Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy – How to Unlock the Excessive Force Trophy

The Excessive force trophy in Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy asks for one very specific combat move: escaping a Corrupted enemy’s grab by triggering a Focus attack instead of mashing free. It is easy to miss during a normal playthrough because most players break grabs the standard way, so the cleanest method is to farm it in a controlled fight using Chapter Select.

Quick answer: In Chapter 13 (“As one”), Sub-Chapter 4 (“One last trial”), reach the second combat area, attack enemies until your Focus attack gauge is full, then let an enemy grab Sophia while its tendrils stay unrevealed and press Triangle + Square + Circle to break free.

What the Excessive force trophy requires

This is a bronze trophy that unlocks when you break free from a Corrupted’s grab using a Focus attack. Two conditions must line up at the same moment. Your Focus attack gauge has to be full, and you must be caught in a grab where the enemy’s tendrils have not yet been revealed. If either condition is off, the trophy will not register.

Difficulty has no effect on it. You can set the game to Narrative and even enable Invincible Mode to make the fight risk-free, and the trophy will still unlock. It can also be farmed after the story through Chapter Select and checkpoint restarts, so there is no pressure to get it on your first pass.

Detail	Value
Trophy	Excessive force (bronze)
Condition	Break free from a Corrupted’s grab with a Focus attack
Best location	Chapter 13, Sub-Chapter 4 (“One last trial”), second area
Input while grabbed	Triangle + Square + Circle
Missable	No (repeatable via Chapter Select)

Reach the second area in Chapter 13, Sub-Chapter 4

The most reliable spot is the second combat area of “One last trial.” You can jump straight to it from the main menu without replaying the whole chapter.

Open Chapter Selection from the main menu and pick Chapter XIII – “As one”, then Sub-Chapter 4 – “One last trial.” This drops you in right before the sequence you need.

Chapter 13 Sub-Chapter 4 on-screen prompt to follow the beam and charge the Focus attack gauge — The Chapter 13, Sub-Chapter 4 opening, with the prompt to follow the beam toward the second combat area. Image credit: Asobo Studio / via @100Guides

Have Sophia climb through the stone opening and run up the stairs. Turn the crank wheel to raise the stone gate blocking the path.

Run through the misty corridor lined with petrified figures until you reach the circular platform. Trigger the mechanism there to bring in the enemies you will fight. This is the second area where the trophy can be earned.

Sophia following the beam through the dark second area toward the circular platform — Following the beam through the dark second area on the way to the fight that fills the Focus attack gauge. Image credit: Asobo Studio / via @100Guides

Fill the Focus attack gauge and break the grab

With the enemies active, the trophy comes down to timing. You need a full gauge before you allow yourself to be grabbed, otherwise the Focus attack escape will not be available.

Attack the enemies in this area until your Focus attack gauge is completely full. Landing hits builds the meter, and some encounters top it up automatically.

Sophia fighting enemies on the circular platform to build the Focus attack gauge — Trade blows with the enemies in the second area until the Focus attack gauge is full. Image credit: Asobo Studio / via @100Guides

Once the gauge is full, stop attacking and wait for an enemy to grab Sophia. The grabbing enemy’s tendrils must remain unrevealed at that moment, so do not damage it into the next state before the grab lands.

While Sophia is held, press Triangle + Square + Circle to perform the Focus attack and break the grab. Doing this instead of the usual struggle prompt is what satisfies the trophy.

Sophia caught in an enemy grab as the Focus attack input triggers to break free — The moment the grab lands, input the Focus attack to escape and unlock the trophy. Image credit: Asobo Studio / via @100Guides

Confirm the unlock and fix a failed attempt

You will know it worked when the “Excessive force” trophy notification appears right after the Focus attack breaks the grab. If nothing pops, the setup was off in one of a few predictable ways.

The Focus attack gauge was not fully charged when the grab happened, so the escape input did not register as a Focus attack.
The enemy’s tendrils were already revealed when it grabbed Sophia, which does not count for this trophy.
You broke free with the standard struggle prompt instead of pressing Triangle + Square + Circle.

If any of those apply, use a checkpoint restart or reload Sub-Chapter 4 from Chapter Selection and run the fight again. Because the encounter is fully repeatable, you can keep refilling the gauge and waiting for a clean grab until the Focus attack escape triggers and the trophy unlocks.