Gaming
Games
50 essential gaming terms every player should know
Want to freshen up on your gamer language, or do you just want to avoid sounding like a total n00b? Here’s an A-Z...
An experienced gamer doesn’t necessarily need to use words to communicate with opponents or teammates. On a sports title, they can do their talking on the field. On a racing game, a well-timed shunt might deliver a message. You get the drift.
But nothing beats in-game chat. As the titles themselves have grown, shifted, evolved down the years — particularly with the explosion of online multiplayer — so too has the lexicon, birthing a language of its own depending what video game you're enjoying.
Gamer language has had to adapt to new platforms in step with technology. This is fine if you're well versed, but it can be a little daunting if you’re trying to crack the codes behind the slang and countless abbreviations that punctuate online games.
To provide some assistance, think of this list below like the Rosetta Stone of gaming terms: an exhaustive if not quite completely definitive list of general gaming terms that’ll help open up new horizons.
Harness your skills at the Red Bull Gaming Hub, SETU Waterford Campus
© Red Bull Ireland
Who knows, you might want to put your lingo to the test at Red Bull Gaming Hub (pictured above) which you can find at Ireland's SETU Waterford Campus.
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50 gaming terms every gamer should know
AAA — A blockbuster video game. This could range from an overnight global success to a returning fan favourite, i.e. any Grand Theft Auto or Legend of Zelda title.
‘AD’ — ‘Attack Damage’. This gauge comes especially in handy when playing MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games such as Dota 2, where you're fighting numerous opponents at once.
ADS — ‘Aim Down Sights’. When a player chooses to aim down the sights of their weapon for higher accuracy, as opposed to shooting ‘from the hip’ which can be more erratic.
AFK — ‘Away from the Keyboard’ for those errant phone calls or bathroom breaks.
The League of Legends gameplay is often fast and frantic
© Riot Games
AoE — ‘Area of Effect', referencing the degree to which an in-game ability or weapon will affect a specific area or group of teammates/opponents.
Bots — A non-player controlled character or object, which, in the Mario series for instance, would include Goombas all the way up to final boss Bowser.
Buff — Any type of boost given to a game character, such as a champion becoming more powerful on League of Legends.
BM — ‘Bad Manners’. When an opponent acts without grace, such as shouting foul language down the mic after you snipe them from 50 yards on Call of Duty: Warzone, or a rival on a football game busts out a special goal celebration when 7-0 up.
Camping — When a player lies in wait in a secluded spot to catch opponents off guard. Camping is frowned upon but can help you stay alive. ‘Spawn camping’ involves a player staking out a respawn area to line up quick, easy kills.
Clans — Teams or factions of organised gamers who often play the same title together. This applys to professional esports organisations competing at major events all the way to amateurs playing with friends.
Cooldown — The period of time a player must wait before using a special ability, such as a summoner spell in League of Legends.
Build, build, build. When in doubt, keep building.
© Epic Games
Crafting — Using in-game materials and resources to build objects or entire worlds. See: Fortnite players constructing vast towers from wooden logs and other materials (also known as 'mats').
DLC — ‘Downloadable Content’, often in the form of mandatory updates and patches which can include everything from brand new multiplayer maps to perks and fresh characters.
DPS — ‘Damage Per Second’, referencing the amount of damage a weapon or character is able to dish out.
Easter Eggs — Bonus features for gamers strategically placed across the game, ranging from simple touches (Super Mario 64 callbacks in Super Mario Odyssey, for instance) to game-within-games, such as playing an Atari 2600 on Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Frag — Killing an opponent. In Valorant, for example, an entry fragger is the agent tasked with entering a battle first and taking as many opponents out of the game as possible. In certain shooters a frag can also be used to describe a grenade.
Valorant
© Riot
FPS — ‘First-Person Shooter’, which describes an action video game based around the perspective of a weapon, such as Valorant. Red Bull Campus Clutch, which has student teams across the world fighting it out on said game, is one of the most exciting FPS tournaments around.
Ganking — Attacking a weaker or outnumbered enemy player. Teamwork and communication can be key to pull this off.
Glitch — Capitalising on a malfunction, or glitch, within the gameplay to score an advantage. Not always a good thing if your Wi-Fi suddenly starts playing up.
Grinding — A repetitive set of actions which help to build experience points (XP) or unlock rewards, also known as ‘farming’. Mining earth, smashing crates, completing side quests — it’s all in a day’s work.
Hitscan — A gameplay mechanic where bullets aren’t affected by adverse elements and arrive at their target immediately.
HP — 'Hit Points', or 'Health Points', relating to a unit of health or amount of health a character has remaining.
HUD — 'Heads-Up Display,' otherwise known as how you see all your vitals and information (health, map, weapons, ammo levels, objects, XP) displayed on the screen.
Kiting — Creating enough of a distance between you and the enemy that you can still attack them while on the move. Many of the best teams on World of Warcraft will kite opponents as one.
Lag — When your internet connection affects the gameplay, with actions taking longer than they normally would.
Big Bird won Red Bull Kumite 2023 in South Africa
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
Mashing — Button bashing, basically. When unsure what to do in a fighting game, for instance, a rookie player might end up hitting the pad wildly in the hope it might result in a few combinations.
MMORPG — ‘Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game’, which include the likes of RuneScape, Final Fantasy XI, and of course, Blizzard’s multi-billion dollar franchise, World of Warcraft. See also: MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena), for the likes of Dota 2 and League of Legends.
Meta — ‘Most Effective Tactics Available’, AKA the current most popular tactic or strategy to win a game or defeat a boss. This can shift not only from sequel to sequel, but even with the frequent downloadable updates.
Mod — Short for ‘Modification’, it simply means the way in which a player is able to alter the game themselves, ranging from the look or layout of a map right down to the features of a character and more.
Nerf — When a certain character, ability or weapon in a game is weakened. For example, if something is deemed to give an unfair advantage to players, developers may choose to reduce its impact when they release a new patch, or DLC.
N00b — A rookie or newbie whose skills in a certain game are still a work in progress. A highly loaded word, it’s a pejorative term either aimed at those actually making a nuisance of themselves (“You forgot to open your parachute? Such a N00b!”) or a regular player somebody wants to rile up.
NPC — ‘Non-Playable Character’.
The hits don't get much bigger than on Tekken 7
© Bandai Namco Entertainment
OHKO — ‘One Hit Knock-Out’. Being able to dispatch an opponent with a single hit or combo is rare within fighting games, but it does happen.
OG — ‘Original Gangster’, meaning veteran or highly skilled player at a specific video game. Not to be confused with Team OG, the only Dota 2 team to win back-to-back titles at The International.
Watch how Team OG did the unthinkable in 2018 and 2019 in the film below...
1 h 21 min
Against the Odds
Team OG defied the odds – witness their esports journey to Dota 2 glory at TI8.
Peel — Taking one for the team, this is where players draw opponents to them in order to take the heat off more vulnerable teammates
Ping — 1) The time it takes for a computer or console to communicate with the gaming server. Or, 2) Markers used by team members to communicate directions, objects or threats.
PVP/PVE — ‘Player vs Player’ is when two human players face off against one another in a game. ‘Player v Environment’, however, is when a player goes up against computer-controlled characters or external threats which could include a hostile open world, i.e. the Resident Evil series.
Pwned — ‘Owned’ in other words. When you get humbled. If you start trash talking and can’t back it up, expect to hear this on the proxy chat.
Ragequit — When an opponent abruptly leaves a game due frustration over lag, performance or bad luck. This is extremely common on EA Sports' FIFA Ultimate Team, where many a controller has been destroyed in frustration.
RNG — ‘Random Number Generators’. These computer algorithms can decide everything from how a weapon affects a character to what comes up in your loot.
RPG — ‘Role Playing Game’. This traditionally describes turn-based games, i.e. the Final Fantasy series, but is also used more broadly to describe fantasy games in which there might feature subtle RPG-like elements, such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Scrub — The worst kind of player, a born complainer who will call others out for their gameplay and who will use every excuse in the book to justify a poor showing or dastardly tactics.
Skin — The look of an environment or character, right down to the appearance of a mercenary on Call of Duty: Warzone. Many skins will cost you in-game coins or serious XP to unlock them.
Smurf — When an experienced player creates a new account on a game in order to play against lower-ranked players to rack up some easy victories. You’ll certainly be feeling blue after bumping into one of these guys.
Snowball — When a character or team gains an early advantage and quickly grows more powerful in the game.
Tank — Typically built like a tank, this character is infamous for how much pain they can take, frequently protecting teammates by drawing the ire of the enemy instead. ‘Tanking’ is to take high amounts of damage.
The Battlefield game series is one of the most explosive ever made
© IGN
TTK — ‘Time to Kill’ refers to the amount of time it takes to eradicate an opponent, particularly in FPS games.
WP — Abbreviation of ‘Well Played’ to congratulate a team or even an opponent as a gesture of goodwill. Similar terms include GG (‘Good Game’), or even a combination of both: GGWP.
XP — 'Experience Points', which are typically won, or farmed, by completing levels, slaying baddies, winning matches, making combos or from raiding loot boxes.
Zoning — Preventing an enemy from either gaining XP or simply pushing them into a less than advantageous position.
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FAQs
What are some gamer phrases?
In addition to the 50 terms above, here are five bonus phrases that could help give you an edge:
- Cheesing — Bending the rules or finding left-field methods in order to complete objectives.
- Juggling — When fighting game players keep an opponent in mid-air as they unleash a flurry of combos.
- Noob-tube — Typically referring to grenade launchers, it’s a term that throws shade at rookie players who favour high powered yet unsophisticated weapons.
- OP — ‘Overpowered’, which describes weapons or skillsets that may be more effective than others during gameplay.
- OTW — ‘On The Way’, to let teammates know you’re not far away.
What is a gamer motto?
Who better to provide a few words of wisdom than Faker? The man who puts the legend in League of Legends, once opened up to Red Bulletin about his mindset in the game:
Faker
© lolesports.com
“One of my strengths is understanding not only my own play but the situation of the overall team,” says the South Korean, stressing the importance of keeping competitiveness out of their offline lives.
“Like they say, there’s no ‘i’ in team," he adds. Read more tips from him here.
When did gamers develop their own terms?
From the Atari onwards video gaming was seen as a largely solo pursuit, but as multiplayer PC gaming came to the fore, starting with Doom co-op games on LAN, there was a big shift in how gamers communicated, even mirroring the way mobile phone text speak began to shape and shorten language.
Headsets have literally changed the game...
© PC Gaming
Today, with the rise of headsets, in-game chat has never been more intimate. It might not always be amicable but nothing will help you lead a team into battle more than a good set of comms.
Now just brush up on the phrases above and you can't go wrong.
