History Main / VillainBeatingArtifact

* In the ''Literature/LoneWolf'' {{Gamebook}} ''The Hunger of Sejanoz'', you've been fighting a Vampire Warlord named....wait for it, [[AntagonistTitle Sejanoz.]] He's said to be completely invincible, and some even say the super-weapon your boss had (in the previous series) couldn't beat him. ...then right near the end of the book you accidentally find a hermit living in a cemetery whogives you "[[DeusExMachina the Arrow of Atonement]]" the one weapon that can kill him.

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Geneology Of The Holy War]]'' has the Naga spell in the same role as the Falchion from Marth's games: it's treated as one in-universe, but gameplay-wise isn't necessary for the FinalBoss. (Good luck beating him without it, though)
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Thracia 776]]'' has the Braggi Sword, the only sword able to damage Raydrik through the protection of his Lopt Sword. Unlike past examples, multiple characters can use this one.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' has Ragnell, the only weapon capable of piercing the Black Knight and Ashnard's Goddess-blessed armor. The sequel reveals that [[spoiler: the goddesses have the power to turn ''any'' weapon into one of these, and Yune ends up powering up your whole party's mundane weapons so they can damage the FinalBoss.]]

[[folder:Gamebooks}}

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/OmenIIITheFinalConflict''. Damien Thorne, the Antichrist, can only be killed by one of the Seven Daggers of Megiddo.
* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': On the hidden island of Themyscira, the Amazons have been guarding an ancient sword known as the [[KillTheGod God-Killer]]. It's the only weapon capable of killing [[WarGod Ares]], the evil deity responsible for spreading death and destruction among humans and the one who wiped out the rest of the Greek pantheon when they wouldn't side with him. [[spoiler:Ares reveals it to simply be [[MagicFeather an ordinary blade]]. The actual God-Killer is Wonder Woman herself, who is Ares' sister through their father Zeus. Gods can only be killed by other gods.]]

* In the {{Gamebook}}, ''[[Literature/LoneWolf The Hunger of Sejanoz]]'', In the Lone Wolf gamebook ''The Hunger of Sejanoz'', you've been fighting a Vampire Warlord named....wait for it, [[AntagonistTitle Sejanoz.]] He's said to be completely invincible, and some even say the super-weapon your boss had (in the previous series) couldn't beat him. ...then right near the end of the book you accidentally find a hermit living in a cemetery whogives you "[[DeusExMachina the Arrow of Atonement]]" the one weapon that can kill him.

* In the first season of ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'', the three Boxes of Orden are treated this way, although it's pointed out that simply killing Darken Rahl will do the trick (although, he's a master swordsman and can FlashStep). Putting the three boxes together allows the person to MoreThanMindControl anyone around them, including Rahl himself. However, the power is too seductive and quickly corrupts the user. Richard eventually realizes that the power of Orden must be tempered by [[spoiler:a Confession]]. At the end of the first season, Rahl is defeated by the power of Orden, but not in the way everyone assumed. He tries to interrupt the ritual by thrusting Richard's Sword of Truth between the boxes to split them. The resulting reaction destroys his body, along with the boxes, while also opening a rift into the Underworld.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''
** A special Colt gun and bullets, made by Samuel Colt himself, can be used to kill practically anything - but [[spoiler: not Lucifer.]] The gun goes missing for several seasons, before it is eventually destroyed by the demon Dagon.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''WebVideo/PuffinForest'''s Malikar Campaign, the titular villain could only be defeated by the Mourneblade. Justified, as Malikar's soul would continuously reincarnate in ever more insane bodies, and the Mourneblade was the only thing that could destroy a soul.

* The Elements of Harmony in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', wielded by the "mane six", were needed to take down two villains: Nightmare Moon and Discord. Celestia suggested that they use it on [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis, but they never get the chance to use it due to being captured before that can happen.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'', the only thing that can stop Unicron is the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. When Optimus Prime passes it down to Ultra Magnus on his deathbed, Unicron converts a nearly-dead Megatron into his pawn Galvatron, ordering him to find and destroy the Matrix. Upon obtaining the Matrix, Galvatron attempts to use it to force Unicron to obey him, which fails when he can't open it. The power of the Matrix is eventually unleashed and destroys Unicron when it falls into the hands of the Autobots' new leader, Rodimus Prime.

* In most games in the ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' series Link needs the Master Sword to defeat Ganon. This is because it was ForgedByTheGods and has a special evil-destroying attribute. In the Capcom games, the Four Sword serves the same purpose, with its target being Vaati (except in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'' where Vaati was HijackedByGanon). Likewise, the Phantom Sword in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'' is needed to defeat Bellum.
** Also from Zelda, the Silver Arrows (at least in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'').
*** The Silver Arrows become the Light Arrows in ''Ocarina of Time'', ''Phantom Hourglass'', ''Twilight Princess'', and ''Spirit Tracks''.

*** Happens again in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon]]'', this time with the titular wand.

* Distilled down to its essence in ''VideoGame/{{Grow}} RPG'': in addition to the best sword and armor, you've got to have the special blue orb that knocks the BigBad's health meter down to where you can actually trade hits with it. (It may not be possible to reach the BigBad without it, though.)

* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the title character's sword is the only weapon capable of taking out Aku, since the sword was forged [[MadeOfGood out of goodness]]. Aku himself is the surviving fragment of a MadeOfEvil EldritchAbomination defeated eons ago by the gods; they later created the blade for the very purpose of destroying Aku.

* In the ''Videogame/GodOfWar'' series, the power contained within PandorasBox is the only thing capable of killing a god. Kratos spends the first game trying to find and open the box so that he can defeat Ares. In ''God of War III'' he needs to open it again in order to defeat Zeus... [[spoiler:or so he's led to believe, as the box is, in fact, still empty since the last time he opened it.]]

A PlotCoupon that is the only way to overcome the villain. Never located anywhere convenient. Expect long overland journeys, [[SecretTestOfCharacter secret tests of character]] and a 50% chance of learning you were playing into evil's hands ''all along''.

SisterTrope to SwordOfPlotAdvancement.

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games have traditionally ended with Sonic (and sometimes whatever ally he has at the time) using the [[BonusStageCollectables Chaos Emeralds]] to go [[SuperMode super]], since the FinalBoss would be too powerful otherwise, and much of the time, they're out in space or otherwise flying, which Sonic can't do on his own. [[spoiler:Though, he does later prove he can take down Perfect Chaos, the former FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' without the Chaos Emeralds, or at least he has [[TookALevelInBadass grown much in strength]] since then.]]

A vital artifact that is the villain's only weakness. Never located anywhere convenient.

Whoa, not so fast there, sport! You can't go rushing out on your way to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punch out Cthulhu]]. You see, the BigBad is way too powerful for you to handle at your base power. You would be dealt a CurbStompBattle in probably less than a second.

However, there is a way to defeat him. It doesn't just make the BigBad easier to deal with, it's the ''only'' way to take him down. There is an artifact that has the ability to take him down, but it's able to be handled by anyone. It may be because the villain is an [[MadeOfEvil embodiment of evil]] and said artifact is [[MadeOfGood made of enough goodness]] that it [[GoodHurtsEvil smites his evilness]]. It may be a WeaponOfXSlaying, where X is this particular villain. It may be because the object is an AmplifierArtifact that boosts the hero's power to match the villain's. It may be that the item is an ImmortalBreaker weapon that can puncture the villain's otherwise-invulnerability. In that case, it's best to be careful with it so that it does not fall into the villain's hands.

Subtrope of PlotCouponThatDoesSomething. SisterTrope to SwordOfPlotAdvancement.

* ''Film/{{Hellbound}}'': Subverted, with an attempt to kill the demonic villain with one of the sacred knives that originally [[SealedEvilInACan bound him inside a coffin]] proving useless, as he's impervious even to those.

* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': On the hidden island of Themyscira, the Amazons have been guarding an ancient sword known as the [[KillTheGod God-Killer]]. It's the only weapon capable of killing [[WarGod Ares]], the evil deity responsible for spreading death and destruction among humans and the one who wiped out the rest of the Greek pantheon when they wouldn't side with him. [[spoiler:Subverted when Ares reveals it to simply be [[MagicFeather an ordinary blade]]. The actual God-Killer is Wonder Woman herself, who is Ares' sister through their father Zeus. Gods can only be killed by other gods.]]

* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' has what is a subversion of this. The subtle knife is claimed more than once to be the only weapon capable of killing God (the supposed BigBad of the series, even though he is really just an impostor), and its owner is urged to take it to the guy opposing God so he can win the war. Then the so-called God turns out to be too old and senile to be the BigBad, and simply dies of old age.

* {{Double subver|sion}}ted by ''[[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy Mistborn: The Final Empire]]''. The magic system revolves around metals, of which ten are known to bestow powers. [[RebelLeader Kelsier]] spreads rumors of an Eleventh Metal that has the power to defeat the [[BigBad Lord Ruler]], but when Vin tries to use it, all it does is show her intangible images of who people used to be. [[spoiler: And then the second time she uses it, she realizes that the Lord Ruler isn't who everyone thought he was and uses this knowledge to relieve him of his ImmortalityInducer.]] NoImmortalInertia [[HilarityEnsues Ensues]].

** [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon The first game]] has two. The [[InfinityPlusOneSword Falchion]] is humanity's main hope against the dragon Medeus, but this is averted in a gameplay sense: which the Falchion makes the FinalBoss a ''lot'' easier, it's still possible to [[CherryTapping Cherry Tap]] him to death without it, and depending on how whether you managed to get the ''other'' VillainBeatingArtifact or not, you might have to. Said other artifact is the Starlight spell, which is the only thing capable of damaging [[TheDragon Gharnef]]... who holds the Falchion in the first place. (Interestingly, Gharnef keeps it not to protect his master, but so he can one day become TheStarscream)

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' subverts this with the Falchion (yes, it's the same one from Marth's games). While it's capable of dealing with the Fell Dragon Grima, it can only [[SealedEvilInACan seal him away for 1000 years]], which just turns the conflict into SomeoneElsesProblem. There's one way to kill Grima for good, and it doesn't involve one of these: [[spoiler: the Avatar has to perform a HeroicSacrifice, as they are technically Grima.]] The Fire Emblem (also the same one from Marth's games) serves as a combination of this and an in-story DoubleUnlock: it's required to perform the [[TitleDrop Awakening ritual]] needed to power up the Falchion to become this trope.

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': Not a specific weapon, but a [[TacticalRockPaperScissors damage type]]. [[PhysicalGod Divine armor]] is only affected by Chaos damage, which is mostly reserved for the LegionsOfHell or extremely strong monsters. In order to defeat the [[NighInvulnerable otherwise invulnerable demigod Cenarius]], Grom Hellscream's orcs reactivate a demonic pact, allowing them to defeat him ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation by giving them Chaos damage]]).
** Also, Illidan devours the Skull of Guldan which the Legion was using to spread corruption throughout the Night Elves' forests. This transforms him into a half-demon, and gives him the ability to defeat the demon Tichondrius.
** Prince Arthas is told that, in order to defeat the dreadlord Mal'Ganis, he must find the legendary sword called Frostmourne. After finding it, Arthas confronts Mal'Ganis. Mal'Ganis laughs and tells him that he fell right into their trap, as the sword has now consumed Arthas's soul. However, while that is true, Arthas's true master is the Lich King, who appears to serve the Burning Legion but has his own goals. He commands Arthas to slay Mal'Ganis, which he does.

* The Elements of Harmony in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', wielded by the "mane six", were needed to take down two villains: Nightmare Moon and Discord. Celestia suggested that they use it on [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis, but they never get the chance to use it due to being captured before that can happen.]] In the premiere of Season 4, [[spoiler:the Mane Six return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony to save it, meaning they no longer have any villain beating artifacts.]]
** At the finale of season 4, [[spoiler: there seems to be a new one: the box spawned by the tree contains a new power for them]].

!!Examples

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/{{Hellbound}}'': Subverted, with an attempt to kill the demonic villain with one of the sacred knives that originally [[SealedEvilInACan bound him inside a coffin]] proving useless, as he's impervious even to those.

* {{Double subver|sion}}ted by ''[[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy Mistborn: the Final Empire]]''. The magic system revolves around metals, of which ten are known to bestow powers. [[RebelLeader Kelsier]] spreads rumors of an Eleventh Metal that has the power to defeat the [[BigBad Lord Ruler]], but when Vin tries to use it, all it does is show her intangible images of who people used to be. [[spoiler: And then the second time she uses it, she realizes that the Lord Ruler isn't who everyone thought he was and uses this knowledge to relieve him of his ImmortalityInducer.]] NoImmortalInertia [[HilarityEnsues Ensues]].

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' had some of these-such as the Hammer of Olaf the Troll, used to whomp Glory down to size, and an ancient scythe that kills the otherwise invulnerable [[TheDragon Caleb]].
* Subverted in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords "Last of the Time Lords"]]. The episode features Martha Jones spending a year trying to locate a weapon divided into four parts that can defeat the Master, only to reveal at the very end that the Villain-Beating Artifact [[spoiler:was a ruse to distract him from Martha's real goal]].
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' has a twist on this trope. The only way to bring down the BigBad is to steal his dagger, [[spoiler: but then you become the villain yourself]], if [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt you kill him.]] You can also ''control'' the Dark One with the dagger, which the Duke chose to do and Rumplestiltskin obviously ''didn't''.
* In the first season of ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'', the three Boxes of Orden are treated this way, although it's pointed out that simply killing Darken Rahl will do the trick (although, he's a master swordsman and can FlashStep). Putting the three boxes together allows the person to MoreThanMindControl anyone around them, including Rahl himself. However, the power is too seductive and quickly corrupts the user. Richard eventually realizes that the power of Orden must be tempered by [[spoiler:a Confession]]. At the end of the first season, Rahl is defeated by the power of Orden, but not in the way everyone assumed. He tries to interrupt the ritual by thrusting Richard's Sword of Truth between the boxes to split them. The resulting reaction destroys his body, along with the boxes, while also opening a rift into the Underworld.
** The second season features the Stone of Tears, the only artifact capable of defeating [[TheDevil the Keeper]], sealing him back in the Underworld. In the GrandFinale, the Keeper appears to win by taking the Stone and returning to the Underworld, but [[spoiler:Kahlan's tear is turned into another Stone, which is used to defeat the Keeper]].
* ''Series/MadanSenkiRyukendo'': The Kanon of Light states that only [[spoiler:the three Ultimate Keys]] are a match for [=DaiMaOh Grenghost=].

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

[[/folder]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the title character's sword is the only weapon capable of taking out Aku, since the sword was forged [[MadeOfGood out of goodness]].

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Link: Faces of Evil]]'', as shown in the page image, Ganon can only be defeated by throwing the Book of Koridai at him.
*** Happens again in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda: Wand of Gamalon]]'', this time with the titular wand.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' had some of these-such as the Hammer of Olaf the Troll, used to whomp Glory down to size, an ancient scythe that kills the otherwise invulnerable [[TheDragon Caleb]].

* In the first season of ''Film/LegendOfTheSeeker'', the three Boxes of Orden are treated this way, although it's pointed out that simply killing Darken Rahl will do the trick (although, he's a master swordsman and can FlashStep). Putting the three boxes together allows the person to MoreThanMindControl anyone around them, including Rahl himself. However, the power is too seductive and quickly corrupts the user. Richard eventually realizes that the power of Orden must be tempered by [[spoiler:a Confession]]. At the end of the first season, Rahl is defeated by the power of Orden, but not in the way everyone assumed. He tries to interrupt the ritual by thrusting Richard's Sword of Truth between the boxes to split them. The resulting reaction destroys his body, along with the boxes, while also opening a rift into the Underworld.

** A special Colt gun and bullets, made by Samuel Colt himself, can be used to kill practically anything - but [[spoiler: not Lucifer.]]

** There's a special dagger which is used to kill demons (and the human they possess at the time). Regular daggers don't kill demons, just the host body. It's later revealed to be an ancient demon killing weapon made by the Kurds, but that's all the explanation it gets.

However, there is a way to defeat him. It doesn't just make the BigBad easier to deal with, it's the ''only'' way to take him down. There is an artifact that has the ability to take him down, but it's able to be handled by anyone. It may be because the villain is an [[MadeOfEvil embodiment of evil]] and said artifact is [[MadeOfGood made of enough goodness]] that it [[GoodHurtsEvil smites his evilness]]. It may be because the object is an AmplifierArtifact that boosts the hero's power to match the villain's. It may be that the item is an ImmortalBreaker weapon that can puncture the villain's otherwise-invulnerability. In that case, it's best to be careful with it so that it does not fall into the villain's hands.

However, there is a way to defeat him. It doesn't just make the BigBad easier to deal with, it's the ''only'' way to take him down. There is an artifact that has the ability to take him down, but it's able to be handled by anyone. It may be because the villain is an [[MadeOfEvil embodiment of evil]] and said artifact is [[MadeOfGood made of enough goodness]] that it [[GoodHurtsEvil smites his evilness]]. It may be because the object is an AmplifierArtifact that boosts the hero's power to match the villain's. In that case, it's best to be careful with it so that it does not fall into the villain's hands.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Colobot}}'', the Phazer Shooter is the only shooter-type bot that can harm the alien queen.