History Main / SituationalSword

* Haschel's ultimate weapon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' deals 50% more damage if he's at half health or less and double damage if he's at quarter health or less. The latter makes it the strongest weapon in the game, but he's too fragile to be reliably kept alive in such condition, especially because all forms of healing (besides defending) would put him above half health.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' presents us with the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, each of which possesses a sword with a special ability. Starting off, [[EverythingsEvenWorseWithSharks Kisame Hoshigaki]] has a [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment shark-themed]] sword that can eat other people's [[LifeEnergy chakra]], among other things. The most interesting, though is that after all these years, we finally find out that the sword of Zabuza Momochi, the first Swordsman ever met in the series and original BigBad before his spectacular HeelFaceTurn, actually does something other than [[AwesomeYetImpractical look menacing and heavy]]. It can repair itself by sucking the iron out of someone's blood.

* Inverted in ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'': Tenchi ([[NamesTheSame the sword]]) would refuse to activate [[RuleOfFunny whenever a failure would be funny,]] at least until Tenchi ([[NamesTheSame the hero]]) TookALevelInBadass. Which is why [[spoiler:Yosho]], who was badass from the start, never had those problems.

* Inverted in ''Anime/DogDays'' with Cinque's MorphWeapon Palladion: though his WeaponOfChoice is a staff, he figures out how to make it change into other forms, including a Frisbee, but remarks that for some reason he can't make it turn into a sword. [[spoiler:At the climax of the story, when faced with a giant demon that threatens all of Flognarde, he finally makes a sword out of it.]]

** Most of the weapons in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'' are based around the idea of being used in conjunction with each other, i.e. if you use two wind glphys and throw them simultaneously, they will create a screen-high tornado.
* In ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' the special named weapons will randomly unleash a special attack instead of a normal critical hit. This changes the dialogue from;
-->[Name of character] lets out a howl! Critical hit!
--->to
-->[Name of weapon] lets out a howl! [Name of special effect/attack]!
** ''VieoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' adds multiple special attacks to weapons that are unlocked by battling with it.

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', Tucker's energy sword generally acts just the same as the ''Halo'' item, but it also occasionally functions as a key for alien tech. [[spoiler: The key thing is its intended use, it being an effective weapon is actually a secondary benefit.]]

[[quoteright:223:[[WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/situsword.PNG]]]]

* Inverted in ''Anime/DogDays'' with Cinque's MorphWeapon Palladion: though his WeaponOfChoice is a MartialArtsStaff, he figures out how to make it change into other forms, including a Frisbee, but remarks that for some reason he can't make it turn into a sword. [[spoiler:At the climax of the story, when faced with a giant demon that threatens all of Flognarde, he finally makes a sword out of it.]]

* Inverted in ''Anime/DogDays'' with Cinque's MorphWeapon Palladion: though his WeaponOfChoice is a SimpleStaff, he figures out how to make it change into other forms, including a Frisbee, but remarks that for some reason he can't make it turn into a sword. [[spoiler:At the climax of the story, when faced with a giant demon that threatens all of Flognarde, he finally makes a sword out of it.]]

Situational Swords are similar in concept to the EmpathicWeapon, but generally tend to be non-Sentient. When EmpathicWeapon is a Situational Sword, it is usually LoyalPhlebotinum; an [[EmpathicWeapon empathic]] Situational Sword can sometimes enforce its criteria through WeaponWieldsYou. One common subtrope is WeaponOfXSlaying.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' presents us with the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, each of which posses a sword with a special ability. Starting off, [[EverythingsEvenWorseWithSharks Kisame Hoshigaki]] has a [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment shark themed]] sword that can eat other people's [[LifeEnergy chakra]], among other things. The most interesting, though is that after all these years, we finally find out that the sword of Zabuza Momochi, the first Swordsman ever met in the series and original BigBad before his spectacular HeelFaceTurn, actually does something other than [[AwesomeYetImpractical look menacing and heavy]]. It can repair itself by sucking the iron out of someone's blood.

* ''Literature/LoneWolf'': The Sommerswerd's "supernatural powers increase the bearer's CS by 8 (prior to the application of weapon skill bonuses), and also increase the sensitivity of his Sixth Sense. It is [[WeaponOfXSlaying doubly damaging]] to undead foes and [[PowerNullifier absorbs hostile magic]]. Perhaps its greatest power is the ability to kill Darklords, and it's possible, as stated in ''The Curse of Naar'', that it might be able to kill [[BigBad Naar himself]]. Only members of the royal house of Sommerlund or a Kai Lord can wield it. If anyone else uses it in battle, it will slowly and irrevocably lose its powers." On the other hand, whip it out in the wrong spot, every Tom, Dick and Rubicante shows up to kick your ass. Fortunately, evil beings can't take advantage of this to depower the sword -- if you happen to be evil and try to hold the sword it will [[{{Fingore}} melt your fingers off]].

* Parodied in Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/TheWeeFreeMen'': the Nac mac Feegle have swords that glow blue in the presence of ''lawyers''. [[spoiler:It does lead to a nice case of foreshadowing on the ''cover of the book'', if you pay attention to who's present in the illustration.]]

* The title weapon in Creator/LawrenceWattEvans's ''Literature/{{Ethshar}}'' novel ''Literature/TheMisenchantedSword'' will do your fighting for you, but only against adult male humans, and once it kills, you have to sheath it and draw it again to re-activate its power. Also, [[BlessedWithSuck you can't resheath it, or even let go of it, until it's killed someone]].

* The black sword Dyrnwyn from ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' series can only be drawn by one of "noble worth". [[HeroicWannabe Taran]] at first assumes this means one born of a noble bloodline, but Gwydion later states that it is referring to character, not blood. In the hands of a worthy person it is an InfinityPlusOneSword capable of slaying just about any evil being. Those who are unworthy tend to get themselves killed trying to draw the sword. Taran has to go through four or five books' worth of CharacterDevelopment before he can wield it.

* ''Literature/{{Percy Jackson|and the Olympians}}'''s sword ''Anaklusmos'' (Riptide) is made from celestial bronze, and is only effective against monsters or those with divine blood such as other demigods. It is completely harmless if used against regular humans. In fact, those properties are precisely why celestial bronze weapons are so popular among Greek demigods; deadly to monsters without risking mortal casualties.

* In the novel ''Literature/UserUnfriendly'' by Creator/VivianVandeVelde, the player characters find a [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings sword that glows in the presence of orcs]]. Since the players have artificially inflated their combat stats, the sword turns out to be more trouble than its worth.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin three holy Swords]], Fidelacchius the Sword of Faith, Esperacchius the Sword of Hope, and Amoracchius the Sword of Love. Each have vast evil-smiting powers when wielded for a righteous purpose. There are certain protocols which the situation must align with for the Sword to use its Powers.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', the Master Sword has an above average power of 30 at all times, and whenever it "breaks" it regenerates in just ten minutes. However, when put up against foes under the direct control of the Calamity, or Calamity Ganon itself, its strength ''doubles'', which can make taking out the Blight Ganons pretty much trivial. This can also be subverted by the same weapon, because completing a difficult gauntlet available via [[DownloadableContent DLC]] makes the doubling effect ''always active'', which means you have a permanent, technically-unbreakable 60 Power shortsword at all times.

** All the Ultimate Weapons in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' have effects like this, with some examples being the aforementioned Ultima Weapon, Vincent's Death Penalty (does more damage dependent on how many enemies he's slain), and Tifa's Premium Heart, which does damage based on how much of her [[LimitBreak Limit]] gauge is full.

** [=Calculators/Arithmeticians=] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' take the "Level X Spell" mechanic and build an entire moveset around it. Spells cast this way take no MP, no charge time, and you can pick the spell and the conditions it applies to, pushing this trope to an outright GameBreaker. For example, "Height Prime Holy" will [[LightEmUp laser blast]] any unit at heights 2, 3, 5, 7 and so on, which depending on the map could mean everyone on it, friend and foe alike.

*** There's also the Sword Familar, which is an EmpathicWeapon version of this. It can only be equipped as an actual weapon once it hits level 50, and the amount of damage it can do as a standard sword becomes greater as it's level increases, making it one of the best weapons in the game.

** ''VieoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' adds multiple special attacks to weapons which are unlocked by battling with it.

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', the Majestic Greatsword is said to have been passed down into many generations, all of its wielder being left-handed. If you do wield it on your left hand, the sword gains better scaling plus a new moveset reminiscent of Artoria's Greatsword from the first Dark Souls.

** The DS remake gives Lucca the Spellslinger, a similar weapon based off the last digit of her MP.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Sonny}}'' series of flash games, many of the techs for the Shadow Psychological build are situational to the point of being frustratingly inconvienient at times, causing many to prefer the Electric Psycho build. In the Cold Hydro build, there is one attack called Shatter that can only be used on opponents who have 3 Ice elemental debuffs (if one debuff expires before Shatter can be cast, then it won't work).

** Siegfried, a legendary dragonslayer, has a Noble Phantasm and third skill that would indicate that he's supposed to be used to slay dragons like the historical figure he's based on. The problem, however, is that the majority of dragons in ''Grand Order'' are Rider-Class, which are weak against Assassin-class Servants, and Siegfried is a Saber-Class, who not only are strong against Lancer-Class, but aren't even part of the same triangle - this resulted in many players taking advantage of said triangle and using Sasaki Kojirou to clear Orleans, which was meant to be Siegfried's time to shine. However, he does ''incredibly'' well against Lancer-class enemies who have the Dragon attribute, a fair number of whom (i.e., both versions of Lancer Artoria, Elizabeth Bathory) are bosses. Also, if paired with St. Georgios, whose NP can give an enemy the Dragon Trait for a few turns, he's a lot less situational than on his own.

* Smart guns are prototype firearms that use a unique locking system to prevent anyone who doesn't have the matching magnetic key from firing them. There are a number of systems: RFID tags, grip patterns, fingerprints. They are however universally rejected by police, military, and private owners as above all a firearm needs to be reliable in an emergency and too many things can go wrong with such a system leaving the owner of the firearm defenseless at the worst possible time.

-->[Name of character] lets out a howl. Critical hit.

-->[Name of weapon] lets out a howl. [Name of special effect/attack]

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' has one kind of sword that glows when enemies are nearby, though unfortunately it counts normal-sized rats and spiders as enemies even though they can't hurt you. Also, weapons 'Of Disruption' have a chance of instantly vaporizing undead upon contact. The oringinal also had a nifty 'bastard sword +1/+3 vs. shapeshifters' (which you fought a ''lot'' of).

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has many weapons (and armor!) that will be stronger or have added effects depending on anything from the time of day, to the moon phase, to the weather, to whether or not you have a specific StatusEffect on you, etc.

** Seraphic Weapons provide bonus damage only to the characters who's element it is strong against.

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': The Manamune sword and Archangel's Staff transform into the Muramana and Seraph's Embrace after enough magical energy has been channelled through them (ie. the player casts enough spells after purchase).

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'':

Compare SituationalDamageAttack and NewPowersAsThePlotDemands.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has many weapons (and armor!) that will be stronger or have added effects depending on anything from the time of day, to the moon phase, to the weather, to whether or not you have a specific StandardStatusEffect on you, etc.

* Smart guns are prototype firearms that use a unique locking system to prevent anyone who doesn't have the matching magnetic key from firing them. There are a number of systems: RFID tags, grip patterns, fingerprints.

** Cú Chulainn Prototype's third skill is for fighting enemies with the Beast attribute. Nothing more.

** Boudica is just as bad if not worse than Siegfried - while she's set up to be a tank, her first skill increases her attack against enemies with the Roman attribute; however, the majority of said enemies are found in the Septem interlude, and the majority of them are part of the three Knight classes (Saber, Archer, Lancer), which Boudica being a Rider class servant, part of the four Cavalry classes. Even worse, unlike Siegfried, her Noble Phantasm is a ''defensive'' one, and her attack stat is very poor without her first skill. However, it is worth noting that against Swimsuit Nero, Caligua, or Spartacus, she's terrifying.

Compare SituationalDamageAttack.

* [[Webcomic/SluggyFreelance Torg]] has a magical sword ([[ICallItVera dubbed]] [[FluffyTheTerrible Chaz]]) that, upon "drinking" the blood of an innocent, can cut through anything, kill PhysicalGods, and speak. Torg is typically too nice of a guy to actively acquire the needed blood. The most amusing case is when his [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend friend Zoë]], unaware of Chaz's true nature and utterly stupefied by the suggestion, makes her single wish to a demon that allows Chaz to be empowered again.

''[later]''\\

* [[Webcomic/SluggyFreelance Torg]] has a magical sword ([[ICallItVera dubbed]] [[FluffyTheTerrible Chaz]]) that, upon "drinking" the blood of an innocent, can cut through anything and speak. Torg is typically too nice of a guy to actively acquire the needed blood. The most amusing case was when his [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend friend Zoe]], unaware of Chaz's true nature and utterly stupefied by the suggestion, made her single wish to a demon. Afterward, Torg used the now-awakened spirit sword to kill it.
-->'''Zoe:''' ''[{{facepalm}})]'' I want the blood of the innocent to rain down in every room of our house.\\

'''Gwynn:''' ''[cleaning]'' Did you have to say ''every'' room??\\
'''Zoe:''' I couldn't remember which room it was in!

** All the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Celestial Weapons]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' are tied to a stat of the user, usually HP or MP. So if that character's HP or MP is maxed, the weapons will do more damage than if the character is low on health or magic. It's worth noting that not all of them follow those rules, Auron's sword, for example is the opposite; it's weakest when he's at full health and deals far more damage as he loses health.