Gaming Glossary: Gamer Slang for Noobs

It’s impossible to play games online and not encounter gaming slang. Whether you’re in a group call or there’s a chat box in the game, you’re guaranteed to stumble upon some terms and acronyms only gamers use. While you don’t necessarily have to know the gaming slang to play, being able to understand it can result in a better score. So, whether you’re just starting to play online or you’ve never paid attention to gaming slang, now’s the time to learn it. With that said, we present to your gamer’s slang for noobs.

Common Terms and Acronyms

Some terms and acronyms are unavoidable when playing online. No matter what game you’re playing and what genre that game belongs to. For instance, most games come with characters outside of the character the player assumes. These characters are usually referred to as non-playing characters or NPCs. This is a term you’ll most likely encounter when playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games or MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft or WoW. You might also hear players say that someone is AFK. AFK stands away from the keyboard and it indicates that the player is taking a break. Loot is another common expression in gaming and it refers to the rewards you get after defeating a boss or winning a virtual sports match. Skins are in-game cosmetics that make a character look better. Initially, skins only referred to clothes and customers but now, there are skins for guns and vehicles too.

Setting up the Game

Unfortunately, being familiar with the most common terms and acronyms in gaming may not be enough to successfully play online. In fact, if you don’t know some gaming vocabulary, you may not even be able to set up your game properly. Just think about it – how can you choose between PvE and PvP, if you don’t know what either means? PvE stands for player versus environment, while PvP stands for player versus player. In the former, you focus on fighting NPCs and collecting loot, while in the latter you test your skills against real-life opponents. It’s also a good idea to learn what gaming genres exist before you decide on the game you want to play, For example, FPS stands for the first-person shooter and it refers to games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or CS: GO. DCCGs is short for digital collectable card games like Hearthstone.

Arguing with other Players

When playing online, we all hope for a pleasant experience, regardless of the result. However, when playing online, you simply have to come across toxic players. The term toxic is now commonly used to refer to players who start arguments and hurt their team deliberately. Players who belong to this category not only sabotage the entire gameplay but usually start arguments with either their teammates or opponents. You’ll often hear them refer to other players as noobs or noobs. The term initially refers to new players but toxic players use it for veterans who are just having a bad day. Toxic players often troll deliberately and lose games. In the gaming world, the term troll stands for players who give up and help the enemy team. In FPSs, these players also often call other players campers when they use snipers.

Genre-Specific Terms and Acronyms

Some gaming genres have evolved more than others in the past few years. While this is the case, it’s safe to say that each gaming genre has its own lingo. Once you decide which game you want to play, learning the lingo for that genre is a good idea. For example, in sports games like Football Manager and NBA 2K, players generated by the game are called newgens. Multiplayer online battle arenas or MOBAs come with an endless list of genre-specific words such as ADC (attack damage carry) or snowball (to gain an advantage early in the game). If you’re into iGaming, you may hear players call someone at your table a high roller. The term refers to seasoned players who aren’t afraid of taking risks and placing large bets. High rollers are also usually members of their favourite iGaming sites VIP clubs.

Miscellaneous Terms and Acronyms

There’s no need to say how big the gaming world is right now. With so many genres and games, it’s natural that some gaming terms and acronyms simply fall into no category. In this section, we’ll take a better look at some of them. For example, when reading about PC and console games, you’ll often come across the phrase Easter eggs. Easter eggs in gaming refer to little clues the game developers have left for players to find. They can be related to the plot or not. Also, most technical issues you experience when gaming are called bugs. Some bugs even impact the gameplay and can help you win. Most often, game developers patch (update) all known bugs in an attempt to create fair gameplay. Experts often refer to some games as Triple-A or AAA games. These games are usually designed with a large budget and generate large amounts of hype.

To Sum Up

The gaming lingo has evolved so much ever since online gaming became a thing. Today, there are so many terms and acronyms belonging to the gaming universe. In this post, we talked about some of them you’ll have to encounter when playing online. Learning the gaming slang is guaranteed to be fun and many view it as learning a new language.