Gaming Terms/Lingo

Easter Eggs — Easter eggs are hidden features such as a new character or secret level.

Triple-A (AAA) — A game is described as being a triple-AAA title if it has a big budget, a lot of backing, and receives almost universal praise from fans and critics alike.

Grinding — This is the act of plugging away at a certain element of a game, for example, raising your experience level in an RPG by continually getting into random fights with monsters.

Glitching — Despite being subjected to QA testing, most games ship with bugs intact. Encountering one could lead to you glitching; getting stuck in a wall, for example.

Clan — Most team-based games have clans, which are disparate groups of friends or strangers who come together to form a team. Clan matches are when two clans face off against each other.

DLC — Or Downloadable Content. This term applies to all additional content that can be purchased online and downloaded onto your system. Includes new levels, characters, costumes, etc.

FPS — Or First-Person Shooter. This term refers to the genre of game in which you see the world through the eyes of your character. They commonly show a weapon floating around in front of you.

MMORPG — Or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. This term refers to games such as World of Warcraft which see millions of people occupy the same game world at one time.

PvP — Or Player vs. Player. This term refers to games (or portions of games) which see one or more human players face off against one or more other human players.

NPC — Or Non-Player Character. This gaming term refers to all characters in a game not controlled by the player or a human opponent. The behavior of NPCs is controlled by AI (artificial intelligence).

n00b — Short for newbie, refers to new players who clearly possess no skill or are otherwise clueless about the game. Can also be used to disparage veterans who are exhibiting n00bish behavior.

FTW! — For The Win! The exclamation point is optional but preferred. Used as a general expression of enthusiasm – example: MakeUseOf FTW! – on the Internet as well as in video games.

Pwned — A corruption of “owned,” used to refer to those times when someone has dominated or been dominated. If you beat another player 10-0 in a one-on-one match, for instance. Teabagging said player to celebrate the pwning is optional.

Camper — Primarily used in online shooters to refer to people who stand, sit, or lie still rather than rove around the map. Camping is frowned upon, and taking a camper out of the game is very satisfying.

Spammer — Primarily used in online shooters to refer to people who keep their finger pressed down on the trigger button at all time. Any kills they make are more as a result of luck than skill.

Kill Ratio — Most online shooters rank players according to their kill ratio. You’d be ranked higher for ending a game with 6 kills and 0 deaths than you would for 10 kills and 6 deaths.

XP — A shortened version of Experience Points, which are racked up as you progress through a game. Hitting certain levels of XP usually sees your character level up and gain new abilities or weapons.

Bots — Multiplayer gaming doesn’t always require you to have real friends, as bots (AI players) can take their place instead. You can usually choose the difficulty of bot you want to face off against.

Ping — In online gaming your ping is the time (in milliseconds) it takes for information to travel to the server and back. The lower the ping the better.

Lag — If your ping (or latency) is too high then you may experience lag. This is when your real-life actions take too long to translate to the actions on screen, making a game virtually unplayable.

/AnyWordHere:  Many games have slash commands that you can type on your screen to make your character *do* something, like /dance will make your character dance.

AH:  Auction House.  Some games have an Ebay type system for treasures that you can earn gold in game by selling your items.

AFK:  Away From Keyboard.  Can be computer or console.

Alt:  Alternate character.  Not your main character but another one you play.

AoE:  Area of Effect.  This is a large attack or spell that encompasses a large area.

AP:  Attack Power.  This is how much damage you can do.

Beta:  This is a game that is in a testing phase to the public and usually to a limited number of people.

Bio:  Gotta pee.  Gotta eat.

BoE:  Bind on Equip.  This means the treasure you picked up will become yours ones you put it on your character.  Or you can sell it / give it away.

BoP:  Bind on Pickup.  This means the treasure you picked up will become yours the moment you receive it and will not be able to sell it or give it away.

Boss:  Big bad guy.  Must kill him or her to move forward in the game.

Bot:  Usually a robotically controlled and hacked account used for farming gold.

BBL:  Be Back Later.  You gotta go.

BRB:  Be Right Back.  You will be back soon.

Combo:  As a player you have to build up points in order to perform a “combo”.  A combo is a combination of buttons you press or what you’ve generated regarding your abilities.

DC:  Disconnected from the internet or the server.  Usually during an important moment.

Ding!:  You’ve achieved a new level for your character.  Like a bell ringing.

Dood:  Dude.

DoT:  Damage over time.  This is a spell or effect you place or receive that does not do all of its damage immediately.

DPS:  Damage Per Second.  This is how much your character is able to attack in one second.  Its kind of a form of measurement.

Farm:  You are gathering supplies.

Flagged:  Either you chose or the environment chose that your character is no longer “safe” and can be killed by an enemy.

FFA:  Free For All.  Anyone can have an item if you’re in a group.  Up for grabs.

FTW!:  For the win!  This means whatever you’re talking about is really, really awesome.

GRATZ:  Congrats!  Someone is saying good job to you.

GTG:  Good to go.  I’m ready!

H4X0RZ:  Hackers.  I rarely see this one, but I think it’s funny.

HP:  Hit Points.  This is how many times you can take damage before you’re dead.

HPS:  Heals Per Second.  This is how much your character can heal per second.  Kind of a form of measurement.

IDC:  I don’t care.

IDK:  I don’t know.

Inorite:  I know, right?  Self explanatory.

IRL:  In real life.  This means you’re talking about your life outside of video games.

Kewl:  Cool.

Lewt:  Loot.  Treasure.  New clothes or armor or weapons for your character.  Good stuff!

LoS:  Line of Sight.  Usually this is used in groups of players when you are trying to pull a bad guy to another area of the room as to not aggro another bad guy.

Lol,u mad?:  It’s a way to make fun of someone who is really upset in the game.  Apparently this originated from a rapper talking smack to Bill O’Reilly.  Also in the form of “You mad bro?”

Main:  Your most played, highest level, or first created character.

MOB:  Monster or Beast.  Bad guy.  You should kill it before it kills you.

MMO:  Massively Multiplayer Online video game. Tons of people all across the world are playing in the same environment you are and you can interact with them.

Ninja’d:  Someone who steals treasures in the game from other people.  A thief.  Looked down upon and not cool.

Orly?:  Oh really?  Usually used sarcastically or for fun.  Often followed by a macro that looks like an owl.

Pat:  Something (good or bad) that “Patrols” a certain area.

Pew Pew:  Is the sound of a laser gun, or means that you’re doing a lot of damage to a bad guy.

PUG:  Pick Up Group.  Not a group of people that you know but people willing to do the same achievement you are wanting to accomplish.

PvE:  Player Versus Environment.  Your character is fighting only against the computer game, regardless if there are other people there.

Rez:  Resurrection.  You died and you need to be brought back to life by another teammate.

ROFL:  Rolling on the floor laughing.  Clearly you’re not really doing this, but you’re expressing that you think something is hilarious.

ROFLMAO:  The next level from the above.  You are not only rolling on the floor laughing but you’re also laughing your ass off.  This usually means that you actually are laughing out loud in real life while typing to someone in the game environment.

RP:  Role Playing.  You pretend that your character is actually in the game environment and you don’t talk like *you*… you talk like your role.  Often theatrical.

RTS:  Real Time Strategy.  This is a game where you have to handle everything in the moment and think very strategically about how you will defend or attack.

Woot!:  This means someone is happy or happy for you.  Think: YAY!

Zerg:  This is a term used to mean that the over population of your team will over run the more powerful opponent you may be facing.  It originates from a race in Starcraft.