Line #48 Main/ExponentialPotential


1	Ah, you just opened up your newest game and have been EasingIntoTheAdventure. Maybe there's some ElementalRockPaperScissors, or StatusEffects, but you can handle that. Then you get a new spell!
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3	And another.
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5	And ''another''.
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7	A few levels later, you are the SquishyWizard equivalent of Series/{{MacGyver\|1985}} and have a spell for every situation, effect or possibility. Or a weapon, or a tool, or a shiny rock made from lifeforce. One of the reasons for LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards.
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9	Cousin to CripplingOverspecialization, in a nutshell this trope refers to any video game or possibly other setting where as you level up, your pool of actions and spells increases more and more, until you have a spell for literally everything and lose sight of the actual good choices, or are simply screwed over by the AI enemies using obscure or unexpected ones. Most common in games that allow you to create your own spells, whether by [[VideoGame/LostMagic scribbling runes in a different order]] or by [[Franchise/TheElderScrolls making your own]].
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11	!!Examples:
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13	[[foldercontrol]]
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15	[[folder:Fan Works]]
16	* ''Fanfic/ShinobiTheRPG'' where Daisuke's ability to create new jutsu on the fly creates this.
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19	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
20	* Modern ''Franchise/KamenRider'' series relies heavily on {{Swiss Army Hero}}es with MultiformBalance, and can fall into this when the hero is given more forms than they know what to do with (especially when there's a mix-and-match aspect).
21	** ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' could {{Power Copy\|ing}} and take on ''any'' alternate form of the previous Riders,[[note]]Well, maybe not "any"; JokeCharacter and SuperMode forms were generally excluded.[[/note]] plus his own SuperMode.
22	** ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'' could mix-and-match his powers, two slots by three options each, for nine forms plus some {{Super Mode}}s.
23	** ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'' had ''three'' slots by ''five'' options each for '''125''' forms, before his own SuperMode and additional promotional powersets. The tradeoff is that the large majority of these forms are mismatched sets with no plot importance; while every ''option'' appeared on the show at least once, most of the form combinations never did.
24	** ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' dialed this back by giving him a large ''arsenal'' but not anything combinable. He could still qualify, as he has 40 weapons to choose from (10 each per limb) and is able to equip four at once. Further, his SuperMode can [[AllYourPowersCombined combine the traits of two weapons]] that share an equipment slot, such as [[MacrossMissileMassacre Launcher]] plus [[KillItWithIce Freeze]] producing a freeze missile launcher.
25	** After the franchise scaled back for a few years after ''Fourze'', ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' brought it back in the same vein as ''Decade'', having ten alternate forms of his own, with the potential for more if he borrows them from the other Riders or if you count promotional ones from tie-ins.
26	** ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' takes ''Double''[='s=] two-slot format and ramps it up. Where ''Double'' had three options for each half, ''Build'' has ''30'' each, for '''900''' combinations (and then a few MidSeasonUpgrade and SuperMode forms after that). Throw in some additional promotional options and the combos could reach over a thousand. The series balances this by mostly sticking with the 30 matched sets and not using mismatch forms very much; but even then, it's too much to handle and about a third of the transformations never make it onscreen.
27	* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' gets in on the action with ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger''. The Red Ranger's mecha forms a head and torso, and his other eight teammates have mecha that can become either an arm or a leg for it, a la [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Transformers Scramble City combiners]]. That makes a whopping '''1680''' unique combinations, and of course only a handful make it onscreen.
28	** Then [[SixthRanger another ranger]] shows up with another limb mecha, bringing the total for the main Megazord up to '''3024''' unique configurations.
29	** TheMentor's Megazord only has arm slots, which is still a good 72 different combinations.
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32	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
33	* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', Wizards can learn practically every spell in the game given enough time and gold, and can also make up their own spells, subject to GM approval. Clerics know all possible cleric spells (except those related to specific domains) automatically; druids have a slightly poorer set, but can also [[{{ShapeShifting}} Shapeshift]] into an enormous variety of creatures. The "Erudite [Spell-to-power]" variant of the [[PsychicPowers psion]] can learn every spell ''and'' [[PsychicPowers Psychic Power]] in the game! (It's generally regarded as a... ''[[GameBreaker slightly]]'' stronger than other psionists and casters). The Archivist, in a manner similar to the Wizard, can learn every Cleric spell (including the domain spells) as well as Paladin, Ranger, Druid, and Adept spells, plus certain PrestigeClass spells ([[GameBreaker as well as the spells of anyone with a feat which lets them treat their spells as divine spells, which can include wizards]]). The [[GadgeteerGenius Artificer]] can create magic items that cast spells he does not know, or convert them from casting one spell to another (as well as making those items for cheap depending on the build).
34	** Earlier editions played this straight but not quite as badly as 3rd Edition did. In 2nd Edition, for example, wizards had an Intelligence-based limit on how many spells of each level they could have in their spellbooks, making the wizard who knows everything technically impossible (unless the GameMaster and players ignored that bit, anyway). Clerics also had their spells divided up into spell "spheres," kind of like wizard schools, only most clerics had rather limited access - you could have major access (all spells) to a few spheres, and minor access (spells under a certain level) to a few more. The GM was supposed to take an active hand in controlling access to spells overall. In practice casters still had a surfeit of options.
35	*** The known spell limit was actually an optional rule (and was meant to be used instead of using a spell-book). the actual rule was a spell book could only hold so many spells (each spell level took so many pages to scribe), but as long as they didn't mind carrying extras the wizard could have as many spell-books as they wanted to carry (they were only about a pound or so). But on the other hand, if they don't have the proper spell-book they can't memorize those spells (except read magic).
36	* Ditto for ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', only with super-scientific gadgets instead of magic, as well a few more limits.
37	* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension''. There are no spell lists, only limits on what each level of each of nine main powers can roughly accomplish. There are five levels of each of the nine powers, and they can be freely mixed so long as your character believes they can be. In other words, a starting character has an unlimited number of potential effects within their power, and then it just goes up from there. Purely in theory, a character with enough abilities could turn the moon to cheese, reach up and pluck it out of the sky between their thumb and finger, pop it in their mouth, then eat it.
38	** As long as skeptical muggles aren't watching.
39	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' does this trope with every new expansion, since the largest classes of cards are lands and spells. With over 10,000 unique spells/permanents to use in deckbuilding, and new ones created every time a new Expansion Set is released, there's always some new spell or permanent that does ''something'' unique to change the face of the metagame, whether overtly like a Power card, or subtly like some of the more common-yet-effective cards.
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42	[[folder:Video Games]]
43	* ''VideoGame/CapellasPromise'': All characters are free to learn skills from any Specialties, with each Specialty containing about twenty skills. By the postgame superboss, most characters will have mastered two Specialties, giving them about forty skills. Fortunately, the developer accounted for skill bloat by allowing the player to place unused skills in storage, preventing them from cluttering up the menu.
44	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
45	** Present in general throughout the series when it comes to spells, of which dozens (at least) are available in each game. These spells are classed in the 6-8 (depending on the game) [[FunctionalMagic "Schools" of Magic]], including [[AlchemyIsMagic Alchemy]], [[RealityWarper Alteration]], [[SummonMagic Conjuration]], [[ElementalPowers Destruction]], [[MasterOfIllusion Illusion]], Mysticism (which is typically magic that alters the nature of magic, such as [[AntiMagic Dispel]] or [[ManaDrain Spell Absorption]] spells), [[WhiteMagic Restoration]], and [[CharmPerson Thaumaturgy]]. Using SpellCrafting or [[ItemCrafting enchanting the spell effects into items]] allows for even more combinations.
46	** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' has a near unlimited exponential potential of spell effects. There are over 100 obtainable spells in the game which use or combine over 100 spell effects all broken down into 6 schools of magic. Get into customized spells, Alchemy, and Enchantment, and number of magical possibilities becomes near-infinite. Alchemy and Enchantment in particular offer a plethora of GameBreaker options, allowing speed runs of mere minutes in a game with hundreds of hours of content.
47	** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' significantly {{Nerf}}s both the pure power of combined magic as well as its overall exponential potential. The game features fewer overall spell effects than did ''Morrowind'', and also places more limits on the combinations, but there is still plenty of potential for game-breaking with certain combinations.
48	** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' adds even more limits than ''Oblivion'', but also adds [[LanguageOfMagic Thu'um Shouts]] to the mix. Shouts are essentially pre-combined (and typically very powerful) spell effects which do not cost [[{{Mana}} Magicka]] to use like true spells. There are 27 Shouts to learn, in addition to 140+ spells, in ''Skyrim'' and both major DLC expansions.
49	* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'': To a lesser extent, as it uses a similar system -- combination -- but has fewer runes.
50	* The ''VideoGame/FreedomForce'' games offer highly customizable powers, but it doesn't reach the level of frustration described here: A single character generally only has half dozen at most.
51	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''
52	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' refines the Job System introduced in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII the third game]]. Now, using a job locks in a special ability, gives a number of passive abilities, and lets you add in one more ability learned from another class. A Thief with Magic Knight powers? Sure! A Geomancer that wields an ax like a Berserker? Go for it! Where the system really gets ridiculous, however, is the Freelancer class: for every class you've mastered, the Freelancer gets that class's passive abilities automatically, and you can choose ''two'' command abilities instead of one, allowing such things as a Freelancer dual-wielding two InfinityPlusOneSword weapons, using the Magic Knight's Spellblade ability to infuse them both with the Flare spell for maximum damage, and then using the Archer's Rapidfire ability to hit ''eight times''[[note]]This is, in fact, the combination that forms Bartz's [[LimitBreak EX Burst]] in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''[[/note]]. Or make a summoner that can double-cast the Bahamut summon after using the Time Mage's spell Quick, which lets you cast Bahamut ''four times'' to obliterate anything on the battlefield short of superbosses.
53	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', you'll end up unlocking 19 jobs.
54	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', there are '''56''' jobs with hundreds of abilities spread across seven races, though some are basically just one races' slightly different version of the same job (Paladin and Defender, Soldier and Warrior, etc.)
55	** Blue Mages in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI''. They can learn ''105'' spells, more than any other job, yet they can only use 20 at a time at the level cap. Bards have 68 songs, but can use them all. In fact, most of the mage jobs have a large spell list.
56	** In ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'', your offensive kit is organised in "Schemata." Each Schema consists of a garb, a weapon, a shield, two accessories and four abilities (most garbs have one or two abilities locked in). Including OldSaveBonus, NewGamePlus and [=DLC=], there are 92 garbs, 87 weapons, 57 shields, 32 head accessories, 37 arm accessories, 17 free physical abilities and 26 locked to garbs, 30 free magic abilities + 31 locked to garbs, 11 defensive abilities, and 19 free ailment abilities + 9 locked to garbs. You have 3 active schemata and up to six in reserve. Good luck working out the best combinations.
57	* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' suffers a bit from this, as there's the same types of spell -- basic poison remove, basic status recovery, etc. -- in each expansion pack. The expansion packs were also stand alone games though, so they had to make sure someone who just picked up one of the expansions and it alone still had access to some of the basic effects.
58	* An interesting variant of this, which doesn't deal with magic at all, is ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2''. There is an overwhelming amount of different items and weapons which can be extremely useful in different situations, but it is largely impossible to carry everything you might need. Your window of opportunity for using some of these items is rather narrow as well, so a lot of items get ignored, even grenades at times, simply to avoid massive micromanagement. This becomes even more difficult with mods like ''[=JA2=] v1.13'' which add several hundred items to the game. The solution (as in real life) is to have specialists who carry specific items, but then they can't carry other items and may end up being useless in most situations.
59	* ''VideoGame/LostMagic'' gives you up to eighteen runes, which you can also combine, either in twos only or also in threes. This gives you a potential '''5832''' spells, out of which '''400''' are in the game, and the bosses and you can do ''everything''. Terrain change, buff, debuff, shooting, summoning, nuking, tanking, capturing, walls, traps, StatusEffects, Roulette, etc..
60	* ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'': Essentially the main point of the game. You are given 8 different elements and can combine them up to five times to create different spells. You also choose how the power is released -- casting on yourself, your weapon, the area around you, an arc in front of you, or in a blast in front of you. You get all of these by the end of the tutorial, and without mana, the only limitation is that combining certain elements (lightning and water, for example) tends to blow up in your face and how fast you can cast the spell before dying.
61	* ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' went from four starting classes to ''ten'', and the first five of the ten classes has at least two [[PrestigeClass independent branches]] as it develops.
62	** The current selection consists of: Ice/Lightning Wizard, Fire/Poison Wizard, Cleric, Fighter, Page, Spearman, Assassin, Bandit, Dual Blade, Hunter, Crossbowman, Gunslinger, Brawler, Thunder Breaker, Wind Breaker, Blaze Wizard, Dawn Warrior, Night Walker, Aran, Evan, Wild Hunter, and Battle Mage, with a total of 22 classes. But that's only with one advancement. If you were to count different advancements, there are well over 100.
63	* ''VideoGame/MegaManXDive'' has lot of this too as well (the entry page details what's there). Mega Man keeps getting power as he gets new weapons, increases his rank, earns levels, earn new special powers and etc.
64	* ''VideoGame/NobodySavesTheWorld'': Eventually, you're able to equip three additional active and passive abilities to each form. Considering that there are several forms, each with at least one active or passive, and several more passives you can buy in the shop, there are a multitude of ways you can build each form.
65	* The first two ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games have this, what with all those badges with effects like sleep, shrinking, multistomp... The smart way to play is to level up your badge points every level instead of your health or flower points (used for special attacks.) Because there are badges for raising your health and flowers, you'll be able to, at any time, switch from having high-health, high flower points, or whatever badges you want. It isn't hard to break the game by playing this way.
66	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. You have over ''seven hundred'' choices for your Mons, and nearly all of them have about a dozen or two potential attacks for their move list. And that's just from leveling up; include the attacks that can be gained from [=TMs=] and breeding and things get crazy.
67	* ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria''. Scrolling through them every turn or so can get annoying sometimes.
68	* ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'' is like this to an extent. You have literally anything in the game's dictionary at your disposal, up to the limit on the number of objects imposed by your object bar. The ''player'' is the one who figures out new ways of doing stuff--the first time you try shooting your space shuttle or your mech with your shrink ray opens up a whole world of new solutions. Many are redundant, however.
69	** The sequel, ''Super Scribblenauts'', adds ''adjectives'' to the already incredibly complicated equation.
70	* This is the entire premise of ''VideoGame/SuvehNux'': Learn part of the language of magic and build sentences that do just what you want.
71	* ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs XF}}'' is even more confusing; there are 16 normal classes and six or seven special ones, and each of them come with four to nine unusually unique abilities. Each class and ability can be used in specific situations and often must be used strategically, meaning the game is half strategy and half [[PuzzleGame puzzle]].
72	* ''VideoGame/ShadowMadness'' has this bad. Despite a level cap of 15 the game has the requisite number of spells expected of a JRPG of the era which means that characters often gain 3 or 4 per level, combined with the games awful menu not really describing what any of them do and a generally obtuse naming scheme it becomes nearly impossible to suss out what spells are actually worth using without taking notes.
73	* ''Super Snail'' from [=QCPlay=] Limited has your snail constantly getting power whether it's through injections, eating weird fungus, loading up on artifacts, equipping weapons and armor that are mostly StatSticks, earning abilities and benefits through doing intelligence on an enemy realms, recruiting minions, gaining unique abilities that only work on specific realms, adding new organs and implants, sacrificing enemy souls for divine gifts and replacing your shell with better prosthetic ones.
74	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'': While at first your arts and weapons are limited by the class you're currently in, any class can use the arts of ''any'' other class that you've mastered alongside 2-5 of your known skills, meaning that eventually you'll be able to mix-and-match nearly every art and skill in the game. Want to stack two health increasers on the SquishyWizard class? Easily done! Oh, and when you master all the classes in a particular branch of the class tree, you can also equip the class-specific weapons in any other class, allowing for hundreds of potential configurations (216 counting just weapons x master classes).
75	* ''VideoGame/AtelierSophieTheAlchemistOfTheMysteriousBook:'' ItemCrafting ingredients belong to classes (e.g. Plant, Animal, Ore, Secret Power), and have Traits (e.g. Quality Up, Critical, Speed. There are dozens more). Ingredients can belong to more than one class (e.g. animal fur belongs to Animal and Thread) and can have up to three Traits. Traits come in different strengths and can be combined to form more powerful versions of those Traits. You can craft your first and second level ingredients to make higher level items with greatly varying attributes (e.g. a metal with high attack powers for making weapons, and the same metal with high defence powers for making armour). The whole process is not conceptually hard, but you'll probably need to keep a pen and paper handy to keep track of everything.
76	* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' features an absolutely massive passive skill TechTree with over ''1300'' nodes for passive boosts; as you build your way through the passive skill tree you gain more and more choices for what to put your next skill point into. And then there's the active skills, which you gain access to by buying skill gems and [[SocketedEquipment slotting them into your equipment]]. Oh, and those skill gems can be augmented by support gems that augment whatever active skill gems they're linked to.
77	* ''VideoGame/TheTiamatSacrament'': Not only is Xandra capable of learning several enemy skills, Az'uar can learn many skills from Soul Gems. He also has over 35 elemental combinations for his breath skills and his evolutionary classes. Kelburn also has many different skills available to him based on the combinations of two Rune Blades, and like Az'uar, can use many different skills based on active elemental runes.
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80	[[folder:Webcomics]]
81	* ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'' features a form of punch-card based alchemy that can be used to create and combine any object conceivable, and quite a few that aren't. Most of the protagonists have spent 10+ page montages going to town with this at least once each.
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Context Main / ExponentialPotential