History Main / SoLastSeason

** Goku's Kaio-Ken technique is almost never seen used by him after the Frieza Saga, and his transformation into a Super Saiyan had all but obsoleted Kaio-Ken. WordOfGod said that a combination of the two would have {{deadly|Upgrade}} consequences for the user: the Super Saiyan transformation is already stressful on the body, and Kaio-Ken is significantly moreso, enough that so the combination of both would quickly burn out the body; Goku only manages to successfully combine the two in a filler arc where he's already dead and immune to the negative effects. [[spoiler:However, he later learns to combine the Kaio-Ken with his Super Saiyan Blue form (i.e. going Super Saiyan [[UpToEleven as a Super Saiyan God]]), since that transformation is calm and requires a calm mind to use. Even then, it's still a work in progress, initially having a 90% failure rate and throwing Goku's ability to control his ki out of whack after extended use of the combination. But eventually he gets the hang of it and it becomes a regular power-up.]]

* Played UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'', in contrast of the how useful special techniques are in the games because their power is partly calculated by the player's stat, anime version doesn't. Old shooting techniques don't work in the long run, and defensive skills are even more of the offenders, especially in the third season, where TheHero's uber saving techs can't save anything even a '''Sling Shot''' unless it's a newly debuted or upgraded skill, or his [[HotBlooded Hot Blood Gauge]] has just hit the roof. The exception is Endou's initial ''God Hand'' during a match with Dark Emperor, it's being used to stop shots inside the penalty area. Somehow, it's more effective than the two-tier-above ''Mugen the Hand G4.''

* An UpToEleven version with the Designer's backstory in the ''Comicbook/BatmanJamesTynionIV'' storyline "His Dark Designs". Many years ago, the Designer was the archenemy of a detective named Cassander Baker. He would come up with a scheme, Baker would defeat him, he would come up with another scheme that Baker couldn't stop the same way, Baker would defeat him in a new way, and so on. And then he created a scheme, and instead of acting on it, he asked himself what Baker would do. Then he came up with a new scheme building on that, and asked the same question, and so on, for a whole year. And by the time he emerged, everything Baker knew was So ''Twenty'' Seasons Ago.

** The various forms [[UpToEleven beyond Balance Breaker]] apply as well. Issei gains the Triaina in Volume 9, then gets Cardinal Crimson Promotion in the very next volume when that proves insufficient, and Diabolos Dragon God after that. Vali shows a similar progression, starting off able to use Juggernaut Drive under his own power, then Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive and Diabolos Dragon Lucifer after that.

--->'''Pekoms''': Logia's convinced of their invincibility have short lives.

* The MagicalGirl version is {{invoked|Trope}} by [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Arcueid]] in ''VideoGame/BattleMoonWars''. When Kaleido Ruby appears, she immediately designs a new outfit (specifically designed for {{Fanservice}}), and ''steals Caster's staff''.

** Goku's Kaio-Ken technique is almost never seen used by him after the Frieza Saga, and his transformation into a Super Saiyan had all but obsoleted Kaio-Ken. WordOfGod said that a combination of the two would have {{deadly|Upgrade}} consequences for the user: the Super Saiyan transformation is already stressful on the body, and Kaio-Ken is significantly moreso, enough that so the combination of both would quickly burn out the body; Goku only manages to successfully combine the two in a filler arc where he's already dead and immune to the negative effects. [[spoiler:However, he later learns to combine the Kaio-Ken with his Super Saiyan Blue form (i.e. going Super Saiyan [[UpToEleven as a Super Saiyan God]]), since that transformation is calm and requires a calm mind to use. Even then, it's still a work in progress, initially having a 90% failure rate and throwing Goku's ability to control his ki out of whack after extended use of the combination.]]
** The Super Saiyan transformation itself goes from [[TheChosenOne legendary and exclusive]] to being [[UniquenessDecay shared by a handful of individuals at once]], and nearly all of them have access to ascended stages beyond the standard grade. By the time ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' rolls around, there's only two living characters with Saiyan blood that haven't learned to transform into a Super Saiyan: Pan and Bra, and both are infants. The original page quote references how late in the series Vegeta's young son Trunks is merely struggling a bit in the Gravity Room with him, and just suddenly decides to go Super Saiyan to run around more easily, shocking his father. Vegeta then becomes irritated when he learns that Goten, Goku's youngest son, can ''also'' transform. ''Super'' later justifies the lack of uniqueness when Cabba, a Saiyan from Universe 6, is teaching Caulifla how to transform into a Super Saiyan by revealing that [[spoiler:transforming into a Super Saiyan isn't some odd requirement of having a pure heart and righteous rage, but by condensing all of your ki into a spot on your back where the heart and lungs are.]] This may only apply to the more evolved Universe 6 Saiyans, however. And how useful the Super Saiyan transformation is tends to vary depending on the person using it, which causes this trope to be played straight, subverted or zigzagged all together.

* In the climax of ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren [[ReCut Complete]]'', [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] attempts to finish off Sephiroth with his old [[LimitBreak ultimate technique]], the Omnislash, only for all the lead up attacks to be deflected. When he goes for the finisher, Sephiroth ''impales'' him. He ends the fight with an even more powerful Omnislash to win]].

* The MagicalGirl version is {{invoked|Trope}} by [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Arcueid]] in ''VideoGame/BattleMoonWars''. When Kaleido Ruby appears, she immediately designs a new outfit (specifically designed for {{Panty Shot}}s), and ''steals Caster's staff''.

** ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' plays with the trope. The starter plane is functional but unspectacular. It's only at the start of the 5th mission that you're handed two complete junkers, including the [[JokeCharacter Fishbed]]. This is thematic, as it coincides with [[Playercharacter Trigger's]] reassignment to Spare Squadron when he would be working with surplus crap, but the player is [[GameplayAndStorySegregation free to ignore this]].

* ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}} III'' has a form of this in regards to 5.56mm weapons. In real life those are what most modern militaries use, and they're still useful and effective. [[LikeRealityUnlessNoted In-game, however]], the two major modern powers (NATO and CSAT) have upgraded to better body armor that makes 5.56mm weapons - which indigenous forces like the Altis Armed Forces or FIA guerrillas are stuck with - as effective as peashooters, while they've moved on to bigger and better 6.5mm and 7.62mm weapons. This is particularly pronounced with the ''Apex'' DLC, which added [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous new special forces]] to both sides, NATO's CTRG-15 and CSAT's Viper - the latter uses Chinese guns in 5.8mm with equivalent power to what their main forces use, while the former has downgraded to 5.56mm weapons again (albeit in part because the storyline of the expansion doesn't have them actually hanging around to fight CSAT, but rather a local crime syndicate).

* In the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series, when a faction gains access to the [[TankGoodness Mammoth Tank or its equivalent]], it tends to replace their basic tank because of how much stronger it is (a single Mammoth Tank in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars C&C3]]'' can take on 3 of GDI's basic tanks and still win). Outside of the Mammoth Tanks, in more recent games, every faction has some advanced tank or HumongousMecha that is stronger then their basic tank. However, using advanced tanks in place of the basic ones isn't something universally done, because they cost a lot more, and are very slow. Some people actually prefer to stick with the basic tanks and make up for the quality difference with [[ZergRush greater numbers]].

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' uses this as the game's EstablishingCharacterMoment. The first boss, and essentially the first enemy that the player's required to give any attention to, is a ''[[HumongousMecha Metal Gear RAY]]''... which Raiden coolly dispatches with a run-of-the-mill HF blade and a low-performance body. The HopelessBossFight after that with Jetstream Sam serves to establish cyborgs as much more threatening than any Metal Gear.
** In the games after the first Metal Gear Solid, no-kill runs are possible and generally your only non-lethal weapon is a tranquilizer gun given to you early in the game. The tranquilizer gun always has a unlimited silencer and enemy patrols don't raise the alarm when finding sleeping soldiers, so it's also best for sneaking around and no alert runs as well.

* ''VideoGame/RedFaction'' is a particularly egregious example of this...

** In the second game, pistol-caliber weaponry (the pistol, uzi, and submachine gun) becomes pointless once you get access to assault rifles, and likewise the endgame weaponry (i.e. the precision rifle and nano-submachine gun) outclasses the mid-game assault rifles in every possible way. Similar to the first game, the game has a HyperspaceArsenal but there's absolutely no reason to use 2/3rds of it once you get to the later levels.

* Somewhat subverted with the Shofelds in the first two ''VideoGame/SeriousSam'' games. A pair of starter weapons and relatively weak, they're still hit-scan weapons with unlimited ammo and decent for picking off individual enemies from a distance. While the Shofelds are ''technically'' superceded by the Tommy Gun and Sniper Rifle, the Shofelds are still good for mop-up duties if you're worried about conserving ammo for larger hordes of enemies (or huge, powerful enemies that the Sniper Rifle would be far more useful against).

** Oddly enough, this is not a case of effectiveness decay. [[AllThereInTheManual According to the Squid Sisters Stories]], months after the Callie vs. Marie Splatfest, the Squid Sisters gained even greater fame as the biggest stars in Inkling society. However, after they released their first solo recordings, they began following separate paths: Marie was involved in solo concerts, music shows apperances and a career in theater, so they had little quality time together, but their relationship still seemed to be intact when they did. Unfortunately, Callie disappears and, after finding that DJ Octavio broke out of his prison and with Cap'n Cuttlefish missing, Marie moves to Inkopolis Square, taking a break from her career and going into hiding. [[spoiler:Callie disappearing was NOT a coincidence as she was kidnapped and brainwashed by DJ Octavio; and even "Off the Hook" celebrated the reunion of Callie and Marie, saying that "Being the best is too easy without competition" and "It takes two to make the one and only Squid Sisters".]]
* A story-wise example in ''VideoGame/StarCraft''. In ''Brood War'', the Psi Disruptor was introduced as a secret weapon and essentially the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Zerg]]'s KryptoniteFactor by blocking their HiveMind, allowing the UED to take over most of the Swarm and leave Kerrigan considerably weakened until she managed to destroy it with help from her allies. As a result, in ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', when Kerrigan [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge comes for him]], Arcturus Mengsk has his scientists create a new variant, the Psi Destroyer, which uses their HiveMind to ''destroy Zerg''... only to find out Kerrigan has made the acquisition of the Primal Zerg, who lack a HiveMind and as such [[NoSell are immune to the Psi Destroyer]]

A variant occurs in video games, where early weapons like pistols become less useful as [[SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness heavier firepower like machine guns and explosive devices are made available]] to counter the increasing protection offered to opponents. And when this happens on a series wide scale, with the last game or version's content being inferior to the ones following, you have a PowerCreep.

** It's almost impossible to not mention the Sharingan in particular. It started as a fairly simple technique that allowed the user to copy the movements of the enemy, but then Kishimoto started writing in new abilities for it every arc or so, including a stronger variation that could utilize all sort of ridiculous jutsu.

* A story-wise example in ''VideoGame/StarCraft''. In ''Brood War'', the Psi Disruptor was introduced as a secret weapon and essentially the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Zerg]]'s KryptoniteFactor by blocking their HiveMind, allowing the UED to take over most of the Swarm and leave Kerrigan considerably weakened until she managed to destroy it with help from her allies. As a result, in ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', when Kerrigan [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge comes for him]], Arcturus Mengsk has his scientists create a new variant, the Psi Destroyer, which uses their HiveMind to ''destroy Zerg''... only to find out Kerrigan has made the acquisition of the Primal Zerg, who lack a HiveMind and as such [[NoSell are immune to the Psi Destroyer]]* Particular averted in ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Super Robot Taisen Original Generation 2]]''. While many of the prototypes from the first game like the Wildschwein and Wildraubtier had been put out of service and many custom mechs such as the Alteisen and Weissritter need an upgrade in the middle of the game, some units are still as powerfull as in first game like the SRX units.

* Early on''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', one single Lower Moon of the Twelve Kizuki is a serious threat to Tanjiro and his friends; not so much to the higher ranking Hashira slayers, but still. Later, comes the Infinity Castle arc, where the nameless fodder demons are said to be enhanced into being as powerful as any Lower Moon was; said fodder were being [[CurbStompBattle effortlessly stomped on]] and [[ConservationOfNinjutsu in droves]], by every main character at that point.

** Notably, in the manga normal Yugi actually brings up this trope in-universe after beating Joey several times during their stay on the hospital after the Dungeon Dice Monster arc. At the end of the story, he basically become a living embodiment of this trope. In particular, the Ceremonial duel is a long string of this trope coming into play for both side, as it consists of Obeliks, the longest lasting of the God cards being destroyed in 2 turns and marks the first time an Egyptian God Card being destroyed in battle against a non-God card, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl combination attack that beats Marik not being enough to destroy Silent Magician, and the Monster Reborn God card strategy that is abused against Dark Yugi by Marik and plays a pivotal role for Dark Yugi's victory the previous season failing to work at all. Conversely, Dark Yugi also manage to protect Dark Magician from Yugi's [[TheDreaded Gandora]]. To date, the ceremonial duel is the only time Gandora failed to destroy its target for the remainder of the series.

** Jonathan in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'' can't use the Vampire Killer properly, therefore it's one of the worst weapons to use throughout the game, even outclassed by the very first short sword you pick up. However, there is an optional BonusBoss where you can upgrade it, and it becomes one of the best weapons in the game from then on. Annoyingly, many of the mobility upgrades do this. You get the ability to jump on your partner's shoulder, then the better double jump like half an hour later[[note]]While theoretically the two abilities can be used together to effectively give the player a triple jump, there's little use for it in this game[[/note]]. And then you get the super jump after the owl morph which allows you to fly, making the owl obsolete after like three uses[[note]]While the super jump ability is exclusive to Jonathan and the owl form to Charlotte, it's often simpler to switch to Jonathan and use the super jump (which can be used at any time) than to equip the owl spell as Charlotte--at the point where you have both, the only real use for the owl morph is to move through tight spaces[[/note]].

** To an extent [[Videogame/PokemonXAndY Gen 6]] did this to Dragons. Before, only Dragon-type and Ice-type attacks are super effective against it while Steel-type resists Dragon-type attacks. Fairy-type, which is introduced in this generation, is not only super effective against Dragon-type but immune to it.
** In general while there are plenty of Pokemon who are useful at one point but aren't as the adventure goes on, there are plenty who you can get early and can be with you without much issue to the very end. Along with the aforementioned Starly and Magikarp, similar early season Pokemon that remain useful to the end of the adventure in various games include series mascot Pikachu, Ralts, Alolan Grimer, Shroomish, Riolu, and Abra.

** His SignatureMove, Getsuga Tensho, which Urahara says [[InformedAbility would have taken his arm off if he hadn't put up his shield]] and is used to completely blow away Byakuya's Shikai and makes a crater in the ground turns from a FinishingMove to a [[BeamSpam spam move]] after the Soul Society Arc, often needing two of them sandwiching the opponent just to mildly injure him. This is even after the fact Zangetsu stated [[CallingYourAttacks knowing the name of the move]] would strengthen it.

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', early on the series one single Lower Rank demon of the Twelve Kizuki is a serious threat to Tanjiro and his friends, not so much to the higher ranking Hashira slayers, but still. Later comes the Infinity Castle arc where the nameless fodder demons are said to be enhanced into being as powerful as any Lower Rank was, said fodder were being effortless stomped on, in droves, by every main character at that point.
* Don't expect to have a chance against any later villains if the highest state you can evolve to in ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' is Ultimate/Perfect, or have some new kind of evolution like DNA or Matrix evolving. And if under any circumstance you're not a main character and actually ''can'' evolve to the Ultimate/Mega level, expect to require Burst Mode to stand a chance against a villain of ''any'' importance later on. Oh well...at least you can be able to take on a few {{Mooks}}, because there will be ''plenty'' you can take on, just don't expect to be able to face off against the BigBad by yourself.

*** On the plus side, in ''Savers'', pretty much every "main" digimon was able to hit Ultimate/Mega and eventually Burst Mode - whereas prior seasons only had a few characters able to do this, resulting in the rest of the cast being reduced to CantCatchUp status. ''Frontier'', ''Adventures'', and ''Tamers'' were particularly bad (with up to ''three quarters'' of the cast unable to do ''anything'' in the later arcs.)

*** Although largely played straight in ''Fronteir'' where Takuya and Koji take the center stage with Fusion Evolution, the rest of the gang do make the effort to avoid being left behind and remain largely effective for a long while into the series even if the higher evolutions have to step in to land the final blow. Once [[AllYourPowersCombined Unified Spirit Evolution]] becomes a thing however, they end up experiencing this the hardest of any Digimon group, as getting Takuya and Koji into their highest levels involves leaving the rest of the gang literally defenseless without their spirits.

** Weighted clothing. First appears near the end of ''Dragon Ball'' as an effective means of showing IAmNotLeftHanded, all but disappears by the Cell Saga. The idea of training in weighted clothing was replaced by training in artificial gravity chambers. Vegeta, for example, likes to train in ''500 times Earth's gravity'', which adds far more weight to him than any amount of clothing could. Although, Piccolo still trains with weighted clothes and takes them off when he's serious. Also, in ''Super'', one of Whis' training sessions for Goku and Vegeta involved sumo-like suits that Vegeta described as far more heavy than the gravity chamber's highest setting... and when thrown on the ground, they easily sink ''at least'' a dozen feet into the ground.
** Goku's Kaio-Ken technique is almost never seen used by him after the first season, and his transformation into a Super Saiyan had all but obsoleted Kaio-Ken. WordOfGod said that a combination of the two would have {{deadly|Upgrade}} consequences for the user: the Super Saiyan transformation is already stressful on the body, and Kaio-Ken is significantly moreso, enough that so the combination of both would quickly burn out the body; Goku only manages to successfully combine the two in a filler arc where he's already dead and immune to the negative effects. [[spoiler:However, he later learns to combine the Kaio-Ken with his Super Saiyan Blue form (i.e. going Super Saiyan [[UpToEleven as a Super Saiyan God]]), since that transformation is calm and requires a calm mind to use. Even then, it's still a work in progress, initially having a 90% failure rate and throwing Goku's ability to control his ki out of whack after extended use of the combination.]]
** The Super Saiyan transformation itself goes from [[TheChosenOne legendary and exclusive]] to being [[UniquenessDecay shared by a handful of individuals at once]], and nearly all of them have access to ascended stages beyond the standard grade. By the time ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' rolls around, there's only two living characters with Saiyan blood that haven't learned to transform into a Super Saiyan, and both Pan and Bra are infants. The original page quote references how late in the series Vegeta's young son Trunks is merely struggling a bit in the Gravity Room with him, and just suddenly decides to go Super Saiyan to run around more easily, shocking his father. Vegeta then becomes irritated when he learns that Goten, Goku's youngest son, can ''also'' transform. ''Super'' later justifies the lack of uniqueness when Cabba, a Saiyan from Universe 6, is teaching Caulifla how to transform into a Super Saiyan by revealing that [[spoiler:transforming into a Super Saiyan isn't some odd requirement of having a pure heart and righteous rage, but by condensing all of your ki into a spot on your back where the heart and lungs are.]] This may only apply to the more evolved Universe 6 Saiyans, however. And how useful the Super Saiyan transformation is tends to vary depending on the person using it, which causes this trope to be played straight, subverted or zigzagged all together.

** Like the [[spoiler: Kaio-Ken]], Goku and Vegeta zigzag this. After ascending to godhood, they perfect their basic Super Saiyan forms and no longer need Super Saiyan 2 or 3. They can also merge their Super Saiyan forms with their god powers, creating a Super Saiyan Blue, which is basically a more powerful and stable version of Super Saiyan God. However their Super Saiyan Blue forms still tend to get overpowered which forces them to use higher transformation forms to compensate.

** Interestingly, the Kamehameha only gets stronger as the show goes on despite being the first energy technique used. It gets stronger as Goku's Ki rises, and although eventually it gets so high he's able to just toss raw energy around without needing to perform the specific focus and release technique, doing it anyway still creates a stronger blast than if he didn't, and it's still a lot faster than even more powerful techniques like the Spirit Bomb, letting it remain as Goku's go-to energy attack. The same goes for other attacks like the Destructo Disk, Special Beam Cannon and the Neo Tri-Beam as while they're not one-hit murderers, they can be used to clear the room of mooks or keep an enemy on their toes. The Destructo Disk is a special exception because there is nothing in canon that it can't cut through, so it remains useful even into ''Dragon Ball Super'', with its only detriment being Krillin's insistence on [[CallingYourAttacks loudly announcing to his target that he's about to use it]], even when [[WithCatlikeTread he's trying to surprise them with it]].
** One of the first things to go are the special melee attacks used at the very beginning of the series like Goku's Rock-Paper-Scissors or Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist. While effective when it was all they had they're quickly made obsolete by even the basic ki attacks and are quickly forgotten about. Best shown when Yamcha trains to improve the Wolf Fang Fist for the second tournament and the upgraded version fails in its very first and only use. Past around the midpoint of Dragonball they are flat out never used again, not even for an occasional comeback like obsolete ki attacks.
** Even training methods experience this. Goku and Krillin initally train with Master Roshi, and are as a result made so powerful that very few people in the tournament can even stand up to them, to the point Master Roshi himself has to step up in disguise to keep them from easily winning. Later on Goku trains with Master Korrin which allows him to surpass Mercenary Tao, while Krillin and Yamcha train with Master Roshi. Despite training for even longer and more intensely than Goku did at the time, both Korrin's training and his own in the interim still far surpass either of them. This continues on for a quite a while, with Goku getting better training from Kami, then King Kai, then the Gravity Chamber, and so on, while everybody else ends up using the training method Goku was using last time and ending up trailing far behind him. Only the Gravity Chamber really remains in use as an effective training method throughout the franchise, and the amount of Gravity it can generate simply increases.

** Stands in general were meant to avert this, according to Araki. He was aware of having invoked this with Straizo, felt he had done all he could do with Hamon, and (especially after Kars ends his Part by becoming the series' first example of StoryBreakerPower) didn't want to make Part 3's villains one-up the Pillar Men in terms of raw power. Enemy Stand users tend to be [[PuzzleBoss puzzle bosses]] that the heroes (usually) beat through developing their problem-solving skills, not through becoming more powerful or gaining new abilities, though that's not to say they still don't happen, such as in Part 3 [[spoiler:with Jotaro learning during the climax of the fight with DIO that Star Platinum can not only move briefly in the frozen time, but also stop time itself just like The World]] or Part 5 [[spoiler:where Giorno stabs Golden Experience with the Stand Arrow to power it up against Diavolo's King Crimson]]. As a Part continues, its Stand fights tend to have more at stake and require more creativity, but the Stands are usually so different that the same winning strategy is never repeated.

--->"Logia's convinced of their invincibility have short lives."

** Bulbasaur was one of Ash's most used Pokémon, and managed to defeat many mons which would have an advantage over him. When Ash battles a Chikorita (Bulbasaur's [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver successor]] as a Grass starter) with him ... he gets promptly beaten. Chikorita also manages to hold up against [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Charizard]], which not only is fully evolved but has a tremendous advantage in the ElementalRockPaperScissors. That is not to say Bulbasaur did not have later badass moments, of course.

* At the beginning of the Vongola Ring Battle arc of ''Manga/Reborn2004'', Tsuna, in regular Dying Will Mode, got thrashed by the new arc's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. Dying Will Bullets are then used only for training for a bit, before they are fazed out completely in favor of Rebuke Shots and Hyper Dying Will Mode.

** As part of the author's plans to take the "MagicalGirl" out of ''Magical Girl Franchise/LyricalNanoha'', ''Force'' takes this to an extreme by making ''magic itself'' [[AntiMagic completely useless]] against the new villains, forcing the good characters to completely abandon their entire powersets in favor of [[IThoughtItWasForbidden previously tightly regulated mass-based weapons]] as well as questionably reliable new weapons that convert magic energy into non-magical energy blasts.

* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002'' manages to avert this trope for most of the game, until you get the R.Y.N.O, at which point all the other weapons become obsolete. The sequels also work to avert this: though later weapons are inherently more powerful then earlier ones, this can be counterbalanced by the earlier weapons accumulating more experience and upgrades that boost their usefulness. Of course, this doesn't apply to the NewGamePlus {{Game Breaker}}s.

* An UpToEleven version with the Designer's backstory in the ''Comicbook/JamesTynionIVsBatman'' storyline "His Dark Designs". Many years ago, the Designer was the archenemy of a detective named Cassander Baker. He would come up with a scheme, Baker would defeat him, he would come up with another scheme that Baker couldn't stop the same way, Baker would defeat him in a new way, and so on. And then he created a scheme, and instead of acting on it, he asked himself what Baker would do. Then he came up with a new scheme building on that, and asked the same question, and so on, for a whole year. And by the time he emerged, everything Baker knew was So ''Twenty'' Seasons Ago.

->'''Paragus''': Wha-!? What did he (Vegeta) just do!?

* This happens every time a new BigBad is introduced in ''Manga/DragonBall''.
** Tien's ability to fly is treated as a big deal when he breaks it out during the 22nd World Martial Arts Competition. Prior to this, only NotQuiteFlight was considered possible. Part of the impact comes from the fact that the tournament rules include a ring-out as one of the main ways to lose a match, so Tien's flight ability makes him all the more formidable for Goku to face. However, every martial artist character introduced after this arc is given the ability to fly by default.
** One major exception is Tien's Solar Flare. Even the most powerful opponents can't defend themselves from a sudden burst of blinding light.
** Another major exception is the ability to [[TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne sense ki]]. This is first taught to Goku by Kami during a TimeSkip, then is taught the the rest of the Earthling fighters during the preparation for the Saiyan invasion. Vegeta somehow develops the ability to sense ki while fighting Goku, merely by knowing that it's possible, after which every Earth-dwelling character is assumed to have the ability. However, it remains a rare ability throughout the rest of the universe, and occasionally provides an advantage to the fighters as late as ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''.

** The Super Saiyan transformation itself goes from [[TheChosenOne legendary and exclusive]] to being [[UniquenessDecay shared by a handful of individuals at once]], and nearly all of them have access to ascended stages beyond the standard grade. By the time ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' rolls around, there's only one living character with Saiyan blood that hasn't learned to transform into a Super Saiyan, and she's an infant. The original page quote references how late in the series Vegeta's young son Trunks is merely struggling a bit in the Gravity Room with him, and just suddenly decides to go Super Saiyan to run around more easily, shocking his father. Vegeta then becomes irritated when he learns that Goten, Goku's youngest son, can ''also'' transform. ''Super'' later justifies the lack of uniqueness when Cabba, a Saiyan from Universe 6, is teaching Caulifla how to transform into a Super Saiyan by revealing that [[spoiler:transforming into a Super Saiyan isn't some odd requirement of having a pure heart and righteous rage, but by condensing all of your ki into a spot on your back where the heart and lungs are.]] This may only apply to the more evolved Universe 6 Saiyans, however. And how useful the Super Saiyan transformation is tends to vary depending on the person using it, which causes this trope to be played straight, subverted or zigzagged all together. For example:
*** Most notably played straight with Gohan's final upgrade in the series: once he attains that, he doesn't need to transform into a Super Saiyan anymore - and, in fact, supposedly ''can't'' (though he is seen in Super Saiyan form in works set after ''Z'', due to not keeping up his training and needing the transformation to access his full potential).
*** Like the [[spoiler: Kaio-Ken]], Goku and Vegeta zigzag this. After ascending to godhood, they perfect their basic Super Saiyan forms and no longer need Super Saiyan 2 or 3. They can also merge their Super Saiyan forms with their god powers, creating a Super Saiyan Blue, which is basically a more powerful and stable version of Super Saiyan God. However their Super Saiyan Blue forms still tend to get overpowered which forces them to use higher transformation forms to compensate.
*** The rebooted canon [[Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly Broly]] written by Akira Toriyama completely subverts in not only the Super Saiyan transformation, but also the power of the Oozaru form. First, Broly as a result of his mutant biology, can use the power of the Oozaru in his human form which makes him stronger than Super Saiyan God Goku and Vegeta, while his Super Saiyan form is stronger than their Blue form and that is before he goes Full Power/"Legendary".

* Just like with the case in fellow cardgame anime ''Anime/YuGiOh'' below, ''TabletopGame/DuelMasters'' was also somewhat guilty of this. To be fair, [[http://www.wizards.com/duelmasters/dm_autocard.asp?name=gatling_skyterror Gattling Skyterror]] or [[http://www.wizards.com/duelmasters/dm_autocard.asp?name=bolmeteus_steel_dragon Bolmeteus Steel Dragon]]? Then again, if they were going for what real players would use, there'd have been a [[http://www.wizards.com/duelmasters/dm_autocard.asp?name=crystal_lancer Crystal Lancer]] or two in the series.

** Weighted clothing. First appears near the end of ''Dragon Ball'' as an effective means of showing IAmNotLeftHanded, all but disappears by the Cell Saga. The idea of training in weighted clothing was replaced by training in artificial gravity chambers. Vegeta, for example, likes to train in ''500 times Earth's gravity'', which adds far more weight to him than any amount of clothing could. Although, Piccolo still trains with weighted clothes and takes them off when he's serious. Also, in ''Super'', one of Whis' training sessions for Goku and Vegeta involved sumo-like suits that Vegeta described as far more heavy than the gravity chamber's highest setting... and when thrown on the ground, it easily sinks ''at least'' a dozen feet into the ground.

** One of the first things to go are the special melee attacks used at the very beginning of the series like Goku's Rock-Paper-Scissors or Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist. While effective when it was all they had they're quickly made obsolete by even the basic ki attacks and are quickly forgotten about. Best shown when Yamcha trains to improve the Wolf Fang Fist for the second tournament and the upgraded version fails in it's very first and only use. Past around the midpoint of Dragonball they are flat out never used again, not even for an occasional comeback like obsolete ki attacks.

** Gear Second and Gear Third used to have drastic side effects for Luffy (wearing him out and temporarily shrinking him, respectively). Come TimeSkip, these both have become non-issues. However, even they aren't enough against Doflamingo, so Luffy has to follow up with [[spoiler:Gear '''Fourth''']], and even that needs different varieties for him to apply later on to keep up with the rising threats.
** Pacifistas were practically unstoppable before the Time Skip, with it taking the entirety of the main cast everything they had just to bring down one, and only the strongest characters in the series yet to be shown faring much better. After the Time Skip, however, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji each demonstrate the ability to ''one-shot'' them. Justified in that the original Pacifistas they faced were outdated, and new, more powerful versions existed.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'', Legend1 rankings don't mean much in Majiko; the tournament there is for Legend1s exclusively.

* A story-wise example in ''VideoGame/StarCraft''. In ''Brood War'', the Psi Disruptor was introduced as a secret weapon and essentially the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Zerg]]'s KryptoniteFactor by blocking their HiveMind, allowing the UED to take over most of the Swarm and leave Kerrigan considerably weakened until she managed to destroy it with help from her allies. As a result, in ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', when Kerrigan [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge comes for him]], Arcturus Mengsk has his scientists create a new variant, the Psi Destroyer, which uses their HiveMind to ''destroy Zerg''... only to find out Kerrigan has made the acquisition of the Primal Zerg, who lack a HiveMind and as such [[NoSell are immune to the Psi Destroyer]].
* Particular averted in ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Super Robot Taisen Original Generation 2]]''. While many of the prototypes from the first game like the Wildschwein and Wildraubtier had been put out of service and many custom mechs such as the Alteisen and Weissritter need an upgrade in the middle of the game, some units are still as powerfull as in first game like the SRX units.

** Transformations in general. At first, beast modes served to protect Cybertronians fro. Energon buildup which would cause them to short-circuit in robot mode. Then Transmetals came around who didn't have this issue. To bring back relevance to beast modes, they were upgraded to include some mobility features such as thrusters or wheels, but this too became less and less relevant over the course of the series.

[[folder:Films]]

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', Po uses DangerousForbiddenTechnique the Wuxi Finger Hold to finish off [[BigBad Tai Lung]]. [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3 Two movies later]], he attempts to use it again on [[TheAssimilator Kai the Collector]]...who literally [[NoSell laughs it off]]. Subverted, however, in that [[spoiler: Po still finds a way to make use of the Wuxi Finger Hold by using it on ''himself'' while grappling Kai, pulling a TakingYouWithMe that sends them both to the Spirit Realm.]]

* Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' with the progression of tools and armor. There is definitely an overwhelming jump in power between tiers and with the introduction of Netherite even the previous game-breaker of diamond gear has been demoted to merely being [[InfinityMinusOneSword Infinity -1 now]], but it's not uncommon for players to dump a bunch of disposable unenchanted iron picks or shovels into a quick project just to save their better stuff for more important things. Also there is the amusing case of RealityEnsues regarding gold, its rarity would typically put it between iron and diamond but it has such terrible power and durability it's actually barely a step above the wood gear you start the game with (Albeit with extremely high speeds that can make it something of a LethalJokeItem in the right circumstances). This definitely varies based on update version and player preference though, it was more common to use weaker expendable tools in pre-enchanting (and even in early pre-Mending enchantment patches) Minecraft since diamond gear was relatively more costly to use. With a full set of Mending gear and an experience farm it's much reasonable for players to just use their best equipment for every task and take breaks as needed to repair it.

* Happened to a comical level during the latter half of the Second World War as supplies began to run dry, [[BreakOutTheMuseumPiece older cannons were brought back...]] [[RealityEnsues and found to be totally ineffective anywhere but the back on most newer tanks]]. And the same happened with tanks, somewhat, especially for Germany, in order to have 'complete' combined arms regiments. They uparmoured the Panzer II with the F variant heavily, yet it still carried a measly 30mm which merely plinked off most anything it came up against. And it was horrible as an infantry tank too due to its long slender chassis not having enough room for many 'grapeshot' rounds or bullets.