', you don't get Biometal Model A until the beginning of the second stage. That means you are in your basic human form for the intro stage.
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManZero1'', you don't get his signature Z-Saber until partway through the boss battle for the first stage (instead relying on the buster).

** The ability to drive vehicles into Wasteland is unlocked after fifth mission and even then it's just a runt without guns that won't last long in the harsh desert infested with the Marauders - the actual armed vehicle is unlocked after seventh mission or so.

* In ''VideoGame/ESwat'', your character gets promoted after the first two level (or third, in the arcade version), giving you an heavily armed PowerArmor.
* In the first ''VideoGame/DisneysMagicalQuest'', Mickey won't get his first costume until the beginning of the second level. In the other two games, you won't get the first costume until partway into the first level.

* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', you can't actually fight the Heartless until you gain a Keyblade.
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', the ([[ProlongedPrologue lengthy]]) prologue has you play as Roxas, whose combat mechanics are very similar to the first game's and has very few options. Once you get control of Sora, you get the much more varied [=KH2=] combat mechanics and several more options, most notably Drive Forms.
* In ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', Crono and the gang (besides Robo and Ayla) gain magic during their first trip to end of time, just in time to fight enemies that are nearly immune to regular attacks, but are vulnerable to magic.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'', you don't get the Dragoon abilities until a few hours in.

* In ''Franchise/DotHack'', Kite starts off as an average player, with nothing particularly special about him. After playing through a level or two like this, he gets the Twilight Bracelet, which allows him to fight hacked enemies, and thus makes him the only one able to take on [[BigBad Morganna]].

* The ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' games typically don't give Mega Man access to his transformation abilities (varies depending on the game[[note]]Styles in ''Battle Network'' 2-3, Double Soul and Chaos Unison in 4-5, and Crosses and Beast Out in 6; ''Star Force'' has the Star Force, Tribe and Noise, respectively[[/note]]) until he's beaten the first, second, or third major boss. From the third ''Battle Network'' onward, this also includes modifying [=MegaMan=] through the Navi Customizer.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' games have a habit with doing this with the girls' [[SuperMode HDD transformations]].
** In ''[=mk2=]'', Nepgear gains hers at the end of the first dungeon.
** In ''Victory'', Neptune and Nepgear can [[ATasteOfPower freely use HDD to stomp on enemies during the prologue dungeons]], but Neptune first [[CrutchCharacter splits up with Nepgear]], then loses her HDD form for plot reasons until the end of the first chapter proper.
* During the first chapter of ''VideoGame/TheLastStory'', at the moment Zael thinks Syrenne was killed, the spirit of the Outsider gives him the Gathering power, which not only allows him to bring Syrenne back to life, but also attracts enemies to him to protect his friends. As the game progresses, this power becomes more influential for the success of the quest.
* In ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'', all characters have a unique charged special attack...except for Tia. Tia [[TookALevelInBadass Taking a Level in Badass]] later in the story is accompanied by unlocking her charged special attack, the aptly-named [[MegatonPunch Fatal Shot]].
* The tutorial stretch of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' consists of scavenging for Relics to sell for cash and basic combat with weak demons that pose minimal threat, then ends with a HopelessBossFight. Since your smartphone is damaged in a way that you cannot use the series' signature Demon Summoning Program, the demon horde you're up against quickly beats you down to death. Then you meet Dagda in the underworld, who resurrects you back in the world of the living and repairs your smartphone fully, allowing you to finally summon demons.
* ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'':
** The ability to catch Pokémon has never been available from the start; the player usually has to reach the second town, and possibly make their way back to the first, before being given a set of Pokéballs to use.
** From Generations [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire III]] [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl to]] [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite V]], the Running Shoes would follow a similar tack, allowing the player to get used to walking before giving them the ability to sprint like a madman. Starting with [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]] however, they're available at the start of the game.
** [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]] games introduce Mega Evolution after either the third gym (X and Y) or the fifth (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire).
** VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon didn't allow use of [[LimitBreak Z-Moves]] until after completing the first trial.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel II'', just before Act 2 starts, Rean is finally able to control his SuperpoweredEvilSide and is able to use Spirit Unification that gives him buffs, immunity to most status effects, changes some properties of his crafts, and gains one S rank to his LimitBreak. It's only limited by the fact that it only lasts for 3 turns but players can use it indefinitely as long as Rean has 100 CP to spare.
* The [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Monado]] from ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' is initially introduced only as the one weapon that can damage the [[MechanicalMonster Mechon]] while [[DecoyProtagonist Dunban]] is wielding it in the prologue. Its key ability to [[CombatClairvoyance show its wielder the future]] — and thus give them a chance to [[ScrewDestiny do something about it]] — doesn't make a gameplay appearance until Shulk officially picks it up a few hours in.

* In ''VideoGame/FableI'' you can your first spell, along with your first real melee and ranged weapons, near the end of the hero training that serves as the tutorial.
* In ''VideoGame/FableIII'' you get your magic gauntlets and hero power during your escape from the castle.
* In ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', Adam only gets augmented after the first level, a case of WeCanRebuildHim. Similarly, J.C. is already augmented at the beginning of [[VideoGame/DeusEx the first game]], but it doesn't do you much good until you get your first upgrade canister at the end of the first level.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': after all the build-up to your PlayerCharacter's super-secret InitiationCeremony into the ranks of the [[TheOrder Gray Wardens]], legendary undefeatable warriors who single-handedly held back TheHorde for centuries, the actual ceremony doesn't give you any gameplay powers ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation not even the fabled ability to sense nearby Darkspawn]]), only plot-moving ones and an extra point to use on standard talents. It is later explained that the Wardens are the best warriors/mages/rogues of Thedas not because of some SecretArt but because they ''recruit'' only the best warriors/mages/rogues in Thedas.
* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', the main character gains the ability to use the reality warping [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]] after completing at least one dungeon and defeating their first dragon in the storyline. In fact, depending on what quests you choose to do, you could play half the content before doing the quest that unlocks this ability.
* In ''[[NeverwinterNights2/MaskOfTheBetrayer Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer]]'', you only unlock the signature spirit-eater powers in the second act, after facing Okku. Subverted, however, is that players may regard these powers as either BlessedWithSuck or CursedWithAwesome depending on mindset, and it has annoying downsides that causes some players to brand it a ScrappyMechanic and wish it gone entirely. Thankfully, there are console commands to mitigate or outright disable it.

* The HEV suit and later the Gravity Gun in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''. Not so much with the original ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', though, where you get the HEV Suit around ten minutes in (after learning how to walk, push buttons, and chew gum), and it is upgraded for the third act.
* In ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon FEAR 2]]'', after you fight through the first level as an ordinary soldier, you gain the power of Slo Mo after a surgery.
%% * In ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 2009}}'', it's B.J.'s otherworldly medallion.
* In ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'', Jackie gains the power of the Darkness only after he "dies". This also applies to the sequel wherein the power of the Darkness is released only after he suffers an injury by the second level of the game.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Singularity}}'', you receive the Time Manipulation Device early on, which lets you control time to a certain extent.

* ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}}'' only gives you your health regeneration after you've beaten the first level. There aren't any health packs, so any bullets you take can't be healed for the rest of the level, making this section irritatingly difficult.
* In ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'', [[PlayerCharacter Matthew Kane]] doesn't [[spoiler: become Stroggified]] until the end of the first Act. This process is the reason that he's able to penetrate so much deeper into Stroggos than anyone else, as well as providing him with a higher HP limit and the ability to read Strogg.
* In the first two ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' games, the skill tree isn't available at all until you reach level 5. In the [[{{Interquel}} Pre-Sequel]] this is lowered to level 3. All character classes play exactly the same until that point.
* In ''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior2013'', Lo Wang doesn't gain the ability to use chi powers until midway through Chapter 1, where he has to make a pact with Hoji in order to survive.

* In ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy'', you start out the game with no powers, and it seems like a fairly generic shooter. By the end, you're a psychic god.
* In ''VideoGame/JediOutcast'', you play two levels with Kyle Katarn as TheGunslinger of a garden variety, then he says "LetsGetDangerous" and pays a visit to Luke Skywalker for his lightsaber. After that, he's a Jedi. It's the same in ''VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII''. Kyle has no Force powers until after he visits his father's workshop.

* ''VideoGame/AdventRising'' doesn't give Gideon any of his birthright superpowers until after his [[DoomedHometown Doomed Homeplanet]] is destroyed.

* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' throws you into action with the most basic weapon you can possible get: a no-stats no-mods [[MeaningfulName aptly-named]] First Blade. After you clear the first chapter for the first time, say hello to nine different weapon types, with twelve weapon models in each type - including his signature [[NoArcInArchery bow]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' has the modding system. When you first start the game, your starting weapons will have fixed stats, while your starting Warframe will only get minor stat boosts from levels. You have to progress through the tutorial quest to unlock the requisite functionality in your [[CoolStarship Liset]], which will let you take advantage of those levels that your equipment has been gaining. Fortunately, the quest's enemies are weak enough that you're not significantly handicapped.

* Unlike ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' that used ATasteOfPower, you start ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII 2]]'' as an Italian youth with just his fists. Ezio does not gain the Hidden Blade until some time later.
** There's a meta example here as well: At the end of the first game the ''series'' protagonist Desmond gains Altair's Eagle Vision, which leads to the first hints that he may have more of a role than as a LivingMacguffin. In the next game his acquisition of his ancestors' movement and fighting skills have a similar feel, giving little tastes of "real world" freedom and power.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' zig-zags this trope: [[DecoyProtagonist Haytham]] has a hidden blade from the get-go, but Connor spends a long time training with Achilles before he gets his and the signature outfit.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', you don't get granted with supernatural powers until after you've escaped from Coldridge Prison. ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored 2}}'' and ''VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider'' are the same way - Emily (or Corvo) doesn't gain/regain their powers until after escaping Dunwall Tower and meeting Meagan at the Dreadful Wale, and Billie doesn't gain her powers until after rescuing Daud. The only exception is Daud in ''The Knife of Dunwall'', who has his powers long before the game starts.

* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesIII'': While you get Kurt's Joint Assault early, you don't get Imca's MacrossMissileMassacre and [[spoiler:Riela's Valkyria mode]] until well into the game. Getting that latest one [[GameBreaker turns the game very easy]], intentionally so.

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Mystery of the Emblem]]'' and the remake hand Marth the title shield at the end of chapter 2. Its only in-game function is to open treasure chests, admittedly, but its storyline powers are rather more impressive.
** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Fates]]''[='=]s Avatar gains the ability to transform into a dragon in chapter 5, just one chapter before the BigFirstChoice.

* Flight became this in ''Manga/DragonBall''. It was introduced halfway through the first series, as a special ability of the ArcVillain. By the beginning of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', not being able to fly was considered a liability in combat.

* A characteristic of ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached''. The four are sent to C'hou entirely normal (if de-aged somewhat). It isn't until chapter 8 that the Fans intervene to save John's life after he's magically attacked, turning him into a WingedHumanoid in an EmergencyTransformation. And it isn't until chapter 14 that Ringo unexpectedly crops up psychic, requiring the Fans to maneuver the other two into magic so the group will be balanced again. Due to delays, they're not all fully powered up until chapter 19, almost halfway through the book.

* Some ''TabletopGame/WorldOfDarkness'' games suggested playing a prologue about your day-to-day struggles before the supernatural wreaks havoc on your life, making you a part of it. You're just a normal worker, student, or other person before you are changed forever. TabletopGame/HunterTheReckoning might provide the best example. Starting as normal humans, the players encounter the supernatural and react - and develop powers there and then to use for exactly the reaction they're attempting.

* Latent psychic powers could do this in ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' and spin-offs, much to your later lamentation thanks to PowerIncontinence and BlessedWithSuck.
* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' can do this as well for a character who starts learning spells, and their fate will likely be as horrid as the TabletopGame/DarkHeresy psychic's.

* The multiplayer for the ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' series locks you to your default weapon until level 2, locks you out of any weapon other than rapid-fire shooters and to your default clothing until level 4, and locks Ranked Mode until level 10. The [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 second game]] locks [[MultiMookMelee Salmon Run]] until level 4.

* ''[[VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander]]'':

** Dark Jak can't be set off in the first mission, and triggers on it's own during the second, before giving you free reign. Indeed, since Jak is the only "dark warrior" by this stage, it is a much straighter example overall.

* The first ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 Ratchet & Clank]]'' is only a ''Ratchet'' game until the end of the first level, where Ratchet meets Clank. Even then, Clank doesn't get his signature helicopter abilities to boost Ratchet's jumps until Kerwan, which is the third or fourth level depending on whether you go to Aridia first.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' introduces Link's wolf transformation after the player has already gone through the first dungeon, and the ability to transform at will only after the first three.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', all characters start at about the [[SuperWeight Iron Weight]] and don't receive any superpowers (including the [[JobSystem Paradigm Shift system]] or, indeed, the ''ability to LevelUp'') until they get to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu say "hello" to Anima]] at the end of the prologue]]. He says "hello" back by [[SuperEmpowering making]] [[BlessedWithSuck them]] [[TheChosenOne L'Cie]], whose power grows almost exponentially with time until they either succeed or fail at their Focus (ie, task). This is lampshaded from the start, when the heroes discover that formerly-tough EliteMooks are little more than CannonFodder for them now.

* The ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' games typically don't give Mega Man access to his SwissArmyHero abilities until he's beaten the first, second, or third major boss.

** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', the ([[ProlongedPrologue lengthy]]) prologue has you play as Roxas, whose combat mechanics are very similar to the first game's and has very few options. Once you get control of Sora, you get the much more varied KH2 combat mechanics and several more options, most notably Drive Forms.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', all characters start at about the [[SuperWeight Iron Weight]] and don't receive any superpowers (including the much-advertised [[JobSystem Paradigm Shift system]] or, indeed, the ''ability to LevelUp'') until they get to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu say "hello" to Anima]] [[ProlongedPrologue two prologue chapters later]]. He says "hello" back by [[SuperEmpowering making]] [[BlessedWithSuck them]] [[TheChosenOne l'Cie]], whose power grows almost exponentially with time. This is lampshaded right from the start, when the heroes discover that formerly-tough EliteMooks are little more than CannonFodder for them now.

Contrast PowersInTheFirstEpisode where the superpower is introduced early on, EleventhHourSuperpower, which involves a sudden power-up right before the climax, and ATasteOfPower, which lets you have a (nearly) full set of powers for a while before taking them away.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fable}} III'' you get your magic gauntlets and hero power during your escape from the castle.

** in both this game and it's [[VideoGame/{{XCOM2}}]], the first mission has you lead 4 rookies who can move, shoot an assault rifle, and throw a grenade. Then your surviving rookies from the mission become squaddies, who are assigned a class, giving the access to a new weapon and their first ability (Heavies get a PowerfulButInaccurate LMG and their Rocket Launchers that give a one use per mission mostly reliable cover busting ability, Assaults get a ShortRangeShotgun that is incredibly accurate at close range and has a very decent critical range, and the ability to make daring charges to flank the enemy, and Supports keep the rifle, but gain the ability to throw a [[SmokeOut smoke grenade]] to improve their allies' defense, Rangers gain the ability to charge enemies long distance to engage them in melee, as well as the same shotgun, Sharpshooters gain a handgun as an EmergencyWeapon that never needs reloading and can evolve into a nice support weapon, a SniperRifle, and the Squadsight skill that allows them to use it to engage at beyond visual range as long as other soldiers spot for them, Grenadiers gain a GrenadeLauncher allowing them to throw grenades at greater ranges, with a bigger blast radius, as well as an extra grenade slot and a PowerfulButInaccurate [[GatlingGood Gattling gun]], specialists keep the rifle but gain a Gremmlin drone, which can hack access points remotely, give massive hacking stat bonuses, and can give extra defense to friendlies as many times as they want in a mission, but with a cooldown.), and the ability to build equipment like the BoringButPractical Medikit or Flashbang grenades. The Flashbang grenade is in fact so effective at it's job of debuffing enemy accuracy and [[AntiMagic neutralizing enemy special abilities]] it will serve you even in the final battle, especially in the hands of a Grenadier, and remote hacking can save a turn or two in any TimedMission.