History Main / ExploitedImmunity

Supertrope to DruggedLipstick (unless there's explicitly another reason the user isn't affected by the drug) and GiveChaseWithAngryNatives (where the hazard is a third party). Compare FriendlyFireproof (for when the hazard in question is your allies' attacks), GoodThingYouCanHeal and AcquiredPoisonImmunity. Contrast ElementalIgnorance, SuicideAttack (where the attacker ''is'' harmed), BriarPatching (when someone tricks an enemy into doing something helpful to them), ImmunityDisability (where immunity of something can be "exploited" ''against'' said immune person), and ImmortalLifeIsCheap. If the attacker's "unharmed" because they've already been harmed, this overlaps with DisabilityImmunity.

** In "The Lion In His Attic", a sorceress infiltrates a partially submerged castle by using magic to make the water withdraw. A man breaks her concentration and causes her spell to lapse, resulting in the water flooding back in and drowning her. The man doesn't care because he's a were-sea lion - he just changes to sea lion form and swims back to the surface.

* In 2nd edition Warhammer 40K, the Avatar of Khaine is completely immune to flame and melta-weapons. The Eldar Fire Dragons carried melta-weapons that were devastating against any vehicle or infantry unit. So some players would deliberately charge in the Avatar at some huge monstrosity like a Hive Tyrant or Carnifex and have a nearby Fire Dragon squad open fire on BOTH combatants. The Avatar comes out unscathed while the enemy is reduced to a smouldering crisp.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series from Generation 3 onwards, the moves sandstorm and hail will cause all pokemon on the field to take gradual damage for the duration of the battle. This damage is negated if the pokemon is a ground/rock type (for sandstorm) or an ice-type (for hail).
** There are some attacks what will deal damage to every one in the battlefield in Double or Triple Battles. Some Pokémon can either prevent damage dealt from them like Flying-type Pokémon are immune to Earthquake or benefit from them like a Pokémon from Dry Skin ability can heal from Surf.

* In ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'', the Rockmen aliens are immune to fire. Therefore, a valid tactic for defeating enemy ships is to use a firebomb to light the ship's interior on fire, then send in your [[BoardingParty Rockmen crew to board the ship]] and interfere with the enemy crew's attempt to put the fires out. Similarly, you can use similar tactics with the Lanian aliens and their immunity to suffocation.

Supertrope to DruggedLipstick (unless there's explicitly another reason the user isn't affected by the drug) and GiveChaseWithAngryNatives (where the hazard is a third party). Compare FriendlyFireproof (for when the hazard in question is your allies' attacks), GoodThingYouCanHeal and AcquiredPoisonImmunity. Contrast ElementalIgnorance, SuicideAttack (where the attacker ''is'' harmed), BriarPatching (when someone tricks an enemy into doing something helpful to them) and ImmortalLifeIsCheap. If the attacker's "unharmed" because they've already been harmed, this overlaps with DisabilityImmunity.

* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', while fighting GrayGoo during the Oisri mission, the Toughs's armor allowed them to survive tactics like [[KillWithWithFire flaming down rooms]] to fry airborne nanite clouds and killing infested SuperSoldiers by [[ExplosiveDecompressionSucks opening hull breaches]].

* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', while fighting GrayGoo during the Oisri mission, the Toughs's armor allowed them to survive tactics like [[KillWithWithFire flaming down rooms]] to fry airborne nanite clouds and kill infested SuperSoldiers by [[ExplosiveDecompressionSucks opening hull breaches]].

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy6'', there are many different enemies that will attack the entire battlefield, including themselves, with powerful attacks. However, as they are either immune to the elements of those attacks or actually gain health from them, the disadvantages of these attacks are lost. This can also be done with playable characters, by equipping them with elemental immune items.

* In an episode of the 1990s ''WesternAnimation/SpiderMan'' cartoon, Tombstone, who doesn't need to breathe, catches the hero in a chokehold inside a room that's filling up with toxic gas.

* In the ''[[Creator/MercedesLackey SERRAted Edge]]'' series, it's common to use a bag of iron filings as an area-effect anti-sidhe weapon that won't hurt human hostages.

* in another gaming comic, this is nuclear dan's tactic of choice. he build's characters that are either immune or highly resistant to fire, and then drops fireballs centered on himself. it gets to the point that he actually forgets that fireball is a long range spell, and he doesn't have to catch himself in the area of effect if for some reason he is not immune.

** A minor example occurs in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0594.html "Rock the Boat"]], when Elan jumps on Kubota's rowboat. When Kubota complains that he's going to sink the boat and drown both of them, Elan reminds him that he isn't wearing any movement-hindering armor (unlike Kubota, who's wearing a breastplate), so he has a better chance of swimming to safety.

** In one ''Draco Tavern'' story, the bartender is infected with a PuppeteerParasite sentient virus. It warns his friends that there's no way to get rid of it without killing the bartender too, only to be [[ShuttingUpNow told that it's treatable with sulfa drugs]] (which would destroy the virus without harming the bartender).

** In "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" the Daleks are defeated by dropping a nuke into an underground pocket of trapped magnetic fields. The resulting surge of magnetism crushes the metal Daleks, while the fleeing humans are unaffected.

This is one of the ways to use a SwissArmySuperpower or to give a TechnicalPacifist a victory. It can also show off an AdaptiveAbility if it's used with something that the character was previously defeated with as well as being one of the many ways to use GeoEffects. If it's used against a protagonist, then expect a struggle to either escape in time or for them to end up stealing whatever was allowing their opponent to pull it off (e.g. stealing a {{mook}}'s parachute after being pushed out of a plane). A monster with a RemovedAchillesHeel will likely use this on a less fortunate member of their own kind to show their new lack-of-weakness off. This can often turn an AwesomeButImpractical attack or strategy into an AwesomeYetPractical one.

[[LiteralMetaphor Sometimes the best offence is a good defence.]] This trope is about characters "attacking" by exposing themselves and their target to danger which they only expect themselves to survive.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series from Generation 3 onwards, the moves sandstorm and hailstorm will cause all pokemon on the field to take gradual damage for the duration of the battle. This damage is negated if the pokemon is a ground/rock type (for sandstorm) or an ice-type (for hailstorm).

** A minor example occurs in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0594.html "Rock the Boat"]], when Elan attempts to sink Kubota's rowboat. When Kubota complains that he's going to drown both of them, Elan reminds him that he isn't wearing any movement-hindering armor (unlike Kubota, who's wearing a breastplate), so he has a better chance of swimming to safety.

* ''Film/{{Constantine}}'' has the title character flush out some demons that have infested a hospital by having his apprentice perform a holy water ritual on the hospital's fire safety system, then holding a cigarette lighter below a smoke detector, triggering the sprinklers to rain holy water. The holy water burns the demons while leaving the humans inside unharmed.

* In ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'', the Valkyrie's Soul Crush ability is essentially this. It instant kills anyone below a certain HP threshold, enemy or ally.

* Indirect example at the end of ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'': Landa thinks Raine [[spoiler:shooting the radio man]] is suicide (via firing squad, for disobeying orders), since Landa had negotiated for safe passage for both of them with Raine's superiors. Raine counters with "Nah, I'll get chewed out. I've been chewed out before." before carving the swastika on Landa's forehead.
* Just before a fight in ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'', Riddick [[StepIntoTheBlindingFight extinguishes two candles in the room, plunging it into darkness]]. This gives him an edge over his foes, since he can see in the dark and they can't.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', C-3PO informs Han Solo that "the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field are 3,720 to 1." But his ship, the Millennium Falcon, is small and manoeuvrable, whereas the Imperial Star Destroyers pursuing him are much larger and prone to being hit.

* A variation in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': it's possible (if risky and requiring perfect timing) to grab an enemy and fall off a ledge, throwing them at the edge of the screen at the last second before dying. If done right, it gets you a point before losing it to suicide, while the opponent is left with a lost point.

-->''"I'm fireproof. You're not."''