Dec 18 2008
Nerfs… How to do them right (Part 1)
What is a nerf? In most of the world, it is a soft, spongy toy like the eponymous Nerf Football. In the world of gaming, a nerf is a reduction in power, utility, or usefulness of a character class, race, realm, zone, item, etc. Nerfs are very controversial because people do not enjoy being nerfed. Unsurprisingly, people often enjoy seeing OTHER PEOPLE get nerfed… especially in PvP or conflict oriented games.
Generally, players think anything of theirs is fine, and many things of their opponent’s is too powerful. Anything of their opponent’s that is weak, is “fine”, and if such people ask to be improved they are told to “learn to play.” This is expressed succinctly and cleverly by the following axiom:
“Hi. This is rock. Nerf paper. Scissors is fine.”
The sad, unfortunate reality is that nerfs occasionally must happen. The problem is, most developers handle this situation very poorly. They do not think things through, they rush the job, and they take no steps to soften the blow. In this article, I will discuss how developers nerf without thinking things through.
Think Before You Nerf… Then Think Some More
Developers need to understand that whenever you nerf something, the ripple effect is going to be huge. Actually, I should call it a tsunami effect. Everyone affected is going to be angry, and some of the people unaffected will also be angry because they might feel you didn’t nerf enough.
Anytime you are considering a nerf, you need to make sure you analyze the ever-lovin’ heck out of the situation. You need to constantly ask yourself “What EXACTLY is the problem with this class/item/etc. What EXACTLY is making it too powerful?” The answer is very often not the most obvious thing. An overpowered DPS class may not be overpowered because it does too much damage. It might be overpowered because the damage is of a type that is not resisted or defended against (solution: give players a way/choice to defend against it). It might be overpowered because that class has too many escape or utility powers, which make the class unstoppable combined with its damage. It might be overpowered because whatever negatives you have given the class are too easily overcome or remedied.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to PROPERLY DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. If you rush into the nerf, you are very likely to misdiagnose.
Nerfs… How to do them right (Part 2)
Nerfs… How to do them right (Part 3)
I’m the type of player that generally accepts the nerfs that come my way as justified, and I rarely call for nerfs myself(though I’m currently calling for one in Warhammer). Sometimes though I’m left scratching my head at the specifics of the nerf. I realise that developers have information that I don’t, but sometimes I wonder if the devs have any clue what they are doing.
I’m a fan of the “bit by bit” approach. If a class is too powerful, I like to see it get nerfed one ability at a time, rather than sweeping changes all at once. Devs often seem to use a shotgun instead of a scalpel when the players are really crying loudly. I recognize that sometimes a nerf needs to be made really quickly, but in cases like that it’s typically one ability that’s either not functioning as intended, or really wasn’t well thought out(eg On Your Guard! in Warhammer).
As a WoW player, I totally hear you on the nerf thing. Luckily mages haven’t been hit too hard with the nerf bat in recent memory.