World of Warcraft - WotLK Glossary (Patch 3.3.5a)

A

AB – Arathi Basin. A PvP battleground (15 vs 15) set in Arathi Highlands. Example: “Queue up for AB?”

AFK – Away From Keyboard. Indicates a player is idle or not at their computer. Example: “Brb, AFK a minute to grab food.”

Aggro – Refers to drawing a mob’s attention (getting attacked by an enemy). If you have aggro, the enemy is attacking you. Tanks try to hold aggro so monsters don’t attack others. Example: “Careful with damage, don’t pull aggro off the tank.”

Agility (Agi) – A character stat that improves certain classes’ performance. In WotLK, agility boosts attack power for Hunters and boosts critical strike and dodge for many non-plate melee classes.

AH – Auction House. An in-game marketplace where players buy and sell items. Found in capital cities. Example: “I’ll check the AH for a new weapon.”

AKA – Also Known As. Common internet acronym, sometimes used if something has multiple names. Example: “VK (aka Voodoo King) is another name players used for Hakkar.”

AK – Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom. A 5-man dungeon in Dragonblight (Northrend). Also called “Old Kingdom” or OK.

Alt – An “alternate” character. Any character that isn’t your main. New players often level multiple alts to try different classes.

AN – Azjol-Nerub. A 5-man dungeon in Dragonblight, Northrend.

Ankh – The reagent used by Shamans for self-resurrection. Also slang for a Shaman’s ability Reincarnation (“to ankh” = to self-resurrect using the Ankh item).

Arcane (Arcane Mage) – A mage specialization that focuses on Arcane magic. An Arcane Mage deals high burst damage with spells like Arcane Blast.

Arms (Arms Warrior) – A Warrior talent specialization focused on big two-handed weapon damage. An Arms Warrior is a DPS spec known for abilities like Mortal Strike.

Assassination (Assa) – An Assassination Rogue specialization focusing on stealthy damage with daggers and poisons. Often abbreviated as “Assa” or just called Sin Rogue. It’s one of the Rogue’s DPS specs (the others are Combat and Subtlety).

AoE – Area of Effect. Refers to spells or abilities that can hit multiple targets in an area. Example: “Mage, use AoE on those adds.” (Sometimes written AE. Also, Arcane Explosion (a mage spell) is occasionally abbreviated “AE”.)

AP – Attack Power. A stat that increases your physical damage. In WotLK, Attack Power is gained from Strength (for plate-wearers) or Agility (for leather/mail melee). Example: “That trinket gives +AP, great for hunters.”

AQ – Ahn’Qiraj. A classic WoW raid in Silithus. There were two versions: AQ20 (Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj, 20-man) and AQ40 (Temple of Ahn’Qiraj, 40-man). Example: “Back in Vanilla, we did AQ40 for the epic battles.”

ATK – Attack. Used in chat as a quick command or warning. Example: “ATK the boss now!”

AV – Alterac Valley. A large 40v40 battleground (PvP) in Alterac Mountains. Example: “This AV is taking all afternoon!”

Azeroth – The world where the original continents (Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms) are located. “Azeroth” often refers to the old world (pre-expansion zones) as opposed to Outland or Northrend.

B

BB – Booty Bay. A goblin pirate town in Stranglethorn Vale (Southern Eastern Kingdoms). Neutral territory where Horde and Alliance can meet (and often gank each other!).

BC – The Burning Crusade. The first WoW expansion (level cap 70, introduced Outland). Players often call it TBC or just BC. Example: “I started playing in BC.”

BDF – Blackfathom Deeps. A low-level 5-man dungeon in Ashenvale (Kalimdor).

BF – Blood Furnace. A 5-man dungeon in Hellfire Peninsula (Outland). Part of the Hellfire Citadel instances (often “BF” stands for this dungeon).

Belf – Blood Elf. A Horde race introduced in Burning Crusade. Players might say “belf pally” meaning a Blood Elf Paladin.

BG – Battleground. An instanced PvP zone where teams of players fight for objectives (e.g., Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin). Example: “Which BG do you want to queue for?”

BL – Bloodlust. A powerful Shaman buff that increases haste for the whole party/raid (Alliance shamans use Heroism, same effect). Example: “Pop BL now for the boss burn phase!”

Black Temple (BT) – A level 70 raid in Shadowmoon Valley, Outland. It’s Illidan Stormrage’s lair. Example: “Our guild is doing BT for transmog night.”

BWL – Blackwing Lair. A classic 40-man raid in Blackrock Mountain (home of Nefarian). Example: “BWL was popular in vanilla for the tier 2 set.”

Blizz – Short for Blizzard Entertainment, the company that makes World of Warcraft. Also can refer to the Blizzard spell (mage ability) in context, but usually the company.

Blue – Can mean two things: (1) Blue-quality gear, i.e., “Rare” items whose names appear in blue text. Example: “I got a blue cloak from the dungeon.” (2) A Blue post, meaning a Blizzard employee’s post on official forums (Blizzard posters had blue text names).

BM – Usually Beast Mastery, a Hunter spec focusing on pets. (“BM hunter”). In some contexts, people also use BM to mean “bad manners,” but in WoW it’s primarily the hunter spec.

BoA – Bind on Account. Items that can be sent to any character on your account. Heirlooms (special leveling items that scale with level) are BoA and can be mailed to your alts. Example: “I sent some BoA shoulders to my new alt for faster leveling.”

BoE – Bind on Equip. Items that become soulbound only when equipped. BoE items can be traded or sold on the AH until someone equips them. Example: “I found a BoE epic sword, I might sell it.”

BoP – Bind on Pickup. Items that become soulbound as soon as you loot them. You cannot trade them (except sometimes to others who were in the same group when it dropped). Example: “That boss drops a BoP mount that you have to win with a roll.”

BoJ – Badge of Justice. The emblem currency from Burning Crusade heroic dungeons and raids. (WotLK replaced these with Emblems; BoJ was the BC equivalent.)

Boomkin – Nickname for a Balance Druid (caster DPS spec) because they can shapeshift into a moonkin form (a.k.a. boomkin). Often used endearingly or humorously. Example: “We need a boomkin for the spell damage buff.”

Boss – A powerful enemy, usually at the end of a dungeon or raid (or as a rare elite in the open world). Bosses are designed for groups to fight and drop valuable loot. Example: “The final boss of ICC is the Lich King.”

Bot – Can refer to two things: (1) A third-party program or automated character that plays the game for someone (against the rules). (2) Short for specific places like “Bot” for Botanica (a BC dungeon). Most commonly it means an automation cheating program. Example: “That character has been fishing flawlessly for hours, probably a bot.”

BRB – Be Right Back. Used in chat to indicate you’ll be away briefly. Example: “BRB, bio break” (meaning bathroom break).

BRD – Blackrock Depths. A large level 50-60 dungeon inside Blackrock Mountain (Classic WoW). Example: “We’re running BRD for attunements and gear.”

BRS – Blackrock Spire. A dungeon/raid in Blackrock Mountain. It’s often divided into Lower Blackrock Spire (LBRS, 5-man dungeon) and Upper Blackrock Spire (UBRS, 10-man raid in classic). “BRS” generically refers to that area.

BS – Blacksmith or Blacksmithing. A crafting profession that makes melee weapons and plate armor. Also, BS is sometimes used for “bullsh**” in chat, but if someone says “LF BS,” they likely mean they need a Blacksmith.

Buff – A beneficial effect or spell that enhances a player. For example, Power Word: Fortitude gives a stamina buff. As a verb, “to buff” means to cast such spells on players. Example: “Buff everyone with mark of the wild.” Also used in game balance discussions: “they should buff this class” (make it stronger).

Bug – An error or glitch in the game. Could be used when something doesn’t work as intended. Example: “This quest is bugged, I can’t complete it.”

Boost – Being power-leveled through content by a higher-level character. For example, a level 80 mage killing all the mobs in a low-level dungeon while lowbies tag along is giving them a “boost.” Often people sell boosts for gold (e.g., “selling dungeon boosts”).

C

Camping – Staying in one spot for a while to achieve something. Usually refers to corpse camping (killing a player, then waiting at their corpse to kill them again when they resurrect) or spawn camping (waiting at a mob spawn point to repeatedly kill it or waiting for a rare spawn). Example: “That rogue is camping the graveyard, watch out.”

Carebear – A (slang) term for a player who prefers non-PvP or is perceived as not aggressive. Often used derogatorily for someone who avoids PvP combat or wants a more peaceful experience. Example: “He’s on a PvE server, total carebear.” (It’s not a nice thing to call someone.)

Caster – Any class or mob that primarily uses spells (casts) to do damage or healing. Mages, Warlocks, Priests, etc., are casters. Example: “Focus the caster mobs first, they do a lot of damage if left alone.”

CC – Crowd Control. Abilities that incapacitate, stun, or otherwise neutralize enemies temporarily. For example, Polymorph (sheep), Sap, or Fear are CC moves. Players say “CC that add” meaning use a crowd control ability on an extra enemy to take it out of the fight briefly.

CD – Cooldown. The waiting time after using an ability or item before it can be used again. Also used to refer to the ability itself (“big CDs” meaning powerful cooldown abilities like Shield Wall). Example: “My healing cooldowns are up in 2 minutes.”

Combat Res – Combat Resurrection. A spell that revives a player during combat (as opposed to after the fight). Druids have Rebirth (often called “brez” for battle rez), and Warlocks can simulate it by giving someone a Soulstone. Example: “Save your combat res for the healer if they die.”

Conquest Points – (Not in WotLK) A PvP currency introduced after WotLK (Cataclysm era). In Wrath, arena players earned Arena Points instead. (Term not applicable in patch 3.3.5a, as Conquest replaced Arena Points later.)

CoS – Culling of Stratholme. A Caverns of Time dungeon (level 80, WotLK) where players go back in time to Arthas’s purge of Stratholme. Example: “Need tank for CoS run.” (Don’t confuse with “Strat” which usually means the original Stratholme dungeon.)

Crit – Critical Hit. Doing a critical hit (usually 200% damage for most classes) on an attack or spell. Also used as a stat (Critical Strike rating) that increases your chance to crit. Example: “Nice crit!” or “I need more crit for my fire mage build.”

Critter – A non-hostile, low-HP creature in the world (like a rabbit, frog, etc.). Critters are just ambient fauna you can one-shot. Example: “Someone polymorphed a critter for fun.”

Creep – Slang for a mob or monster (common in other games). In WoW, people just say mob, but “creep” might be used occasionally in the same way.

D

Dal – Dalaran. The neutral capital city in Northrend (Wrath’s main city hub). You’ll often hear “meet in Dal” because it has portals to other cities.

Darn – Darnassus. The Night Elf capital city (Teldrassil, Kalimdor). Example: “The boat from Darn goes to Stormwind.”

DC – Disconnect. Used when a player drops offline unexpectedly. Example: “Tank DC’d, hang on until he reconnects.” (It can also mean Death Coil, which is a Warlock or Death Knight ability, but in chat DC usually means disconnect unless specified.)

DD – Direct Damage. As opposed to damage over time. A “DD” spell hits all at once (e.g., Fireball is direct damage, whereas a damage-over-time spell is a DoT). Sometimes people refer to DPS classes as DD (direct damage dealers), but in WoW “DPS” is far more common term for those roles.

DE – Disenchant or Disenchanter. Often used in loot context. If nobody needs an item, someone might say “just DE it” (turn it into enchanting materials). Example: “We’ll roll DE on unwanted blues.”

Debuff – A negative status effect on a player or mob that weakens them (opposite of a buff). For example, a debuff might reduce your armor or do damage over time. Bosses often place dangerous debuffs on tanks or players.

Defense (Skill) – In WotLK, Defense was a stat (and skill) that tanks needed to become immune to critical hits by mobs. The term “defense cap” refers to having enough defense skill (540 for level 80 raid bosses) to not be crit. (Note: This stat was removed in later expansions, but in WotLK it’s still important for tank gearing.)

Demo – Can refer to two things: (1) Demonology, a Warlock talent spec. A “Demo lock” uses a big pet demon and spells like Metamorphosis. (2) Demoralizing Shout/Roar, abilities that reduce enemy attack power (warriors and bears use these). Context usually makes it clear, but if someone says “Demo that mob,” they mean use a Demoralizing Shout or a similar debuff.

Disc – Discipline Priest. A healing spec for Priests that focuses on damage prevention (shields) and quick heals. A “disc priest” is known for spells like Power Word: Shield and Penance. Example: “We have a holy pally, so maybe go disc for raid?”

Ding – Slang for leveling up. People often say “ding” when they gain a level (comes from the “ding” sound older games made on level up). It’s common for guildmates to say “grats” when someone says “ding 80!”

DK – Death Knight. The hero class introduced in Wrath of the Lich King (starts at level 55). DKs can tank or DPS and have three specs: Blood, Frost, Unholy. Example: “DKs start in Eastern Plaguelands with their own story.”

DKP – Dragon Kill Points. A point-based loot system used by some guilds for raids. Players earn DKP for killing bosses or attending raids and spend these points to win loot. It originated in older MMOs (hence “dragon kills”). Not every guild uses DKP – many use Need/Greed or loot council – but the term is well-known.

DM – Can mean two different dungeons, so players sometimes clarify:

• Dire Maul – a level 58+ dungeon in Feralas (Classic).

• Deadmines – a low-level dungeon in Westfall (Classic). Because both shared “DM” abbreviation, players often called Deadmines “VC” (after the final boss VanCleef) to avoid confusion. Example: “LFM VC” meant Deadmines group, whereas “LFM DM North” meant Dire Maul North.

DPS – Damage Per Second. Usually refers to damage-dealing classes or players. “A DPS” means a damage role player (as opposed to tank or healer). It also literally means the rate of damage output. Example: “We need more DPS for the boss” or “My mage’s DPS is around 5k on that fight.”

Drop – Noun or verb for loot from a mob. A “drop” is an item that fell from a killed monster. “To drop” means the mob drops loot. Example: “That boss drops a rare mount” or “Got any good drops from the raid?”

DTK – Drak’Tharon Keep. A 5-man dungeon in Grizzly Hills (Northrend).

Dual Spec – The ability to have two saved talent specializations and swap between them. Introduced in WotLK (patch 3.1) for level 40+ characters. It costs 1000g to unlock at a trainer. Example: “I bought dual spec so I can tank and DPS.”

DW – Dual Wield. To equip a one-handed weapon in each hand (many classes can dual wield). Also, DW is sometimes shorthand for a place (e.g., Duskwood, an Eastern Kingdoms zone) but more commonly refers to wielding two weapons. Example: “Fury warriors dual wield two-handed weapons in Wrath – crazy!”

E

Elite – A stronger-than-normal mob, indicated by a silver dragon portrait in-game. Elites have more health and hit harder; you usually need a group or to be higher level to kill them. Example: “That area has elite mobs, careful if you’re solo.”

Emblems – Currency tokens from WotLK dungeons/raids, used to buy gear. There are several types:

• EoH (Emblem of Heroism) – from heroic dungeons and 10-man raids early in Wrath. (In later patches, lower emblems were converted to higher tiers or Justice Points in 4.0.)

• EoV (Emblem of Valor) – from 25-man raids in early Wrath (Tier 7 content).

• EoC (Emblem of Conquest) – added in patch 3.1 (Ulduar raids).

• EoT (Emblem of Triumph) – added in patch 3.2 (Trial of the Crusader content). By patch 3.3, Triumph emblems dropped from almost all dungeons and raids below Icecrown.

• EoF (Emblem of Frost) – added in patch 3.3, from Icecrown Citadel raids and weekly raid quests. These bought the highest tier gear (Tier 10).
  (New players at 3.3.5 will mostly encounter Emblems of Triumph and Frost.)

Epic – Refers to purple-quality gear (items with names in purple text). Epic is one step below Legendary. In Wrath, most endgame gear (raid loot) is epic. Players might say “epics” to mean high-level gear. Example: “Time to get some epics from heroics.”

Exploit – Abusing a bug or game glitch to gain an advantage. Exploiting is against the rules. Example: “They got banned for an arena exploit.”

Exodar – The Exodar, capital city of the Draenei on Azuremyst Isle. Not commonly abbreviated, but sometimes called just “Exodar” or “Exo.” Example: “I’ll hearth to Exodar then take the portal.”

Exp or XP – Experience Points. What you gain from killing mobs or completing quests to level up. Often just “XP”. Example: “This quest gives a ton of XP” or “I need 5k more exp to ding.”

Exploding (or XP Lock) – In WotLK you could “stop” gaining XP (for twinking purposes) by talking to an NPC. This is referred to as XP locking or “turning off XP”. (Twinks are characters who stay at a certain low level with maxed gear, often for PvP.) Example: “My 19 twink has XP locked so he doesn’t level out of the bracket.” (This is a niche term for dedicated players.)

F

Faction – Refers to the two player factions, Alliance and Horde, or to the various reputations (like Argent Crusade faction). Usually capitalized when meaning Alliance/Horde. Example: “Your faction matters for PvP servers.”

Farming – Repeating an activity solely to collect something, like gold, materials, or a specific drop. Example: “I’m farming herbs” (gathering lots of herbs to sell or craft) or “We farmed that boss 10 times for the mount.”

FD – Feign Death. A Hunter ability that makes the hunter “play dead” to drop aggro. Often used to avoid wipes or reset fights. Example: “Hunter FD’d to drop threat.”

Fear – Both a spell and a mechanic: Warlocks (and some priests) have a Fear ability that causes enemies to run in terror. If someone says “don’t fear”, they mean don’t use such an effect (since feared mobs might pull others).

FFA – Free For All. A loot setting where anyone can loot any mob, or in PvP it can mean a situation where everyone fights for themselves. Also used in battlegrounds: “FFA on farm” could mean everyone go wherever (though that’s less common).

FFS – For F**’s Sake*. An expression of frustration. Not polite, but you’ll see it in chat when someone is annoyed. Example: “FFS, stop pulling without the tank!”

FoS – Forge of Souls. A 5-man dungeon in Icecrown Citadel (added in patch 3.3, part of the ICC dungeon trio along with Pit of Saron and Halls of Reflection). Also FoS can mean Feat of Strength, a type of special achievement, but context is usually the dungeon.

FotM – Flavor of the Month. Refers to whatever class or spec is currently considered strongest or overpowered, which many people play because it’s “the FotM”. Example: “Retribution paladins are FotM right now after that patch buff.”

FPS – Frames Per Second. Technical term for game performance. Also can mean First-Person Shooter in other contexts, but in WoW it’s usually about graphics performance (“My FPS drops in Dalaran”).

FTL – For The Loss. Opposite of “FTW” (for the win). It means something is bad or caused a loss. Example: “Lag FTL” if someone died due to lag.

FTW – For The Win. An expression of enthusiasm or something done well. Example: “Bubble + Hearthstone FTW!” (Meaning it’s a winning move).

Fury – Fury Warrior, a Warrior DPS spec that dual-wields two weapons (in Wrath, even two 2-handed weapons with Titan’s Grip). Known for fast attacks and abilities like Whirlwind. Example: “He respecced from Prot to Fury for more DPS.”

G

G2G / GTG – Can mean two things: “Good to go” (ready) or “Got to go” (leaving). You have to judge by context! Example: Before a pull, “G2G” likely means ready; but “Sorry guys, gtg” usually means the person has to log off.

Gank – To ambush and kill another player, usually unfairly or repeatedly. Often high-level players gank low-level players on PvP servers for fun (much to the victim’s annoyance). Example: “I was just questing and got ganked by a rogue.”

GD – Gundrak. A level 76-78 dungeon in Zul’Drak (Northrend). (Also occasionally “GD” in chat can mean “Good duel” after sparring, but it’s less common.)

Gear – Your equipment. “Getting geared” means acquiring better items. Gear Score (GS) became a popular addon in late WotLK to rate how good someone’s gear is with a single number. Example: “What’s your GS for ICC? They’re asking for 5k+.”

GF – Usually Girlfriend if someone references a person (“my gf also plays”), but occasionally “Good fight” at the end of a duel or PvP encounter (similar to GG). Context will clarify.

GG – Good Game. A sportsmanship phrase usually said after finishing a match or raid attempt. It can be sincere (“GG everyone, that was fun”) or sarcastic if things went terribly.

GL – Good Luck. Often paired with HF (have fun). Example: “GL on the boss drop!” It can also mean Guild Leader, but usually we say GM or Guild Master for that.

GLHF – Good Luck, Have Fun. A friendly thing to say, often at the start of a battleground or arena. Example: “GLHF all!”

GM – Can mean Game Master (a Blizzard admin/support staff who helps players in-game via tickets) or Guild Master (the leader of a guild). If someone says “I opened a ticket to a GM,” that’s the Blizzard employee. If in guild context someone says “ask the GM,” they mean the guild master.

Gnomer – Gnomeregan. A mid-level dungeon in Dun Morogh (gnome-themed instance). Example: “Let’s do Gnomer for some exp – it’s a bit of a maze though!”

Goldshire (GS) – A newbie town in Elwynn Forest (Alliance side). Famous for…interesting roleplay in some circles. (Context: If an Alliance player says “meet in GS,” they mean Goldshire. However, GS in Wrath era is more commonly used to mean Gear Score. Be mindful of context.)

Gratz (Grats) – Short for “Congratulations.” You’ll see this whenever someone “dings” or gets an achievement. Example: “Just hit level 80!” – “Grats! ?”

Greed – In loot rolling, “Greed” is an option to roll on an item if you don’t need it for your main gear but wouldn’t mind having it (to sell, for off-spec, etc.). If anyone chooses “Need”, a Greed roll won’t win over them. Example: “Everyone just greed on the loot since we don’t need it.”

Grief / Griefer – To grief is to deliberately harass or ruin someone’s gameplay experience (for fun or malice). A griefer might do things like constantly pull extra mobs to cause wipes, or repeatedly kill you and camp your corpse. Example: “That griefer is training mobs into our group.”

Group – Simply a party of players (up to 5, or a raid group larger). “Group up” can mean form a party or literally stand together. Example: “Looking for group for Nexus” or “Group up here for a buff.”

Guild – A permanent association of players (like a clan) that you can join. Guilds have names, ranks, and usually a shared chat. Example: “I joined a leveling guild to have people to talk to.”

H

H [Dungeon] – Prefix indicating Heroic mode of a dungeon. For example, “H UK” means Heroic Utgarde Keep. Wrath introduced Heroic 5-mans (harder level 80 versions of normal dungeons with better loot). Heroic raids also existed (10 vs 25-man in Wrath context, though later expansions used difficulties).

HF – Have Fun. Often said together with GL (Good Luck). Example: “GL and HF in the battleground!”

HFP – Hellfire Peninsula. A zone in Outland (the fiery red starting zone for BC). Example: “Questing in HFP from 60-63.” (Sometimes just “HF” in text, but HF also means Have Fun, so HFP is clearer.)

HP – Hit Points or Health Points. How much life you have. Also can mean Honor Points in a PvP context, but usually people just say honor. Example: “That boss has like 5 million HP!”

Healbot – Two meanings: (1) A player (usually a healer) who does nothing but spam healing spells with little else (like a healing machine). (2) Healbot is also the name of a popular healing addon that simplifies targeting and healing party members. Example: “We need you to DPS too, not just be a healbot” or “I use Healbot to make healing easier.”

Healthstone (HS) – A consumable created by Warlocks that players can use to heal themselves (like a potion). Warlocks can hand these out to group members. Also, HS can mean Hearthstone (the item for teleporting to an inn). Context: If someone says “Use your HS,” check if they mean the Healthstone for healing or Hearthstone to port home.

Holy – Refers to a healing specialization for Priests or Paladins. A “Holy Priest” or “Holy Pally” is a healer spec. Example: “We need a holy pally for this raid.” (Paladins and Priests both have a Holy tree in Wrath – paladin Holy and priest Holy are separate healing specs.)

Honor Points – The currency earned from PvP kills and battleground objectives. In WotLK, you earn honor to spend on PvP gear (from vendors in Stormwind/Orgrimmar or Wintergrasp, etc.). Example: “After this weekend of BGs, I have enough honor points to buy a new cloak.”

HoL – Halls of Lightning. A level 78-80 dungeon in Storm Peaks (Ulduar area, Northrend).

HoR – This has two meanings in Wrath context:

• Halls of Reflection – A level 80 dungeon in Icecrown Citadel (patch 3.3). Part of the Frozen Halls trio (FoS, PoS, HoR).

• Hand of Reckoning – A Paladin’s taunt ability. Usually, if someone says “HoR” in a dungeon context it’s the instance. If a paladin says “using HoR”, they might mean the spell (but they’d likely just say “taunt”).

HoS – Halls of Stone. A level 77-79 dungeon in Storm Peaks (also in Ulduar area).

HoT – Heal over Time or Healing over Time. A spell that heals gradually (e.g., Druid Rejuvenation or Priest Renew). Also, people pronounce it like “hot” – “Keep your HoTs rolling on the tank.”

Huntard – A derogatory mashup of Hunter + [idiot]. Used when a Hunter does something foolish (since hunters had a bad reputation for ninjapulling or bad pet control in early WoW). It’s an insult – not nice to call someone this, but you might hear it as a joke among friends who play hunters. Example: “Oops, my pet pulled extra… I’m such a huntard ?.”

Hybrid – A class that can fill multiple roles (tank/heal/dps). In Wrath, druids, paladins, shamans, and monks (monks came later) are hybrids. For example, a paladin can tank (Prot), heal (Holy), or DPS (Ret), so they are a hybrid class. Often used in context of hybrid tax (the notion that hybrids might do slightly less DPS because they have role flexibility, an old theory).

I

I5SR / 5-Second Rule – Five-Second Rule for mana regen. In WoW Classic/TBC/Wrath, your mana regeneration from Spirit pauses for 5 seconds after you cast a spell. “I5SR” means inside that five-second window (not regenerating full mana), and “OO5SR” (out of 5 second rule) means you’re regening at full rate. Mostly relevant to healer gameplay and mana management.

IC – Icecrown Citadel or Instant Cast. Usually ICC is used for the raid, so IC by itself might mean “in character” (for RP) or simply “I don’t care” shorthand? Actually, “idc” is I don’t care. So IC in WoW is less used; if used in RP, IC means in-character, OOC out-of-character. But in general gameplay, you won’t see IC alone often.

ICC – Icecrown Citadel. The final raid of WotLK (added in patch 3.3) where you fight the Lich King. It’s a 10 or 25-man raid in Icecrown. Example: “Our 10-man ICC got up to Professor Putricide this week.”

IDK / IDC – I Don’t Know / I Don’t Care. Common chat slang. Example: “IDK how to do this boss” or “Go whichever way, idc.”

IF – Ironforge. The Dwarf capital city in Dun Morogh (Eastern Kingdoms). Example: “Train cooking in IF, the trainer is there.”

IG / In-Game – Short for in the game world (as opposed to forums or IRL). Often written “ingame” or abbreviated “IG”. Example: “I’ll mail you the item ingame.”

IMO / IMHO – In My Opinion / In My Humble (Honest) Opinion. Chat lingo when giving personal opinions. Example: “IMO, frost mage is easier to level with than fire.”

Inc – Incoming. Warns that enemies are on the way or you’re about to pull. Example: “Inc patrol, be ready!” In PvP, players call out “Inc” to indicate enemy players approaching an objective (e.g., “Inc 5 at Blacksmith!” means 5 enemies incoming).

Instance – A private copy of a dungeon or raid for your group. Also used as a verb “to instance” meaning to run an instance. Example: “This quest sends us into the instance” or “We need 5 people to instance RFC.”

Int – Intellect. A primary stat for casters (increases mana pool and spell crit for some classes). Example: “That cloth robe has +40 Int – great for mages.”

IRL – In Real Life. Referring to life outside the game. Example: “I can’t raid tomorrow, have stuff IRL.”

J

JC – Jewelcrafter or Jewelcrafting. A profession that cuts gems and makes jewelry. Example: “Any JC online that can cut this meta gem?”

JK or J/K – Just Kidding. Used after a statement to indicate it was a joke. Example: “Pull the boss now… jk don’t!”

JP (Justice Points) – (Not in Wrath yet) A currency that replaced emblems in Cataclysm (patch 4.0). In Wrath 3.3.5a, Justice Points do not exist – we used Emblems. (When Cataclysm pre-patch hit, all those emblems got converted to JP.) So you won’t encounter JP in true WotLK play.

Jokes – The /j or /silly emote triggers your character’s joke lines. Not a slang term, but fun to know: players sometimes share their race’s jokes. Example: “/silly as a male blood elf has some infamous jokes.”

K

Kara – Karazhan. A popular level 70 raid in Deadwind Pass (BC expansion). It’s an old haunted tower raid with many bosses. Example: “We’re doing a retro Kara run for achievements.”

Kite – To drag a mob around (usually keeping it at range) while damaging or distracting it, rather than tanking it face-to-face. The term comes from the idea of a kite on a string following you. Example: “That boss enrages; a hunter can kite it while we run.”

Kitty – Slang for a Druid in cat form (feral DPS). “Kitty DPS” refers to a feral druid focusing on cat form melee damage. Example: “Our druid can go kitty for this fight and DPS.”

KOS – Kill on Sight. If something or someone is KOS, it means you’ll attack them immediately when you see them (often used on PvP servers for hated enemies, or NPC factions that attack instantly). Example: “That player ganked me earlier, he’s KOS now.”

KS – Kill Steal or Kill Secure, depending on perspective. It’s when someone takes the kill of a mob or player that someone else almost had. In WoW PvE, tagging rules prevent kill stealing (whoever hits first usually gets credit), but you might hear it jokingly. In PvP, “KS” could be teasing when someone snipes a killing blow. Also, Kill Shot is a Hunter ability abbreviation (context: if a hunter says “using KS”, they mean the Kill Shot ability).

L

L2P – Learn to Play. A derogatory remark implying the player is inexperienced or doing poorly. Example: “You pulled all those mobs at once? L2P, man…” (Rude to say – often seen in heated moments.)

Lag – A delay or slowdown due to network or computer performance issues. If the game is not responding quickly, you are “lagging.” Example: “I have bad lag, my ping is over 500ms” or “Sorry I died, I lagged out.”

Latency – The technical term for your connection delay (ping). Found in-game as a number (in milliseconds). Green is good, red is bad. High latency causes lag.

Leet / 1337 – “Leet” speak is a style of internet slang substituting numbers/symbols for letters (1337 means “leet” or elite). People might jokingly say someone is “leet” meaning elite/skilled, often sarcastically. Example: “Wow, 40 DPS, you’re so leet ? (joking).”

Leveling – The process of gaining experience (XP) and increasing your character’s level. Can be used as a noun or verb. Example: “Leveling can be slow in Outland” or “I’m leveling a mage now.”

LFG – Looking For Group. Used when you are searching for a group to join. Example: “LFG Nexus” means you want to find a group running The Nexus. There was also a global LFG channel (in older times) and an LFG tool in 3.3 (Dungeon Finder). You might also see LFM (Looking For More) from someone who is already in a group and needs additional members.

LFM – Looking For More. A group leader uses this to advertise they need more people. Example: “LFM DPS for Utgarde Keep, then G2G” (meaning they’ll be ready to go).

LFW – Looking For Work. Crafters use this to indicate they are available to craft items with their professions for tips/fees. Example: “Alchemist LFW – can craft all flasks, PST if you need one.”

Lock – Short for Warlock. Example: “We need a lock for summons and Soulstones.”

LOL / LMAO / ROFL – Laughing acronyms: LOL = Laughing Out Loud, LMAO = Laughing My A** Off, ROFL = Rolling On the Floor Laughing. Just ways to indicate something is funny. You’ll see these a lot in chat when someone jokes or does something silly.

LOM – Low on Mana. A warning from a healer or caster that their mana is nearly depleted. More common is OOM (Out of Mana), but LOM means the same – running low.

Loot – As a noun, it means the items that drop from enemies. As a verb, “to loot” means to pick up the items. Example: “Check the boss loot” or “Don’t forget to loot that quest item.” In group context, loot rules decide who gets the items (Need/Greed, etc.).

LOS – Line of Sight. Many spells require line of sight (no solid objects in between). In gameplay, it’s often used as a tactic: LOS pulling is when a tank pulls ranged mobs by poking them and then ducking behind a corner, forcing them to chase into the open (so they come closer). Also used in PvP: “Use the pillar to LOS the caster” (hide so they can’t hit you).

Lowbie – A low-level character. Often used affectionately or teasingly. Example: “Helping some lowbies run RFC.”

Lurker – Someone who is online but not actively participating, possibly just watching chat or AFK. Not a WoW-specific term, but sometimes used if someone is quiet in guild chat, etc. Example: “We have 30 guildies online but half are lurkers.”

LvL – Short for Level. Example: “What lvl is your new alt now?”

M

Main – Your primary character, the one you play the most or consider your “primary” in progression. Example: “My main is a warrior, and I have a mage alt.” People may ask “main spec” vs “off spec” referring to your primary role vs secondary role on that character.

Mana – The resource used by many classes to cast spells. Represented by a blue bar. If someone says “OOM” (out of mana), they need a break to regenerate.

Mats – Materials (crafting materials). Items used for professions – herbs, ores, cloth, etc. Example: “I have the mats for the enchant, can you do it?”

MB – Mana Break. A quick pause to let mana users drink and regenerate mana. Often just “drink break.” Example: “MB after this pull” or the mage says “need mana, mb plz.”

MC – Two common meanings:

• Molten Core, a classic 40-man raid in Blackrock Mountain (level 60 raid).

• Mind Control, the priest spell that can take control of an enemy.
  Context will tell you: “Doing MC” in classic means the raid; “the priest MC’d one of the adds” means the spell.

MD – Misdirection. A Hunter ability that transfers threat from the hunter to another target (usually cast on the tank). In Wrath, Rogues have a similar ability Tricks of the Trade (ToT). These are used to help tanks get initial aggro. Example: “Hunter, give me an MD on pull.”

Mech – The Mechanar. A level 70 dungeon in Netherstorm (Tempest Keep wing). People might say “Mech” for short.

Meter – Refers to damage/healing meters (like the Recount or Skada addon). People say “post meters” to see the DPS/HPS results after a fight, or “top the meters” meaning do the most damage. Example: “Our mage is topping the meters on every boss.”

Melee – (Pronounced “may-lay.”) Close-range combat. Can refer to melee classes (warrior, rogue, etc.) or the act of fighting up close. Example: “All melee stay behind the boss to avoid cleave.”

MGT / MgT – Magisters’ Terrace. A level 70 5-man dungeon on the Isle of Quel’Danas (added in BC patch 2.4). Example: “Running MgT for a chance at the mount drop.”

ML – Master Looter. A loot setting where one person (the Master Looter, usually the raid leader) distributes loot manually. Also used to refer to the person themselves (“ML will hand out the loot”). Example: “Switch to ML for this raid so nobody ninjas the item.”

MM – Marksmanship Hunter, one of the Hunter DPS specs focusing on ranged weapon damage (Wrath talent tree). Example: “He’s playing MM, not Survival.”

MMO / MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online game, and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. WoW is an MMORPG. People might just say “MMO” when talking about game genre.

Mob – Any monster or NPC that you can fight. “Mob” originally is short for “mobile” (from older MUDs), meaning a moving creature. Example: “That mob drops a quest item” or “Don’t aggro those mobs on the side.”

Mount – A rideable creature or vehicle that increases your movement speed. Also used as a verb: “to mount up” means to get on your mount. Example: “Epic flying mount” for a 280% speed flyer. (Not really slang, just a core concept.)

MP5 – Mana per 5 seconds. A stat that indicates mana regeneration in combat. In Wrath, healers get MP5 from Spirit (for most classes) or from gear explicitly with +MP5. Example: “This trinket gives extra MP5, good for healers with mana issues.”

MT – Can mean a few things:

• Main Tank – the primary tank responsible for boss aggro in a raid or group. Example: “Our MT will grab the boss, off-tank pick up the adds.”

• Mistell – sending a message to the wrong chat or person by accident. If someone says “sry MT” after a strange message, they mean “sorry, that was a mistell” (meant for someone else).

• Mana Tombs – a BC dungeon in Auchindoun, sometimes abbreviated MT. (Context: “LFM MT” in Outland means the dungeon; in raid context, MT means Main Tank.)

Mule – A character used primarily for storage or extra bank space (also Bank Alt). For example, an alt parked at a city just to hold items or list auctions. Example: “I mailed all the mats to my bank mule.”

N

Naxx – Naxxramas. A raid instance originally 40-man at level 60 (Vanilla) and brought back as a 10/25-man raid at level 80 (WotLK Tier 7). It’s located in Dragonblight (floating necropolis). Example: “We full-cleared Naxx10 last night, got some tier gear.”

Need – In loot terms, “Need” is a roll option meaning you actually need the item for use (usually for your current main spec). Need rolls have priority over Greed. If you “need” an item you can use, you should equip it. Example: “Please only click Need if it’s an upgrade for you.”

Need/Greed – The common loot system in pugs. Players choose “Need” if the item is an upgrade for their current main role, “Greed” if it’s not needed (or for off-spec or selling). The game then awards the item randomly among those who chose Need (or Greed if no one needed). This is to prevent ninja looting.

Nerf – When the developers weaken something in the game (opposite of a buff). If a class or boss is made less powerful in a patch, it got “nerfed.” Example: “They nerfed warlocks this patch, our damage went down.” As a verb: “Please don’t nerf my favorite talent.”

Newb / Noob / Nub – These all mean new/inexperienced player, but with different connotations. Newb (newbie) is a neutral term for someone new. Noob (or “nub”) can be an insult implying the person is playing poorly or is clueless. Friends might jokingly call each other noobs. Example: “I was such a noob back then, I needed on everything.”

Ninja – Ninja looter. Someone who steals loot by looting quickly or taking items they shouldn’t. “To ninja” as a verb means to loot something without permission or against the agreed rules. Example: “He ninja’d the mount drop and hearthed out.” The term comes from disappearing with loot like a ninja. (Also used jokingly if someone grabs something really fast.)

NP – No Problem. A casual response to thank you or when someone thinks they inconvenienced you. Example: “Thanks for the port!” – “NP.”

NPC – Non-Player Character. Any character controlled by the game, not a real person. This includes quest givers, vendors, monsters, etc. Example: “Talk to the NPC by the gate to start the event.”

Nuke – To do a lot of damage very quickly. As a noun, a “nuke” is a big burst-damage spell (like Pyroblast or Chaos Bolt). As a verb, “nuke it” means burn it down fast with heavy damage. Example: “Ignore the adds, just nuke the boss!”

O

OOC – Out of Combat or Out of Character.

• In gameplay, being “OOC” (out of combat) means you’re not currently fighting and can do things like drink or stealth. Example: “Drop combat so I can drink, I’m OOC now.”

• In roleplay (RP), “OOC” means speaking as yourself, not as your character.

OK – Old Kingdom. Short for “Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom” (see AK). Example: “Heroic OK run for the daily?”

OOM – Out of Mana. The healer or caster is dry and can’t cast expensive spells. This is a warning to the group that the person needs a break or needs to use a potion. Example: “OOM! I need to drink after this fight.”

OP – This can mean Overpowered or Original Poster.

• In gameplay talk, “OP” means something is too strong. Example: “Paladin bubble is OP in duels.”

• On forums or discussions, “OP” refers to the person who started the thread (original poster).

Orange – Refers to Legendary quality items (which have orange text). Legendary items are extremely rare and powerful (e.g., the orange healer mace from Ulduar, Val’anyr). Example: “He’s got the orange mace – lucky!”

Org / Orgrimmar – The Orc capital city in Durotar (Kalimdor) and major Horde city. Example: “Meet by the bank in Org.”

Orz – An ASCII emoticon depicting a person kneeling or bowing down (if you tilt your head, “orz” looks like someone on hands and knees). Used to convey defeat or respect. Not super common in-game, but you might see someone say “Orz” after being bested by something.

OS – Can mean a couple of things:

• Obsidian Sanctum, a raid in WotLK (chamber beneath Wyrmrest Temple with Sartharion, the black dragon). Example: “Weekly raid quest is OS 10 with 1 drake up.”

• Off-Spec, meaning a character’s secondary talent specialization (not their main role). For instance, a paladin whose main spec is Holy (healer) and off-spec is Prot (tank). In loot, sometimes you’ll see “MS > OS” meaning main-spec priority over off-spec for rolling.

OT – Off-Tank. A secondary tank in a raid, responsible for picking up adds or tanking when the main tank can’t. Example: “Off-tank grab the spawned adds.” In forums, OT can also mean Off-Topic, but in-game it’s usually off-tank.

Own / Pwn – Slang meaning to dominate or defeat easily. “Owned” means you completely outplayed someone or something. “Pwned” is a leetspeak variation (pronounced like “owned”). Example: “We owned that boss, one-shot kill!” or in PvP “I just pwned that rogue who jumped me.”

P

Party – A group of up to 5 players. Same as a regular group. Example: “Join my party for this quest.” (In WoW interface, party and group are used interchangeably for 5-man content.)

Patch – Game update that can add content or change mechanics. Players often refer to expansions or major updates as “patch [number]”. For example, “Patch 3.3” is when ICC was added. Patch days often mean maintenance and new changes to learn. Example: “In Patch 3.0, achievements were introduced.”

Pew Pew – A playful way to refer to shooting or doing DPS, as in the sound of laser guns. Often said by or about Hunters (“pew-pew with their bow”) or any DPS doing their thing. Example: “Time to pew-pew the boss!” (Lighthearted term for doing damage.)

Phat Lewts – Gamer slang for very good loot (originating from early internet slang “phat” meaning excellent). You might see “phat lewts” as a joke after a boss kill that drops something great.

Ping – Network latency, see “Latency”. Some players say “my ping is high” to mean they have lag.

PL – Power Level or Power Leveling. To level up very quickly, often with the help of a higher-level friend or using efficient methods. Also used as a verb: “Can someone PL my alt through SM?” (Not to be confused with “please,” which is usually “pls” or “plz.”)

Pop – To use an ability or item, especially a cooldown or consumable. Example: “Pop Heroism now!” or “I’m going to pop a mana pot.” If someone says “pop all cooldowns,” it means use your big buffs like trinkets, offensive CDs, etc.

Port – Short for Portal or Teleport. Usually refers to mage portals. “Need port to Dalaran” means someone is asking a mage for a portal. Mages commonly advertise “Porting to Shatt/Org/Dal, tip appreciated.”

Pot – Potion. Usually health potions, mana potions, or flasks/elixirs. As a verb, “to pot” means to use a potion, often in an emergency (“Health is low, pot if you need to!”). Example: “Carry some healing pots in case the healer can’t get to you.”

Powerleveling – See PL. The act of leveling very fast, often via a booster or by grinding in an optimized way.

Proc – An event where a chance-based effect activates. Short for “process” (from older games). If an item or talent has a chance to do something, when it happens, it “proc’d.” Example: “My trinket proc gave me extra crit” or “Windfury proc’d twice!” Also used as a noun (“a proc” = an occurrence of a random effect).

Prot – Protection. The tanking specialization for Warriors and Paladins in Wrath (both have a Protection talent tree). If someone is “Prot spec,” they’re specced to tank. Example: “We have a prot pally for the heroic, need a healer.”

PST – Please Send Tell. Essentially means “whisper me.” Often used in trade or LFG advertisements. Example: “WTS [Epic Sword], PST with offer” means they want you to send a private message to negotiate. (Sometimes folks joke that PST stands for “psst,” the whisper sound.)

Pull – To initiate combat with enemies, usually by having the tank grab the mobs. Example: “Wait for the tank to pull.” As a noun, “a pull” refers to a group of mobs brought at one time. “Bad pull” means you unintentionally grabbed extra mobs.

PUG – Pick Up Group. A group formed on the fly with random players (not a pre-made organized guild group). “Pugging” a dungeon means you’re doing it with strangers found via chat or the Dungeon Finder. PUGs can be hit-or-miss in terms of success, hence the term sometimes has a negative connotation if compared to a coordinated group. Example: “I pugged Naxx earlier – surprisingly smooth run!”

PvE – Player vs Environment. All game content where you fight computer-controlled enemies (quests, dungeons, raids). A PvE server is one where world PvP only happens if you flag yourself – otherwise factions don’t fight unless in instanced PvP.

PvP – Player vs Player. Anything involving players fighting other players (battlegrounds, arenas, world PvP). A PvP server means world PvP is enabled by default (opposite faction players can attack you in contested zones). Example: “I prefer PvP, so I do arenas and BGs more than raids.”

Q

QQ – Crying eyes (imagine two Q’s as eyes with tears). It’s used to mock whining. If someone says “QQ more,” they’re telling a person to stop complaining (in a facetious way). Example: “You lost that duel? QQ ?” (rude/joking). Ironically, sometimes people actually use QQ to denote they are sad (half-jokingly: “Server down... QQ”).

QFT – Quoted For Truth. Forum/chat term used when you quote someone and agree strongly. In game chat, someone might just say “QFT” in response to something they wholeheartedly agree with. Example: “Player1: This boss is harder than the last! Player2: QFT.”

R

Raid – A large group activity, larger than a party. In WotLK, raids are typically 10-man or 25-man. “To raid” means to do raid content. As a group type, a raid can also be formed for doing group quests with more than 5 people (but no loot trading outside instances). Example: “Our guild raids three nights a week.”

Rare Spawn – A special mob that appears infrequently and often drops unique loot or gives a lot of XP. Marked by a silver dragon portrait with a star. Example: “We found the rare spawn in Sholazar, he dropped a blue item.”

Redridge / RR – Redridge Mountains, a low-level Alliance zone (often abbreviated RR in classic chat).

Reg – Short for Regeneration or regular. Could be used like “out of combat regen” or someone might say “reg instance” meaning a normal (non-heroic) dungeon.

Reputation (Rep) – Your standing with various in-game factions (Argent Crusade, Kirin Tor, etc.). Gained through quests, tabards in dungeons, etc., to earn rewards. Example: “I’m farming rep with Sons of Hodir for the shoulder enchant.” People often ask “What rep are you?” meaning “What reputation level have you reached?”

Res / Rez – Resurrection. To resurrect a dead player (bring them back to life). “Res please” after a fight means a healer should use their resurrection ability on the dead player. As a noun, “a res” means a revive. Rezz or rezzing are just variants/spelling for the same term.

Respec – Changing your talent specialization by visiting a trainer (or using dual spec). Example: “I might respec to Restoration for faster dungeon queues.” It costs gold to respec (which increases the more times you do it, until it caps and eventually decays over time).

Ret – Retribution Paladin. The DPS spec for paladins (focused on melee damage). A “Ret pally” is a paladin in Retribution spec, typically dealing damage with a two-handed weapon and holy magic. Example: “We have a prot and a holy paladin, any Ret want to join for DPS?”

Rez Sickness – Resurrection Sickness. A debuff you get if you choose to resurrect at a Spirit Healer (instead of running back to your corpse). It greatly reduces your stats for 10 minutes. Example: “I took rez sickness because I couldn’t reach my corpse.” Generally avoided unless you’re really stuck.

Resto – Restoration. The healing specialization for Druids and Shamans (both have a “Restoration” talent tree). “Resto druid” or “Resto shammy” indicates those classes in healer spec. Example: “We need a resto shammy for this 10-man.”

RGN – Random Number Generator. Often just said as “the RNG”. Refers to luck or chance in the game (drop rates, crit chances, etc.). If something didn’t drop, blame RNG. Example: “No mount drop again this week – RNG hates me.”

ROFLMAO – Rolling On Floor Laughing My A* Off*. See LOL. Extreme laughter shorthand.

Roll – In WoW, typing /roll generates a random number 1-100 in chat, often used to decide who wins something (if not using the need/greed system). Also used as noun: “Winning the roll” means you got the highest number. Example: “Tie roll, both got 89, roll again.”

Round Robin – A loot distribution method where group members take turns looting corpses. WoW has this as a loot setting but it’s rarely used for typical content (Need/Greed is default).

RP – Roleplay or Roleplaying. Acting in-character as your toon and telling a story. On an RP server, players often speak in /say as their characters would. Also can denote RP servers (which have specific naming/behavior rules) or used to differentiate contexts (IC = in character, RP talk vs OOC = out of character). If someone says “I don’t RP,” they mean they don’t do role-playing activities.

RPPvP – Roleplay Player vs Player. A server ruleset that is an RP server but also PvP (like you stay in character, but the world is PvP enabled). Example: “Emerald Dream (in original WoW) was an RPPvP realm.”

RS – Ruby Sanctum. A raid added in patch 3.3.5 (WotLK) under Wyrmrest Temple. Fought the dragon Halion. It’s a shorter raid (one main boss with add phases). Example: “Anyone need Ruby Sanctum (RS) for the weekly raid quest?”

Rogue – Sometimes spelled “rouge” incorrectly in chat ?. Just noting: If you see someone recruiting a “rouge,” they probably mean rogue.

S

Sapph – Short for Sapphiron, a boss in Naxxramas. But more generally, probably skip – not common unless in that raid context. (Including here as note: skip or not? Probably skip in final since focusing on general terms.)

Scholo – Scholomance. A level ~58 five-man dungeon in Western Plaguelands (an undead magic school). Example: “Need to do Scholo for my paladin mount quest.”

SFK – Shadowfang Keep. A low-level (20-ish) dungeon in Silverpine Forest (old haunted keep of Arugal).

SH – Sethekk Halls. A level 67-69 dungeon in Auchindoun, Terokkar Forest (BC). Contains the Anzu boss (druid raven mount boss, but in WotLK the mount was usable by everyone). SH is also shorthand for Shattered Halls, another BC dungeon in Hellfire Peninsula. To avoid confusion, players sometimes said “Sethekk” and “Shattered” or SHH for Shattered Halls.

Shammy – Affectionate term for Shaman. Example: “Our shammy dropped Mana Tide totem, thanks!”

Sheep – Slang for the Mage’s Polymorph spell (which often turns enemies into sheep). As a verb: “sheep the moon-marked target” means have the mage polymorph that mob. Used generically for polymorph even if the mage’s Polymorph turns something into a turtle or pig (sheep is just the classic form).

Silence – An effect that prevents spellcasting for a short time. Priests and Blood Elves have silence abilities. In strategy, “silence that mob” means use a silence ability to stop it from casting.

SL – Shadow Labyrinth. A level 70 dungeon in Auchindoun (BC). Sometimes called “Labs” or “Slabs.” Example: “Running SL for lower city rep.”

Shatt – Shattrath City. The neutral city in Terokkar Forest, Outland (BC hub city). Example: “I’m in Shatt, can someone port me to Dal?”

SM – Scarlet Monastery. A classic 4-wing dungeon in Tirisfal Glades. (Graveyard, Library, Armory, Cathedral). For example, “SM Lib” means Scarlet Monastery Library. Note: SM can also mean Shadowmeld, the Night Elf racial ability. Context: In grouping, SM usually means the dungeon; someone talking about racials would specify Shadowmeld.

Snare – Any slow effect on movement. For example, a warrior’s Hamstring or a mage’s Frostbolt apply a snare. Example: “The boss can be snared, kite him.”

SotA – Strand of the Ancients. A battleground introduced in WotLK (beach assault with tanks). Example: “Achievements in SotA involve using the tanks to break gates.”

Spawn – When a mob (or resource node) appears in the world. “Spawn” also refers to the mob itself (“a spawn point”). Example: “We’re camping the rare spawn” or “Mobs will spawn behind us in this event.”

Spec – Specialization. The particular talent tree or build a character focuses on. Also used as a verb (“spec into” something, like put points into). Example: “What spec is your druid? – Resto spec” or “I spec’d frost for leveling.”

SP – Spell Power. A stat on caster gear that increases spell damage/healing. In WotLK, gear often has Spell Power (abbreviated SP) to indicate how strong your spells are. Also, SP can stand for Shadow Priest (sometimes written Spriest), but usually people write SP for Spell Power and Shadow for the class spec.

Spriest – Shadow Priest. A Priest in the Shadow specialization, focused on DPS (mind flay, dots, etc.). Example: “Our Spriest will handle dispels on that fight.”

SS – Commonly Soulstone. A Warlock creates a Soulstone and can cast it on a player (usually a healer) so they can resurrect themselves if things go wrong. “Drop a SS on the priest” means give the priest a soulstone. Also, as a verb “SS yourself” means use a Soulstone on yourself (if you’re a warlock). SS can also refer to Sapta Season (just kidding ?, no other important meaning aside from maybe screenshot outside game context).*

SSC – Serpentshrine Cavern. A level 70 raid in Zangarmarsh (Coilfang Reservoir, BC). Example: “Our guild is progressing through SSC – we got 5/6 bosses.”

ST – Sunken Temple (officially “The Temple of Atal’Hakkar”). A level 50-ish dungeon in Swamp of Sorrows. Also called ST or “Sunken”. (Note: ST can also mean Savage Triumph or other things, but 99% of the time in WotLK context it’s the instance.)

Stam – Stamina. Stat that increases health. Vital for tanks, also on gear for everyone. Example: “Gem for Stam to survive the encounter.”

STV – Stranglethorn Vale. A large jungle zone (levels ~30-45 in classic) known for intense world PvP (ganking heaven). Example: “STV was rough on a PvP server – constant ganks.”

Sub – Subtlety Rogue. A rogue specialization focusing on stealth, openers, and burst. Example: “He’s a Sub rogue, watch out for huge Ambush crits.” (May also see Sub used in context of subscriptions, e.g., “my sub is ending,” but in-game, class spec is more likely.)

SV – This can mean:

• Survival, a Hunter spec (in Wrath, Survival was a trap/poison-oriented DPS spec). People might say “SV hunter” for a hunter specced Survival.

• Sunwell Plateau (a raid) is sometimes abbreviated SWP, not SV, so likely Survival in most cases.

SW – Stormwind. The Human capital city in Elwynn Forest. Example: “Flying back to SW to train my skills.”

SWP – Sunwell Plateau. A level 70 raid on the Isle of Quel’Danas (BC’s final raid with Kil’jaeden). Example: “Sunwell (SWP) was really hard pre-nerf.”

Syl – Might refer to Sylvanas, but probably not needed here. Possibly skip.

T

Tab – Could mean pressing the Tab key to target (tab-targeting), or a Tabard (item worn to represent a faction, often used to gain rep in Wrath dungeons). Example: “Wear the Wyrmrest tabard to get rep in heroics.”

Tank – The role of a character who soaks up damage and holds enemy attention (aggro). Tanks have high defense and health, and use abilities to generate threat so mobs focus them instead of squishier teammates. In Wrath, typical tanks are Prot Warriors, Prot Paladins, Blood DKs, or Feral Druids (bear form). Example: “We need a tank for this dungeon – any plate wearer with a shield?”

Taunt – An ability that forces an enemy to attack the tank. Every tank class has a taunt (Warrior’s “Taunt”, Paladin’s “Hand of Reckoning”, etc.). It typically also puts your threat equal to the highest on the mob. Example: “If a mob goes for the healer, the tank should taunt it back.”

TB – Thunder Bluff. The Tauren capital city in Mulgore (Kalimdor). Example: “The zeppelin goes to Orgrimmar, not TB.”

TBC – The Burning Crusade. (See BC in B section.)

Threat – The value that determines which target a mob attacks. Caused by dealing damage, healing (generates some threat on all enemies in combat), or using specific threat-generating abilities. Tanks have tools to generate extra threat (and often need to stay above DPS in threat). If you “pull threat,” you overtake the tank’s threat and the mob will start attacking you (you effectively grabbed aggro). Threat and aggro are closely related terms (aggro is having the mob’s attention; threat is the numeric value behind it). Example: “Stop DPS for a second, let the tank build threat.”

TK – Tempest Keep. Usually referring to The Eye, a 25-man raid in Netherstorm (BC) where Kael’thas is the final boss. Example: “We did TK and finally got the Ashes of Al’ar mount!”

ToC – This can refer to two instances added in patch 3.2 at the Argent Tournament grounds in Icecrown:

• Trial of the Champion, a 5-man dungeon.

• Trial of the Crusader, a 10/25-man raid.
  People usually specify “ToC 5” or “ToC 10/25” to differentiate. Example: “Running ToC5 heroic for trinkets” or “ToC25 raid on reset day.”

ToGC – Trial of the Grand Crusader. The heroic (hard mode) version of the Trial of the Crusader raid (available in WotLK for both 10 and 25). Example: “We full-cleared ToGC 25 last night, no wipes for once!”

Tol Barad – Not Wrath; Cata PvP zone – skip since it’s post-WotLK.

Toon – Slang for your character (like cartoon). Some players say “toon” instead of char. Example: “That’s my banking toon” or “Logging on my Horde toon.”

Totems – Shaman specific buff objects. Shaman players drop totems to grant buffs or effects to their party (Strength of Earth, Wrath of Air, etc.). They last a certain duration or until destroyed. Also used as shorthand: “Tots” as given in dictionary, but that’s less common. Usually just “drop totems, shammy!”

Trash – Non-boss enemies in a dungeon or raid. Typically easier mobs you clear on the way to bosses. “Trash mobs” fill the instance. They can drop loot occasionally (especially in raids, trash can drop BoE epics sometimes). Example: “We wiped on trash, how embarrassing.”

Triumph – See Emblems (EoT) in the E section. Emblem of Triumph, mid-tier WotLK badge currency.

Twink – A low-level character that has been outfitted with the best gear/enchants for its level, often to dominate PvP in low-level brackets. Twinks typically keep their level locked to avoid leveling out of their bracket. Example: “He’s a level 19 twink rogue with insane gear, no wonder he hits so hard.” Twinking was popular in WotLK battlegrounds because you could turn off XP gains to stay in a bracket.

TY – Thank You. Common polite response or appreciation in chat. Example: “TY for the run, everyone.” (Also “Thx” for thanks.)

U

UBRS – Upper Blackrock Spire. A classic 10-man raid (now 5-man in modern WoW) in Blackrock Mountain. Often distinguished from LBRS (Lower Blackrock Spire). Example: “Need key for UBRS? Nope, in WotLK they removed the key requirement.”

UC – Undercity. The Forsaken (Undead) capital city, beneath the ruins of Lordaeron in Tirisfal Glades. Example: “Meet in UC for the Zeppelin to Northrend.”

UD – Undead. Could refer to the Scourge (enemy undead mobs) or the Forsaken (player race). For example “UD strat” meant the undead-side entrance of Stratholme in classic, or “UD rogue” meaning an Undead race rogue.

UK – Utgarde Keep. A level 70-72 dungeon in Howling Fjord (first dungeon many Alliance/Horde will do in Northrend).

Uld – Could mean Ulduar, the raid in Storm Peaks (Tier 8 raid). Some people just say “Uld” for short. (Be careful: “Ulda” can mean Uldaman, a classic dungeon, but in Wrath context, Uld usually meant Ulduar). Example: “Uld hard-modes drop fragments for Val’anyr.”

UP – Utgarde Pinnacle. A level 80 dungeon in Howling Fjord (the second wing above Utgarde Keep). Known for the Blue Proto-Drake mount drop from Skadi. Example: “Running UP heroic every day for that mount.”

Uncommon (Green) – Items of Uncommon quality, which show up as green text. Generally, greens are decent leveling gear or tradeskill materials and can be disenchanted. “Uncommon” is a step above common (white) and below rare (blue).

Unholy – Unholy DK, a Death Knight spec focused on diseases and summons (pet ghoul). Example: “Unholy DKs provide a nice melee haste buff (Improved Icy Talons in Wrath was actually Frost DKs, but Unholy brings Ebon Plague for magic damage, anyway). Example: “We have one DK tank (Blood) and one DK DPS (Unholy).”

Uber – Slang from gaming meaning really powerful or awesome. Less WoW-specific and more general gamer slang. Example: “We got an uber healer in our group, we’ll be fine.”

V

VC – The Deadmines (low-level Alliance dungeon in Westfall). Stands for VanCleef, the final boss. Players used “VC” to avoid confusion with DM (Dire Maul). Example: “LFM VC” in classic means Deadmines group. By WotLK, not many need Deadmines info, but in Classic it’s common.

Vending Machine – Slang for a Mage, referring to how they conjure food and water (like a vending machine). Often good-natured ribbing. Example: “Mage, open up, I need some food – be my vending machine ?.”

VH – The Violet Hold. A level 75-77 dungeon in Dalaran (it’s like a prison with waves of mobs). Example: “VH has some easy XP from waves if your group is good.”

VoA – Vault of Archavon. A raid in Wintergrasp accessible only when your faction controls Wintergrasp fortress. VoA has 4 bosses (by end of Wrath) dropping PvP gear and some PvE set pieces. Example: “We won WG, VoA 10/25 runs forming now – let’s go try for free loot.”

Volatiles – Actually those are Cataclysm crafting mats (volatile life/fire/etc.), skip not relevant in Wrath.

VP – In Wrath, VP wasn’t a thing (Valor Points came in Cata). So skip.

VR – In BC context, VR might mean Void Reaver (a boss in Tempest Keep), but not necessary for WotLK general glossary.

Vanilla WoW – Refers to World of Warcraft before any expansions (original level 1-60 content). Example: “Back in Vanilla, you had to actually visit flight points to unlock them.” People use “Vanilla” to differentiate the 2004-2006 era of WoW (and now also the re-released WoW Classic which emulates that).

W

WB – Welcome Back. Said when someone returns from AFK or logs back in. Example: “wb! We kept your spot in the group.”

WC – Wailing Caverns. A low-level (15-25) dungeon in The Barrens. Also sometimes jokingly “WC” could be “water closet” (toilet) if someone says “brb WC” meaning bathroom break, but usually they’d say “bio” or something. Context: “LFM WC” is definitely the instance.

WD – Well Done. Not very WoW-specific, but if someone says WD in gz (grats) context, they mean “well done.”

WF – Windfury or Westfall.

• Windfury (Totem) – A Shaman buff totem that gives melee a chance for extra attacks. Also, Windfury Weapon is an enchant for shaman weapons. Example: “Drop WF totem please, shammy.”

• Westfall – Low-level Alliance zone. People rarely abbreviate it WF, but possible in questing context.

WG – Wintergrasp. An outdoor PvP zone in Northrend (battle for control every 2.5 hours). Example: “WG starts in 10 minutes, let’s queue up!” or “We need WG for Vault of Archavon access.”

Wipe – When the group/raid dies completely. A “wipe” means everyone is dead (usually from a failed pull or boss attempt). Example: “That was a bad pull, total wipe.” As a verb, “to wipe” means to cause a full group death. After a wipe, you typically run back as ghosts from the graveyard.

Wisp – Short for whisper. A private message in WoW. Example: “Send me a wisp if you need an invite.” Also, “wisp me” = “whisper me.” (Note: A wisp is also a night elf’s ghost form, but usually context is chat-related.)

WoW – World of Warcraft. ?

WotLK – Wrath of the Lich King. The second expansion for WoW (levels 70-80). Often just “Wrath”. Example: “WotLK introduced Death Knights and achievements.”

WTB – Want to Buy. Used in trade chat to indicate you’re looking to purchase something. Example: “WTB [Item] 100g, PST.”

WTS – Want to Sell. Selling something. Example: “WTS stack of Infinite Dust, 50g each.”

WTT – Want to Trade. Looking to trade items or services (could be swapping loot or trading one item for another). Example: “WTT my [Sword] for [Axe]” or “WTT arena carries for gold” (though that’s dubious!).

WTB – You’ll often see “WTB port to Shattrath” etc., meaning someone is willing to pay a mage for a portal service.

WTB / WTS / WTT are core trade chat abbreviations.

WTB, WTS, WTF – Just to clarify one more: WTF is an expression “What The F***” used for surprise or frustration, not literally trade-related but you see it often in excited or angry statements. (We mention here in passing for completeness, though not a nice phrase but common gamer lingo.)

World Drop / Zone Drop – Items that can drop from any mob in the world (not boss-specific). World drops are usually rare BoE items or recipes that drop anywhere in a particular expansion world. Zone drop means an item that can drop from any mob in a specific zone or instance. Example: “That epic is a world drop – you might get it from any mob in Northrend.”

WSG – Warsong Gulch. A 10v10 capture-the-flag battleground (Alliance vs Horde, capture the flag 3 times to win). Example: “Daily BG is WSG – let’s farm some honor.”

X

XP – Experience Points. (See Exp above). People say “xp” more often than the full word. Also can mean “experience” in a general sense. Example: “Rested XP gives you double xp on kills.”

XP Off – Refers to characters who have turned off experience gain (often to twink in PvP). In Wrath, XP-off players get separated in battleground queues. Example: “We made a 19 XP off guild for battlegrounds.”

XR – Crossroads. A town in The Barrens (Horde-side). Example: “Alliance are raiding XR, call to arms!”

Y

Y – Can simply mean “Yes” in shorthand, or sometimes people use it as a quick reply in chat. Could also be someone asking “why?” spelled like “y?”. Usually context: “Anyone need this item?” – “y” (yes).

YH – Yeah. Slang for “yes/okay,” a casual affirmative. Example: “Ready?” – “yh rdy”.

YW – You’re Welcome. Polite response when someone says thanks. Example: “Ty for the enchant!” – “yw ?.”

Z

ZA – Zul’Aman. A level 70 raid in Ghostlands (BC). A troll-themed raid with a timed run for a special mount (the Amani War Bear, back in BC). Example: “Doing ZA bear runs used to be the thing in late BC.”

ZD – Zul’Drak. A zone in Northrend (around level 74-77 questing).

ZG – Zul’Gurub. A classic 20-man raid in Stranglethorn Vale (troll city). In Wrath era, ZG is no longer max-level content (it’s a level 60 raid players might farm for the Zulian tiger or raptor mounts).

ZF – Zul’Farrak. A level ~45 dungeon in Tanaris (sand troll city with the famous pyramid event). Example: “Need a healer for ZF, anyone around level 46-50?”

Zerg – A term meaning to overwhelm by sheer numbers or rush quickly (origin from StarCraft’s Zerg race tactics). In WoW, “zerg it” might mean ignore strategy and brute-force a boss or area with speed or numbers. Example: “Just zerg the boss, don’t worry about the adds.” In PvP, a “zerg” is a huge group of players moving together (like an uncoordinated but massive army).