History Main / SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness

* Averted in ''Franchise/DeadSpace''. Not only are most of the weapons available before the half-way point of the game, but the starting weapon is considered by many players to be the best and most useful one in the game, especially if you take the time to upgrade it to its full potential. It is very possible to go through an entire game with only that weapon, and you can get an achievement for doing so. On top of this the games only spawns ammo of the type of guns you are carrying.

In games in which the weapons are guns with their own ammunition, this almost inevitably results in the character carrying piles of ammo for the weak weapons that were scavenged early in the game. [[SoLastSeason Rendered useless]] by the various {{BFG}}s picked up later, there's really no point in switching to that dinky pistol, especially when there are rockets and high-power assault rifles practically falling out of trees. One way to avoid this is if earlier areas can/must be revisited, having better equipment present in the shops initially, but just way out of the character's price range when they first shop there, although this can lead to a GameBreaker if the player grinds to get the equipment early, unless this is prevented by a mechanism such as level or skill requirements. Another way of having the same effect is for the shops to get new stock at some point in the game but having them only carry basic items when first visited.

The Sorting Algorithm of Weapon Effectiveness, when put into practice, is best illustrated with a crash course in ElementalCrafting. It goes hand in hand with AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Things like inn stays, healers and other services tend to rise in price at a similar rate to the new and better weapons. It can be undermined by a DiscOneNuke. ATasteOfPower is a minor inversion that is quickly taken away. TeaserEquipment is a more direct inversion, but you probably won't be able to afford ''those'' wares. A LimitedLoadout can be employed to force the player to carefully choose which guns they take with them. See also WithThisHerring.

* ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' manages this not only with the individual weapons of the four time periods' sets, but with the sets themselves. The first episode starts you off with just your fists and works you up through to energy weapons that bounce their projectiles off walls and back into your face, a shotgun that dumps six shells per trigger pull to throw you all about, and explosives with poor hit detection and ridiculously-large splash damage radii to blow up in your face. After you get the Daikatana as your melee weapon you get sent to other time periods for the second through fourth episodes, each of which have their own unique sets of weapons, and that's when you finally start encountering ones that are designed ''as'' weapons first and suicide tools second.
* Not so prevalent in ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'' where every weapon has its niche, but in ''Blood II'', where there are more weapons available than slots to hold them, this comes into play a lot. For example, you can ditch the pistol when you get the SMG, and the SMG when you get the assault rifle; the Howitzer is plain worse than the Napalm Cannon; and the [[LifeDrain Life]] [[ShockwaveStomp Leech]] is a better use of [[ManaMeter Focus]] than the VoodooDoll or the Orb. Although a few weapons collected early on, like the FlareGun and the SawedOffShotgun, are mainstays in a prudent player's arsenal, while latecomers like the Singularity Generator aren't as good as hardware you picked up way earlier.

* Especially true in ''TabletopGame/{{Rfits}}''. Depending on where your campaign setting is and what classes your players choose, you can start of with many top-of-the-line military weapons from advanced alien technologies, or play as a powerful psychic or mage with no need of traditional weapons, or even a dragon or some other supernatural creature, all at level 1.

As a result, the [[ElementalCrafting quality]] of the items that are [[RandomDrop dropped by enemies]], found in [[InexplicableTreasureChests treasure chests]], or sold in shops is directly dependent on how far you are in the game. The FirstTown may be a [[HubCity thriving metropolis]] [[MerchantCity and the center of world trade]], but it will invariably be home to the game's worst equipment. Conversely, the poor desolate village near the end of the game will inexplicably host some of the game's best items and weapons.

The Sorting Algorithm of Weapon Effectiveness, when put into practice, is best illustrated with a crash course in ElementalCrafting. It goes hand in hand with AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Things like inn stays, healers and other services tend to rise in price at a similar rate to the new and better weapons. It can be undermined by a DiscOneNuke. ATasteOfPower is a minor inversion that is quickly taken away. TeaserEquipment is a more direct inversion, but you probably won't be able to afford ''those'' wares. See also WithThisHerring.

* Somewhat averted in the ''FireEmblem'' series. Increasingly stronger weapons do become available as you progress, but since they [[BreakableWeapons break after so many uses]], you'll generally want to save these weapons for the toughest enemies, so the beginner weapons still have value even late in the game. A minor irritation is that the basic Iron weapons become increasingly hard to find in shops later in the game, even though you still need them as much as ever.

* Played with in ''{{Nostalgia}}'', where London starts with almost no gear at all. As you progress in the game and reach major trading posts, new gear is unlocked in London, which may or may not be better than what you already have or can buy in other cities. Played straight with every other shop, though.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Unreal|I}}''. Despite it being a long game by FPS standards, you have every weapon just past the halfway point, and weapons that are useful to start with generally retain their usefulness. The Dispersion Pistol, your RangedEmergencyWeapon, also gets upgrades throughout the game to make it keep up (so much that, before being patched to weaken it slightly the fully upgraded version was a total GameBreaker, {{one hit kill}}ing ''anything'' when aided by the Amplifier '''including the final boss'''), and the Automag, the second weapon you find at the very start of the second level, [[PunchPackingPistol stays as]] the best fast-firing HitScan gun around, better than even the [[GatlingGood Minigun]]'s inefficient dakka. The expansion pack goes the same path, by gifting Prisoner 849 the [[GameBreaker Combat Assault Rifle]] nicely packed in an airdrop crate before you even get into your first serious battle.

** Most of the weapons had their own uses throughout the game. The Magnum was one of the most accurate weapons, had pretty high damage, and could be dual-wielded for great firing rate; the Assault Rifle also did a good deal of damage rather quickly, part of its use in that each hit would briefly stun weaker badguys, as well as shoot explosives; the Combat Shotguns, per pellet, did the same damage as a Magnum shot, and since it shot around 20 of them, was able to be dual-wielded, and could be reloaded quickly ''in one hand'', it would have beat the Rocket Launcher in kill-everything potential if you could have found more than a few rounds for it; the Rocket Launcher kills everything everywhere, period; the Flamethrower also pretty much killed anything everywhere, granted they weren't armored; the SMG was pretty much if the Assault Rifle traded its grenades for faster firing rate and better accuracy. The only weapon that didn't seem to fit was the Alien Weapon, which was mostly useful because it was somewhat accurate, had a lot of ammo, and didn't manage to kill you whenever you used it too close to something.
* Averted in the ''VideoGame/BlakeStone'' games. For almost every enemy except the plasmoids, bosses, and the tough-ass camouflage-clad security guards, the starting rechargeable pistol is your best bet. It gains strength based on proximity to your foe, uses no ammunition, '''and''' it is freakin' silent. An awesome, awesome little gun, though the [[SpecialEffectFailure shooting sound effect]] will leave you [[{{Narm}} on the floor laughing]] the first time you hear it. It is, quite literally, a "bloop." There is nothing like hearing Blake's pistol followed by a blood-curdling death scream. Made all the more funny by every enemy having a single death animation. That's some silenced pistol there, causing giant green plant beasts to explode and limbs to fly every which way with that one unassumingly horrifying little "bloop".

* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}''. All of the weapons had their uses - the .44 Magnums for sniping faraway enemies, the assault rifle/grenade launcher for mowing down nearby or clustered enemies, the fusion pistol for taking down armoured enemies in a hurry (in ''2'' and ''Infinity'') or when in vacuum, and so on. The shotgun and rocket launcher did tend to be TooAwesomeToUse, though.

** ''BFE'' makes this more apparent, with multiple secrets netting you weapons quite a while before you're supposed to get them, including one secret in the first ''twenty seconds'' getting you a shotgun. Your starting melee weapon in the game is also a [[DropTheHammer sledgehammer]], which is powerful enough that it takes until the boss of the second level for you to find enemies that are strong enough that they aren't instakilled by one swing of it.

* The ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series follows the basic template in giving you progressively stronger firearms throughout the games, but is a subversion in that just about every weapon you get retains its effectiveness until the end, each weapon being useful in different situations. The pistol you get in the first cutscene is just as effective for sneaking and incapacitating guards near the end of the game as it is from the start, and still packs enough stopping power to be useful in later firefights or boss fights that don't specifically require you to use something bigger.

* Not so prevalent in ''Video Game/{{Blood}}'' where every weapon has its niche, but in ''Blood II'', where there are more weapons available than slots to hold them, this comes into play a lot. For example, you can ditch the pistol when you get the SMG, and the SMG when you get the assault rifle; the Howitzer is plain worse than the Napalm Cannon; and the [[LifeDrain Life]] [[ShockwaveStomp Leech]] is a better use of [[ManaMeter Focus]] than the VoodooDoll or the Orb. Although a few weapons collected early on, like the FlareGun and the SawedOffShotgun, are mainstays in a prudent player's arsenal, while latecomers like the Singularity Generator aren't as good as hardware you picked up way earlier.

* All of the VideoGame/StarOcean games contrive this in some manner or another, despite the fact that the games feature characters from technologically advanced cultures on much less advanced planets; usually they're stranded without access to their best weapons technology. Particularly odd in the [[VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime third game]], where Cliff's muscle enhancing "Mighty Gauntlet" has lower attack power than run-of-the-mill steel gauntlets simply ''because'' it's his starting weapon.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' generally averts it. Items outside of containers are hand placed, and never change regardless of your level. Because of this, it is possible to acquire some of the best equipment in the game if you know where to look. Items within containers play it straight to a degree, as the items they may contain come from random "leveled lists". Certain items only appear within the "leveled lists" once you reach a certain level, with your Luck attribute also coming into play. (Higher Luck will result in you potentially finding higher leveled items than you normally would.) Finally, merchants have the same stock regardless of your level when you visit them. The FirstTown merchant possesses some better items than merchants you won't run into until hours later, and larger cities tend to have merchants with better stock.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}'', the Ranger begins the game with a lowly shotgun and [[EmergencyWeapon a useless axe]] as its only backup. As the game progresses you pick up a better shotgun, two nailguns, grenade and rocket launchers, and a LightningGun - roughly in that order. The shotguns only really get used in combat because their ammo is absurdly plentiful, otherwise the shotty is only pulled out to shoot certain switches. Its use is even more consolidated as a utility peashooter in the expansion packs: the new weapons in ''ScourgeOfArmagon'' suit heavy combat better and there's no extra-powerful alternate ammo for the shotguns in ''Dissolution of Eternity''.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTriad'': Begin with one pistol in slot 1. One minute into the first level find another pistol which fits slot 2 and is used [[GunsAkimbo akimbo]] with the first. Two minutes into the level find an [=MP40=] submachine gun which fills slot 3. Never touch the buttons 1 and 2 again for the rest of the game.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}'', the Ranger begins the game with a lowly shotgun and a [[JokeItem useless ax]] as its only backup. As the game progresses you can pick up nailguns, grenade and rocket launchers and a LightningGun - roughly in that order. The shotguns only really get used in combat because their ammo is absurdly plentiful, otherwise the shotty is only pulled out to shoot certain switches.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' tries to keep this in effect. The weapons you can't get in the starting city are the M4 (better assault rifle) and some of the heavy weapons, which can show up in later towns. The gun shops unlock according to a pattern as well ... although there's nothing stopping you from {{sidequest}}ing your way to an arsenal.
** To be fair, you're locked out from purchasing the better weapons from stores legitimately until you hit a certain point in the storyline, but there's still hidden weapon spawns where you can pick them up (with the bonus of them being free!). Experienced GTA players know where the good drops are and will often stock up on ammo (the only way for them to respawn is to save the game and advance time forward) by saving at the nearest safehouse and making a few "gun runs". Of course, that then begs the question as to who's constantly dropping weapons worth several thousand dollars in the back of an alley...

As a result, the [[ElementalCrafting quality]] of the items that are [[RandomlyDrops dropped by enemies]], found in [[InexplicableTreasureChests treasure chests]], or sold in shops is directly dependent on how far you are in the game. The FirstTown may be a [[HubCity thriving metropolis]] [[MerchantCity and the center of world trade]], but it will invariably be home to the game's worst equipment. Conversely, the poor desolate village near the end of the game will inexplicably host some of the game's best items and weapons.

* The ''VideoGame/FarCry'' series plays this straight as an arrow, particularly in the later open-world games where the game world is generally split between two major areas, and the weapons available to you are in turn split. ''VideoGame/FarCry2''[='=]s starting G3 takes six to eight bullets to kill a single unarmored guy, with primary assault rifles gradually getting stronger through the AK unlocked through doing favors for the arms dealer, the FAL in the second half of the game, and finally the AR-16 through more favors, which kills almost anyone within one three-shot burst. Heavy weapons mounted on technicals and at checkpoints are universally the M249 in the first half, and as you get into the second you start seeing the heavier Browning M2 and even a Mk 19 grenade launcher. Even the Signature weapons, introduced in ''VideoGame/FarCry3'', start to fall to this pattern in ''[[VideoGame/FarCry4 4]]''; start off unlocking the "Sixer" Webley for the daunting task of simply visiting the store for the first time, which is barely a step up from the regular version, end with ridiculous things like the "Buzzsaw" MG 42 for the small feat of taking over every single outpost in the game world, which [[BottomlessMagazines almost carries more ammo in its belt than you can hold in reserve]] and deals so much damage you don't ''need'' anything else, even for vehicles that don't die under a nanosecond's worth of fire.

* The ''VideoGame/FarCry'' series plays this straight as an arrow, particularly in the later games where the game world is generally split between two major areas, and the weapons available to you are in turn split. ''VideoGame/FarCry2''[='=]s starting G3 takes six to eight bullets to kill a single unarmored guy, with primary assault rifles gradually getting stronger through the AK unlocked through doing favors for the arms dealer, the FAL in the second half of the game, and finally the AR-16 through more favors, which kills almost anyone in one burst. Heavy weapons mounted on technicals and at checkpoints are universally the M249 in the first half, and as you get into the second you start seeing the heavier Browning M2 and even a Mk 19 grenade launcher. Even the Signature weapons, introduced in ''VideoGame/FarCry3'', start to fall to this pattern in ''[[VideoGame/FarCry4 4]]''; start off unlocking the "Sixer" Webley for the daunting task of simply visiting the store for the first time, which is barely a step up from the regular version, end with ridiculous things like the "Buzzsaw" MG 42 for the small feat of taking over every single outpost in the game world, which almost carries more ammo in its belt than you can hold in reserve and deals so much damage you don't ''need'' anything else, even for vehicles that don't die under a nanosecond's worth of fire.

** Taken [[UpToEleven Up To Eleven]] with the ''VideoGame/TerrariaCalamity'' mod, where you get huge tiers of post-final boss gear. After defeating a physical god and a entity known for its power to devour gods, you get the Exoblade, which fires exploding exobeams, freezes enemies in place, deals more damage the lower your HP is, and has a chance to instantly kill anything it touches.

** You start the game with just a [[LittleUselessGun supposedly weak silenced pistol]]... which has [[BottomlessMagazines unlimited reserve ammunition]], and [[PunchPackingPistol can take out almost all infantry you encounter]] [[BoomHeadshot if your headshot game is good]], allowing you to [[TooAwesomeToUse save the other, limited ammo types for when you actually need them]]. If you're a good shot and wary of ambushes by snipers, it can be the most effective weapon until at least halfway through the game.
** Another one of the most effective weapons happens to be [[VideoGameFlamethrowersSuck the flamethrower]], which you get in the second level. The range of the flame spewed is very generous, ammo supply because Nod flamethrower soldiers that drop its ammo appear in ''every level'' after they're introduced, and save for vehicles, turrets and the flamethrower soldiers themselves, fire stunlocks ''anything''. The flamethrower is only really outclassed in the final two levels when Nod officers begin carrying the [[GameBreaker Tarantula]] [[FrickinLaserBeams laser]] [[GatlingGood chaingun]], and even still it's a good sidearm.
** Conversely, most of the Tiberium-based weapons are patently useless, despite their incredible power and relatively generous ammo, because except for the Chemical Sprayer they're all introduced at the same point mutants who are [[ReviveKillsZombie healed by exposure to Tiberium]] take over for most of the basic mooks. Even the Chemical Sprayer suffers in comparison to the flamethrower since it, like all the other Tiberium weapons, has a considerable chance of mutating an enemy into a Visceroid rather than outright killing it, so you need to spend ammo from a conventional weapon anyway.

** Chainsaw, sniper rifle and flamethrower are some of the best weapons in ''The Second Encounter'', yet they're often the first three weapons you can find at the start of each chapter, found sooner than the double shotgun. Every game in the series also generally allows for the rocket launcher to be acquired from a secret area in the first five minutes.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/RainbowSix: Vegas 2''; despite the game featuring a level-up system where you unlock new weapons as you score points during the campaign, the weapons with the highest overall stats are ''the default ones you start the game with''[[note]]except for the 552 Commando, which while also listed with very high stats is about as effective as a passing breeze past close range if you can't consistently nail headshots[[/note]]. Additionally, in the singleplayer/co-op modes a lot of the later-unlocked weapons can be grabbed off of dead terrorists if you want - the AK-47, for instance, is both the last assault rifle unlocked with Assault points and the most common enemy weapon in ''the first mission''.

* ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' is an interesting aversion, considering how the rest of the series handles this - the first weapon you're given is the lightsaber. All of the regular blasters and the like retain usefulness if you want to use them, but it's still telling that, in a game with at least three missions where you deal with gigantic monstrosities that can kill you instantly if they get too close but can't even be damaged in turn (or, if they can, they just respawn endlessly), the level where you're simply forced to [[NoGearLevel go without the lightsaber]] and blast your way through nothing but regular stormtroopers for fifteen minutes is considered at ''least'' as bad as them.
* Averted in two ways in ''VideoGame/FarCry5''. First, the best weapons in the game are unlocked in stores once you reach the midlevel, not the end- the end level stuff is cool but not really that great for the most part. Secondly, there are Prestige weapons that have unique paint jobs and cost a bundle to purchase, but are available from the beginning of the game. With a fishing rod, you can find a dock with a store and easily earn the money you need to buy several of these guns after a couple hours of grinding right after finishing the game's tutorial.

* In ''SonicChronicles'', you can go several chapters without access to a shop, and then when you do find one it sells equipment worse than what you've already got.

** ''TableTopGames/{{Pathfinder}}'' takes the exact same approach. New characters created above 1st level are even given a budget for their starting gear with a maximum on how much they can spend on any one object, preventing them from buying an item outside what the magical item tables should give them. Then there are adjustments to the rate at which said items appear based on how fast the GM wishes the game to progress, but not the ''order'' they should show up in. Sometimes a very powerful item may show up early, but it's unlikely, and a good GM is always careful about what he lets sneak into his game.

* Averted in ''LaPucelle'' and the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series: There's only one shop in the entire game, and the level of the weapons/items available is partially determined by the player's Customer Rank. The more you shop, the better stuff they'll sell you.

* ''VideoGame/{{Arcanum}}'' averts this. If you're lucky, you may find a decent magical sword in the very first city... Only you couldn't afford it. Also, if you go by the minimal number of [[ConvenientQuesting subquests]], the second city you get to is a Capital with appropriately equipped shops (though you've still got to hoard enough gold).

* Somewhat {{justified}} in ''VideoGame/XComEnemyWithin'', as your scientists are feverishly reverse-engineering alien tech and turning it into ever-newer and -shinier toys for the soldiers to kill those same aliens with.