Nerf

To nerf is a gaming slang term that generally means "to weaken".

The term is used by players of computer games (not just Guild Wars) to mean the reducing of certain content's effectiveness that the developers of the game have deemed unfair or an exploit (e.g. taking out certain weapons, reducing the damage of certain spells). This is usually done by releasing an update for the users to download.

In Guild Wars, there is no way to avoid "nerfing", as all content is automatically downloaded on startup of the game. Nerfing is most directed at builds that seem to overpower others or at farming areas that become too profitable for players.

Examples of nerfing done in Guild Wars:
 * The spell Chain Lightning was made weaker in the summer of 2005 by reducing it's damage and increasing its activation time. This made it less potent and easier to disrupt. This was in response to the domination of PvP teams that were composed of Air Magic spikers.
 * The explorable areas Witman's Folly and the Underworld had new/modified monsters introduced to make them harder for players to farm "solo." The additions and modificiations comprised of adding an enchantment removing creature because enchantments were the secret to being able to farm that area alone.

"Nerf" as an online-gaming term more than likely originates from the 'Nerf' brand of toys that was introduced by Parker Brothers in 1969. Selling 4 million Nerf balls that first year it has remained a popular toy for children and college students to this very day. Nerf toys were marketed as a safe way for young boys to exercise their aggression - being hit by a Nerf ball, arrow, dart etc. was very unlikely to hurt due to the foam rubber construction.

For more information, see:
 * Nerf
 * Nerf (computer gaming)