Gaming Slangs every pro knows, and every noob wants to know!

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Hey Noob! Mug up these Gaming Slangs to fly like a pro in any game

Gaming Slangs that can bridge the gap between a Pro and a Noob

The gaming world can sometimes be pretty harsh and rude to n00b; after all, who doesn’t love an easy target. However, I do understand the other side of the story as well. It isn’t easy to hone your skills or make a mark when you are constantly teased or dissed.

Well, I have a wise mantra for you, mug up some common gaming slangs, jargon, and acronyms. For one, they will help you to communicate efficiently with your gaming squad and lend you some more confidence to maneuver through the sharky waters.

So, let’s get to it without further ado.

Gamer’s Glossary: Terms gamers use regularly

When amid crucial, challenging gameplay, players don’t have time to speak whole sentences. Now imagine a team member warned you about a threat, but you end up dying as you couldn’t decipher the acronym on time.

Thus, a thorough understanding of everyday gaming slang is a must, whether you are a regular or new cookie. And I know that it can be daunting remembering those millions of gaming terms.

But don’t you worry, I have short-listed some of the must-know gaming slang. And even though the list is not short, it is segregated in a manner that will make things easier for you. Enjoy!

Common gaming genres and types

Now, these are some of the basic gaming genres that are currently popular. Often, depending upon the niche of the game, two or more terms are mixed, such as JRPG – Japanese Role-Playing Game or my favorite MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.

Gaming jargons used during gameplay

1-Up  – Used ever since Mario, it means an extra life.

Aggro –  Aggression or aggravation; used when a mob (mostly non-player) becomes hostile towards you or you egg someone on to attack.

Aimbot/ bot –  A bot/program designed to help players aim better; it is considered cheating and illegal in most games.

AoE – Area of Effect; attacks, spells, or abilities that affect all targets within a specified area.

BoA – Bind on Account; non-transferable to other players, can be shared by multiple characters from the same account.

BoE – Bind on Equip; an item bound to a specific character and cannot be shared.

Boss – A mightyl foe; you’ll have to defeat them to clear levels or earn points.

Buff – Effects that can strengthen a target, opposite of debuff or nerf.

Bullet Sponge – Opponent that sucks up attacks like a sponge and dies or retreats after multiple blows.

Camp – Staying put on one spot to hide or surprise others.

Camper – A player who doesn’t participate much and waits at a strategic spot to slyly kill enemies or loot certain items. Avoid doing this as camping is often frowned upon by other players.

CD – Cooldown (minimum time after which an ability resets itself and the player can use it again)

Cheese/Cheesing –  When you employ a cheap, petty, or easy workaround to complete an action.

Debuff – Effects that weaken the target or negate the effect of buffing.

DLC – Downloadable Content; free or paid stuff available for download.

DPS – Damage per Second.

Easter Eggs – Fun, non-consequential features hidden within a game as a nod to other games, movies, pop culture, etc.

EXP / XP – Experience Points.

Farming –  Accumulating certain items, or doing tasks to boost your health, energy or experience points; similar to grinding (see below)

FFA – Free For all.

FoV – Field of View; area of the game that you currently view.

Gank – Gang of players that team up and attack a solitary opponent to ensure their win. Albeit a strategic move, it can be frustrating for the receiving party.

Ghosting – When another player gets an undue advantage of seeing another player’s move or whereabouts, hand, etc. Let’s say a dead player discloses the location of an active opponent.

Griefer / griefing – Player who disturbs, rather spoils other players experience by trolling, destroying the game’s environment, or killing them unnecessarily.

Grind / Grinding – Repeating time-consuming actions to gain build your character or earn experience points. It could be tedious but necessary at times.

HP – Health or Hit Points.

IGM – In-game name.

KDR / KR – Kill-to-Death Ratio; an average of how many enemies you kill before you die. It is often considered a sign of your skills.

KS –  Kill Steal; When another player (mostly from your team)  steals your kill for points or accolades.

Loot – Items earned or collected after completing specific tasks.

Meat Shield – A strong player with high stamina/strength who acts as a shield for other team members. This is done to safeguard a potent player or reveal an enemy’s location, similar to a tank (see below).

MOB –   Monster or Beast; the current villain of the story! A boss character or monster who is to be defeated.

Nerf – Opposite of buffing, stripping a powerful weapon or character off its strength using a patch. Not every player appreciates the term or the strategy.

NPC – Non-player Character; a character controlled by the game and not by a real player.

OP – Over-Powered; player, skills, or items that can cause a lot of damage without much effort.  

Owned / Pwn / Pwned – A slang term used when you are badly beaten in the game. That team owned us, or you’ve been pwned.

PUG – Pick up group; picking up random or known players to make a group.

PvP – Player vs. Player.

PvE –  Player vs. Environment; fighting non-player enemies.

Raid – When several players battle against NPCs, powerful bosses or environment, etc..

Rezz – Resurrect; To revive a dead/almost dead teammate.

Rubberbanding – A phenomenon caused due to high latency. It pulls you back to the initial position and will not register the distance you just covered.

Spammer – Player who pulls the gun’s trigger randomly, without aiming. The kills are not because of their skill but a stroke of luck.

Spawn – A place where a player or an item materializes in the game’s map for the first time or after death.

Spawn camper – Notorious players wait by a common spawn point to kill other players as soon as they join the game or loot items.

Splash – The range of damage a weapon like grenades or missiles holds; you could die or lose health if caught in a weapons’ splash.

Tank – A strong player with exceptional skills and strength who can’t be killed or harmed easily by the opponent team. They sometimes act as a decoy or shield.

Commonly used chat terms in gaming

AFK – Away From Keyboard.

BRB –  Be right back.

FTW – For the win.

Get Rekt / Git Rekt – Get Wrecked; when someone is defeated or embarrassed during the play. Similar to owned/pwned, and usually used to tease or instigate the opponent.

GG – Good Game.

GLHF – Good luck, Have Fun.

GTG – Good to go.

MIA – Missing in Action.

OOC – Out of character (when you are not using your online avatar chat)

 Sux – Sucks, used when things don’t go your way.

 TLDR –  Too long, didn’t read

Woot! – A celebratory term to express triumph and enthusiasm.

Miscellaneous gaming jargons

Backward compatibility –  When a newer console can play games designed for older consoles.

Cross-platform games – Games that are available across various gaming platforms.

CB / OB –  Closed Beta and Open Beta; whether the games beta version (still developing version before official release) is open to all or closed to an invite-only group.

Git Gud – Get Good, usually said condescendingly, telling the player that they need to pull up their socks.

HUD – Heads-Up Display, the information strewn across the screen (usually on the top or bottom) showing a character’s health, game map, position in the race, items owned, etc.

Leeroy Jenkins – A person that spoils the game/win for the team, mainly due to a stupid step or some over-the-top extravaganza. Simply put, someone who tries to be the hero but fails miserably.

Ragequit –  When someone quits the game or stops playing it because something upset them immensely.

Sandbox – An extremely open-ended game that allows players to do whatever they like during the gameplay, e.g., Minecraft.

Scrub – Player who is not as good as they think and generally sucks at most tasks. It is considered even worse than being called an n00b.

Smurfing – When a high-ranked and experienced player makes a new account. It can be done to experiment with new strategies without the risk of spoiling records or stats. Or to bully new players, this act is not highly regarded in the gaming community.

Trolling – Sharing offensive statements or things to instigate someone. The gaming community highly criticizes it.

Now, don’t you feel better and confident knowing all this gaming slang! Hope both your skill sets and gaming vocabulary keeps building up with every passing day.

If ever there is a gaming term that you didn’t understand, feel free to ask away. And yes, if you know a few jargons that should be on this list, share them in the comment section below.

GLHF don’t Rekt it!

Author Bio: –

Arshmeet Hora – A self-professed Geek who loves to explore all things Apple. I thoroughly enjoy discovering new hacks, troubleshooting issues, and finding and reviewing the best products and apps currently available. My expertise also includes curating opinionated and honest editorials. If not this, you might find me surfing the web or listening to audiobooks.