History Main / DualModeUnit

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} DawnOfWar'': Most units have both [[GunAndSword melee and ranged]] attacks, and switch between both when ordered. However, they go into melee if attacked by a melee unit, leading to problems with CripplingOverspecialization ranged units.

** Nod Artillery and the GDI Juggernaut in ''CommandAndConquer: Tiberian Sun'' also follow this model.

* The ''CommandAndConquer'' originally used this sparingly:

* Spin off studio Petroglyph's game ''UniverseAtWar'' had the Masari, whose entire military doctrine relies upon this trope. All units and buildings could switch between Light and Dark Mode. Light Mode increased the damage and sight range of units, while Dark Mode strengthened their armor instead (air units would also be grounded by switching). Even the superweapon of the Masari behaved differently depending on its mode.

** Artillery units in ''RiseOfNations'' switch modes more and more quickly as you move forward through the TechTree -- initially it takes quite a few seconds with the catapult, which must be assembled and armed, whereas it takes only a split second with the rocket artillery while the missile launcher is tilted upwards.

** The [[PreCursors Ancient Tech]] Flail and Switchblade could all deploy for alternate abilities. The Switchblade functioned like a weak HoverTank normally but could deploy into a turret, whereas the Flail was unarmed while mobile but could deploy into an artillery vehicle and fire a shell that would travel for kilometers.

* The Terran Republic's Prowler main battle tank in ''PlanetSide 2'' is moderately armored, fast, and kitted out with a pair of 120mm cannons. Its primarily "Utility" ability is Anchored Mode, which causes its wheels to deploy pitons into the ground, locking it in place, and [[MoreDakka ramping up its dakka potential to a whole new level]] - when maxed out, Anchored Mode increase the rate of fire by 48% projectile speed by 30%, allowing it to blast vehicles from a kilometer out with its rapid fire Armor-Piercing cannon or [[AntiAir swat aircraft out of the sky when parked on a hill]], or [[InstantDeathRadius murder all infantry within half a mile]] when kitted out with the High Explosive cannons. The TR's [[PoweredArmor MAX armor]] in both games has Lockdown, which like the tank, anchors the MAX into the ground with thigh-mounted pitons, while [[MoreDakka increasing its rate of fire and reload speed]]. In the original game, the MAX was designed around Lockdown - it had terrible DPS unless it was locked down, but became pin-point accurate and could out-DPS every other MAX when it was locked down. ''Planetside 2'''s Lockdown is less powerful in exchange for the MAX being more useful when not locked down.

* ''{{Starcraft}}'' really got the ball rolling. Nearly every Terran unit has some kind of special ability, but the one that fits the pattern best is the Siege Tank. It goes from a mobile tank with a decent cannon and no minimum range (a bit lacking in the ability to well,[[PaperTiger ''tank'']]) to a fixed artillery gun with a powerful, long range attack. Other units have different attack modes for air or ground targets, but that mode switch is automatic.

* ''{{Warcraft}} 3'' has several examples:

* The Terran Republic's Prowler main battle tank in ''PlanetSide 2'' is moderately armored, fast, and kitted out with a pair of 120mm cannons. Its primarily "Utility" ability is Anchored Mode, which causes its wheels to deploy pitons into the ground, locking it in place, and [[MoreDakka ramping up its dakka potential to a whole new level]] - when maxed out, Anchored Mode increases the Prowler's rate of fire by 48%, reduces reload time by 48% and its projectile velocity is increased to 30%, allowing it to blast vehicles from a kilometer out with its rapid fire Armor-Piercing cannon or [[AntiAir swat aircraft out of the sky when parked on a hill]], or [[InstantDeathRadius murder all infantry within half a mile]] when kitted out with the High Explosive cannons. The TR's [[PoweredArmor MAX armor]] in both games has Lockdown, which like the tank, anchors the MAX into the ground with thigh-mounted pitons, while [[MoreDakka increasing its rate of fire and reload speed]]. In the original game, the MAX was designed around Lockdown - it had terrible DPS unless it was locked down, but became pin-point accurate and could out-DPS every other MAX when it was locked down. ''Planetside 2'''s Lockdown is less powerful in exchange for the MAX being more useful when not locked down.

* ''{{Starcraft}}'' really got the ball rolling. Nearly every Terran unit has some kind of special ability, but the one that fits the pattern best is the Siege Tank. It goes from a mobile tank with a decent cannon and no minimum range to a fixed artillery gun with a powerful, long range attack. Other units have different attack modes for air or ground targets, but that mode switch is automatic.

* Most TransformingMecha in the ''SuperRobotWars'' series are given dual modes when playable. For example, the Valkryies of ''{{Macross}}'', or the OriginalGeneration mecha [[SuperRobotWarsGaiden Cybuster]], [[SuperRobotWarsAlpha Real Personal Trooper Type-1 (R-1)]], and [[SuperRobotWarsW Valhawk]], which are often faster in their flying modes, but usually have more attack options as mecha. The Grungust has this, as well as ''another'' alt-mode (Gust Lander) that transforms it into a tank.

!!Video Game Examples :

** Another good example is the Lurker. Traditionally the Zerg burrow units to hide them from the enemy, but the Lurker - which is completely unarmed in its standard walking mode - turns into a horrible slice-and-mince troop blender when burrowed.

* ''StarControl'' had two: First, the Mmrnmhrm X-Form, a swing-wing ship with two modes, one was slow but nimble and armed with short range lasers while the other was fast, armed with (very) long range slightly guided rockets and all the nimble turning speed of a anvil. Second, the Androsynth Guardian which could turn from a slow ship into a destructive comet, maneuverability and weapons for speed and the ability to ram.

* Quite a few in the NintendoWars series. For example, Tanks and Mechanized Infantry units usually carry an anti-vehicle weapon (Cannons for the Tanks, Bazookas for the Mechs) and an anti-infantry weapon (Machine guns and rifles.) [[EmergencyWeapon The anti-infantry weapons can be used on vehicles if the anti-vehicle weapon is out of ammo]], but it does considerably less damage, and in earlier games in the series, it also has limited ammo.

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} DawnOfWar: Most units have both [[GunAndSword melee and ranged]] attacks, and switch between both when ordered. However, they go into melee if attacked by a melee unit, leading to problems with CripplingOverspecialization ranged units.

* The Civil War Generals games from Sierra had most units with two formations, typically one for movement and one for combat. Some units (the HQ and artillery units) were immobile in their non-movement formation.
* WorldInConflict: All units have 2 different secondary abilities, and/or types of ammo. Jeeps can repair other vehicles and change to heavier ammo, infantry can speed up, APC can fire anti-tank rocket etc.
* InazumaEleven 2 has a few characters that can change modes, namely Fubuki and Kogure.

* In [[{{Stronghold}} Stronghold 2,]] knights and lords can be mounted on horses, turning them from the slowest to the fastest regular units in the game.
* LeagueOfLegends gives us Nidalee a huntress that can with her ultimate ability switch form to a cougar to get a new set of abilities. She of course can switch back.

!!Other Examples:
* Non-video game example (but exists in videogame adaptions anyway), ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'' has a MidSeasonUpgrade machine of the protagonist able to change between three modes of the machine settings during a race: Curcuit mode for balanced adjust, Aero mode for speed favored, and Rally mode for offroad racing. The sequels remove offroad tracks, so Super Asurada is modified into having only first two modes. In addition, at the end series, every single team but one use dual mode cars to race.

* SuperRobotWars has multi-form mecha like GetterRobo, ZetaGundam, or Aquarion. Most of these will sacrifce power and defence for speed. Usually one form will be MUCH more helpful than the others, but some games will make the differant forms more balanced.

** The Night Elf Druids can, after [[YouHaveResearchedBreathing you have researched the proper upgrades]], transform into animal forms that function as very different units. The Druid of the Claw is a healer and support caster in default Night Elf form, but becomes a powerful heavy melee unit in Bear Form. The Druid of the Talon is a disruptive caster in Night Elf form, but becomes a flying scout and anti-air unit in Crow Form.

** This even shows up in the distinctly FourX ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'', where Siege units[[note]]what the game calls artillery, since Artillery in the ''Civilization'' series refers consistently to mid-to-late Industrial Age breech-loading cannon[[/note]] must "set up" to fire, expending a movement point. After setting up, they may either fire or retreat, but not both. For whatever reason, however, setting up doesn't have any special animation associated with it.

** The first example came in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun'', where one of Nod's tanks could deploy into a stationary turret (and undeploy into a tank again, if necessary).

** ''Starcraft II'' features the Viking, a TransformingMecha that can switch between a ground-based and aerial unit.

* The ''CommandAndConquer'' originally used this sparingly. The first example came in ''Tiberian Sun'', where one of Nod's tanks could deploy into a stationary turret (and undeploy into a tank again, if necessary). This was expanded upon in ''Red Alert 2'', where Allied GI units (their basic infantry) could deploy behind sandbags to increase their range, power, and defense at the cost of movement, and the IFV, which could carry a single infantryman, and swapped out it's missiles for a different weapon depending on which trooper was in it. The ExpansionPack added Guardian [=GIs=], whose deployment allowed them to attack armor and Anti-Air. ''Red Alert 3'' took it to the next level and specifically designed every unit to have a special ability, which often meant an alternate mode. The special abilities range from weapon switches like [[RedShirt Conscripts]] that can switch from rifles to molotov cocktails; to units that deploy into expansion structures. The Empire of the Rising Sun is the real standout. They are the only faction that does not have an airbase structure because all of their air units are transformed from sea units, HumongousMecha, or infantry with jetpacks (who either shoot rockets or unit-disabling beams).

* Almost all units in ''Star Wars: EmpireAtWar'' and its expansion, including heroes. Most of the time, this helps to offset [[CripplingOverspecialization Crippling Overspecialization]]. Artillery units have to deploy to fire their main weapons, AT-AT's can deploy stormtroopers, Airspeeders can use their harpoons and tow cables to trip up AT-AT's (except ''Blizzard 1'', and sometimes the move doesn't work), ''Immobilizer 418'' cruisers (aka Interdictor Star Destroyer's or Interdictor Cruisers) must manually activate their Gravity Well Generators, and also have a missile/torpedo-jamming ability, ''Crusader''-class corvettes can shoot down incoming missiles/torpedoes, etc. etc.

* Warhammer40K DawnOfWar: Most units have both [[GunAndSword melee and ranged]] attacks, and switch between both when ordered. However, they go into melee if attacked by a melee unit, leading to problems with CripplingOverspecialization ranged units.

* Long-range artillery units in many games often have a "packed" and "unpacked" mode that allows the unit to move or fire, respectively.
** Trebuchets in ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'' need to be manually packed to move and unpacked to fire, and take several seconds to do so. Thankfully, they'll do the latter automatically when they move into range of the target.

* ''{{Emperor Battle For Dune}}'': House Ordos' heaviest tank the Kobra has two modes one mobile and one stationary.

* {{League of Legends}} gives us Nidalee a huntress that can with her ultimate ability switch form to a cougar to get a new set of abilities. She of course can switch back.

<<|VideoGameTropes|>>

* The ''CommandAndConquer'' originally used this sparingly. The first example came in ''Tiberian Sun'', where one of Nod's tanks could deploy into a stationary turret (and undeploy into a tank again, if necessary). This was expanded upon in ''Red Alert 2'', where Allied GI units (their basic infantry) could deploy behind sandbags to increase their range, power, and defense at the cost of movement, and the IFV, which could carry a single infantryman, and swapped out it's missiles for a different weapon depending on which trooper was in it. The ExpansionPack added Guardian [=GIs=], whose deployment allowed them to attack armor and Anti-Air. ''Red Alert 3'' took it to the next level and specifically designed every unit to have two modes. The special abilities range from weapon switches like [[RedShirt Conscripts]] that can switch from rifles to molotov cocktails; to units that deploy into expansion structures. The Empire of the Rising Sun is the real standout. They are the only faction that does not have an airbase structure because all of their air units are transformed from sea units, HumongousMecha, or infantry with jetpacks (who either shoot rockets or unit-disabling beams).

* The ''CommandAndConquer'' originally used this sparingly. The first examples came in ''Red Alert 2'', where Allied GI units (their basic infantry) could deploy behind sandbags to increase their range, power, and defense at the cost of movement. Another example was the IFV, which could carry a single infantryman, and swapped out it's missiles for a different weapon depending on which trooper was in it. The ExpansionPack added Guardian [=GIs=], whose development allowed them to attack armor and Anti-Air. ''Red Alert 3'' took it to the next level and specifically designed every unit to have two modes. The special abilities range from weapon switches like [[RedShirt Conscripts]] that can switch from rifles to molotov cocktails; to units that deploy into expansion structures. The Empire of the Rising Sun is the real standout. They are the only faction that does not have an airbase structure because all of their air units are transformed from sea units, HumongousMecha, or infantry with jetpacks (who either shoot rockets or unit-disabling beams).

* The Cybran Nation in SupremeCommander has a T2 naval unit that can sprout legs and walk on land. This transition takes a significant amount of time.

!!Examples :