I'm not entirely sure how well versed you are in gaming slang as a whole so I added everything I could think of. Even things that most people will think is obvious but new gamers will not. I encourage everyone to add anything I might have missed. Gaming slang and terms can be overwhelming to new gamers, and chat can feel like everyone is speaking another language.



LFM = (Looking For Men) it's when a player is looking to form a group of other players to help with certain content.

LFG = (Looking For Group) when a player is seeking to join an already made group to help with certain content.

Aggro = When a enemy targets you and starts to chase and attack you, you have managed to aggro that enemy.

DD, Tank, Heal = Indicates different roles that usually people are looking for to fill their group with. Damage Dealer (can also be called DPS), Tank, or Healer.

Expanded explanation of each role.
+DD= players whose job is to damage enemies.
+Tank = Players whose job is to aggro enemies onto them so they're not attacking or focusing anyone else in the group. Their job is to take the damage instead so the other roles can focus on their jobs safely.
+Healer = their job is to heal the group and ensure that no one dies.

LF = (Looking For) Kinda like LFM as it can be used to help find players to group with. But it also can be used for looking for certain items in chat.

PUG = (Pick Up Group) means a group formed by random players that don't know each other, rather then an organised pre planned group formed between a guild or a group of friends.

WB = (World Boss) Indicates a world boss that a player usually wants assistance with.

HM = (Hard Mode) indicates the Hard mode of a trial or dungeon. Usually seen in the chat to indicate someone wants to do that content and to come prepared for it.

Pledge = Indicates one of the three daily undaunted quests and a desire to complete it with a group of players.

CP = (Champion Points) indicates talking about something in regards to the champion point trees.

GG = (Good Game) posted usually at the end of a successful dungeon/ Trial run.

TYFG = (Thank You For Group) Usually posted at the end of a group content when you obtained what you want and before you leave the group. It's just polite.

DOT = (Damage Over Time) This is when certain damage abilities continue to cause damage to an enemy after being initially struck.

AOE = (Area of Effect) This is when certain abilities cover an area, rather then only being able to strike a single target.

CD = (Cool Down) a cooldown is the time it takes before you can use an ability or item again. Potions especially have a cool down that you cannot use another one until a certain amount of time has passed.

Add = Smaller enemies that a boss will spawn during a fight.

Trash Mobs = easy to kill non boss enemies.

PvE = (Player vs Environment) this is when you are engaging in content where you are fighting computer enemies in the game. You are doing PvE content when you are fighting anything that isn't a player.

PvP = (Player vs Player) This is when you are fighting directly against other players. You'll find this game type in Battlegrounds, Imperial City (also called Imp City), and Cyrodill.

+I should note that Cyrodill and Imp City are both PvPvE zones, which is a blend of both game types. As you still can do things that require you to fight non player enemies, while also being able to fight players.

NPC = (Non Player Character) any person in the game that you can interact with that isn't a player is called an NPC.

AFK = (Away From Keyboard) it means that the player is stepping away from the game for a bit to do something in RL (Real World) and will be back.

BRB = (Be Right Back) sometimes is used in replace of AFK.

Buff/ Debuff = A buff is a positive passive on you that helps make you stronger. A Debuff is the opposite and is a negative effect that makes you weaker.

Toon/ Char = indicates your character.

Here's a complicated one: Meta.

The short answer is it refers to the accepted way of doing things. If someone tells you something is meta that means it's popular, if they complain about the meta they're complaining about currently popular builds or ways of tackling specific encounters etc.

Meta is an ancient Greek prefix used in English to mean 'self encompassing' or 'self-referential'. For example meta-data is data about data (like when a file was created and when it was last edited). (And the other common use of "that's [so] meta" comes from that use - a self-referential joke is a meta-joke.)

In games there's meta-gaming, meaning playing 'outside' the game: finding out and planning for what you're going to face instead of reacting in the moment. Everything from watching videos of other people's playthroughs to asking your group if it's worth taking a particular skill is meta-gaming. It's often shorted to just meta and over time that created the backronym 'Most Effective Tactics Available' which is often the goal.

IMO the important thing to remember is if someone tells you something is meta it means they think it's an informed decision (e.g. a build created based on knowing what works well) and it's someone's attempt to find the best solution to a challenge, but that doesn't mean it actually is the best possible choice, especially not for you personally. It certainly doesn't mean you're forced to use it and not allowed to question it.

FlameDark wrote: »

LFM = (Looking For Men) it's when a player is looking to form a group of other players to help with certain content.

I think this one is 'Looking For More', not men. It implies they've got a group started and need more people to fill it out, whereas Looking For Group implies they're one player in need of a group to join.

KWTD: Know What To Do
-Any group finder titled this expects those who join to know mechanics and not needing to explain.

Others have already covered most but a few I don't think I have seen listed yet:

TYFR = Thank you for repair (after someone has used a group repair kit)

BG = Battlegrounds, a team-based PvP mode

PvP has its own entire lingo if you're running around in Cyrodiil, short-hand for various keep names, "911" meaning a certain place needs immediate assistance against the enemy, etc

Of course Cyrodiil has it's own set of shorthand.

UA = Under Attack
MG = Main Gate
Inner = Inner Gate (Main Gate breached)

Res = Fort resources
Sometimes the order to take them is shortened as well
L = Lumbermill
M = Mine
F = Farm

And shorthands for the fort names

WTB and WTS were already mentioned, but I didn't see WTT-- "want to trade." That one is pretty common during events when a lot of players are wanting to trade their duplicate style pages for the ones they're missing.

I thought META means "most efficient tool available," where "tool" in this sense could be any piev

TYFF = Thank You For Flowers (mainly seen in PC NA Rimmen)

To me, it’s always a jumble of letters filled with hieroglyphs.

SwordOfSagas wrote: »

At the end of a random dungeon, it's usually good to say ''GG'' at the end if it went smoothly. It means good game

Or anything with a good outcome pretty much.

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

I thought META means "most efficient tool available," where "tool" in this sense could be any piev

Meta comes from Greek and in gaming it is used to go "beyond" the game. As in, use knowledge that your character wouldn't have. Such as detailed stats tailored to the stats and mechs of the enemy. It is not an acronym, but it can be a backronym.

As a backronym it does explain what it is used for: Most Effective Tactics Available, or what you just said (and I am hearing this for the first time but it still fits) Most Efficient Tool Available. But that is not what it originally meant and is just made up afterwards, hence backronym. Nothing wrong with that, especially because it explains exactly what it is.

opethmaniac wrote: »

And finally ALESSIA. Cannot be shorten because it conflicts with Aleswell.

We usually use Aless for Alessia, and Ales or Alesw for Aleswell. But yeah people often confuse them

frogthroat wrote: »

FlameDark wrote: »

LFM = (Looking For Men) it's when a player is looking to form a group of other players to help with certain content.

Close, but I think "Looking For Men" is more used in certain other apps.

In ESO LFM means Looking For More - meaning, "I have a group but we are still missing a few players."

So if you see a message LFM 1t 3dd vKA it means they already have a group, but are missing 1 tank and 3 damage dealers for the veteran trial Kyne's Aegis.

Here I thought it meant “looking for members”… means the same thing, all the same LOL.

GTG can mean “good to go” or “got to go”. Which is very confusing.

funny that some things have multiple different acronyms or abbreviations, very confusing

Tallon_IV wrote: »

Which platform/server are you on? There's likely variance, because I've never seen Dragonclaw referred to as DC because people would get it confused with the alliance.
Like on NA in Alik'r we use X, Y or Z for groups, but EU uses +dolmen.

PC/EU (Blackreach)

Lokiator wrote: »

It's often called Les / Lessie in AD chat on PCNA.

Lessie is cute. I need to remember that.

frogthroat wrote: »

LunaFlora wrote: »

funny that some things have multiple different acronyms or abbreviations, very confusing

I saved my WW build in my WW.

- Werewolf
- West Weald
- Worm worm
- Westworld
- Wet wharf
- Woof Woof
- Wood welf
- Wood worc
- wolf where?
uhh Wizard's Wardrobe?