History Main / BeamSpam

[[caption-width-right:300:[[Awesome/TheNostalgiaCritic Taste the rainbow, motherfucker!]]]]

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* In ''Anime/SmilePreCure'', Cure Happy, who possesses the power of holy light, is capable of [[HandBlast firing pink light beams]] and can do so in rapid succession. She does this to [[spoiler: Pierrot in her Ultra form]] and [[spoiler: an army of Midens in ''[=HUGtto!=] [=PreCure=] ♥ Futari wa [=PreCure=]: Anime/PrettyCureAllStars Memories''.]]

* ''VideoGame/JeffWaynesWarOfTheWorlds'' has the Martians indulging in this whenever they get the [[DualWielding Tempest]] or any large amount of units.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'' featured this all the time- it was the Western counterpart to ''Gundam'', after all.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' got a rather funky one when Amazo was making a return appearance; most of the space-capable Leaguers were hovering in low orbit, along with most of their Javelins. Amazo approaches, Green Lantern yells "''Light 'im up!''", and black space abruptly turns all kinds of pretty colours. Naturally, it doesn't work, Amazo being a PhysicalGod at this point. Sure looks cool, though. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIQejV56AzU Link]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Blue Diamond has the ability to manipulate energy, which includes making it rain energy beams. [[spoiler:She reveals this in "Reunited" against the Crystal Gems, just to show how powerful she is as a Diamond compared to them]].

* ''Manhua/SchoolShock'': The Queen Of Moths uses this as her take on the DynamicEntry on the battle field of Beijing.

** In ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', when the ''Enterprise''-E is trying to find the cloaked ''Scimitar'', Picard orders Worf to fire a full spread from all phaser strips in the hope of hitting something, followed by a spread of torpedoes. This works for a while, until they [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome run out of torpedoes]] and deplete the charge in the phaser banks, whereupon they try simply [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming]] Shinzon's warship.

* The [[GatlingGood Gatling Laser]] weapon from the VideoGame/{{Fallout}} series probably qualifies (especially the weapon in the third game and its "Precision" variant and Vengence). It's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

Beam spam embodies the idea that [[MoreDakka quantity has a quality all its own]]. Rather than impressing the audience with a demonstration of just how powerful the WaveMotionGun is, you instead break their brains with an insane number of energy rays spewing out of the same source. The key word here is beam SPAM. {{Roboteching}} is a frequent way of getting more lasers to fit on screen by allowing them to come out from more places than just the front of the vessel.

* ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'' has Titano-Machinae Lares and Lemures do this to fend off airships (not that one of them [[ImprobablePilotingSkills ever actually manages to hit]] [[AcePilot Chocolat]]) and [[spoiler:open a rift for Tartaros, then once they are taken over by Elh and Béluga, turn that same attack ''against'' Tartaros to open a hole in its shields for Red.]]

** For [[HilarityEnsues extra fun]], it combines this with a MacrossMissileMassacre.

** A viable tactic, as beam weapons are far more accurate than projectile weapons. Fill up a Freighter Q with phasers, wait for the next pirate raid, and HilarityEnsues.

** And some of the later bosses repeat this. If you are still affected by knockback whil fighting The Destroyer, prepare to get stuck in the air due to the amount of lasers he shoots.

* In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', Heavy Lasers don't fire only one beam like other laser weapons, but eight separate ones in rapid sequence. The Laser mini-cannon upgrade for [[AttackDrone S.H.I.V.s]] fires even more lasers and even faster. The Laser Cannon aircraft weapon is one of the fastest firing in the game, spamming the target UFO with laser beams.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Fractured}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] and its sequel, ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', the Trans-Galactic Republic's Star Dreadnaughts (and smaller Star Destroyers) unleash Beam Spam against Reapers. Whose shields are mostly kinetic-blockers and thus cannot withstand a few turbolasers, let alone hundreds. Leads to repeated [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp Battles]]. [[ForegoneConclusion Any battle involving a fully-functional Star Dreadnaught is going to involve this, really]].

*** Similarly, equip enemies in the Mission Architect with Robots, and you get the same thing, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zxy-hJWoTY except aimed at you instead]].

** Technically, when the [=BFG9000=]'s shot detonates, the game fires forty 2D rays from the player's viewpoint spaced out horizontally across the screen. Anything that one of these hits takes 15d8 damage and has the visual effect show up on it.
*** The BFG was supposed to act more like this in the beta, where instead of the massive green bolt of plasma it fires now, it fired out dozens of green and red balls that bounced off walls. This was DummiedOut because the tons of plasma orbs on the screen caused severe framerate drops, and because it "looked like Christmas."

* ''VideoGame/EmpireAtWar'' has, for the Empire, an anti-fighter corvette ship called the Tartan. The Tartan has the special ability to fire pretty much every gun at once. Max space unit per side in battle is 20 for the Empire in Galactic Conquest mode. Tartan's are 2 population each. 10 Tartans + special = LASER CANNON [[MoreDakka DAKKA]].
** This counts for any massed unit that uses lasers, really. Tartan's are just the most beam spam/dakka-ish. Even ground units can count if one uses a mod to remove the in-battle population cap, if you can manage to land all of them before the AI rushes your reinforcement point.

** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has the Laser RCW[[note]]'''R'''apid '''C'''apacitor '''W'''eapon[[/note]]. It's a laser tommy gun that uses the same ammo as the Gatling Laser while simultaneously being cheaper, easier to find and repair, uses less ammo with it's Recycler mod, and requires less skill to use, making it a more viable weapon at the cost of less power.

* Caster in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is such a master of this trope that she beamspams beamspams. In essence, she takes spells that ought to take at ''least'' thirty seconds to cast for a very good magus speed casting and does them instantly. Over and over and over, effortlessly. This is only possible on her home turf though, so normally she fights in a much more subtle manner.

* The ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' versions of [[SummonMagic Alexander]] shoot off dozens (upon dozens, in the second case) of beams of Holy magic. Alexander VIII shoots them from deployable cannon batteries mounted on its shoulders, whereas Alexander IX releases them from its city-spanning wings. In the latter case, they're also of the homing variety.
** Alexander makes a return in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', using similar Beam Spam tactics. [[spoiler: It's also a favored form of attack for [[ClimaxBoss Barthandelus.]]]]
*** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', the boss named Proudclad, which is a giant two-form HumongousMecha, has a habit of turning the tides in any battle against it... By first using "Limiters Removal", which heals itself to pretty much full HP, and then spamming its AttackDrone attack against the leader. As long as you have [[strike:Snow]] a Sentinel in your active party, things should work out just fine, though.

*** Best option: 1) Go into "versus" match. 2) Put unit limit to "maximum". Build pulsar gunships, ion frigates and battlecruisers until your unit cap is full. 3) Enjoy your beam spam. Or even better, make a versus match with 5 friends, and tell them all to do the same thing.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'', the final boss makes extensive use of this as well a couple other types of projectile spam. There's also the Alpha Strike, which is basically a bunch of alien ships getting together and ''beamspamming an entire planet to death.''

* The ''VideoGame/MechWarrior'' games have the alpha strike, a special emergency action that fires ''all'' the guns, regardless of type, guidance or intended range. This can mean MoreDakka, MacrossMissileMassacre, Beam Spam or any combination of the three according to what weapons the given Mech is mounting.

* X's ChargedAttack in ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' certainly qualifies.
** His Hyper Mode charge shot qualifies even more especially since you can now unload everything on one target or simply pick who you want to blow up.
*** If that is all you have then forget it, you haven't seen Ultimate X armor. The minute that comes on, you can not only unload all your ammunition's worth on your opponent but you can also change targets when you are certain you killed your opponent DeaderThanDead.

* The Blaster and Hyperblaster from ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' normally fired little solid blocks of energy. A very simple mod could change this into a hitscan laser. Even without the mod, the Hyperblaster was basically a [[GatlingGood gatling energy weapon]]. If two people were dueling with them...

* Anything with 'Diffusion' in the name in an ''VideoGame/RType'' game.
** Also the intro movie for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIeKN5lAcFs Final]]. A Beam Spam of {{Wave Motion Gun}}s fired from regular fighters.
* The Advent in ''VideoGame/SinsOfASolarEmpire'' have a serious love of beam weapons. The Halcyon Carrier capital ship carries up to 7 squadrons of bombers (which are armed with beam weapons) in addition to the 8 heavier beam cannons mounted on the ship itself.
** And of course you can mass bombers with the Advent. With the researches and the new pacts system in Diplomacy it's not unreasonable to arrive at an advent planet which has no ships defending it and be set upon by no less than 30 bomber squadrons...each of which has 7-10 bombers beam spamming your ships. Can make for a rather quick death for smaller ships when focused.

* In the shooting battle mode of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2: Battle'', 20 rings will give you one of these to unleash on your opponent.

* The Battlecruiser in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' outputs a constant stream of laser bolts. Attacking with a dozen takes the beam spam [[ExaggeratedTrope to a whole new level]].
** Not to mention the Protoss in general. A late-game Protoss "death-ball" will consist of zealots, stalkers, sentries, colossi and void rays. Of these, the zealot is the only one that ''doesn't'' shoot lasers.
*** Zealots [[DualWielding dual-wield]] laser [[BladeBelowTheShoulder arm blades]] and [[ZergRush rush]] their enemy instead.

* You can achieve an effect like this in ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' with the right ship and weapons equipped (and you can use the space bar to fire all available weapons at once). And since each kind of attack (Phaser, disruptor, plasma, tetryon, etc) all come in different colors, it can resemble a Care Bear Stare as well....

* A viable tactic in ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'', as beam weapons are far more accurate than projectile weapons. Fill up a Freighter Q with phasers, wait for the next pirate raid, and HilarityEnsues.

* The Wall of Flesh in ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' spams lasers when he gets to low health.

* After a certain plot event in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' Joshua can use Beam Spam attacks; a certain combo finisher has more in common with a ''WaveMotionGun'' instead.
** Not to mention the final boss, that beamspams ''fireballs''. Thank God for Neku's dodge ability.

** As is the Durandal's main cannon.

* The Homing Laser is Jehuty's main method of clearing swarms of MechaMooks in ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders''. Many other Orbital Frames in the series can pull it off as well.

* In ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'', Maria (the game's only gunslinger) has an ability that's basically MoreDakka with lasers. Souping up this ability is a common tactic with [[BonusBoss Freya]]. You can see it in action in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3x9m2Idqqo this video]], where it probably hits 20 times for 20,000HP each.

* The ''Grand Cross'' in ''LightNovel/BodaciousSpacePirates'' uses these to devastate enemy ships after zig-zagging to close range.

* Shizuri Mugino of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has the ability to convert electrons into a highly destructive form of matter that exists somewhere between particles and waves. On her own, she can only create three or four beams at once, but she carries around silicon cards that can disperse her individual laser shots into multiple ones.

* In ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' this is basically Hecate's primary form of attack... and her lasers bend and partially home in on the target! She can also spam smaller fireballs.

** ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' sees Godzilla attempt this against Kong during their second fight, though it goes poorly as a result of Kong's acrobatic prowess — he never manages to do more than wing the speedy ape. Godzilla is far more successful when he stops trying to be fancy and just [[CurbStompBattle uses his relative size advantage]] instead.