The term “Nerf” for the weakening of elements in games should be familiar to every gamer at a basic level. However, many wonder where the word comes from and what its origins are. We at MeinMMO have researched and explain the background of “Nerf” to you.
What does Nerf actually mean? The term Nerf is feared and celebrated by gamers alike. It simply means that an element in a game is reduced and weakened in its effect.
NERFs are especially often heard of in MMORPGs and shooters, particularly when it comes to weapons or certain skills. In the case of a Nerf, they are weakened or otherwise reduced to a greater or lesser extent.
Depending on whether the Nerf is perceived by players as correcting an excessively exaggerated feature or unnecessarily weakening a weapon that is actually adequate, a Nerf is sometimes viewed positively or negatively in the communities.
But what exactly is behind the term? Does it have to do with the fact that Nerfs are often “annoying”? Or is there a connection to the similarly named toy guns?
Nerf in gaming is indeed related to toy pistols
Where does the term really come from? In fact, the term comes from the early days of online gaming. In the MMORPG classic Ultima Online, at the launch in 1997, swords were far too powerful. Everyone used them because all other weapons simply didn’t hit as hard.
Thus, the developers had to make adjustments and implement a patch that significantly weakened the swords. This practice of radically changing an ongoing game from one day to the next was completely new at that time.
Since the so-called “darts” are made of soft foam material, you can shoot each other without worry of injury.
In addition to the “NERF blasters”, there are also various melee weapons, like swords, that are also made of NERF foam and can be used to harmlessly hit each other.
The term NERF here stands for safety from injury and was therefore applied to the reduced damage effect of the swords in Ultima Online. From there, the term “to nerf something” became a catchphrase for the weakening of features in (online) games.
By the way, there are also various game-inspired NERF blasters, like this Overwatch NERF collection.
Games were typically released in a finished state back then, and if there were serious bugs, the developers effectively had to release a completely new version of the game.
However, in Ultima Online, the devs could simply patch the client accordingly, and suddenly the swords were no longer the OP super weapons.
The players quickly noticed this and, in disbelief, compared their adjusted blades with harmless toy weapons from the brand NERF in message boards and chats. “Fights now feel like you’re getting beat with NERF foam swords” was probably the wording of that time.
What are NERF-“weapons”? The term NERF (in capital letters) stands for “Non-Expanding Recreational Foam” (roughly translated as form-stable toy foam). It describes the material from which the “ammunition” of the popular NERF blasters is made. These are sophisticated toy pistols that have been sold by the US toy company Hasbro since 1969.
Since the so-called “darts” are made of soft foam material, you can shoot each other without worry of injury.
In addition to the “NERF blasters”, there are also various melee weapons, like swords, that are also made of NERF foam and can be used to harmlessly hit each other.
The term NERF here stands for safety from injury and was therefore applied to the reduced damage effect of the swords in Ultima Online. From there, the term “to nerf something” became a catchphrase for the weakening of features in (online) games.
By the way, there are also various game-inspired NERF blasters, like this Overwatch NERF collection.
