A type of Action Command for reloading weapons. At the minimum, when succeeding it will reload a weapon faster than not performing the command while failing will cause the reload process to take longer than usual. Doing nothing will perform the reload animation normally.
Some extra bonuses provided by a successful command may include a guaranteed Critical Hit or increased damage for the next bullets fired. Sometimes these require a "Just Frame" Bonus.
Typically there is an indicator on screen to show the reload process and when the best times to attempt the command.
Sister Trope to Lag Cancel, which also allows you to cut a few frames off the timing of an action, but is usually done by performing a second action instead of simply performing the first one well. Successful reloads may involve an Unorthodox Reload.
Examples:
- In Dead Cells, the Heavy Crossbow comes with the "Reload Crossbow" ability, which instantly refills your arrow count and guarantees the next attack will be a critical hit.
- Dead Space: Extraction: Guns can be reloaded faster based on where the line is on the reticle during the reloading animation.
- Enter the Gungeon has the Rad Gun and Cog of Battle; the Rad Gun grows in strength and power as the player consecutively reloads it with increasingly fast timing until it reloads instantly, whereas the Cog of Battle enables a more traditional active reload as an action command for all guns that increases their strength, accuracy, and reload speed when hit.
- Gears of War: The game features the Active Reload system that reloads your gun quicker should you succeed an Active Reload but significantly extends your reload time should you fail. Achieving a Perfect Reload will grant various buffs to the different weapons, ranging from simply increasing damage, decreasing its charge up time or increasing the blast radius of explosive weapons. Notably, only the ammunition restored in the reload benefits from a Perfect Reload, any ammo you retained from a partial reload will not be buffed.
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2021): A story-mandated upgrade for Quill's Blasters is the Rapid Reload ability, where sustained fire with the Blasters until the meter reaches capacity results in a brief window where pressing the 'Fire' button while a marker is within a small green section results in automatically gaining a full clip with a temporary damage buff to boot. Missing the window results in a rather long cooldown during which Quill's Blasters can't be fired.
- Heroes of the Storm: Tracer's "Locked and Loaded" talent increases the damage of her next magazine by 40% if you reactivate her Reload ability while halfway through a reload. Since she needs to reload a little over once every second and reloading only takes 0.8 seconds, doing this consistently is a test of skill.
- In Risk of Rain and its sequel, the Sniper and their successor the Railgunner have this ability, which, if successful, grants significant bonus damage on their next shot.
- Skullgirls: Black Dahlia can reload her gun by a few frames quicker should she perform a Perfect Reload.
- Star Wars Battlefront II (2017): If a gun completely overheats, players can attempt an active reload. If the cursor hits the blue section, the gun's built-up heat will dissipate, allowing be fired once more. If it hits the orange section, the gun will gain the before-mentioned effect in addition to a short boost for the gun to fire infinitely for roughly 10-15 seconds.
- SYNTHETIK: When inserting a new magazine, pressing the button to load the mag when the bar is on the highlighted section reloads the gun faster. The Haste difficulty modifier randomizes Active Reload times but adds a second smaller bar that also grants buffs until you reload a new magazine when successful.
- Warframe: The Sirocco Amp can be reloaded early by pressing the reload button halfway through the process. It also overcharges the next shot. Failing the command will simply play out the reload process normally.
