Game Terms

Chat

• AFAIK - As far as I know
• ATM - At the moment
• CPRG - Computer Role-playing Game.
• Fanboi - An irrational proponent of something
• FPS - First person shooter (like Unreal Tournament and Halo)
• FWIW - For what it's worth
• FYI - For your information
• God Games - Game involving building/running a world (e.g., Civilization)
• GTG / G2G - Got to go, as in, leave.
• IF - Interactive Fiction
• IIRC - If I recall correctly
• IMHO - In my humble opinion
• IMO - In my opinion
• Lag - Refers to a perceived pause in communication with the game server
• LD - Link dead. Refers to being disconnected from the game server.
• Leech - A player who seeks reward without making an effort, though players sometimes do not mind.
• LMAO - Laughing my a$$ off
• LOL - Laugh out loud
• OMG - Oh my goodness or Oh my God
• Patch - An update to a game
• Patch Day - The usually contentious day a game is patched
• PvE / PvM - Player-vs-environment / monster, referring to a player fighting game content controlled by the game code
• PvP - Player-vs-player, referring to players who fight other players
• pWn - To "own" another is to beat them soundly. This term is usually used in jest, or derogatorily
• ROFL - Rolling on the floor laughing
• RPG - Role-playing game (like Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic)
• RTS - Real-team Strategy game (like Warcraft 3)
• sploit - See Exploit
• Twitch - Referring to the need for players to quickly use their keyboard and mouse to perform actions, as in a First Person Shooter game.
• TY - Thank You
• YW - You're welcome
• Zeus Games - See God Games

Game

• Aggro - Referring to causing or compelling a monster to attack
• AOE - Area of effect. Usually refers to a spell cast by a magic wielder which affects an area
• Boss - A super-mob, usually a big monster or NPC at a key point, or the end in, a dungeon or level.
• Buff - Usually refers to a spell or effect that enhances a character's abilities, even if just for a time.
• CC - Crowd control. Usually refers to a character's ability to get monsters and NPCs to do what the player wants
• Con - Usually refers to assessing the potential relationship with a mob or NPC. A player "cons" a mob or NPC to see if they are liked and/or whether it is more powerful than the player.
• Credits - The currency in Star Wars Galaxies
• DD - Direct damage. A cast spell or effect that does damage directly to a target
• Death loop - A situation where a character dies, reappears at a launch, dies again, reappears, and repeats this.
• Debuff - The opposite of buff
• DoT - Damage-over-Time. A cast spell that does some damage over a duration of time.
• Exploit / 'sploit - Cheating, whether intended or accidental.
• Gank - When a group gangs up on an individual
• Gold - Currency in Ultima Online and Everquest
• Guild - A group of players who band together for a purpose. Can also refer to a group of NPCs as well.
• Inc - Usually refers to "incoming", a term players use to announce the approach of a mob or NPC.
• Kite - The action of keeping out of reach of a mob giving chase while periodically doing damage to it. There are various forms of kiting
• KOS - Kill on site. This usually refers to how much (or little) a mob or NPC likes a player's character.
• KS - Kill steal, the act of joining a fight uninvited, usually to receive the reward the original fighter was seeking.
• Level - Either refers to a specific point in a game (ie, "Halo Level 2") or a specific achievement in a game (ie, "Everquest Cleric Level 22")
• Level - A specific area of a game world, whether a solo game or an online one
• LFG / LFT / LFS - Looking for group, team, or squad, whatever the specific game calls informal and temporary groups of players.
• LOM - Low on mana
• Loot - Something a player or group can pick up from a fallen foe.
• Macro - A program or line of code that automates a task
• Main / Main Tank - The primary front-line fighter in the game, the character everyone hopes can keep a monster or NPC's attention.
• Mana / Power - A pool from which players pull the power to cast spells or use abilities. Terms change per games
• Mission / Quest - A goal or set of goals a player or group is trying to achieve
• MMOFPS - Massive Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter (like Planetside)
• MMORPG - Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (like Everquest and World of Warcraft)
• Mob - The original abbreviation for "Mobile Unit" but has since become the equivalent of "monster" or NPC
• Mule - A character that has only one purpose, usually a purpose too boring to compel fulltime active gaming
• Newbie / Newb / Noob - Someone who is new to a game or experience.
• Pickup Group / Pickup Guild - An informal and on-the-spot gathering of players, most of whom do not know each other
• Plat - Short for Platinum, currency in Everquest
• Plz - Please
• Pyreal - Currency in Asherons Call
• Reagent - A consumable resource that helps an ingame character perform a function (like a spell that requires a component to cast)
• Rez - Resurrect, referring to a character that is dead being brought back to life
• Roll back - When a game is reverted to a previous state, usually meaning that any advancements characters have made has been lost. Similar to returning to a previous "save point" in a solo game
• Rouge - The usual misspelling of "Rogue", a thief-like class that often sneaks around and backstabs, or just plain steals, whatever the game play allows
• Spam - Someone who types a lot and usually repeats it. Someone who types a lot and usually repeats it. Someone who types a lot and usually gets annoying.
• Tank - See Main
• Taunt - Usually refers to a player attempting to pull a monster off of another player
• Twink - Both a verb and a noun. To twink is to give someone something way beyond what they could achieve themselves. A twink is someone who has received something like that.
• Uber - Awesome, or powerful.
• Vuln - Refers to a mob or NPC vulnerable in some way
• XP / Exp - Experience. A unit of measure that accrues through player actions and can unlock new content (like Everquest and World of Warcraft)
• Zone - See Level
• Zone! - Both the call, and the action, of attempting to flee a mob or NPC beyond their ability to follow

Additional Glossaries

The following are lists with even greater detail, both more broad, and more specific to individual games, than the above.