WoW Rookie: Gaming terminology 101
by Lisa Poisso 
Apr 1st 2009 at 8:00PM
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.Probably one of the top requests WoW Rookie gets from new players is a plea for an explanation of WoW and gaming terminology. Even a casual skim of WoW Insider's front page can prove challenging to new gamers. Example: what to experienced players is a routine update on new PTR schedules can be an exercise in frustration for readers who are still sorting out WTT from WTF. ("PTR? WTF?!?")
It's not just WoW-specific abbreviations and acronyms that puzzle new players. Add in gaming lingo and internet chat terms, and you have the recipe for a truly intimidating mix.
To the rescue: an encyclopedic assortment of lists of WoW, gaming and internet abbreviations, acronyms and lingo that steers you back into comprehensible territory. We've arranged our resources from the most basic to the most complete – you can choose how far you're ready to delve into the world of gamespeak.
The Compleat WoW Abbreviations WoW Insider's Eliah Hecht has assembled the need-to-know guide to making sense of chat in the World of Warcraft.
The Compleat WoW Abbreviations: Class-Specific Decipher specialized articles and forum posts about your class of choice.
Raiding Terminology Follow what's going on in your first raid by boning up on raid terms and concepts, from WoW Insider's Amanda Rivera.
Gaming Terminology A comprehensive guide.
WoW Acronyms WoW-specific acronyms.
WoW Acronyms 2 Another WoW-specific acronym listing.
WoW Abbreviations WoW-specific alphabet soup.
WoW Terminology Listings alphabetized in sections for letters A-M and N-Z. There's no Wrath of the Lich King material here – but then again, by the time you're high enough level to be playing in Wrath content, you'll have the matter of game lingo firmly in hand.
Glossary of Online Gaming Acronyms, Abbreviations and Slang A generalist's guide.
The Game Drone With categories for gaming lingo, First-Person Shooters (FPS), MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) and RTS (Real-Time Strategy).
All-Acronyms.com Including 457 acronyms tagged "video gaming" and 216 acronyms tagged "roleplaying gaming."
GTG -- GG, folks. BBL!
WoW Rookie feeds you the basics to get you off to a good start in the World of Warcraft. Find more tools you can use in the WoW Insider Directory and WoW Insider Leveling Guides.Filed under: WoW Social Conventions, WoW Rookie
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Kakistocracy Apr 1st 2009 8:20PM
I think one of the trickier sets of abbreviation are those for the instances. It seems like blizzard doesn't base their names on what people will call the dungeon. Two DMs, some very odd names that lend themselves to countless varieties of shortened forms, and a raid that, when curtailed, sounds like a reference to some fraternal novel by Dostoevsky.
Heilig Apr 1st 2009 8:39PM
OK, you've showed off how much smarter you are than the rest of us. Now WTF raid are you talking about?
Dave Apr 1st 2009 8:55PM
I'm guessing you mean The Brothers Karamozov, but I can't think of an instance called BK, unless you count Burger King as an instance.
Kakistocracy Apr 1st 2009 8:56PM
Karazhan abridged to "kara" for a time made me think of The Brothers Karamazov.
I'm not asserting any casual connexion, I am simply saying seeing someone seeking people for "kara" reminded me of the book.
csdx Apr 2nd 2009 10:14AM
kara of course merely reminds me of battlestar galactica
Braundo Apr 2nd 2009 11:31AM
That's why most Alliance players I've ever met refer to the Deadmines as VC (for VanCleef).
Shulkman Apr 1st 2009 8:42PM
Since my recent move to a new server, I've heard people asking for a warlock to get the TV out... And I was sitting there thinking, "Is this a gnomish invention they speak of? Or does the little perv want me to bring out the transvestites?" As it turns out, I guess it's the "cool" term for the warlock summoning stone.
themightysven Apr 1st 2009 9:56PM
I endorse this new and better abbreviation
Yeng Apr 2nd 2009 11:17AM
Yeah I've heard that. Also the 'flasher' (when spawned the animation has it whip its cloak open). Also 'the closet', cue the jokes of people coming out of it.
K-OSS Apr 7th 2009 3:25PM
My guild only sports two Warlocks, and we've affectionately taken to calling the Summoning Stones, Bill and Ted, respectively.
HDouglas Apr 1st 2009 8:45PM
And probably the umptinth time you havent realised just how stupid "first" comments are!
Fung Apr 1st 2009 8:49PM
the pseudo-raid-science chatter in the beginning of the famous leroy jenkins video was total spanish to me when i first heard it. now i recognize it as a parody ^^ i know the caster math well, and just starting to learn melee math.. it's fun to look back on not understanding
Charlie Apr 2nd 2009 11:21AM
Ha, i was the same way.
I remember thinking that the way P4L talked was how raiders really talked. Then I remember actually going into UBRS and pugging it and thinking, this is it? Lol.
Lemons Apr 1st 2009 9:04PM
There's one that's not in "The Compleat WoW Abbreviations" that I use on a daily basis:
"idt" - meaning "I don't think"
It's not as widely used as idc or idk but I think ppl get the idea when I use it. Also I sometimes use wtf as "where the f**k"
i.e. "wtf is this instance at?"
Microtonal Apr 1st 2009 9:14PM
I had to look up TL;DR the other day. As long as I've been online, I'd never seen it until pretty recently.
Balius Apr 1st 2009 10:10PM
People only recently reached critical levels of laziness/illiteracy, I guess.
Agony Apr 1st 2009 9:20PM
"First" (however you disguise it) is so friggin' stupid. Get a life. Go outside for a change. Better yet. Go die in a fire with all of your troll friends.
Shinn Apr 1st 2009 9:28PM
LOL @ the haters. If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all. GG fellas. L2playnice and stfu :P
Lisa Poisso Apr 2nd 2009 8:39AM
No worries -- I very rarely miss deleting irrelevant comments on my posts. I may not be at my keyboard when they come in, but I'll get them eventually!
Ferarro Apr 1st 2009 11:08PM
This bugs the hell out of me:
FTW, WTB, etc. are not acronyms. Acronyms are when initials are formed to make words.
For example: WoW, LoL, SCUBA.
Bad examples: FBI, NBA, WTF.
ac⋅ro⋅nym
1. a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words.
C'mon.