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Infinite Use Upgrade

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If a game creator wants to reward the player with something but doesn't want to make something new, while also improving the value of preexisting items, they might take something that could only be used a few times, like weapon ammo, and turn it infinite, like giving said weapon Bottomless Magazines.

This is Cap Raiser taken to the furthest possible extent, raising the limit of some resource to be limitless. And this might be a literal Equipment Upgrade instead of a separate item like it sometimes is.

Depending on how useful the item turned infinite is, it might be irrelevant, nice to have, or so useful as to be game-changing if missed.

Infinite Supplies is when something important is never limited, instead of starting off limited and then isn't. A Super Mode or Power-Up that gives temporarily infinite ammo doesn't count because it's still limited.

Reduced Resource Cost for a spell or ability to 0 makes examples go both here and there. Total Resource Reimbursement examples are under the same rules.

See also Removed Achilles' Heel (for other cases of a weakness being overcome if that's why the initial limitation is there) and 11th-Hour Superpower (for getting the upgrade at the end of a game).


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime & Manga 
  • Naruto: Initially, doing any kind of jutsu with the Mangekyou Sharingan puts such a strain on the eye of its owner that it eventually causes blindness. By the time Sasuke faces off his brother, Itachi is almost completely blind. An arc later, Sasuke is in the same situation due to over-relying on it for his Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Then, he swaps eyes with his deceased brother. This grants him the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The upgrade not only adds some more jutsu to his arsenal but also eliminates the eventual blindness handicap, allowing him to spam the dojutsu as much as he wants without risk.

    Card Games 
  • An Equipment Modifier in one of the Munchkin games is "...With Unlimited Ammo."

    Literature 

    Tabletop Games 
  • Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition:
    • The Druid's capstone ability lets them use Wild Shape an unlimited number of times. In case of Circle of the Moon, this can be combined by copying a strong beast in order to become a damage sponge (as the wild shape hit points are tracked separately from the main hit point pool.)
    • The 18th level Wizard ability Spell Mastery lets the wizard choose two low-level spells that they can freely cast at their base level without spending spell slots. They can change their selection with eight hours of study.
    • Some of the Eldritch Invocations available as class features to Warlocks (or other classes via a particular Feat) allow them to cast a specific low-level spell at will without spending spell slots, like "Mask of Many Faces" unlocking the illusion spell "Disguise Self".

    Video Games 
  • BoxxyQuest: The Gathering Storm: Wager the single-use Goddess Statue at the arena, then win the battles to receive the Everlasting Goddess Statue.
  • Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: After the player has completed the game once, the librarian will sell an extra item in replays for a cost of 500000 gold — the duplicator, which makes all consumable items unlimited when wielded.
  • Copy Kitty: The Kung-Fu Cat modifier changes Boki's moves from limited use copied moves into a set of preset copied moves but without limit.
  • Coromon: LuxRecall Plus —the Milestone 17 reward— never runs out and allows travel to any teleport station unlike the consumable LuxRecalls which Warp Whistle only to the Lux Solis campus.
  • Dawn of War: The "More Sluggas" upgrade makes Slugga Boys (the basic melee unit) free to recruit, allowing an ork player to drown enemies in a green tide.
  • Dungeon Keeper 2: Downplayed with the spell that summons the Horned Reaper, an invulnerable Juggernaut. Starting in Level 6, some game levels give you a single use of the spell. By Level 14 you can cast it as often as you like... limited only by its vast Mana cost.
  • The Elder Scrolls series:
    • The Skeleton Key —a Daedric artifact associated with Nocturnal— is (among other abilities conferred depending on the game) an unbreakable lockpick. In Arena and Daggerfall, it can be used infinitely but only once per day. In Oblivion and Skyrim, it replaces the standard lockpicks and can be used infinitely as long as you possess it. The sole exception is Morrowind, where it will open any lock, but can only be used 50 times.
    • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: The Unbreakable perk in the Lockpicking tree prevents standard lockpicks from breaking.
  • Fallout 4: The Locksmith Perk's fourth and final rank makes the Sole Survivor's bobby pins unbreakable.
  • Final Fantasy Adventure: In the early game, the player needs to purchase mattocks in bulk, to test tunnel walls for secret passages. Eventually, however, they pick up the Star flail, which will do the same job and has unlimited uses (as well as being quite a decent weapon).
  • Final Fantasy X-2: The Ragnarok accessory completely eliminates skills' MP costs, allowing the user to use even the most expensive abilities all day long.
  • GoldenEye (1997): Every stage has a secret cheat code if the player beats it at a certain time and with a certain difficulty. In this case, the "Infinite Ammo" cheat code can be unlocked if the player beats the "Control" stage under Secret Agent difficulty. In normal gameplay, James Bond/the player has limited ammunition for his weapons, which can be refilled by killing the mooks throughout the stage.
  • Harvest Moon 1: Upgrading the watering can to the sprinkler, as well as allowing the player to water crops faster and with less stamina cost, also means that they don't have to periodically run to a pond to refill.
  • The Legend of Zelda franchise:
    • In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you can purchase the Giant's Knife as an adult. It's more powerful and has much better reach than the normal sword but breaks after 8 hits (or if you accidentally hit a wall with it), and has worse reach and damage than the normal sword, instead. After a long sidequest involving a Chain of Deals, you can have the Biggoron Sword forged, which is just as powerful but never breaks.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: The player can upgrade the short Kokiri Sword to a Razor Sword if Link defeats Goht to melt the snow on the mountains, then gives his sword plus 100 rupees to the weaponsmith. However, the Razor Sword is limited to a hundred uses and cannot be kept via the "Song of Time", but it can be upgraded to the stronger Gilded Sword by using the Gold Dust (as a prize from the Goron Race Track). The Gilded Sword is the strongest and more durable being unbreakable and able to travel through time.
  • LEGO Star Wars: The "Infinite Torpedoes" Red Brick automatically gives ships the maximum amount of proton torpedoes they can carry, eliminating the need to collect them manually.
  • Metal Gear Solid: Earning the ending in which Meryl is saved gives the player a bandana which, when equipped, gives Snake infinite ammunition.
  • Minecraft: Certain enchantments allow weapons and tools to be used indefinitely instead of gradually breaking down (although they can still be lost or destroyed).
    • The "Infinity" enchantment, when applied to a bow, allows for Bottomless Magazines for as long as there is at least one arrow in your inventory. However, the effect does not work with tipped or spectral arrows.
    • The "Mending" enchantment, when applied to a weapon or tool, allows it to replenish its durability using experience points. This makes the weapon or tool effectively unbreakable as long as you have it on hand as you gain experience (usually utterly trivial). A bow enchanted with "Infinity" cannot be given the "Mending" enchantment, or vice versa, to prevent the creation of a bow that can't break and can't run out of arrows.
  • In No Man's Sky, an upgrade for a spaceship's launch thrusters makes them recharge over time, eliminating the need for acquiring fuel for them.
  • Phasmophobia: The Tier 3 firelight is a lantern that lasts for the duration of the mission rather than for 5 or 10 minutes, giving more time for the sanity drain reduction, and not requiring a specific window of opportunity for the ghost to blow out lights for an objective.
  • Pokémon Red and Blue: The player's first taste of a dungeon is Mount Moon, with its seemingly endless Zubat. Fortunately, it's also possible to buy single-use Escape Ropes in the Pewter City market, so there is a way out if they get lost or exhausted. Later, however, they can obtain a Dig TM, or a Pokémon like Diglett that knows the Dig move natively, making Escape Ropes redundant.
  • Quake III Team Arena: The Ammo-Regen powerup will provide a Rate-Limited Perpetual Resource for ammunition, up to the starting amount for the weapon. This is enough to allow a player to use a few weapons without having to hunt for ammunition, but not enough to use a single weapon constantly.
  • Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction: The Groovitron has a set ammo limit of three. Upon completing the game and starting challenge mode, it can be upgraded into the Golden Groovitron with unlimited ammo.
  • The Resident Evil franchise: From the fourth game onwards, giving permanent Bottomless Magazines at some point happens:
    • Resident Evil 4: The exclusive upgrade for the Handcannon gives it unlimited ammo.
    • Resident Evil 5: Unlimited ammo can be unlocked for every weapon by fully upgrading them and purchasing unlimited ammo for them at the Bonus Features shop.
    • Resident Evil 7: Biohazard: Unlimited ammo can be unlocked by beating the game on Madhouse difficulty.
    • Resident Evil Village: Unlimited ammo can be unlocked for every weapon by fully upgrading them and purchasing unlimited ammo for them at the Extra Content shop.
  • Saints Row: Unlimited ammo is available as an unlockable/upgrade from the second game onward. In Saints Row 2, each weapon/ammo type requires completing a different activity to unlock, while in Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV, they are instead late-game purchasable upgrades, and are further split up into "unlimited ammo" (which provides this trope) and "instant reloads" (which provides Bottomless Magazines).
  • Serious Sam has an in-universe device, the Techno-magical ammunition replenisher, which gives infinite ammunition to weapons. It's included with the Starter Equipment pistol, although it doesn't provide Bottomless Magazines due to the need to reload every number of shots.
  • The Super Mario Bros. franchise:
    • Super Princess Peach: Princess Peach's emotional powers expend the Vibe Gauge. The 100% Completion reward is a purchasable item called the Endless Vibe, that allows her to use those powers endlessly.
    • New Super Mario Bros.: Before beating Bowser's Castle, players cannot save the game unless Mario successfully conquers a Tower or Castle level. Afterwards, they can save anytime and anywhere while on the map.
  • SuperMash: Normally, game components are randomized, but specific ones can be selected by use of "dev cards". However, they disappear after one use, unless they're the rarer Foil version of that card, marked with a rainbow border; those can be used for as many mashes as you want.
  • Terraria: Bottomless Water/Lava Buckets obtainable after Hard Mode has been activated, unlike the single-use Water or Lava Buckets of the starting mode.
  • Warframe:
    • Normally, the Synthesis Scanner comes in 25-charge packs (for 5,000 Credits each). However, Cephalon Simaris also offers the Sol-Battery Widget for 50,000 Standing, which makes the Synthesis Scanner infinite-use.
    • The Pax Charge arcane for kitguns makes them recharge infinitely instead of requiring ammo pickups.

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