Line #3 Main/ImmuneToFlinching


1	->''Unfazed, your opponent attacks you anyway!''
2	-->-- '''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'''
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4	In the genre of {{Fighting Game}}s, this is the ability of characters to endure damage without suffering the "flinch", the recoil/stun animations that are associated with the hit. In some games this is known as having "Super Armor" (not to be confused with armor that actually is [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman super]]-[[PoweredArmor powered]]) or "Hyper Armor."
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6	Believe it or not, those little flinching animations that accompany damage are actually an important tactical concern in these genres: Interrupting the player's control over their character means the opponent has a chance to land a {{Combo\|s}} for massive damage. Without it, a fight would merely break down into two characters walking up and [[ButtonMashing bashing each other as fast as they can]] until somebody's HP hits zero (not unlike your average turn-based {{RPG}}).
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8	This works both ways ([[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard usually]]), but it can become a problem for CompetitiveBalance. Take, for example, a MightyGlacier fighting a FragileSpeedster: no matter how strong the Glacier is, he won't be able to actually land any hits if he's constantly getting his attacks interrupted by the Speedster's DeathOfAThousandCuts. Having some protection against flinching evens the playing field by giving him a chance to endure the Speedster's hits and land a counterattack. ''On the other hand,'' if the Glacier has too much protection, it's the Speedster who won't stand a chance because the Glacier no longer has to worry about his enemy's moves and can simply AttackAttackAttack, while the Speedster can do nothing to stop his powerful hits from connecting.
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10	'''Thus, this property is a double-edged sword, and many games provide rules on when a character is (and is not) immune to the flinch:'''
11	* Sometimes it only works on a limited number of hits at a time -- a character may be able to take a single hit without flinching, but a continuous stream of incoming strikes (such as a Combo) will "break through" and knock them aside just the same as a character without the protection. In Fighting Games, this is often just called "armor" as opposed to the aforementioned "super armor".
12	* It may be part of a character's SuperMode or LimitBreak, giving those modes an extra tactical advantage, balanced by the limited periods in which they actually have access to it.
13	* Sometimes it is dependent on the exact action being performed, and/or may require precise timing to execute -- there may be a hidden TacticalRockPaperScissors relationship in play, where certain actions (e.g. Limit Breaks) will interrupt other actions (like basic attacks) even if the attacker receives damage. Some special moves may even have this as their defining feature, allowing an attacker can punch through (say) an opponent's [[FlechetteStorm rain]] [[BeamSpam of]] [[MacrossMissileMassacre projectiles]] with careful timing. But be wary: Certain moves may also have other, more noticeable drawbacks to discourage a player from merely spamming these moves over and over throughout the match.
14	* If the character is exclusively a {{Boss\|Battle}} intended to be fought in a single-player (or multiplayer co-op) campaign instead of player-versus-player matches, they may have this as their default state. This becomes part of the battle's challenge, as it forces the player to time their attacks carefully so they don't get caught off-guard by one of the boss's own attacks.
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16	Other games (usually [[PlatformGame Platformers]]) can also incorporate this trope. Player characters may be pushed back when they are hit, so being ImmuneToFlinching in this case would refer to not getting pushed back when you otherwise would. This makes armor invariably useful when LedgeBats are present to mess up your jumps.
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18	Compare FeelNoPain and NoSell, which are non-gameplay versions of this trope; KnockbackEvasion, which requires you to actively parry to avoid knockback; and InvulnerableAttack, which is invincible to ''everything.'' Related to KungFuProofMook.
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20	Not to be confused with PoweredArmor, although these tropes may overlap.
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22	----
23	!! Examples from {{Fighting Game}}s:
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25	* In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', Garland's EX Mode gives him super armor to anything that isn't [[ArmorPiercingAttack armor piercing]] (or an HP attack).
26	* In the ''Gundam Battle Assault'' titles, boss mechs have this as their default state, sometimes at the expense of being able to guard/block against attacks.
27	* In the ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' titles, larger characters like Colossus, Juggernaut and Sentinel have various amounts of Super Armor -- there is also "Hyper Armor" status which temporarily renders a character completely immune to flinching and knockback. Boss characters (like Galactus) have this as their default state.
28	** Juggernaut in ''VideoGame/XMenChildrenOfTheAtom'' is probably the TropeCodifier, having debuted the Super Armor attribute when he was a boss character.
29	** Gold War Machine, in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfSuperHeroes'', has permanent Super Armor ''while'' still keeping all the moves from regular War Machine. In exchange, he cannot block.
30	** ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' gives two notable examples (aside from Galactus mentioned above):
31	*** Nemesis is in a constant NoSell state. He simply has no animation to indicate his reaction to pain, true to his juggernaut status from ''VideoGame/{{Resident Evil 3\|Nemesis}}''. His ability to keep walking through most attacks is balanced by his exceptionally slow movement speed, large size, and inability to dash.
32	*** [[VideoGame/DarkStalkers Hsien-Ko]] has a level 3 Hyper that removes her PowerLimiter and places her in a Hyper Armor state, meaning that NOTHING can stop her for the duration of the hyper and her attacks are strengthened as well. This allows for players to activate Hyper Armor status, then switch her out with another character and use her assist attacks to back them up- while she's still in Hyper Armor status. Any damage she takes while on screen will regenerate back to what it was, and her hyper armor will not wear off until she is switched back in.
33	* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
34	** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' gives every character a [[ChargedAttack focus attack]], which allows them to endure one hit without flinching while it is charging; they will also recover the damage taken during the charge if they don't receive another. Every character has a move that breaks this armor, but two fast Light attacks will also work. Some Ex attacks also grant this armor while in use.
35	** Ultra SFIV introduces the Red Focus attack, which gives the character performing it INFINITE Super Armor, allowing them to absorb as many attacks as their health bar allows.
36	** In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', some moves have this property, indicated with a purple hitspark and a grey chunk taken off the life gauge. Most such moves can tank one hit, but some of them (the EX versions, generally) have armor on more hits.
37	** ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'' has a similar mechanic to ''IV'''s focus attacks in Drive Impact, which can absorb as many as two hits while executing. Newcomer Marisa also has armor on many of her attacks to compensate for her [[MightyGlacier ponderous speed]].
38	* The Chinese brawler game ''Anime/{{Naruto}} Mobile'' has a spell that allows any character to ignore flinching for a few seconds. This is incredibly potent alongside characters such as Dosu who have low range but great damage. Some characters, like Utakata, Han, and the Fourth Raikage, can give themselves this ability through their skills as well. Certain moves, such as Izumo's blade combo and Aoba's stone needle, can cause flinching even with this Super Armor active; Ibiki Morino's entire skillset is built around countering people who use it.
39	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
40	** Many of the slow, hard-hitting characters (Bowser, Ganondorf, etc.) have attacks that cannot be interrupted by an opponent's move, although they will still flinch from attacks in their default state. Certain special attacks (like Ike's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoYmG4_6ews "Aether" strike]]) also have short moments in which the character is not interrupted or knocked back by any attacks, even ones which would otherwise KO them.
41	*** Bowser's [[SuperMode Giga Bowser mode]] doesn't flinch at all, and is essentially immune to being directly KO'd as a result. [[note]] Just don't get hit while you're off the top of the screen[[/note]] In the fourth game, Bowser himself won't flinch from weaker attacks (such as many rapid jabs).
42	*** [[VideoGame/PunchOut Little Mac]] in the fourth game has this as one of his main features: most of his ground attacks give him Super Armor. [[AchillesHeel Not his air attacks though...]]
43	*** In order to make up for the fact that he has only two jumps and (in ''64'' and ''Melee'') no recovery move (his up special recovers a bit of altitude in later installments, but it's not much), Yoshi gets a limited form of Super Armor when double-jumping. He will resist all knockback below a large threshold while double-jumping, and any move that is powerful enough to get past the threshold will see its knockback seriously reduced.
44	*** Inverted with Fox's blaster (starting with ''Melee'') where it's very fast and does decent damage, but doesn't flinch or knock back the opponent at ''all''. Trying to stand your ground with it results in the opponent doing an [[UnflinchingWalk Unflinching Run]] right through it to beat you down. On the other hand, you can use this trait to get some free damage on enemies in the middle of a slow attack (because it won't cancel them) or [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown recovering from off the edge]] (because it won't give them an extra jump like most attacks would).
45	*** Sephiroth by default doesn’t have Super Armour, however once his percentage reaches a certain point he will activate his Winged Form will activate, giving all of his smash attacks the aforementioned super armour.
46	** The larger and stronger enemies in ''3DS/Wii U''[='=]s Smash Run mode, such as Bulborbs, Darknuts and Boom Stompers, do not receive knockback from attacks, and just wade through barrages that would send players and other foes flying.
47	* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'': The hardest challenge in ''Soul Calibur III''[='=]s "Chronicles of the Sword" mode grants this ability to your opponents. One opponent combines this ability with zero traction on the arena floor, making the fight a special kind of hell even with the AIBreaker moves.
48	* ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'': The giant characters Gold Lightan and PTX-40A are {{Mighty Glacier}}s; extremely slow and unwieldy compared to the rest of the cast, but in exchange they are nearly impossible to flinch, and can stomp through even the strongest special moves from other characters easily. As a handicap, hitting them too many times in succession does end up dizzying them, leaving them open for an extended beating, while other characters can't be dizzied outside of Alex's Stun Gun Headbutt super. Most special throws also work on them just as well as normal characters despite their size (which they [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] in some of their victory quotes) and some characters have moves that bypass their armor completely and put them in hitstun just like anyone else.
49	* The final boss of ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'', Bloody Marie, initially wouldn't stop attacking if you hit her. This was changed in a patch to allow her to flinch after a certain amount of attacks.
50	** Cerebella has two moves that have a certain number of hits of armor: her Lock 'n' Load special and her Tumbling Run. She can even perform another move during her Tumbling Run that allows her to have two more hits of armor. Her [[LimitBreak Level 3 Blockbuster]] has unlimited armor during startup, similar to the Hyper Armor above.
51	** Almost all of Painwheel's normal attacks gain armor [[ChargedAttack when you charge them]], and the number of hits her armor can take depend of the strength of the attack used. In addition, any damage she takes during the charge-up period will be added to the damage she'd normally give, so it acts as a sort of CounterAttack.
52	*** When using [[SuperMode Hatred]] [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Install]], she can survive Cerebella's Level 3 Super, ''the strongest single attack in the game'', and do an insane amount of damage with the combo after it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8vLAKcyIChw#t=95s Take a look.]]
53	** Big Band also has super armor in three of his moves, namely Brass Knuckle, Take the "A" Train and his Level 1 Blockbuster Super Sonic Jazz. All three moves have two hits of armor, but performing his taunt changes the amount of armor hits on Super Sonic Jazz to 15.
54	** Eliza's Solar Barge move has unlimited armor against projectiles, and transforming into Sehkmet gives her permanent armor while constantly draining her super meter.
55	* The Typhoon weather effect in ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutenScarletWeatherRhapsody'' gives both players SuperArmor but also makes it impossible to block until the weather ends.
56	** Tenshi's "State of Enlightenment" spell card and the Dragon Star system card in ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensokuChoudokyuuGinyoruNoNazoOOe'' temporarily gives this effect to the user.
57	* The FinalBoss form of System U-D in ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Gears of Destiny'' has this as long as her ManaShield is up. Einhart's Unchain Knuckle move temporarily grants her a more limited version that prevents her from flinching against long ranged attacks.
58	* ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart''
59	** The effects of Ohtsuchi (the Earth arcana) tend to involve this. Passively, Earth gives homing guard cancels and charged attacks points of super armor. When activated, the character receives hyper armor for the extent of the activation, but at the cost of being unable to block.
60	** Fiona's Karetov special attack grants one point of super armor in its animation, while its super equivalent Excalibur grants two.
61	* The Great Apes (And later other "Giant" characters) in the ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi'' games are all immune to flinching from smaller characters' basic attack strings, and are also immune to rush specials and grabs. True to form, Broly doesn't flinch from normals that much, either.
62	* ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'': The tougher enemies and more powerful opponents (particularly Saga bosses and final fights in Parallel Quests) of the pack exclusive Z-Souls that give them this kind of super armor, at least until you decrease their health enough that it turns off. It's technically surmountable in certain circumstances, but they don't give you the chance. Great Apes also get it again, but their battle mechanics invoke this by having to drain their stamina to leave them wide open for actual attack. In an inversion, however, the player can earn one of Broly's Z-Souls that essentially gives them the exact same immunity as bosses do - except, of course, the player's health is usually nowhere near as large as that of bosses to make the same use of it. It can also be used through two skills, Pose K and Pose F, the first of which grants the usual super armor, where the second works more like how Great Apes and Ultimate attacks do, making the user take damage to stamina instead of health, as well as making them immune to grabs.
63	* ''Franchise/MortalKombat''
64	** Certain characters can gain armor properties on their moves in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''. However, the bosses have quite a few moves that can do this and it makes them hard to deal with up close. Shao Kahn in particular turns into an SNKBoss whenever he decides to just activate free super-armor for several seconds, which is often.
65	** In ''Videogame/MortalKombatX'', [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] can grant himself temporary Super Armor with certain variations, with the catch being that he cannot jump for the duration and after a while he is left in a vulnerable state.
66	* In ''VideoGame/{{Oni}}'', one of the two possible final bosses (Muro in his "daodan" form) is entirely immune to being knocked back or knocked over while he has his shield active. Several other minor opponents (mostly robots) are also immune to knockback and the stun effect from the VDG Gun, which otherwise disables human opponents for several seconds. Partially justified in that robots would not flinch due to feeling pain, but it gets ridiculous when you can hit a robot in the Atmospheric Processor level with a Superball Gun (a pocket howitzer) at point-blank range and it still comes at you undeterred (although it still takes damage) - even ''you'' will have been flung across half the room and possibly heavily wounded as a result of your own weapon blast. There is a cheat to grant players the same immunity to knockback/knockover/stun.
67	* The final boss of ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'', [[TheDragon Metal Sonic]], has a variation: where most of the characters flinch particularly hard when their "shields" are broken, his reaction is so much smaller that he can recover, reach forward, and smash you into the floor or something.
68	* Some characters in the ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' games gain immunity to projectiles (as well as Carl and Relius' puppets) when performing certain moves, such as Tager's magnetism charge. They can still be hit by normal attacks, which knock them out of the attack, however.
69	* In ''VideoGame/JojosBizarreAdventureAllStarBattle'', Josuke has a special counterattack where the oponent insults his hair, which gets him [[BerserkButton royally pissed off]]. This grants him temporary immunity to flinching and increased attack, with the drawback being that he constantly walks towards the oponent.
70	** This is the gimmick of the "Resolve Mode" skill: if you're at low health and you launch an attack, you can "tank" one enemy counterattack. This means that you take vastly reduced damage, you won't flinch, your attack won't be interrupted, and you cannot be [=KOed=].
71	* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Revolution'' has certain moves that are invincible to strikes (these attacks emit a red aura when used). This concept has evolved into ''Tekken 7''[='=]s "Power Crush" attacks, which work similarly to the aforementioned Focus Attacks from ''Street Fighter IV'' (as the attack is winding up, your character cannot be hit out of the attack and the animation will play even if your opponent is attacking). The unplayable Shin Akuma has Super Armor, which is only ''part'' of what pushes him into SNKBoss territory.
72	* In ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' the wrestler character Wolf has a move called "Repel Wall" where he lunges forward slightly and will NoSell lighter punches & kicks, taking damage but not flinching. This gives him an opening to slap or grab his opponent.
73	* ''VideoGame/RisingThunder'': Dauntless's [[DashAttack Cold Rush]] and Talos's [[YouWillNotEvadeMe Meteor Drop, Titan Wreck]], and [[LauncherMove forward heavy attack]] all let the user take a single hit without flinching. A glowing blue outline around the character indicates when the armor starts and ends.
74	* ''VideoGame/MarvelContestOfChampions'' gives this to characters with the "Unstoppable" ability, including Juggernaut and Unstoppable Colossus.
75	* In ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}},'' large characters like Master Mummy and Mechanica have this trait, and hitting them does not disrupt their current punches or grabs.
76	* In ''VideoGame/ForHonor'', most of the Heavy-class heroes and a few others, like the Kensei and Lawbringer, have the Uninterruptible property on many of their attacks, which allows them to carry through with the attack even if they are hit by their opponent, making them extremely effective at trading hits if they can bait out an opponent's attack. In earlier seasons, the Shugoki had this ability up at all times, only briefly losing it when he took a hit and thus letting him be devastating against newer players, since most of his moveset was built around letting the enemy hit him so he could inflict massive damage in retaliation.
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78	!! Examples from other genres:
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80	* ''VideoGame/{{Afterimage}}'': Pious Blessing not only hastens Renee's [[HealThyself self-healing magic with Primeval Glyphs]], it also prevents the healing process from being interrupted by enemy attacks.
81	* In the ''Franchise/MegaMan'' series starting with ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'' Robot Masters (or [[VideoGame/MegaManX Mavericks]]) can typically endure blaster fire without flinching, although they often do recoil when hit with their particular weakness; Wily and Sigma bosses, as well as Ride Armors, are immune to flinching and knockback.
82	* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' provides Super Armor as an ability of certain Navis; [=MegaMan=] couldn't achieve it himself until Battle Network 2 introduced the [[MultiformBalance Style Change system]] (it was native to the [[MightyGlacier Guts Style]]); Battle Network 3 introduced the [[PowersAsPrograms Navi Customizer]], which allowed Mega to install Super Armor almost whenever he wanted. This is useful for getting a high battle rank, as flinching will reduce it.
83	** The PowersAsPrograms concept carried over into sequel series ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', bringing Super Armor with it. However, since this is a game based on high speed and quick reflexes, unless you have a SuperMode that provides it, Super Armor is normally available only late in the game and at a prohibitively high cost. Sometimes you can achieve it through a member of your [[SocializationBonus Brother Band]].
84	* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Aveline's unique "Indomitable" ability makes her immune to knockback and stun. This leads to a [[GoodBadBugs humorous moment]] against the FinalBoss: the boss stuns everything in the area, then starts monologuing. Aveline keeps attacking the whole time.
85	* In the original ''{{VideoGame/Doom}}'' games, each monster has what is called a 'pain chance', which is the probability that they will go into a pain state after being hit with an attack, which temporarily prevents them from retaliating. No monsters have a 0% pain chance but, in general, the stronger the monster, the lower the chance will be. The pinky demon is a special case: normally, it has a fairly typical pain chance and can therefore be stunlocked pretty reasonably, but on Nightmare difficulty, the pinky's speed is doubled. It remains as easy as ever to flinch, but the flinch duration is so short as to be meaningless, to the point that even shoving a chainsaw in its face isn't going to slow it down much.
86	* Enemies in ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' may or may not flinch when struck by the player's attacks, and bosses are immune to flinching as their default state. The player can receive this status only through use of the "Painkiller" potion (which also reduces damage by half); the "Fire Spirits" and "Ice Spirits" potions also allow the player to absorb three hits without damage or flinching.
87	* [[HumongousMecha Komato Annihilators]] of ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' don't even flinch from direct [[{{BFG}} MPFB]] hits. Also downplayed with the "damage teching" ability of Berserkers and Iji herself - getting explosives to their faces ''does'' [[BlownAcrossTheRoom send them flying]] but they land firmly on their feet instead of tumbling to the floor.
88	* ''VideoGame/{{Maplestory}}'' has this as an ability for many of the classes (officially named Stance after the name of the first skill to give it). Each of the adventurer warriors, Aran, Battlemage, Dual Blade, and Evan has a 90% chance of not flinching due to a class skill. All adventurer magicians, Wild Hunters, and Cannonshooters have similar skills (mount in the case of Wild Hunters), but which have a lower probability of triggering. Some classes like Mechanic and Demon Slayer can receive 100% protection from flinching at earlier levels.
89	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'''s Multiplayer mode has a particularly insidious version of this with the [[DemonicSpiders Geth Hunters.]] While you can indeed knock virtually any enemy in the game back to buy yourself precious seconds, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the hunters can still shoot you even in the middle of their stun animation.]]
90	** The N7 Destroyer in Multiplayer gets this ability while in Devastator Mode.
91	* {{MMORPG}}s and Action [=MMO=]s often give each character class at least one move with this property so they can break stunlocks in PVP. How balanced they are is often debated among players.
92	** The Dwarves of ''VideoGame/WarhammerOnline'' have a tactic that is a partial example of this. The tactic is called "Stoutness of Stone" and it allows them to recover from being knocked down or stunned in half the time they normally would.
93	** ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' has a few stances, enchantments, and a ward that does this.
94	** ''VideoGame/GrandChase'' has Super Armor and Hyper Armor. Super Armor prevents flinching from attacks, but the player can still be knocked down from various attacks. Hyper Armor prevents being knocked down from nearly any attack, with the side effect of making the player ''impossible to kill'' until it wears off, as the player cannot die until they actually get knocked down, even at 0 HP.
95	* In the ''[[VideoGame/DawnOfWar Dark Crusade]]'' campaign, some heroes can use wargear that reduces the effects of knockback.
96	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
97	** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', most enemies are pushed back and their attacks interrupted. But [[spoiler:Ganon]] isn't. In fact, hit him and ''you'' will be pushed back. And considering that after a certain point [[spoiler:there are BottomlessPits in this fight...]]
98	** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', Iron Knuckles can take damage from the sword and bombs, but cannot flinch and will retaliate, so you have to be defensive. That's ''until'' their armor gets broken, which allows you to make them flinch, although they become dangerous in [[ShedArmorGainSpeed other ways]].
99	** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', there's a ring that can be found that considerably reduces the distance you get pushed back. Can be quite useful when most powerful enemies knock you back when ''you'' hit ''them''.
100	** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': Enemies surrounded by a red aura cannot be flinched by regular attacks, and often deal considerable damage to you. This makes approaching them to deal ''any'' damage a risky proposition, as it is easy to start a combo attack and just get interrupted and watch your thirty-heart HP bar suddenly drop to a ''quarter of one heart left''. They can only be knocked back if attacked with a special attack or Weak Point Smash, however because they don't flinch it isn't possible for the player to juggle their weak-point gauge like a normal enemy, and the player will often have to go through multiple rounds of dodging the attack. In most Legend Mode and Adventure Mode missions, you are intended to avoid unflinching enemies, but certain Gold Skulltula challenges and Rewards Map missions require you to fight them, and it is possible for a particularly powerful character to destroy them with a good strategy or special attack spam. Even if you decide not to immediately deal with them, your partners are dumb and should a red-aura enemy infiltrate your main base or attack the special Commander unit that is not allowed to be defeated, expect them to just curb-stomp everyone and force you to immediately fail the mission.
101	* ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'': Present in varying capacities -
102	** Part of what makes Taiga Saejima a GameBreaker in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5''. Thanks to an ability called Herculean Spirit, as long as his Heat gauge is full, he basically turns into a walking brick wall that shits out damage like nobody's business. [[spoiler:It certainly makes his fight in the final chapter against the dreaded Dragon of Dojima a lot easier since he's one of the lucky few that can NoSell Kiryu's [[CounterAttack Tiger]] [[ThatOneAttack Drop]] ([[ThatOneBoss and harder]] if you're playing Kiryu instead).]]
103	** Kiryu's Beast style in ''0'' and ''Kiwami'' also has this in spades. Moreso in the former where random encounters devolved into grabbing the nearest two-handed object and just swinging away at any mook dumb enough to come close. [[ContractualBossImmunity Not as effective against Bosses, however.]]
104	** The [[BossInMooksClothing Mr. Shakedowns]] in ''{{VideoGame/Yakuza 0}}'' all have this trait, which is part of what makes them so dangerous, as lengthy but normally incredibly effective attacks like Majima's bat nunchaku combo are extremely risky. Certain attacks from the player (like the aforementioned bat nunchaku combo) also can't be interrupted by normal attacks.
105	** Masaharu Kaito makes his playable debut in his self-titled DLC for ''VideoGame/LostJudgment'', ''The Kaito Files''. He inherits the Brawler and Beast (as Bruiser and Tank, respectively) styles from Kiryu in the aforementioned game and with it, the latter's armor. He also has an ability in his Bruiser style that counters an enemy's attack as he's being hit, something that Kiryu would also inherit for his Yakuza style in ''[[VideoGame/LikeADragonGaidenTheManWhoErasedHisName Like a Dragon: Gaiden]]''.
106	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
107	** Some of the titular creatures (Cradily for example) have the Ingrain move that allows them to root themselves into the ground to prevent [[SwitchOutMove being removed from battle]]. There's also the "Suction Cups" ability, which innately prevents a forced switch (Lileep/Cradily and Octillery).
108	** There is also the ability Inner Focus, which, well, prevents the Pokémon from flinching (flinching causes a Pokémon to lose its turn).
109	** The ability Shield Dust also prevents flinching since all moves that induce flinching are attacking moves and therefore the flinching is the secondary effect, which is negated by Shield Dust. Same with the items King's Rock and Razor Fang and the ability Stench; the flinch chance only happens with each attack.
110	** Another ability, Steadfast, raises the user's speed stat when it flinches, but does not prevent it.
111	** All Pokémon are immune to flinching during the three turns they are Dynamaxed.
112	* In ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', knockback can be bothersome in battle as well as exploring (such as being hit into a tall chasm, taking fall damage). The player can equip the Cobalt Shield or its upgrade, the Obsidian Shield, which both completely prevent knockback.
113	** It's not uncommon to latch onto the ground with one of several grappling hooks when fighting a boss that does dangerous amounts of knockback.
114	* Sometimes referred to as "Penetrate" (Iron Will in the English translations) in some of the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' games. It's the ability for some bosses to take a certain (Sometimes visible) amount of hits or damage without flinching, after which they can be caught in a proper combo, but they'll regain their flinch resistance once the combo ends. Also shows up in a more traditional fashion with the bosses frequently being immune or highly resistant to flinching while attacking even without this and the party being able to utilize it with skills, buffs or by activating the game's SuperMode. Of particular note is [[CoolOldGuy Rowen]] from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', who can become an outright GameBreaker through skills that make him ImmuneToFlinching during a spell's cast time.
115	* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' Dante's most powerful Devil Trigger, Majin Form, is a walking fortress. It is the only Devil Trigger in the series so far to grant Dante true invulnerability--he can't possibly be hurt or knocked down in this form. Be it a {{Mook}} or the TrueFinalBoss, he is untouchable.
116	* ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' grants hyperarmor properties on certain heavy weapons, particularly greataxes and greathammers. Knockback is unaffected by your armor, which means wearing heavier armor [[ArmorIsUseless isn't usually a good choice]].
117	* The Poise stats in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' granted by heavier armor to compensate for its weight makes you more capable of taking damage without having your actions interrupted or getting stunned. All characters, including enemies, have Poise. Being hit drains Poise, which regenerates after some time without being hit, much like a hidden stamina bar. When Poise is completely drained, the character becomes stunned. Having one more point of Poise than is being dealt will prevent the character from being stunned by that hit. This proved to be rather difficult to balance, and was reworked rather heavily from game to game.
118	** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'': Poise can get so high and regenerates so fast (it all comes back after three seconds without being hit) as to make numerous enemies in [=PvE=] and weapons in [=PvP=] completely incapable of stun lock, which makes them nearly harmless. The "poise race"--getting just enough Poise to withstand one enemy attack--[[GameplayDerailment became a large part of the metagame]]. Specific characters with these kind of builds include Havel the Rock and Black Iron Tarkus; the former is a BeefGate meant to keep low-level players out of Darkroot Basin, the latter is an NPC who can solo the boss he's summoned for.
119	** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'': Poise regenerates so slowly that it might as well not at all, weapons do much more Poise damage, many attacks ignore Poise to automatically stun (unless you're in the middle of an attack that cuts Poise damage in half), and even if you Poise through an attack, it will still slow down a run or roll (which is meant to [[ObviousRulePatch counter]] people using heavy armor to roll through attacks into position for a backstab). Despite this, some late game bosses have this as an ability. The Fume Knight from the DLC can take half of his health bar in damage before flinching, ''if'' the player stays on the offensive long enough. Otherwise, he might go the whole fight without staggering.
120	** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'': Poise is drastically less useful than it was even in ''II''. It only does ''anything'' for certain attacks, generally slow ones with large weapons, and even then it just reduces stagger taken by 1% per point (i.e. interrupting the same attack with armor will take twice the stagger power against an opponent with 50 Poise as it would if they had no Poise). Attacking someone who's already staggered resets them to normal, preventing an indefinite stunlock even with no Poise at all. [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules However, for non-humanoid enemies, Poise works essentially the same as in the first game.]]
121	* In ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' there is an ability on the warrior skill tree with this as an ability. When on the Fateless One (you) treats hits like gentle shoves.
122	* In ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'', Power characters don't flinch when hit by normal attacks and harder to stagger compared to other characters (charge attacks will still stagger them, however).
123	* ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}'' has the Stone Armor ability.
124	* Rook in ''TabletopGame/{{Yomi}}'' has Rock Armor as his character ability, which he can activate by discarding cards to land an attack despite being hit by a faster attack.
125	* The "Stonewall" perk available in several ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games made being knocked down by anything less likely in ''2'' and ''Tactics'' while in ''New Vegas'' it provides some extra damage threshold and completely prevents knockdown from melee weapons specifically. The perk is slightly more valuable in ''2'' and ''Tactics'' as it makes it more likely you won't have to waste action points on getting back up.
126	* For the 4th Edition of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', this is the innate racial ability of the Dwarves. A few powers and prestige classes also grant this ability.
127	* In ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', one of the powers, called "Super Armor," raises defense and prevents knockback. There's also "Brief Invincibility," which makes the uses invincible for a short time, and "Aries Armor," which reduces damage received, and prevents status effects and knockback.
128	* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', [[TheBerserker Krieg]] was made to be heavier than the other characters so that he suffered less knockback and can go toe-to-toe with enemies for his melee-centric gameplay style. However, this also makes it so that he's incapable of grenade jumping or completing certain challenges that involve springing characters up to a certain point.
129	* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'':
130	** Some Warframes have abilities that make them unable to be knocked down or stunned, such as Rhino's Iron Skin and Valkyr's Hysteria. Atlas is passively immune to knockdown, but only as long as his feet are touching the ground.
131	** Some mods make you more resistant to knockdown. The strongest such mod is Primed Sure Footed, which makes you completely immune to knockdowns and staggers at max rank. This includes the self-stagger from your own explosive weapons.
132	* In ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' the heavier characters flinch less easily than the lighter ones, to make up for their slower attacks that take longer to charge. Honda Tadakatsu and Tachibana Muneshige are all but immune to it. UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga, in addition to being much more resistant to it than his weight class would indicate, also has access to a SuperMode that makes him immune to flinching in the third game.
133	* ''VideoGame/PlanetSide 2'''s soldiers are vulnerable to "flinch" which causes weapon accuracy to drop when the player is damaged or near an explosion. One of the implants significantly reduces the flinch, making reaction fire more accurate. A separate implant makes soldiers immune to the effects of Concussion grenades, which cripples movement and aiming speed in addition to copious InterfaceScrew.
134	* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'':
135	** Each class has a different mass that the impulse of an attack is divided by, making heavier classes affected less by attacks with the same amount of knockback.
136	** Soldiers wearing Mantreads ignore 75% of the {{knockback}} caused by enemies. Thankfully, knockback [[RocketJump from one's own Rocket Launcher]] is not affected.
137	** The Sniper's Cozy Camper prevents the crosshair jerking around when you take damage, and decreases knockback by 20%.
138	** The Ubercharge for the Quick-Fix makes both the patient and Medic immune to knockback and any other ability that impairs movement, like the Scout's Sandman or Natascha.
139	** In Mann Vs. Machine, Demoman can upgrade any of his shields to get as much as 90% knockback resistance. This makes engaging in melee combat much easier as you don't have to fear getting pushed back when going for a kill or getting stopped in the middle of a charge.
140	* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter'''s bosses had Absolute Defense, where you had to deal a certain amount of damage in a single combo before they would actually take damage. The defense is rendered as a BeehiveBarrier that finally [[BarrierBustingBlow shatters]] when you finally exceed it.
141	* The later ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' games have a stat for this, called "combat resistance." [[SuperMode Rage mode]] gives significant boosts to all of the characters' stats, combat resistance obviously included, and some fighters like Guan Yu and Xu Huang can boost theirs with Ex attacks. A few characters in the story missions also start out with boosted attack power and combat resistance, which you're usually encouraged to dispel by accomplishing a strategy that grants you the upper hand.
142	** Lu Bu naturally is no stranger to flinch immunity. Sometimes, you can't make him flinch if your attack stat is too low either. Sometimes, like at Hulao Gate in ''8'', it's ''impossible'' to make him flinch no matter how strong you are. And that's not to mention he can invoke Hyper Armor at any time by using one of his [[LimitBreak Musou attacks]] in a certain way.
143	** In earlier games, just having a high-enough defense stat on a low-enough difficulty mode made it so weaker enemies could never flinch you. [[AnnoyingArrows Arrows]] were the only weapons that always flinched you regardless, but even then, there's an item specifically dedicated to eliminating arrow flinching.
144	* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam'' also has flinch immunity. Mobile armors only flinch if being hit during certain animation frames (during which they get highlighted with arrows), or if hit by a smash attack while ''not'' in these animation frames (a smash attack that hits them during these frames knocks them down instead). Most regular mobile suits are always vulnerable to flinching while not defending - but in the second game, [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam The O]] is immune to flinching while doing a melee combo, making it a very dangerous opponent.
145	** Also in the second game, the "Fighting Instinct" skill makes the player's suit immune to flinching at all times, except against instant-knockdown attacks. Despite also making the player take more damage, this skill is GameBreaker tier precisely because it turns the player into TheJuggernaut who can stunlock and roll over their opponent with relative impunity.
146	** And of course, all mobile suits are immune to flinching (and all damage as well) while doing an [[LimitBreak SP attack]].
147	* In a similar vein, ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' has Focus Spirit, which is pretty much Rage mode to a tee. Some of the characters' biggest, strongest and slowest attacks also give them temporary Super Armor and every character has an unlockable skill in their [[SkillScoresAndPerks skill tree]] that allows them to take up to 3 hits in quick succession without being interrupted.
148	** Hyper Armor is the last stage of buffs that can be granted to enemies by morale boosts, but Ganondorf is a fan of entering the battle already enveloped in it.
149	** Much like Lu Bu, Cia has on-demand Super Armor that she can activate just by using her Strong Attack.
150	* The Dwarves of ''VideoGame/WarhammerOnline'' have a tactic that is a partial example of this. The tactic is called "Stoutness of Stone" and it allows them to recover from being knocked down or stunned in half the time they normally would.
151	* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' has an optional Upgrade of "No Ragdoll", which makes you no longer get knocked over by explosions.
152	* ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' has the ability to nullify Stun, which results in Knockback, as well as a host of other ways to manipulate your stats to reduce Knockback values or increase your chances of surviving the impact.
153	* ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' has two ways to do this, Clinging and Knockback Resistance.
154	* ''VideoGame/SDGundamCapsuleFighter'' has its Mobile Armors with this ability automatically. There are also certain suits, such as the [[Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray Astray Red Frame "Powered Red"]] and the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory GP-02 Physallis]], who have this as an ability. Nine times out of ten, these two suits tend to be banned in matches because of it.
155	* In the freeware re-release of ''VideoGame/MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries'', the Advanced Gyroscope available to many of the games' HumongousMecha makes them far more resistant to the effects of screen-shake and knockback from high-powered weapons like the Gauss Rifle, and makes them all but immune to being knocked on their ass from massed high-power weaponry. A significant part of the multiplayer is timing your weapon's reloads with the enemies' to blast them and throw off their aim just before they fire, so the Advanced Gyro is ''very'' useful device for brawlers.
156	* This can be an issue for some proper characters programmed in ''VideoGame/{{MUGEN}}''. Some boss characters, such as the Cyberbots R.A.D., Girantina, or Omega Zero, often flinch little-to-no times from attacks. Since the game is freeware as well, there are a number of characters Super Armor is given to and then they are given unbelievable amounts of attack damage.
157	* Many SurvivalHorror games that emphasize action will have certain ImplacableMan enemies that simply walk off all but the strongest firepower:
158	** The ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series has given us quite a few. Mr. X, Nemesis, Jack Baker, and Lady Dimitrescu are the most well-known. The first three barely register hits from small arms but can all be temporarily downed if dealt enough damage. Lady Dimitrescu, on the other hand, will barely ever flinch, and that's only if she's hit with your most powerful ordnance. Otherwise, nothing you have will so much as break her stride.
159	** ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' has the infamous Pyramid Head, whose eponymous [[BodyHorror helmet/face]] will absorb any bullets you send its way without registering any pain. If he retreats or you manage to defeat him, the game is unambiguous about showing that it's only because you were ''allowed'' to win.
160	** ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'' has the Sadist. Only explosions will make him so much as flinch. He's not immune to damage from small arms, but he'll nevertheless power through shotgun blasts and magnum rounds as though they were raindrops. The same holds true for Laura, who has a weakness to fire for plot-related reasons, but otherwise barely reacts to any other kind of weapons.
161	* In ''VideoGame/UrbanReign'' Super Armor's one of the rarer self-buff abilities, most commonly available to characters with the "Mighty" moveset.
162	* In ''VideoGame/FreedomForce'', the ability "Density Control" gives a character this.
163	%% (Ambiguity) * In ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'', if an attack does more damage than your current HP, the game doesn't calculate stun effects, because it expects the attack to kill you. However, if you have a ManaShield up, it might not ''actually'' kill you -- leading to the strategy of deliberately allowing a certain {{Demonic Spider\|s}} to reduce your max HP so low that ''nothing'' can stun you.
164	* ''VideoGame/DiabloII'': The Barbarian's Concentration attack cannot be interrupted by enemy attacks, on top of boosting damage and defense.
165	* The Primal Peashooter from ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'' has a chance to knock back zombies it hits, including the mighty Gargantuar. Its Plant Food has a 100% chance of knocking back zombies. The only zombie immune to the knockback effect entirely is the [[DumbMuscle Jurassic Bully]], as it's "[[AchievementsInIgnorance too stupid to observe typical physics]]".
166	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'':
167	** Riku never gets stunned or reacts to taking damage during his BossFight in the Land of Dragons.
168	** Many of the larger bosses, such as Cerberus, are either immune to being stunned or are just extremely difficult to stun.
169	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'': In Re:Mind's OptionalBoss Data Organization battles, the boss takes dramatically reduced damage and will not flinch if you attack them during a phase in which they are not vulnerable.
170	* In ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'', chance to stun is determined by how much damage is done by a single hit relative to the target's maximum health. Bosses are mostly immune to stun by virtue of their large health pools, but a build optimized to reduce the stun threshold can reliably affect them. Characters can gain passive stun immunity Unwavering Stance keystone passive, which has the NecessaryDrawback of being unable to evade enemy hits, but you can gain conditional stun immunity from Ascendancy passives or 100% stun avoidance chance through careful build planning.
171	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' has various versions of this with its [[https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Interrupt_(VII_Remake) interrupt]] mechanic:
172	** Having an interrupt defense higher than an attack's interrupt strength means that attack won't cause interruption. Some enemies innately have interrupt defense as high as 40 or 60, more than the player characters' 20, making it hard to interrupt them.
173	** Interrupt defense can be temporarily boosted while using commands.
174	** Barret's Steelskin command gives him a buff that increases interrupt defense to 40 and also gives DamageReduction.
175	** The Ribbon accessory makes its wearer harder to interrupt while casting spells.
176	** Finally, attacks of any interrupt strength won't interrupt a blocking character, except for {{Unblockable Attack}}s.
177	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has the Vigilance status, which prevents the affected party members abilities from being interrupted by enemy attacks. It's bestowed using the [[SupportPartyMember Synergist]] ability of the same name. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' adds a party-wide version of the spell called Vigilaga.
178	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has casters whose spells can be interrupted if they are hit hard enough. Surecast prevents spellcasting from being interrupted, but anything that causes a knockback won't protect the player from their spells being interrupted.
179	* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinIITheNewColossus'' introduces the Ram Shackles, which prevent Blazkowicz from getting knocked down by explosions while equipped.
180	* Armour in ''VideoGame/TwentyXX'' prevents flinching while you have it, but damage reduces armour before health. You're also flinch-proof when using the Armatort's Shell core augment. Bosses almost never flinch, although some have a temporary pause programmed into their attack patterns (Rollster Beta, for example, delays for a couple of seconds before using his last ditch attack at half health where he bounces around crazily) and some pause for a second when hit with their vulnerability (a Boomerang Blade on Death Lotus causes a momentary stun).
181	* In ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage 4'', Nora can induce this in some of her {{mooks}} by whipping them, while also granting them extra health and making them hit harder.
182	* The Tank in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' cannot be staggered by shoving nor can it be staggered by blasts from the grenade launcher and any weapon loaded with explosive ammo (weapon in the sequel). The Tank can be staggered if gets hit with an explosion from a propane or oxygen tank, though you have to be lucky to have one on hand since they spawn randomly. The Charger shares the same stagger mechanics as the Tank, though it can still be staggered with explosive ammo.
183	* ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'': In this game, Rakukaja and other defense buffing abilities also make it so affected characters cannot have their attacks interrupted. Ryuji also has an unlockable ability that applies to himself.
184	* ''VideoGame/PAYDAY3'': Solid, found in the Enforcer tree, confers immunity to being staggered whilst both [[StatusBuff Edge and Grit]] are active.
185	* ''Videogame/StellarBlade'': Beta Chain, a skill that can be unlocked quite early in the game, allows Eve to charge the last input of any combo string, giving it armor and allowing Eve to tank any incoming hit while still finishing her combo.

Context Main / ImmuneToFlinching