Nuke (gaming)
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In many online video games (especially MMORPGs), the term nuke is generally used to describe a spell or skill which is capable of dealing a great amount of damage to its target. More specifically, the term is applied to a player character's most damaging spell or spell-like ability.
Related to the above meaning, "nuking" is the act of using a nuke on a given target.
Between communities, the term may have slightly different meanings. For example, within some communities, to "nuke" is to deal the most possible damage to the most possible enemies (almost exclusively by means of an area of effect skill), whereas some communities use the term to refer to dealing the highest possible damage to a single target in the shortest amount of time (ex. "Nuke the healer first and ignore all the rest until he's dead!"), also known as a spike.). Alternately, some communities require that the player or players doing the "nuking" must do so by means of ranged combat (that is, out of melee range), whereas some communities make no such specification.
In a real-time or turn-based strategy game, the term "nuke" literally refers to annihilating a large portion of an opponent's forces with a superweapon or equivalent, typically a nuclear missile, as seen in StarCraft and Command & Conquer. Alternatively, in Warcraft III the tactic of attacking one of the enemy's Heroes with your own Heroes' heavy damage spells, in order to kill it or cause it to run away is called nuking. The spells themselves are called nukes.
