History Main / UnusableEnemyEquipment

** A similar phenomenon persists to this day, as there are hundreds of different ammunition cartridges. Even the "ubiquitous" 9mm cartridge actually comes in more than half-a-dozen cartridge lengths that are completely incompatible with each other. Short of a few intentionally interchangeable ammo variants (such as the .50 S&W being a low-recoil option for guns designed for the 10MM cartridge) rare is the gun that can fire anything but exactly what it was designed for. Even if you have exactly the same cartridge (in terms of dimensions and primer) it's possible to have varying powder loads. Weaker loads are problematic on semi-automatic or automatic weapons since they may not generate enough energy to cycle the weapon's action, leading to constant jams, while stronger loads can outright destroy a firearm (with [[EyeScream gnarly]] [[FacialHorror side]] [[{{Fingore}} effects]]), or put extra stress on the gun's components.

** The Shadows in ''Halo 2'' and the AA Wraiths in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' are also undrivable by the player (unless you take advantage of a glitch).

** In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', after you're weapon-stripped, your only remaining weapon gains a weapon-destroying effect itself... which means every weapon dropped by dying enemies is disintegrated before you can grab it to rebuild your arsenal. [[EleventhHourSuperpower Not that you really need to]].
*** The same thing happens at the beginning of ''Episode One'' when your gravity gun is supercharged again. Bizarrely, though, enemies killed by Alyx during that portion of the game also have their weapons disintegrate, even though she wields an ordinary pistol.
** Curiously, while most every other weapon in ''Half-Life 2'' can be used in singleplayer, the stun baton favored by Overwatch cops cannot be - it only functions as a minor energy recharge the few times you can kill someone who drops it. But considering Gordon has [[CrowbarCombatant a perfectly fine melee weapon already]], it's understandable that they wouldn't bother adding it. It later became usable in ''Half-Life 2: Deathmatch'', where it swings more slowly but deals more damage.

** A similar phenomenon persists to this day, as there are hundreds of different ammunition cartridges. Even the "ubiquitous" 9mm cartridge actually comes in more than half-a-dozen cartridge lengths that are completely incompatible with each other. Short of a few intentionally interchangeable ammo variants (such as the .50 S&W being a low-recoil option for guns designed for the 10MM cartridge) rare is the gun that can fire anything but exactly what it was designed for.

** The explanation given in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', which is set in 1964, is that Naked Snake doesn't trust the reliability of weapons that may have been poorly maintained, instead preferring fresh weapons from armories.

*** The same thing needs to be done in ''[=MGS3=]'', but you must steal the uniform from a specific officer because you need his security clearance and it just so happens that you have a mask that matches his face. If you wear the mask and talk to Sigint at the beginning of the game, it's heavily hinted at that [[FridgeBrilliance the mask was made to impersonate the exact same officer.]]

** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': You can't pick up the guns from enemies, you must wait for the weapons to show up lying around on their own somewhere. Once you do find one, however, [[EnoughToGoAround every character capable of using it gets their own copy]].

** Installments from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' onwards averts this with arrows. You can pick up enemy arrows that get stuck in the ground before they fade or burn away, and recover your own fired arrows from an enemy if you can see them sticking out of it. Also, two key items -- the Gale Boomerang and the Ball and Chain -- are received by beating the minibosses that use them.

* Many, many FirstPersonShooter games. Nowadays it's less prevalent: the player character can pick up and use enemy weapons. In less modern shooters, however, defeated enemy grunts would often lie as corpses on the ground with their weapon in plain view, but you'd be unable to take it unless they spawned the appropriate weapon/ammo item while dying. As noted above, this isn't necessarily unrealistic.
** Averted in the Granddaddy of them all, ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D''. The game starts with the scenario that you take the pistol from a guard you shanked. All enemies in the game either use that same kind of pistol and drop ammo or, in the case of the blue SS guards, drop a different weapon that you can then take and use against them. The exceptions are the bosses, who are all {{Super Soldier}}s wielding weapons you legitimately ''couldn't'' use (i.e. several-hundred-pound [[GatlingGood Gatling guns]], and even then you can get your own version of the same weapon).
** ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' likewise averted this trope for the most part in that enemies that actually use weapons (that aren't grafted to their bodies) drop them, though the standard rifle-using zombies only drop ammo. For your pistol. The apparent reason for this is the player's starting weapon was originally a rifle early in development but was changed to a pistol without changing the sprites of the enemies wielding the same weapon.
*** The ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' and ''Project Brutality'' mods subvert this somewhat. Killing mancubi and revenants with either explosive weapons (easier, but not guaranteed [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome due to the chance of your ordinance mauling said weapon in the process]]), or by killing them with the Chainsaw or your bare hands (Berserk-state only), allows the player to steal and use their weapons. However, they tend to be AwesomeButImpractical, because the only way to get more ammo is to kill more of them in the same specific manner in which you got the weapon in the first place.
*** Same goes for ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'', to an extent. Former humans' guns can be picked up for ammo, as they're the same as yours (even the Commando's chaingun). In fact, the way you get the machinegun if you didn't open the locker at the end of the second level is to grab one off a Z-sec enemy. Though you can't pick up wrenches or additional flashlights from civilian zombies that wield them.
** ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' and ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' for the N64 avert this trope completely until it comes to dual-wielding. Even if you have one pistol, if you kill a guard also using that pistol, you only get ammo for picking it up - you must find a guard using ''two'' such pistols, kill him, and pick up ''both'' of the dropped weapons in order to dual-wield them.
** Most Tactical Shooters will forbid you from carrying enemy weapons except to take as evidence. The reasons for this are simple: they are either poorly maintained, inferior to what the player character has (an old AK-47 vs a new M4 with accessories like optics and flashlights is a no-brainer), or simply wouldn't make sense for the player character to pick up in-universe.

* Used rather infuriatingly in the old Japanese FPS, ''VideoGame/{{Expert}}''. The default weapons you select at the start of each stage (pistol + knife + backup e.g. Uzi, shotgun) are the only weapons you can use. More often than not enemy mooks will be using a firearm you don't have in your arsenal, which you can't use, just because.

* ''{{VideoGame/Rimworld}}'' initially fully averted this trope but added several aversions with successive updates.
** All clothing and armor worn by someone the instant when they breathe their last, be it on the battlefield or in bed, becomes "tainted". It's still usable, per se, but almost all pawns are grossed out by wearing it and suffer a mood penalty as a result. Traders also will not accept tainted items no matter what, which is specifically why the feature was introduced to nerf the [[MoneyForNothing monetary lucrativeness]] of raids.

** Major antagonists often have unique personal weapons that cannot be acquired in normal gameplay. While most can be acquired in post-game, bonus, or spinoff material, the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Ereshkigal]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Creiddylad]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Circe Staff]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Valaskjálf, Élivágar, Hreiðmarr]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors Risyl]] have never been obtainable under any circumstances.

* Harebrained Schemes' ''VideoGame/{{Battletech}}'' normally averts this, but plays it straight with the equipment carried by Story Mode's FinalBoss and many {{Bonus Boss}}es added in the expansions' Flashpoints -- [[spoiler:Victoria's King Crab and its pulse lasers cannot be salvaged, the Steel Claw cannot be salvaged (only obtained from one outcome of the Flashpoint), the 'mechs in Head Hunters cannot be salvaged (though much of their equipment, luckily, can), and all the 'mechs and the vast majority of equipment in Natasha Kerensky and The Bounty Hunter's lances cannot be salvaged either, especially all their [[BoringButPractical Double Heat Sinks]].]]

For whatever reason, the player is not allowed to pick up and use the weapons, ammo, and equipment of fallen enemies. Instead, he must either find the same weapons and equipment lying around by themselves or simply can't reality pick up weapons at all outside plot events that give them to him. Often this doesn't extend to ammunition; once the player has a gun, enemies with the same gun may well start dropping ammunition for it.

** Another issue is that the primary purpose of said lockout systems as far as police are concerned is to prevent someone from taking a gun from a cop and immediately turning it back on them. Most workable schemes either rely on the weapon being unlocked until put away or relying on the proximity of some sort of signal - neither of which helps to prevent someone from grappling with a cop and shooting them with their own gun at point-blank range, which is the scenario that the police are trying to avoid. The most practical solution to date has not involved modifying the actual weapons at all, but instead on designing a holster that is shaped so that trying to pull the weapon out is difficult and awkward unless you are the one wearing it. Of course most police forces around the world have an even simpler solution - when they carry guns, they aren't loaded.

*** Some enemies ''do'' in fact drop weapons that you can pick up and use, ranging from simple clubs to a BFS that's more than ''twice the length'' of Link's body. However, you can't store them in your inventory and drop them if you leave the area.

* The ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series was notorious for this trope. Even if you were equipped with only a dagger and leather armor, and you just killed dozens of enemies carrying scimitars, spears, maces, scale mail, shields, ball and chains, etc. they would invariably be too 'damaged' or 'worthless' for you to pick up, if the game even acknowledged their existence in the first place. The fifth game finally averts this, though the vast majority of enemy weapons are going to be vendor trash anyway.

** Major antagonists often have unique personal weapons that cannot be acquired in normal gameplay. While most can be acquired in post-game, bonus, or spinoff material, the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Ereshkigal]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Creiddylad]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Circe Staff]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Valaskjálf, Élivágar, Hreiðmarr, Enclosing Dark]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors Risyl]] have never been obtainable under any circumstances.

* ''Videogame/BattleZone1998''s normally allows players to hop out of their HoverTank to use a sniper rifle to [[SnipingTheCockpit kill enemy pilots]] and steal their vehicles, which is particularly useful if the player's tank is destroyed behind enemy lines. Part of the DifficultySpike when the [[spoiler: Furies]] show up comes from their ships [[BrainUploading having no pilot]], making them immune to the sniper rifle, and they make a beeline for foot soldiers, turning what was once a minor inconvenience into a death sentence.

** Major antagonists often have unique personal weapons that cannot be acquired in normal gameplay. While most can be acquired in post-game, bonus, or spinoff material, the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Ereshkigal]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Creiddylad]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Circe Staff]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Valaskjálf, Élivágar, Hreiðmarr]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors Risyl]] have never been obtainable under any circumstances.

* ''VideoGame/GhostRecon'' lets you choose a set of weapons at mission start, but you can't use the weapons your enemies drop after you kill them. In ''Advanced Warfighter'', you can at least scavenge the ammo out of them if they're the same caliber as one of your weapons, while ''VideoGame/GhostReconFutureSoldier'' lets you grab dropped enemy weapons as much as you want.

** This trope is avoided somewhat in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''. Some enemies ''do'' in fact drop weapons that you can pick up and use, ranging from simple clubs to a BFS that's more than ''twice the length'' of Link's body. However, you can't store them in your inventory and drop them if you leave the area.
** But effectively played straight with Phantom Ganon's sword, which is only dropped in rooms where there are no other enemies anyway. Which is secondary to the fact that you don't ''want'' to pick it up anyway, since watching how it falls is a puzzle hint.
** Installments from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' onwards averts this with arrows. Much like the ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' example, you can pick up enemy arrows that get stuck in the ground before they fade or burn away, and recover your own fired arrows from an enemy if you can see them sticking out of it.
*** ''Twilight Princess'' further averts this by having two key items -- the Gale Boomerang and the Ball and Chain -- received by beating the minibosses that use them.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' plays with this trope a bit. In the fourth dungeon, Ancient Cistern, you obtain a whip which allows you to retrieve items from afar. Unfortunately, it can't temporarily snag weapons from enemies, instead only stealing Monster Horns (for upgrading your equipment) from certain Bokoblins. Later on, the boss of Ancient Cistern ([[spoiler:Koloktos]]) must be defeated by [[spoiler:disabling its limbs, which allows you to pick up one of its [[{{BFS}} swords]] (which are able to ''smash through pillars'') and go buck wild on it. Unfortunately, you can't take the sword with you outside of the boss room.]]

* The [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Lawgiver]] from ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd''. The gun is encoded to fire only when its registered user pulls the trigger. Any attempts by anyone else results in the [[AnArmAndALeg loss of a limb]] by way of a [[SelfDestructingSecurity small explosive charge]] (or, in [[Film/JudgeDredd the film]], a nasty electro-shock). It is possible to override this function in an emergency, as Senior Judges have access to instructions on how to do this. However, at times it has been a plot point that while the Judges' ''guns'' are coded to only work for their owner, their ammunition is not, so a Judge low on ammo can still grab a few mags off one of their downed fellows.

* ''VideoGame/GhostRecon'' lets you choose a set of weapons at mission start, but you can't use the weapons your enemies drop after you kill them. In ''Advanced Warfighter'', you can at least scavenge the ammo out of them if they're the same caliber as one of your weapons, while ''Future Soldier'' lets you grab dropped enemy weapons as much as you want.