Ground Pound: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

Near obligatory basic combat maneuver that involves the [[Player Character]] jumping, ducking or crouching in the air, and then forcefully smashing/pounding/diving directly into the ground. Is also a common way of activating switches. If the attack sends out a wave of damaging energy then its a [[Shockwave Stomp]].

 

 

Also not to be confused with Operation Ground and Pound, by ''[[DragonForce]]''. Arguable sister trope of [[Ground-Shattering Landing]]. See [[Sword Plant]] when this is done with a [[Cool Sword|sword]]. Often intersects with [[Ass Kicks You]].

{{examples}}

 

 

 

* Once his superhuman melee skills are upgraded, Gideon Wyeth of ''[[Advent Rising]]'' can perform a Seismic Pound.

* Various ''[[Castlevania]]'' protagonists can do this, usually after getting the double jump ability. With the right timing, a mid-air "stomp" can sometimes get you up to platforms you [[Sequence Breaking|shouldn't be able to reach yet]].

 

=== Action Game ===

* ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'' - This is exactly what the maneuver is called

* ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]''. Slight variation in that you can [[Charged Attack|Charge]] it, and can perform it on the ground (where it's the shockwave and not the collision that does the work.)

 

=== Driving Game ===

* Padre Destino in ''Vigilante 8: Second Offense'' has an ''underground'' Ground Pound. He goes subterranean, tunnels to the target and erupts from the ground, emitting a shockwave that blows nearby enemies away.

 

=== Fighting Game ===

* Many of the characters in the ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' games have something to this effect. Yoshi, Bowser, and King Dedede do this in the traditional manner, and Kirby simply turns into a rock... or a spike ball, or a Thwomp, or Lip's garbage block...

** You can ground pound ''off the edge of the map'' and lose a life.

 

=== First Person Shooter ===

* ''[[Deus Ex: Human Revolution|Deus Ex Human Revolution]]'' features the Icarus landing system which activates if Adam falls from a dangerous height, [[Not the Fall That Kills You|if you have the augmentation that is]]. While falling the player has the choice to make him smash the ground which releases a [[Dynamic Entry|shockwave that staggers nearby people]].

* Several of the Jedi heroes in ''[[Star Wars]]: Battlefront II'' can do this, even leaving a black scorch mark on the ground.

 

=== Hack And Slash ===

* There are two ways of doing this in ''[[Drakengard]]''. The first and most obvious way is to be using [[The Kid with the Remote Control|Seere]] and have him command Golem to destroy everything in front of him, and then watch the fun. The second way is to start a running charge, jump, and attack, in which the protagonist sends out a circular shockwave around him when he lands. This second move is [[Cool but Inefficient|almost completely useless.]]

* Barbarians in ''[[Diablo]] II'' have Leap and Leap Attack skills. Both create circular shockwaves that knock enemies back.

* Common move in the ''[[Samurai Warriors]]'' and ''[[Dynasty Warriors]]'' series. The area of effect is usually very small, but the AI frequently uses it to knock down players who stick too close to an enemy officer. Oh, and in ''SW2'', it's one of the few ways to reveal a burrowing ninja.

 

* ''[[Champions Online]]'' used to have this if you bought the [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Cannonball]] advantage for [[Shockwave Stomp|Havoc Stomp]], but the notoriously buggy advantage was eventually removed.

* ''City of Heroes'' had this on release for their Super Strength powerset in the form of Foot Stomp, which later had an alternative animation option that used one's fist instead of their feet. Later, the Kinetic Melee powerset had a similar attack in the form of Burst.

* ''[[Jett Rocket]]'' can do this—and needs to, because it's the only way to activate the end-of-level warps and defeat certain enemies.

* ''Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (NES/SMS/GB/GG) used this to smash through ledges.

 

=== Real Time Strategy ===

* Assault Sergeant Thaddeus in ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]: [[Dawn of War]] II'' has the Assault Jump ability, allowing him and his squad to perform a Ground Pound on any enemies you target, knocking them aside.

** Subverted in the board game, where trying that same maneuver with the same models (a Deep Strike) used to result in the models instantly dying, no matter how flimsy the thing is they landed on. Thanks to a recent core rules change, there's only a 1/3 chance of instant death in this case, but none of the three results of the Mishap Table cause any damage to what you land on.

 

=== Role Playing Game ===

* ''[[Sacred]]'' has several characters with this, and a couple with no shock waves.

* The protagonists in ''[[Wild ARMs 4]]'' and ''[[Wild ARMs 5|5]]'' have this as part of their puzzle-solving repertoire (yes, used to pound switches).

 

=== Simulation Game ===

* Too many monsters in ''[[Maple Story]]'' do this.

** Oh, and the ''player'' can perform a Ground Pound if they're a Marauder and if they're in a Super Saiyan-esque form.

 

=== Third Person Shooter ===

* ''[[Crackdown]]'' lets you ground pound from any height, including off the top of skyscrapers. Brilliantly, the shock wave you create when you hit the ground sends cars, objects and pedestrians flying.

* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]: Space Marine'' lets you do that when equipped with a jump pack, killing or stunning nearby enemies.

 

=== Wide Open Sandbox ===

* ''[[Dead Rising]]'' features an aerial stomp attack that can be gained. Aside from it's usual ability to instantly decimate undead forces beneath him, it also allows Frank West to make suicidal jumps and be fine thanks to knee drop invincibility. Fa~ntastic!

* The player in ''[[Just Cause (video game)|Just Cause 2]]'' will die if they fall from great heights, but they can grapple into the ground (thus speeding up their descent) and land safely.

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Videogame Effects and Spells]]

[[Category:Video Game Physics]]

[[Category:Nothing Butt an Index]]

[[Category:Sublime Rhyme]]