Nerf (computer gaming)
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A nerf is a change to the rules of a computer game that weakens a certain object or ability.
The term comes from the childsafe Nerf toys of soft foam and plastic, which are often made in the shape of guns, bats, or other weapons. The term originated in the MMORPG Ultima Online, where for a long period of time the sword skill was incredibly powerful. The designers eventually lowered its effectiveness, causing massive player outcry; they claimed that it seemed as though they were hitting with "Nerf Bats". [citation needed]
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[edit] Game balance
Nerfing is an important concept in game balance. Nerfs can have a dramatic impact on the intricate balance between different classes, items, and skills, making them often highly controversial. But even the most controversial nerf can be accepted by the gaming community, if it's clear that the nerf has improved the game balance.
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.
The games most frequently adjusted for game balance are multiplayer online computer games, especially MMORPGs and highly competitive games such as tactical first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. As nerfing requires the ability to modify the game software, it is usually not possible on console games once they are released. 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, including at least one that did 70% damage. 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.
Yet another "nerfed" weapon was the Magnum pistol of Halo. In the first game, it was considered the cornerstone of any offensive player's strategy. It could zoom and dealt moderate damage. In Halo 2, however, it lost the ability to zoom and did not do as much damage.
[edit] Anti-botting nerfs
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 at websites. 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.
[edit] Other considerations
Game designers must also be careful to ensure that nerfs don't inadvertently decrease a game's strategic depth. For example, in a hypothetical early version of chess with half the number of pawns, players might complain that the queen was "too powerful". An inexperienced game designer might nerf the queen by allowing it to only move like a pawn, but this loses the point of the queen and decreases the strategic depth. A better solution might be to simply increase the number of pawns.
Sometimes designers will nerf objects that are particularly useful in powerleveling. This is to prevent players from rapidly levelling characters to be sold off on e-commerce websites.
