I dislike the term “nerf” because it has become overapplied to the point of uselessness. Did an ability get its damage reduced by one point? It has been nerfed into the ground. Can you no longer use a particularly overpowered combo? Nerf! Did one spell you never cast get changed so it’s weaker? Why are you nerfing me? And I remember this only beingmore obnoxious in the past, with people insisting that class X has been nerfed so you might as well restart (read: It’s no longer as absolutely meta as it used to be).
But this isn’t about the term; this is about whether or not saying “they nerfed that class, you should reroll” has ever produced any changes. Have you ever really changed what you play in an MMO because of balance tweaks? No matter how severe they may or may not have been or how justified they may have been, have you ever looked at your character and said, “Well, so long” and started fresh to avoid the grim specter of soft foam darts swirling about your mind?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointedquestions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
