History Main / ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon

* Most long range combat in ''{{Runescape}}'' falls into this territory. There are three styles of combat: ranging, melee, and magic. Mages are almost entirely SquishyWizards who have an advantage when they fight at a distance.... but in Runescape, fighting at a distance while still being close enough to fight means being only a few seconds away. And if you try running away, you break off from fighting, and casting a spell will stop you where you are.

This may be because extremely long range fights don't look [[RuleOfCool as exciting]]. Watch a Website/YouTube video from the Iraq war or Afghanistan and notice how rarely you can even clearly see the enemy beyond the few muzzle flashes of their weapons. That being said, in many cases, [[RealityIsUnrealistic effective range is only a tiny fraction of a weapon's actual range]] due to visibility, concealment, battle stress, and supression fire. It's hard to be accurate at a kilometer even if your weapon can reach out that far, unless you have plenty of time to aim.

This may have to do that extremely long range fights don't look [[RuleOfCool as exciting]]. Watch a Website/YouTube video from the Iraq war or Afghanistan and notice how rarely you can even clearly see the enemy beyond the few muzzle flashes of their weapons. That being said, in many cases, [[RealityIsUnrealistic effective range is only a tiny fraction of a weapon's actual range]] due to visibility, concealment, battle stress, and supression fire. It's hard to be accurate at a kilometer even if your weapon can reach out that far, unless you have plenty of time to aim.

** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' does let you hit targets from as far as you can see them with the right guns, so instead deprives you of your perfectly-placed Boom, Headshot by putting large, tall rocks or other scenery with [[HitboxDissonance even larger and taller collision boxes]] all over the Mojave, making actual sniping pretty much impossible since your target is always either hidden from view until you're five feet away from them or on the far side of an invisible wall. [[spoiler:A perfect demonstration is in the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, if you've sided with the NCR - the Legate's camp has a sniper nest that, in real-world terms, is placed perfectly to overlook the entire camp and snipe any intruders, but in game-engine terms, is entirely useless because it is impossible for either the occupant to shoot out of it or you to shoot into it.]]

Commonly shows up when using a [[ShortRangeShotgun shotgun]] or a [[NonFatalExplosions hand grenade]]. May result in a NoScope kill with a SniperRifle. Contrast SniperPistol, where the weapon has range far better than what it's supposed to have in RealLife. And don't confuse with NoRangeLikePointBlankRange, where getting up close and personal with a long range weapon is a conscious effort.

* Justified in StargateSG1. The Goa'uld staff weapons are incredibly impractical to aim and mostly used at much shorter range than their power would allow. In one episode this is stated to be because their main purpose is intimidation rather than actual fighting.

* In some discussions on guns, people sometimes bring up how the Kalashnikov series assault rifles are known to be inaccurate and somehow assume that this means it can't hit ''anything'' at range. The accuracy of the AKM is actually on par for weapons of its class (~4Moa; 4 inch shot groups @ 100M, and the accuracy standard for M4’s is 5MoA[[note]]The reason for the bad reputation is that the original AK-47 had the wrong rifling for its cartridge, which played merry hell with accuracy; the AKM fixed this[[/note]].). Assault rifles are intended to engage out to 400 yards at most, but mostly fight at ranges of 100 meters or less. The factory specs give the effective range for aimed fire against individuals as 350M (385Yds). The accuracy of the AK-74 and later Kalashnikov models are generally comparable to and, in certain conditions, sometimes better than M16/M4 type rifles, typically hitting around 2MoA. All Soviet troops had to qualify on the AK-47/AKM at 350M (385Yds) with the open iron sights. Soviet and Russian troops qualify on the AK-74 at 500M (550Yds) with the standard iron sights.\\
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The barrels of AK’s are known for whipping and swaying when fired. All gun barrels do this to some extent; it’s not dangerous or a sign of weakness in the gun. It’s just more visible in the AK because there is a larger unshrouded section where the barrel can be observed.

* Played egregiously straight in ''CityOfHeroes''. Its Sniper Rifle attachment starts with a base range of 150 feet, [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality keeping it in line with similar Powers from less tool-oriented sets]] (like Sniper Blast from Energy Blast). Meanwhile, enemy snipers have ranges that extend into (and beyond!) visual range, and it's almost never a good idea for any PlayerCharacter with an Assault Rifle to opt for the [[GoodOldFisticuffs Brawl]] ability at close range. (Enemy in your grill? Ram the barrel down his throat!) !
* ''AceCombat'', so much. In ''Shattered Skies'', the standard missile was good up to only 900 feet. A real-world short-range IR AAM, like the AIM-9 Sidewinder, can reach at least 1 km, three times that. The ''Shattered Skies'' XLAA "advanced long range air-to-air missile" topped out at almost 3000 feet. For comparison, the MBDA Meteor BVRAAM, which the Eurofighter's XLAA is modeled after, has an operational range exceeding 100 km. ''A hundred times that.'' Later games made the ranges slightly longer, but still not to real-world levels.

* In ''GearsOfWar'', the standard assault rifle has a ''chainsaw bayonet''. [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality The issues with weight and fuel in real life don't appear in the game]] (though the protagonists are muscular and huge), as well as the probability of mucking up the rifle's barrel by getting blood and flesh in it, but as humanity's alien enemies, the Locust, have tough hides and favour swarm tactics, it just may be justified in-universe.

* In the first ''{{Metroid}}'', as well as the remake, ''Metroid: Zero Mission'', your Power Beam has a very short range until you collect the Long Beam power-up, which removes the range cap. Thus, until you get the Long Beam, this trope is imposed upon the player by the game.
* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'', both Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert, Rifle Infantry have such short range that splash damage from supporting infantry behind them will often damage the rifles in front. Particularly bad when one considers that a ''hand grenade'' can be tossed farther than these rifles can shoot. Also, ballistic artillery will only barely outrange a tank's cannon.

* ''FrontMission'', playing similarly to ''FireEmblem'' [[XMeetsY but with]] ''MechWarrior'' stylings, doesn't just play this straight, it rams into it full-speed on jet-powered roller skates. Nothing but missiles and special artillery can shoot above 1 square's distance away, and that square is shown to be about 30-50 feet to someone who doesn't know [[HumongousMecha wanzer]] specs off by heart. And considering you're fighting using [[HumongousMecha wanzers]], it's proportionally closer to being 10-15 feet away from each other.

* In ''MedalOfHonor: Allied Assault'', Nazis will frequently move in and melee your RedShirtArmy allies to death, as the latter are [[ArtificialStupidity too dumb to fight back at close range or shoot them from long range]]. The player's pistol is practically useless for anything more than a couple meters away, averting the SniperPistol trope. Ditto for the SMG's, particularly the MP40.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty [[ModernWarfare 4]]'' and later have a form of this, where specific weapons will be unable to damage anyone past certain ranges depending on their class (a sniper rifle will reach farther than an assault rifle, which reaches farther than an SMG, and so on). This has some unfortunate side-effects, such as making actual long-range sniping with anything other than the [[{{BFG}} Barrett .50cal]] a waste of time and ammo, and shotguns [[ShortRangeShotgun worthless all the goddamn time]].

* WorldWarII militaries, working on assumptions based on WorldWarI combat, issued large and heavy rifles, boasting that their infantrymen should be able to hit targets up to a mile away or more. Then they found out that during most of this conflict, the trope had been played [[RealityIsUnrealistic straight as an arrow.]] Two thirds of US soldiers issued with rifles never fired a shot during the entire conflict. This was because identifying a target at extreme range is difficult, and soldiers were trained never to fire unless they could guarantee a hit - which was ''completely impossible'' in a firefight, where things are far too hectic to aim properly. There was also the psychological problem of firing at a target that is just a speck that is doing nothing hostile, versus firing at a target up close that is trying to kill you. \\

* In some discussions on guns, people sometimes bring up how the Kalashnikov series assault rifles are known to be inaccurate and somehow assume that this means it can't hit ''anything'' at range. The accuracy of the AK-47 and the AKM is actually on par for weapons of its class (~4Moa; 4 inch shot groups @ 100M, and the accuracy standard for M4’s is 5MoA.). Assault rifles are intended to engage out to 400 yards at most, but mostly fight at ranges of 100 meters or less. The factory specs give the effective range for aimed fire against individuals as 350M (385Yds). The accuracy of the AK-74 and later Kalashnikov models are generally comparable to and, in certain conditions, sometimes better than M16/M4 type rifles, Typically hitting around 2MoA. All Soviet troops had to qualify on the AK-47/AKM at 350M (385Yds) with the open iron sights. Soviet and Russian troops qualify on the AK-74 at 500M (550Yds) with the standard iron sights.\\

* Let us consider the humble Assault Rifle from ''CityOfHeroes''. Its Sniper Rifle attachment starts with a base range of 150 feet, [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality keeping it in line with similar Powers from less tool-oriented sets]] (like Sniper Blast from Energy Blast). Meanwhile, enemy snipers have ranges that extend into (and beyond!) visual range, and it's almost never a good idea for any PlayerCharacter with an Assault Rifle to opt for the [[GoodOldFisticuffs Brawl]] ability at close range. (Enemy in your grill? Ram the barrel down his throat!) [[PlayingWithATrope Where does that fit on this page? You decide]]!

** These ranges were in abstract tiles, rather than in a specific unit.

* Snake takes this trope to the next level in his ''SuperSmashBrothers'' appearance--he fires an RPG at his own feet as a smash attack. He is also capable of clubbing his enemies with his mortar.

* ''VideoGame/HellgateLondon''. The maximum range of sniper rifle is less than 100 meter, even extended with sniper skill. Don't even talk about other guns.

* Also shows up, shamefully, in the online MMO ''TabulaRasa'', where due to whatever limitation the designers put on it, limits the range of its ranged weapons to a maximum of around 240 feet (80 yards) for the ''sniper rifle''- never mind that the real-life "accurate" range of a current .50 caliber sniper rifle is ''2000 yards'' (6000 feet - over a mile). Most of the other weapons in the game have "optimum" ranges of less than 30 meters (90 feet). Whoever heard of a rocket launcher with an "optimum" range, period? Or a pistol with a maximum range of 60 feet? Being that the game is from a fictional future, and most of the weapons involved are quite exotic - this is a baffling limitation.

** Fallout 3 doesn't play with it; Bethesda's engine can't handle enemies who fight from long range.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' curves all damage to be most effective at short range. Since the secondary weapon for most classes is a shotgun, and the other weapons (a minigun, a grenade launcher, a few kinds of pistols, a flamethrower) either have enough spread to be hard to use at long range, or retain a great deal of accuracy at long range (the revolver, the sniper rifle, the rocket launcher), it's Justified.
** Averted on any critical hits, as Crits ignore damage fall-off and will deal the full damage of the weapon plus the critical even at the most extreme ranges. This is useful for stuff like the Grenade Launcher and Pistols, where they can be launched much further away with a critboost and hit enemies not even aware of your presence, but is lackluster for weapons that also has spread like the Scattergun and Minigun, since the Critical does not curb bullet spread.

Soldiers with [[MoreDakka carbines or submachine guns]] were far more likely to have fired their weapons at some point, and machine guns got a significant fraction of small arms kills. Almost all kills with small arms occurred at short range. This shocked everyone involved, and lead to the development of the "Assault Rifle", a term used for the bastard child of a submachine gun and rifle - a rifle with light ammunition and a quick refire rate, to allow it to both reach out and hit things as well as provide suppressive fire. Almost every military uses one nowadays, with the large and heavy rifles now firmly within the domain of [[ColdSniper dedicated]] [[FriendlySniper marksmen]].

* The recent ''{{Predators}}'' movie has one of the main protagonists introduce herself as Israeli army sniper, carrying a sniper rifle with serious-business scope and a ballistic computer on top of it. Despite said computer popping up onscreen frequently, the longest range she ever shoots at seems no more than 50 meters.
** To be fair, we should note that most of the action occurs in the woods, where it can be difficult to even see the enemy at any serious distance. Especially when he has a cloaking device.

** As part of their elite status, Commando-type units have much further range than other infantry types. This gets ridiculous in the ''Red Alert'' games, where the Allies' commando has consistently been an ActionGirl with [[GunsAkimbo dual pistols]] who can kill Soviet soldiers in a single bullet.
* In ''SplinterCell'' series, aiming the F2000 gives the impression that Sam Fisher suffers from Parkinson's disease. Hitting someone at a distance of 100 meters is extremely difficult. With a modern, customized rifle. Fitted with optic sights. Used by a top-notch black ops operative. Granted, leaving enemies alive is encouraged in this series, holding his breath (for all of ten seconds or so) gives Sam the stability of a rock wearing night-vision goggles, and the F2000 is generally ''very'' loud.

* MassEffect limits all guns (sniper rifles, assault rifles, missiles, ''tank cannons''...) to 400 meters maximum range. Every gun is technically a mass driver; the pistols would probably be as effective as a present-day rifle. The sequel does a better job by setting almost every firefight in a confined space (skyscraper, spaceship, warehouse, underground base, whatever). There's one blatant instance of the sequel playing it straight when Miranda says she can nail a shot at a hundred meters. This is further out than most fictional gunfights, but it's still spitting distance for a real-life trained rifleman. However, this particular instance is a bit of FridgeBrilliance: Miranda only uses heavy pistols and submachine guns in combat. Hitting a target at 100 meters with a handgun would still be an impressive feat.\\

* Played with, and provides the solution to the whodunnit in the FatherBrown short story [[spoiler: The Arrow of Heaven]].
* Murphy of the DresdenFiles invokes this in Aftermath, mentioning that the RDS on her (highly illegal) P90 was zeroed for relatively close range, because in all her years of being a cop and fighting at Harry's side, she'd fought in less than five long-range encounters.\\

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' is so guilty of this trope it's not even funny. Most ranged combat happens within two arms' lengths (allowing those SuperPrototype mecha to dogfight around each other and exchange melee blows and gunfire in equal measure while reducing those hapless machine-gun wielding {{mooks}} into decorations), and missiles or ''battleship cannons'' aren't used at anything over a few hundred metres worth of distance. Even if we accept that some side effect of the universe's SchizoTech meant that targeting systems never evolved beyond the 'binoculars' stage, it's still bloody ludicrous.\\
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The {{Red Shirt}}s and {{Mook}}s tend to fight at long range, however when even the ''main characters'' (looking at you Suzaku) seem to have graduated from the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy getting in close is ''required''.

* In ''SplinterCell'' series, aiming the F2000 gives the impression that Sam Fisher suffers from Parkinson's disease. Hitting someone at a distance of 100 meters is extremely difficult. With a modern, customized rifle. Fitted with optic sights. Used by a top-notch black ops operative. Granted, leaving enemies alive is encouraged in this series, and the F2000 is generally ''very'' loud.