Weakens, in video game lingo

In video game parlance, the term “nerfing” refers to the act of weakening a particular character or item’s capabilities within the game. It is often used by game developers to balance gameplay and prevent one particular item or character from becoming too powerful or dominant. While the term itself is derived from the name of a popular toy company that produces foam-based sporting goods, it has been adopted by the gaming community as a shorthand for any form of weakening, whether it be reducing the damage dealt by a particular weapon or reducing the abilities of a particular character. Therefore, the answer to the crossword question “Weakens, in video game lingo is NERFS” is NERFS.