History Main / ComboBreaker

->'''''"[[TropeNamer C-C-C-C-C-C-COUNTER BREAKER!]]"'''''

-->-- '''The commentator''' of ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct''

* ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' is the [[TropeNamer T-T-T-T-TROPE NAMER!!!]] Combos have various 'stages' to them, some of which are immune to being broken, some of which are not.[[note]]A full combo in ''Killer Instinct 2'' goes Opener --> Auto-Double --> Manual Auto-Double --> Manual Auto-Double --> Linker Auto-Double --> Manual Auto-Double --> Manual Auto-Double --> Finisher[[/note]] In the first game and the 2013 game, the breaker must be done based on the strength of the attack used in the attacker's combo. In ''Killer Instinct 2,'' the breaker must be done with Punch if the attacker is using Kick, and vice-versa. Unique to the 2013 game, the breaker ''itself'' can be broken, which allows the combo to continue and temporarily disables combo breakers.
--> '''[[MemeticMutation C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!!]]''' '''C-C-C-COUNTER BREAKER!!!'''

** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' brings back the traditional combo breaker that appeared in both ''[=MK9=]'' and ''MKX'', but instead of the main fighter snapping out of a combo string with a punch, it's the Kameo that breaks it.

** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' brings back the traditional combo breaker seen in MK9 and MKX, but instead of the main fighter snapping out of a combo string with a punch, it's the Kameo that breaks the combo.

Compare RecoveryAttack, another ability to break being hit repeatedly.

* A rare non-FightingGame example in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series. Starting from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' onwards, some bosses have a "revenge value" which causes them to instantly retaliate in a specific way if you hit them too many times in succession. [[BonusBoss Sephiroth]], for instance, will teleport out of Sora's combo and attack from a safe distance. Meanwhile, the protagonists have abilities that allow them to counterattack after being knocked back by enemies, like Sora's Retaliating Slash from ''II'', Payback Fang, Payback Raid, and Payback Surge from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]'', Payback Raid and Payback Blast from ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', and Payback Strike from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII''.

--> '''[[MemeticMutation C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!!]]''' '''[[UpToEleven C-C-C-COUNTER BREAKER!!!]]'''

{{Combos}} are defined as any combination of attacks where if the first hit lands, the opponent will be unable to dodge or block the hits that soon follow. As a result, the affected character will be unable to do ''anything'' since they are being attacked too quickly to even recover from hitstun. The ability to string together very long and damaging Combos is a mark of skill among HardCore gamers, but also presents a problem: if a player can make their fighter string together a nearly infinite sequence of hits, the opponent becomes unable to escape the inevitable [[DeathOfAThousandCuts Death Of A Thousand Punches]].

Therefore, a solution was developed to prevent Combos from becoming {{Game Breaker}}s: a specialized game mechanic that allows a player to escape from the middle of a combo attack so they can retaliate while their opponent is left vulnerable, rather than stand there helplessly, as their HitPoints are battered away. Depending on the game, this may involve a separate button combination rather than the usual defensive command, or it may incur some kind of cost to discourage players from overusing it, such as relying on a power gauge, or being CastFromHitPoints.

Thus, a truly skilled fighter must not only master the ability to string hits together to make combos, but also master the ability to escape from them as well. Should two players who have mastered the Combo Breaker technique fight head-to-head, the ensuing battle will involve a lot of tactical improvisation as the two fighters continuously break out from underneath their opponent's attacks.

Since it usually just requires precise timing and\or quick reactions, it's all too tempting to make [=AI=] very good at this to compensate for its shortcomings elsewhere. See ComputersAreFast.

* The ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' series has the Psyche Burst from XX onward, a move any character can use while he is being hit or from blocking, which turns him invincible for a second while delivering a no-damage hit in an area around the user. Each use costs him a full Burst bar, but he can get some of it back if it hits an opponent. Perform it when not being comboed and it'll be gold and will fill up your Tension bar if it connects.

* Much like ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' also has Bursts. In addition to the defensive burst that lets you break out from a combo and a neutral one that fills your SP bar if it connects, there's also an offensive burst (known in-game as the One More! Burst) that can be used while in the middle of a combo of your own. A successful One More! Burst knocks the opponent into the air and makes them unable to recover until they hit the ground, as well as dialing back damage scaling temporarily so that any followup moves do additional damage to the opponent. Unlike VideoGame/BlazBlue (and like VideoGame/GuiltyGear), Burst slowly recovers on its own after being used and has no permanent cost associated with it. In addition, hitting the enemy with your universal auto-combo refills the Burst Gauge by 1/8. The sequel, ''Persona 4 Arena Ultimax,'' introduces Shadow-type characters that lack a burst and other defensive options in exchange for more offensive abilities.

In {{Fighting Game}}s, {{combos}} are technically defined as any combination of attacks where if the first hit lands, the opponent will be unable to dodge or block the hits that soon follow -- indeed, the character will be unable to do ''anything'' since they are being struck too quickly to even recover from hitstun.

The ability to string together very long and damaging Combos is a mark of skill among the [[HardCore elite gamers]], but if a player can make their fighter string together a nearly infinite sequence of hits, with the opponent unable to escape the inevitable [[DeathOfAThousandCuts Death Of A Thousand Punches]], how does a game developer keep Combos from becoming a GameBreaker?

Enter the Combo Breaker: A game mechanic that allows a player to escape from the middle of a combo attack so they can retaliate while the opponent is open, rather than stand there helplessly, as their HitPoints are battered away. Depending on the game, this may involve a separate button combination rather than the usual defensive command, or it may incur some kind of cost to discourage players from overusing it, such as relying on a power gauge, or being CastFromHitPoints.

* A rare non-FightingGame example, in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', starting from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' onwards, some bosses have a "revenge value," which causes them to instantly retaliate in a specific way if you hit them too many times in succession. [[BonusBoss Sephiroth]], for instance, will teleport out of Sora's combo and attack from a safe distance. The Payback moves in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]'' allow the player to do this, to some extent, by retaliating immediately after being knocked back by an enemy.

** The first is a common skill available to all classes called "Quick Rebound" that leaves the player crouching on the floor on wakeup while the jump button is held, providing temporary invulnerability. While it doesn't see much use in the early game, mid- to endgame dungeons have attack patterns that [[ChekovsGun revolve around this specific skill]], ranging from "combos" with intentional holes to Quick Rebound out of, to whole-screen TotalPartyWipe AreaOfEffect attacks precluded by a zero-damage knockdown as the only opportunity to avoid them.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHeartsR'' lets enemies break out of combos at random times, though not on long combos. However these breakers are clearly choreographed, press block just as it lands and you'll interrupt your own combo to break their breaker, and get to start the combo anew.

* ''VideoGame/GrandChase'' lets you expand your ManaMeter to escape multi-hit attacks. However, not all attacks allow this and still expand your Mana. It also doesn't strike the enemy back like most {{Combo Breaker}}s. The game itself calls this a "CounterAttack."

* ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' is the [[TropeNamer T-T-T-T-TROPE NAMER!!!]] Combos have various 'stages' to them, some of which are immune to being broken, some of which are not.[[note]]A full combo in ''Killer Instinct 2'' goes Opener --> Auto-Double --> Manual Auto-Double --> Manual Auto-Double --> Linker Auto-Double --> Manual Auto-Double --> Manual Auto-Double --> Finisher[[/note]] In the first game and the 2013 game, the breaker must be done based on the strength of the attack used in the attacker's combo. In ''Killer Instinct 2,'' the breaker must be done with Punch if the attacker is using Kick, and vice-versa. Unique to the 2013 game, the breaker ''itself'' can be broken, which allows the combo to continue and temporarily disables combo breakers.
--> '''[[MemeticMutation C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!!]]''' '''[[UpToEleven C-C-C-COUNTER BREAKER!!!]]'''
* In the ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart'' games, going into the once-per-round [[SuperMode Arcana Force]] mode will automatically free a player from a normal combo. Super attacks cannot be escaped.
** In ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart 3'', this has been separated into [[SuperMode Extend Force]], which acts as a {{Cancel}} instead, and Arcana Burst, which functions as a Combo Breaker.

* ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' has the Megacrash, which costs two super meters and a percentage of health.
** This in turn is a ShoutOut to old Capcom [[BeatEmUp Beat 'em ups]] where the Megacrash was an attack that hit opponents on all sides of you, getting you out of sticky situations, at the cost of some life.
* ''VideoGame/GrandChase'' lets you expand your ManaMeter to escape multi-hit attacks. However, not all attacks allow this and still expand your Mana. It also doesn't strike the enemy back like most {{Combo Breaker}}s. The game itself calls this a "CounterAttack."
* ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'''s Infinity Breaker is tied in to its unique "Infinite Prevention System." The only time you can break out of a combo is when the game detects that an [[GameBreaker infinite combo]] (i.e. a combo that has started to repeat itself) is being used. A later patch added a second method to enable a burst, which revolves around filling the Drama bar through getting hit by non-[[LimitBreak Blockbuster]] attacks during a combo. The latter itself is based on a system in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'' where characters would eventually "dizzy" out of a combo after receiving one too many hits. Lab Zero simply changed it so that instead of automatically falling out, players could now choose to break out of the combo as they felt that this led to more deeper, more involved game.

* Some bosses in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' are able to spontaneously escape from combos by starting an unstoppable attack while being struck. The effectiveness of this varies, as in some cases, the attack can simply be avoided and the combo continued afterward, while others will simply never attempt to do this if struck with certain attacks. More recent titles are nice enough to warn you when this about to happen so you can react in advance.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', both player and bosses alike can activate Overlimit mode to stagger or knock back nearby foes, allowing them to turn the tables.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHeartsR'' lets enemies break out of combos at random times, though not on long combos. However these breakers are clearly choreographed, press block just as it lands and you'll interrupt your own combo to break their breaker, and get to start the combo anew.

* ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'' has an enemy variation of this called [[ScrappyMechanic Forced Evasion]] that makes you unable to continue attacking them, causes them to block the rest of your current attack for 0 damage and can also allow them to counterattack afterwards: while it's not a true Combo Breaker in sense that the enemy can only use it if you screw up your combo timing and cause them to fall to the ground, it's extremely easy to do by accident because of the strict timing on when to use each move, the varying weight of different types of enemies and because breaking enemy shields most of them get later in the game throws them high into the air and almost invariably screws up the natural flow of your current attack: they can also trigger Forced Evasion off a wallbounce that hits them when they're too low to the ground, which is next to impossible to anticipate.
** The sequel thankfully fixes this mechanic in several ways: the enemies now have a shared gauge that fills up when you kick their ass, and they can only use Forced Evasion when it's full and the chance for each individual enemy to use it if they fall out of your combo is shown next to the gauge, which also empties out if it's triggered. Enemies that have shields also have a visible gauge to show how close you are to breaking it to prepare for it, and some characters have attacks that instantly break the enemy's shield if they connect, which makes them meaningless if you set it as their first attack in their combo. There's also several ways to reduce the gauge, and [=PCs=] can also use Forced Evasion against enemy attacks, although it costs half of your LimitBreak bar to use and doesn't work on enemy {{Limit Break}}s, which bosses often like to spam at you.
* Much like ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' also has Bursts. In addition to the defensive burst that lets you break out from a combo and a neutral one that fills your SP bar if it connects, there's also an offensive burst (known in-game as the One More! Burst) that can be used while in the middle of a combo of your own. A successful One More! Burst knocks the opponent into the air and makes them unable to recover until they hit the ground, as well as dialing back damage scaling temporarily so that any followup moves do additional damage to the opponent. Unlike VideoGame/BlazBlue (and like VideoGame/GuiltyGear), Burst slowly recovers on its own after being used and has no permanent cost associated with it. In addition, hitting the enemy with your universal auto-combo refills the Burst Gauge by 1/8. The sequel, ''Persona 4 Arena Ultimax,'' introduces Shadow-type characters that lack a burst and other defensive options in exchange for more offensive abilities.
* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' has a combo breaker system that only works for air combos. Once you juggle your opponent into the air, you can switch out with the other characters in your team and continue the combo by either launching your opponent against the far side of the screen and back towards you, up into the air, or down into the ground to bounce back up. The only way to break free of one of these combos is to match the direction that the combo intends on going with next. If you intend on launching your opponent up into the air, your opponent has to match by pressing Up + Launch at the same time to break free. This system is actually the only way to keep most combos going anyways, since characters aren't designed to keep the enemy on the ground infinitely, or by themselves. Eventually they have to switch to another team member.
* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'' has the Counter Switch mechanic, which allows you to switch out your character while they're taking damage in exchange for two stocks of the super meter.
* ''VideoGame/NarutoClashOfNinja'' has [[NinjaLog Substitution]], which teleports you behind the opponent for a free hit, but costs three-fourths of your [[ManaMeter chakra]].
* ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStormGenerations'' instead makes this part of the core gameplay tactics and adjusts its usage to compensate. Instead of taking chakra, characters have a separate bar for substitution, which they can only use three times before having to wait for the charges to cool down. Thus, players have to know when they have to take the hits or risk getting chained in by longer combos.
* The ''{{Franchise/Bleach}}'' fighting games for UsefulNotes/NintendoDS allow players to escape combos at the cost of a super bar.
* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' has holds, which can be performed in most stuns from ''[=DOA2=]'' onwards. Using the correct hold will usually reward you with damage and a knockdown, depending on the character, and timing the hold correctly will grant more damage. Cue lots of [[ButtonMashing hold spamming]] during stun. Although, if the attacker thinks the opponent will hold, they can stop their combo and use a throw, which will do 150% damage to a holding opponent. Against some characters, [[OhCrap that's over half your health gone]].
* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' has the Clash, which is only available on your character's second health bar. However, in addition to breaking a combo, there's also a wagering portion where each player "bets" part of their super meter. If you bet more than your opponent, you recover health; otherwise, you take additional damage. This means that you have to take care when activating a Clash.
* While not a fighting game, the John Woo-influenced shooter ''Double Action: Boogaloo'' revolves around a slow-mo mechanic. Players can disrupt each other's use of slow-mo by using their own, "stealing" the benefits and halting possible rampages in their tracks.
* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' has throws, attacks and counter attacks that break the enemy's own combo. They act as a stun, so you can get your own in.
* In the ''VideoGame/GundamVsSeries'', a player can escape from a combo by activating their [[SuperMode Awakening]] while being hit; however, this can only be done when the Awakening gauge is 100% full, and costs 20% of the meter right off the top (the defense-oriented Extend Burst from ''Maxi Boost'' lets you pull this off once you're at 50% or higher).
* ''VideoGame/RisingThunder'' gives everyone a choice between a combo breaker (Kinetic Deflect) and a [[LagCancel dash cancel]] (Kinetic Advance), which they can change before and between games. If Kinetic Deflect is activated while being comboed, it deploys a BeehiveBarrier that knocks the enemy across the screen. Using it while not being comboed shows the barrier and wastes half the normal amount of energy.

* In ''VideoGame/FightOfAnimals'', Bursting is done by pressing the Super button, consumes the player's Super meter, and knocks the opponent away, interrupting their combo.

* ''VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaStormGenerations'' instead makes this part of the core gameplay tactics and adjusts its usage to compensate. Instead of taking chakra, characters have a separate bar for substitution, which they can only use three times before having to wait for the charges to cool down. Thus, players have to know when they have to take the hits or risk getting chained in by longer combos.