| Last update 3/14/04. Email us if you have questions on new terms, or see something we've missed!
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| A |
| AC |
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Armor Class; a rating system by which one's overall armor quality is measured. |
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| Add |
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An additional mob that comes with or joins the mob(s) that the player initially pulled. |
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| AF |
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| AFK |
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Away From Keyboard; as a courtesy, most people will say this before they leave their computer unattended to do anything else. |
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| AGI |
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| Agro |
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- Short for "aggressive;" the behavior by which a mob automatically attacks players without first being attacked.
- Short for "aggression;" the numerical score which represents how much a particular mob hates someone; whoever has the highest agro is the one who gets attacked by that mob. Generally raised by attacking the mob or aiding someone who's attacking it. There are usually some ways to lower it as well. |
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| AoE (AE) |
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Area of Effect; anything which effects a given area, rather than a single target-- unless otherwise specified, a DD spell is generally implied. |
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| B |
| Bind |
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To select a respawn point. One is usually able to do this only at select areas, such as friendly towns. |
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| Bind point |
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- The area at which one is bound.
- An area at which one can bind. |
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| Bot |
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An external program designed to automate portions of the game-- generally a large violation of the EULA and ROC. |
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| Buff |
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- To temporarily improve a character's stats.
- For the administration to change something in such a way that it is stronger or more effective. |
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| C |
| Camp |
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To wait near a place a mob spawns in order to kill it. For very popular mobs or quest mobs, people or groups will have to queue up and wait their turn-- or kill steal. |
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| Carebear |
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A derogatory term for a player who dislikes PvP, or favors PvM more. |
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| Caster |
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A class or specific character that is suited to casting non-healing magic spells. |
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| Clan |
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| Class |
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That which, in part or in whole, determines a PC's skills and/or spells and often, combined with the PC's race, determines stats. |
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| Cookie cutter |
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A PC which follows a common stat and/or skill model. |
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| Craft |
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- To make a new product out of existing materials.
- A grouping of related recipes. |
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| Creep |
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| Critter |
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| Crowd control (CC) |
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The ability to delay enemies from engaging yourself or your group, long enough to deal with the ones at hand. Generally utilizes mez spells, as well as spells for managing hate. |
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| D |
| DD |
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Direct Damage; any spell which deals damage to a target immediately, and only, upon use. |
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| Debuff |
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To temporarily worsen a character's stat(s) and/or skill(s). |
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| Ding |
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An exclamation one uses right after gaining a level. Taken from the sound effect EverQuest and some other games play back when a player gains a level. |
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| DoT |
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Damage over Time; any spell or ability which causes a target to sustain smaller amounts of damage, at even intervals, for a short period of time after a successful use. |
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| DPS |
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Damage Per Second; the rate at which a weapon inflicts damage. Since weapons' speeds vary, a simple damage per hit rating does not accurately convey a weapon's damage output. |
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| Drop |
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- An item found on a mob after killing it.
- An item which can only be obtained by killing mobs. |
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| Dungeon |
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A zone or several connected zones, in a confined space with a limited line of sight, populated by large amounts of mobs. Essentially, an area with a higher risk:reward proportion. |
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| E |
| EULA |
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End User License Agreement; a standard legal blurb almost any game will have either upon installation, or every time the game is run. Usually states that you cannot pirate or mess with the software. |
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| F |
| Faction |
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- An association of NPCs. Aiding one of its members will usually increase one's standing with the entire faction, and likewise crossing one will usually decrease it.
- Standing with a given faction. Ex: to have good faction with X, to lose faction with Y, etc. |
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| Farm |
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To kill large numbers of mobs with relative ease, with little reward for each individual kill, but moderate net gain. |
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| Flavor animal |
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An animal that serves no real purpose except adding to the setting or theme of the zone. |
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| FoM |
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Full on Mana; one of a number of acronyms casters use to let their group know how prepared they are to handle enemies. |
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| FotM |
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Flavor of the Month; a very popular type of PC, generally thanks to a recent buff. |
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| FvF |
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Faction versus Faction; see 'RvR.' |
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| G |
| GameMaster (GM) |
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GameMasters are staff that run events and sometimes fix character-side problems in the MMORPG. |
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| Gank |
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To catch someone off guard and kill or kill steal them. |
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| Gimp |
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- See 'Nerf.'
- An underpowered and ineffective character, due to poor stat and/or skill assignment. |
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| Grief |
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To PvP someone when it is unwanted or abusive. |
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| Grind |
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To focus entirely on leveling for a period of time. |
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| Group |
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- An association of players, smaller and more temporary than a guild, possessing its own method of organization and communication.
- To join or form a group. |
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| Guard |
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Any NPC which kills mobs and/or enemy PCs when within a given range. |
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| Guild |
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- An association of players, larger and more permenant than a group, possessing its own method of organization and communication.
- To invite someone to a guild. |
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| H |
| Haste |
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A type of buff which speeds up a character's attack speed. |
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| Hate |
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| Heal |
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To replenish a character's health via a spell. |
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| Healer |
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A class or specific character that is suited to casting healing spells. |
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| Health |
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A score or 'pool' which when decreased to zero will render a character dead, and incur some manner of penalties. Decreases when attacked, depending upon the severity of the attack and quality of one's armor, and is usually restored slowly when not in combat. |
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| Hit points (HP) |
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| Hybrid |
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A class or specific character that is equally suited to two or more functions (ex: tank, caster, healer). |
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| I |
| Incoming (INC) |
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A term the puller uses to alert the group to incoming pulls. |
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| Instance |
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A private copy of a zone, inaccessable to anyone but yourself and those allowed (ex: your group, your guild, anyone you invite). These are designed to reduce annoyances like camping and kill stealing. |
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| INT |
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| J |
| K |
| Kill steal (KS) |
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To attack, particularly without permission, another player's target. Usually a violation of the RoC. |
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| Kite |
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To speed up yourself and/or slow down your target so as to maintain a constant range while stopping to attack periodically. |
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| KoS |
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Kill on Sight; when a player has last enough standing with a given faction, its members will agro the player. The player is then said to be KoS to that faction. |
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| L |
| Level |
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- Essentially a summarized XP score; a PC's level is raised when certain periodic XP quantities are reached. One's own level generally determines what level monsters one can effectively fight.
- To gain a level. |
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| LFG |
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Looking For Group; an acronym that lets others know you are seeking a group. Most MMORPGs have a system which allows LFG players to find each other and form a party. |
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| LoM |
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Low on Mana; a term which casters use to caution their group that they are running low on mana, and will need to regenerate their mana soon. |
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| Loot |
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- Items or money found on a defeated foe.
- To take loot. This can actually be one of the more involved processes in a MMORPG, as splitting loot between group members can fast become time consuming. |
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| LoS |
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Line of Sight; most spells require a line of sight to the target in order to be used. |
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| Love |
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| M |
| Magic points (MP) |
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| Mana |
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A score or 'pool' which determines whether or not one can cast spells. Decreases when spells are cast, and is usually restored slowly when not in combat. |
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| Map |
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| Meatshield |
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| Melee |
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Any non-magic attack that must be preformed at close to point-blank range. |
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| Mesmerise (Mez) |
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A spell which renders a character immobile and unable to attack or cast for a moderate amount of time, however it is broken if the character is attacked and ineffective if the character has already been attacked. |
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| Mission |
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| MMORPG |
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Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game; a genre of computer and console games which is played with up to several thousand other people in a static world, via an internet connection. |
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| Mob |
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Derrived from "mobile;" any NPC which can be attacked and killed. |
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| N |
| Nerf |
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For the administration to change something in such a way that it is weaker or less effective. |
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| Newbie |
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Someone who is new to the game or MMORPGs as a whole, and unfamiliar with the workings thereof. |
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| NPC |
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| Nuke |
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| O |
| OOC |
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Out of Character; generally only used on RP servers, to signify that what follows is breaking character. |
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| OOM |
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Out of Mana; lets people know that you need to regenerate your MP before resuming combat. |
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| P |
| Party |
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| PBAoE (PBAE) |
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Point Blank Area of Effect; anything which effects a given radius around the user, rather than a single target or a targetted area-- unless otherwise specified, a DD spell is generally implied. |
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| PC |
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| Persistant |
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- MMORPGs utilize peristant worlds, meaning that the world continues to exist even after you log off.
- Instances can be persistant for a period of time as well, allowing you to return to them and pick up where you left off. |
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| Pet |
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An NPC controlled by a player. Pets are either tamed or summoned. Tamed pets are acquired by using a spell or a skill on a mob and gaining control over it. Summon spells or skills simply generate the pet, sometimes based on the spell/skill effectiveness. |
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| PK |
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Player Killer; one who participates in PvP. |
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| Powerlevel (PL) |
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For a higher level player to aid a lower level player for the purpose of gaining levels for the second player at a significantly increased rate. |
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| Pull |
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-To separate one or a few mobs from a group in order to safely kill them without taking agro from the rest.
-A pulled mob. |
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| PvE |
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Player versus Enemy; see 'PvM.' |
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| PvM |
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Player versus Monster; any combat which involves a player attacking a mob. |
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| PvP |
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Player versus Player; any combat which involves one player attacking another. |
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| Q |
| Quest |
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A series of events to be completed in order to gain a reward. Usually issued by a friendly NPC, and often involving killing a given mob or certain mobs, or interacting with a given friendly NPC. |
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| Quest mob |
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Any mob which is connected with a quest, and is distinguished from other mobs. |
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| R |
| Raid |
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A coordinated attack on a given area (usually a dungeon), performed by a large amount of people (usually a guild), organized into individual groups. The purpose of a raid is to accomplish something that cannot be done by a single person or group; usually getting certain drops, or sometimes for the sake of XPing. |
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| Ranged |
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Any non-magic attack that can be preformed at a significant distance. |
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| Recipe |
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The formula by which something is crafted. |
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| Release |
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To return to one's bind point after dying, usually with some sort of penalty. |
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| Respawn |
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| Resurrect (Rez) |
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To bring a dead PC who has yet to release back to life, usually with a lesser penalty than the one associated with releasing. |
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| RoC |
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Rules of Conduct; pretty self-explanitory, and found in most MMORPGs. Usually includes terms about not being a jerk and not using copyrighted names for your character, and what will be done if you violate the rules. |
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| RP |
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| Rubberbanding |
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- The need to return to a town or central point in order to sell off and restock items, before returning to leveling.
- A type of lag where one's character is bumped back to their previous location every few paces, making little or no progress. |
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| RvR |
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Realm versus Realm; a type of PvP in which opposing forces wage battle. Open PvP, except that team members are unable to attack their own combatants, only the enemy forces'. |
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| S |
| Schime |
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| Skilling |
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To craft regardless of the product's worth, for the sake of gaining levels in the tradeskill. |
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| Spawn |
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- When an NPC is generated in the world.
- See 'Mob.' |
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| SPI |
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| STA |
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| Stack |
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- To place multiple items of the same type in the same inventory space.
- The maximum amount of a given item that will stack in one space.
- To apply two or more similar buffs at once. The effects of these buffs would be said to stack. |
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| Stat |
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Derrived from "statistic"; a number which is factored in when determining a character's performance in a wide variety of abilites-- taken together, a character's stats generally express its strengths and weaknesses. |
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| STR |
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| Strafe |
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To sidestep or move laterally without turning. |
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| Stun |
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An attack or spell which renders a character immobile and unable to attack or cast for a very short duration. |
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| T |
| Tank |
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A class or specific character that is suited to taking blows (typically for others). |
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| Tradeskill |
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| Train |
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- A string of monsters following a PC. This occurs when a PC flees from a group of agro monsters.
- To sic a train on another PC, by getting a train on oneself and either zoning or becoming invisible/hidden when near the other PC, such that the train then attacks the other PC. This is considered harassment, and is an offense akin to kill stealing. |
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| Toon |
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| U |
| Uber |
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German for 'super' (among other things); a term which has come to describe anyone or anything that is both powerful and impressive. For example, someone with high-level, difficult to attain equipment would likely be considered uber. |
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| V |
| W |
| WTB |
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Want To Buy; an acronym players often preface their messages with when they are seeking a particular item. |
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| WTS |
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Want To Sell; an acronym players often preface their messages with when they are advertising an item for sale. |
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| X |
| XP |
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Experience Points; a numerical score which represents what a PC has accomplished in the game, generally gained by killing mobs and completing quests. |
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| XPing |
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| Y |
| Z |
| Zone |
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- An area of the game world, the divisions of which are based upon the files in which the world is contained.
- To move from one zone to another. |
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| Zone line |
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An area at which one moves from one zone to another. |
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