A Guide to Video Game Lingo 11

1. Rare Drop (noun) - an item that has a low probability of appearing.

"I can't believe you keep getting rare drop pearlescent weapons every time you beat Krawmerax. I've killed him thirty times and never seen anything above an orange."

2. Exploit (noun) - a bug or design flaw in a video game that allows a player to gain an unintended advantage.

"I got most of my best weapons from the armory exploit."

3. Item Dupe (noun) - a bug or design flaw in a video game that allows a player to create duplicates of items or currency.

"He figured out an item dupe, so now he never has to worry about money anymore."

A Guide to Video Game Lingo 9

1. Nerf (verb) - to change a video game that reduces the desirability or effectiveness of a particular video game feature.

"In the new patch, Blizzard nerfed the Rogue class."

2. Ding (noun) - a word used to describe the gaining of a level in a RPG game.

"Ding. Now I can upgrade my skills."

3. Toon (noun) - another name for a character in a RPG game.

"The server went down and I lost all my tunes."

A Guide to Video Game Lingo 8

1. Splash Damage (noun) - also known as radius damage; damage taken by players or objects in the area surrounding a point of weapon impact, most commonly by explosive or magic damage.

"If you blow up the barrel you can take out all three with the splash damage."

2. Strafing (verb) - to move a character from side to side while facing an opponent in order to dodge incoming fire and return fire effectively.

"Don't just stand still and take aim. Try strafing."

3. Knockback (noun) - also known as punting; an effect whereby an enemy is lifted off the ground and/or pushed away a certain distance

"I'm dying over here. Get this mob off of me with your knockback ability."

A Guide to Video Game Lingo 7

1. D.P.S. (noun) - an acronym that stands for Damage Per Second. "It refers simply to the amount of damage a player or group of players can inflict on the enemy in one second. It's not usually an exact figure unless it is used to rate something like a weapon or spell. Melee and caster classes typically do high DPS, while healer classes most often do much less." (About.com)

2. Tank (noun) - "A player-character, typically in a MMORPG, that is able to occupy an agressor and take the brunt of the aggressor's attacks while the other players deal damage, heal, or perform some other action. The "tank" can survive longer while taking damage than the other characters. Typically, the tank has higher hitpoints (health) and a higher armor rating than the other characters. Less commonly, a character with a lower armor rating can perform the actions of the tank by using avoidance abilities. Ultimately, the tank needs to be able to occupy the agressor without dying. The method employed, whether avoidance or absorption, does not matter, as long as the tank can mitigate damage in some way." (Urban Dictionary)

3. Caster (noun) - a character who, to put is simply, "casts" spells. Casters tend to use magical abilities rather than physical abilities and often do so from a distance.

(Immediately after publishing each episode of "A Guide to Video Game Lingo," I usually encounter someone who wants me to tackle a word or words that he/she is familiar with in the video gaming world. I want to take a moment to say that I wish all of you would think of words and phrases that are specific to the world of video gaming, be it PC, console or otherwise, and feel free to list them. I keep a master list and I hope to get to every single term in the near future.)

A Guide to Video Game Lingo 6

1. Farming (verb) - the act of collecting items or currency in order to power up your character.

"I'm farming gold so I can get something good at the auction house."

2. Agro/Aggro (verb) - to draw the attention of one or more hostile NPCs and in the process to get attacked by said NPCs.

"That idiot just ran ahead and agroed the whole room."

3. Chain Agro/Aggro (verb) - to cause a chain reaction in which one agroed hostile NPC triggers another nearby hostile NPC and so on.

"Watch the chain aggro. It'll get you every time."

WoW Detox

For some time I've seriously considered writing a book on the ethical implications of making a video game that is as addicting as World of Warcraft. It would require that I had enough money to take a year off to play World of Warcraft while outlining and writing. In other words, it would probably have to be a second or third book, something that I can invest in with the proceeds from a previous book. As of now, it seems more like a pipe dream, but because of my interest I was linked to a site called WoW Detox, "a volunteer-run web site aimed at people with gaming addiction to World of Warcraft" where "gamers and ex-gamers can share their testimonies freely and anonymously." I find this web site both comedic and grave, comedic because of the absurdity of a world where video game addiction can be a serious concern, and grave simply because video game addiction is a serious concern.

Here is a video titled WoW Detox 2011, featuring a sample of addiction-fueled Red Hot Chili Peppers song, "Under the Bridge," and sporting the title, "Life Can Only Wait So Long."



Check out WoW Detox here, if you are or have been addicted to World of Warcraft, or if you are interested in seeing how serious of a problem video game addiction has come to be.

A Guide to Video Game Lingo 4

1. Shmup (noun) - short for shoot 'em up, which, in turn, is short for shoot them up; a video game in which a sole character shoots large numbers of enemy attackers while dodging their attacks, sometimes in a spaceship or aircraft of sorts.

"I'd play a shmup, but I have trouble telling the difference between my bullets and the bad guys' bullets."

2. Noob tube (noun) - term for a variety of rocket launchers, grenade launchers and occasionally automatic shotguns that require very little skill to use and offer their users considerable advantage over their foes.

"That dick is using the noob tube again. Ugh!"

3. Pwn (verb) - to own or dominate ones opponents; derived from a misspelling of the word "own" with a "p."

"Look who just pwned your #@^!"

A Guide to Video Game Lingo 2

1. Leeroy Jenkins - (noun) a situation where a character charges into a pre-planned situation haphazardly and causes great disaster; named after a popular internet video where a World of Warcraft guild plans a complicated battle strategy while Leeroy Jenkins is away from his computer; upon returning to his computer, Leeroy Jenkins charges into battle shouting his own name and getting his entire guild killed.

"LEEEEEEEEEEEEROY JENKINS!!!!!!!!"

2. Noob - (noun) a newcomer or novice; someone without any experience; derived from the word Newbie; sometime spelled n00b.

"Watch out! There's a n00b camping in the stairwell."

3. Face Pull - (verb) to unintentionally initiate combat, most commonly by a character who is unable to serve as a tank; similar to a body pull.

"That n00b face pulled the boss."