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* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' lets you reduce unit HP as with WC3, but this also applies to custom maps like like RTS or zombie survival games.

* In ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'', attacking first is crucial. Not only do good match-ups leave victims with 20-0% health left, but [[UnstableEquilibrium the more injured a unit is, the less firepower it has]]. So the strategy is to never let yourself get attacked to ensure you do max damage and reduce the enemy's firepower considerably before they do that to you. Medium tanks and its heavier counterparts have higher defense, but even those have [[TacticalRockPaperScissors counters]] who can chop off 40% or more of their health/firepower.

* Open combat in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' rarely lasts more than a few seconds before one side or the other is wiped out. Most [[ArtAttacker roller]], [[ChargedAttack charger]], and [[SplashDamage blaster]]-type weapons (as well as nearly every offensive [[SpecialAttack sub]] and [[LimitBreak special]] weapon) are capable of a one-hit kill, and numerous other weapons can kill in two hits. Weapons with lower damage tend to compensate by having high fire rates, meaning that unless you stack defense buffs, any weapon in the game can kill you in a second or so. Thus, sneak attacks and hit-and-run tactics become an important and highly effective strategy.

* ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}} has this. Enemies, even story bosses have the ability to rip huge chunks off of your health bar in the blink of an eye, and Yagami has access to special attacks that can deplete entire health bars or more with a single use (for reference, the FinalBoss of the game has 4 health bars).

** [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles The Shredder]] vs [[Franchise/{{Wolverine}} Silver Samurai]] ultimately goes down to who would be the first to land a lethal hit due to Oroku Saki's ninja precision and Kenuichio Harada's Tachyon Blade. [[spoiler:The Shredder is deemed the winner since the hosts shown that Saki [[SuperSpeed can strike faster]] than Harada [[SuperReflexes can react to protect himself]]. That, and Oroku could always [[CuttingTheKnot just chug some Mutagen]] to become [[SuperMode Super Shredder]], whose strength far outclasses Harada's defensive abilities.]]

* ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'': Night battles in Kantai Collection are essentially a double-edged sword case of this, as the firepower cap is drastically increased and certain ships (such as destroyers and cruisers) on both sides gains a significant boost in firepower, and may perform attacks that are capable of inflicting significant damage, if not outright obliterating the enemy target altogether. While it is useful or even essential for defeating enemy bosses as you may chose to enter it voluntarily, there are certain maps that features night battle nodes. Though night battles only have one round of shelling, the enemy cut-in attack could heavily damage even your battleships and force you to make a costly retreat. For this reason, forced night battle nodes are loathed by most players.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/StarFoxAssault https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/star_fox_assault_sure_shot_scuffle_mode.png]]]]

-->Description of the '''One Hit Obliterator''', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' becomes this between two characters, [[ChildProdigy Lysithea]] and the [[TheDreaded Death Knight]] [[spoiler:Jeritza]]. Lysithea is a very powerful mage who can defeat the Death Knight easily because of her Dark Spikes Τ causes extra damage to horse riders the Death Knight included. On the other hand, the Death Knight is a very powerful warrior though so if he attacks her first, Lysithea [[SquishyWizard isn't going to survive]].

[[/note]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12913821/20/Game-and-Bleach Game and Bleach]]'', Yoruichi's spar against Tatsuki works this way. Yoruichi's hits each take out a full third of Tatsuki's health while Tatsuki's one successful attack leaves Yoruichi unconscious with zero health. To take things further, Yoruichi was deliberately striking Tatsuki's armor while pulling her punches as well.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon'' becomes this on high difficulties. Most enemy stat gains are centered on offense, meaning they become very, very dangerous, to the point of being able to kill pretty much any unit (barring a trained Wolf or Sedgar) in two hits at most. However, the existence of the Forge mechanic in combination with effective weapon damage means that the player can ''also'' kill most enemies in one or two hits right back. Accuracy on both sides is also very high, to the point that you'll rarely see hit rates below 70%, so most hits are going to be taken on the chin. This is especially pronounced in the case of killing the FinalBoss, Medeus: Tiki (and her counterpart Nagi) can blast off about two-thirds of his health in one shot at base level, but in exchange, he will pretty much always kill her in one hit no matter how much she's been raised. Because of this, the most popular way to kill him is to use the Aum Staff to revive her after she's been killed so that she can get in a second hit.

** 4th Edition was the one edition to [[InvertedTrope invert]] this with its PaddedSumoGameplay. While enemies ''did'' have some attacks that could take a PC down if focused fired, these were generally once per fight skills, and the easy access to quick healing would mean that PCs would be back up on their feet within a round (Monsters seldom got healing or regeneration because it unnecessarily prolonged an already long slog). A typical 4th Edition fight would start with the monsters unleashing some fairly strong attacks against the party that could make them concerned for a minute, the party quickly healing everyone back up, some exchanges of blows where one or two enemy combatants would eventually be defeated making victory pretty uncertain, and then another 30-60 minutes of mop up by the players. The rules tried to fix this slightly with the second Monster Manual toning down HitPoints and defenses while buffing up an enemy's attack once they [[TurnsRed were "bloodied"]], but combat still took a long time. Probably one of the reasons why 5th Edition below reverted back to quicker combat mechanics.

*** Of course, the inverse is also true in these servers, as "everything" includes damage debuffs. Since nearly every weapon in Team Fortress 2 is not and upgrade, but a sidegrade by way of a SituationalSword, you'll either be decimating the opposition or be doing jack crap to any of them.

An InstakillMook with low health will always result in this. When this happens in a BossBattle, you have a RushBoss. Compare GlassCannon, OneHitKill, OneHitPointWonder and Type 2 MutualDisadvantage. Contrast the inversion, PaddedSumoGameplay, where instead of mutually ineffectual defenses as this trope, there are instead mutually ineffective weapons.

* Open combat in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' rarely lasts more than a few seconds [[note]]Most roller, charger, and blaster-type weapons (as well as nearly every offensive sub and special weapon) are capable of a one-hit kill, and numerous other weapons can kill in two hits. Weapons with lower damage tend to compensate by having high fire rates, meaning that unless you stack defense buffs, any weapon in the game can kill you in a second or so.[[/note]], with one side or the other wiped out. Thus, sneak attacks, hit-and-run tactics, and more become very useful and important. This is also true of single-player, though armor mitigates it a bit, with distracting, sneaking, or maneuvering so that you can actually squash the enemies before they wipe you out being one of the most important tactics of the game.