3rd November 2007, 10:16 AM
Welcome to the strange and sordid world of "patch slang". You know patches. They say things like:
Increased damage from Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch
The Brinstar Depths stage will now rotate more slowly
Healing bonus from heart containers has been increased by 30%
Duration of Star Power has been decreased by 2 seconds
Kirby's Stone form now reduces damage for the duration
Well here's where the slang comes in.
Nerf means to reduce in power, as in finding that a character/class/NPC is too overpowering so certain aspects are "nerfed" to give more balance.
The opposite expression, "buff", refers to boosting a stat instead if something is found to be too weak. Buff is also used to refer to status effects that make someone more powerful. Debuff is used to refer to status effects that weaken someone.
So yeah, now it's being used with Smash Bros. Next thing you'll know you'll hear shouts for "LFG Tank 4 FS", which would mean they need someone to take all the hits for a group in Fourside. Hah! Well, not really.
Increased damage from Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch
The Brinstar Depths stage will now rotate more slowly
Healing bonus from heart containers has been increased by 30%
Duration of Star Power has been decreased by 2 seconds
Kirby's Stone form now reduces damage for the duration
Well here's where the slang comes in.
Nerf means to reduce in power, as in finding that a character/class/NPC is too overpowering so certain aspects are "nerfed" to give more balance.
The opposite expression, "buff", refers to boosting a stat instead if something is found to be too weak. Buff is also used to refer to status effects that make someone more powerful. Debuff is used to refer to status effects that weaken someone.
So yeah, now it's being used with Smash Bros. Next thing you'll know you'll hear shouts for "LFG Tank 4 FS", which would mean they need someone to take all the hits for a group in Fourside. Hah! Well, not really.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)