History Main / Nerf

*** Hyper Potions only heal 120 HP instead of 200.

Games with FakeBalance often cause {{flame war}}s due to Nerfs and buffs (and including revamps) implemented.

* The main character in ''LightNovel/BofuriIDontWantToGetHurtSoIllMaxOutMyDefense'' accidentally came across a hilariously [[GameBreaker broken character build]] in the game she played by completely maxing out her defenses and using an extremely powerful set of armor that allows her to devour her enemies. After casually {{No Sell}}ing every attack other players threw at her in a PvP event, the game developers released a patch which allows [[ScratchDamage some damage to pierce her titanic defenses]] and capped the uses of Devour to ten times a day. However, she continued to stumble upon new exploits...

[[folder:ThirdPersonShooter]]

** Thanks to Fallout changing hands, and it's [[Creator/{{Bethesda}} new owners]] [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer not doing the research]], the Enclave's [[PoweredArmor Advanced Power Armor Mk II]] seen in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' is significantly weaker than its ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' namesake, whose stats [[ArmorOfInvincibility surpassed those of the T-51b, the Pre-War pinnacle of Power Armor]]. Instead, its stats are not only inferior to the T-51b: they're identical to the explicitly outdated T-45d, which itself only provides the same level of protection as the heaviest ''non''-powered armor. [[YouDontLookLikeYou It also looks nothing like it's former self]]. ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' [[AuthorsSavingThrow includes]] the original Advanced Power Armor Armor Mk II (renamed "Remnants Power Armor"), revealing that it's just as potent as it always was. The "Advanced Power Armor Mk II" seen in ''3'' was actually a distinct, crappier armor used after the factories for the original suits were destroyed.
** Power Armor ''in general'' got this treatment immediately after ''VideoGame/Fallout2'', and [[UniquenessDecay seems to get more plentiful across the wasteland with each Fallout installment]]. At first, Power Armor was nearly impenetrable to anything but [[PurposelyOverpowered endgame weaponry]], and could only be gotten through a [[ThatOneSidequest particularly difficult sidequest]] for the [[TheOrder Brotherhood Of Steel]]. By ''Fallout 4'', even the ''Raiders'' have it, and the player can get any armor by simply [[FakeUltimateMook killing the wearer and walking away with their suit.]] On top of that, it's also gotten much more difficult to maintain and use.

** Also in ''FNV'', the Chinese Stealth Armor lacks the [[GameBreaker game-breaking]] InvisibilityCloak function it had in ''FO 3''. The base-game Fat Man only has half the damage and blast radius of its ''FO 3'' counterpart, although the Gun Runner's Arsenal version has the more powerful Big Kid mini-nukes.

** Some of the items that returned in ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour'' from earlier games are nerfed. Hearts only protect against items rather than letting the target get the item for their own use, and disappear on their own after a while. Mega Mushrooms do not make drivers invincible; they revert to normal size when hit with an item. They also do not get a speed and off-road boost without a Frenzy.

*** Starting from 'X and Y'', Steel (the ''defining'' defensive type) has lost key resistances to both Ghost and Dark, in exchange for super-effectiveness and resistance against Fairy. This makes the Steel/Psychic types like Metagross, Bronzong and Jirachi gain two extra weaknesses.

** Hyper Potions only heal 120 HP instead of 200.

*** The Psychic type was horribly [[GameBreaker broken]] in [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue the original games]]. Psychic Pokemon tended to have huge Special stats, which accounted for both Special Attack and Special Defense in Gen I. A glitch made the Psychic type immune to Ghost moves, when they were supposed to be strong against them. The only other type that ''was'' strong against Psychic (Bug) had no decent attacks at all. ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' nerfed the Psychic type in a number of ways: most notably, it introduced Dark- and Steel-type Mons, the former being immune to Psychic and the latter resistant to it. It also fixed the Ghost-type glitch, and introduced decent Bug- and Ghost-type moves. Finally, the split of the Special stat into Special Attack and Special Defense made Psychic-types much more varied.

*** The Ice-type went from having 2 resistances to 4 resistances. Ice Pokemon also gained a weakness in Steel.

*** The Special split in Generation 2 was this to a number of Pokemon, as the original mechanics made it so that any Pokemon that could take a special attack could dish one out as well, and the move Amnesia made its user more or less invincible. Many of them got their old Special stat assigned to either Special Attack or Special Defense, and a new stat that was usually lower than the old one. Tauros was probably the most prominent victim, as it relied on its okay Special stat to handle the Rock-types its Normal moves couldn't - but its new Special Attack stat happened to be thirty points lower. Articuno suffered the exact same thing, turning it into a largely ineffective StoneWall, which was particularly obvious as it had once boasted the strongest attacks in Generation 1.
** Generation III: With abilities being introduced, specific move types may no longer work on Pokemon with certain abilities. The biggest example is Ground-type moves became less effective with Pokemon having the ability Levitate.

*** The move Hypnosis is an interesting case. It was buffed from 60% accuracy to 70% in Diamond and Pearl, but Game Freak bumped it back down to 60 in Platinum.
*** Another interesting case is with Thunder and Blizzard, which in Diamond and Pearl when in rain (Thunder) or hail (Blizzard) had a 30% chance of breaking through Protect [[note]]this was actually due to a glitch that made it so that moves under a [[AlwaysAccurateAttack never miss effect]] had a chance of breaking through Protect depending on the move's normal accuracy[[/note]], but in Platinum, the chance of bypassing Protect was removed [[note]]by fixing the aforementioned glitch[[/note]].
*** Prior to Gen IV, moves would still hit a Pokemon under the effect of [[AlwaysAccurateAttack Lock-on or Mind Reader]] even if it was out of range through use of a move like Dig of Fly. Starting in Gen IV, a move will still miss a Pokemon affected by Lock-on or Mind Reader if they're out of range.
*** Prior to Generation IV, Cut could be used outside of battle to cut swathes of tall grass to make it easier to avoid wild Pokemon. Starting here, Cut no longer works on tall grass.

*** Self-Destruct and Explosion lost their defense-halving abilities in [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite 5th Generation]]. They're still the most powerful moves in the game, though.

*** Starting from ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', Steel (the ''defining'' defensive type) has lost key resistances to both Ghost and Dark, in exchange for super-effectiveness and resistance against Fairy. This makes the Steel/Psychic types like Metagross, Bronzong and Jirachi gain two extra weaknesses.

*** Several moves had their damage slightly reduced in [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]]. Staples like Flamethrower, Surf, and Thunderbolt went from 95 Power to 90, while Blizzard, Thunder, and Fire Blast decreased from 120 to 110.

*** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' nerfed several moves and abilities, such as Dark Void now has 50% accuracy and ''only'' works when used by Darkrai (a Pokemon banned in most tournaments), Gale Wings only works when the user has full HP, Parental Bond's second attack does 25% damage rather than 50%, Prankster won't affect Dark types and Soul Dew now only gives 20% power boost to Dragon and Psychic types if held by the Lati@s.
*** A few Pokemon received changes to their abilities, but the most notable example is Gengar, whose only ability was changed from Levitate (which made it immune to ground attacks, which it would be weak to as a Ghost/Poison type) to Cursed Body (an ability that disables a move when it hits Gengar, but due to its low defense, it won't survive too many in the first place).
*** In Generation VII it became no longer possible to choose which position a Pokemon is sent out in, if it's a double battle and its your last Pokemon. This was a (probably) unintentional nerf to Ditto, since you could no longer choose which opponent it would automatically Transform into.

*** Aegislash. For the first time ever, the base stats for a specific Pokemon were actually ''lowered'', with the highest stats being reduced from 150 to 140. In addition, its signature move of King's Shield now only lowers the Attack stat of a Pokemon that makes contact with it by one stage instead of two.

*** The Protean and Libero abilities have been nerfed so that the Pokemon's type only changes the first time its uses a move after being sent out rather than every time it uses one.
*** Continuing the trend of lowering the stats of certain Pokemon, Cresselia's Defense and Special Defense were lowered by 10 each to 110 and 120, respectively.
*** Zacian and Zamazenta (probably due to Zacian having been a '''major''' GameBreaker) have had their Attack stat lowered to 120 in their Hero forms, Crowned Sword Zacian's Attack lowered to 150, and Crowned Shield Zamazenta's Defense and Special Defense lowered to 140 each. In addition, their Intrepid Sword and Dauntless Shield abilities only raise that Pokemon's Attack or Defense the first time it's sent out during a battle.

** The Red Shells are also tweaked from Mario Kart DS. In the DS game, Red Shells were smart and attacked drivers from the side instead of behind, making the "hold item behind you for a shield" strategy almost useless. In the Wii version, the shells go back to the old "follow directly behind the target" behavior.
** Bikes for ''Mario Kart 8'' can no longer pop a wheelie for speed boosts, due to everyone using bikes only in ''Mario Kart Wii'' sorely for the speed boost. Bikes still retain their sharp cornering ability, making them good for sharp turns.

* Missiles got nerfed in ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing DS.'' In the original game, collecting a red balloon three times gave you a full supply of ''ten'' missiles, which could be fully replenished simply by running over a red balloon again. In the DS version, you only get five missles, and they've been reduced to the second-stage weapon, meaning hitting another balloon [[PowerupLetdown upgrades you multi-missiles into a single homing missile instead.]]

** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow'' lets you use [[{{BFS}} Big Freaking Swords]] with ease, but by ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]]'', big weapons have become slower and riskier to use than, say, whips or fists.

[[folder:Anime/Manga]]

* [[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP]][[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3108 -3108]] is a modified [[VisualPun Nerf dart gun]] created by a member of the anomalous artist group "Gamers Against Weed" that can nerf real-world objects, transfiguring them into things believed to be inferior by the wielder. It was used to turn a dollar into a quarter, a can of Coca-Cola into Pepsi (and back again by a different user), a copy of ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' [[TakeThat into]] ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', and so on. Things went south however, when the Foundation decided to [[WellIntentionedExtremist test its effects on living things]], first turning a dog into a cat (that retained the dog's mind and size) and two D-Class into a Neanderthal and various species of primate respectively, until the latter was reduced to a worm by repeated usage. [[WhatTheHellHero Upon learning of this, its creator (who intended for it to be a joke) was so disgusted with the Foundation that he stopped cooperating with their interviewers.]]

** Also in ''Splatoon 2'', the Quick Respawn ability was nerfed so that you have to get splatted at least twice without downing a single opponent, making it less practical for competent combatants. Also, the effects of Quick Respawn are pretty much nullified if the person with Quick Respawn is defeated by a Respawn Punisher user as well. These two things basically destroyed the infamous chain jumping strategy that used to dominate Tower Control in the first game.
** Speaking of nerfed tactics, some games in the first two installments can become so lopsided that spawn camping became prevalent - the dominating team would essentially lock down every means of egress from the spawning pool, meaning that without a Squid Beakon planted behind enemy lines, the match could only end one way. ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'' would switch to giving each player their own off-stage spawning drones that shoot them onto the battlefield, while also being them temporary invincibility after landing, vaporizing spawn camping tactics altogether.

** Generation III: With abilities being introduced, specific move types may no longer work on Pokemon with certain abilities. The biggest example is ground-type moves became less effective with Pokemon having the ability Levitate.

* Legendary JokeCharacter Dan Hibiki in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' had access to a true infinite combo using his V-Trigger 2 and a specific string of attacks against an opponent on the corner. While his infinite did get nerfed, they nerfed it by ''buffing'' him: his Gadoken now has a random chance of being enhanced, which causes a knockdown that causes a knockdown and drops the infinite, but outside of that situation it's almost always a buff.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianTwilight'': The beta was horribly unbalanced. One particular unit was the GDI Offence Class Striker. Easily the fastest land unit in the game, it could jump cliffs, be upgraded to fire faster, more accuratly, and be faster. Plus its laser was strong aginst the heavy armor of the Crawler, your BaseOnWheels. Yeah. That was patched VERY quickly, but it wasn't uncommon for whole teams of Nod Players to ragequit as soon as they saw ONE.
* The ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' games go through continuous buffing and nerfing to improve game balance, given the franchise's incredible popularity in the UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming scene. For example, ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft|I}}: Brood War's'' Corsair, an air-to-air SpaceFighter flown by the dark templar, features a power called Disruption Web that targets an area on the ground and prevents ground units and towers from attacking while inside it, helping with airdrop deployments among other things. This ability's duration was severely reduced in the 1.08 patch, which also gave several nerfs to other protoss powers and units, buffs to the terrans, and a mixture to the zerg; the Corsair nerf is notable because it has noticeable effects on the difficulty of the unit's introductory mission in the protoss single-player campaign.

** Rarely, this trope is [[InvertedTrope inverted]]. For example, the "Meklord Emperor" cards, which in the anime were rather clunky 5-card monstrosities that could only be summoned if a special "Core" monster card was destroyed by card effect, became 1-card monsters which can be summoned when any monster on your field is destroyed by a card effect outside of the Damage Step.

** As of the introduction of Formats, Blizzard began "soft nerfing" decks by rotating cards from the Classic set into the Hall of Fame, a set that can only be played in Wild Mode. Infamously powerful cards like Ragnaros, Divine Favor, Ice Block, and Ice Lance can be removed from Standard meta without having to nerf them into worthlessness.

* [[PerkyGoth Lash]] in ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'' was ''brutally'' nerfed for her appearance in the third game. In ''Black Hole Rising'' she gained 10% firepower for each terrain defense star, but for ''Dual Strike'' she only got a meager 5% firepower boost for each terrain defense star. Furthermore, Sonja (who was [[BalanceBuff buffed]] considerably in this game) was also given the ability to reduce all enemy terrain stars by 1, making her a hard-counter to Lash who outright ''negates'' her bonus on plains (the most common terrain) and reefs (the ''only'' terrain that gives defense stars to naval units).

** In the original Advance Wars Max had a massive 150% increase in direct firepower in return for decreased power and range for his indirects. Because he didn't have to use indirects in the first place with firepower like that it made him the best CO over even the game's BigBad Sturm. His increase was scaled back to a more reasonable 120% in the first sequel. In Dual Strike his power didn't give him an extra movement space. He is still considered one of the better CO's.
** Sami received nerfs in both 2 and Dual Strike. She loses her defense in 2 and Dual Strike lost her increased offense from 2. Her infantry units and her transport units no longer have a boost to her range. This is probably so her tactic of getting an infantry unit to the hq and capping would be a little less viable as the namesake Dual Strike could allow her ally to drop her infantry within striking distance from much farther away, especially if the ally is Eagle who can move a transport twice in a turn.
** Grit got one as a matter of the gameplay changes in Dual Strike. Before he could hide his indirect units behind low income units so even if someone popped their power to try and rush them they couldn't do to much damage. Using the namesake Dual Strike gives you two turns as both CO's attacked one after the another. So his indirect units can be runover in a tide of assaults. And on top of that the new Black bomb unit does nonconditional damage in a square, so Grit can have his block of defense units and artillery easy pickings for a push.
** [[MadScientist Lash's]] units in Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising gain an additional 10% attack for each level of defense they receive, meaning a unit on a city or mountain had nigh-impenetrable defense ''AND'' inflicted 1.5X the damage. If you used her defensively, she was [[GameBreaker UNSTOPPABLE]]. This bonus was dropped to only 5% in the sequel, and she's ''still'' the best CO in the game.
** Days of Ruin finally gave the most overly used unit (Infantry) the biggest nerf possible: raise its price from 1000 to 1500. This makes infantry spam tactic a lot less useful.

*** Wrap, Bind, Clamp, and Fire Spin. In Generation I, all of them prevented the target from executing a move for 3-5 turns. They can switch out, but AI trainers never do this while other players basically ''had'' to switch, and as long as the attack's user was faster it was impossible to attack them until the move ran out of PP. Beginning with Generation II, Wrap and Bind prevent the target from switching out instead, while Clamp and Fire Spin simply do damage.

** Wizards of the Coast also seems very, very afraid of polymorphing effects. They've reworked the rules so many times that trying to keep track of them is an impossible task. Some of the changes were arguably good, such as changing the spells from Polymorph Self and Polymorph Other, the latter of which could be abused, to Polymorph and BalefulPolymorph. Other changes were to cover up such "abuses" as the possibility of parrots being able to pronounce command words for wands that the character could use in normal form (something that a ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' article on the many uses of polymorph spells in 3.0 ''specifically said you could do''). Despite all this, polymorph and similar effects (such as wildshape) are still really good.

*** Among ''many'' other changes, the complete overhaul ''T3nd0's Skyrim SE Redone'' removes Fortify Alchemy and Fortify Smithing from the list of enchantments that can be learnt and applied on your gear, which prevents to abuse crafting to create overpowered equipment and potions.

* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' usually does this in every single franchise. However, the most notable example is ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Second Original Generation]] where they make two important pilot skills (SP Regeneration and Attacker) skills be unavailable as a purchase for pilots. This means that [[{{Mana}} SP]] is going to be limited to pilots and attacks are not going to be as powerful as what they should be. However, because of these nerfs, they are offset with new gameplay mechanics that do balance the game out like the ability slot system and the "[[MoreDakka Maximum Break]]" mechanic.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'''s 0.7.2 update, Yowlar had its HP and defensive stats lowered. Its HP was decreased further in 0.8.3.

In the past, [=NERFs=] for console games were all but impossible due to lacking the ability to patch them. Modern consoles, however, provide this ability, so they now join computer games in this. Many games, especially {{MMORPG}}s and other online multiplayer games, are constantly adjusted to maintain balance. Sometimes, that requires taking something powerful down a peg or two. Of course, [[{{Munchkin}} users of]] [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome that item]] will not be amused, and will inevitably flock to the forums to complain, resulting in a FlameWar about whether or not the NERF was justified. On the other hand, rants from {{Scrub}}s that something ''should'' be nerfed are just as common. Either way, the subject is a touchy one.

A BalanceBuff or Revamp is a change for the better. These are as controversial as Nerfs; a Buff or Revamp to one unit's HitPoints is effectively a Nerf to the damage of anything attacking it. A FlameWar can even develop on whether a given change is a Buff, Revamp or a NERF, much less an improvement in the game as a whole.

So why are [=NERFs=] perceived as being such awful things? Well, human beings and even other great apes have a tendency towards loss aversion. For example, if playing a game of chance where you could lose $100, most people would only play if there's also a chance you could also win $200 or more. It works the same way with favorite characters or tactics; perceived losses simply hurt more than perceived wins.

These days, the term has been expanded so that "NERF" is any downward adjustment, not just an unduly crippling one; similarly, the "Nerf Bat" is no longer [[WithThisHerring what the player is issued]] to take on TheEmpire with, but what the developer whacks him with. Anything subject to these kinds of [=NERFs=] might still be useful, but it won't be a GameBreaker anymore.

Nerfs are sometimes a necessary evil for the good of a game's long-term health, particularly competitive games with long ongoing support. If left unchecked, developers will keep adding new things that are stronger and better than the old ones to both keep players interested in the new content and to give them a reason to use them. This phenomenon is known as PowerCreep, and nerfs are the most effective way to combat this besides the more nuclear option of outright removing them.

Games with FakeBalance often cause {{flame war}}s due to nerfs and buffs (and including revamps) implemented.