I've had this post on my mind for a while. What really inspired me to put it together was an email from reader Wamphyri as follows:Although I've been playing WoW for a little while now, there's still a few things that puzzle me within the game. My main problem is the abbreviations everyone uses in chat. I was recently in IF (yeah, I know that one now!) and someone in trade chat wanted to buy (wtb) an enchant for DPS. The guy asking was a level 50-something mage, so I thought I'd send him a whisper (apologising for my noob-ness, of course) to ask what DPS meant. He replied quite quickly and told me it meant Damage Per Second. He found it quite amusing that I didn't know, saying that he has the same trouble himself regarding this issue.
- Chat, forums, zones, instances, raids, and miscellaneous are after the cut
- Class-specific
- Alphabetical, A-M
- Alphabetical, M-Z
- Chat:
- AFAIK: As far as I know
- AFK: Away from keyboard
- ATM: At the moment
- Bio: Short for "biological," this refers to fulfilling biological needs (i.e. using the restroom); often used to explain AFKs in groups
- BRT: Be right there
- BTW: By the way
- CBA: Can't be arsed
- DIAF: Die in a fire
- FFS: For f---'s sake
- FTL: For the loss (means "is bad")
- FTW: For the win (means "is good")
- GTFO: Get the f--- out
- IDC: I don't care
- IDK: I don't know
- IIRC: If I recall correctly
- IMHO: In my humble opinion
- IMO: In my opinion
- Inc: Incoming
- LF: Looking for ("LF tank," etc.)
- LF1M/LF2M/etc.: Looking for one more, two more, etc.
- LFG: Looking for group
- LFM: Looking for more (for a group)
- MT: Mistell (means "I sent this message to the wrong channel or person")
- Ofc: Of course
- OMW: On my way
- STFU: Shut the f--- up
- TBH: To be honest
- WC: Wrong channel
- WTB: want to buy
- WTF: What the f---
- WTH: What the hell
- WTS: Want to sell
- WTT: Want to trade
- Forums:
- GG: Good game (often sarcastic)
- GJ: Good job (often sarcastic)
- Imba: Imbalanced; usually means "overpowered"
- IBTL: In before the lock
- L2P: Learn to play
- OP: Original post/original poster
- OT: Off-topic
- QFE: Quoted for excellence
- QFT: Quoted for truth
- QQ: Doesn't "stand for" anything per se; rather, it's an emoticon: it looks like two crying eyes. It basically means "you're complaining," although it can also be used as a verb ("stop QQing").
- TL;DR: Too long; didn't read
- Miscellaneous:
- 1h: One-handed
- 2h: Two-handed
- 5SR: Five-second rule (the rule that mana regeneration from spirit only occurs if you haven't spent mana on a spell in the last five seconds)
- Add: An "additional" mob that has been aggroed, usually unintentionally
- Agg/Aggro: Probably short for "aggression" or some related word, it refers to who a mob is attacking -- that player is said to "have aggro" or have "pulled aggro"
- AoE: Area of effect (a spell or effect that takes place over an area, as opposed to working only on a single target)
- AP: Attack power
- Alt: An "alternate" character -- not your main (character)
- BE/Belf: Blood Elf
- BG: Battleground
- AB: Arathi Basin
- AV: Alterac Valley
- EotS: Eye of the Storm
- WSG: Warsong Gulch
- BoE: Bind on Equp
- BoP: Bind on Pick-up
- BoU: Bind on Use
- BS: Blacksmith/Blacksmithing
- Buff: A beneficial spell, or a change to the game that makes a given class/spec stronger
- CC: Crowd control
- DKP: Dragon Kill points, a cover term for a number of systems guilds use to distribute loot (see WoWWiki)
- DND: Do not disturb
- DPM: Damage per mana
- DPS: Damage per second
- DR: Damage reduction (due to armor)
- DR: Diminishing returns
- DS1/DS2/DS3: Class-specific sets of gear that drop from 5-man dungeons. DS1 and DS2 were known as T0 and T0.5, respectively, but that analogy breaks down when it comes to DS3.
- DW: Dual wield
- DoT: Damage over time
- Drae: Draenei
- Eng/Engi/Engy: Engineering
- FA: First Aid
- FP: Flight point/flight path
- FR: Fire resistance
- GTAoE: Ground-targeted AoE (an AoE spell for which the caster can choose a target, like Flamestrike)
- HPM: Healing per mana
- HPS: Healing per second
- HS/Hearth: Hearthstone
- HoT: Heal over time
- IRL: In real life
- LOM: Low on mana
- LW: Leatherworking
- MA: Main assist
- MAP: Melee attack power
- Mats: Short for "materials;" refers to the ingredients in a crafted item
- ML: Master loot/master looter
- Mob: Short for "mobile" (derived from MUDs, where any NPC was either a stationary shopkeeper or mobile; see WoWWiki), this refers in WoW to NPCs, primarily NPCs that are meant to be killed.
- MP5: Mana per five seconds
- MT: Main tank
- NE: Night Elf
- NPC: Non-player character
- NR: Nature resistance
- NW: Netherweave
- Nerf: A change to the game that makes a given class/spec weaker
- OH: Off-hand
- OOM: Out of mana
- OP: Overpowered
- Pat: Patrol
- PBAoE: Point-blank AoE (an AoE spell that radiates out from the caster, like Arcane Explosion)
- Pot: Potion
- Proc: As best as I've been able to figure out, this is short for
"Process""Procedure" (see WoWWiki). What it refers to is things that have a chance to go off when some event happens. For instance, a Fiery enchant has a chance per hit to cause extra fire damage. This ability of the Fiery enchant is known as a "proc;" when it activates and causes the extra damage, one can say that it has "procced," and the activation itself, the extra damage, can also be called a "proc." - PUG: Pick-up group (a group formed "on the spot" by use of the LFG tool or a channel or something, as opposed to a guild group or some other group of friends)
- PvE: Player vs. Environment
- PvP: Player vs. Player
- RAP: Ranged attack power
- Res/Rez: Resurrect/Resurrection
- RL: Real life
- RP: Role-play[ing]
- SR: Shadow resistance
- Spec: Specialization (in a profession or talents)
- T1/T2/etc.: Class-specific sets of gear that drop from raids.
- UD: Undead
- UI: User interface
- Xmute: Transmute
- Zones:
- Eastern Kingdoms:
- BB: Booty Bay
- EPL: Eastern Plaguelands
- IF: Ironforge
- SMC: Silvermoon City
- SoS: Swamp of Sorrows
- STV: Stranglethorn Vale
- SW: Stormwind City
- TM: Tarren Mill
- UC: Undercity
- WPL: Western Plaguelands
- Kalimdor:
- Darn: Darnassus
- Exo: Exodar
- Gads/GZ: Gadgetzan
- Org: Orgrimmar
- STM: Stonetalon Mountain
- STP: Stonetalon Peak
- TB: Thunder Bluff
- XR: Crossroads
- OL: Outlands:
- BE: Blade's Edge
- HFP: Hellfire Peninsula
- HH: Honor Hold
- NS: Netherstorm
- SH/Shat: Shattrath City
- SMV: Shadowmoon Valley
- Tero: Terokkar
- TM: Thrallmar
- ZM: Zangarmarsh
- Instances (5-man):
- RFC: Ragefire Chasm
- WC: Wailing Caverns
- VC/DM: Deadmines
- Stocks: Stockade
- SFK: Shadowfang Keep
- BFD: Blackfathom Depths
- Gnomer: Gnomeregan
- RFK: Razorfen Kraul
- SM: Scarlet Monestary
- GY: Graveyard wing
- Arm: Armory wing
- Lib: Library wing
- Cath: Cathedral wing
- RFD: Razorfen Downs
- Ulda: Uldaman
- ZF: Zul Farrak
- Mara: Mauradon
- ST: Temple of Atal'Hakkar (a.k.a. Sunken Temple)
- BRD: Blackrock Depths
- BRS: Blackrock Spire
- LBRS: Lower Blackrock Spire
- UBRS: Upper Bloackrock Spire (technically a 10-man, but doesn't feel like a raid, in my opinion)
- DM: Dire Maul
- DM Trib: Dire Maul tribute run
- Strat: Stratholme
- UD Strat: Undead side of Stratholme
- SC/Live Strat: Scarlet side of Stratholme
- Scholo: Scholomance
- HFR: Hellfire Ramparts
- BF: Blood Furnace
- UB: Underbog
- SP: Slave Pens
- SH: Shattered Halls
- SL: Shadow Labyrinth
- SV: Steamvaults
- BM: Black Morass
- Instances (Raid):
- ZG: Zul'Gurub
- AQ20/RAQ: Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj
- AQ40/TAQ: Temple of Ahn'Qiraj
- MC: Molten Core
- Ony: Onyxia
- BWL: Blackwing Lair
- Naxx: Naxxramas
- Kara/KZ: Karazhan
For class-specific abbreviations, click on.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
2-20-2007 @ 8:53PM
Matt Park said...
Shaman - SS = stormstrike.
And thanks! For some reason, I always thought QFT stood for "Quit F***ing Talking"
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 9:22PM
kaiesis said...
Actually, AFAIK "Proc" stands for "Programed Random Occurrence."
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 9:31PM
Sinkari said...
As a 70 mage i never actually use tb more commonly using tele
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 9:40PM
Coticon said...
Don't forget - BTW = By the way
and SFSG = So far so good
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 9:41PM
JMS said...
Complete FTW. Compleat FTL.
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 9:45PM
Eliah Hecht said...
JMS:
Main Entry: com·pleat
Pronunciation: k&m-'plEt
Function: adjective
Etymology: archaic variant of complete in The Compleat Angler (1653) by Izaak Walton
: having all necessary or desired elements or skills : COMPLETE; also : CLASSIC, QUINTESSENTIAL
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/compleat
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 9:58PM
skvngrx said...
pat = patrol
Always funny when some noob is asking "Why are we waiting for Pat? Which guy is named Pat?"
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 10:16PM
A_B said...
What's "MT"? "Mage/Tank"?
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 10:32PM
nando said...
I've always wondered what OOM stands for?
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 10:34PM
RogueUrBoat said...
2 you missed
1: RT
aka roguetank: emergency situation, rogue tanks by evasion (screwed/tank down/rediculously lucky/rogue pulled aggro)
2: AFK
(away from keyboard...how can you miss that one?)
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 10:40PM
Amandrel said...
@7Since a most of the groups I run with tend to have a feral kitty or hunter with pet, I thought that people were just mistyping the emote "/pat" when they said "pat" or "pats" in an instance. I
finally twigged that it was probably something else, swallowed my pride and prefaced my comment with "OK, noob question..."
@8
"MT" is "main tank", the player in a party/raid who keeps the mob's (or mobs') attention/aggro. There's also the "MA" or "main assist" who chooses the target the DPSers should focus on. They then "assist" that playerby attacking that target.
@10
"OOM" stands for "out of mana". If you type /oom in the chat window, you'll generate a message in the chat window as well as an audio warning ("My mana is low!").
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 10:44PM
Luclan said...
How dare you forget GDIF.
Go die in fire.
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 10:45PM
Jeff said...
MT = main tank
OOM = out of mana
and I also always thought QFT meant quit f-ing talking, glad to find out otherwise
Reply
2-20-2007 @ 10:55PM
Ariel said...
I always see people thinking of PST more as "Pssst" than "Please send tell".
"WTB healing potions, please PST me."
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 12:13AM
we3bus said...
PSMUNAAIICRAOTAIIN = Please stop making up new acronyms and initialisms, I can't remember all of them as it is now.
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 12:27AM
ShatteredChaos said...
One that got me for a long time (and I'm still not sure of it) is IIRC which I've always interpreted at If I Recall Correctly.
@13 I've always seen that as DIAF = Die In A Fire
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 12:39AM
Asynchronous said...
In the lock specifics, you've got Voidwalker as VT. I suppose it could be 'Void Tank,' and I've just never heard it, but I think you mean VW.
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 1:02AM
Scott Elsdon said...
Proc ? I always thought this was Procure, as in to get something, or procurement.
Pronunciation: -'kyur-m&nt
Function: noun
: the act or process of procuring; especially eg: the obtaining of military supplies by a government. they procure the supplies.
procure - to bring about or to achieve
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 1:04AM
OrangeTimer said...
What about...
Inc = Incoming
Maybe it's just me, but i like using the word ;)
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 1:09AM
OrangeTimer said...
@10
LOL... RT, I've done that one before.
Oh and BTW, if this is going to be a complete list shouldn't we include LOL, ROFL, LMAO, etc?
... or perhaps i'm being to pedantic =P
Reply