AC

Asheron’s Call, by Turbine Entertainment.

AC2

Asheron’s Call 2, by Turbine Entertainment.

Achiever

One of the four Bartle Player Types. Achiever players play MMOGs for the purpose of advancing their characters as far as they can go in an attempt to beat the game.

Add

A monster that attacks an individual or group already engaged in a fight. Often used as a warning.

AFK

Away From Keyboard. Said when a player leaves the computer but stays logged into the game. Can also be a mode entered on purpose to alert other players that there is no one at the keyboard.

Aggro

Also known as Hate, Aggro is when a creature begins to attack a character. The act of initiating this is called Getting Aggro. The area around a monster where players can activate it is the Aggro Radius.

AI

Artificial Intelligence. The behavior or programming of an NPC.

Alpha

Shortening of Alpha testing. Alpha testing is the initial internal test of a Massively Multiplayer Game.

Alt

Alternative Character. A character other than the one most often used by a player.

AO

Anarchy Online, by Funcom.

AOE

Area of Effect, also sometimes abbreviated AE. Used to discuss the area something will strike or to state that a spell or ability will target multiple creatures.

Armor Class

The defensive capabilities of a character, usually due to equipment. Abbreviated AC.

ATITD

A Tale in the Desert, by eGenesis.

Aug

Augmentation.

Avatar

A representation of a real person inside a virtual space.

Bartle, Richard

One of the original programmers of MUD1, one of the first Massively Multiplayer spaces. Mr. Bartle is perhaps best known for his article “Players who suit MUDs” (http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm), which categorizes MMOG players into distinct types.

Beta

Shortening of Beta Test. This is usually the first portion of a MMORPG testing phase that includes individuals outside the company. Some games feature a phase where anyone with the ability to download the client can test the game. This is an Open Beta.

Bind

The location within the game world where a character respawns after being defeated. The specific location is the Bind Point. Some games use a Bind Stone or Statue to represent the Bind Point.

Buff

A beneficial spell cast on an individual, such as a spell that increases a character’s hit points. The act of casting such a spell is buffing. An individual who casts such spells on a regular basis is a buffer.

Camping

An activity where an individual or group stays in a particular location for an extended period of time for the express purpose of killing a particular monster or type of monster. Usually considered antisocial.

Carebear

Derogatory term for individuals who prefer PvE combat or Roleplaying to PvP combat.

Caster

Shortening of Spellcaster. Refers to any character with the ability to use magical abilities or cast spells.

Character

The in-game representation of the Player as represented in game elements such as a name, hit points, mana (see Mana Points), equipment, abilities, skills, and spells.

Client

The program installed on the Player’s computer that allows him to connect to the gameworld.

COH

City of Heroes, by NCSoft.

Con

Abbreviation for Consider. Considering a monster reveals the difficulty of the creature in relation to the level and ability of the character.

Crit

Shortening of Critical Hit. Many games allow for the possibility of striking a blow of higher damage during combat. This is a Critical Hit.

DAoC

Dark Age of Camelot, by Mythic Entertainment.

DD

Acronym for Direct Damage. Refers to a combat ability or spell that inflicts damage directly to its target as opposed to Damage Over Time.

Debuff

A negative spell cast on an individual. The act of casting such a spell is debuffing. An individual who casts such spells on a regular basis is a debuffer.

DoT

Acronym for Damage Over Time. Refers to an effect that inflicts damage over a preset period of time. Poisons and spells are common DoTs.

DPS

Acronym for Damage Per Second. Refers to the damage done per second by a spell or weapon. Also a term used to describe a character or character class that is adept at causing a lot of damage quickly. For example, “The rogue will do DPS for the group.”

Emote

A repeatable physical action that shows emotion. Usually accessed via slash commands. Some games allow direct slash command emotes (such as /hug). Most games allow freeform physical actions via the /emote command. If your character’s name were Paul, typing /emote does a little dance displays Paul does a little dance.

Experience

A common game metric used to determine character progression. Experience usually comes from defeating monsters or completing quests. Gaining a certain amount of experience usually allows the player to go up a level.

Explorer

One of the four Bartle Player Types. Explorer type players typically play MMOGs for the purpose of adventuring and exploring the in-game world.

EQ

EverQuest, by Sony Online Entertainment.

EQ2

EverQuest 2, by Sony Online Entertainment.

Faction

A metric used in some games to determine a character’s standing with a specific group within the game world. If your character does quests or completes actions that adversely affects a group, your character has bad faction with that group.

Farming

Repeatedly adventuring in an area and defeating monsters for an extended period of time for the purpose of obtaining equipment or currency.

FFXI

Final Fantasy XI Online, by Square/Enix.

Gank

The defeating of a much lower-level character by a higher-level character in PvP combat.

Gil

The unit of currency of Final Fantasy XI.

GM

Acronym for Game Master, a customer service representative in a MMOG. GMs are typically representatives of the company who assist players in-game with technical and social issues.

Griefer

A player who takes pleasure in the abuse and control of other players’ characters. A griefer typically does not play the game in the same sense as other players. His goal is to manipulate and control other players. This activity is griefing.

Grinding

Repeatedly adventuring in an area and defeating monsters for an extended period of time for the purpose of gaining experience and levels.

Guild

A group of players with formal recognition within the game world. Guilds are influential social organizations that usually form the backbone of player society.

Healer

Anyone who can provide HP treatment during a fight. Many healers also have the ability to resurrect characters if necessary. Traditionally, this is a Cleric or Doctor.

Hit Points

A game mechanic used to represent a character’s health resources, usually measured in points. Also Health Points, often abbreviated HP.

Inc

An abbreviation of Incoming. Used to warn others that a monster has joined an ongoing battle.

Instance

A term used to describe a private portion of a gameworld created just for an individual or group of players. The technology as a whole is Instancing. Normally used to ensure that dungeons or specific adventuring areas are always available for those who wish to access them.

KK

Chat slang for ok. Used instead of ok because hitting the k key twice is quicker. Chatters are lazy.

Killer

One of the four Bartle Player Types. Essentially a synonym for Griefer.

Kiting

A combat technique in which a character attacks a monster and then runs out of range of the creature’s melee attacks while continuing to attack the creature. In some cases, this may allow a character to defeat a monster she couldn’t otherwise take on in a stand-up fight.

KOS

An Acronym for Kill On Sight. Used to describe the reaction of an NPC (not a monster) who attempts to kill characters of opposing factions.

Koster, Raph

One of the original developers of Ultima Online, Raph Koster is a well-known developer who has influenced numerous Massively Multiplayer projects, including Star Wars Galaxies. Currently creative director at Sony Online Entertainment.

KS

Acronym for Kill Stealing. An antisocial behavior in which a character attacks a monster already under attack by another character with the intent of gaining the resulting experience and equipment.

Lag

A condition caused by network traffic or server slowdowns that results in a slowdown in responsiveness within the game. May result in a long pause between a player’s command and the character’s response.

Level

Exactly like the system used in Pen and Paper roleplaying, levels determine a character’s power within the gameworld. Characters usually gain levels by obtaining a set amount of experience. Often abbreviated Lvl.

LD

Acronym for the phrase Link Dead. Indicates that the player’s client has lost its connection with the game server.

LFG

Acronym for the phrase Looking For Group. Usually used to make a generic request on a chat channel, almost always accompanied by a statement indicating the character’s level and class. “Lvl 8 War LFG” indicates that the character is a Level 8 Warrior looking for a group.

Log

Shorthand for the phrase Log Out. For example, “Excuse me, I have to log.”

Loot

A generic term used to refer to items taken from defeated foes. The act of taking items from defeated foes is looting.

Lum the Mad

Scott Jennings, a MMORPG commentator who ran the site entitled Lum the Mad in 1999. The site and Lum’s opinions became very popular, and the Lum site became one of the most respected sources of MMOG news on the Internet. Mythic Entertainment hired Mr. Jennings in 2001 to work on Dark Age of Camelot.

Mana Points

A game mechanic used to represent a character’s magical resources, usually measured in points. Often MP or mana.

Main

The particular character a player considers primary or plays the most.

Med

Abbreviation for Meditation. A generic term used for a period of downtime used to regain consumable character resources such as mana or hit points.

Melee

A hand-to-hand fight in contrast to ranged combat or spellcasting. A melee fighter specializes in hand-to-hand weapons or brawling combat.

Mez

Abbreviation of Mesmerize, a generic term for any effect that incapacitates a monster.

MMORPG

Traditionally used acronym for Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. MMORPGs are virtual persistent worlds located on the Internet in which players interact with each other through avatars.

Mob

Abbreviation of the word Mobile. The term originates from text-based gameworlds, in which programmers referred to every NPC as a mobile.

Moogle

A personal assistant creature in Final Fantasy XI.

MUD

Acronym for Multi-User Dungeon. The name of the original text-based massively multiplayer game created by Richard Bartle and the generic name for the genre of text-based gameworlds.

Mulligan, Jessica

A well-known games programmer and author. Ms. Mulligan is currently Executive Producer at Turbine Entertainment.

Mule

A character created not to play but to hold equipment.

Newbie

Term used to refer to someone who is new to the game or to Massively Multiplayer games in general. Can be negative depending on context. Abbreviations include noob, newb, and n00b.

No Drop

A descriptive element for an item in a game. No Drop on an item means that players cannot trade the item to another character by dropping it on the ground. You may be able to sell it to a vendor.

NPC

Acronym for Non-Player Character. A character controlled by the computer or gameworld, not directly by a human.

Nuke

Either a high-damage spell or a character capable of casting high-damage spells. Thus, a Fireball spell and a Mage character could both be Nukes.

OOM

Acronym for the statement Out of Mana. Stated by a spellcaster to alert others that he cannot cast any spells for the moment.

PC

Acronym for Player Character. The representation of the Player inside the game world.

Permadeath

An uncommon design decision in MMOGs where a slain character is deleted, effectively killing the character. Also referred to by the acronym PD.

Plat

Abbreviation of Platinum, a form of currency used in several Massively Multiplayer games. For example, “I’ll trade you my sword for 5 Plat.”

Player

The actual human playing a game.

Pet

An NPC creature that a player’s character can control or influence. While often a monster or demon, Pet can refer to any nonplayer character entity that a player’s character commands.

PK

Acronym for Player Killing. Player Killing is a PvP act in which a character kills another character. While not functionally different than normal PvP, Pking is seen as a negative PvP act done at random. A player who Player Kills is often a Pker. Often considered griefing.

PnP

Acronym of Pen and Paper. Used to refer to tabletop Roleplaying.

Pop

Synonym for Spawn. For example, “The orc boss just popped! Let’s get him!”

Powerleveling

An activity in which high-level characters assist a lower-level character to combat creatures in a high-level area. The goal is to provide the lower-level character with a rapid increase in experience and levels without minimal effort.

Proc

Abbreviation of the word Process. A proc is an effect attached to an item. The effect (usually a spell) has a random chance of activating, or procing. For example, “This sword has a 15% chance to proc Fireball.”

PS

Planetside, by Sony Online Entertainment.

PST

Acronym for Please Send Tell. A request for someone to send a private message directly to the individual. Normally used after another request. For example, “Looking for good hunting spots! PST.”

Pull

To attract a monster’s attention. Functionally the same as going Aggro, though in a controlled fashion. Normally used by an individual to lead a monster or monsters to other members of a group. A person who pulls is a puller. For example, “Do you want to Pull for this next group of orcs?”

PvE

Player vs. Environment. Also sometimes referred to as PvM or Player vs. Monster. Combat in which a player-controlled character engages in combat with a computer-controlled character. The typical form of combat in modern games.

PvP

Player vs. Player. Combat in which two player-controlled characters engage in combat. Frequently a restricted form of conflict in modern games.

Raid

A large social gathering in which many characters band together to assault a difficult dungeon or creature.

Regen

Abbreviation for Regeneration. Regeneration typically refers to the refilling of a consumable character resource, such as mana or hit points.

Rez

Also Res. The act of Resurrecting a character after the character has died. For example, “Can you rez me please?”

RP

Acronym for Roleplaying.

Rubberbanding

A phenomenon wherein characters and monsters can seem to teleport backwards along their path of movement. Caused by server slowdowns or network bandwidth that result in the game client believing that an actor is further along its path than the game server expects. When the client and server reconnect, the server resolves the discrepancy in its favor, causing the characters to fall back a short distance.

Server

A copy of the gameworld. Every MMORPG consists of several servers that spread the player population as evenly as possible among available resources. Each server is made up of dozens or hundreds of individual computers to keep the server up and functional. Characters are often identified by which server they reside on. For example, “My character is on the Rallos Zek server.”

Slash command

A command that can be issued via a word or words following a forward slash. /attack might initiate an attack, for example.

Socializer

One of the four Bartle Player Types. Socializers play MMOGs for the purpose of interacting with other people in interesting and stimulating ways.

SOE

Game publisher Sony Online Entertainment.

Spawn

The location where a monster appears within the game world. Also the act of the creature appearing in the game world. Used synonymously with Spawning or Respawn. For example, “The boss spawned! Let’s get him!”

SWG

Star Wars Galaxies, by Sony Online Entertainment.

Tank

Term used to describe a character whose role within a party is to take damage. Traditionally held by a melee class. Tanking is the action of being a Tank for a group.

Taunt

An ability designed to increase Aggro against the character using it. Usually used by a Tank to ensure that the Tank is the center of the monster’s attention.

Tell

A personal message sent via in-game chat to another player. Sometimes referred to as Whispering.

Tick

A duration of time, often a second. Normally used to refer to an effect of some sort. A Damage Over Time spell could do five points of damage per tick. That is, the spell does five points of damage per time interval.

Train

A line of monsters. Usually results from unexpected monsters attacking a character already in combat. The character’s player panics and runs, taking the monsters he was fighting with him. As he flees through the area, more monsters attack him. This line of monsters is the train. Trains are dangerous because when the original character is killed or flees, the monsters begin to make their way back to their appropriate places and continue to attack characters they encounter on the way. Can also be created on purpose by higher-level characters to inflict frustration on lower-level characters. The term is usually used as a warning, often with a notice of where the train is headed. “Train to Zone!” means that a character is fleeing for the edge of the area map with a train following behind him, and other players should beware.

Twink

A character outfitted with equipment, spells, or assistance beyond her normal level. A 5th-level character possessing a sword appropriate for 25th-level characters is Twinked. Twinking is the act of outfitting a character in this manner.

Uber

Used to refer to something or someone that is very powerful. For example, “That sword is uber!”

UO

Ultima Online, by Origin Systems. Often considered the original modern MMOG.

Vendor

A nonplayer character that buys and sells items.

WoW

World of Warcraft, by Blizzard Entertainment.

WTB

Acronym for the phrase Want to Buy. Placed before an item the player wants to buy, normally used in auction chat channels. For example, “WTB the One Ring.”

WTS

Acronym for the phrase Want to Sell. Placed before an item the player wants to sell, normally used in auction chat channels. For example, “WTS Sword of Power + 1.”

Zone

A self-contained area in the original generation of Massively Multiplayer Games. Moving from one area to another is Zoning. Zone can also refer to the act of zoning. For example, “There are a bunch of orcs following you! Quick, Zone!”