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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 7 | LoopholeAbuse in VideoGames. |
| 8 | ---- |
| 9 | |
| 10 | !!Hardware |
| 11 | * Until the 1990s, South Korea banned all Japanese products from entering the country. Nintendo got around the ban by abusing a loophole whereby products sold by Korean companies were considered Korean. Nintendo commissioned Hyundai Electronics and later Daewon to distribute its products in Korea. Since Hyundai and Daewon were Korean companies, that effectively made Nintendo products Korean, thus avoiding the ban. |
| 12 | * When the NES launched worldwide, Nintendo of America placed extremely tight restrictions on third parties that wanted to make video games on the console so that history would not repeat the UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. Said restrictions were not allowing developers to produce more than 6 NES games a year. To get around the rule, companies would split up into smaller companies with different names and all would make video games. Since each company was "different", no rule was being broken (e.g. if the NES titles made by Ultra Games seem extremely similar to Creator/{{Konami}}'s output in that era, it's because they ''were'' Konami). This practice died off once the standards of video game publishing changed over time. |
| 13 | * The Platform/PlayStation4 and Platform/XboxOne both have certification requirements specifying that games should be playable while partially installed. However, by "playable", they mean that the software simply has to start; it doesn't prevent games only simply loading up a menu with all actual content inaccessible until the game finishes installing. |
| 14 | * Some {{HGame}}s will bypass Platform/{{Steam}}'s harsh restrictions on Japanese NSFW content by publishing a version on the platform that is technically a complete game (even if clearly missing content) that complies with the platform's guidelines, and then making an "NSFW patch" available on their own website that restores the routes, scenes and whatnots. |
| 15 | * Some games with voice chat cut you off when your character dies, ostensibly so you can't alert your teammates that you've bit it to give them a heads up and avoid making the same mistake you made (such as with ''VideoGame/LethalCompany''). Nothing says you can't hold your voice chat outside of the game on a platform like Discord tho, which doesn't cut off at all if you die. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | !!By Title: |
| 18 | * ''[[VideoGame/AdvanceWars Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising]]'' has the much-beloved trick to win ''Two-Week Test'', a HoldTheLine affair where you must survive against a ''vastly'' more powerful enemy force for 14 turns. There are two ways to lose the match: having all of your units destroyed, or having your HQ captured. However if you don't build any units and just sit back, the enemy can't meet either win-condition -- you have no units to destroy, and they'll never get an Infantry unit to your HQ in time since they are too busy swarming your properties with Md Tanks and Bombers. [[WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing You win by doing absolutely nothing.]] |
| 19 | * ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresI'': [[ArtificialStupidity You may find you have a wish to kill your AI teammates]], but the computer does not let you target units that are technically on your side. You can, however, have units with splash damage attack the ground they are next to. |
| 20 | * In ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'', the "Stalk market" has caused several of these: |
| 21 | ** Communication is in theory done via in-game text and/or the Switch online app. There's no rule against using Discords or other forms of social media to communicate since the game offers no in-game way to post Turnip prices to other users. |
| 22 | ** There's no rule against allowing people on your island... then telling them they are expected to pay up to 10 Nook Mile Tickets. Even though charging entry fees is frowned upon and even a bannable offence by turnip-sharing communities, enforcement is at best slipshod and at worst nonexistent. Therefore players will ''routinely'' decide there's no rule against ''saying'' you don't require any fees, then requiring players to pay up when they enter and kick them off when they're called out. |
| 23 | * Referenced in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' with a magic ring that fires a blast of fire. The flavor text indicates it was used in a duel between two drow, where each was allowed the use of one magical item. It was used by a friend of one of the duelists, who shot the other party in the back from the stands. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Being Drow]], everyone agreed this was a brilliant interpretation of the rules. |
| 24 | ** During one quest, the party will encounter a summoned creature who was ordered to guard a chest. It can be fought and slain to gain access to the contents of the chest, but a character with sufficient Wisdom can think to ask if the creature was instructed to guard the ''contents'' of the chest. It will realise that he was not, and (being rather annoyed with his compelled service) it happily allows you to plunder the contents, [[ExactWords seeing as the chest isn't being taken anywhere]]. |
| 25 | * ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' |
| 26 | ** For Wyll, the loophole abuse comes from the one who forged his contract, his demonic patron Mizora. As per their contract, Wyll would go after Mizora's enemies, which include, among others, "the heartless". Wyll assumed this meant demons that were ruthless and evil, but such words do not describe [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Karlach]], a tiefling who deserted the archdevil Zariel's army. Unfortunately, Mizora's definition of "heartless" also include those who ''[[ExactWords literally do not have a physical heart]]'', such as Karlach, whose heart was replaced with an Infernal Engine. If Wyll is convinced to spare Karlach, Mizora will be all too happy to exploit the wording of the contract to punish him. |
| 27 | ** Mizora pulls another one on him later on. Due to severely needing help, you can bargain so that the condition for your help is ending Wyll's pact with her. She accepts, but note that (per the terms of the contract themselves) that still gives her ''six months'' of Wyll's servitude, as you did not explicitly said her hold over him had to end ''right now''. |
| 28 | ** One sidequest entails helping the devil Raphael deal with his nemesis, the orthon Yuigir, who is bound by a contract to remain in Shar's Gauntlet and kill any who enter, on pain of slavery if he fails or leaves his post. The contract was made in sing-song form [[EarWorm to ensure it's never forgotten]], and also stipulated that anyone who hears the song must also die. If the player passes a Perception check, they can exploit that specific aspect of the contract to convince Yuigir to kill his underlings because they just heard it, then his pet displacer beast because she also heard it, and finally, since he can still hear the song in his head, ''[[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath himself]]''. |
| 29 | * In ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' and ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', Rapture technically doesn't have ''any'' rules aside from not compromising Rapture's secrecy, so when Lamb and then Fontaine threaten Andrew Ryan's position of power, he has to resort to this trope to protect his power, claiming the former is a Bolshevik spy and claiming the latter's smuggling will expose Rapture to the rest of the world in order to have them... [[DeadlyEuphemism removed]]. Unfortunately for him, his hypocrisy is obvious to the rest of Rapture, starting a chain of events that lead to a civil war. |
| 30 | * In ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', Father Comstock loves to abuse loopholes, particularly ones in the Bible, to justify his violence and racism. Comstock also only describes the United States as the Sodom Below when referring to it in terms of Columbia's secession, because he justifies the secession by arguing that the U.S. had become so corrupt from its founding principles that it was no longer really America any more. In this light, technically Columbia did not secede, it became the United States and cast out everything on the ground from the Union. |
| 31 | -->"The Lord Forgives everything, but I'm just a prophet, so I don't have to. Amen." |
| 32 | * ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'': The rules of the world into which the cast have been drawn stipulate that only 2v2 formal tag battles are allowed. There is, however, no rule against a series of warning shots. |
| 33 | * ''VideoGame/{{Brawlhalla}}'': Cross is a 50's era gangster who [[DealWithTheDevil struck a deal with a demon]]: the demon will become bound to him and lend him his powers until Cross' last battle, at which point, he will receive payment. However, Cross managed to get into Valhalla where he can keep fighting while ''not dying''. So, he's happy to remain there, both for [[BloodKnight love of battle]] and [[DraggedOffToHell fear of the alternative]]. |
| 34 | * The Cavern of Transcendence trial in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' required a team to get through the enemy-filled caves beneath the Hollows and then enter the Cavern, a massive room filled with monsters, and then activate 8 triggers (one for each team member) simultaneously that were spread throughout the room, in 90 minutes after receiving the mission. The obvious intended challenge was obviously for the team to fight through the caves, then clear out the monsters before activating the triggers. However, activating the triggers is all that's required to actually successfully complete the trial. A standard tactic quickly became having one team member with superspeed (which has a stealth benefit) and/or flight plus invisibility or some kind of stealth power, and recall (teleporting one teammate to your position) race through the caves, past all the enemy mobs, to the Cavern door and teleport in teammates. Upon entering the Cavern, the stealth teleporter would go to each trigger in turn and bring in a teammate, again without alerting any of the monsters. End result? A 90-minute trial that could be finished in a few minutes without having to engage a single enemy. |
| 35 | * ''VideoGame/CivilizationVI'': Warmongering carries penalties, making it harder to get good trade deals and risking the other civs ganging up on you, but there are ways to get around this system. For example, suppose you wanted rid of Egypt, who is at war with Rome. If you declare a joint war then Rome will love you, but the international community will brand you a warmongerer with ensuing penalties. However, the other civs won't notice if you officially stay neutral but trade Rome copious amounts of gold and military resources. They won't notice anything if you settle a city in a tactical position on Egypt's border, build a military district in it and then gift that city to Rome as a diplomatic gesture. |
| 36 | * ''VideoGame/TheClueFinders3rdGradeAdventuresTheMysteryOfMathra'' features one game that is played like ''Battleship''. You are given two numbers and must figure out the sum, difference, product, or the quotient of the two. When a correct answer is chosen, you are given a letter that forms part of a word. However, because it does not have any set order on what letters are available, you can go all over the place. To save time, the player can play the game much more like ''Battleship'' and start guessing based upon past "hits" (Or, on earlier levels, where part of the word is revealed). This is not only considered [[AntiFrustrationFeatures a valid hit]], but the game will [[DevelopersForesight say that while you did not pick the product, sum, difference, or quotient,]] [[RightForTheWrongReasons you still chose a correct answer]]. |
| 37 | * Similar to Germany before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (see RealLife example), the USSR in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'' manages to build up a large military partly through this trope. One of the restrictions is the limitation on military aircraft. So, the Soviets build thousands of armored zeppelins to act as bombers. Ain't No Rule about mind-controlling giant squids to sink Allied ships, right? Having powerful psychics under your command means [[MindControl you can have every Allied inspector come back saying exactly what you want him to say]], even if he just saw a column of Apocalypse tanks roll by. |
| 38 | * The antagonist of ''VideoGame/DeathEndReQuest2'' requires the deaths of [[spoiler:666 children]] for their EvilPlan. The loophole is that it doesn't require [[spoiler:666 ''different'' children]], so they rack up 22 deaths in one go and then [[spoiler:use their [[RealityWarper programmer-like control over the game's world]] to keep the victims' "data" in stasis, reviving them once a year to be murdered all over again.]] |
| 39 | * One of the survivors in ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' refuses to come with Chuck (or Frank if you are playing OtR) unless he has a gun with him (as he has money in a briefcase). Although firearms like pistols and shotguns are widely available (and obviously what most people would bring), he will also join if your "gun" is a harmless water gun. |
| 40 | * A shortcoming in the engine that supported ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'' [[UnfriendlyFire allowed players to kill their own mobs]]. So what this encouraged was someone to stay behind and kill every single one of "their" mobs so the enemies couldn't get experience at all, and thus the "Deny" mechanic was born. |
| 41 | ** Another notable example relates to neutral creeps, mobs that spawn in set camps for either side to kill for money. Creep camps are rigged to respawn at set intervals if cleared. However, the trigger that respawns them checks whether there are units in the camp, ''not'' whether the existing creeps are actually dead. Players quickly found out that, by drawing aggro from a creep camp and luring it away just as it's about to respawn, you can spawn multiple camps in the same place and thus give more money to your side's players that need it. Creep stacking, as it came to be known, is now an integral mechanic of the game and actively encouraged by the UpdatedRerelease ''VideoGame/Dota2''. The creep trigger is also exploited in the opposite direction by people planting invisible wards in creep camps so that they don't respawn until the ward goes away, starving the other team of money. |
| 42 | ** The sequel by Valve added a pause feature so people don't have to have a BladderOfSteel (or in case something happens that makes their game client crash). Even if a player leaves, it won't necessarily cost their team the game. In order to prevent people from using this as an excuse to pause the game and plan ganks or other elaborate plans, any person can force-unpause the game. However, this appears to have encouraged the perverse DoubleStandard that whenever the afk player is on ''their'' team, the other team will wait for them...and whenever they're on ''your'' team, you can practically hear the other team saying, "Ain't No Rule saying we can't constantly force-unpause the game and get further ahead while they're gone." This has been somewhat addressed by not allowing the other side to unpause for a certain amount of time if they do it enough (which brings back the original problem). |
| 43 | * Invoked in-universe in one puzzle in ''[[VideoGame/{{Deponia}} Chaos on Deponia]]'', which requires the hero (who has no money but [[ItMakesSenseInContext desperately needs a fortune cookie]]) to abuse the various, seemingly individually reasonable specials and deals offered by a fast food restaurant (e.g. "trade a big burger for a big drink" or "upsize a drink for half a coin") in order to end up with a combination translating to a meal costing ''absolutely nothing''. Granted, it doesn't include any food, but because he still technically ordered a meal he's entitled the coveted complimentary fortune cookie. [[RefugeInAudacity He concludes this by telling the cashier to keep the change and a 30% tip.]] |
| 44 | * ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'': The "Rearm and Repeat" achievement requires you to "Collect more than 100 Devil Breakers during missions". This sounds like it only counts the Devil Breakers found in Nero's missions of the main story, but there's actually a loophole in the description; it counts any Devil Breaker picked up on any mode, including the dozens of arms freely given out on the Rest Areas of Bloody Palace mode. Another related loophole is present in the Bloody Palace's Warm Up feature; with the ability to jump straight to any previously-visited Rest Area, the player can obtain this achievement faster than intended. |
| 45 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'', you will repeatedly be subpoenaed by the Dark Court for various "crimes" committed by your party members. This being the Netherworld, you ''want'' to have extensive crime records, since it gives benefits. While the rules stipulate that a person has to find and enter the gate to the Dark Court, it doesn't actually have to be the person who did the crime. It also doesn't say only ''one'' person has to go in — you can form a ladder and throw up to nine people before the judge, who will write up everyone for this underhanded behavior. |
| 46 | * ''VideoGame/DivinityDragonCommander'': In Camilla's Paragon Route, the dwarves try to take over large sections of dwarven territory via this trope. Give VERY generous mortgage rates, [[LoopholeAbuse exponentially raise the interest,]] evict undead tenants when they inevitably can't pay, and then profit. |
| 47 | * ''VideoGame/{{Dominions}}'' has the Divine Emperor Pretender (Pretenders is a Dominions term for godlike beings vying to become the true supreme god of the world), which is the beneficiary of a quirky loophole: the nations that have the Divine Emperor available apparently uses Roman-style post-death [[GodEmperor deification]] of their emperors. The Divine Emperor is the son of the previous emperor, who, being dead, is a god, making his son the Son of God. As the Son of God, the Divine Emperor is sufficiently divine to lay claim to Pretenderhood and all the perks thereof (like immortality) despite really being an ordinary human. |
| 48 | * The goal of ''VideoGame/DontShitYourPants'' is to...well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin not shit your pants.]] While the correct solution is to go in the toilet like a civilized human being, the player also gets a victory chime for [[spoiler:taking off their pants and shitting on the floor. Hey, ''technically'' you didn't shit your pants.]] |
| 49 | * In ''VideoGame/DiceyDungeons'', Dodge completely negates the next attack. However, the Witch can still throw her dice at an enemy with this status because she's technically not using any of her spells to attack them. Also, the Sour Candy card can still hit the enemy if the user's HP is full because the card still acts like it's being used on them instead of on the enemy, even if it'll damage the latter instead of healing the user. |
| 50 | * ''Franchise/DragonAge'': |
| 51 | ** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'', this is how a Mage Warden becomes Arl of Amaranthine. Legally, Mages are forbidden from holding lands and titles, but technically, the Arling itself is stated to belong to the Wardens, not an individual. The title of Arl/essa falls to whomever is appointed Warden-Commander of Ferelden, which in this case, just happens to be a Mage. Ditto with an Elven Warden. |
| 52 | ** Technically, any dwarf that goes to the surface becomes casteless. That's true for everyone, except for any dwarf that becomes a Grey Warden; those ones keep their caste. The same applies to any mage who join the Wardens, they're declared outside of the templars' jurisdiction and thus, can't be declared apostates for not being locked in a Circle of Magi. Most templars are not amused for that. |
| 53 | * In ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2'', the heroes are presented a problem during the Frieza Saga: the Time Patroller is aiding Nail in battling Frieza so that Dende can give Gohan and Krillin the password to summon Parunga the Namekian Dragon. However, to both the Elder Kai and Supreme Kai of Time's shock, Turles and Lord Slug have found the Dragon Balls. Since there's no way for the Time Patroller to break off from fighting Frieza and race to Turles and Slug in time, the Supreme Kai of Time recalls the Time Patroller... then gives them a scroll that allows them to arrive at the point before the villains find the Dragon Balls, thus meaning the Time Patroller was at two places at once. The Elder Kai is upset at this sort of abuse, but the Supreme Kai of Time points out that things like that are what they're supposed to do. |
| 54 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': |
| 55 | ** In the backstory, the [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] were known to bend the "Earth Bones" (essentially the laws of nature and physics) with their creations, allowing them to [[RagnarokProofing last for millennia]]. Notably, the core of the Dwemer's magical technology involved machines and tools designed to manipulate "tonal architecture" or the sounds and vibrations created by the "Earth Bones." In effect, they completely bypassed "normal" magic (which involves using the {{ma|na}}gicka that flows into the world through the sun and the stars) and instead [[RealityWarper hijacked the fundamental laws of the world and used them for their own ends]]. |
| 56 | ** The Bosmer ([[OurElvesAreDifferent Wood Elves]]) are bound to the Green Pact, a deal they made with the patron deity of their forest homeland. The Bosmer use a range of options for getting around the restrictions of the Green Pact. For example, the Green Pact says that one cannot harm living plants and cannot eat food made from plants. However, some Bosmer eat raw fruit that has fallen from trees (no longer part of a living plant, and not made from plants because the Bosmer didn't alter it) and they are able to eat mushrooms, since fungi aren't plants. It's also acceptable to eat insects, honey, and dairy products. Additionally, while the Bosmer themselves may not harm the plant-life of Valenwood, certain outsiders ''are'' allowed to, and the Bosmer have been known to purchase lumber from outsiders who cut the trees. They are also known to import wood from other regions into Valenwood when necessary. The pact also applies specifically to the plant life ''of Valenwood'', so Bosmer who live elsewhere don't need to follow its restrictions. |
| 57 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''-specific examples: |
| 58 | *** If you use Thu'um shouts within the view of a hold's guards, they'll get on your case and tell you to stop that "... shouting thing". If you take the "Make me" route in the dialogue, they say there isn't any rule against it really (since Thu'um is an exceptionally rare ability), and then cut off with "I'm watching you..." |
| 59 | *** In a similar vein, if you need to kill someone in a hold in Skyrim but don't want to incur the negative penalties for murder, you can just use Unrelenting Force to blow them off a high ledge. You'll get fined for Assault (as the Thu'um is considered an attack), but you won't be fined or jailed for murder, as technically you didn't kill them, [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou fall damage did]]. Similarly, if you need to grab something from someone's inventory without it count as stealing, killing them this way would let you grab it with impunity (minus, again, the fine for assault) from their corpse. |
| 60 | *** It's not possible in ''Skyrim'' to make a potion of Fortify Alchemy (and then use your fortified Alchemy to make a ''stronger'' potion of Fortify Alchemy, and then keep doing that until you can make potions that [[GameBreaker break the game]]) like it was in earlier games. However, you ''can'' make potions of Fortify ''Restoration'', and ''enchantments'' of Fortify Alchemy. All passive buffs to your character are classified as Restoration magic, including those from enchanted armor/clothing/jewelery. This allows you to pull of what's known as the "Restoration loop": Enchant a full set of Fortify Alchemy gear (helmet, gauntlets, ring, and necklace). Equip it, make a Fortify Restoration potion, and drink it. Then unequip and re-equip the gear and the Fortify Alchemy effect will be stronger, meaning you can make a stronger Fortify Restoration potion. Repeat ad nauseum, or at least until you can make potions that buff your skills by 30,000% (don't go much higher than that or it'll crash the game) and sell for more gold than exists in all of Tamriel. Oh, and make sure you end off by making a potion of Fortify Enchanting and enchanting a new set of Fortify Alchemy gear so that it already has the enormous buff by default, just so you don't have to go through the whole loop again the next time you want to make some potions. |
| 61 | *** In the beginning of the game, after you make your escape from Helgen, you have the option of accompanying either Ralof (of the Stormcloaks) or Hadvar (of the Imperials) to the nearby village of Riverwood. Both of these men are flagged as essential, meaning that to avoid breaking the game you cannot kill them or turn them hostile no matter what you do. Many players take advantage of this by cornering them somewhere in the cave along the way to Riverwood and repeatedly attacking them with weapons and/or spells, which provides a way to swiftly level up skills before the game even properly begins. |
| 62 | * In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', a quest from Ranger Jackson at the NCR Mojave Outpost tasks the player with clearing out some giant ants at an intersection. The NCR can't legally hire mercenaries, so he's not allowed to pay you for your trouble, but there's a chance he might "accidentally misplace" some supplies when you get back. The only other quest you can get at the Outpost gets you no reward beyond some [[AllianceMeter NCR fame]] and the usual experience points. |
| 63 | ** The Courier can become the beneficiary of accidental Loophole Abuse when finding the robot Yes Man in Benny's suite. Benny programmed him to be polite and follow every order he's given. However, he forgot to specify "only follow orders from ''me''", which means anyone can boss Yes Man around just as easily as Benny, and thus the Courier can use him to help him/her take over New Vegas him/herself. Yes Man himself actually says it was quite dumb of Benny to not specify such a rule[[note]]As House mentions, Benny started life as a tribal and so it's not surprising that he doesn't understand much about literal-minded robots.[[/note]], and if the Courier completes the game by taking over Vegas with Yes Man's help, Yes Man will say he is updating his programming to become "more assertive", which was clarified by WordOfGod to mean that he was putting in the rule Benny neglected so that he will only follow orders from the Courier. |
| 64 | ** That said, Yes Man finds creative ways to ''politely'' express a lack of understanding should the Courier pursue... alternative methods of taking over New Vegas: |
| 65 | -->'''Yes Man:''' "You... blew it up! That's just funny, because that... army seems like the secret weapon that was the whole point of... you know... I can't get over how brave you are to destroy all those Securitrons at the fort! You know, it's going to make everything so much more... uhhhh... challenging! Yeah! Challenging!" |
| 66 | * In ''VideoGame/FalloutTacticsBrotherhoodOfSteel'', brahmin armor is almost like a joke, giving only a tiny amount of damage resistance. Except it can be worn by ''anyone'', even your robotic companions who are normally forbidden from wearing any armor. They normally have 90% damage resistance. The armor brings it up to 95%, reducing the damage they do receive in half! |
| 67 | * In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', Merlin pulls one off against the rules of reality: it is impossible for a living person to be summoned as a Servant, and since Merlin exists eternally in Avalon, he will never die. However, he managed to get summoned as a Servant in Babylonia because he hadn't yet been born at that point, so while he wasn't yet dead, he certainly wasn't alive. |
| 68 | ** King Solomon's final Noble Phantasm, Ars Nova, returns all of his gifts back to God and ends his existence. Doing this requires all ten of his Magic Rings to be gathered in the same location. It does not however require all ten rings to be in the possession of the same ''person''. Thus, [[spoiler:Dr. Romani (the reincarnated Solomon) is able to use the 10th ring to [[HeroicSacrifice erase both himself and his original self's corpse]] (which is being animated by [[BigBad Goetia]] and holding the other 9 rings) once he's in the same room with Goetia, and there's nothing Goetia can do about it]]. |
| 69 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': |
| 70 | ** Used to thwart the fal'Cie's plan in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. [[spoiler:The l'Cie's Focus was to destroy Cocoon by killing Orphan, the fal'Cie responsible for providing the rest of the Cocoon fal'Cie with the power needed for maintaining Cocoon's vital functions. The Focus didn't say anything about what they could do ''after'' they accomplished this task, which is the loophole Fang and Vanille abuse to save Cocoon from [[ColonyDrop crashing into Gran Pulse]] and killing its entire populace as the fal'Cie wanted.]] |
| 71 | *** The fal'Cie themselves are notable loophole abusers: while [[PhysicalGod possessing immense power]], they are inescapably bound to the purpose for which they were created, and cannot act outside said purpose. [[HumansAreSpecial Humans, however, have no such limitations]], so what do the fal'Cie do? They [[TouchedByVorlons empower humans]] and manipulate (or {{railroad|ing}}) them into fulfilling their goals. |
| 72 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': |
| 73 | *** People who leave a duty with a party by get a 30 minute lockout from all duties. Being kicked out via voting from other players doesn't count. Ergo, people who want to leave a duty without incurring a penalty will ask other players to kick them out instead. This issue tends to be an issue of itself since some think it's wrong to evade a penalty and that voting someone out wastes their 4 hour cooldown to vote again when they could have used it on someone like a troll. Others feel that there's no harm in voting someone out that doesn't want to stay and that "holding someone hostage" by not voting is bad. |
| 74 | *** In-story, the Hearers of the Black Shroud are there to interpret the will of the Elementals and give instructions accordingly in order to ensure that Gridania and its surrounding villages don't encur the wrath of the Twelveswood (which, in the past, has been disastrous). Several questlines reveal that more than one Hearer abuses this in order to enforce their own prejudices (Gridania being a hotbed of FantasticRacism) or some other self-interest... which makes you really wonder about earlier quests and flavor text in which the Hearers refused medical care on the grounds of "elementals say so." |
| 75 | *** Players have found a way to manipulate the alliance raid roulette to ''only'' put them in ''A Realm Reborn'' raids; specifically because they are easy to complete with the item-scaling and having simpler mechanics, as well as PowerCreep making the fights go a lot faster and skipping many mechanics. Simply take off most of your gear to lower your item level, so that the game will not put you into higher-level duties that take longer and require more effort to complete. This caused a bit of a rift between players since people who weren't abusing the exploit will be matched up with those that are, thus the roulette seemingly only chooses the ''A Realm Reborn'' raids and caused some people to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leave rather than doing the Crystal Tower raids for the billionth time]]. A patch would finally fix this issue by having the alliance raid roulette he based on your current job's level and needing to meet a specified item level. |
| 76 | * ''Franchise/FireEmblem'': |
| 77 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', [[spoiler:the only way for [[BigBad the Fell Dragon Grima]] to truly and permanently die is by his own hand. The mortal vessel used as a sacrifice to bring Grima into this world was [[PlayerCharacter Robin]]. Obviously, Grima's not interested in offing himself, but since Grima travelled to a time before the sacrifice was made, Robin could kill Grima, as they are the same person. There is a price for abusing this loophole, though: since their souls are tied to one another, Grima's death would also mean the Robin's death... but if the choice is taken, they end up ''temporarily'' erased, but ultimately brings themselves back]]. |
| 78 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'': Prior to the game's beginning, Nohr was incapable of invading Hoshido because Queen Mikoto erected a protective barrier around Hoshido itself, causing Nohrian soldiers to lose their will to fight as soon as they step into the country's borders. The Nohrians get around this by creating the Faceless, monsters of BlackMagic with no minds of their own, to attack Hoshido. |
| 79 | ** Then, in the ''Conquest'' route, this happens a few times: |
| 80 | *** Garon orders Corrin to suppress a rebellion in the Ice Tribe... by themselves. However, Elise and several other Retainers join Corrin along the way, and Corrin ends it via diplomacy. Technically, this is still following Garon's orders, as Corrin did not ask Elise and co to join, and Garon never specified ''how'' he wanted the rebellion to be suppressed. |
| 81 | *** Garon also orders the player to kill the Rainbow Sage. However, the Rainbow Sage [[FaceDeathWithDignity says his time is up anyway, and dies of a heart attack right there]]. Iago then [[LampshadeHanging curses the loopholes]], but [[PetTheDog admits that the player]] ''[[PetTheDog did]]'' [[PetTheDog obey Garon's orders]], since Garon [[ExactWords only asked for the Rainbow Sage's death, again not specifying]] ''[[ExactWords how]]'' [[ExactWords he wanted the Rainbow Sage dead]]. |
| 82 | *** When you defeat Ryoma, Garon orders Corrin to kill him. Problem is, Corrin is a softy and Ryoma's sibling and so refuses to kill him, but has to look like they're obeying Garon for their plan to work. A loophole is discovered that allows both objectives to be met when [[spoiler:Ryoma commits seppuku]]. |
| 83 | * ''VideoGame/TheForgottenCity'' is set in a lost underground [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] city ruled by a DystopianEdict: "The many shall suffer for the sins of the one." [[spoiler:If anybody commits an act of violence or theft, even something as trivial as punching somebody or stealing a single coin, the statues in the city come to life and ''kill everyone''.]] However because HumansAreBastards and the Dwemer operated on BlueAndOrangeMorality, several things that would be crimes (or at least immoral) are actually fair game, including intimidation, doing drugs, swindling each other, FantasticRacism and [[spoiler:''necromancy'' and rape]]. |
| 84 | * Sissel invokes this in ''VideoGame/GhostTrick''. [[spoiler:He can only go back to four minutes before someone's death, and he can only go back if they've been dead less than a day. Yomiel died 10 years ago, but because he had a chunk of the same meteorite that let Sissel time-travel stuck in his body, his dying moment was preserved for those years and only ''completed'' when the meteor bit is removed in the present day. Because of this, those 10 years don't count for the purposes of Sissel's power (4 minutes before his death was 10 years ago when the meteor hit him, but a day after his death is the day after the meteor was removed), so Sissel is able to use Yomiel's body for his time-travel and save everyone by averting the events that led to Yomiel becoming a ghost.]] |
| 85 | * Saturos in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' lives and breathes this trope, routinely making the heroes offers that he words so they don't get anything out of them. The most memorable deal is offering [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl a girl's safety]] in exchange for a MacGuffin... a girl that he needed safe anyway, and he never said anything about letting her go. |
| 86 | * In ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', almost all Fate Episodes with battles in them will require the featuring character to be used in the battle, but it does not state which version or rarity. For example, you can use Rosamia's SSR version to clear her R version's episodes. |
| 87 | * ''VideoGame/GrimGrimoire'' uses this at the very end as the capper to Lillet Blan's rise to the top. You see, whenever a major demon like Grimlet is summoned, you are allowed one wish from that demon in exchange for your soul — the demon, of course, is imprisoned in hell if it ever fails, or refuses, to fulfill this wish. There are no limits on the nature of this wish, [[spoiler:or rules against wishing for something one knows in advance the demon will refuse, sparing your soul getting rid of it for good. Lillet Blan takes advantage of this to deal with Grimlet by asking it to embrace God. He of course rejects this and is banished, just like Lillet wanted. Avocat exclaims afterwards that he'd never felt such joy in a hundred years.]] |
| 88 | * Related, PC gamer magazine often runs a code to receive a freebie for a game in its magazine, such as a free pet in ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' or a free champion (and a skin) in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends''. There's always at least one person who goes onto their forums and asks them for a new code because theirs didn't work — Ain't No Rule saying people can't just go into a magazine store, take a copy of the magazine, snap a picture with their phone or write it down, and then enter it into the game without having to pay a cent for the magazine. |
| 89 | ** Newer issues of PC Gamer (at least the UK version) now come in a sealed plastic or cardboard sleeve to stop that sort of thing. |
| 90 | * In ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' after being killed and Awakened, [[spoiler:Koss]] was magically compelled to obey any orders from Palawa Joko or his subordinates. Unlike most Awakened who eventually descended into mindless servitude, [[spoiler:Koss]] maintained his sense of self and would find a way to disobey his order unless the one giving it was very careful with the wording. |
| 91 | * In the ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' expansion ''Opposing Forces'', protagonist Adrian Shephard can avoid the order to kill Black Mesa personnel to cover up the incident because he never officially got that part of his orders, since his transport crashed and he was knocked unconscious. He should be able to reasonably deduce that part of his orders by asking (or just watching) the others but remains purposefully ignorant. [[FridgeLogic Of course, an order to kill civilians is an illegal order that]] UsefulNotes/TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar [[FridgeLogic say he should ignore anyway]]... |
| 92 | * In ''VideoGame/Halo2'', Forerunner technology only responds to humans. After trying and failing to threaten Miranda Keyes into activating the halo, Tartarus simply shoves the Activation Index into her hands and forcibly pulls her hand into slamming the Index in. It technically counts as a human activating it. |
| 93 | * In ''VideoGame/HayDay,'' when a new boat comes, you get 4 hours to start making the items it's going to ask for. If you log off of the game before the boat arrives, it still arrives at the end of the 4 hours, but the "boat timer" (which gives you 16 hours to fill all the boat crates) doesn't start until you log back in. So if the boat needs items that take a long time to produce, you can fire up the machines, walk away from the game, and come back several hours later to a load of freshly produced items and a timer with 16 hours still on the clock. |
| 94 | * In the ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'' level [[BigBoosHaunt Queen Vanessa's Manor]], you are told once you enter the manor that your contract states you can not use any hats while in the manor. What the game doesn't tell you is you can still use the Dweller's Mask because it says [[ExactWords "no hats"]]. |
| 95 | * Played with in ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven 3'', when Coach Kudou forbids the entire team from going outside to practice or play soccer. To Endou, no soccer is probably as bad as having no food to eat, so he grows restless and starts kicking a soccer ball around indoors. Several of his teammates notice and realize that Kudou only forbade practicing ''outside'', so they start doing ImprovisedTraining ''indoors'', as silly as that may sound. But then it turns out this was exactly what Coach Kudou ''wanted'' them to do, as being able to control and keep possession of the ball within tight boundaries [[ChekhovsSkill would turn out to be extremely useful]] against their next opponents' tactics. |
| 96 | * ''VideoGame/InTheGroove 2''[='=]s r21 update allows players to play their own songs, but the song must not be tagged as longer than 2 minutes. [[ExactWords Emphasis on "tagged"]]; the game reads the sound file's metadata to check for length, but it's possible to tinker with the metadata so that the game thinks a 5-minute song is actually only 1:45 long. The r23 update closes this loophole up by just cutting off songs after 2 minutes and 15 seconds. The popular Simply Love theme for the freeware game ''VideoGame/{{Stepmania}}'' shows the most popular fake song length, 1:45, as "not 1:45". |
| 97 | * In ''Videogame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', G0-T0 has every law of every planet stored in his memory, which he uses to coerce a trapped salvager in the ruins of the Jedi Enclave into selling his haul. |
| 98 | -->'''G0-T0:''' Amendment 1695-30 of the Khoonda Civil Code allows us to sell you into slavery.\ |
| 99 | '''Jorran:''' What?! That's ridiculous!\ |
| 100 | '''G0-T0:''' Paragraph 12: Salvageable items include organic matter incapable of leaving the boundaries of the salvage area. |
| 101 | * ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' often gives deals to get champion skins for free. However, if you do not have the champion in question, you can still get the champion ''and'' the skin for free. |
| 102 | * Games that allow voice or text communication can impose restrictions on them for various reasons. ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' for example has its voice chat drowned out by the storm in the Hard Rain campaign so that players have to shout to be heard. Using outside communication like Discord completely bypasses these restrictions. |
| 103 | * In the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' spinoff-game ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', certain Adventure Mode missions limit which character or even which weapon can be used... for Player 1 (Wii U), or the initially-controlled character (Legends and Definitive Edition). Player 2, or any remaining playable slots, can be filled by whoever you want *cough*Link*cough*, wielding whichever weapon you want *cough*Master Sword*cough*. Even if you don't have an actual second player in the Wii U version, you can always park Player 1 somewhere safe and rain down moons with Player 2. |
| 104 | ** The Training Dojo at the Bazaar doesn't let you level up characters any stronger than the highest-level playable warrior. Anti-Grinding at its finest... until you purchase the Boss Pack, and with it Dark Beast Ganon. Ganon can't be levelled through the Dojo, but his level counts towards "highest-level playable warrior", and his first mission alone is impossible to finish without going from Level 1 to Level 13 or higher, depending on whether you go for the captains. A little Rupee grinding (or some lucky amiibo scans) can turn the Dojo into a Disc-One Nuke. |
| 105 | * The [[CursedItem Gloom based weapons]] dropped by [[spoiler: Phantom Ganon]] in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' are extremely powerful, but at the cost of slowly inflicting you with the Gloom status as long as you have the weapon unsheathed. There's nothing stopping you from using a different weapon and then fusing it with the Gloom weapons, which gives you all the power and none of the drawbacks since you're technically not holding/touching the cursed weapons directly. |
| 106 | * In ''VideoGame/LuckBeALandlord'', the Landlord can impose fine print that prevents certain symbols from being destroyed or removed[[note]]despite their similarities, they're two different ways of clearing them[[/note]]. There's no stopping you from doing the other action... unless he prevents you from doing that, too. |
| 107 | * Creator/{{M2}}'s ports, mainly their ''Creator/{{SEGA}} AGES'' and ''M2 [[ShootEmUp ShotTriggers]]'' series, will disqualify your score from online rankings if you use a continue, even just the score you got on your first credit.[[note]]A few exceptions exist; in ''VideoGame/{{Aleste}}'' on ''Aleste Collection'', the score upload takes place before the opportunity to continue.[[/note]] This can be aggravating if you want to use continues just to practice the rest of the game. ''However'', in most releases that do this, if there is a Quick Save/Load feature you can get around this. When the continue prompt appears, make a Quick Save then proceed to the GameOver sequence; this will upload your score to the rankings. Afterwards, load your save and you can safely continue without having your uploaded score withdrawn. |
| 108 | * ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'' has the Birthday equips. They're {{Lethal Joke Item}}s that, as the name implies, only have fantastic stats (rivaling that of endgame equipment) when you play on your birthday. Or, at least, the day you have ''listed'' as your birthday on your 3DS system... something that can be freely and easily changed whenever you feel like. You can also change the system's clock itself to your actual birthday if you so wish, as the developers never thought to put in the usual [[ObviousRulePatch "24-hour pause on time-based events after changing the time/date"]] fail-safe that most games with time-dependent elements have. |
| 109 | * In ''VideoGame/MarioSportsMix'''s dodgeball, you can't hold the ball while you're in rival territory [[note]]you drop it automatically if you do[[/note]]. Specifically, while you're standing on it. What you ''can'' do, however, is grab the ball in mid-air and throw it before landing again. This strategy was actually used by advanced players in the online metagame. |
| 110 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'': |
| 111 | ** Humans under the Treaty of Farixen are only allowed to build one dreadnought per every five the turians have. Instead, they began [[TheBattlestar building carriers]] which were not subject to any restrictions. This was mostly because humans were the ones to introduce the concept of carriers to the galaxy ''in the first place.'' |
| 112 | ** In ''Mass Effect 3'', there are several ways the quarians try to get around this rule: they were arming every single ship they had so even the huge ships would be armed (and as such weren't purpose-built dreadnoughts), they were salvaging destroyed dreadnoughts (thus making what the quarians were doing technically ''re''building them), the Council is too busy prosecuting the war with the Reapers to pay attention to them, and if the council wasn't, the quarians' signatures were effectively removed from the treaty when they lost their embassy and they largely operate outside the Council's jurisdiction anyway. |
| 113 | ** Doctor Chakwas was the only member of the Normandy crew in the second game to not face any formal charges for working with [[EvilInc Cerberus]] because she had gotten a proper leave of absence from her previous post and refused to accept payment for working as the Normandy's doctor. Though she does acknowledge that if Shepard had actually been judged a war criminal before the Reapers hit, she likely would have been tried as an accessory, so she got lucky there. |
| 114 | ** The Systems Alliance in ''Mass Effect 3'' invokes this as well. Either Shepard is guilty of working with a terrorist organization or of killing 300,000 batarians in ''Mass Effect 2''. Either way, the evidence is clear, since Shepard isn't trying to deny it, but putting Shepard on trial would be devastating for humanity's image in the galactic community, since Shepard is a hero across the galaxy and a paragon for humanity. So the better option is to administratively lock-up Shepard, strip his/her commission, and say that a trial will occur "soon", before using every bit of obstructive bureaucracy they have to delay the trial until the Reapers show up and everyone has bigger problems. The galactic community is placated, Shepard isn't dragged over the coals, and everyone goes on with their day. The Batarians, of course, are utterly furious that Shepard was essentially put in time-out for mass murder of one of their colonies, but their opinion quickly becomes irrelevant when the Reapers arrive and their leadership turns out to have got itself indoctrinated in the meantime. |
| 115 | ** In ''Mass Effect 2'', the krogan RiteOfPassage allows the young krogan undertaking it to bring a "krantt", a small group of one or two established warriors, on the premise that being able to lead others and fight as part of a group is as legitimate a fighting skill as any other. When Grunt undergoes the trial, Shepard and another party member come along as his krantt, because nobody said that the warriors have to be krogan. The traditionalists are pissed, but the clan chieftain and the shaman administering the test allow it (especially if said chieftain is [[spoiler:Wrex]]). |
| 116 | * ''[[VideoGame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'' Planetary League and scrimmages were full of loophole abuse: |
| 117 | ** In one notorious League match, the Knights of the Inner Sphere took one of their typical lances - a mix of [[LongRangeFighter long range]] [[HumongousMecha Battlemechs]], a [[FragileSpeedster scout mech]], and a pair of [[SpacePlane aerospace fighters]]. The attacking team, Clan Smoke Jaguar, took almost entirely [[LightningBruiser close-range brawling mechs]] (and one aerospace fighter) on a map where the engagement range is measured in kilometers. When the [=SJs=] [[OhCrap realized how screwed they were]] when their only long range asset, the plane, was blasted out of the sky, they decided to force a draw by hiding inside their spawn hangars, where the Knights low-DPS sniping mechs would have no chance against the SJ's brawlers. They did it again in the next round and demanded that [=KoS=] cede victory to CSJ if they wanted end the pointless match to get out of the hour-long camp. Needless to say, this caused a lot of rage from the Inner Sphere units and [[EnemyMine even a few Clanner units]], forcing a rule change in the next round so that [[ObviousRulePatch any units still in the hangar after a round begins are forfeited]] |
| 118 | ** There is usually a "no ejecting" rule in scrims, though the rule is very grey when players crash - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Z7NeWYsac&t=6m In a scrim]] between the 12th Vegan Rangers and the Knights of the Inner Sphere, KOS suffered a player crash in the middle of combat but continued to fight on. At one point, the last Knight - with both arms blown off and only a pair of [[ScratchDamage machine guns]], ejected out of his battlemech and used the [[PoweredArmor Battlearmor's]] laser to finish off a critically Vegan mech, then hopped into the empty mech of the crashed player and chased down, [[KneeCapping legged]], then ([[ScratchDamage eventually]]) killed the last Vegan mech. However, the Knights ceded victory to the Vegans due to the greyness of the situation and the [[VitriolicBestBuds general good spirit between the two units]]. |
| 119 | * In ''VideoGame/MegamanBattleNetwork6CybeastGregarAndCybeastFalzar'', it's established early on that [=CopyBots=], which let Net Navis run around in the real world, cannot use battle chips so that they can't harm humans. [[spoiler:However, that doesn't mean much if one of the Navi's arms is a ''sword'', which Colonel and [=ProtoMan=] gladly take advantage of.]] |
| 120 | * In ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', Raiden's PreAsskickingOneLiner against the FinalBoss invokes this trope.[[note]]For context, Raiden's sword broke midway through the fight, and Bladewolf arrived to give Raiden the sword which had previously belonged to Sam (whom Raiden killed in the previous mission).[[/note]] |
| 121 | -->"I said my sword was a tool of justice. Not used in anger. Not used for vengeance. But now... Now I'm not so sure. And besides, [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement this isn't my sword]]." |
| 122 | * ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' has an interesting one. There are treaties limiting the use of nuclear ''missiles''. Metal Gear Rex uses a rail-gun to fire a nuclear ''projectile'' which doesn't count as a "missile" according to those treaties. |
| 123 | * In the Japanese pornographic game ''Monster Girl Quest'', there's a commandment handed down by the Goddess Ilias — one commandment out of many, of course. The commandment is that humans must never give their semen to monsters by sexual intercourse, since monsters are "evil" and such an act is taboo. [[spoiler:Alice]] abuses a loophole when she wants to [[spoiler:give Luka a good time before his fight with the Monster Lord, [[ItMakesSenseInContext who is Alice herself]]: Alice has a "human form" [[VoluntaryShapeshifting she can transform into]], and because she has intercourse with Luka in her ''human'' form and not her monster form, Luka isn't breaking the commandment when they have sex]]. [[spoiler:Meia the mermaid]] and [[spoiler:Sara the human]] also engage in sexual relations with Luka the protagonist, but more loophole abuse comes into play: [[spoiler:Meia gives Luka a blowjob; she ''doesn't'' actually have intercourse with him, so the commandment isn't broken. And Sara also just gives Luka a blowjob, but even if they had sex, it wouldn't matter since Sara is human]]. So the only actual ''intercourse'' that canonically happens without losing a fight is the one with Alice, who is in her human form when they do it. However, virtually all lost fights lead to rape in this game. |
| 124 | * In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterGenerations'' and its UpdatedRerelease ''Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate'', some Special Permit quests not only require capturing the target, but also disable bringing items with you, instead providing items for you to use in the supply chest at the base camp. Ain't No Rule that you can't just bring in a Prowler with the "Purr-ison" series of moves equipped, which set up traps (which are required to capture the monster) but through the use of a ManaMeter rather than consumable items, thus they are allowed for use in the quest. Prowlers also have infinite Tranq Bombs (also required for capturing), which automatically become usable on a trapped monster and don't count against the "on-site items only" rule. Therefore, someone who goes into such a quest as a Prowler has virtually no restrictions that apply to them.[[note]]This does prevent them from carrying the Charm and Talon series of items that provide passive stat boots, but it's not a huge loss.[[/note]] |
| 125 | * ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'': The [[TheGodsMustBeLazy Elder Gods]] use this to justify their refusal to intervene on Earthrealm's behalf during Shao Kahn's invasion. As they explain, invading other realms without declaring Mortal Kombat is not itself a transgression; since Shao Kahn hasn't actually [[MergedReality merged Earthrealm with Outworld]], he hasn't broken the rules, so they have no reason to intervene. For his part, Raiden considers it a DistinctionWithoutADifference.[[note]] For what it's worth, they actually DO intervene when Shao Kahn does merge the realms, but by then they are unable to dispatch him personally and thus have to empower Raiden so he can do it.[[/note]] |
| 126 | * The Watcher, one of the titular Fallen Lords in ''VideoGame/MythTheFallenLords,'' is an expert at this. He is believed to be the oldest person alive in the ''Myth'' universe, mostly because he realized that the most powerful person in the world has a tendency to become the vessel of The Leveller, the local GodOfEvil... so The Watcher was always careful to be second best. Additionally, in an age long past, he was [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in a cave with an enchantment put on his arm that would, if he ever left the cave, turn him to stone.]] He got out by hacking off the hexed arm and leaving it behind (though he meets his eventual doom by being shot with an arrowhead made from one of his own hexed arm bones). |
| 127 | * ''VideoGame/MyWorldMyWay'' is built around "Ain't no rule" as a gameplay aspect. Why struggle when whining can change your situation? |
| 128 | * Many builds of the [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Shifter]] class from ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' involve taking a few residuals levels of Monk, in order to catch feats, armor class based on the wisdom modifier, and competency with the unarmed shapes. Because only a few levels are needed, this would incur in a nasty XP multiclass penalty if you are not human or half-elf. Some crafty players pick elves nevertheless (whose favored class is Wizard) and essentially forget about multiclass XP penalty at druid level 5. Shapeshifting overrides the current race by the race of the creature, and thus the preferred class of the creature (which is the same as humans usually, that is, the class with the highest level). |
| 129 | * In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', Mario comes across four black treasure chests on his journey that contain demons that trick him into letting them out of their prison and then [[SchmuckBait cursing him for his trouble]]. Except that these curses are actually very useful abilities with no downsides that are necessary to complete the game. Two of them even require standing on special panels to work! Paying an NPC to learn about the game's backstory reveals that these demons were once the legendary heroes who originally fought and defeated the BigBad, but became cursed themselves, and changed into the demons that Mario finds. From this, one can gather that the demons are ''required'' to curse whoever lets them out, but found a loophole that allows them to give beneficial curses [[FelonyMisdemeanor as long as they pretend it's something terrifying and horrible]]. And they ''really'' [[LargeHam ham it up]] too. The fourth one is extremely disappointed when Mario tells it to just shut up and curse him already, and then is very grateful that Mario lets it do its monologue in the end. |
| 130 | * ''VideoGame/Payday2'': |
| 131 | ** The Fugitive skill "Hidden Blade" is made slightly more useful than it might otherwise be thanks to ExactWords. The description states that increases your melee weapon's concealment by 2 points. Thing is, you ''have'' to have something the game classifies as a melee weapon, even if it's simply [[PistolWhipping bashing cops with the stock/grip of your gun]] or even [[GoodOldFisticuffs punching them out]], so in practice the skill simply gives the player a flat 2-point increase to Concealment. |
| 132 | ** A pager will only trigger the alarm on the last answer ''if'' it's allowed to finish its entire "answering" loading bar. If another player comes and starts answering it, the first player can let go without setting off the alarm. The same player can then start "answering" the same pager again, allowing the second player to disconnect. Rinse and repeat to keep the alarm from going off. In a pinch, "pager juggling" can allow a team to kill more than the usual 4 guards with pagers (although it requires immensely good coordination between teammates, as well as a steady internet connection). |
| 133 | ** Civilians in a heist will walk around and raise the alarm if they see suspicious activity, so the idea in stealth missions is to avoid them if you can, subdue them if possible, and only kill them as a last resort. The cash penalty was meant to de-incentivize the killing of civilians, making heists less lucrative for the trigger-happy heister. In practice most people do stealth heists for the stealth and exp bonus, as a few lucrative loud heists can easily make up the loss (if any, considering this game is also quite liberal on giving out cash), so most people will simply walk in, drop an ECM to block cameras and alarms, and chuck a grenade into the room while picking off stragglers. The requirement for stealthing a heist only mentions no alarms, didn't say anything about leaving everything intact. |
| 134 | ** One of the Achievements for Car Heist requires you to finish it within 4 minutes. It does not say you have to stealth it despite the heist being a stealth-only one. Since the alarm triggers a countdown to failure and the countdown is ''exactly'' 4 minutes on the easiest difficulty, most people will just arm themselves to the teeth and charge in the front door instead of the usual method of sneaking in (which can take a lot longer for less experienced heisters). As a bonus, the alarm also functions as a in-game timer for the achievement, which is rather handy as the game doesn't have any other built-in way to track in-game time until the end screen. |
| 135 | * The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games: |
| 136 | ** You can't obtain a Persona that's a higher level than you, with the justification that they're too powerful for you to handle. You can, however, fuse a Persona that's the same level as you or slightly lower, but earns bonus EXP from its Arcana's Social Link and thus ''becomes'' a higher level than you. There are no repercussions for using such a Persona in battle. |
| 137 | ** Explicitly invoked by Aigis in ''VideoGame/Persona3'': "Nowhere in the school regulations does it state that canines are prohibited from attending school." [[spoiler:It doesn't happen.]] |
| 138 | * In ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'', when using a [[EscapeRope telepipe or the technique Ryuker]], the portal created by it would remain up until the player that created it traveled back through it. There was nothing to prevent two different players in the party from creating a portal each, then using each other's portals: as long as they never use their own portals, they could stay up indefinitely, sparing resources. |
| 139 | * ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'' has a particularly bastardly example. At one point, Marona is hired for a mission to stop Raphael from causing problems in a village, only for it to turn out to be an imposter. The man who hired Marona subsequently refuses to pay her because, regardless of who was actually behind it, the job requirements explicitly stated that she had to stop Raphael. In a spot of LaserGuidedKarma, the ''real'' Raphael, who had shown up to help Marona stop the imposter and who had heard the entire exchange, promptly starts causing trouble himself, with Marona [[DoWithHimAsYouWill declining the man's plea for help and walking away]]. |
| 140 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}:'' |
| 141 | ** Random Number Generator, or RNG abuse. As long as you have the right computer software, you can catch or hatch a mon with perfect stats, even a shiny one, quite easily. |
| 142 | ** [[spoiler:[[ClimaxBoss Ultra Necrozma]] is actually ''very'' easy prey to ArtificialStupidity if you lead with a Zoroark that disguises as a Poison-Type or Fighting-Type Pokémon at the last slot in your party. And with Darkinium-Z, [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Zoroark can set up and unleash a +6 Black Hole Eclipse]] without even a scratch! (This AIBreaker has actually existed since ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', since the AI doesn't see through Illusion.)]] |
| 143 | ** The Generation VI trading server has one. It only checks for illegal moves, not illegal move combos; therefore, while you can't trade a Pichu that knows Surf or Fly, you ''can'' trade a female Shiny Pikachu that knows Surf, Fly, ''and'' Volt Tackle all at once[[note]]Event Pikachu given away in Generation VI can know Surf, Fly, or both, but none of those know Volt Tackle, and while they can be female, they weren't given away as Shinies; Pichu, meanwhile, could know Surf back in Generation III through a special Egg from ''Pokémon Box Ruby and Sapphire'', but HM users had to stay put as far as trans-Generational travel was concerned until they forgot the HM move, and Generation III was consequently the only one where Pichu could legally know the move, plus Pichu never legally knew Fly[[/note]]. This loophole was patched for Generation VII so that illegal move combos are flagged as well. |
| 144 | ** Steel type Pokémon, introduced in Gen II, are immune to poison type attacks, and by definition, immune to getting poisoned as well. But due to an oversight, they can still be poisoned by the attack "Twinneedle" since it is not a poison attack, it is bug. This was fixed in Gen III. |
| 145 | ** Starting in Generation II, legendary Pokémon are part of the Unknown Egg Group so that the player can't breed them to make a whole army of unstoppable legendaries. However, aside from cheating via cheat devices/modified save files, there's nothing to stop a player from having a second copy of a game and a second handheld console where they can get more legendary Pokémon and transfer them to the first copy. While it can be done, doing this method would take quite a long time. |
| 146 | * The ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' series absolutely ''adores'' this trope. With each game's puzzle collection, you can expect at least 20% of it to be comprised of puzzles that can only be solved by exploiting loopholes in the rules. |
| 147 | ** ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheDiabolicalBox'': |
| 148 | *** Puzzle No. 34 shows 5 trees in a row. The question is which two trees are furthest from each other. All five seem to be equally separated at first glance, but the solution is lateral thinking: the ones in the far ends. No one says that the trees you're asked about must be adjacent. |
| 149 | *** Puzzle No. 37 features a pro golfer who can putt exactly a number of distances (3, 5, 7, and 11 feet). The puzzle asks you what's the minimum number of putts he needs to sink the ball when he's 20 feet away from the hole. It can only be solved by assuming the golfer putts diagonally 11 and 11. After all, no one said all putts have to be directed at the hole. |
| 150 | *** Puzzle No. 74 requires you to use two corks to plug up a maze of twisting passages to ensure that the smell of the garlic does not reach the person's nose. A careful examination of the puzzle reveals that you would need three corks to block all the holes, so you instead put them over the person's nostrils. |
| 151 | ** One puzzle in ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheMiracleMask'', like other similar puzzles, requires you to hit various colored blocks on their side with a hammer so that they are arranged in a certain order. The other ones involved hitting them in a certain order, but this specific puzzle is impossible... unless you hit the block at the bottom, which tilts the base on which the stones rest and causes them to slide into the correct positions. |
| 152 | * ''VideoGame/RadiantArc'': Seperus used the crystals to force elemental spirits into serving him. They initially have enough freedom to interpret his orders in a way that prevents them from helping the Morians too much, as shown when Venilia receives the order to "support the Morian invasion of Fayol," only to warn travelers to stay away from Fayol for their safety. However, once Seperus gains more crystals, his control over the spirits improves and loopholes no longer work. |
| 153 | * While more of a [[LoopholeAbuse/RealLifeLaw legal]] matter than an active form of CopyProtection, [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil unlicensed developers]] who developed or bootlegged games for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy [[http://fuji.drillspirits.net/?post=87 exploited a loophole]] on how the handheld implemented its licensing enforcement system. The Game Boy checks for the presence of the "'''Nintendo®'''" logo in the ROM image, but reads it twice - once to display it, and another to check against its own copy. Since including the trademark in an unlicensed game would be grounds for trademark infringement, intrepid developers got around this by loading a custom logo on the first check, while still keeping the Nintendo trademark for authentication purposes. Nintendo may still sue unlicensed developers for releasing games for the handheld, but they can use the custom logos as a form of PlausibleDeniability in that no trademarks are ''visibly'' violated, but that would be moot once the ROM is disassembled and studied. |
| 154 | ** This has however been rendered pointless once the courts ruled in Accolade's favour in ''Sega v. Accolade'', where Sega's trademark enforcement system was questioned as being monopolistic, and bypassing it by third parties on the grounds that it is for the purposes of lawful interoperability was ruled as fair use. |
| 155 | * In ''VideoGame/ReturnToZork'', when you're about to finish the game, you can simply go on a killing spree. No wait, [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment The Guardian will not allow this]]. However, you can simply stab them, then drop all your items (that he'll take) so the Guardian will confiscate your nothing. Then you can pick all your items up, and go on a rampage by repeating the process. |
| 156 | * ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' |
| 157 | ** The "Falador Massacre" was a result of a player abusing a glitch. The first player to reach level 99 of Construction held a party in his house. Eventually, so many players flooded the house that it crashed and booted them all to Falador. However, players inside the arena in the player's house were still flagged for [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] (which the other players weren't, and was disabled in that zone at the time) and proceeded to go on a killing spree. |
| 158 | ** An in-game example takes place in the lore when Zaros visited [[PlanetHeck Infernus]] in the early Second Age and [[DealWithTheDevil requested Hostilius]], its ruler at the time, to grant him [[TheLegionsOfHell twelve legions of demons]], a mere fraction of the military might Hostilius could muster, for his own use. In exchange, Zaros offered the secret for interplanar travel, which would allow Hostilius and his demons to travel to other worlds across the universe and feed upon their inhabitants if they so desired ([[MonstrousCannibalism instead of each other]]). Hostilius, being the greedy tyrant that he was, drafted a [[WallOfText lengthy demonic contract]] stipulating the numerous conditions and clauses upon which the deal would be sealed. One of the conditions, [[ReadTheFinePrint hidden among the finely written legalese]], was that both the twelve legions and Zaros's knowledge would go to the eldest signatory (i.e. himself). Unfortunately for Hostilius, not only did Zaros see through his deceit, but he signed the contract all the same, only to reveal to the arrogant Chthonian that he was older than Hostilius by at least an order of magnitude, having traveled through countless worlds [[TimeAbyss aeons before Hostilius had even spawned.]] The humbled demon was them [[MagicallyBindingContract magically forced]] to grant Zaros his twelve legions in exchange for absolutely nothing. |
| 159 | ** Halfway through ''[[Recap/RunescapeExtinction Extinction]]'', Kerapac, who is magically bound to [[AgonyBeam experience extreme physical pain]] should he defy [[TheOldGods Jas]], is able to use the [[TimeMaster Needle]] to rewind time after she comes to [[DeathWorld Freneskae]] to collect the eggs of her sisters [[ZerothLawRebellion simply because she did not give him any specific orders on what to do after he found them for her.]] And the real kicker? [[CrazyEnoughToWork He did not even expect it to work.]] |
| 160 | * In the final boss fight in ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}} Unmasked'', Brainiac sets it up so that, if you summon a hero from this dimension, he'll toss them right out of the barrier he's trapped Maxwell in. [[spoiler:However, that doesn't include ''alternate universe'' versions of those heroes, so summoning WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond is incredibly fair game!]] |
| 161 | * In ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns'', Glory's background involves her making a DealWithTheDevil when she was young and foolish, and later coming to greatly regret it. Since The Horned One had a grip on her soul that she couldn't possibly remove, she deliberately invoked the setting's rules regarding CyberneticsEatYourSoul, and installed as many cybernetic implants as she could without killing herself. The end result: The Horned One can't do much to her soul when she [[EmptyShell barely has one anymore.]] |
| 162 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Shadowverse}}'': Several Dragoncraft cards offer great effects in exchange for having to [[DiscardAndDraw discarding your low-cost cards first]]. However, what isn't immediately noticeable (due to needing to read between the lines in the card text) is that the player doesn't ''need'' to have anything to discard to get the effect to work. Crafty Dragon players utilize this quirk to bypass the "costs" of these effects and minimize loss in card advantage. |
| 163 | * Must be exploited in order to achieve the [[GoldenEnding "Freedom" ending]] in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'': due to his status as a HalfHumanHybrid, the Demi-fiend cannot create a new world. [[spoiler:Nothing's stopping him from recreating the ''old'' one.]] |
| 164 | * In ''VideoGame/SilentStorm'', one mission has you attacking an enemy base. The goals are to capture the enemy commander and retrieve the documents in his office. The problem is that the commander is wearing a [[PoweredArmor Panzerklein]], and him being unconscious triggers the base's SelfDestructMechanism (which can also be triggered by trying to infiltrate the base without an engineer who's skilled in defusing mines), meaning the second objective is nearly impossible to achieve. An obvious way to get around that is to send in a unit wearing a Panzerklein and let the enemy commander waste his ammunition on them. Once he's all out, you can kill all his soldiers and take your time defusing the mines and searching the base before finally knocking him out. All the commander can do is walk around impotently. |
| 165 | * In ''VideoGame/StarCraftIILegacyOfTheVoid'', this is how Alarak became First Ascendant of the Tal'darim. The Tal'darim operate off of a regulated form of KlingonPromotion (normally attacking a superior or even drawing your weapon in their presence is a crime punished by execution, but you can challenge them to a formal duel to the death known as Rak'shir where you take their position if you win), and Alarak, cunning sort that he is, noticed that while there is a rule against attacking a superior outside of Rak'shir, there Ain't No Rule that you can't talk your superior into challenging ''their'' superior in the knowledge that whoever wins, you'll be promoted. In the short story that debuted him, he got another: in Rak'shir, the two combatants can be assisted psionically by other Tal'darim who declare for them. Alarak entered the arena without declaring who he was supporting, supported one candidate (the former First Ascendant), then at the last second declared for the opponent and turned the tables, noting that while once you declare for a candidate, you have to continue supporting them until the end, there Ain't No Rule that you have to declare who you're supporting ''at the start of the duel''. |
| 166 | * in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'' , following [[spoiler:the destruction of the Eldarian homeworld]], the [=USTA=] declares that the [[spoiler:[=SRF=] is to be disbanded. In fact, it never existed, and therefore couldn't have caused the destruction like the Eldarians claim.]] Commander "Lightspeed" Kenny is ordered to carry this out by [[spoiler:destroying all remaining [=SRF=] vessels]], but when he encounters Edge and his crew and explains the situation to them, Edge refuses to stand down, even knowing that he'll be branded a pariah, and the rest of the crew stands with them. Kenny decides to let them go. Afterwards, in explaining how they'll justify this to one of his comrades, [[spoiler:they never encountered any [=SRF=] vessels. After all, there is no [=SRF=] and never was, so how could they have any vessels?]] |
| 167 | * A friendly version of this showed up in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. Since a PVP flag has to be deliberately turned on so that players who weren't interested in being griefed by other players could go about their quests in peace, a strange mechanic showed up. Imperial and Republic players would ''cooperate'' on open world heroics and quests. Big scary boss on a planet? Well, there wasn't a rule ''against'' teaming up, other than the logistics of communication, easily overcome by use of third party chat programs and the "say" command. True, only one party would get credit, but again...no rule against waiting for a respawn and helping the other party get the credit that time. Veteran MMO players seeing this in action remarked that they never saw anything quite like that. |
| 168 | * Since Mario's ground-pound attack in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' resets his downward momentum during its initial animation (he stops in place - hovering in midair, mind - to do a forward flip before suddenly shooting down towards the ground), a pretty good way to avoid suffering fall damage is to time the ground pound to just before he actually hits the ground. It's useful for some stages where Mario must make a large fall. |
| 169 | * In order to be able to upload levels online in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', you have to play through your level and beat it since the game won't accept levels that are {{Unwinnable}}. There's no actual rule saying you can't place deathtraps (doors/pipes dumping you into a BottomlessPit without a way to escape) or dead ends (a pit/area that's blocked off by invisible blocks once you get under them). Level creators will also make a level that's impossible to complete unless you find the "developer's path" that lets you bypass the whole level. While the sequel is no different with these issues, a level that gets enough dislike votes will have that level removed from the online roster, which discourages people from making troll levels. |
| 170 | * ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' normally doesn't allow characters to pilot HumongousMecha from outside their own series. However, ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ 3: Jigoku-hen'' manages to put [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Heero Yuy]] and [[Anime/ArmoredTrooperVotoms Chirico Cuvie]] in the [[KillerRabbit Bonta-kun]] PoweredArmor from ''Literature/FullMetalPanic''. This works because Bonta-kun's "pilot" is Bonta-kun himself, with his own stats and abilities separate from his creator and primary user, Sousuke Sagara. Thus Banpresto simply included both Bonta and Sousuke as separate characters on the same stage, and then had the dialog outright say that Heero or Chirico was using the suit (as well as making them otherwise unavailable on that stage). |
| 171 | ** Speaking of ''Super Robot Wars'', for a long time, the series was unavailable outside Asia on the video game consoles it was released in due to licensing issues and the way Anime licensing works in the Americas and Europe. But since the PC is exempt from those restrictions, that allowed ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars30'' to be available throughout the world (except Venezuela) because it was sold via Steam, and Steam itself bypasses the restrictions. That, and because it didn't had any ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' titles in its roster. |
| 172 | * ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'': |
| 173 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Kratos, hired to escort Colette through the Iselia Temple, says he's not bringing Lloyd with him. In the resulting DialogueTree, Lloyd can either protest loudly, or pretend to acquiesce... and declare that he's instead following Kratos on his own. The protest [[RelationshipValues loses points with Kratos]], but [[RefugeInAudacity he grudgingly approves of the loophole-abuse option]]. |
| 174 | ** The party in ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' scales the tall [[ItsAllUpstairsFromHere Tower of Heroes King's Cross]] as part of the InevitableTournament, only to be greeted by the recurring tourney champ Ameth, who informs them that there Ain't No Rule about ''[[DungeonBypass riding an airship to the top of the tower]]''. |
| 175 | * ''VideoGame/TinStar'' has an example, with the sheriff Tin Star trying to figure out how to deal with an invasion of bandits [[DisguisedInDrag dressed up as women]] without breaking the code "never shoot women and children". |
| 176 | -->'''Mo:''' Now what do we do, Tin Star? Why are you looking at that Good Guy Code of the West?\ |
| 177 | '''Tin Star:''' Looking for loopholes. Aha!\ |
| 178 | '''Mo:''' What?\ |
| 179 | '''Tin Star:''' It says here "never shoot women and children."\ |
| 180 | '''Mo:''' Yeah, so?\ |
| 181 | '''Tin Star:''' So these are just women on their own! Get my guns, Mo! |
| 182 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': |
| 183 | ** Marisa Kirisame has promised that all the [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld long-lived]] youkai she's [[InsistentTerminology "borrowed"]] spellbooks and things from can have them back when her short human life ends, either by death or by becoming a youkai herself. One of her works-in-progress, occasionally seen in background material? An Elixir of Life. |
| 184 | ** Gensokyo has some very strict rules as to [[ToServeMan eating humans]], with {{youkai}} only allowed to attack humans during the night, and only then if they aren't in one of the designated safe areas, the [[CityWithNoName Human Village]] being the largest. However, this doesn't apply to humans from ''outside'' Gensokyo, leading to the not uncommon practice of youkai abducting humans from outside the Barrier to eat them (Remilia is implied to receive her food in this way, courtesy of Yukari). There also isn't any rule saying that humans have to ''know'' about these rules, so if a hapless human is to accidentally fall through the Barrier (a semi-regular occurrence) and stay out after dark, well... |
| 185 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'', you are tasked to proclaim an Edict to the Generals of your side (reading a magical scroll filled with the power of the evil overlord), setting a day and month by when the rebel base has to be conquered, or every living thing in the region dies. Usually that results in a time limit of 8 days to do the various quests and avoid certain death. But... [[spoiler:if you abuse an opportunity for a free resting spot, you can actually delay the reading and activation of the edict until after the date, which gives a time limit of a whole year since no year was specified in the Edict and it only goes into effect when you proclaim it]]. Similarly, the same Edict also claims that the Forces of Kyros must claim the Spire, meaning that if you so wish, you can [[spoiler:ally with the opposing army and fight both generals]] to conquer the Spire, since you yourself happen to be a servant of Kyros. |
| 186 | ** A later Edict involves ending the Regency of Stalwart in order to lift the Edict of Storms. Upon killing said Regent, you learn that [[spoiler:he recently just had a grandchild who is now the heir to the Royal line, forcing you to commit infanticide... unless you have the sufficient Lore knowledge or a scroll from the Vellum Citadel that lets you get the child's mother to renounce her daughter's claim to the throne]], which will also end the Edict. Tunon himself will even note how this was not Kyros intended the Edict to be resolved. |
| 187 | ** The citizens of Bastard's Wound tries to argue this when encountered, claiming that their settlement is ''beneath'' an Oldwall, not ''in'' an Oldwall, and therefore not in violation of Kyros' law (which mandates death for entering an Oldwall[[note]]with one exception: appointed representatives of Kyros, like the Fatebinder, are allowed to pursue violators of that law into the Oldwalls[[/note]]). It probably wouldn't stand in Tunon's court, but as the Fatebinder on the scene, it is entirely possible for you to roll with it. |
| 188 | * ''Valkyrie Crusade'' gives you bonuses for posting achievements to Website/{{Twitter}}. The idea is to spread the word about the game and get rewarded in exchange. However, the game only checks that you've sent a tweet, not whether you've preserved the contents of the original tweet, such as the link to or the name of the game; you can make a spoof of the tweet, change it completely, or send it as a direct message to yourself[[note]]Direct Messages on Twitter can be sent in the form of "D <recipient> <message>", and can be done on anything that lets you write a tweet and send it.[[/note]]. Another option is to make an alternate Twitter account exclusively for game-related spam and send your tweets there. Of course, there's a catch; whether you use the tweet function properly or not, each type of achievement will only yield bonuses once per day, to prevent total abuse. |
| 189 | * In ''VideoGame/WarThunder'' you can still control your aircraft if you are shot down until you inevitably crash or decide to bail out, unless the pilot is killed. Sometimes though, despite the game registering the aircraft as "dead", the damage model might still allow you to partially fly, to the point that you can even kill enemies with some luck. The abuse came when people learnt that you can glide with your "dead" aircraft to the enemy airfield and strafe whoever was on the runway reloading, practically unpunished, because anti-air defenses didn't recognize you as a target and enemy players didn't see you on their minimap radar, since you were technically already killed. After many complaints by the community for such "zombie" aircraft getting free kills, the developers patched static defenses to target any aircraft even if "dead", and markers do not disappear from the minimap until the player is effectively out of the game. |
| 190 | * ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse'': [[spoiler:There is a note on the third floor warning Viola not to be distracted in the following corridor, and walk in a straight line to the exit. If the player doesn't ever read the sign, they can go off the straight line as much as they want: ignorance of the rule excuses you!]] |
| 191 | * ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' has the entry fee, in which the Conductor takes from the player whatever is most valuable to him or her. The loophole is that the Conductor gets to choose what that entry fee is. [[spoiler:In Week 2, he takes Shiki Misaki as the fee to hide the fact that he can't return her to life (although since Neku and Shiki had become close over the course of Week 1, he didn't suspect anything). In week 3, Kitaniji takes every other player from the game as Neku's entry fee because a player is helpless without a partner. This creates a situation so {{Unwinnable}} that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even Uzuki and Kariya are doubtful of its morality]]. Thankfully, there was Beat, a Reaper who was willing to HeelFaceTurn.]] |
| 192 | * Given that it was a widely-played MMORPG, ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has had a few instances, some controversial, some not: |
| 193 | ** Given that [[http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5447 this]] achievement is typically extremely difficult (or, depending on your class, nearly impossible), it's generally considered that the ''intended'' way of achieving it is through abusing the rather literal wording of the achievement[[note]]All that's required is turning in the quest within 90 seconds of striking the crystal, namely the first objective that triggers the upcoming battle. You can turn in the quest to the NPC that spawns very closely. ''There is nothing actually stopping you from striking the crystal a second time before turning in the quest.''[[/note]] |
| 194 | ** One particular perk was available to warriors for a very short time after Burning Crusade was introduced: The new Commanding Shout skill increased the max life to everyone within its radius by 1680-ish HP, but also increased the current life by 1680 if the buff hadn't been applied yet. No big deal... except that it also buffed the current life back to 1680+1 if it fell below that amount, giving warriors on low HP basically a free heal every GCD for 10 rage. It got remedied rather quickly. |
| 195 | ** Another LoopholeAbuse in the game was involving Warlocks. Demonology warlocks used to have a talent point where their active pet would give them a buff, and if they sacrificed it, they would be given a different buff to replace the one granted by the pet. However, one curious player who had invested in engineering attempted to use the [[MagicalDefibrillator goblin jumper cables]] on his pet, and to his surprise, the pet then came back to life and granted them the buff...while they still had the buff from sacrificing the demon on top of it. Other warlocks begun to try this too; although it was still a pretty low chance of success, it worked. It wasn't even removed in an ObviousRulePatch, believe it or not — Blizzard even ''encouraged'' people to try it. It was removed before expansions, though. |
| 196 | ** Before it was removed, someone described a pretty creative use of HelloInsertNameHere as a hunter. Ain't No Rule saying you can't give your pet the same name as you to screw up targeting macros. |
| 197 | *** Ain't No Rule against making a couple toons for [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] and then giving them really long names that are hard to type (and start with the same letter) or really similar names for the same purpose.[[note]]Though Blizzard will force a name change on a character with an unpronounceable name, assuming someone reports it — or at least they used to.[[/note]] |
| 198 | ** {{Grief|er}}ing has had ''many'' loopholes.... |
| 199 | *** "Rooftop camping". Before, there was no rule against people with ranged attacks (especially hunters) standing on the roof of a building in contested territory and firing. Normally, guards should have been able to come in and hurt them, but since the guards could not get up to the roof, they couldn't do anything to stop players from picking off others on the ground. Duskwood was the best place to do this because there was a ledge where you could jump onto a roof and the guards wouldn’t spawn. However, they would normally die from you and not suffer durability loss — in Gadgetzan, it was ''far'' more annoying, because people would just shoot ''one'' person and then feign death as the guards run over and pummel the poor player to death. Snipers were added on the roofs to prevent this. |
| 200 | *** In neutral Goblin cities (Booty Bay, Ratchet, Gadgetzan, Everlook), Rogues would often grief players by sneaking up to them, sticking a knife in their side, and then vanishing while the guards beat up the player who was busy wondering what was going on. |
| 201 | ** A few rather hilarious examples resulted in an ObviousRulePatch: |
| 202 | *** Before it was given to Mages as a talent, a boss in Molten Core named Baron Geddon would make a certain raid member a "living bomb", which would cause them to eventually explode and damage all people nearby (including themselves). He could also do this to pets, too — and people realized that you could get past this by simply dismissing the pet. However, one time a hunter did this and then called it out in the middle of a heavily populated city... and he still had the living bomb debuff. A few seconds later, there was a mountain of corpses in the middle of the auction house. Cue people replicating this until it was fixed in a patch. |
| 203 | *** The famous [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Corrupted_Blood Corrupted Blood Incident]] resulted from a hunter taking an infected pet into Ironforge & Orgrimmar and spreading the plague across the cities. This was studied by the World Health Organization '''as an actual epidemic outbreak''' due to [[HumansAreBastards people purposely spreading the plague]] and many trying to stave the outbreak by quarantining themselves, killing players trying to spread the plague, or healers trying to save lower-level players. |
| 204 | *** Ain't No Rule against putting a single item for sale at a huge price so people buying stuff for crafting professions accidentally buy one item instead of a full stack. |
| 205 | *** In one instance, a programming oversight resulted in a Worgen mob being able to be tamed. So a bunch of hunters eventually caught and tamed this pet. |
| 206 | *** Ain't No Rule that you can't kite high-level world raid bosses into capital cities to sit back and watch the carnage (provided you can achieve the task of getting them across the continent). This was eventually fixed by having bosses leashed to their spawn locations, presumably because the GM team got tired of having to reset the server whenever someone kited Lord Kazzak into Stormwind. |
| 207 | *** A GM [[http://blue.cardplace.com/cache/wow-customer-service/103879.htm invoked this]] in reverse on someone who asked if they could get banned for kiting Kazzak into Stormwind, noting that while there Ain't No Rule against it, having a 40-man world raid boss rampaging around the human capital city was extremely disruptive for other players, so the GM could consider it a Zone Disruption and punish the player(s) responsible under those terms. |
| 208 | ** Ain't No Rule against bringing friend(s) into the Raid Finder and have them roll on gear they don't need to increase the chances that you'll win it. (This was removed in Pandaria, which gave ''everyone'' a piece of loot or gold with bonus chances awardable via tokens.) |
| 209 | ** In a rare ''positive'' example that could honestly have been done in any game, a player in a guild had a buddy who was rendered blind by an accident while stationed in Iraq. He regularly performs very well in-game, so how does he do it? The blind player and his friend acting as a "seeing eye dog" used mods, macros, and private-sound channels so that he could play the game blind. |
| 210 | ** Want to transfer a character to another server... but do you also not like their name? AintNoRule saying you can't make an alt with the same name, then get a free name change out of it. |
| 211 | ** Aethis Sunreaver didn't help the Horde steal the [[ArtifactOfDoom Divine Bell]] by moving it through Dalaran. He merely did the equivalent of looking the other way for a few minutes and humming loudly. Unfortunately for him, Jaina [[SubvertedTrope didn't care that he didn't technically help them]]. |
| 212 | ** Potions can provide a variety of useful effects, particularly a large increase to your stats for a few seconds, but unfortunately, players can only use one potion per attempt on raid bosses — once they use a potion, a cooldown goes into effect and they can't use another until combat ends. As such, a common practice is to have players "pre-pot," by consuming a potion seconds before a pull, so that they enter combat with the potion in effect, without the cooldown activating, and can use a second potion during the encounter. |
| 213 | ** Multiple bosses have abilities that will try to knock players back, make them have to run against wind to avoid being thrown off the stage, or forcefully pull them. The Death Knight ability "Death's Advance" lets them ''completely ignore these'' mechanics as Death's Advance makes them completely immune to any kind of forced movement or knockback abilities. The Mage's "Ice Block" works in a similar way - and can even let them ignore high DamageOverTime effects. |
| 214 | ** Because Heroic Leap can be used mid-air and reset trajectory, the game allows Warriors to do things such as jump off cliffs only to Heroic Leap and ''completely change their trajectory'' and ignore Fall Damage. |
| 215 | * Though it was once allowed for a Diva vs Superstar prior towards 2009, the ''[[VideoGame/WWEVideoGames WWE Series including 2k]]'' doesn't allow for intergender matches. However, gamers got around this by having a female manager and disabling the DQ rule at the setting for each match. There's no rules about Diva attacking a Superstar and vice versa in Create-A-Story cut senses. |
| 216 | * The notorious [[NintendoHard Redemption mission]] in ''VideoGame/XWing'' is a lot simpler when you realize that the objective is that the ''Redemption'', the Corvette, and all three shuttles make it to hyperspace before being destroyed, and [[GoodBadBugs not that the shuttles and Corvette have to unload their wounded]] onto the ''Redemption''. You can simply order the three shuttles to hyperspace home as soon as they jump into the system, which means that the Corvette can begin unloading its wounded immediately and leaving you with three fewer fragile targets to defend. |
| 217 |
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