History Main / CripplingOverspecialization

[[caption-width-right:249:Let's hope he never gets jock itch. [[note]]Character is Razorfist, Villain from Characters/ShangChi, pictured from a Spiderman comic[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:249:Let's hope he never gets jock itch. [[note]]Character is Razorfist, pictured in Spiderman[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:249:Let's hope he never gets jock itch.]]

Don't confuse "having a weakness" or "not being the best at everything" or even "not being quite good enough" as being this trope. Don't be tempted to list something because it failed in some way unless you can point a finger at its crippling specialty!

The opposites of this trope are the RedMage, JackOfAllStats, and MasterOfAll. At the other extreme that loops right back is MasterOfNone, where the character has no great specialization... but sucks at everything anyway.

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See also AntiAir and StrongFleshWeakSteel. Compare to AnAdventurerIsYou, where this is used to force players to work together. See also SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining for a characterization equivalent and SingleTaskRobot for a {{robot}} equivalent. SeverelySpecializedStore is a comedic variation. DiminishingReturnsForBalance is when a game forces this by having a combat build that invests everything into one aspect being less effective than a more well-rounded playstyle.

In some RealTimeStrategy games, unit types are often specialized beyond all reason. They often have only one weapon, [[WeaponOfXSlaying effective against just one particular kind of enemy]], and usually cannot defend themselves at all if their particular weapon is ineffective. The most prominent examples can be seen in this genre: explosives will deal low damage to infantry[[note]]though maybe the problem isn't so much with their damage as with [[PowerfulButInaccurate their accuracy]][[/note]], while Anti-Aircraft cannons can't defend against ground units. This is usually a result of game balance. After all, if tanks are effective enough against other tanks ''and'' infantry, then why build anything else? Additionally, until recently, most units in games were depicted with only one weapon. A few might've had a second gun used for attacking enemy fliers, but that was about it.

In some RealTimeStrategy games, unit types are often specialized beyond all reason. They often have only one weapon, effective against just one particular kind of enemy, and usually cannot defend themselves at all if their particular weapon is ineffective. The most prominent examples can be seen in this genre: explosives will deal low damage to infantry[[note]]though maybe the problem isn't so much with their damage as with [[PowerfulButInaccurate their accuracy]][[/note]], while Anti-Aircraft cannons can't defend against ground units. This is usually a result of game balance. After all, if tanks are effective enough against other tanks ''and'' infantry, then why build anything else? Additionally, until recently, most units in games were depicted with only one weapon. A few might've had a second gun used for attacking enemy fliers, but that was about it.

See also AntiAir and StrongFleshWeakSteel. Compare to AnAdventurerIsYou, where this is used to force players to work together. See also SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining for a characterization equivalent and SingleTaskRobot for a {{robot}} equivalent. SeverelySpecializedStore is a comedic variation.

[[quoteright:249:[[Franchise/SpiderMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_razor_fist_william_scott_3750.png]]]]

[[quoteright:250:[[Franchise/SpiderMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_razor_fist_william_scott_3750.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Let's hope he never gets jock itch.]]

[[caption-width-right:250:[-"Can't cook for himself, feed himself, dress himself, tie his shoelaces, play the guitar, fix a leaky pipe, play with kids or pets, embrace a woman, peel an orange, do accounts, write, build, paint or indeed hold or pick up anything whatsoever. Downright mean in a fight though."-]]]

-->-- '''Major Motoko Kusanagi''', ''Anime/GhostInTheShell''