Nerf - What Does Nerf Mean In Online Gaming?

Weaken

In gaming, to nerf something means to weaken or depower it. Game developers often nerf op characters, items, and abilities via game patches, to ensure a game remains balanced. For example, League of Legends (LoL) frequently nerfs powerful champions' stats and abilities, to bring those champions back in line with others' power level.

Any MOBA (like LoL), MMORPG, RTS, or even FPSes that is updated via patches is likely to have a character, item, or ability nerfed at some point. The term nerf originated as a joke among Ultima Online players, who griped that a reduction in weapon capability turned their swords into NERF foam bats.

Example

They're planning to nerf combat rogues in the next patch
A LoL player arguing for an Akali nerf
A LoL player arguing for an Akali nerf

Related Slang

BrokenOverpowered
BustedOverpowered
DebuffWeakening effect
BuffStrengthen
CheeseExploitative strategy
comboCombination
AOEArea of effect
DOTDamage over time
DPSDamage per second
cdCooldown

Categories

Online GamingWorld of WarcraftLeague of LegendsStarCraft 2

Nerf definition by Slang.net - The Slang Dictionary

This page explains what the slang term "Nerf" means. The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been manually compiled and written by the Slang.net team.

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