Nerf (computer gaming)
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In computer gaming, the term nerf is often used to refer to a change that reduces the utility or desirability of any game element, for any reason. It may refer to an item "They nerfed my Axe of Extreme Coolness! It now looks just like a rusty axe!", an encounter "They nerfed The Encounter Of Extreme Uberness! Now *ANYONE* can just zone in and get keyed! And after all our work in beating the Whatsit Of Doom!", an area "MAN they nerfed the exp in Colossal Plains of Long Running! I killed 100 zeebaras and got like half a bubble!", a tradeskill, ability, class, or even technical game feature "They nerfed the reconnect thing, and now you have to stay logged out 5 minutes if you /quit out."
There are a number of theories as to how the term entered the gaming jargon. One idea is that NERF toys are designed to minimize possible damage, and that "nerfing" in computer games reduces the harm done by that game element. Another is that while it hurts to be hit by a NERF bat, it probably won't cause an injury: similarly, having the appearance of one's "Axe of Extreme Coolness" change from a huge glowing axe to a small rusty axe won't injure the player, but it may well "hurt".
There are also many reasons given by developers for "nerfs". Developers may find that a feature is exploitable, or it may use too many resources. They may simply have made an error, or corrected one, with or without knowledge of its impact on one or more players. It may be the developers' method of correcting a balance issue: an item or feature might favor a class or style of play, or it might put too much money into a game economy, or it might obsolete future content.
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[edit] Rationale
In many successful real-time strategy (RTS) games like Starcraft and the Command & Conquer series, nerfing can be very important. In RTS Games, a slight change in a game mechanic can toss the game's balance into question. For example: In a realistic World War II real time strategy game the Japanese Zero has a much higher speed than the F4U Corsair . A player could then focus on building more Zero fighters, leaving the F4 user at a disadvantage.. As news of the flaw reaches the general public, the F4 might become a niche unit, making the developers' plans moot. It is generally crucial that the developers of the game find out the advantage before the release of the product, then "nerf" the overpowered unit in order to make the game fair and fun.
Among game developers, MMORPG designers in particular are especially likely to nerf aspects of a game in order to maintain game balance. Occasionally a new feature (such as an item, class, or skill) may be made too powerful, too cheap, or too easily obtained to the extent that it unbalances the game system. This is sometimes due to an unforeseen bug or method of using or acquiring the object that was not considered by the developers.
Sometimes designers will nerf objects that are particularly useful in powerleveling. This is to prevent players from rapidly leveling characters to be sold off on e-commerce websites.
Nerfing may increase strategic depth. For example, there may be one strategy which dominates a game due to one particular game element being too powerful. By "nerfing" this one element, the game designer may allow multiple alternative strategies to come to the surface, creating better and more varied gameplay.
[edit] Method
Many nerfs are also done out of the sensibility of "change one feature" vs "change all features". For example, if "X" is determined to be too powerful, the game designer could balance it by either nerfing X or by increasing the power of everything else in the game. Since the net result is the same (the relative power of X has been decreased), it is generally seen as easier to simply nerf X rather than improve the strength of all other elements.
[edit] Sequels and hardware revisions
As nerfing requires the ability to modify the game software, it is usually not possible on console games once they are released, except for on modern consoles where downloadable patches are an option. However, a similar phenomenon can sometimes be seen when console games are updated or revised. For example, Mortal Kombat 3 introduced a new character named Kabal who quickly became popular as players found it easy to perform high-damage combos with him. The revised Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 debuted later with yet more new characters and "more balanced" gameplay, which included significantly decreasing the damage inflicted by Kabal's combos.
Another example of nerfing for game sequels would include the magnum in Halo: Combat Evolved. As it had range, moderate damage, and a fast rate of fire (as well as being available upon spawning), it was the cornerstone of every offense. The sequel, Halo 2, significantly decreased the damage, as well as taking away the scope (reducing range).
[edit] Drawbacks
Nerfs are often implemented as an anti-botting tactic. A classic scenario is a situation where a player runs a bot to gather items of loot by killing monsters repeatedly. Nerfing the drop rate of monsters seems like a reasonable solution to lower the incentive for botting. However, this may also harm legitimate players, as they now have a much lower reward for their play time. Excessive nerfing may also frustrate legitimate players to the point where they begin botting themselves, simply so they can spend their time playing instead of constantly gathering resources.
Additionally, there are many professional players that play for the explicit purpose of gathering resources to sell online. Nerfing the drop rate of an item merely increases the scarcity, driving up the price, and increasing the profits from botting in this manner. Such interaction between virtual and real economy is widely discussed.
