History Main / BreakMeter

The inverse of LimitBreak, and an aversion of CriticalExistenceFailure. Often goes hand-in-hand with a MoraleMechanic, which represents a unit's "fighting spirit." Compare InjuredVulnerability.

Arcade Rail Shooters, such as the ''VideoGame/{{House of the Dead}}'' series, use a similar mechanic during boss fights: underneath the boss's health meter is a smaller meter that, when emptied, halts the boss's attack. Failure to empty the bar in time typically results in taking damage.

* In the levels of ''VideoGame/DragonBallAdvanceAdventure'' where you battle one opponent in a fighting game engine, both you and your opponent have a Rush Gauge. As long as it's not empty, you won't flinch or take damage from attacks, but each attack that you don't block or parry will deplete it. If you empty the opponent's Rush Gauge through continued attacks or a single counterattack after parrying, you break their guard and knock them back for a significant amount of time, and your attacks will make them flinch until you knock them down to the ground. After getting knocked down, their Rush Gauge will reset. It also refills on its own if you're not being attacked. Scoring a hit with a chi blast will immediately empty their Rush Gauge.

[[folder:FirstPersonShooter]]

** ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2]]'' calls the system a Driver Combo and changes it up just a bit more. Daze is replaced by [[LauncherMove Launch]] and there's a fourth step in [[MeteorMove Smash]]. Every step starting with Topple also allows the party to do more damage to the inflicted enemy and spawns an HP Potion. Smash also does a large amount of damage and can spawn items and money after the enemy hits the floor. Finally, it can be combined with a Blade Combo, a [[SpecialAttack Super Move]] chain, to create a Fusion Combo and increase the duration of both and add more to the Party Gauge.

** In ''VideoGame/YsSeven'', ''VideoGame/YsMemoriesOfCelceta'', and ''VideoGame/YsVIIILacrimosaOfDana'', enemies that are hit with a large number of attacks at once can be stunned; the latter also has a separate weakness break, where striking enemies with their attack weakness will eventually render them vulnerable to all weapons.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' uses a similar mechanic, known as "poise". Heavy armour and certain items or spells increase it, and it grants stagger resistance. Taking hits will stagger a target once its poise is broken. This applies to enemies as well as the player.

* ;''VideoGame/JojosBizarreAdventureHeritageForTheFuture'' has the Stand Meter. If a character takes too many hits to their Stand, they are "Stand Crushed" - the Stand disappears and they are staggered. (For extra ContinuityNod value, the Stone Mask flashes in the background when this happens.)

** in ''VideoGame/YsSeven'', ''VideoGame/YsMemoriesOfCelceta'', and ''VideoGame/YsVIIILacrimosaOfDana'', enemies that are hit with a large number of attacks at once can be stunned; the latter also has a separate weakness break, where striking enemies with their attack weakness will eventually render them vulnerable to all weapons.

* Used in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': Each character can use a shield to reduce damage, but it shrinks over time. If you keep shielding until it breaks, you are stunned for a short duration... which is more than enough for other players to brutalize you off the screen. A smash attack with the fan automatically breaks any shield, no matter how much is left. Breaking a shield may also send the character into the air, depending on their weight and damage. The effects range from barely noticeable (Bowser) to sky-high (Kirby). Jigglypuff will actually ''[[TwinkleInTheSky Star K.O.]] itself'' if its shield breaks, regardless of damage.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'', being a SpiritualSuccessor to the VideoGame/Xenosaga series, brings back the BreakMeter, but does it differently because its an ARPG. Here it's Break-Topple-Daze. Break does nothing outside of putting a debuff on the target, but Topple stops the enemy in it's tracks and attacks done to it have increase critical rates, and Daze can completely shatter [[{{Seers}} Shulk's]] visions of the future. Topple can also be extended by using additional Topple or Daze moves, effectively keeping an enemy from doing anything while you whale on them, although watch out for Topple spikes, where the enemy will do damage to the party while they are Toppled. Also there are moves that can force Topple or Daze (like Melia's Starlight Kick if used after her Spear Break) and Chain attacks can bypass enemy resistances to any portion of the chain. Finally, [[CombatMedic Sharla]] has an Art that can cause [[OneHitKill Instant Death]] to an enemy if they are Dazed.

* ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'' has the Vitality gauge (HP) and Posture gauge (break). Depleting either of these bars will open up an enemy for a deathblow that instantly kills them (or moves them to the next phase if they have multiple "lives"), opening up two possible targets to beat enemies. Certain attacks target posture more than vitality and generally enemies have less of the former than the latter, but posture also regenerates if the enemy isn't attacking or guarding, quickly at high vitality, nearly stopping at low HP. The Player character has these same gauges, but only one enemy in the game (coincidentally a MirrorBoss) will follow it up by using a Deathblow on him, it usually just staggers him and opens him up to an attack if you don't dodge, which is far more preferable to, y'know, dying.

** ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2]]'' calls the system a Driver Combo and changes it up just a bit more. Daze is replaced by [[LauncherMove Launch]] and there's a fourth step in [[MeteorMove Smash]]. Every step starting with Topple also allows the party to do more damage to the inflicted enemy and spawns an HP Potion. Smash also does a large amount of damage and can spawn items and money after the enemy hits the floor. Finally, it can be combined with a Blade Combo, a [[SpecialMove Super Move]] chain, to create a Fusion Combo and increase the duration of both and add more to the Party Gauge.

** ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2]]'' calls the system a Driver Combo and changes it up just a bit more. Daze is replaced by [[LaunchingMove Launch]] and there's a fourth step in [[MeteorMove Smash]]. Every step starting with Topple also allows the party to do more damage to the inflicted enemy and spawns an HP Potion. Smash also does a large amount of damage and can spawn items and money after the enemy hits the floor. Finally, it can be combined with a Blade Combo, a SuperMove chain, to create a Fusion Combo and increase the duration of both and add more to the Party Gauge.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'', being a SpiritualSucessor to the VideoGame/Xenosaga series, brings back the BreakMeter, but does it differently because its an ARPG. Here it's Break-Topple-Daze. Break does nothing outside of putting a debuff on the target, but Topple stops the enemy in it's tracks and attacks done to it have increase critical rates, and Daze can completely shatter [[{{Seers}} Shulk's]] visions of the future. Topple can also be extended by using additional Topple or Daze moves, effectively keeping an enemy from doing anything while you whale on them, although watch out for Topple spikes, where the enemy will do damage to the party while they are Toppled. Also there are moves that can force Topple or Daze (like Melia's Starlight Kick if used after her Spear Break) and Chain attacks can bypass enemy resistances to any portion of the chain. Finally, [[CombatMedic Sharla]] has an Art that can cause InstantDeath to an enemy if they are Dazed.

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[[folder: Eastern RPG]]

[[folder: {{MMORPG}}]]

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* ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'' has the Vitality gauge (HP) and Posture gauge (break). Depleting either of these bars will open up an enemy for a deathblow that instantly kills them (or moves them to the next phase if they have multiple "lives"), opening up two possible targets to beat enemies. Certain attacks target posture more than vitality and generally enemies have less of the former than the latter, but posture also regenerates if the enemy isn't attacking or guarding, quickly at high vitality, nearly stopping at low HP.

** The break bar is occasionally used in other specific circumstances, like weaker enemies who have the break bar as their main weakness (providing different effects for depleting it, including instant death), or major boss enemies, who do not have it all the time, but have it appear for certain boss-specific mechanics.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/break.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:I bet that thing is regretting picking this fight about now...]]

* Featured as a prominent battle mechanism in both ''VideoGame/{{Mana|Khemia Alchemists of Al Revis}} [[VideoGame/ManaKhemia2FallOfAlchemy Khemia]]'' games. Broken enemies are stunned for at least a turn, take more damage and suffer critical hits more easily.

* ''VideoGame/AtelierSophieTheAlchemistOfTheMysteriousBook:'' Enemies and party members are both vulnerable to Break, and when Broken are unable to act as well as being more vulnerable. The Break Meter fills from being attacked, and special attacks fill it more quickly. The visible Break Meter is a small progress bar [[GuideDangIt which the game does not tell you about]] under the icons on the VisualInitiativeQueue.

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* ''VideoGame/XCOM2: War of the Chosen'': If one of the eponymous Chosen has the Bewildered vulnerability, they'll take extra damage when attacked three times or more in the same turn, in any way (gunfire, psionics, explosives, you name it).
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[[folder: Action]]

[[folder:Fighting Games]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'s'' [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Supreme Hunter]]]] goes into a "stunned" mode when you inflict a cascade of sufficiently damaging blows in rapid succession. [[ActionCommands This allows you to get ''literally'' up close and personal for ]] [[ButtonMashing free hits if you wish.]]

[[folder: {{MMORPG}}]]
* ''VideoGame/EdenEternal'' has a variant only seen on bosses and elites. Depleting it merely staggers the enemy and offers an extremely brief respite from attacks, but it ''does'' open up the lower portion of the enemy's [[RandomlyDrops loot table]] where the killer stuff usually is.
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