About

Nerf is a slang term meaning to reduce an item or character's power in a video game through a patch or another update. The term is inspired by the popular toy brand Nerf, which makes foam-based toy guns and sporting equipment.

Origin

"Nerf" has its origins in the Ultima Online fanbase.^[1] Lead developer Raph Koster wrote in a blog post, "For the record, the term 'nerfing' entered online gaming vocabulary because of UO. At some point, we reduced the power of swords in melee combat, and players started complaining that they were hitting each other with Nerf swords."

The term comes from the popular toy brand Nerf, which makes various foam toys, including foam swords and darts.^[2]

The inverse of "nerf" is "buff," meaning to increase a character or item's power.

Spread

In memes, the most common usage of "Nerf" is the catchphrase "OP Pls Nerf." The phrase is used both sincerely and ironically to complain about items or characters in video games, indicating either the poster actually believes the subject is too overpowered, or they struggle too much against it.

On August 8th, 2015, YouTuber Alpharad posted a video in which he demonstrated skills with Mario's "cape" move in Super Smash Brothers Wii U, ironically titling the video "Cape OP Pls Nerf" and gaining over 860,000 views in nine years.

Better Nerf Irelia

Better Nerf Irelia is a catchphrase from the popular MOBA game League of Legends, after the champion Irelia received various patches that decreased her damage. The catchphrase has inspired the snowclone Better Nerf X and is normally used as a two-part meme.

Better Nerf Greninja is a variation of this meme and relates to Super Smash Brothers Wii U.

Nerf Miner

Nerf Miner refers to a series of memes in the Clash Royale community about the Miner troop being overpowered and needing to be nerfed or balanced by reducing aspects of its power. The phrase "nerf miner" became frequently used in both authentic pleas to nerf the miner unit and ironic shitposts within the community over the years, often as a way to mock people who support Miner nerfing by those who find the troop balanced or as a joke that the miner has been nerfed too much. The Miner has been nerfed numerous times since being added to the game. The phrase gained popularity on TikTok in early 2022 as a spam comment, attached to unrelated videos on heavy topics such as cancer for comedic effect. That year the phrase "Remove Miner" also became popular.

Nerf This!

On July 23rd, 2016, cosplayer ChelHellbunny uploaded a since-deleted video to YouTube of herself cosplaying as Overwatch character d.va. In the video, she said, "Nerf This!" in reference to one of d.va's voice lines before slapping her buttocks and twerking. On August 20th, YouTuber Astroboy uploaded an edit of the video to include the brap noise while ChelHellBunny twerks, receiving over 319,000 views in roughly four years (shown below). On August 21st, Redditor NationsCake posted the clip to the /r/YouTubeHaiku subreddit, accumulating over 1,000 upvotes in six months. On August 24th, YouTuber Denny reuploaded the video, receiving over 1.5 million views, 16,000 likes and 1,600 comments in the same time period.

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External References