WoW Lingo: HELP!

[Eco-Logic]

Jp.. I played every race and every class in the beta. Took all characters to at least 10th lvl to get a feel for them.

My favorite char by far, based on it's sheer versatility, is the Shaman. I got an orc shaman up to 31st in beta and now to 22nd in retail. The shaman has excellent ranged nukes, a couple of DoT's, can heal (other chars and your own) and buff (tho buffs are thru the use of totems, which are cool in and of themselves). Finally, he's more than an above average melee char. Also, at 20th lvl, you get Ghost Wolf, which is like a shape change that gives you a 40% speed increase. There's nothing cooler than a group of 4 or 5 shamans running in wolf form. When you're ready for a change from Fearme... try either an orc or tauren shaman and enjoy. Rick

See, this is where I get overwelmed. There are so many things I don't understand in mmorpgs, yet I'm picking up WoW on my lunchbreak today.

What does AGGRO mean? I understand it has to do with drawing the attention of a mob to you, but what does it stand for.


What are buffs? DoT's?

I'm planning on playing either a Shaman or a Rogue and I understand I'll need to use macros when playing a rogue. Are they easy to setup?

What other words do I need to know?

The extent of my RPG experience is broken down below:

Zelda
Secret of Mana (favorite)
Chrono Trigger
Shadow Run
Baulders Gate
Knights of the Old Repulic

SWG (belch)
DAoC

Thanks in advance!
What are ranged nukes?

[KiloOhm]

RTFM!

jk, but these terms are defined in the back of the manual.

Aggro - when a bad guy is aggressive (attacks) toward you
DoT - Damage over time (like poison)
Buff - any spell that enhances a players ability / hp / ac (like a shield spell or something like that) for a length of time

[SuperHiro]

I'll help! A nice thing about WoW is that it uses WCIII rules (for the most part), so if you're familiar with that...

DoT= Damage over Time (I think). So it does 60 damage over 10 seconds.

AGGRO- stands for "Aggressive". So when an enemy (also known as mob) goes "aggro" on you, it's basically attacking you.

Buffs are stuff like Bless, stuff that boost you and your teammate's performance.

Macros? Well they're pretty easy to set up once you get the hang of it. I almost never use them, although I should. Practice makes perfect.

Nuking- when a ranged attacker uses high damage attacks to severely soften up the opponents.

Here's some other stuff.

"Pulling", when a ranged unit attacks a single mob so it comes towards him (and his group). Used to "pull" single mobs away from a group of mobs. Divided they fall and all that stuff.

[Kael]

What does AGGRO mean? I understand it has to do with drawing the attention of a mob to you, but what does it stand for.

What are buffs? DoT's?

Thanks in advance!
What are ranged nukes?

Aggro- Short for Aggresive. Monsters that auto-attack you. Some monsters are defensive only and you can walk right up to them with being attacked. Sometimes this term is used to reference the ack of gaining the monsters aggresion such as when you have a player draw the monster over to your group for battle.

Buffs- Spells that increase your stats. You have offensive buffs (increase your damage or attack rating) and defensive buffs (that increase you armor, hit poitns and stuff.

Nukes- A powerful attack. A Ranged Nuke is one that can be used at range.

DoT's- Damage over Time. A spell that damages its target over time.

AoE/AE- An ability that effects everyone in an area of effect. Important to note because even though its awesome to damage all of your enemies at once, you have to be careful not to damage other monsters and draw more attention than you want.

DPS- Damage per Second. Since weapon do varying damage and have differrent delays between attacks their damage is typically broken down to the average Damage per Second to make it easy to compare.

HoT- Heal Over Time. Just like damage over time for healing spells.

Lowbies/Newbies/Noobs- New players.

PST- Please send tell, meaning they want you to send them a direct tell (not a broadcast) to respond.

Pull- The act of luring creatures away from other creatures and to a place where you and your party can fight them easier.

Tank- Typically a fighter type with a high defence that is willing to take the monsters attacks in a group.

Train- When some noob has got a ton of monsters all aggro on him at once and runs through the zone with all of them chasing him. It never ends well.

WTB- Want to Buy.

WTS- Want to Sell.

WTT- Want to Trade.

I hope that helps.

[LawBeefaroni]

WTB- Want to Buy.

WTS- Want to Sell.

WTT- Want to Trade.

So what does WTF stand for?

[Eco-Logic]

What does AGGRO mean? I understand it has to do with drawing the attention of a mob to you, but what does it stand for.

What are buffs? DoT's?

Thanks in advance!
What are ranged nukes?

Aggro- Short for Aggresive. Monsters that auto-attack you. Some monsters are defensive only and you can walk right up to them with being attacked. Sometimes this term is used to reference the ack of gaining the monsters aggresion such as when you have a player draw the monster over to your group for battle.

Buffs- Spells that increase your stats. You have offensive buffs (increase your damage or attack rating) and defensive buffs (that increase you armor, hit poitns and stuff.

Nukes- A powerful attack. A Ranged Nuke is one that can be used at range.

DoT's- Damage over Time. A spell that damages its target over time.

AoE/AE- An ability that effects everyone in an area of effect. Important to note because even though its awesome to damage all of your enemies at once, you have to be careful not to damage other monsters and draw more attention than you want.

DPS- Damage per Second. Since weapon do varying damage and have differrent delays between attacks their damage is typically broken down to the average Damage per Second to make it easy to compare.

HoT- Heal Over Time. Just like damage over time for healing spells.

Lowbies/Newbies/Noobs- New players.

PST- Please send tell, meaning they want you to send them a direct tell (not a broadcast) to respond.

Pull- The act of luring creatures away from other creatures and to a place where you and your party can fight them easier.

Tank- Typically a fighter type with a high defence that is willing to take the monsters attacks in a group.

Train- When some noob has got a ton of monsters all aggro on him at once and runs through the zone with all of them chasing him. It never ends well.

WTB- Want to Buy.

WTS- Want to Sell.

WTT- Want to Trade.

I hope that helps.

Thanks everyone!

I should be on tonight, I'll see if I see any of you.

Train: That sounds like me in DAoC, at first at least.

[Det. Dave]

More on aggro...

Every mob has a hate list and will generally attack the player at the top of the list. Wandering within the detection range will generate aggro and put you on the hate list, but attacking the mob will generate even more hate and put you at the top of the list. Healing and spellcasting generates more aggro than melee sometimes, it depends on the mob.

Some mobs get mad when you attack their allies and others could care less.

The more damage a character deals out, the more aggro he generates. And most high damage dealing classes have less defense and hp than low damage classes.

Certain classes with strong defense (tanks) do low damage, but really generate aggro. They're act as "meat shields" for the fragile damage dealing classes. The mobs ignore the real damage dealers and spend their time ineffectually attacking the tanks while the damage dealers paste them good.

Other classes can calm a mob or even have it aggro another mob.

Managing aggro is one of the keys to building a successful team. The high damage dealers can't unleash their full potential unless there is someone to soak up all the aggro. When a damage dealer solos, he has to kill all the mobs quickly and has to be careful not to aggro "add"itional mobs.

[tiny ogre]

So what does WTF stand for?

WoW Text File

[docvego]

Warrior Tauren Fighting?

[IceBear]

Why "mobs"? I can see "mons" for monsters, but when I see "mobs" I immediately think a groups of monsters.

[The Preacher]

Why "mobs"? I can see "mons" for monsters, but when I see "mobs" I immediately think a groups of monsters.

I think it has gone from meaning Mobiles or Mobile Objects to Monsters or Beasts. Pretty dumb, agreed.

[IceBear]

Why "mobs"? I can see "mons" for monsters, but when I see "mobs" I immediately think a groups of monsters.

I think it has gone from meaning Mobiles or Mobile Objects to Monsters or Beasts. Pretty dumb, agreed.

Ah, not dumb now that you say that - just the internal programming lingo that's made its way to the enduser some how

[Koz]

It's old school MUD lingo, when anything that wasn't a player was called a mobile or "mob". I use it a lot in WoW out of habit from playing so many MUDs when I was younger.

And I refuse to say "toon". No idea where that nonsense came from, I usually just abbreviate and say "char".

[Mr. Fed]

lol! omgwtf, rtfm n00b. iirc, iiit, ymmv. QED.

[Eco-Logic]

What is toon?

Or Char? (character?)

[IceBear]

I believe toon is for cartoon as your character looks like a cartoon

[Phouka]

"Pulling", when a ranged unit attacks a single mob so it comes towards him (and his group). Used to "pull" single mobs away from a group of mobs. Divided they fall and all that stuff.

Bleh. Not to derail the thread (though admittedly I specialize in just that), but this is one of the things about MMORPGs that has always dismayed me. It just cripples any sense of 'realism' (note: yes, I know, realism isn't a good word) in these games. I mean, I just picture myself standing around with my fellow bad guys:

Me: So, guys, whatcha think of that chick we took hostage? Hot stuff, eh?
Bob: Meh.
Jake: Meh? Whatchoo mean, meh? I wouldn't kick her outta bed for eatin' crackers.
Jim: Oh c'mon, she looks like a*THWAK* OWOWOWOW! That hurt! Ima gonna run over there and see what just shot me with an ar....
Me: Yeah, yeah, shut up, Jim, we're talking here. You go do what you gotta do. Now about the hostage....

It's just silly. I can see situations where, sure, a group might send one person to investigate where the attack came from. Or, perhaps the particular group of villains isn't intelligent enough to act with much cooperation. But for the most part, the whole 'pulling' thing just stinks.

</rant>

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Pooks

[Phouka]

AoE/AE- An ability that effects everyone in an area of effect. Important to note because even though its awesome to damage all of your enemies at once, you have to be careful not to damage other monsters and draw more attention than you want.

Very nice list, Kael. I wish I had had it when I first played MMORPGs. Thought I'd add one thing for the OPs sake.

You will also see "PBAoE", which stands for Point-Blank Area of Effect.

The difference between the two is that PBAoE specifically refers to an area of effect around the caster. An AoE, on the other hand, could possibly be centered around a target player/mob/location.

I don't play WoW, so I don't know if the distinction matters there. I'd guess it does, though?

Pooks

[Redfive]

Ya for some reason I can't stand the word toon. Of all the lingo that has cropped up around these games that's the only word that I really dislike.

[Kael]

"Pulling", when a ranged unit attacks a single mob so it comes towards him (and his group). Used to "pull" single mobs away from a group of mobs. Divided they fall and all that stuff.

Bleh. Not to derail the thread (though admittedly I specialize in just that), but this is one of the things about MMORPGs that has always dismayed me. It just cripples any sense of 'realism' (note: yes, I know, realism isn't a good word) in these games. I mean, I just picture myself standing around with my fellow bad guys:

Me: So, guys, whatcha think of that chick we took hostage? Hot stuff, eh?
Bob: Meh.
Jake: Meh? Whatchoo mean, meh? I wouldn't kick her outta bed for eatin' crackers.
Jim: Oh c'mon, she looks like a*THWAK* OWOWOWOW! That hurt! Ima gonna run over there and see what just shot me with an ar....
Me: Yeah, yeah, shut up, Jim, we're talking here. You go do what you gotta do. Now about the hostage....

It's just silly. I can see situations where, sure, a group might send one person to investigate where the attack came from. Or, perhaps the particular group of villains isn't intelligent enough to act with much cooperation. But for the most part, the whole 'pulling' thing just stinks.

</rant>

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Pooks

EQ2 has fixed this and has monster buddy groups (my term for it). If you attack one monster in the group you will get the whole group. Still its worthwile to pull the group to get it away from non-buddy monsters like wandering animals and such or just to get it away from places that those monsters could spawn into.

Interestingly, an efficient group will setup in the middle of a crowded monster area and have multiple people pulling at once. In this case they pull just to speed up the kiling, dragging the monsters back to the group where they are sliced and diced by a team waiting for them. With multiple pulls the battle is constant and the xp gain is amazing. This should not be attempted by an inexperienced players (aka: me).

[Koz]

There are groups in WoW as well, but a lot of mobs roam around by themselves too, especially the "beast" types. For instance, in Westfall there's a quest where you have to gather 8 gnoll paws from these gnolls. The gnolls aren't particularly hard themselves, but are almost always grouped with 1, 2 or more other gnolls. Now being level 15, it's easy to take out one level 14 gnoll, but pretty much impossible to take out 3, unless you poly/sap/stun/whatever one or more of them.

[Fretmute]

As long as we're defining terms, mobs that will bring their buddies if they mange to pass through said buddies' radii while aggro are said to be "Social."

[Gedd]

I've always referred to that as BAFing, short for Bring-A-Friend, as in the mob will bring a friend with him if you attack him.

Usage:

"Does anyone know if these striped lemurs BAF?"

Translation:

"If I attack this one striped lemur, will I be attacked by the other striped lemurs standing around him?"

[Bob]

The toon one bugs me. That one is recent and uneeded. Char was fine. Avatar was fine.

Who the hell got it changed to toon?

[Biyobi]

Any clue as to what "proc" means? I've seen it used a few times and I think it relates to combat.

[Tareeq]

And then there's the most common tactic for dealing with BAF mobs: mezzing, or CC. WTF?

I'm surprised this thread hasn't generated a treatise on the sweet science of aggro management. Gedd?

[SuperHiro]

The toon one bugs me. That one is recent and uneeded. Char was fine. Avatar was fine.

Who the hell got it changed to toon?

I first heard it used in CoH, where it actually fits.

[Cylus Maxii]

proc = Slang for "Processor" or CPU. (at least that's the only use I've seen - I haven't seen a copntext that refers to combat, yet)

WTF = "What the F%@k!"
WTH = "What the Hell"

mob = A mob is an angry group, a disorderly crowd - as in "mob mentality", "lynchmob" or "mob violence." I believe the term "mobster" references a mob of thugs or criminals. The whole "aggro" managment idea is often refered to as "crowd control" or "mob control."


What server is everyone playing on? I just started last weekend and my first character is on Whisperwind. I was thinking of hooking up with the Wanderer's Guild since you guys are from GG. Where are you playing?

[Tareeq]

proc = Slang for "Processor" or CPU.

WTF = "What the F%@k!"
WTH = "What the Hell"

What server is everyone playing on? I just started last weekend and my first character is on Whisperwind. I was thinking of hooking up with the Wanderer's Guild since you guys are from GG. Where are you playing?

I think proc actually means "process". It refers to a doohickey's firing off an effect on an enemy. Suppose I take my Sword of Styling Mousse into the Tower of 80s Pop Stars, and I fight with Michael Jackson. When his hair catches fire, my sword's effect has "processed" or "proced".

The Wanderers play on Whisperwind oddly enough, as Horde.

The consolegold guild plays Alliance there, and that's mostly GG vets as well. I forget their name. Sadly, I didn't get to wave to any of them when we raided the Night Elf city over the weekend. If they were there, my level 14 self was too busy getting stomped to notice.

[Exodor]

proc = Slang for "Processor" or CPU. (at least that's the only use I've seen - I haven't seen a copntext that refers to combat, yet)

I believe "proc" refers to an ability going off when you hit a critter. So,if you have a chance to say, do double damage, the ability "procs" when you get a lucky roll and achieve double damage goodness.

I think. WoW is only my second MMORPG, and Ac2 was the first.

[Kadoth Nodens]

The consolegold guild plays Alliance there, and that's mostly GG vets as well. I forget their name. Sadly, I didn't get to wave to any of them when we raided the Night Elf city over the weekend. If they were there, my level 14 self was too busy getting stomped to notice.

I think their guild name is Almost Heroes. If it isn't, I was cackling with glee for no reason as I took pot shots at one of them during the "endless cycle of violence" that was the raid.

[Rich in KCK]

From the WOW Officail Strategy Guide

Proc - Items may have an added effect that has a chance of activating. The activation of these special abilities is referred to as "proc." E.g., A weapon with a special effect will "proc"every so often.

[Gedd]

And then there's the most common tactic for dealing with BAF mobs: mezzing, or CC. WTF?

Hehe...

CC is crowd control usually meaning a power or ability that deals with adds (additional mobs). It goes right along with mezzing, which is short for mesmerize I believe, and refers to a power that effectively stuns a target, whether it's with a root/snare, sleep, daze, polymorph, etc. Attacking the mezzed target will usually free them automatically, the idea being to mez adds to prevent them from attacking, while the rest of the group attacks the primary target.

I'm surprised this thread hasn't generated a treatise on the sweet science of aggro management. Gedd?

I think that's a topic beyond the scope of my time at the moment, but there's a lot of info out about it on the web. I'm actually still learning a lot about it in WoW. As I discovered last night, when scaring off an add, it took a path directly to a bunch of its friends and we ended up with 3 extra raptors on us.

[Gedd]

I meant to put this in my post, but if you're interested in some good info regarding aggro management, particularly in instances, look no further than our very own Eightball's post at the Wanderers forum .

[Ralph-Wiggum]

And while these terms might be common in games other than MMORPG's, here are a couple more you'll see fairly often:

afk - away from keyboard
brb - be right back
tbs - tub girl sucks

[Break]

Hey Ralph, I play on the horde side on the Kel'Thuzad server. I've seen a RalphWiggum running around at times. I expect that ralph would be a popular name, but any chance that's you running around?

[DarkVulgar]

The toon one bugs me. That one is recent and uneeded. Char was fine. Avatar was fine.

Who the hell got it changed to toon?

I first heard it used in CoH, where it actually fits.

We also used the word "Toon" to describe our charcters in AO.

[knob]

Toon, in my MMO experience, is always used to refer to an "alt" (or Alternate Character). I hate the word as much as the rest of you, but I've never seen it used to refer to someone's main (main character).


The most I'll say is "twink" which I don't use any more since MMOs have made it impossible to twink a character (Give a character high level stuff so he'd be much stronger than a typical character his level).

[Odin]

There's a small minority of WoW players who prefer the term "toon" and will use it to refer to any character - alt, main, whatever.

I never cared for it either.

Sith

[knob]

Even worse are the WC3 addicts that continue to use the word "creep"