What does nerfing

So I guess you could say that by 'nerfing' a gameplay mechanic, it's in reference to making it less effective by any means possible. Conversely, the word "buff" which I would imagine is short for buffering , would act as the complete opposite; someone who is getting buff is building up their stats or characteristics. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.

Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Etymology of "Buff" and "Nerf" as used in video-game slang Ask Question. Asked 11 years ago. Active 1 year ago. Viewed k times. Where do these terms come from? Improve this question. Sven Yargs k 30 30 gold badges silver badges bronze badges. Dan Dan 3 3 gold badges 12 12 silver badges 15 15 bronze badges. I would imagine that the noun buff comes from the adjective buff that is used to describe someone who is muscular. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes.

Wikipedia gives info on origin and context of both terms: Nerf computer gaming : In video gaming a nerf is a change to a game that reduces the desirability or effectiveness of a particular game element. You can read the linked articles for more. Online Etymology Dictionary has an entry for buff as well: s, buffe leather, from M. Developers constantly monitor and test for unexpected and exploitable tricks legions of gamers might use to their advantage. This back-and-forth between creators and fans is known as balancing.

And the most common way we see it carried out is by nerfing making something weaker and buffing making something stronger. But the terms nerfing and buffing were coined in the early days of the internet, largely thanks to the early massively multiplayer online role-playing games MMORPG Ultima Online.

Back then, only about 18 percent of households in the United States had internet access, according to the U. Census Bureau. UO was far from balanced when it first launched. The shield was covered with horn, sinews or nerf , and skin or rind. Make some holes in me oof you vant, aber I don'd t'ink you haf der nerf to make holes in anypody. You vas all a back oof gowards, und don'd haf der nerf to show your faces!

Top Definitions Quiz Examples Nerf. How to pronounce nerf? Alex US English. David US English. Mark US English. Daniel British. Libby British. Mia British. Karen Australian. Hayley Australian. Natasha Australian. Veena Indian. Priya Indian. Neerja Indian. Zira US English. Oliver British.