History Main / UselessUsefulStealth

* ''VideoGame/{{FiveNightsAtFreddy's:SecurityBreach}}'' zigzags this all over the place. The stealth is instantly introduced with Distraction, where you knock over an object to distract a Bot, as well as Crouching with specific colour icons when you are safe, in danger of being spotted, and when an enemy has found you. The Distraction objects are barely featured in the game, and do very little to help you in many cases as they are often featured in tight-cornered rooms, basically just alerting an enemy to where you are before you can get away. They ARE quite useful in Let There Be Light, as Moon's AI is locked into an animation of several seconds resetting them. Oh, and the Crouching mechanic mentioned earlier? The yellow outline is worthless, as the enemy WILL spot you anyway, and you have barely any time to react. Not that Crouching helps matters in the slightest. Almost all of the enemies in the game are S.T.A.F.F. Bots, which alert the actually lethal animatronics to your position when they catch you. They're extremely fast, and lock onto your direction after a small glimpse of you, so Crouching around them is ineffective. To top it off, their AI path is completely RNG, AND they aren't attracted to sounds you make! So running past them at fast speed is just as safe, not to matter much faster, than using stealth!

* In the original ''VideoGame/WizardsAndWarriors'' for the NES, the [[InvisibilityCloak Cloak of Invisibility]] only turned your character invisible to ''you''; the [[TheAllSeeingAI enemies]] [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard could see you just fine]].

* One of the new features added in ''VideoGame/DeadRising4'' was the ability to use stealth. This might have been useful if this wasn't also the game that made GameBreaker combo weapons incredibly common and easy to obtain, meaning that simply incinerating the horde is far easier.
** Long before that, one of the skills unlocked in ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' is "Zombie Walk", which allows Frank to shamble like a zombie to avoid attention. But he moves very slowly, in a game with multiple, very strict timers, and it doesn't work on non-zombie enemies, who become increasingly numerous after the first 24 hours. Also, the game is about using items to kill zombies by the boatload. Zombie Walk is best forgotten, save for one single battle in ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' where you need to [[HoldTheLine survive against a horde of zombies for a period of time]] and suddenly the ability to have them not notice you [[NotCompletelyUseless is quite handy]].
* ''[[VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice]]'' has stealth elements, as befits a game about playing a {{ninja}}. However, they're just elements - it's an action game first. You can use stealth to evade or kill a lot of normal enemies, but being noticed is frequently unavoidable, even with all the stealth upgrades. If you want get past enemies without fighting, you're usually better off just running past them. Or just fight them - stealth is useless against bosses, and you're [[NintendoHard going to need the practice]].

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' features an aversion: the invisibility from the Magic Cape is quite useful to go through certain boss fights and other situations without taking any damage.
* ''VideoGame/{{Oni}}'' featured an item which temporarily cloaks the player character, making them invisible. However, the effect is triggered as soon as the player character picks up the item, the effect only lasts for thirty seconds (and the levels are so big, and enemies spaced so far apart, that it routinely takes longer than that to travel from one enemy encounter to the next) and the player character becomes partly visible if they are touching another person (so even if you manage to successfully BackStab an enemy, any other enemies nearby will instantly spot you). These factors make the item effectively useless.

* The WWII-based tactical squad game ''Hidden & Dangerous'' had a stealth mechanic that was absolutely worthless, which was probably due to the fact that the game in question was so damn buggy.

* Cloe Walsh's stage in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle''. Right from the start, you are encouraged to hide from the stage's spotlights and guards, but getting caught only means that you have to fight all the guards instead and they each go down in 2-3 hits. Plus, the poorly implemented stealth mechanics make it far more difficult ''not'' to get caught. On [[HarderThanHard Bitter]] difficulty though, the guards are much stronger, so stealth is encouraged.

* Averted in the first four ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' games, where playing as the Thief class often means you can sneak past or trick your way through every combat in the game. With the fifth game, stealth won't work with the tasks that involve killing monsters/notable bad guys, but you can still safely sneak past or knock out most of the outer guards without worry about sandwiching.

* In the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series past the second game, the player may opt to use smoke grenades to cover movement. While not really a stealth item, this trope is averted in the fact that if you throw one to obscure your movements, it actually works. This is one way to approach machine gun posts. Of course, smokescreens are a double edged sword, as the enemy also uses them against you during HoldTheLine segments.
* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'', Nod players can use the Stealth Black Hand, which is fairly cheap and comes with a decent all-purpose laser rifle. If weapon drops are enabled, they can use sniper rifles... And of course, the Stealth Tank, which has overrun many an unaware GDI player. The base defenses detect stealth, though.
* Semi-averted in ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' - the invisibility pickup can let you sneak by Titans without being detected (that said, half the times you encounter them are unavoidable {{Boss Battle}}s - natch) but the Skaarj will almost always know you're there. Then again, this might be {{justified|Trope}} as Skaarj are far more intelligent and alert than Titans in terms of programming and backstory both.

* In the Mac port and many other ports of ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', the enemies only have a forward-facing sprite, making it impossible to sneak up on them, unlike in the PC version.
* While ''Videogame/Wolfenstein2009'' has a takedown mechanic and the option to silence some of the player's weapons, enemies still zero in on the player the moment they see a comrade go down.
* ''{{VideoGame/Strife}}'' gives you a punch dagger and a poisoned crossbow to make stealth kills on living targets. However, most areas have alarms that you can't avoid triggering and/or robots that can't be killed with stealth.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/DarkMessiah: VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' where stealth is a viable approach throughout most of the game, at least when in dark poorly-lit areas.
* The ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' games are built around averting this trope for the Alien and Predator when fighting humans. Marines have enough ranged firepower to drop you very quickly in open battle but suffer heavily from TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Staying hidden and taking them down one-by-one is pretty much mandatory. Played straight when the two fight each other, as both Alien and Predator can see through each others' stealth (and the Marine never gets to be stealthy. Ever.).
* ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' actually has a viable stealth mechanic, but 95% of players won't even notice, since your character is tough enough and ammo[=/=]health is plentiful enough for you to simply Rambo your way through the game. Combine this with the fact that you can't die in this game. This is in sharp contrast to ''VideoGame/SystemShock 2'' (which was on turn built on the ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' engine), where your character was much weaker and ammo[=/=]health was much less plentiful, pretty much forcing you to stealth through much of the game simply to survive.
* ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' mostly thrives on frantic wide-open encounters with lots of enemies, making stealth useless as either enemies are scripted to spot you, or you can get as far as a free shot on the first enemy. However, it averts the trope HARD in one of the latter stages, where you are required to navigate a hospital-cum-asylum. The place is littered with lunatics who will ignore you... UNTIL one of their trumpet-headed overseers spots you, screams and sends potentially dozens of lunatics at you. This is also the only part of the game where ammo drops are in extremely short supply, so even if you showed up with two fully loaded weapons, after the first wave of lunatics you will undoubtedly be running low. All of this combines to make sneaking past the trumpet-heads a very viable option (possibly the only one on higher difficulties).
* In the small but loyal fan community of the original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', most players see the "partial invisibility" powerup as more of a burden than anything else. This is because monsters fire much less accurately at invisible players, which sounds like a good thing, except that's it's usually harder to dodge projectiles when they're scattering all around you than when they're flying predictably towards you in a straight line (to the point that the sphere seems to make enemies ''[[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard more adept at leading their shots]]'' rather than making you harder to hit). Also, partial invisibility doesn't really make it harder for the enemies to actually SEE you and thus start attacking (and even if it did, your gunfire alerts them anyway). This is abused in some user-made levels where the player is required to pick up an invisibility sphere, just to make a fight ''harder''.
** Certain ports of ''Doom'' also suffered the same "enemies always face forward" flaw that ports of ''Wolfenstein 3D'' did. Not only are they impossible to sneak up on, but it nearly eliminates the fun and useful strategy of monster infighting (enemies can still hit each other, but the one in front can't turn around and retaliate).

* ''Franchise/FarCry''
** ''[[VideoGame/FarCry1 Far Cry Classic]]'' throws out the stealth mechanic that was so useful in the original PC version, as enemies can now [[TheAllSeeingAI see you through the previously concealing foliage]].
** ''VideoGame/FarCry2'', despite how the game play works, ''does'' have a stealth mechanic. The problem is that it's so unclear that it's just easier shooting everyone, even with the stealth suit that you can buy to increase stealth.[[labelnote:Best Advice]]Use stealth to pick off mercs from a distance using a sniper and if you ''do'' chose to get close, listen carefully to what they are saying and where they're talking[[/labelnote]] ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' and following games fixed this problem by giving the player a meter so they can visualize how much the enemies can see them while still using the same mechanic.

* ''VideoGame/CityOfVillains'' has an entire archetype, the Stalker, who gets the best stealth in the game at level one and relies on it as they are designed to be a sneak attack class. Unfortunately, anti-stealth powers become ridiculously commonplace in the late game amongst both players and {{NPC}}s. The Rikti War Zone is the worst example, as nearly every group of Rikti has Drones that can see through stealth, making Stalkers aggravatingly difficult to play. Recently, however, a patch increased the power of Stalkers, with increased damage, increased criticals, and status effects on their best attack while also increasing their base HP considerably.
** There is also the aggravation in that ambushes tend to be TheAllSeeingAI variety and will home right in on you while you're stealthed.
** Not to mention that (with the infuriating exception of ambushes as mentioned above), your stealth affected ''all'' [=NPCs=] regardless of hostility. EscortMissions meant decloaking so that your ally could actually see you, unless they had enough perception buffs to overcome your stealth (and that, in one infamous case, [[LeeroyJenkins caused its own problems]].
** That being said, speedrunning task forces often relied on stealth to quickly complete missions where the only objective was to find a glowie or kill the boss. Althoguh even there, tougher characters would often "stealth" a mission by running through it at high speeds so that the enemies didn't have time to kill them (aggro limits meant that [=NPCs=] would quickly lose aggro once you ran past the next group).
* In ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'', the Invisibility spell is mostly useless because, unless the player is actively Sneaking, enemies will hear them pretty much automatically. Sneaking slows the character's movement and only works for for characters who invest considerable resources in it. Some enemies, like spiders and oozes, automatically detect sneaking characters. Finally, once an enemy has noticed a character under any circumstances, that enemy will always notice the character once it's within range, even if he breaks line of sight and then successfully Sneaks.
** Add in game mechanics that do not support stealth. Many dungeons use a "kill mobs to unlock door" mechanic, so players who are attempting stealth will find themselves unable to advance.
* ''VideoGame/PerfectWorld'' puts a spin on this; all non-Assassin characters and mobs have an Awareness Level equal to their level if they're not using pots. Assassins have, as an added stat, a Stealth Level, which, discounting other skills/pots, is equal to Character Level+Stealth Skill Level. Any character that has an Awareness Level higher than or equal to an Assassin's Stealth Level can see and target the Assassin, but if it's lower, you're dead. However, making Stealth slightly more (and less, at the same time) useful are the Catlike Tread and Sharp Observer skills: the former increases Stealth Level by 2*Skill Level, and the latter increases Awareness Level by 3*Skill Level.
** Don't forget the mana cost of stealth that decreases when you level your skill, going from 24 to 15 mana/second.
*** Further complications arise when you take into account the fact that early-game "Sins" can only use stealth outside of combat mode, until they reach Level 29, when they get the Shadow Escape skill, allowing them to activate stealth in combat.
* In ''VideoGame/AceOnline'', B-Gears gain the ability to stay Invisible, emulating a stealth bomber. Other Gears are able to do this through Stealth Cards as well. In the case of B-Gears' invisibility, it allows B-Gears to be untargetable by opponents. To attack, B-Gears forcefully decloak. However, due to B-Gears' nature to be able to kill almost anything in one hit most of the time, a successful sneak attack is a devastating tactic. Furthermore, anti-stealth countermeasures rely on the M-Gears' Scan ability or the Search Eye semi-rare item, making Invisible very useful to briefly elude pursuit to be able to return later to execute an attack when the opponent least expects it.
* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', where one of the biggest complaints from Federation players in regards to the Klingon faction is the cloaking device. Per {{canon}}, the Federation is not supposed to use stealth technology. Since Klingons are primarily a PVP faction, what this ends up meaning is that you go into a match with the Klingon team automatically cloaked and the Federation team sitting ducks, with no way to know where the Klingon attack will come from. This led to the "Fedball" tactic, where Federation players would sit in a sphere shape so as to cover everyone's backs, and hope someone's finger would slip on their cloak button. Naturally, this makes for very boring matches. Klingon versus Klingon was even worse, because ''both'' teams would spend the entire match cloaked, so people would end up wandering around fruitlessly searching for an exposed player to pounce on. This has been fixed to some extent with enhanced Cloak detection techniques and a Federation starship with a cloaking device, but it can still be quite frustrating.
* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' has the Shadow silk hood, a fairly rare and extremely coveted Dungeoneering drop, which hides the player from all non-magical, non-elemental, non-boss humanoid monsters in the dungeon. It doesn't, however, work on non-humanoids (making a strong bat, guard dog, hellhound, demon or *shudder* dragon a player's worst nightmare), bosses or anything that uses magic. To make things even worse, some enemies can disable the hood, revealing the player wearing it to every single monster in the rooms they pass through until it reactivates.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' has some heavy-duty restrictions on stealth - like not being able to recharge your hit points or activate items while cloaked. It can also be a steep learning curve on knowing how close you can get to enemies or how to evade detection. For those who figure out how to work within the limitations, it's difficult, but awesome. In particular, judicious use of stealth can be used to speedrun certain flashpoints, skipping all the mooks and just fighting the bosses. Given that the rewards for killing mooks are usually not worth the time it takes to fight them, players who aggro everything in sight tend to draw the ire of veterans.

* ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' has some instances in the werehog stages where you can sneak up on enemies and perform a finisher despite them having max health. This feature only comes into play when the level design permits it, which is very rare. Also, you still have to go through the quick-time-event to kill them, and the window for pressing each button is inversely proportional to how much health the enemy has. ON AN ENEMY WITH MAX HEALTH. The result is a QTE with an absurdly small window, even for the game notorious for its incredibly demanding reaction time.
* ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'' has a "walk" function that prevents Peach from waking up sleeping enemies. This would normally be pretty helpful to use if CollisionDamage still didn't apply. About the most you can get out of this mechanic is attacking sleeping enemies before they wake up.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' and ''[=WarCraft=] 2'', Invisibility spells are useless against computer opponents due to TheAllSeeingAI.
** In 3 it's slightly more useful- [[AwesomeButImpractical but only if]] you're playing as the Alliance, where Invisibility can be used in conjunction with the Archmage's MassTeleportation to ravage an enemy's base. Night Elf women can hide themselves at night (but without attacking or moving), the Undead's Crypt Fiends regenerate much faster when buried and their own dedicated detector unit is invisible, and the Orc Blademaster's invisibility makes him do more damage when he breaks it to attack.

* In ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation'', the "Shooter" kbot can cloak and has a powerful sniper laser. But once you fire it once, you are exposed and the laser takes a long time to reload. You're toast if you are in the enemy's base. There are a few high-value targets that you'd want to kill, such as the Commander, which can be an instant win if killed. Too bad that it takes more than one shot to kill him with a Shooter. And once you de-cloak after firing, the commander can D-gun you. (The D-gun is an instant kill weapon that only the commander has.) Cloaked fusion generators, on the other hand, are pretty useful.
** Averted, however, by stealth fighters and jamming units, which have their uses. Besides, most units are expected to be built more than once, and there's nothing (apart from the bad pathfinding...) to stop 10 Shooters from simultaneously attacking the enemy commander.
** Also, the commander can be cloaked, which in the later game is Useful Useful Stealth against any enemy that favours assassination.
** ''TA: Core Contingency'' had an [[GameBreaker Eraser]], which was a submersible sonar jammer. Because of how sonar works in that game, it was undetectable and prevented detection of nearby submarines, allowing free naval attacks. The only way you could kill it was using nuke spam in a general area and hope it hits.
** ''Core Contingency'' also introduced stealth KBots. As in, unarmed KBots which could cloak themselves. These things were the absolute definition of useless: you were ostensibly supposed to use them to scout, but even that is pretty useless when they ''still show up on radar even when cloaked!!!''
** One thing to note is that you can safely expand a base while under enemy bombardment with a cloak train on your farthest-back kbot/vehicle facility, if there is one. Since the opponent typically glances at the front of your base to see how well he is penetrating, or the middle to see what you're preparing as assault units, and presumes your away-structures are making the same thing, you can sometimes build cloak/jammer combos to cover construction vehicle movement to another area. It's a good tactic since TA is far more about macro than micro, meaning it's a decent last-ditch tactic for a 'total annihilation' game as it's heavily micro. (ie commander death does not end scenario) [[BatmanGambit It also has a greater chance to succeed if your moves during the stalemate are blatantly predictable]] so that you keep his main force locked in one area. While the computer cheats, it seems to only cheat with your main base. Until the last building falls it won't 'know' you have a second unless, again, it runs into it by accident.
* SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'' also features cloakable units, but they suffer from the same weakness. Some units can give radar stealthiness to nearby forces, but nothing becomes actually invisible. So all it takes is a lonely enemy scout passing over your base or advancing units, and you can expect a Rain Of Death real soon.
** Plus the highest level of radar tower overcomes both cloaking ''and'' stealthing. This all makes life hard for the Cybran Nation, the faction that prefers unconventional tactics like stealth.
** The cloak and stealth defeating radius of that tower are much smaller than it's normal radar range though, and those radar towers are rather expensive to maintain. And thanks to the huge maps and the large number of weapons that can fire beyond visual range, there is an advantage to only being noticed once you're right on top of the enemy. Cybran fighters and bombers especially benefit from their stealth capabilities, since their high speed means they are unlikely to be spotted en route, and can be attacked by AA enemies for only a short time while they are within visual range.

* In ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' and its first expansion, ''Winter Assault'', Infiltration was a toggleable ability that made your units go invisible but stop shooting. Had its uses, but not exactly many of them. In ''Dark Crusade'' onwards, units can now fire when infiltrated. Not just the lightest ones, either.
** Some sides merrily fight with invisible versions of their mainline combat units (Chaos Space Marines), arguably the best anti-vehicle unit in the game (ork Tankbustaz), or, with the help of an item, their whole army (Necrons)...
** Space Marine Scout Squad can be upgraded to be stealthed, which is particularly funny if you also give them flamers.
** The Imperial Guard and the Sisters of Battle both use invisible assassins, a ColdSniper and a ninja-like sword-wielding nun respectively.
** The Eldar's Pathfinders are cloaked snipers.
** ''Soulstorm'' made it slightly less useful when playing against the Dark Eldar, who can temporarily make any of their units a detector instantly.
** Its sequel even has commander units dedicated to stealth. The lictor can take upgrades that make it more powerful when away from your army and has an ability to pluck single high value units and reel them in for a beating. Combined with the ability to highlight enemy commanders on the map this makes it a powerful assassin unit able to infiltrate behind enemy lines and pick off lone high value targets or pull one out of the middle of an army for your troops to easily target as a nasty surprise.
** Even before ''Dark Crusade'''s update to Infiltrating units, there were a couple of very powerful ways to use it. Assuming you played a faction whose Infiltrators had a decent [[FogOfWar sight radius]], it was usually possible to sneak in close enough to spot enemy buildings for artillery fire. If you destroyed the last HQ building the enemy had, it was an automatic win, regardless of how many builder units or how large an army remained. A Vindicare Assassin and a trio of Basilisk self-propelled guns usually spelled the doom of your opponent.
* ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes''. While sniper unit's combat prowess is questionable, their ability to act as artillery spotters is anything but.
** Many units have an 'ambush' ability, that when active, cloaks them. When they attack, the first shot is much stronger than normal. In addition, ordering a cloaked Stormtrooper Squad to attack allows them to face and aim, only revealing themselves when they open fire. This is useful for ambushing other squads, as the targets have to turn and aim while already under-fire, which will usually result in a slaughter if the Stormtroopers aren't horribly outnumbered (and if they are, you could instead introduce them by throwing bundle grenades to even the odds a bit). Often times soldiers from the ambushed squad will run for cover before returning fire as well.
* Spy units in the ''VideoGame/SevenKingdoms'' real time strategy game and its sequel are extremely powerful to the point where you can defeat another human kingdom using only spies; spies do not work on any of the non-human factions. When disguised as an enemy unit they will respond to orders given to them by the enemy player so they cannot be detected by their simple lack of responding to orders. When inside an enemy fort they can try and convince enemy soldiers to join them, assassinate the fort's general, or even the enemy king. They can be promoted to generals by the enemy who does not know they are a spy whereupon they can at a command seize the fort and claim it and a portion of the soldiers therein, dependent on their loyalty, for the player who owns the spy. Finally, if the enemy king is killed in any way a general is picked to replace him, if that general is a spy in disguise then the entire enemy kingdom comes under the control of the player who sent the spy, defeating that enemy instantly.
* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsWarOfTheRing''. The Elven Archers and Haradrim Slayers both are permanently invisible and are some of the highest damaging units available, so often there isn't reason to build a balanced force. Especially with the elves, which can outrange most other units and even towers. The detection units for both sides are largely useless in combat and die quickly.
* [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard Used]] with one of the heroes in ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth 2'', who possesses the ability to attack while invisible. For you, this results in the computer sending troops to right where he is to attack him as though he were totally visible. For you, it involves painstakingly searching the area in hopes that one of them will accidentally trip over him.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Allegiance}}''. Of course it's a multiplayer-only game, so AI cheating and limitations don't really play a role. Still, it is essentially a Real Time Strategy game with human players directly controlling each of the individual units, and some of the most feared ships in the game are stealth-based. A good team can sneak stealth bombers into an enemy sector to strike when the enemy has no chance of successfully defending, and competent players can use stealth fighters to quickly take out the miners that are the back-bone of every team's economy. Even units that are not designed to be stealthy can take steps to lower their chances of being detected, and this often adds greatly to their effectiveness. One of the most feared factions in the game (when in the hands of a veteran commander) has stealth as their [[PlanetOfHats hat]]. Trying to keep your forces stealthy and to keep enemy stealth units from sneaking up on your team are significant elements in the strategy in the game.

* Outside of {{Stealth Based Mission}}s, cloaking is pretty much useless in ''VideoGame/NexusTheJupiterIncident'', as the goal in other missions usually involves fighting and destroying the enemy.
* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'' and its sequels have several ships capable of cloaking. However, this cloaking is temporary and is mostly useless, especially since it's very easy to research cloak detection. The Kushan in the first game have the ''Spectre''-class cloaked fighter, which wasn't particularly powerful and was really only useful in taking out lone resources collectors (for which regular, cheaper fighters would work as well). The ''Cataclysm'' stand-alone expansion features the ''Assassin''-class ion array frigate, which can also cloak. However, it's also incredibly slow, meaning that the cloak will run out before the ship can get within range and align its WaveMotionGun for the shot. The Somtaaw have three stealthy ship classes that are actually a little more useful. The ''Leech''-class breaching pod is unmanned and is small enough to avoid being picked up by standard sensors. It can then attach to a larger ship and slowly drain its HP, until the ship suffered a CriticalExistenceFailure, or just bring back the drained HP as resources. It can still be detected by scouts, but it's nimble enough to find holes in sensor networks. The ''Mimic''-class infiltration craft can use holographic projectors to impersonate an enemy ship or an asteroid, get close to the enemy and suicide-bomb them. Two ''Mimic''s can combine into a corvette-sized ''Martyr'', which can impersonate even larger ships or asteroids and has a bigger bang.
** Stealth could be really useful in the campaign, during one specific mission in which you had to destroy an entire fleet of enemy beam ships guarding a hyperspace jump suppressor. If you had three stealth generator ships, you could keep only one powered on and switch out their cloaking when they began to run out of energy, meaning you were permanently cloaked. Your permanent (but very micromanagey) cloaking field would conceal a fleet of salvage ships, with which you could steal the entire enemy fleet essentially undetected. Fifty free beam ships for your next mission.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/DarkReign''. An Infiltrator inside an enemy base can do all sorts of [[GameBreaker useful things]], like steal plans for units and buildings, spot for artillery fire or superweapons, or see the location of ''every enemy unit and building''.
* In ''Videogame/PopulousTheBeginning'' you can train Spies that will change their colour and sneak into enemy bases and then set fire to buildings you've selected. Problem being is that if there are any spies guarding your enemy in a tower they will be spotted instantly, destroying a building with fire doesn't have you instantly spotted but if anybody sees you (which is likely as villagers are always running about) expect that spy to die soon and they're not immune from [[EnemyExchangeProgram Priest conversion]] so if they run into any or come across one in a tower it's no good. The only reason you build them is stick them in a tower yourself to spot any AI sent spies and to steal balloons and boats from the enemy.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/BattlefleetGothicArmada2''. Almost all ships can activate the Running Silent stance that makes them impossible to target from outside the shooter's visual range, and most weapons can shoot farther than the carrying ship can see. Chaos, Aeldari and Druchari fleets are the masters of StealthInSpace, taking full advantage of their speed and ability to pour unfailingly accurate firepower into their opponent from extreme range while the target has a hard time getting close enough to retaliate. Tyranid bioships use their natural stealth capabilities to close in undetected until they can launch devastating melee attacks on the unsuspecting enemy. This expansive stealth mechanic is the primary reason why no fleet should take to the battlefield without escorts, the only reliable way to gain a target lock on stealthed enemy ships. There's nothing more aggravating than your powerful but ponderous Imperial ships of the line getting whittled down by lance volley after lance volley while being unable to shoot back because they can't draw a bead on the shooters.

* In ''VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery'', being stealthy tends to be rather more simply annoying than either productive or counterproductive. Most of what it does is make monsters that you'd have easily killed anyway not come to you, so you have to actually go up to them and bop them in the head.
** Stealth (and Invisibility) can be very useful, however, if you go through a dungeon that is comparatively dangerous at the given point in the game (Small Cave, Dwarven Halls come to mind). Avoiding monsters that could otherwise one-hit kill you (sometimes with ranged attacks) is very useful. Cavern levels are also easier when the enemies do not see you, because you do NOT want to be swarmed by monsters, even weak ones. You want to pick them off one by one. And finally, the Backstabbing skill works only when stealthy/invisible on hostile characters, and it can give a very nice damage bonus for certain characters.

* ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawl'' uses stealth as part of a healthy assassination-based gameplay. You'll still be killing as much of everything as you can, you'll just be doing it by stabbing monsters while they're sleeping.

* ''VideoGame/{{Elona}}'' does have some use for stealth, but it's not readily apparent, as it looks like the enemy always spots you, however sometimes it is just the AI guessing. Certain powerful units like dragons and blades will move up right next to you then turn around and walk away until they get a * over their head, meaning they have just spotted you. Their 'hearing' is about 8 squares, so it's possible to dodge them, fight whatever is following you out of their 'hearing' range, then continue normally. The fact there are no real concrete indicators of have-they-or-haven't-they until the * makes this somewhat useless, however, as you might begin attacking them only to realize they hadn't seen you yet. Many times you get ambushed by dragons, it's because you just announced your presence to them [[TooDumbToLive in a really stupid way]] because you thought since they were approaching you they already knew you were there!

* ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' has the Cloaking system, which is one of the best means of avoiding attacks at your disposal [[DifficultButAwesome if you get good at using it]]; it requires quite precise timing to get the best out of its effect, especially before you upgrade it to last a bit longer. However, the special options it grants for events usually just mean you're going to skip a fight, which you rarely ever want considering you have a limited number of (useful) encounters per sector. That the only player-controlled ships in the game that have a cloaking device installed by default are [[FragileSpeedster fast but fragile]] doesn't help.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' suffers from all of these. Entering Stealth mode forces you to operate a character solo, and you also move at a snail's pace. Stealthily planting mines can make for a good strategy for a fragile character like Mission Vao, but most enemies that are susceptible to this tactic can also be engaged in direct combat. Ultimately, in this game, Stealth is primarily useful in a small handful of scenarios: for getting around the rancor in the Taris sewers, and when you've chosen to use Mission in the breakout from the Leviathan.
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' greatly reduces the issues of Stealth in the first game. You have many more opportunities where the use of stealth can get you nifty rewards while bypassing a messy combat (such as safely retrieving mines without causing your [[ArtificialStupidity teammates to run over them in the midst of combat]]), and in a few scenarios, stealthily spying on [=NPCs=] can get you information that advances side quests. You also have an alignment-exclusive PrestigeClass built around using stealth to exploit sneak attack bonuses, and the Stealth Run feat remedies the "snail's pace" issue.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' falls squarely into this trope. Most of the enemies are simply cannon fodder that your party should have little trouble dealing with, and in the event you're up against a challenging one (i.e., a red dragon), stealth isn't an option anyways. It's JustForFun/{{egregious}} if you take the Shadow Thief line of quests; for one mission, for which you're encouraged to remain stealthy to break into a house, it makes zero difference if you just barge in waving your sword, and you might even get complimented more for doing so.
** Unless you use Hide in Plain Sight, an ability that [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin hide in front of enemies]], and by hide in front of enemies, we mean "step back to disengage form combat, hide under the enemies nose". While hiding you can't be targeted, leaving you vulnerable only to area of effect attacks and letting you attack for sneak attack.
** Stealth is doubly useless in ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' due to the fact that the game pits you against a disproportionate number of undead opponents - which are immune to critical damage inflicted by sneak attacks made while in stealth mode.
** It does, however, have one very useful application: If you play an evil assassin and [[spoiler:join the King of Shadows]] at the end, you have to [[spoiler:fight your entire party singlehanded]]. Hide in plain sight, Death Attack, lather, rinse, repeat.
** Stealth is further undermined by the extremely generous rest system, which can be used almost anytime you are not in direct combat. Spellcasters are much, much more effective than normal because they are no longer required to conserve spells for more difficult encounters. Normally, you wouldn't use a ninth level spell to take out a couple Mooks, but use lower level spells and hold the ninth level spell until you found a more difficult foe. In [=NWN2=], you can spam ninth level spells in almost every encounter by resting after each fight, which only takes a couple of seconds. The only major downside is that if you are buff heavy, you have to recast them after every fight.
* The stealth section on St. Marguerite Island in ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'' is a rather funny example of this. It's a LetsSplitUpGang for Blanca, who must sneak into the heart of the base to free the rest of the party; if caught by the guards, he fights them. But by this point it's almost a given that Blanca can take out any number of guards by himself (especially with the right Crests), so there's no point in hiding -- and if you do use stealth, you miss several items that are only reachable if you kill certain guards.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series has included a stealth system dating back to ''Daggerfall'', with its usefulness heavily played with in different instances, often depending on the game in question and the specific "use" you have for stealth. To note:
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' has a Stealth skill that somehow governs whether enemies will react to your presence. Sometimes an enemy will wander around despite you; sometimes an enemy will not turn if you approached from behind; despite it, enemies are still more than likely to rush towards you. There are spells like Invisibility True (constant invisibility until the time ran out) and Shadow (conceal yourself in shadows better), but any lesser concealment spell is useless in practice unless you stand still. The combat ability that makes Stealth worthwhile, Backstabbing, requires a Stealth check, but, despite doing more damage on the first stab, stronger enemies will then notice you and pummel you like normal. Other thief skills are based on separate skills, and the really powerful, bothersome enemies - the undead and the Daedra - can see an Invisible opponent.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', the Sneak skill, now set to a button, is tremendously useful. If proficient enough with the Skill, one can pickpocket (no longer a skill), and open and loot locked containers right in front of characters, though striking someone still brings their attention to you. Pickpocketing is now dependent on the Sneak skill, however, and backstabs are no longer given bonus damage. Finally, the Invisibility spell is deactivated as soon as you perform an action, but the Chameleon spell is not.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' turns a proficient stealth-based character into a GameBreaker, averting this trope until it is suddenly demonstrating the trope again. While Invisibility and Chameleon work the same as in the predecessor game, stealth-based characters using the Sneak skill now have the chance of remaining undetected regardless of what they did in the game world. The only enemies this doesn't work on are animals (which makes sense, as they can most likely smell you no matter how well hidden you are). This becomes incredibly apparent in the Arena, where the entire questline can be won legitimately without even moving from the battle starting area. This trope is usually applied when you're trying to stealthily kill enemies. If they're in a group, every other enemy will immediately know that you're there and where you're hiding no matter what you used to kill them. It's understandable if you stabbed them or used a spell, but not when you shot them with an arrow while hiding in a bush half a mile away.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' attempts to balance ''Oblivion''[='s=] stealth system by adding levels of detection. Being closer to an enemy and/or in the light will make you more easily detected, while distance and shadows make you harder to detect. This stops you from being able to sit in front of enemies undetected and also helps you stealth kill enemies without them all seeing you. A glaring oversight to the balancing is that if you killed one enemy with a bow from the shadows, [[ConspicuouslySelectivePerception his buddy still might not detect you and not even flinch at his friend falling over dead]]. In one particular ThievesGuild mission, the player is joined by two mandatory companions, and the party must sneak or fight their way through more than one room full of Falmer. Falmer cannot see, so one would think the stealth option would be fairly easy to pull off, but almost inevitably one of your companions ([[InformedAbility who are supposedly]] very successful thieves) will [[ArtificialStupidity make a noise or walk into one of the enemies]], triggering a massive fight.
* In ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', guards snuck up on grant mid-tonics when looted, which come in handy for the next few bosses. This is the only reason to even bother.
** Later, the party is captured and stripped of their possessions, meaning they need to sneak around the air ducts of their prison until at least one party member gets a weapon back. Unless, of course, you had Ayla in your party, whose fists can't be disarmed.
* One of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'''s seven character quests falls into this, at least at first -- Oboromaru can sneak past any enemy in the stage except its final boss, but doing so means you have to face the final boss with no or very little experience (since there are few enemies you can fight without breaking stealth), and your only reward for doing so is an InfinityPlusOneSword that's not as helpful in the boss fight as having levels would be. However, if you get Oboromaru back in the game's final quest, you can level him up ''and'' have the sword... except that when you're that early in the game, you don't even know the final quest ''exists''.
** And besides, he can get a better InfinityPlusOneSword in said final quest. And another in his chapter by beating a BonusBoss. Talk about BraggingRightsReward.
** However! The leveling limitation only applies to ''humans''. There's a bit of grinding involved, but it's relatively easy to clear Oboromaru's chapter at lv. 16[[note]]there's an enemy that generates two spirits each time you enter a certain shed about a third of the way through[[/note]]. This is ''absolutely'' necessary to beat a couple of [[BonusBoss Bonus Bosses]] in the chapter.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'' had sleeping enemies in one dungeon that would wake up if you walked past them at full speed. However, they are easy to avoid even awake, and depending on your timing, weren't even that much of a threat in combat anyway.

* Interplay's ''[[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Lord of the Rings]]'' allowed you to use the `sneak' skill to get into a lot of inaccessible places. You could walk around the wall of a haunted mansion, and a sneaking NPC could slide in from some unknown place offscreen and you were in. You could also get into the town of Bree at night, when they locked you out, just by walking along the wall away from the guards. Unfortunately, it was not so good for avoiding fights. Sneak into the mill without the One Ring, and the Orcs quickly slaughter your wimpy characters. Also, the sneak command didn't work against certain obstacles or guardians, since there wasn't any way to move offscreen and get a guy inside, or if the force of a character's personality was so great that the whole party had to stand directly in front of them and not go anywhere until they said "none shall pass!"
* The RPG ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' averts this by the grace of several factors - one, XP is only awarded for fulfilling quests, not [[AntiGrinding killing random enemies]]. Two, if a stealth route is available, it usually comes with bonus XP. And if all else fails, the game allows for one-hit stealth kills in the form of a brutal NeckSnap (or BackStab, or having the enemy ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice). This makes it quite fun to play as the Nosferatu, who rely on not being seen to prevent panic. On the other hand, the stealth ability Obfuscate IS pretty much useless in the AbsurdlySpaciousSewer level - the Tzimisce creations will instantly see through it if they look at you. Lastly, a player can't get by on ''just'' stealth and diplomacy and must spend some XP on combat, as there are several [[ActionBasedMission Action-Based Missions]] and boss fights scattered through the game (particularly [[DisappointingLastLevel at the end]]).
* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':

* The infiltrator class in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' has a cloaking skill. It's useless for sneaking past enemies entirely because in most encounters you are [[InescapableAmbush required to kill every enemy before the next door unlocks]], and you're usually accompanied by two squadmembers who don't have the ability anyway. However, the skill is useful for outflanking enemies, escaping close-range attackers, and lining up headshots without worrying about enemy fire. The later is particularly deadly, as higher levels of the ability also add a damage bonus to your attacks.
** ''Mass Effect 2'' invokes this in a devious way for the ''Arrival'' DLC. The story begins with an extended infiltration mission where Shepard mustn't be spotted, but any Infiltrator that does the logical thing and uses their cloak ability to sneak past the guards automatically forfeits the achievement for completing this section without raising an alarm.
** ''Mass Effect 3'' heavily averts this in the FinalBattle of its ''Omega'' DLC where it's Shepard alone against an endlessly respawning Cerberus army, in a room with barely any useful cover. Four objectives must be taken care of in the room's corners, which is easily one of the most grueling tasks in the entire game except for the broken-as-ever Vanguards and, you guessed it, Infiltrators that can cloak right past the worst of the fighting. Cloaking in general is quite useful in any mission where Shepard must activate something that's behind a platoon of enemies, because this usually triggers a cutscene to the next mission segment regardless of how many enemies were left standing at this point.
** It is somewhat more useful in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' Multiplayer since you can actually operate on your own. In particular, it can be used to interact with bonus objective objects without any enemy noticing. However, some enemies outright ignore stealth if all other teammates are down.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', Shadows roaming the EldritchLocation du jour manifest as blobs that claw their way across the floor. Players are encouraged to approach them from behind and sneak-attack them in order to get a free round at the start of the battle (though Shadows can gain their own advantage by striking from behind as well.) Since the line of sight of map-roaming Shadows isn't that great, sneaking past them is relatively easy in order to avoid wasting resources on minor foes.
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' zigzags the trope: as Phantom Thieves, you have a variety of abilities that let you sneak past enemies, and when you're in cover, you are completely undetectable. But you're not supposed to sneak past enemies, you're supposed to ambush them to get an advantage in combat. In some cases, particularly powerful enemies spawn that are meant to be avoided entirely, however (though they can still be defeated with sufficient luck). Getting detected by enemies makes it increasingly more difficult to avoid being detected, and if you're detected too many times, your current dungeon run is halted for the remainder of the day.
* ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'' eventually gives you the ability to vanish and completely avoid enemies. Not only are you missing out on money and experience this way, you're going through MP faster than you would by fighting. Generally not worth using during the main story, but can speed things up greatly when backtracking through locations during sidequests, especially since how annoyingly persistent enemies tend to be in following you when they spot you.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games that let you catch and raise Pokémon, there are trainers that will force you into a battle if they see you. You have the option of fighting them right away for money and experience or avoiding eye-contact and battling them at a later time.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'': Actually averted as the Vanish spell becomes very useful end-game. The game no longer uses RandomEncounters, instead spawning monsters all over the field, some of which chase you if they see you. Being invisible lets you navigate the high-end grottoes a lot faster when you have control over your encounters, for the most part, since they ''can'' spawn on top of you.

* Go ahead! Do as the TutorialLevel of ''VideoGame/BatenKaitosOrigins'' says and sneak past the guards! Good luck facing the rather savage WakeUpCallBoss at the end of the mission without all the juicy experience points those guards would have given. You're better off charging through like LeeroyJenkins: the guards aren't tough, you're not punished in any way if you're spotted, and your health is replenished after every battle. It's especially jarring because, while the game makes a point of teaching stealth even before how the combat system itself even works, this mechanic ''is never used in the game again''.
* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' is sneaky about this trope. Stealth is extremely useful in regular gameplay, with high-level stealth being a borderline GameBreaker, and makes for a subtle playthrough that [[RelationShipValues several of your allies support]] and saves you a lot of money otherwise used for ammo and first aid kits... But stealth is useless against bosses. If you haven't put some points in some shooting and fighting skills the boss fights will become major road blocks.
* ZigZagged in ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSin''. The stealth subsystem is much more robust and sophisticated than in most [=RPGs=] (accounting for such things as enemy view cones and obstacles), but the experience your get for just exploring the map is negligible compared to what you receive for slaughtering enemies. Then again, thanks to the Teleporter Pyramids, even a single stealthy rogue can bring the (non-stealthy) rest of the party past a tough encounter, and there is even a particular sequence where you ''must'' fly under the radar, since the enemies there are literally invincible.
* Averted utterly and inescapably in ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'', which basically takes the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' engine and turns it into a StealthBasedGame. Thanks to its focus on the Rogue class, the quintessential stealth experts of ''D&D'', it fully expects you to spend about half of the play time in stealth mode--and rewards you for doing so. That said, the other half of the game contains some nasty battle sequences that you have no chance of sneaking or talking your way out of.
* In an effort to make the game even more action oriented than previous games, ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' made a series of changes to the gameplay with Stealth making a major change. Up to ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the Sneak skill was based on the amount of points you put into the skill with perks adding onto it and making it easier to to sneak around and make better sneak attacks. ''Fallout 4'' however makes Sneak a Perk to be leveled up and only makes it 50% harder to be seen at level 23. To actually sneak you need [[LongList high Agility, the Sneak bobblehead's effect, U.S. Covert Operations Manual magazines' Perk "Covert Operations", Muffled or Shadowed armor, the Ace Operator perk (Only available in the ''Nuka-World'' DLC), silenced guns, and stealth boys]]. Suffice to say you will not be sneaking [[EarlyGameHell in the early game]] (or later parts for that matter.)
*** However, once you do have all of these, sneaking becomes ridiculously overpowered. There's actually a Stealthboy upgrade for PoweredArmor that makes you invisible while standing still, but even without it a stealth-specialized player can bump into enemies in the dark without them being able to draw a bead on them, or squat around in plain sight while enemies stare at them without noticing them. While wearing Power Armor. Attacks from stealth also have a higher crit chance, and sneak criticals with high-powered silenced weapons like the Gauss Rifle pack enough punch to instakill pretty much anything in the game without risking return fire.
* In ''VideoGame/CosmicStarHeroine'' it's possible to squeeze around some PreExistingEncounters without getting into fights, but since winning them[[note]]You can't run from battles in this game.[[/note]] [[AfterCombatRecovery restores all your hitpoints and gets you every used ability, program or item back]] on top of juicy experience points and money, there's no incentive to avoiding fights other than saving yourself some time and even then [[TakeYourTime there's no rush]].

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheKasai'' averts this for the most part; generally speaking you can just run into combat head first with decent odds of coming out alive, but stealth is the suggested method of advancement, both for an added challenge and the satisfyingly brutal stealth kills. The only time the game truly falls victim to this is when your AI partner decides its time to run headlong into danger, disrupting your attempts at stealth. Its predecessor, ''Mark of Kri'', makes stealth a completely viable method in that your character always goes it solo.
* A lot of areas in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' made stealth worthless, owing to the relatively small areas and the delayed alert phase mechanic. For an alert to actually happen a guard had to not only see you, but also radio it in. If you just sprinted through cartwheel-kicking guards before they could get to their radio it didn't matter how many saw you: you'd more often than not make it to the next area before they got back onto their feet, and since going to the next area unloaded all the guards in the room you went through the alert would never come. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' addressed this by having much larger areas, enabling guards to see you from much farther away, and making it so taking out the guard who spotted you before he got to his radio only ''delayed'' back-up.

* ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'' doesn't give you any method of fighting back, and therefore forces you into stealth. However, there are moments where stealth is the ''worst'' available option, because there's too many of the crazies around or they're too close behind you. In these situations, it's always, ''always'' better to run until you find a "transition" area (a ladder, squeeze-through area, or something similar) that they can't follow you through, waiting until they lose interest, and then [[ViolationOfCommonSense going right back into the area to do whatever it is you need to do]].
* Stealth is a must in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' and its [[VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII sequel]], given how limited your resources are, but there are a lot of moments in each game where you ''have'' take out enemies in order to proceed. Two reasons for this: One, some of the exits require repeating pressing[=/=]holding down a button in order to open them, making you entirely vulnerable during that time. And two, the exits also can be pretty noisy due to blockage surrounding them, potentially alerting nearby enemies. In addition, trying to avoid enemies entirely will prevent you from being able to loot the areas for resources or collectables. However, it's possible to use stealth to take down enemies quietly and spare yourself the trouble of actually engaging in a fight (though human enemies are trickier due to having better AI), so it's not ''entirely'' useless.

* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}'' game, Jennifer Mui's special characteristic is enhanced stealth compared to the other two playable characters. Considering that the gameplay in the series is mostly based around StuffBlowingUp, it's not clear why anyone would value this, and indeed it has no discernable effect on the game (the in-game effect is that enemy officers are slightly slower to recognize her when she's in a faction vehicle, but it's simply not enough of a difference to matter). The sequel scraps this in favor of making her the fastest sprinter of the three.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'':

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':

* ''[[VideoGame/AdvanceWars Advance Wars: Dual Strike]]'' introduced Stealth Fighters. They can ''devastate'' the battlefield while invisible, but burn a whopping ''8 fuel'' per turn while cloaked as well as 1 fuel per square moved, and with only 60 units of fuel in stock they'll go down quickly if you don't resupply them constantly. Most players don't even use their stealth capability, and only build them because they are only one of two units that can attack any other unit.

* Stealth is a must in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' and its [[VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII sequel]], but there are a lot of moments where you ''must'' take out enemies in order to proceed. Two reasons for this: One, some of the exits require repeating pressing[=/=]holding down a button in order to open them, making you entirely vulnerable. And two, the exits also can be pretty noisy due to blockage surrounding them, potentially alerting nearby enemies. In addition, trying to avoid enemies entirely will prevent you from being able to loot the areas for resources or collectables. However, it's possible to use stealth to take down enemies quietly and spare yourself the trouble of actually engaging in a fight (though human enemies are trickier due to having better AI), so it's not ''entirely'' useless.

* Stealth is a must in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' and its [[VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII sequel]], but there are a lot of moments where you ''must'' take out enemies in order to proceed. Two reasons for this: One, some of the exits require holding down a button in order to open them, making you entirely vulnerable. And two, the exits also can be pretty noisy due to blockage surrounding them, potentially alerting nearby enemies. In addition, trying to avoid enemies entirely will prevent you from being able to loot the areas for resources or collectables. However, it's possible to use stealth to take down enemies quietly and spare yourself the trouble of actually engaging in a fight (though human enemies are trickier due to having better AI), so it's not ''entirely'' useless.

* There are many enemies that players [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption must kill to complete key objectives]], such as [[BossBattle bosses]], that are harder to kill than enemies that you can stealth by. Hence, if your character or party is powerful enough to kill the bosses (as is necessary in order to progress in the game), you will also more than powerful enough to kill the grunts, so it is unnecessary to stealth by them.

* The developers didn't take into account the visibility for the user interface, and the stealth is so good that the player cannot see his/her own units and either goes "out of sight out of mind", or makes it very difficult to control because you can't see exactly where your character is(especially when your character is not always at the centre of your screen.)

* In ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'', there is a temple guarded by ghost elves that attack anyone they see. Your advisor instructs you to avoid being seen and the level is built with a stealth mechanic in mind, including doors behind which you can trap the patrolling ghosts in certain rooms. However, it's far easier to just take a group blue minions and kill all the ghosts. They don't even count for the KarmaMeter.

* Stealth is extremely useful in the rebooted ''[[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Tomb Raider]]'' trilogy, especially in ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider'' and ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheTombRaider'' where Lara is a fragile GlassCannon waging a one-woman war against an enemy with vast numerical superiority. However, this only works as long as you can keep dealing {{One Hit Kill}}s. This becomes nearly impossible to do at range once all enemies start wearing helmets (read: well before the halfway point), which makes Lara's numerous silent weapons including her bow completely useless for this purpose - fail to instakill a single target and ''everyone'' in the area charges Lara's position immediately. The only way to keep stealth viable by this point is through melee finishers, and this becomes increasingly challenging the further you progress, plus there are a lot of segments that simply don't allow you to play stealthily thanks to cutscenes leading straight into massive shootouts.

* There are many enemies that players [[ButThouMust must kill to complete key objectives]], such as [[BossBattle bosses]], that are harder to kill than enemies that you can stealth by. Hence, if your character or party is powerful enough to kill the bosses (as is necessary in order to progress in the game), you will also more than powerful enough to kill the grunts, so it is unnecessary to stealth by them.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'': Actually averted as the Vanish spell becomes very useful end-game. The game no longer uses RandomEncounters, instead spawning monsters all over the field, some of which chase you if they see you. Being invisible lets you navigate the high-end grottoes a lot faster when you're not fighting obscenely overpowered BossesInMookClothing or choose to fight only the monsters containing a MetalSlime, though it won't help if they spawn on top of you or you run into them.

* While ''Videogame/{{Wolfenstein2009}}'' has a takedown mechanic and the option to silence some of the player's weapons, enemies still zero in on the player the moment they see a comrade go down.

* ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' has some instances in the werehog stages where you can sneak up on enemies and perform a finisher despite them having max health. This feature only comes into play when the level design permits it, which is very rare. Also, you still have to go through the quick-time-event to kill them, and the window for pressing each button is inversely proportional to how much health the enemy has. ON AN ENEMY WITH MAX HEALTH. The result is a QTE with an absurdly small window, [[UpToEleven even for the game notorious for its incredibly demanding reaction time.]]

** Stealth tanks can actually be useful in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars'', as vehicles take increased damage when attacked from the rear. However, combat in that game is so quick and chaotic that by the time you've maneuvered the tanks around to the back of an enemy column, the fight is likely already over. Besides that, though, stealth tanks are ''very'' useful units for a number of reasons: they're [[FragileSpeedster very fast]], they fire a ''[[MacrossMissileMassacre lot]]'' of missiles with every barrage (Heroic & Elite stealth tanks fire [[UpToEleven even more]]), and they are extremely effective at AntiAir, which makes them ideal for ambushing unsuspecting aircraft. And harvesters.

*** However, once you do have all of these, sneaking becomes ridiculously overpowered. There's actually a Stealthboy upgrade for PoweredArmor that makes you invisible while standing still, but even without it a stealth-specialized player can bump into enemies in the dark without them being able to draw a bead on them, or squat around in plain sight while enemies stare at them without noticing them. [[UpToEleven While wearing Power Armor]]. Attacks from stealth also have a higher crit chance, and sneak criticals with high-powered silenced weapons like the Gauss Rifle pack enough punch to instakill pretty much anything in the game without risking return fire.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' suffers from all of these. Sure, you can stealth to plant a mine in the middle of an enemy cluster. But most enemies that you can stealth by can easily be attacked and killed a few at a time--and trying to stealth can lead to exposure amidst said cluster. Not fun. Also, stealth is only possible in "solo mode" where you are only controlling one character at a time and it is very easy to accidentally switch back into normal mode and expose yourself. Even more fun if you were stealthing far away from your party members and tripped over a cutscene trigger, which automatically turned off your stealth.
** [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords The sequel]] makes it somewhat more useful with the addition of high-end Jedi classes (the Jedi Watchman or Sith Assassin PrestigeClass) that focus on Sneak Attack, as well as several sections where the protagonist doesn't have allies with him/her anyway.
** Stealth can be extremely useful in large bases with security computers. Stealth to the computer, hack in and overload circuits/gas rooms/override droids/cause general mayhem, then all that's left is to mop up any survivors.
** There are also specific puzzles that force you to use Stealth for things like eavesdropping to get a password (two of them in ''The Sith Lords'', although only one of them actually moves a quest. Note that these are pre-scripted cut-scenes that only check if you have the skill activated-- you still gain no benefit from pumping points into it other than the ability to use it
** The character it most comes in handy for is Mission in the first game, and only required in a couple places. The rancor in the sewers is too strong for your low-level characters to take on directly (especially if you're postponing leveling up until Dantooine), but you're supposed to feed it a grenade (or mine it) and her low hitpoints on the Leviathan level make stealth an attractive option if you choose her for the breakout. She also gets sneak attack bonuses that are devastating if played right.
** Stealth is also useful for clearing minefields because of the way party AI is handled: normally, if there are enemies behind the mines, your companions will [[LeeroyJenkins charge straight ahead]] and blow themselves up on the way. Not to mention that in ''The Sith Lords'' you get XP for disarming or recovering mines, making it even more crucial.

* In ''VideoGame/SpiderMan'', there's an unlockable alternate suit which allows you to become invisible. This is extremely useful in regular levels (as they're all beat-your-way-to-the-end). However, the invisibility trick doesn't work with bosses.

* There are many enemies that players [[ButThouMust must kill to complete key objectives]], such as [[BossBattle bosses]], that are harder to kill than enemies that you can stealth by. Hence, if your character or party is powerful enough to kill the bosses (as is necessary in order to progress in the game), it is also more than powerful enough to kill the grunts, so it is unnecessary to stealth by them.

* The RPG ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' averts this by the grace of several factors - one, XP is only awarded for fulfilling quests, not [[AntiGrinding killing random enemies]]. Two, if a stealth route is available, it usually comes with bonus XP. And if all else fails, the game allows for one-hit stealth kills in the form of a brutal NeckSnap (or BackStab, or having the enemy ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice). This makes it quite fun to play as the Nosferatu, who rely on not being seen to prevent panic. On the other hand, the stealth ability Obfuscate IS pretty much useless in the AbsurdlySpaciousSewer level - the Tzimisce creations will instantly see through it if they look at you. Lastly, a player can't get by on ''just'' stealth and diplomacy and must spend some XP on combat, as there are several ActionBasedMissions and boss fights scattered through the game (particularly [[DisappointingLastLevel at the end]]).

* The first person RPG ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' averts this by the grace of several factors - one, XP is only awarded for fulfilling quests, not killing random enemies. Two, if a stealth route is available, it usually comes with bonus XP. And if all else fails, the game allows for one-hit stealth kills in the form of a brutal NeckSnap (or BackStab, or having the enemy ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice). This makes it quite fun to play as the Nosferatu, who rely on not being seen to prevent panic. On the other hand, the stealth ability Obfuscate IS pretty much useless in the AbsurdlySpaciousSewer level - the Tzimisce creations will instantly see through it if they look at you.

* ''VideoGame/FarCry Classic'' throws out the stealth mechanic that was so useful in the original PC version, as enemies can now [[TheAllSeeingAI see you through the previously concealing foliage]].
* ''VideoGame/FarCry2'', despite how the game play works, ''does'' have a stealth mechanic. The problem is that it's so unclear that it's just easier shooting everyone, even with the stealth suit that you can buy to increase stealth.[[labelnote:Best Advice]]Use stealth to pick off mercs from a distance using a sniper and if you ''do'' chose to get close, listen carefully to what they are saying and where they're talking[[/labelnote]] ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' and following games fixed this problem by giving the player a meter so they can visualize how much the enemies can see them while still using the same mechanic.

* Any fighting game that includes an invisibility, such as ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'', will end up being completely useless against A.I. opponents. It can also be bad for you, since you can't see your now-invisible character.

* ''Video/SonicUnleashed'' has some instances in the werehog stages where you can sneak up on enemies and perform a finisher despite them having max health. This feature only comes into play when the level design permits it, which is very rare. Also, you still have to go through the quick-time-event to kill them, and the window for pressing each button is inversely proportional to how much health the enemy has. ON AN ENEMY WITH MAX HEALTH. The result is a QTE with an absurdly small window, [[UpToEleven even for the game notorious for its incredibly demanding reaction time.]]

* Available only in The Mercenaries minigame of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' is a silencer for the handgun that Wesker starts out with that allows you to dispatch enemies without alerting the others to your presence. They become aware of you in about 10 seconds no matter how sneaky you are, and since it's a timed game that makes use of chained kills and score multipliers you'll get ''far worse results'' if you go for the quiet meticulous kills. Somewhat justified as the silencer was DummiedOut from the main game and merely thrown in for Wesker as a ContinuityNod to the Darkside / Umbrella Chronicles rail shooters.

** In 3 it's slightly more useful- [[AwesomeButImpractical but only if]] you're playing as the Alliance, where Invisibility can be used in conjunction with the Archmage's MassTeleportation to ravage an enemy's base. Night Elf women can hide themselves at night (but without attacking or moving), the Undead's Crypt Fiends regenerate much faster when buried, and the Orc Blademaster's invisibility makes him do more damage when he breaks it to attack.

* In ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' and its first expansion, ''Winter Assault'', Infiltration was a toggleable ability that made your units go invisible but stop shooting. Had its uses, but not exactly many of them. ''Dark Crusade'' onwards, units can now fire when infiltrated. Not just the lightest ones, either. Some sides merrily fight with invisible versions of their mainline combat units, arguably the best anti-vehicle unit in the game, or, with the help of an item, their whole army...

* Being a Creator/HideoKojima series, ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' makes much of its stealth elements, but it was only a necessity in the first game where being spotted meant being spammed by Klorofolun which clung to you in huge numbers, slowed you down, and would kill you in seconds. As the games went on and became more action-oriented they fell directly into this trope: the stealth elements are there but you'll rarely use them when the game doesn't force you. One change made in ''Lunar Knights'' is particularly annoying: instead of knocking on walls with A to lure monsters to that spot, you have to whistle by blowing in the microphone. It's hard to run for cover in time with a DS in your face.

** Stealthed Ghosts could stand next to your base and tell the nukes where to hit you unless you found out where they were fast enough to kill them before the nuke launches. And the Protoss had a stealther that could fly alongside a fleet of Carriers (making them invisible too) to make a slow but powerful death unit.
*** Note that the stealth-granting Protoss unit cannot, itself, become stealthed, not even with the help of another stealther. Given that the stealth-granting unit can also teleport friendly units from elsewhere on the map to itself, it's a popular target.