Gaming Language
Written on
Aug 5, 2021
The most important terms from the gaming language explained
General
Multiplayer games often require you to communicate with your fellow players. Since communication often has to happen quickly, we want to explain the most important terms to you here so that you can better understand your fellow players and get a better understanding of the game.
Gaming terms
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Aimbot | illegal software that is mainly used in shooters and helps the player to aim |
| afk | "away from keyboard" - refers to the absence of a player |
| all in | refers to a tactic where you use everything |
| ally | |
| Area Of Effect | Area in which area spells are cast - also abbreviated AE or AoE |
| Assist | Help that a player offers to another player for a kill |
| Boon | Reverse spelled: Noob; derogatory term for a beginner |
| Buff | Briefly increases certain characteristics of a fellow player; usually triggered by another player |
| bunny-hopper | Technique that allows you to jump around like a bunny, making you harder to hit |
| bg | 'bad game' |
| ban | permanent blocking or banishment of a player on a certain server |
| bot | computer-controlled game character, which is supposed to replace human players in multiplayer games |
| carry | denotes a player character that has to be carried at the beginning of the game in order to develop his potential and lead his team during the course of the game |
| cooldown | refers to the time that must pass before an ability can be used again - also abbreviated as 'cd' |
| camper | gamer who takes a tactically smart person and waits for an opponent |
| caster | eSports commentator |
| Cheater | Player who gains a game advantage over others by cheating |
| Clan | Team in eSports |
| Deathmatch | Multiplayer game mode where players spawn again after dying without being eliminated |
| disconnect | disconnecting a player, player is removed from the game, can also be abbreviated as 'dc' |
| Discord | communication platform, often used to announce news about games in general and to give communities a place to connect with each other |
| dps | "damage per second" - means the damage a player can inflict per second |
| drop | a weapon or item is "dropped" - it is dropped, e.g. to support a teammate |
| dropshot | shooting from a crouch or while lying down in a first-person shooter |
| early game | initial phase in a game |
| ep | experience points - also abbreviated as 'exp' or 'xp' |
| ez | 'easy' - used to express how easily the opponent was defeated |
| f2p | free to play - business model where the basic content of games can be used for free |
| flamen | unsportsmanlike conduct in which a fellow player is put down |
| glitch | refers to small errors in computer games |
| gg | 'good game' - respectful praise after a game to a teammate or opponent |
| gj | 'good job' - praise of an action to a player |
| gl | 'good luck' - good luck |
| gratz/grats | short for 'congratulations' - congratulations |
| headglitch | moment when the head is seen over an edge in a first-person or tactical shooter |
| headshot | headshot in a first person shooter |
| heal | healing a player by items or actions |
| hf | 'have fun' |
| hp | 'hit points' - life points |
| inc | short for 'incoming' - signals that someone or something is approaching |
| ingame | refers to activities and messages within the game |
| inv | short for inventory, where the player stores his items |
| kill/ratio | describes the ratio of kills and own deaths of the player, e.g. with 10 kills and 5 deaths a K/D ratio of 2 |
| crit | critical hit that causes particularly high damage |
| kappa | refers to an emoticon from the streaming platform Twitch, which is used to mark what was said before as a sarcastic statement |
| kick | expels a player from the server because of his behavior |
| l2p | 'learn to play' - derogatory statement towards another player with the request to learn more about the game |
| lag / lagger | refers to interruptions in the game that occur due to technical problems - the lagger is the person who has a lag |
| leveling | improvement or leveling up ingame |
| lucker | player who was especially lucky |
| lvl | short for 'level' |
| map | denotes the map on which the players are located |
| knife | eliminating an opponent with the help of a knife |
| mod | abbreviation for modification |
| MVP | 'most valuable player' - refers to the best player in the previous round |
| n1 | short for 'nice' or 'nice one' - appreciative comment |
| Newbie | friendly term for a beginner in the game |
| noob | unfriendly term for a newbie |
| overpowered | units or items that are especially strong compared to others - also 'op' or 'ovp' for short |
| own | denotes superiority over the other team or player |
| quitting | dropping out of the running game |
| rage quit | gamer who leaves a game out of the moment - usually happens when someone is losing |
| respawn | resurrection of a killed player |
| Real Life | the 'real' life outside the gaming world |
| RTS | Real Time Strategy - real time game strategies like Starcraft |
| rushing | tactic where a team tries together to suddenly overrun the opponent |
| scopen | refers to the use of a sniper rifle in a first-person shooter |
| scout | scouting the opponents to find out tactics and strength |
| snipen | short for using a sniper |
| stats | score statistics in the game |
| stun | stunning an opponent |
| train | short for 'training' |
| wallhack | Illegal cheat that allows a player to see through walls and detect enemies |
| Nerf | Weakening or adjustment of a certain ability or unit by the developer to correct imbalances and create maximum equality |
| PvP | 'Player versus Player' - duel between two players |
| sweater | A player who takes the game very seriously and puts a lot of effort into winning the game |
| skill | skills acquired in a game (related to the player character as well as the player's own skill) |
| tank | character in a game that has extremely high life, armor or life regeneration to take the damage of the opposing team and thus relieve his team |