nerf
Make less powerful
To nerf something, in gaming slang, is to weaken or reduce its effectiveness through a software update or rule change: They nerfed my favorite character in the latest patch.
The term comes from the foam toy brand—suggesting something has been made soft and harmless.
By extension, nerf applies outside gaming to any deliberate weakening: The committee nerfed the proposal until it was toothless. (Capitalized Nerf is the toy brand.)
debuff
Harmful status effect
balance · overpowered · meta · update · buff · developer · community · competitive · stats · ability
soften
Make less firm
- Nerf gunToy foam dart launcher
- nerf ballsLightweight foam play spheres
- nerf herderLivestock handler insult
- nerf barsTruck-mounted stepping bars