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Like any hobby, gaming has its own set of different terms, phrases and jargon that will sound strange to outsiders. If you've decided to enter the gaming world and want to learn the jargon so you don't get confused anymore, you've come to the right place.
We explain common game terms in plain language. While many games and genres have their own jargon (some of these game terms may even have different meanings depending on context), update these general definitions with the most important game terms.
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1. AAA (Triple-A)
AAA games are titles produced by big studios like Ubisoft or EA. They usually have big budgets and a lot of marketing around them.
AAA games are in contrast to "indie" titles made by smaller development teams. You might also hear "AA" (double A), which refers to mid-range studios like Devolver Digital.
2. Add
This term refers to "additional enemies" that usually appear in boss encounters. You often have to balance taking care of supplements and boss damage.
3. AFK
AFK means away from the keyboard. This means that a player is temporarily unavailable.
4. AdE
AoE or "Area of Effect" refers to attacks or abilities that affect a specific area. This is in contrast to skills that hit only one target, like a rifle. You'll usually see a circle or other indication of where the skill is in effect.
5. Robot
Bots, CPUs and "computers" refer to non-human opponents in multiplayer games. Some multiplayer titles allow you to play game modes alone or with friends in local multiplayer against bots.
Alternatively, calling another player a "bot" is an insult. You could say someone is a bot if they play extremely poorly.
6. Buff/Nerf
A buff refers to a change that makes a character or weapon more powerful in some way. In contrast, a nerf is a change that reduces an item's power.
They are usually used to refer to the balance between characters or weapons in online games that are frequently updated. For example, increasing a weapon's damage would be a perk, while increasing its cooldown would be a nerf.
7. Sponge Ball
A bullet sponge refers to an enemy taking an excessive amount of damage to kill them (because it "soaks up" damage like a sponge). For example, an enemy that you expect to take down in a few shots and actually takes several clips to defeat is a Bullet Sponge.
8. Camping
Camping refers to sitting in one place rather than constantly wandering around the map. People who do this are called campers and they do it to take down other players. It is usually used in online shooters like Call of Duty.
9. Cheese/cheese
Cheese something in a video gameit means you use a cheap tactic to get a job done without too much trouble. For example, you can repeat a certain powerful combo against your opponent several times to defeat him. You can also make things fancy in a single player game by finding a simple solution to a challenge.
10. Clans
In many team-based multiplayer games, clans are groups of players who play together. For titles like Call of Duty, you can add a clan tag to your username and join a clan. Generally these are informal; they are not properly organized professional teams.
11. Cooling
Many games require you to wait a certain amount of time after using an ability before you can use it again. This is called the recovery period. In general, stronger abilities have longer cooldowns.
12. Writing
Crafting refers to using materials (such as plants or scraps) gathered in a game to craft other useful items such as weapons or healing potions. This is common in many genres and can be simple or profound.
13. Downloadable Content
DLC means downloadable content. Refers to all additional items that you can download separately from the main game, including characters, levels, cosmetics and the like. DLC sometimes, but not always, costs extra.
14. DPS
DPS, short for damage per second, is a measure of how much damage a given weapon or attack does. "DPS" can also refer to a character class that is primarily intended to deal damage, as opposed to other classes such as tanks or healers.
15. GRD
DRM stands for "Digital Rights Management" and refers to tools that manage copyright protection for games. This term covers everything from anti-piracy measures built into games to the need to register with Steam's servers in order to play on PC.
DRM measures are sometimes overzealous and can affect legitimate users.
16. Easter Eggs
video game easter eggs, much like their real-world counterparts, are hidden messages or features in games. This could include a small nod to another title in the series, a funny message hidden by the developers, or something similar.
17. Feed/bedding
These two terms are not identical, but they do share some characteristics. Feeding is the act of being repeatedly killed by the enemy team, which obviously helps your opponents since your teammate is dead. Feeding can be done accidentally when done by an inexperienced player or on purpose to shoot.
Throwing is intentionally acting in such a way as to lose the game. Someone who casts can stay at their spawn point and avoid attacking the enemy, never use their abilities, run solo and ignore their team, or don't try to win.
18 frames per second
An FPS is a first person shooter game. This refers to a genre where you see the world through your character's eyes rather than a camera behind them. First-person shooters often show you a gun in your floating hands as if you were the character.
FPS can also refer to "frames per second", which is a measure of a game's fluidity. To seeDifferences between frame rate and refresh ratefor more.
19. Ambush
Ganking is the act of a high level or experienced player teaming up with another person who has no chance to fight back.
20.GG
GG is common online gaming slang. It is short for "good game" and is usually written or spoken at the end of a game to show good sportsmanship.
"GGEZ" adds "easy" at the end of the period and taunts the other team that it's an easy win.
21. Failure
A glitch or bug is an unwanted issue in the coding of a game. Disturbances can cause your character to get stuck in a wall, enemies to behave strangely, or even freeze the game completely. To checkThe best video game mistakesFor example.
22. Turns
Grinding involves performing repeated actions in a game to achieve a desired result. For example, in an RPG, a player can keep fighting monsters to level up or gain materials to upgrade their weapons.
23. Hitscan
Hitscan refers to weapons, usually in first-person shooters, which, when fired, hit the target instantly. This contrasts with projectile weapons (such as a bow and arrow), where the shot takes time to reach the target.
24. CV
HP, which means health points or hit points, measures your character's vitality. Normally, when your HP drops to zero, your character dies.
25. HUD
HUD stands for Heads Up Display. Refers to the graphical elements on the front of the game screen, such as B. a health bar, a money count, or a minimap to help you keep track of information.
In some games, the character can see HUD elements in the game world, such as a map in their hands. These are known as "diegetic" elements.
26. K/T
K/D or KDR, which stands for Kill to Kill Ratio, is a common measure of your online marksman performance. Simply divide the number of eliminations you have by the number of eliminations you have.
For example, you have higher K/D with six kills and one kill (6.0) than with 10 kills and five kills (2.0).
27. Delay
Delay is a common online gambling term and is a delay between your entry and the action taking place in the game. This usually refers to online lag caused by excessive ping, where the game server is taking a long time to respond to your actions.
Another type, input lag, occurs when the game doesn't respond quickly enough to the keys you press.
28. Mash
Button matching or mashing is when you press buttons quickly. A "button stomp" could negatively refer to a game where you don't have to strategize and just randomly press buttons to win, or someone who plays a game that way. In certain scenarios, like the QTEs mentioned below, you may also need to fight your way out of the situation.
29. MMORPG
This acronym stands for "Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game". Refers to a game with RPG elements where thousands of players are in the same game world at the same time. World of Warcraft is a great example.
30. Way
A mod ("modification") is any type of change that a player makes to a game. Mods can range from small changes that fix bugs to brand new games that build on the core of the original. Some developers don't like mods, while others appreciate them and even include ways to search for mods in their games.
31. Parliamentary
MP, an acronym for Magic Points or Mana Points, is the resource you need to cast spells and other special abilities in some games (often RPGs). When you run out of MP, you can no longer use special abilities.
MP may also be short for "multiplayer", as opposed to SP for "singleplayer".
32. Novato
A newbie (sometimes spelled n00b or newb) refers to someone who is clearly new to a game. It can be used as an insult (for example, when someone makes basic mistakes), but it is not necessarily derogatory.
33. PNJ
NPC means a non-player character (or non-playable character) and refers to any character you don't control in a game. NPCs often have predefined actions and behaviors and can be crucial to a game or just throwaway characters.
34. Post
OP or "oppressed" is used in reference to anything in a game that the player feels is too strong. If there's one weapon that everyone picks because it's clearly better than all the others, it's the OP.
35. Peel
Exfoliation is the act of diverting an enemy's attention away from an ally and focusing it on yourself. For example, if an enemy has flanked your team's rear and is trying to kill your healer, a tank must attack to get the flanker's attention and allow the healer to escape.
36. Pingen
Ping is a measure(in milliseconds) the time it takes information from your system to get to the game server and back. A low ping is best as high numbers cause noticeable delays when playing online games.
37. PvP/PvE
PvP means player versus player. Refers to games (or modes) in which human players compete against each other. This is in contrast to PvE modes (player versus environment or player versus enemy), where you play against computer-controlled opponents.
38. Cloudy
Pwned (rhymes with "borged" and pronounced "poned") is a derivative of "ownership", used to express superiority over another player. You could say that someone you destroyed in an online match was defeated.
39. QTE
This game acronym stands for “Quick Time Event”.QTEs are segments in games that require you to press a key suddenly.or any other input to avoid damage or a game over. Most players don't like them because they don't require a lot of skill and can appear out of nowhere.
40. Remove Anger
Ragequitting refers to someone who gets so angry at a game that they stop playing immediately.
41. Random number generator
RNG stands for "Random Number Generator". This refers to elements of games that are not the same every time you play. The... seecomplete explanation of RNG in gamesfor more information about it.
42. Interpretation
An RPG or RPG is a broad genre. These are usually story-driven games with immersive worlds where your character has a variety of stats and items that you increase by fighting monsters and completing quests.
RPGs can be surprisingly difficult to define. read ourIntroduction to RPGsto get an idea of what a game falls under this genre.
43. Sandbox
A sandbox game refers to an extremely open title and therefore allows the player to do whatever he wants. Titles like Minecraft are perfect examples, although even games like Grand Theft Auto V with a fair amount of player freedom are sometimes considered sandboxes as well.
44. Topo
A skin is a cosmetic change to a character that does not affect gameplay. Many games use skins to entice players to spend money or as rewards for completing difficult tasks.
45. Smurf
A "Smurf" account in an online gamerefers to an experienced player who creates a secondary account to play against lower ranked opponents. The Smurfs manipulate the ranking system to keep their score at their desired skill level.
46. Panzer
A tank is a common character class whose job is usually to absorb damage and make room for their teammates to perform other tasks, such as moving around. B. killing the enemy. Tanks usually have a lot of health and call the shots for their team.
47. XP/EXP
XP is short for experience points, a common measure of your progress in many genres. When you get enough XP, you usually level up to the next level, which brings you new skills, stat boosts, better weapons, or something like that. It is used in both online and offline games.
Now you know your video game language
In a field as vast as video games, it's impossible to cover all gaming terminology in one list. But now you've mastered some of the more common gaming terms along with the more specific jargon.
When you get into a specific genre or title, it probably has its own terminology that you need to learn. There are many genres to explore and discover what you like.