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- Old-Timey MMORPG Dictionary
NOTE: This site is a hobby coding project and the blog content is mostly old and of highly questionable public interest.
Old-Timey MMORPG Dictionary
2026-09-08 [PERMANENT LINK]
In the ongoing quest to get every old web thing I once created up here, I today present this relic: the Internet's first dictionary of MMORPG-related slang and acronyms, that I first published sometime in the early 2000s. A lot of middle-aged people could get very nostalgic over this.
Some of these terms have survived into modern gaming and other Internet contexts, some are probably artifacts of a lost subculture. Maybe it still exists, I honestly don't know. Amazingly, Anarchy Online, that I played when I edited this list, is still up and running 25 years later. Note also that the credits all consist of people's game handles. That's how it worked back then. (And yes, "Kronocide" is me.)
Dictionary of MMORPG Terms
By Kronocide (More credits)
Go to: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
>
> : (adjective) Greater than. Used to signify something's superiority over something else. Similar to pwn, pwnz.
A
AC : (abbr) Asheron's Call. A mmorpg.
AC2 : (abbr) Asheron's Call 2. A mmorpg.
add : (noun) Any additional mob entering the fight apart from the one you are already fighting. Also, a boss monster's henchman.
ae, aoe : (abbr) See area effect.
afaik : (abbr) As far as I know.
afk : (abbr) Away from keyboard.
aggro : (noun) The hostile attention of a mob.
alt : (noun) A character other than the player's main, used to try out new professions, allegiances, or for more casual play (especially among powerlevelers and rpg:ers).
AO : (abbr) Anarchy Online. A mmorpg.
area effect : (noun) An action, usually an attack, a calm, or a root, that affects all mobs or opponents in an area.
atm : (abbr) At the moment.
attribute : (noun) A character's basic physical, mental, and spiritual attributes. The character's skills and abilities depend on these. They can be improved as the character gains exp.
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B
bbl : (abbr) Be back later.
blitz : (verb) To run through a mission using run and health buffs, to finish the mission without engaging any mobs in combat. Can also mean sneaking undetected through the mission. [ AO ]
bmt : (abbr) Back up main tank.
bolt : (noun) A spell or similar that needs a clear line-of-sight to reach its target, and that delivers its damage in one go. (Cf. direct damage, dot.)
boss : (noun) A very powerful mob with many ordinary mobs under its command. Can often be found at the end of missions and caves, and in camps. Can usually only be defeated by a group of players, or in a raid. Also, boss mob.
bot : (noun) Derived from robot. A software program that is logged into the game chat in the place of a game character. A bot can automatically respond to querries sent to it through chat private messaging (see tell), or interface to services outside the game, such as web pages. They often provide a special service, such as help for noobs, coordinating raids, act as a marketplace where you can place ads, and so on.
brb : (abbr) Be right back.
breed : (noun) "[A] group of animals or plants presumably related by descent from common ancestors and visibly similar in most characters." --Merriam-Webster. Several different breeds may be available when designing a character.
buff : (noun) Something that temporarily improves a skill or an attribute.
bug : (noun) A defect in the game code. (See sploit.)
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C
calm : (verb) To make a mob not attack by "calming" it, using spells or similar. Also, mez (mesmerize).(See aggro.)
calmer : (noun) A member of a group whose job it is to calm mobs to prevent adds.
camp : (verb) To wait for a mob or npc to spawn. (noun) A place where a boss regularly spawns.
cc(1) : (abbr) Camp clear. See clear!.
cc(2) : (abbr) See crowd control.
charm : (verb) To turn a mob into a pet through the use of spells or similar.
choad : (noun) A derogatory term for another player. A jerk.
choke : (verb) To freeze up or panick at a vital moment. "I died because the healer choked.)
choke artist : (noun) A player who chokes habitually.
clan : (noun) See guild.
class : (noun) A fundamental type of character, often signifying a particular profession or role (e.g., mage, adventurer, warrior, trader).
clear! : (exclam) Said to group members to indicate that a mission level or an area has been cleared of all mobs.
con : (verb) How a mob evaluates to you, from a danger perspective. Related to its relative color rating. (See gray, green, yellow, orange, red.) "The mob cons red to me."
cr : (abbr) Corpse run/recovery. The act of recovering your items after having been killed, when your former body is left behind with your belongings. [ EQ ]
crack : (noun) Nickname for Koadic's Endless Intellect (KEI), a high ql buff, useable by the Enchanter class, wich increases the wisdom, intelligence, and mana pool attributes. [ EQ ]
crack dealer : (noun) Nickname for a member of the Enchanter class. [ EQ ]
crowd control : (noun) Used to control the behavior of crowds of mobs through rooting, calming, and charming.
cyber : (verb) See cybersex. To have cybersex. "Do you cyber?"
cybersex : (noun) Sex over TCP/IP.
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D
DAoC : (abbr) Dark Age of Camelot. A mmorpg.
dd : (abbr) See direct damage.
death item : (noun) High value item that you carry specifically to be lost on death so you don't lose something you need. [ AC ]
death loop : (noun) Happens when you respawn after death in the presence of powerful mobs that immediately kill you again. Can happen if you for example change your allegiance/faction and forget to save you character in a new, friendly spot.
debuff : (noun) Something that temporarily diminishes a skill or an attribute. (Cf. drain.)
ding : (verb) To reach the next level.
ding! : (exclam) "I have reached the next level!"
direct damage : (noun) A spell or similar that can "hit around corners," and that delivers all of its damage in one go. I.e. no line-of-sight to the target is needed. (Cf. bolt, dot.)
dood : (noun) A young player who may speak leet. Doods are seldom rpg:ers but are much more likely to be powerlevelers.
dot : (abbr) A spell or similar that does its full damage in small intervals (tics) over a specified time. (Cf. direct damage, bolt.)
drain : (noun) Something that diminishes a skill or an attribute, temporarily or permanently. (Cf. debuff.)
dupe : (verb) Duplicating in-game items. Often refers to cheating by exploiting defects in the game code. (See sploit.)
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E
EQ : (abbr) EverQuest. A mmorpg.
evac : (verb) To evacuate a group from a dangerous situation through the use of a spell or similar. May follow omg run.
exp : (abbr) Experience points gained when killing mobs or finishing missions or quests. Experience points are used to improve your character and make it uber.
exp grinding : (noun) See leveling treadmill.
experience chain : (noun) A long line of characters that swear allegiance to each other for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the experince points that passup from vassal to patron. [ AC ] (Obano adds: '_AC_ has a "vassal" and "patron" relationship in which the vassal swears allegiance to one patron, who himself is probably the vassal of someone higher up. A patron can have multiple vassals. The assumption was that the patron would help the vassal either through the gift of needed items or through powerlevelling, and the patron would be rewarded with a percentage of the experience that the vassal earns (this does not penalize the vassal, it's completely "free" xp). Didn't take long for people to figure out that you could make one LONG string on players and ever-increasing amounts of "free" xp would pass up the chain with no work done by those getting the xp.')
exploit : (noun) See sploit.
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F
fanboi : (noun) Fan boy. A dedicated fan of a game, who will refuse to admit any problems or negative aspects of it. Usually used in a derogatory sense. Can also imply a self-proclaimed expert.
fanobi : (noun) See fanboi. Specific for SWG. "Help us Obi-Wan Fanobi, you are our only hope."
fear kite : (verb) A variant of kiting where you use a fear spell to cause the mob to run from you instead of chase you. Also, reverse kiting.
fix patch : (noun) A patch specifically designed to resolve the issues with the major patch and/or other fix patches released just before it.
fn, fng, fnp : (abbr) F_____g noob, f_____g new guy, f_____g new player.
FPS : (abbr) Frames per second. The number of screen frames that the computer is able to render per second. A low reading, below 15 or so, may be caused by lag or by insufficient hardware. Lowering your graphics settings usually alleviates the problem.
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G
g2g : (abbr) Got to go.
gank : (verb) Gang up on someone unprovoked. (See grief.)
ganker : (noun) Someone who ganks.
gear : (verb) To run a program that lags the client (whose client?) in such a way that your toon does everything much faster than everyone else.
ghetto rez : (noun) A resurrection spell (see rez) that doesn't cut xp loss. [ DAoC ]
gimp : (noun) A character that is weak for its level. (verb) To make the wrong choices when you develop your character, turning it into a gimp.
grape : (noun) A purple mob. (See purple.) [ DAoC ]
grass nap : (noun) Death. Waiting for a rez.
gratz, congratz, congo rats : (exclam) Congratulations! Common after ding!.
gray : (noun) A gray mob. The color indicates relative mob level. Gray mobs are usually so much lower level than you that no reward is given if you kill it.
green : (noun) A green mob. The color indicates relative mob level. Green mobs are usually significantly lower level than you.
grief : (verb) To cause "grief" to other players. To play unfairly and/or with disregard to the needs of other members of a group or other players in general. E.g., ninja, ganker.
griefer : (noun)Someone who griefs other players. Causes grief. (I.e., not a griever.)
group : (noun) A temporary group of players that hunt or take on missions together. Also, team. (See healer, tank, calmer, pickup group.)
gtg : (abbr) Good to go.
gtg : (abbr) Good to go. Said to indicate that a character is buffed, equipped, and ready to enter a mission, hunt, or raid.
guild : (noun) An organization of characters. A guild can be defined around common interests of its members, such as rpg:ing or powerleveling. A guild often has a hierarchical power structure, with a leader and lieutenants at the top and applicants at the bottom. Also, clan, org.
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H
healer : (noun) A member of a group whose job it is to heal the fighters and keep them alive.
hot : (abbr) A spell or similar that restores health over time (heal over time).
hunt : (verb) To look for and kill free roaming mobs, in a group or alone. Hunters may encounter trains. (Cf. mission, quest.)
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I
iirc : (abbr) If I remember correctly.
imo, imho : (abbr) In my opinion, in my humble opinion.
iso : (abbr) In search of. See wtb.
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J
joo : (pronoun) You.
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K
karma chameleon : (noun) Someone who insists on dressing their toon up in clothes meant for the opposite sex. "Okay, I made that up." --Jackdaw
kewl : (adjective) cool.
kill steal : (verb) To finish off a mob that is already under attack by someone else, and thus stealing that person's rewards. (See grief.)
kite : (verb) "Killing in transit." A type of combat where you lead a mob on a chase, stopping periodically to damage it with a ranged attack, so that the mob is killed without ever reaching your character. (See fear kite.)
kos : (abbr) Kill on sight. To have a status with mobs that makes them attack you immediatlely.
ks : (abbr) See kill steal.
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L
laaag! : (exclam) Indicates that the player did something stupid that resulted in their character's demise, that they don't want to speak to you, or that they are in fact experiencing lag.
lag : (noun) A slow connection between the server and client leads to lag. Lag is usually experienced as a very low FPS rate and a slow response to key presses.
ld : (abbr) See link dead.
leech : (verb) To join a group but only harvest exp without actually taking part in the action. (noun) Someone who leeches.
leet : (adjective) Elite, skilled (of person). (See uber.) Also, l33t. (noun) The modified version of English spoken by doods. It is based on phonetic spelling, abbreviations, using numbers for words, and more, but a full description is beyond the scope of this dictionary. The leet language has its roots in hacker (h4xx0r) culture, and goes further back to miltary slang and truck driver CB handles. (See dood.)
level : (verb) To play the game to improve your character and increase its level. (noun) A character's rank, level, in the game.
leveling treadmill : (noun) The never-ending rinse-and-repeat type gameplay used to increase your character level.
lfg : (abbr) Looking for group. (See group.)
lft : (abbr) Looking for team. (See group.)
link dead : (adjective) A connection loss between server and client that makes the player lose control of his character instantly. "-Why is Lootho running into that brick wall? -He's gone ld." Can lead to group wide problems if a group leader goes ld on the way to a mission and the group follows him/her ten miles into the desert before realizing. Usually the player needs to log in again to be able to resume play.
log : (verb) To log out of the game.
lol : (abbr) Laughing Out Loud.
lom : (adjective) Low on mana. [ EQ ]
loot : (noun) The reward given for killing a mob or finishing a mission. (verb) To claim the loot.
lowbie : (noun) A low level character.
lvl : (abbr) Character level. (See level.)
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M
macro : (noun) A software program that intefaces with the game and can emulate player actions based on conditions, for example initiate combat when a mob spawns.
macroer : (noun) Someone who uses automation software to control their character while they are away from the computer, especially to combat mobs and level.
main : (noun) A player's main character, where s/he invests most time and effort. Other characters can be alts or mules.
meat shield : (noun) See tank.
meep : (verb) Evacuate a group to the grid zone. (See evac.) [ AO ]
mez : See calm.
mini-boss : (noun) A mob that is not a real boss, but still uber.
mission : (noun) A mission given to a single player or a group. Usually takes place in a playfield (see zone), that is private to the players on the mission, so there can be no training, no camping, and no running into other players. However, because missions are often randomly generated rather than authored (like quests can be), they can become repetitive. (Cf. hunt, quest.)
mmorpg : (abbr) Massively multiplayer online role playing game. Signifies a role playing game that is designed for play by a massive amount of people, online. However, exactly how massively is decided by the solidity of the game servers and software, and the amount of role playing is usually a direct function of the ratio of rpg:ers, doods, and powerlevelers. Mmorpgs can seriously debuff your social relations, sex life, and nutritional intake. Holds a special place of honor as the gaming industry's most unpronounceable acronym. Also, procrastination over TCP/IP.
mob : (noun) Originally a programming term meaning "mobile object," from the days of MUDs. Now refers to any potentially hostile npc.
mofo : (abbr) Motherf____r.
mt(1) : (abbr) Main tank.
mt(2) : (abbr) "Mistell." Said when you say something in the wrong chat channel by mistake.
MUD : (abbr) Multi User Dungeons. Text-only multi-user adventure games, mostly popular in the pre-Web days of the Internet. The place where it all once started...
mule : (noun) A character that only extists to help the player's main, by storing items or having special trade skills. (verb) To use a mule.
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N
nerf : (verb) To diminish or break an aspect of a class, a weapon, or an item. Happens when game developers change the game. Tends to upset powerlevelers but not consern rpg:ers. (See patch, patch day.)
ninja : (verb) To egoistically grab loot and refuse to share or roll for it with your group members. (noun) Someone who ninjas. (See grief.)
noob : (noun) Newbie, beginner.
npc : (abbr) Non-player character. A character controlled by the game.
nuke : (noun) An attack that causes direct damage. See dd.
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O
O.o : (noun) Carebear. Not a pvp:er.
oe : (abbr) See over-equip.
off tanking : (verb) When the st takes on an add instead of having it calmed.
omg run : (abbr) Oh my God, run! Common expression when several red mobs attack at once. (See zone!.)
omw : (abbr) On my way.
on me : (exclam) Expression used by healers to call the other team members' attention to the fact that s/he is being attacked and may die, and won't be able to heal them anymore.
ooc : (abbr) Out of character. Used by rpg:ers to signify when they act out of character. The use of double parenthesis can mean the same thing. E.g., "((I gotta log in five min.))"
oom : (adjective) Out of mana. [ EQ ]
orange : (noun) An orange mob. The color indicates relative mob level. Orange mobs are usually slightly higher level than you. Also, "a globose berry with a yellowish to reddish orange rind and a sweet edible pulp." --Merriam-Webster
org : (abbr) See organization.
organization : (noun) See guild.
over-equip : (verb) To equip items at much higher ql than what your character could normally use, with the help of buffs, usually given by higher level characters.
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P
patch : (noun) A code addition to the game, released by the game developers. Patches contain new game features and/or content, and also breaks the game until a fix patch is installed.
patch day : (noun) The day when a new patch is released. Patch day is closely followed by several fix patches. Patch day is a time of much anxiety among players, especially the powerlevelers and doods.
pc : (abbr) Price check.
perma-noob : (noun) A player that doesn't want to "grow up." Someone who is content with not being uber.
pet : (noun) An npc that follows the player and obeys orders. Can be for example a monster, an animal, or a robot.
phat lewt : (noun) Fat loot, valuable treasure/rewards.
pickup group : (noun) A group whose members don't know each other before they grouped. (See, lft, lfg.)
pk:er : (noun) Player-killer. Someone who engages other players in battle, and not just mobs. A pk:er that is turned to Evil may become a ganker. Also, pvp:er.
port : (verb) To teleport to a new zone.
powerlevel : (noun) See twink. [ AC ]
powerleveler : (noun) Someone who powerlevels. Powerlevelers are seldom rpg:ers.
powerleveling : (noun) The act of playing with a complete focus on gaining levels and making your character uber.
proc : (verb) The uncontrollable execution of a spell-like ability by an item, based on your dexterity attribute. E.g., "My sword sometimes procs an extra 70 points of ice damage." [ EQ ]
props : (noun) Respect, credentials. "Props to the devs." Comes from giving someone "proper respect."
pst : (abbr) Please send tell.
pull : To attract aggro from mobs in a controlled manner and make it move to the group.
purple : (noun) A purple mob. The color indicates relative mob level. purple mobs are usually significantly higher level than you. [ DAoC ]
pusher : (noun) Someone sworn at the bottom of an experience chain for the sole purpose of hunting and pushing lots of experience points to those higher in the chain.
pve : (abbr) Player versus environment. Signifies when players face challenges controlled by the game environment rather than other players. Includes pvm. (Cf. pvp.)
pvm : Player versus mob. (Cf. pvp, pve.)
pvp : (verb) Player versus player. To combat other players rather than mobs.
pvp:er : Someone who pvp:s. A pvp:er turned to Evil may become a ganker.
pwn, pwnz : (verb) To "own" someone/thing. To be superior to or victorious over.
pwnd : (adjective) To be "owned." See pwn.
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Q
ql : (abbr) Item quality level. [ AO ]
quad kite : (verb) To kite four mobs at the same time while hitting them with area effect attacks. Comes from the fact that in EQ, a maximum of four mobs are affected by an aoe attack.
quest : (noun) A mission given to a single player, that takes place in the common game environment (as opposed to missions). Quests tend to entail camping. (Cf. hunt, mission.)
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R
raid : (noun) A gathering of several groups that join up to attack a particularly difficult target, such as a high level boss.
rare loot : (noun) Well, rare loot. "Uncommon treasure..." Will provoke fights and arguments within groups when found during group missions. The goal of ninjas and loot hoes is to obtain rare loot.
rebuff : (verb) To renew buffs that have expired. "Wait, I need to rebuff."
red : (noun) A red mob. The color indicates relative mob level. Red mobs are usually significantly higher level than you.
reroll : (verb) To create a new character.
rez : (noun) Resurrection spell.
rl, irl : (abbr) Real life, in real life. The real world outside the game that some gamers live in.
rofl : (abbr) Rolling on floor laughing.
roflmao : (abbr) Rolling on floor laughing my ass off.
roll : (verb) To roll for loot. When valuable loot is found during a group mission, it may be customary to roll a virtual dice to determine who will get it. Refusing to roll for rare loot is considered a form of griefing.
roll back : (noun) After severe server crashes, or if major design defects have been discovered that have unbalanced the game, it may be necessary to do a roll back. This means that the game developers restores an old copy of the game, and that all changes that have happened since that copy was made (including exp and phat lewt) disappear. Often upsets doods and powerlevelers.
root : (verb) To prevent a mob or player opponent from moving through the use of spells or similar.
rp cow : (noun) Someone who is so ineffective that they just provide a way for other realms to get realm points. [ DAoC ]
rpg : (verb) To roleplay.
rpg:er : (noun) Roleplayer. Rpg:ers are seldom powerlevelers.
rubber banding : (verb) A problem with the update between the game client and server that leads to the character being "rubber banded" back to a previous lookation, when moving too fast.
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S
scientist : Someone who is intent on finding out the mechanisms that control events in the game by collecting data and doing research. A scientist turned to Evil may become a macroer.
skill : (noun) The character's skills, that decide what they can and can't do. Depend on attributes and can be improved as the character gains exp.
smurf(1) : (noun) A fixer with Grid Armor that makes them blue. [ AO ]
smurf(2) : (noun) A kobald. [ DAoC ]
social mob : (noun) Social mobs will help each other out when attacked. That is, if you attack one, you will get aggro from other mobs of the same type that are within range. Makes pulling more interesting.
spam : (noun) Repeated, irrelevant or irritating messages that fill the chat window.
spammer : (noun) someone who spams.
spawn : (verb) To appear in the game. What mobs do in a certain time after having been killed. Sometimes also applicable to items.
sploit : (noun) Exploit. A defect in the game code (see bug) or design that can be used to gain unfair advantages. (See dupe.)
sploiter : (noun) A person that uses sploits.
st : (abbr) Second tank. Takes over in case the main tank goes down.
stfu : (abbr) Shut the f__k up.
SWG : (noun) Star Wars Galaxies. A mmorpg.
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T
tank : (noun) A member of a group whose job it is to enter combat first and attract aggro from mobs.
tank mage : (noun) A character that is effective to the point of being unbalanced. Tank Mages are a sign of a poorly designed character creation or development system in a game. Originally refers to a character that can both cast spells, heal, and give and take physical damage.
tard : (noun) Retard. A derogatory name for players who don't behave in an intellectually impressive manner.
taunt : (verb) To use a spell or device to attract aggro from a mob. Especially used by tanks to draw aggro away from weaker team members (such as the healer).
team : (noun) See group.
teh w1n : (adjective) Really good.
tell : (noun) A private message to another player, as opposed to communication in the open chat channels.
toon : (noun) Slang for game character.
trade skill : (noun) Character skill needed for building or changing in-game items.
train : (verb) To attract several mobs and pull them onto some unsuspecting bystanders by making them chase you. (See grief.) (noun) A group of mobs that are being trained.
twink : (verb) To give to a new character money and items that have been earned by an older one, to make advancement significantly easier. (noun) A twinked character.
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U
uber : (adjective) Über (German, meaning super. Cf. übermensch, superman). Superior.
ucm : (abbr) Unattended combat macro. (See macro, macroer.)
UO : (abbr) Ultima Online. A mmorpg.
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V
vuln : (verb) To make a mob vulnerable to a certain type of damage. (Cf. debuff, drain.)
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W
woot : (exclam) Happy happy, joy joy!
wta : (abbr) Want to auction.
wtb : (abbr) Want to buy.
wtf : (abbr) What the f__k?
wts : (abbr) Want to sell.
wtt : (abbr) Want to trade.
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X
xp : (abbr) See exp.
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Y
yellow : (noun) A yellow mob. The color indicates relative mob level. Yellow mobs are usually around the same level as you.
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Z
zerg : (verb) To attack en mass, with no other strategy.
zone : (noun) One continuous in-game playfield. (verb) To move from one zone to the next, which includes a pause when world data is loaded from the server.
zone! : (exclam) "Run for your lives or we get wiped." (See omg run, evac.) Leaving the current zone means that you escape all aggro.
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Credits
Editor: Kronocide
Contributors (in no particular order):
Lachlanne
Jackdaw
Xerintha
Ris sa
ScoutFinch
Jarnvik
Gulpo
Sergo
Arthell
Obano
Celticghost
Satsh
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