If you’re serious and competitive when it comes to gaming (like you should be), then it’s in your best interest to drop the antiquated quips and platitudes and get with the program.
With proximity chat becoming ever more popular in some of the latest Battle Royale and First-Person Shooters, it has never been more important to know how to verbally thrash your opponent into oblivion after a good PK and teabag.
“Are you saying they’re abdicating their duty to scrutinize me? Are you saying that they don’t have the guts to put the questions to me? Great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies!”
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
Unlike Mr. Johnson, you don’t need to graduate at the top of your class from Oxford University to have a rich gaming vocabulary and to properly be able to articulate to your team that you’re responsible for the friendly-fire; due in-part to your nagging girlfriend.
All you have to do is memorize this guide by heart and then you’ll never have to worry about another immature keyboard warrior giving you any more watercooler banter.
The Complete List Gaming Slang Terms
The most comprehensive and unadulterated list of gaming slang terms below is in alphabetical order, and applies to traditional games as much as it does to the more novel Web3 games. Finding any particular phrase or word that you may be looking for is a complete non-issue.
The alphabetically ordered gaming terminology list is also segmented by genres so you don’t have to spend to much of your time and attention on thoroughly understanding how to deal with scrubs.
General Gaming Terms
Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) – a PC gaming technology that aims to deliver better image quality without adding any additional strain on a graphics card. This results in higher frame rates and a better overall quality of game.
Field of View (FOV) – a setting that determines how much of your in-game surroundings you can actually see.
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) – a genre of games that feature a top-down player view and was originally popularized by DOTA.
Quick Time Event (QTE) – the added immersion and ability to interact with in-game, cinematic cut-scenes.
First-Person Shooter Gaming Terminology
ACE – when a highly skilled player goes berserk and annihilates all members of an opposing team all by themselves.
Aim Down Sights (ADS) – players refer to a ranged weapon’s (typically a gun but could be a bow and arrow) ADS when discussing how long (in seconds or milliseconds) it takes to aim down the sight of a weapon when right clicking or pressing the left bumper on a controller.
Agent (VALORANT) – what players refer to characters as in the FPS VALORANT.
AWPer (CS:GO) – The AWP is a military spec sniper rifle that’s used by the Arctic Warfare Police in CS:GO. Those who use the AWP are known as AWPers and are feared due to their ability to quick-scope headshots.
Bombsite – some FPS games have a game mode known as search and destroy. The bombsite is where one of the teams has to plant and detonate a bomb in order to successfully win the round.
Bots – Non-Player Characters (NPCs) that are automata and typically act entirely based on a predetermined ruleset that is programmed into the game. Advanced bots can be governed by an artificial intelligence that is less predictable.
Bunny Hopping – the act of rapidly jumping and crouching in rapid succession so as to avoid getting hit by the enemy bullets.
Camper – someone who hides after spawning in-game instead of heading to the frontlines like all of the other players. In some instances, camping may be advantageous to those who provide sniper support fire.
Economy Round – if rounds in an FPS game require the use of resources, some teams may agree to play a few practice rounds and minimize resource spend in order to save the remaining resources for future rounds.
Frag – someone who aggressively attacks and kills an enemy member of the opposing forces.
Get Rekt – this is short for “get wrecked”. This is an insulting term that is acceptable to use upon defeating your opponent.
GGWP – means “Good Game. Well Played.”
GLHF – means “Good Luck, Have Fun.”
Haxor – any player who hacks to gain an advantage and violates a game’s terms of service is deemed a haxor. Such individuals are less-than-adequate and will typically ruin the game for everyone else playing with them.
Leet – stands for elite and usually refers to players who are highly skilled and well geared.
L33t Speak – players who use alphanumeric and special characters in rapid succession to substitute the original grammar (i.e. l337, h4xor, etc.).
Noobxor (noob) – a player who thinks they’re L337 but in fact is rather horrendous in practice. A noob will usually be on the south-end of a leaderboard and may ragequit if triggered.
Plox – usually means “please”, but can be used to annoy other players (“noobxor plox”).
Pwned – when a player flawlessly destroys another player without any loss of health.
Ragequit – players who are noobs and can’t handle the mental anguish of constantly losing to those better than they are may ragequit. Ragequitting is the act of vehemently turning off the console and throwing controllers through walls while profusely yelling unintelligible expletives at those who may be in the player’s vicinity.
Scrub – unlike a n00b, a scrub is a player who has been playing for a long time yet their skills haven’t improved in the slightest.
Shotties Only – some rounds limit all of the players’ choice of weapons to only shotguns.
Stomp – this refers to a round in a game that is stacked entirely to one-side. A “stomp” is preclusion to a round that is unbalanced and won’t prove to be a challenge to the team that has all of the best players.
Teabag – someone who crouches on a deceased enemies face over and over again after a kill for the kill cam is known as a teabagger; for obvious reasons.
MMORPG Gaming Terminology
Adds – In Player-versus-Environment (PvE), the additional enemy NPCs that spawn in large numbers during a main fight or battle; typically during a complex boss fight.
AFK – stands for “Away From Keyboard”. Players who are idle in-game and are distracted with other unimportant activities are considered to be Away From Keyboard. In some MMORPGs, if you’re AFK for too long, the server will automatically boot you.
Aggro – also known as the “Aggro Radius”; this is the invisible radius around your in-game character that will provoke NPC mobs to engage you and begin attacking you in battle.
AoE – short for “Area of Effect”. This refers to skills, spells, abilities, and buffs that effect a certain area as opposed to a specific targeted NPC or player.
DPS – short for “Damage per Second”. The amount of damage that a player can inflict on NPCs or other players in a single battle is represented as the DPS metric. There are two forms of DPS; Melee and ranged (guns and spells) DPS.
Gank – often resembling bullying, this is when a group of players team up against another single player to take them out and collect their loot.
Heals – players request heals in combat from other friendly players who have the ability to remedy the loss of health. Heals may take the form of spells and buffs or resources such as potions, bandages, and med-kits.
Kite – the ability for a player to keep a boss or mob aggroed at a distance while moving around in a pattern that avoids taking substantial damage.
LFG – stands for “Looking for Group”. In MMORPGs, players will look for or announce in chat that they are seeking to either start of join a group of other players to complete a task that they alone cannot do; such as a quest, a dungeon, or a raid.
LFP – stands for “Looking for Party”. A common phrase that is used interchangeably with Looking for Group (LFG).
Mobs – these are standard PvE enemy NPCs that exist within MMORPG worlds.
Stack Buffs – buffs are passive and temporary spells that boost player stats and skill sets. When a player requests to stack buffs, they are requesting that another player adds additional buffs to their character in order to multiply the positive effects caused the buffs.
Tank – a tank is an in-game character that takes all of the damage in a party.
Transmog – provides the ability for a player to change their avatar’s appearance while retaining stats of the original gear.
Vendor Trash – common in-game loot that has such a large supply that the marketplace has deemed the item or resource in question practically worthless.
Zerg – a common tactic used by n00bs who find power in numbers. These are typically brutes and are far from being skilled tacticians as the only way for them to find solace is to overpower an enemy with a large group of people.
Gaming Terminology Recap
You’re now equipped with the latest and most commonly used gaming slang terms that the pros use on the daily. Whether you’re playing a riveting and fast-paced First-Person Shooter or you’re slowly grinding for experience points in an MMORPG, you’ll know how to respond to a fellow gamer without appearing like a complete noob. Use these gamer slang terms in combination with IRL chatter for best results.
Also published here.