"Nerf it!!!"

[Chazar]

Everybody is writing about 'nerfing' this and 'nerfing' that, but can anyone tell me what this really means? I mean, I know pretty well what it means by now, but where does the word 'nerf' itself come from?

A dictionary didnt help at all, and wikipedia referred to some sort of child-safe-foam-pLastic-toys, but that doesnt capture my imagination of a 'nerfed vampire queen' (She's still ethereal and not pLastic, isnt she? And what's a child-safe vampire queen supposed to be good for at all? ). I also thought about a forum search on 'nerf' to see who started it, but there are way too many hits on that word and no option to order the results by date...

[The Panther]

I believe it comes from a toy. About 20 years or so ago, there was a line of nerf toys available in many stores. They were very soft and squishy and cuddly. A child playing with them could not hurt themselves. Maybe the toys are still available, but my own children are college age now and I would not know.

I suppose the analogy is that playing with a nerfed VQ means you can't hurt your opponents!

[Chazar]

(Or to clarfiy: Wikipedia's hint would suggest that "nerf" means something along "making it safe to use", but this would be quite opposite to what it is used here. After all, the pre-patch VQ was safe to use because she was overpowered, while now one has to think more thoroughly about choosing her...)

[Graeme Dice]

Consider it this way. To nerf something is to turn it into a foam based Version of itself. A nerfed sword won't be able to do anything besides annoy the person you hit with it.

[Gandalf Parker]

I first saw it used in mud Online games. If items where changed after they were released they were either boosted or nerfed. Nerfing (in reference to the toys http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/ ) usually meant softening it or making it "kiddie" items.