The Lantern Hall
Painting: an ancient lexicon open on a carved lectern in a dark chapel of books, glowing runes and symbols lifting off its pages like fireflies.
TermDigital term

Buff & debuff

A buff is a temporary effect that strengthens a character; a debuff weakens one. As a verb, buff (and its opposite, Nerf) also describes developers strengthening or weakening something in a balance patch.

A buff is a temporary effect that strengthens a character; a debuff weakens one. As a verb, buff (and its opposite, Nerf) also describes developers strengthening or weakening something in a balance patch.

Quick answers

What does "Buff & debuff" mean?
A buff is a temporary effect that strengthens a character; a debuff weakens one. As a verb, buff (and its opposite, Nerf) also describes developers strengthening or weakening something in a balance patch.

Nearby in the archive

Nerf

Digital term

To weaken an item, ability or character in a game update, usually for balance; the opposite of a buff. Players protest nerfs to their favorite builds as loudly as any policy change.

Cooldown

Digital term

A waiting period after using an ability before it can be used again. Cooldowns replaced or supplemented Mana as the main limit on powers in MMORPGs and action games, turning combat into a rhythm of rotations.

The holy trinity

Digital term

The three-role party structure of group content: a tank to absorb enemy attention, a healer to keep everyone alive and damage dealers (DPS, damage per second) to kill things. It formalized the fighter-cleric-wizard balance of the tabletop The party for real-time online play.

Raid

Digital term

A large-group challenge in an online game, typically a series of powerful bosses that require many players, careful planning and repeated attempts. Raiding guilds built schedules, voice chat and loot rules such as Dragon kill points around it.