Every gamer appreciates changes that make the experience more satisfying. Whether they are improvements to the graphics, sound or mechanics themselves, they always add a new quality and freshness.
Today we are going to take a closer look at one of the popular terms associated with these changes – buffs. This is one of those typical words you’ve probably heard somewhere, either in a live conversation or on a stream.
To find out more, read our guide and enrich your game knowledge!
What Does Buffed Mean in Gaming?
As you can see, this is a very useful element in games. You can use it to make a character more resilient or give them better equipment than before. What’s more, game developers often introduce buffs to increase the appeal of their productions and attract more players.
Where Buff Come From?
While we are talking about the term, it is worth mentioning its origin. It turns out that ‘buffed’ did not come directly from the games. It originally came from the world of bodybuilding and fitness, where it was used to describe well-built, muscular and strong people.
Over time, gamers adopted the idea. If training can make someone stronger and fitter, why shouldn’t it work in the virtual world? Thus the term began to be used in games, where upgrading characters or mechanics would make them more effective.
The term gained its greatest popularity in the early years of the online game and MMORPG boom, as developers sought to continually improve their productions. Later, enhancements quickly made their way into other genres and are still present in games today.
How to Use Buffs Effectively?
Now that you know the meaning of buffs and know their origins, it is now time to learn how best to use them to get the maximum benefit. Here are some practical tips:
- Use buffs when you need them most, for example before difficult battles.
- Remember to use buffs when playing as a team. They not only strengthen you, but also your team.
- Ask the game developers for a buff if you feel your character or weapon is too weak.
- Sometimes you can combine several buffs at once for a more effective boost.
- Check the duration of buffs so you don’t lose the ones you have for certain occasions.
What Else You Should Know About Buffs?
To help you become a real Buffs expert, we have put together some related terms for you. Take a look and remember these, you may find them useful.
We have divided these terms into major and minor ones. The ones below are a must have to remember if you want to be a master at buffs:
- Nerf – means to weaken something, the opposite of the word buff.
- Meta – refers to the tactics that give the most profits at any given point in the game.
- Patch – is a game update that often changes a character’s strength, skills, or items through buffs and nerfs.
On the other hand, if you like to know a lot, the following is also worth looking at and will certainly come in handy at some point in the game:
- Balance – is a fair level in the game, maintained through the use of buffs and nerfs.
- Power Creep – is when newly added characters, weapons or items in a game are much stronger and better than the older ones, so the developers have to improve the older ones to balance everything out.
- Hotfix – relates to making quick changes to the game to improve it by buffing or nerfing.
- Overtuned/Undertuned – refers to the need to use nerfs because something is too strong or buffs when something is too weak.
Conclusion
And now you know what does buffed mean in gaming? We hope that the answer will be yes!
If you like this kind of content, keep an eye on our website as we have a lot of interesting stuff coming up. Now check out how YOU can buff your characters!