What is the Origin of the Term, "Nerf"?
By
Abigail Frost,
Posted on: 2006-07-13 08:39 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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How do you burn someone with nerf fire?
That doesn't even make any sense at all.
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Yeah, that makes almost as little sense as the way fire tankers used to be able to herd dozens of minions onto themselves and kill them all effortlessly with burn to powerlevel themselves.
Current Badge Hunter: Plot Device (Rad/Thermal/Dark) - 1,268 Xbox Live: Friggin Taser
King of Electricity, Lead Inmate running the Carl and Sons asylum, the "Man" behind the Establishment, Given Honor in Hat Form By Paragon City (Favorite Forum Poster 2006!), Master of Ceremonies of the Fair Use Law podcast
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How do you burn someone with nerf fire?
That doesn't even make any sense at all.
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And thus we return to the quote in the original post. The circle of life is complete.
That's also because you're the one trying to sell it to the playerbase (not that we have much choice on the matter to begin with...). A good salesman never calls a turd a turd. 
What happened to Burn was a nerf IMHO. Burn was reduced to a power that is barely even worth taking anymore (and believe me, I've tried, it's not like I can rely on Ice Melee for damage if Burn doesn't work out...)
Burn was overpowered for sure, but it was reduced to the mostly useless (It feels like I'm using nerf fire now!) category, mostly through the hit to the recharge and ED.
Other powers have been reduced in effectiveness wtihout going all the way to a Nerf IMHO. The toned down Fearsome Stare on Dark Defenders is still a usable power, but not overpowered like it used to be.
I hope it's not nerf fire. Burned nerf smells awful!
I guess that explains why mobs run away from it? (Well that, and that that it sizzles their flesh...)
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It pretty much has to do with the whole Nerf concept. A nerf anything is weaker than it's Real Life equivalent. Think about a real sword vs a Nerf one. It used to mean that a power or ability was reduced to uselessness, but as all terms used on the internet, it's meaning has been broadened to include any reduction no matter how insignificant.
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Even broader - I've seen the term used even when a power was getting strengthened - called a "Good Nerf" or a "Positive Nerf".
It's become synonymous with the word 'change' now.
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I have never seen the word nerf to referr to anything that is a buff. Most of the time something is change to become better it is usually referred to as being buffed or boosted or something else but never "nerfed".
Nerf in general as far as I have experienced means less. Not "change". Maybe changed to become less but never just change.
I don't think any real gamers out there would ever call their powers/loot "nerfed" if it got a boost.
You know we the player base would never call anything nerfed again if they would simply stop nerfing stuff. Hence the end of negative stigma.
I would personally rather get everything else boosted than singling someting out and nerfing it. This way we can feel "super" again and not just garden variety hero.
~ my 2 cents
People, Reread what Positron said:
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Personally, I hate the word, and try never to use it when talking about the game to players. It carries a very negative stigma that I like to avoid whenever possible.
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He never said they don't nerf things, he said they don't use the word because of the stigma it carries.
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How do you burn someone with nerf fire?
That doesn't even make any sense at all.
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Yeah, that makes almost as little sense as the way fire tankers used to be able to herd dozens of minions onto themselves and kill them all effortlessly with burn to powerlevel themselves.
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I was being sarcastic, you doodooface. 
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. --- Thomas Jefferson
Formerly known as YFNDBA
Nerfing the use of nerf!
Hey, Positron's reading this thread? Fix Blaster secondaries! 
People just take it personally if their character happens to be on the recieving end of a 'nerf', whether it's a substantial change or not. There were even people griping about Ice Blast/Freeze Ray being slightly adjusted down, even though it barely impacted anything. I think it's just players getting reliant on obviously overpowered abilities or abusive tactics, knowing perfectly well that such powers work TOO well, but prefering to whine and complain rather than adjust their playstyle. People are STILL bawling about suppression.
I agree that Burn is pretty much Nerf Fire now, though; even with a Controller friend to keep everything standing still for you, the fire barely does enough damage to be worth the power slot. I don't see why they can't boost the damage again, now that enemies are afraid of it.
Arc #41077 - The Men of State
Arc #48845 - Operation: Dirty Snowball
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I believe it stems from fantasy MMORPGs (or MUDs even) when a player's weapon would be reduced in effectiveness in an effort to balance the game.
It comes from the phrase "You turned my sword into a nerf bat".
Thus "nerfing" something became synonymous with making something weaker.
"Hit with the nerf bat" is a derivitive, but still sees its origin in the original 'sword' phrase, and can be applied to systems outside of the normal weapon and loot ones.
Personally, I hate the word, and try never to use it when talking about the game to players. It carries a very negative stigma that I like to avoid whenever possible.
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You forgive me for using 'nerf' and I'll forgive you and yours for using the term 'diversification'
Playing a fire tank was so much fun!! Wow. This is a game. I think, ummm it should be fun. NERF!!!!
ArciticBurn Lvl 50 Fire/ice/fire Tank Champion
NovaBlade Lvl 50 Kat/SR Scrapper Liberty
PowerForce Lvl 50 Erg/Erg blaster Liberty
GreenFlame Lvl 50 Fire/Rad/fire Troller Champion
Many many more
There is no such thing as a cowardly zombie.
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Thus "nerfing" something became synonymous with making something weaker.
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I think it implied more than that; it meant "making something useless." (Hence the negative stigma.) That's part of the problem with the word as it's used today; while it's applied to any weakening of a power/ability/item/etc., it's always presumed that it's a negative change. It's hard to imagine a "good, necessary nerf." The very word almost removes the possibility that an effectiveness reduction of this-or-that thing is actually beneficial to the game.
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Over at William & Mary, the science-fiction/fantasy club, Skiffy, regularly engages in large-scale nerf gun fights. They are allowed access to a few floors of one of the buildings, and play a variety of games there. People bring their own weapons, and usually modify these weapons from their stock versions in order to increase the functionality.
One of the guys there once brought in a custom gun, which he called 'Bartleby'. It was a simple gun, made from a super-soaker which had a PVC barrel attached with electrical tape and hot glue. With this gun, he could shoot accurately up to 200 feet, if he pumped it all the way.
During that evening's fight, he pumped the gun to get enough pressure to shoot about 150 feet, and was waiting to tag people who came out of a hallway, when someone jumped out of a different hallway about 40 feet away. He shot the hapless fool right in the should, and by the end of the night he had a bruise the side of a grapefruit.
At another point that night, he pumped the gun to its full charge and fired it into the ceiling. You know those particle-board ceilings that universities tend to have? His dart went through the tile. And when I say through, I mean through - it left a clean, circular hole the size of a nickel. That tile offered no resistance whatsoever.
Needless to say, Bartleby was disallowed from play, and nowadays customized weapons need to be checked and cleared by an experienced player designated the Master at Arms before use.
My point here is that nerf gear is highly underrated. Just because it's a nerf dart coming at you doesn't mean it can't really, really hurt.
Jerk 4 Life
In brightest day, in blackest night/No evil shall escape my sight/Let those who worship evil's might/Beware my power ... Green Lantern's light!/(Meowth, that's right!)
My Arcs: #4827: Earth For Humans. #6391: Young Love.
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It pretty much has to do with the whole Nerf concept. A nerf anything is weaker than it's Real Life equivalent. Think about a real sword vs a Nerf one. It used to mean that a power or ability was reduced to uselessness, but as all terms used on the internet, it's meaning has been broadened to include any reduction no matter how insignificant.
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Even broader - I've seen the term used even when a power was getting strengthened - called a "Good Nerf" or a "Positive Nerf".
It's become synonymous with the word 'change' now.
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I have never seen the word nerf to referr to anything that is a buff. Most of the time something is change to become better it is usually referred to as being buffed or boosted or something else but never "nerfed".
Nerf in general as far as I have experienced means less. Not "change". Maybe changed to become less but never just change.
I don't think any real gamers out there would ever call their powers/loot "nerfed" if it got a boost.
You know we the player base would never call anything nerfed again if they would simply stop nerfing stuff. Hence the end of negative stigma.
I would personally rather get everything else boosted than singling someting out and nerfing it. This way we can feel "super" again and not just garden variety hero.
~ my 2 cents
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We both agree that that it should NOT mean 'change'. But, nevertheless, I have seen it used that way - here on these very boards. Wheter you consider them "real" gamers or not, I have seen more than one person use it that way. I try to get them to not do it, but it's become seciond nature to some people - any "change" is a "nerf".
I disagree with you though, that they should "boost all other powers instead of 'fixing' one or two.
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
"The tip of a shoelace is called an aglet, its true purpose is sinister." The Question
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I believe it stems from fantasy MMORPGs (or MUDs even) when a player's weapon would be reduced in effectiveness in an effort to balance the game.
It comes from the phrase "You turned my sword into a nerf bat".
Thus "nerfing" something became synonymous with making something weaker.
"Hit with the nerf bat" is a derivitive, but still sees its origin in the original 'sword' phrase, and can be applied to systems outside of the normal weapon and loot ones.
Personally, I hate the word, and try never to use it when talking about the game to players. It carries a very negative stigma that I like to avoid whenever possible.
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I was under the impression that the ARchers in EQ were quite powerful, and they introduced a significant decrease in power, to which someone indicated they felt like they were shooting nerf arrows. I'm sure their are plenty of origin stories for the nerf term, but it is based off of the soft, difficulty to harm others material.
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Looks like someone needs to read the guide before nerf whining.
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Speaking of semantics, the use of the word "guide" is quite liberal here. But if the intent is to have your opinion seem to carry more weight, then you're right in line with all the nerf-criers.
Maybe NERF is really an acronym for 'Net Effect: Reduced Fun'
We don' need no stinkin' signatures!
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I believe it stems from fantasy MMORPGs (or MUDs even) when a player's weapon would be reduced in effectiveness in an effort to balance the game.
It comes from the phrase "You turned my sword into a nerf bat".
Thus "nerfing" something became synonymous with making something weaker.
"Hit with the nerf bat" is a derivitive, but still sees its origin in the original 'sword' phrase, and can be applied to systems outside of the normal weapon and loot ones.
Personally, I hate the word, and try never to use it when talking about the game to players. It carries a very negative stigma that I like to avoid whenever possible.
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You forgive me for using 'nerf' and I'll forgive you and yours for using the term 'diversification'
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Indeed. Avoiding particular words because of their associated stigma means nothing to those who have issues with the actual changes and not the words.
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Power alteration
Reduced in effectiveness
Strength modification
Debuff to the power
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Nerf those terms, they're Too Long!
Plus it reminds me of every piece of spin a Politician throws out when they "Gerrymander"
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People just take it personally if their character happens to be on the recieving end of a 'nerf', whether it's a substantial change or not.
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Nerfing happens in real life too. I can't run nearly as fast now as I could in my 20's. So I have been nerfed and I don't take it personal. <<hides>>
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Looks like someone needs to read the guide before nerf whining.
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Speaking of semantics, the use of the word "guide" is quite liberal here. But if the intent is to have your opinion seem to carry more weight, then you're right in line with all the nerf-criers.
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Don't make me link to the Mudwimping guide.
The forum was done for 4 hours last time someone did that.
Current Badge Hunter: Plot Device (Rad/Thermal/Dark) - 1,268 Xbox Live: Friggin Taser
King of Electricity, Lead Inmate running the Carl and Sons asylum, the "Man" behind the Establishment, Given Honor in Hat Form By Paragon City (Favorite Forum Poster 2006!), Master of Ceremonies of the Fair Use Law podcast
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Looks like someone needs to read the guide before nerf whining.
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Speaking of semantics, the use of the word "guide" is quite liberal here. But if the intent is to have your opinion seem to carry more weight, then you're right in line with all the nerf-criers.
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Don't make me link to the Mudwimping guide.
The forum was done for 4 hours last time someone did that.
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Man, I hate that mudwhimping guide. Not so much for what it has to say, because a few things in it are valuable, but more because of it's unbelieveably whiny/authoritative tone, and the fact that when people have been argued into a corner about the need for a given change, that's their last recourse. There should be a subset of Godwin's Law just for the mudwhimping guide.
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well i cant see what else you would call "nerfing" burn
posi might not remember it but its one of those powers that we "use" to use
since hes not nerfing things..maybe he can tell us when he plans on fixing the power he messed up then?
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I would call Burn's change many things:
Power alteration
Reduced in effectiveness
Strength modification
Debuff to the power
etc.
Just because I don't use the word "nerf" does not mean things will never be adjusted in a downward direction.
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As long as you don't go crazy-mad with things, just do minor tweaks to keep things in-line, we're all ok with it, right guys?
*AHEM* ****** his tommygun*
I said, Right guys?
*listens to the other players going "right" "sure" "right boss"*
8)
But seriously, you've been doing things a lot smarter with CoV, having generally weaker powers to begin with, then gradually buffing them into shape. Rather than starting with PHENOMINAL COSMIC POWERS then cramming them into a Teeny Weeny living space.
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Indeed. Avoiding particular words because of their associated stigma means nothing to those who have issues with the actual changes and not the words.
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On the other hand, using a highly charged word when even people who use it can't agree on what it means is simply poor communication.
As we can see in this thread, "nerf" means so many things to so many people that it isn't particularly useful except as emotional invective. "Nerf" becomes a cipher word, a nothing, a syllable with no meaning other than "bad." It's gamer profanity.
To me, this is largely a function of the binary gamer mentality, that a power is either uber the very best available or gimp, that is, less than the best. Good or bad. One or zero. Take, or skip. Do or do not, there is no try, etc.
Nerf is the process where you go from uber to gimp, in symbolic logic. It's why so many people use it and it's also why it's so meaningless, because as a word it says nothing about what the change was or how it works and simply assumes it was bad. Sometimes going from 1 to 0 is what you want.
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Man, I hate that mudwhimping guide. Now so much for what it has to say, because a few things in it are valuable, but more because of it's unbelieveably whiny/authoritative tone, and the fact that when people have been argued into a corner about the need for a given change, that's their last recourse. There should be a subset of Godwin's Law just for the mudwhimping guide.
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QFT
How do you burn someone with nerf fire?
That doesn't even make any sense at all.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. --- Thomas Jefferson
Formerly known as YFNDBA