Intangibility is such a powerful ability that even in games it is restricted

If I had the opportunity to take possession of any superpower, I would probably choose intangibility.

Intangibility, it is the ability to pass through walls / matter or energy at will, in my opinion, is much better than even any of Superman’s forces.

In this article, I will describe why this ability is so imbalanced, that it is almost impossible to add it without restrictions to a computer game, especially esports, and at the same time preserve the opponent’s chances of winning.

Why intangibility is strong
Any character who can walk through solid objects can ignore any damage just as easily. What would he have bullets if he let them pass through him? It turns out that this ability already in some way repeats the properties of invulnerability – one of the most “pop” and powerful superpowers. But that is not all!

At the same time, intangibility provides great opportunities for tactical maneuvering. The character can move freely in confined spaces and attack from any direction: from under the floor, from the ceiling, passing through the wall. If the attack fails, the character bounces back into cover and prepares to strike again. Perfect defense + attack always happens according to your conditions.

To balance such a force, one would have to impose serious restrictions on it: activation for only a few seconds, inability to go underground and pass walls.

Thus, this ability is either too strong or cut so much that it does not match its essence.

Examples of intangibility in games
An example of the implementation of this ability in games is known to everyone who flew on maps in CS in noclip mode: the character simply goes through any obstacles. A similar mode is activated in classic DOOM after entering the IDSPISPOPD cheat.

The aforementioned Overwatch Fade allows you to walk through characters and ignore damage, but walls are still an insurmountable obstacle. Additionally, the character becomes invisible and accelerates, which makes the skill more like teleportation.

The most interesting implementation of passing through walls is in Murdered: Soul Suspect . There, the hero easily demonstrates how convenient this ability is for moving around the map. But there is one problem – the guy is already dead, which means that he cannot regain a physical body, only if he does not possess someone.

In my view, intangibility is the ability of a living person to pass through matter at will and maintain this state as long as concentration is maintained. In this case, a person can extend these properties to selected objects and carry them with him. If you, like a ghost, are intangible all the time, and you can only interact with the physical world to a limited extent, this is not a true superpower.

One final example: Spectator Mode in Minecraft. In it, the player goes through any blocks, but cannot attack or somehow affect the world.

How would I use this ability in real life
No, not at all in order to get into banks and quietly take everything out of there. If the thought of such use of superpower did not even occur to you, you are great.

Intangibility is a great opportunity to explore hard-to-reach corners of the Earth . If the use of the skill is not limited by time, and movement in space does not obey gravity (how else can I float up from under the floor?), Nothing will prevent me from going down where even the most reliable bathyscaphe cannot reach or the longest drill will not drill. Of course, if scientists want to study the ability itself, I will only be happy to go through any safe experiments.

Another good job for a person with this strength is a rescuer. Someone stuck somewhere? Has there been a collapse? With intangibility, finding and retrieving survivors will be much faster and safer.

Although I’ve only listed the peaceful uses of this ability, any state will do its best to recruit a meta-human who can walk through walls. Just imagine what a spy is capable of, which no bunker can hold. I would not want to participate in political showdowns.