Author: Jim Stephenson

You’re having the time of your life for this particular game night. You’re getting “Winner winner, Chicken Dinner”, Aces, and more clutch than you could ever imagine. You’re thinking this might be your lucky night.

When all of a sudden, a massive lag spike hits you in game. Your ping hits numbers you didn’t even think was possible for your Internet speed. You get disconnected from your online game and you can’t connect again.

Well, your first thought you probably have terrible Internet connection but you checked and everything was all right. What could possibly have happened to your gaming session? Well, you just became the victim of DDoS attacks, and it’s a terrible part of playing online games.

This article will tell you everything there is to know about DDoS in gaming, and what they mean for online gamers all over the world.

What Does DDoS Mean In Gaming?

DDoS stands for distributed denial of service. DDoS attacks are targeted towards websites most of the time, but online gaming aren’t exempted from such an attack.

DDoS attacks only have one goal and that is to cut off or disrupt your Internet activity. They do this by making it impossible for you to enjoy the game through high latency pings or sudden disconnections even if your Internet traffic is fine.

How Is A DDoS Attack Launched?

A DDoS attacker sends out illegitimate requests to a web server, which would cause the server to slow down or crash. These requests are usually normal and part of whatever service is being provided. Normally, you’d get one user to interact with the server and their requests would be sent to the server.

Think of it this way. Legitimate users line up properly at the front door with their individual requests. A DDoS attacker carries with it thousands of requests. The server would slow down or crash. Once a game’s servers go down, normal and legitimate users won’t be able to carry on with whatever online services they wanted to avail of.

How Do Hackers Launch A Service Attack in Gaming?

Without going too much into details, there are two ways on how DDOS attack work: launch attacks against an individual, or against an entire company.

When a person is attacked, their online session is completely disrupted, even to the point of ruining your gaming experience 100%. DDoS attackers would need your individual IP address, which they can easily get if you download their malware.

Once they have your IP address, they’ll need huge network resources, or computers called botnet, to send requests to your network. Once this happens, you can’t play properly up until you disconnect from the Internet through a router reset or if you protect yourself with VPN providers.

On the other side of the spectrum, large companies’ game servers aren’t exactly fully protected from DDoS attacks either. In fact, their DDoS protection doesn’t really kick in up until it’s already happening to them. Their games would then have massive lag spikes for some players and then disconnections for other players.  

DDoS Is Cheating

When DDoS attacks happen against individual players, the victims find themselves being on a complete disadvantage. Lag spikes are the least of their concerns, especially if requests are carried out in large volumes against them.

But in reality, DDoS attacks against users aren’t as uncommon as you’d think. Players from games such as Apex Legends and Rainbow Six Siege often get targeted for individual DDoS attacks and the companies behind these games have found a way to protect the integrity of their game by banning these hackers. DDoS attacks affect the way games are supposed to be played out. Now you have certain players trying to get unfair advantage by forcibly giving the opponents massive lag and sudden DC.

In rare cases, DDoS attacks are also used to ransom certain players. These attackers would send out a message to these players, telling them they’d become a victim of a DDoS attack. But they’ll tell them that they won’t proceed with the account if they’re paid a certain amount. Successful DDoS attacks against a person or on a game server are unpleasant for everyone.

DDoS Is Spying Too!

Individual DDoS cyber attacks are also cause for concern because they are also linked towards spying on you, or the gaming community. A DDoS attack only needs your IP address, but hackers will always find a way to use this to their advantage.

Your Internet traffic becomes exposed and these hackers will know what you’re logging into, and worst case, they might steal your information as well.

DDoS Is A Service?!

DDoS attacks, believe it or not, are now becoming services offered by these nefarious hackers. A DDoS attack can be hired or rented online for as little as $10, with technical support and all.

How does this affect the online gaming community? For a measly price, you can cause havoc and chaos on gaming servicers, individual gamers, or even an e-sports team. But before you consider doing something like this, note that you can actually go to jail for DDoS attacks.

Are You Susceptible To DDoS?

The short answer here is yes. Anyone can be a target for a DDoS attack. But thankfully, DDoS protection isn’t uncommon, nor is it that expensive to begin with. You can use a VPN server or VPN service provider to protect you against successful attacks.

A VPN service protects your privacy online and hides your IP address as you surf the Internet without affecting your Internet speed. VPN servers are also secure, so individual gamers like you don’t have to worry about being attacked.

What Should You Do If You’re Being DDoS’ed?

Now massive lag spikes here and there don’t necessarily mean that you’re being DDoS’ed. But if you feel that it’s happening way too often even with a strong and stable Internet connection, here’s what you need to do.

1. Unplug your router at the source and the Internet cable
2. Turn off your PC or console
3. wait for at least five to ten minutes before you turn it on back again

Cutting off your Internet service should immediately stop the attack because you get a new IP address assigned to you. Your cyber attacker won’t have access to this just yet. Botnets will only continue to operate as long as the IP they are attacking is still active.

How Can You Protect Yourself From DDoS Attacks?

Protecting yourself from DDoS attacks is as easy as 1,2,3.

1. Don’t click on malicious links or apps. They might install a malware in your PC and these hackers will be able to find your IP.
2. Install a VPN or virtual private network service or software. VPNs are great for hiding your IP address while you surf the Internet. You can install VPNs on your laptop and mobile phones too. ExpressVPN and NordVPN have the best prices for VPN services right now.
3. Update your computer security. Install anti-malware software and anti-virus programs, or update what you already have. Be sure they’re always turned on when you’re gaming or surfing the Internet.

What Are Key Takeaways?

DDoS attacks are meant to overload servers, so you won’t be able to get a response from them when a DDoS attack is in place. But there are several DDoS protection in place for individual gamers like you so you don’t become a victim.

While DDoS attacks are used mostly to target big companies, networks and websites with large infrastructures, gamers have found their personal computers and networks to be a prime target for attackers in recent years. Attackers also target the infrastructure of large online gaming platforms, making it impossible for gamers to use them.

Remember large companies and corporations may find themselves at the receiving end of a DDoS attack far more frequently than your average user, but it doesn’t mean that you should be lax as well.

When you’re playing an online game, you’ve probably encountered this term: DPS. You’ve probably seen it being spammed in recruitment chats, trade chats, and discussion boards.

But what does DPS mean and how did it even come into the gaming scene?

What Is DPS in Gaming?

DPS stands for “damage per second”, and is the relative value of how much damage you are capable of dishing out per second. A DPS character in MMORPGs, MOBAs, and even FPS games are the classes responsible for dealing damage.

Within the gaming world, you’re looking at other roles that work together with the DPS:

• Tanks – These are classes that protect other team members in a group. Their main role is to soak as much damage as they can and hold aggro (for MMORPGs). An example would be Paladin from World of Warcraft.
• Support / Healing – These are the classes that are responsible for healing and buffing other team members in any game. Some support classes may even be considered DPS heroes because they have damage dealing skills or abilities. A couple of examples here would be Restoration Druid from World of Warcraft, or Lucio from Overwatch.

What Is The Goal of DPS Heroes?

DPS classes and heroes only have one goal and that is to get rid of enemies as quickly as possible. DPS characters will always have the highest DPS or damage per second metrics compared to Tank and Healer classes.

What Are Different DPS Classes?

In the gaming world, there are different DPS classes but they are not built equally. Generally, you have two kinds of DPS classes:

1. Melee DPS or MDPS – These are DPS heroes that focus on close quarter combat. They’re slightly more tanky than the Ranged DPS because they’re positioned right alongside the tank.
2. Ranged DPS or RDPS – These DPS heroes are the exact opposite. In most games, these classes are the mages or any class that make use of magic. There are also many classes within this category that use guns and chemicals as opposed to magic. Ranged DPS toons are squishy, but to compensate, they often have more mobility.

In MMORPGs, you’ll find that raid groups or parties will have different compositions for their DPS lineup, and there’s no concrete approach to creating the “most effective way” to make the perfect roster.

For example, World of Warcraft raid bosses will often require a specific number of Ranged DPS and/or Melee DPS to beat them in a short amount of time.

What Are Different DPS Terms?

To fully understand what is DPS in gaming, you also have to be familiar with the many jargon associated with the term itself.

In the gaming context, there are different ways for a damage dealer to dish out against their enemies:

1. Sustained DPS – Sustained DPS is damage that is sustained over a period of time. For MMORPGs, you want more sustained DPS than burst damage because sustained DPS is great for high health targets. Sustained DPS toons don’t dish out massive damage all at once, but rather, the good sustained damage builds up until it reaches peak and maintains a general average throughout the encounter. The downside to using sustained DPS is that you won’t be dealing damage when you’re moving around. That means your character will need to stay in place for the rotation to sustain damage.
2. Burst DPS – These are your “Fire and Forget It” type of characters. A general consensus of their ability involves dishing out tons of damage over a short period of time. High burst damage, or nukes, are great for clearing out mobs and packs of enemies in a particular location, as long as you can hit them. The downside to burst damage is that they don’t sustain their high damage up until their full rotation comes out. Their damage per second metrics will show them dealing the highest damage for one second, and the lowest damage amongst DPS toons the next.

How Is Damage Over Time Different From DPS?

A common misconception within MMORPGs is that DPS characters are all the same, but in reality, there are toons out there that specialize in dealing damage over time.

Damage over time is a lot similar to sustained DPS, but there are subtle nuances. Damage over time usually involves damage that ticks away as long as it is maintained. For example, poison, bleed effects, and curses are common damage over time properties. They don’t do damage quickly in many circles or games, but as long as the application is maintained, then you see more consistent damage compared to heavy sustained damage.

How Is DPS Improved In Gaming?

Whether you’re playing MMORPGs or an FPS, DPS is improved through one means only: get better gear. Getting better gear allows you to increase your stats, gain new abilities, and even gain some defensive skills while you’re at it.

Ideally, your optimal DPS range is reached when you have your BIS (Best In Slot) items. These items have the stats that will boost your damage along with other properties (i.e. poison effect, bleed effect, etc.).

How Do You Compute For DPS?

As the name implies, DPS is computed by dividing damage done by time. You can refer to this formula: Damage / Time.

Damage output for a full rotation is averaged within a set period of time in an encounter. The longer the encounter runs, the more damage you need to do to get your DPS up. All damage is computed for DPS, from splash damage

For example, your full damage output with a full rotation of skills is 500. The time it takes you to complete the rotation is five seconds. Your DPS value would put you at 100 damage per single second. Whether or not the target reaches low health or whatever the total HP is is irrelevant.

xD. XD. xd. Xd.

Four different combinations but with only one of two meanings implied. You might have seen this being used by a lot of people in a video game or in social media.

But what do these letters mean exactly? Do they represent a hidden code in online gaming? Is it only used for multiplayer game chat? What does XD mean in gaming, or in social media even?

We’ll answer all those questions and more in this article.

What Does XD Mean In Gaming or in Social Media?

Whether you’re playing games or just browsing through Facebook, you’ll have seen the two letters “XD” or any of the other combinations used by different people.

XD is not an abbreviation for anything. Rather, XD means nothing in the realm of gaming, social media, and texting.

XD is a sideways emoji of a person with two closed eyes and having a big smile. In the Internet culture, XD means more of a punctuation or a way to lighten a previously sent message. XD is one of the other emoticons that you can create with just the letters on your keyboard. You might even find an emoji keyboard on your mobile phones, but the text XD already says a lot more.

XD is an emoji that represents the LOL or Laugh Out Loud internet slang, but you can have different meanings for the two letters depending on which one’s uppercase and lowercase.

• The term XD or xD means laugh out loud, or displays a smiley emoji turned sideways
• The term Xd or xd is somewhat of the opposite and is openly declaring either sadness, disgust, or considered annoying.

Here’s how one gamer could use the emoticon XD in text messages, guild chats, or social media:

• “Hey, did you see Asmongold’s latest video? It’s hilarious! XD”

Or if you want to convey message using the emoticon that you don’t want to be taken seriously, or if you want to just say just kidding without saying “just kidding”, you can do it like this:

• “I have a huge crush on you XD”

On the opposite side of the emoticon, here’s how you can use the emoticon Xd or xd in games, messaging app, or in social media:

• “We weren’t able to push through with the raid last night due to the lack of attendance xd.”

How Is XD Used In Gaming?

The gaming community has different ways to interpret XD as an emoji button. The XD emoji icon might look like someone laughing at the end of the statement, or punctuating your sentence with “laugh out loud” without typing LOL, but there are those who find the use of XD to be sarcastic.

In rarer instances, you might even hear people speak the words “ecks dee” when they’re on Discord or any voice communication app for a game.

When Is The Right Time to Use XD In A Game or in Discussion Boards?

Typing in “Laugh out loud” or LOL might be too time consuming if you’re in the middle of a frantic gaming session, but there are actually right times to use XD and other gaming terms.

• When you’re lightheartedly talking about what you watched in Netflix or other entertainment services and want to let it be known that you’re in a good mood to talk about it.
• When you find something funny that other players have done or said in chat, the right reply would be XD.
• As a shorthand way to respond to the comment sections in your social media pages that you enjoy what they posted or that you find it amusing
• As a way to disrupt gaming arguments in voice chat or in an alternate channel without having to say what you mean in gaming.

The XD symbol is a difficult emoji when you read it in gaming or in discussion boards because it doesn’t convey tone or anything. What XD mean in gaming or in other social media platforms might just be as simple as laughing out loud, but other players might take the XD symbol the wrong way.

When Should You Avoid Using XD in Gaming, Chat Rooms, Social Media, or In Real Life?

In the online gaming community, XD is used by gamers and even game developers in discussion boards, Discord servers, and in comment sections of social media pages.

When you type XD, the receiving end of your text understands that you’re either joking, trying to be sarcastic, or trying to portray that you’re on the floor laughing at something. But there are times when you shouldn’t be using XD in online games or in real life:

• When you’re communicating with your officemates or boss, don’t use XD in any of the messaging apps used for work.
• When someone is saying something serious or conveying sadness or anger in a message
• When a person sends words of praise or congratulations your way, you don’t respond with just XD.
• When someone is doing a personal attack against you verbally

What Does XD Mean in Roblox?

What XD stand for in Roblox is pretty much the same thing that XD mean in other games. However, some younger members of their online gaming community have added on more meaning for the use of XD in the Roblox game chat.

XD stands for a person about to do a crazy dance or about to fall on the floor laughing. Within a certain demographic of players in Roblox, XD means “Little Bit” in Spanish, but it’s not exactly a commonly used term.

Most of the time, XD is just used to show a laughing face or excitement after a sentence.

Is The Use of XD Too Annoying?

We now know what does XD mean in gaming, and while the two letters simply show you a laughing face or a smiling face, some people consider the use of XD emoji or any text-based emojis to be extremely annoying.

In a web computer game or in discussion boards, some users actually punctuate their posts with the XD instead of a proper punctuation mark. Note that not all people will understand what you’re trying to convey with the XD emoji.

You always put yourself at risk for being misunderstood because there are users out there who have made XD synonymous with annoyance or sarcasm. There are also people out there who use XD one too many times, so you can see why this emoji is more frustrating than funny.

Wrap Up

What does XD mean in gaming? It means a lot of things. It can show you a person laughing or smiling. It can show you a person about to fall down on the floor and laughing. Whatever the meaning tied to it, XD is one of the most popular emojis out there. And now you know how to use it.

What is MMR in gaming? And why do players get overly sensitive all of a sudden when you ask them about their MMR? Unless you’re only playing normal games, or unranked games, the MMR system is something every competitive player should know about.

But what exactly is it about? And why is this ranking system so important for some players?

Is The MMR A Skill Rating of Sorts?

MMR stands for Matchmaking Rating, or the rating at which your rank is determined in any particular competitive online game, like League of Legends, Dota, or CS:GO.

MMR or matchmaking rating is a discrete number, or estimate, that tells you your current in-game skill rating or skill level. In a competitive scene, you are matched with other players who more or less have the same MMR values as you.

For the most of the popular games, their ELO rating system has players categorized into different rankings. Their rankings would differ based on the player’s MMR.

For example, in League of Legends, you have Iron as the lower rank and Challenger as the highest rank. The seriously skilled players and the professional players are found within the two highest ranks, namely Challenger and Master.

How Is MMR or ELO Determined In Competitive Game Modes?

This system, regardless of the competitive games played, allows you to increase your ELO or MMR by winning ranked game modes or matches. Losing decreases your ELO or MMR. The term matchmaking rating is used at great liberty to just refer to a player’s own skill.

Many games are pretty much following the same ELO system, but with just different takes on the rankings. But for most games, there are certain ways that MMR levels are determined for players who want to get started with ranked games.

Competitive Placement

For a lot of games, you don’t exactly get a rank the moment you start your first ranked game. At the start of a ranked season, you and all the other players will start at the lowest MMR possible for them.

If you haven’t joined a previous ranked season, your MMR is more or less set at 0 points. Other players who did participate in ranked games will start off at a lower rank. For example in League of Legends, if you ended the previous season in Platinum rank, you will start the next season in Gold or Silver, depending on how your MMR was for the previous season.

Once the new season starts, all players will need to play through competitive placement. You’ll need to play a set number of matches to determine which rank you’ll end up with. For League of Legends and Overwatch, there are 10 competitive matches that you need to play through before you get an MMR or rank assigned to you.

After you go through these competitive matches, different MMR levels are assigned to win-loss ratios. As winning increases, your WL ratio becomes higher. But in contrast, losing also brings down your WL ratio.

MMR works through competitive placement depending on what your WL or Win Loss ratio was after the matches. There’s no way to really get specific ranks for MMR, (i.e. you have to win X number of games to guarantee this rank) because it takes into consideration a lot of things like other players’ MMR, WL ratios from other players, and so on.

The downside to playing competitive placement matches is that there is no MMR checker of sorts in place. You might be matched with players who have above average MMR from last season. In worst cases, you get paired up against professional players. This is why a lot of ranked players often wait a few days after season starts to go through placement.

How Do You Climb The Rankings?

To increase your match making ranking, you simply need to play and win more games. You get assigned points for winning as a team or in solo matches. Majority of games will have different ratings for ranked solo matches and ranked team games. Professional MOBA players in games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends often get both the highest rankings for ranked team and ranked solo. In contrast, you also go down the rankings when you lose games.

It’s also worth knowing that your movement within the ladder is a mixture of horizontal and vertical rankings. Using League of Legends as an example, you’ll have to hover a particular rank and play through there until you get promoted. If you’re in Platinum rank, you have to play your way from Platinum 4 to Platinum 1.

Your LP or League Points will affect your current ranking. As soon as you get 100LP, you get into competitive placement once more before you can move up a tier. If you’re about to be promoted to Platinum 3, you’ll need to win two games out of your three placement matches.

But as you move up a tier, like from Platinum 1 to Diamond 4, the number of matches in competitive placement will increase from 3 to 5. You’ll need to win 3 games to guarantee yourself a promotion.

What Is MMR Decay?

MMR decay is commonly associated with competitive online multiplayer games. MMR decay happens when you have not played any ranked game for a particular period of time, or have not logged into the game.

Your MMR rating will drop by a few points every now and then after you’ve breached the period of inactivity allowed to you. Again, this is not set in stone but the higher your rank is, the lower your period of inactivity is allotted to you.

For competitive games such as Hearthstone and MTG Arena, MMR Decay allows others players to move up in rankings that were held by inactive players. This usually prevents any form of gatekeeping, which is a huge problem during competitive season.

What Is ELO Hell or MMR Hell?

We’d like to believe that League of Legends players were the first to come up with ELO hell, but sadly they weren’t.

ELO Hell or MMR Hell refers to a specific rank that’s considered the most difficult to get out of. Match making in ELO hell or MMR hell, has you playing with the worst players and against the best players.

Riot Games’ League of Legends is one of many games with players actively calling out this so-called faulty system within the games’ structure, but in reality, this is just how the ELO rating system actually works.

The Smurf Problem

You might be wondering from the previous paragraph: how are players who’re on a professionally higher skill level than casual players matched up against one another in competitive modes?

The answer to that is SMURFING. And no, we’re not referring to the blue cartoon characters from a particular TV Show.

Smurfing is when a player from a higher ranking would make new accounts and go through the process once again of getting ranked. He or she will start off in a lower rank than his main account, and then go on from there.

But the point of a Smurf is not to play against players with the same level as you. Rather, Smurfing is an act of trolling where you’re intentionally competing against people who don’t have similar skill levels as you. This is a form of gatekeeping and usually forces players to experience ELO hell in certain tiers.

We say gatekeeping because you’re preventing the other player from having the intended competitive experience they were meant to have. A ranked game for these players who’re being smurfed often ends up being a bad experience and these players will no longer play competitive.

Wrap Up

Now you know what MMR means and how you can use it to determine if that someone is a higher skilled player than you or not. Knowing what MMR is can be an advantage to you, whether it’s playing League of Legends or some other game that has ranked matches.

There you are, playing a competitive game like League of Legends, Dota 2, Valorant, or Rainbow Six Siege. You’re familiar with the competitive landscape but so much of the gaming slang terms are still unfamiliar to you.

Right as you just got your butt handed to you by the enemy team, one of your teammates typed “FF” in chat. The first thing that probably went to your head was “why does he want to fast forward?”. Maybe the one definition of FF you have in your mind has other meanings in game.

So, what does FF mean in gaming?

What Does FF Stand For And Why Does The Online Community Hate It?

FF means “forfeit” in games such as League of Legends, Dota 2, and other competitive online games. Another way that it could mean is “F***ing Forfeit”, which is a profane FF definition albeit uncommonly used.

For games like online roleplaying games, MOBAs, and even competitive TCG, FF is more or less used to indicate surrender or forfeiture. This Internet slang is typed into chat, or even verbally spoken in voice chat.

An example of how this particular FF definition is used is shown below:

• Player 1: It’s over, their Renekton is super fed and our top lane is just the worst right now.
• Player 2: Yeah. FF, so we can start a new game. I don’t want to waste my time.

What Does FF Mean In Gaming Communities Like CS:GO or Rainbow Six: Siege?

FF has other meanings for different games. For first person shooting such as CS:GO or Valorant, FF has two other meanings.

Focus Fire

On top of FF meaning Forfeit, FF can also mean Focus Fire. This is usually used within team communications or with a gaming clan. As the words imply, “Focus Fire” or FF is meant to designate a single target that players of the same team will be targeting.

Here’s how this particular FF definition is used:

• Player 1: I think the enemy team captain is already fed enough. We need to do something.
• Player 2: FF on him the next round. We need to end this game mod right then and there.

The person who’s being targeted by this FF will have the enemy team against him or her for the entire match.

Friendly Fire

Albeit an uncommon definition, FF means Friendly Fire in a first person shooting game. When a person shoots and damages the other player from the same team, that’s friendly fire. Friendly Fire can also refer to collateral damage within a particular game that’s not entirely just first person shooting.

Here’s how FF means from that context:

• Player 1: Since you’re new here, don’t shoot other teammates. You can get banned for FF.
• Player 2: Oh right. Thanks for the heads up.

What Does FF Mean In Forums or Social Media?

Whether in a gaming website, or a non-gaming community or forum, the abbreviation FF has one unique meaning: following.

For example, in an online car forum or a forum that’s meant for the remote control aircraft hobby, FF is used as a response by other people in a particular post so they are notified if there are responses made within that particular post.

Here’s how the abbreviation FF can be used in forums or social media:

• Person 1: Does anyone have any information on how to join the voluntary fire brigade? I’ve heard different people tell me different things.
• Person 2: FF.
• Person 3: FF.

When that particular post has a reply from another person, other than the abbreviation FF, the people who posted FF will be notified about the activity.

Are There Any Other Popular Meanings for FF?

Within the context of gaming, FF also refers to another popular video game: Final Fantasy. FF used to refer to Final Fantasy, a world renowned TV game (TV because it’s got its own movies and shows on Netflix), is slightly uncommon but still people use it more than they would actually use Friendly Fire or Focus Fire.

Here’s how this particular definition can be used:

• John: Hey, did you see that latest FF XIV post from that Finnish gaming site? They were announcing a new class but no translations about what they are all about.
• Peter: Man, I’d love to know what the new classes would be like for the new Final Fantasy XIV expansion.

Closing

There you have it. The answer to the question “what does ff mean in gaming?” and how you can use them for different purposes. Whether you want to forfeit the next match, or play Final Fantasy, FF is one of many popular Internet slang terms that you need to be using more often.

You’re playing a quick round of competitive ranked for whatever online game is hot right now. After a certain match, one of the enemies typed in “WP” in game chat, and you’re probably wondering why they’re talking about a wrong person.

Then another player types “WP” in game chat, and then another follows. You’re intrigued and wondering why they’re looking for WP, and now you want to know what does WP mean in gaming.

In this article, we’ll define what WP means in gaming and how you can use it for your future matches.

What Does WP Mean In Gaming Actually?

In computer gaming, online gamers frequently use WP to denote “Well Played” after matches. This is often tied in with another acronym, GG or Good Game.

When combined together, you get GG WP, or GGWP, which stands for Good Game, Well Played. In rare cases, GG also means Great Game.

WP, or GG WP, is a verbal way of displaying sportsmanship in the gaming world. Winning or losing teams both use WP within different contexts.

Apart from displaying sportsmanship, WP also has other meanings and used for different contexts. Here are examples of the different contexts where WP or Well Played is used:

1. When a player has outplayed another team
2. When a player exhibits great skill or ability
3. When a player experiences something positive from another player

What Are the Other WP Definitions In Gaming or In Real Life?

Well Played is one of the many cyber definitions for WP, but they’re uncommon in gaming apps. Let’s take a look at the different WP definition and how they’re used through different sentence examples:

Wrong Person

An uncommon way that WP stand for is Wrong Person. This context involves a miscommunication of sorts between two players, usually with one sending a message not intended for the current recipient.

Here’s an example of how the abbreviation is used:

• Macky: Hey, Peter. I need you to join the raid right now.
• John: WP
• Macky: Oh my bad!

Waypoint

WP means Waypoint within the context of online games. One of the uncommon abbreviations, WP as Waypoint is often used to designate a particular location that a player has marked for a different player.

Here’s an example of how the abbreviation WP can be used:

• Peter: Macky, where’s the treasure? The WP on the map says it’s here but I can’t see it.
• Macky: The WP has an arrow indicator on top of it, so the treasure is on the upper floor.

WordPress

In the rarest of cases, WP stand for Word press, or WordPress, a popular blogging platform. In a gaming context, this is often used to refer to a website that other players might be looking for an online game.

• Peter: Hey, Macky. What was that WP site again that had the World of Warcraft guides?
• Macky: Do you mean WowHead or IcyVeins?

What Does GGWP Mean?

GG WP definition is “Good Game, Well Played”. In some instances, it can also mean “Great Game, Well Played. This is a common group of slang terms used together to congratulate the winning team, or to acknowledge the efforts of the losing team. As a whole, it can also signify that the round for that board game, online game, or even sports match went extremely well.

While GGWP is a slang word used for congratulating the winning team online, it’s not without its real life applications.

Here’s a good sentence example of how GG WP is used in real life:

• John: Hey I heard you did great on the sales presentation yesterday
• Ralph: Yeah, who told you that?
• John: I heard it from Macky. GG WP.

Albeit it sounds a bit weird when verbally said as to just limited to online gaming, the abbreviation WP or well played does sound like a great way to congratulate someone on their victory.

Whether you want to use it to congratulate someone in game or real life, now you know how to use the term WP properly and what it means.

What does POG mean in gaming? You’ve probably seen it being used by one of your favorite Twitch gaming streamer or the Twitch community. You might’ve even seen an emoji or two here and there. You might’ve seen it being used frequently by players too. But what does POG mean, and why is it a popular gamer jargon?

What Does POG Mean in Gaming?

The name POG, or Poggers or PogChamp, is a term used by Twitch streamers and viewers, and YouTube content creators that express delight, surprise, or fascination. This surprised expression is usually tied in with a certain action, usually within an amazing or exciting context.

In all things gaming and streaming, the term POG is synonymous to words like COOL, AWESOME, or AMAZING. Several Twitch communities from big time streamers usually come up with their own Pogchamp Emoticon, usually in the likeness of the streamer they follow.

Where Does The Term POG Come From?

The word POG didn’t exactly originate from online games, or various streaming services. You might remember that POG used to be part of the online gaming culture back in the early 90s. POG were 90s collectible circular cardboard bottlecaps that you traded and played with friends.

The point was similar to stacking milk bottle caps. A player would stack an X amount of POG bottlecaps and slam it hard using a POG slammer or a separate POG. Whatever fell will be your winnings, and this game goes on up until the entire stack is run out, or when a player loses all of their collections.

POG later on became part of the online games property and culture, and a few other meanings were also invented.

Who Even Uses The Word POG?

Even though POG is used to express excitement, there are several uses for POG. Before it became a thing in Twitch, Overwatch players were the first to use the term POG to refer to a video highlight for sick plays.

In Overwatch, the acronym POG meant Play of the Game, which would highlight one of the many sick plays for a particular match. In Twitch chat, you’ll often see the POG champ emote being used more often than the actual term itself. Getting POG became one of many only gamer priorities for some players and was considered a toxic trait for OW players.

How Is POG Used?

There are several instances to use the word POG in an online game or Discord chat without using the POG champ emote.

How To Use The Verb POG?

1. “I need to POG this raid parse tonight or I won’t make it past Raid Trial”
2. “Some guy tried to play of the game the last ranked match in OW, but I didn’t let him. I POG’ed it myself”

How To Use The Word POG As An Adjective?

• Player 1: He got the loot last night from raid.
• Player 2: That’s a POG moment right there

What Does POGChamp Mean in Gaming?

PogChamp, synonymously used in conjunction with POG or Poggers, came from the creation of the PogChamp emote, which was typed into Twitch chat. However, the emote was removed from Twitch chat library back in 2021. Even though the original Pog Champ emote was removed, there are several variations made by either a stream watcher or mods of a famous streamer.

Where Did The Pog Champ Emote Come From?

PogChamp, or Pog champ, came from an outtake of a video back in 2010 made by Cross Counter TV and Street Fighter professional Players Mike Ross and Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez. The video included a series of failed attempts, which led to a wide collection of outrageous and funny expressions from Gootecks. POG spawned other emojis later

What does PogU Mean in gaming?

PogU wasn’t a Twitch emote but rather a BetterTTV emote to express hype. This came from the same outtake video as the Pog Champ emote. This particular emoji should Gootecks showing a very excited look, but was removed from BetterTTV on Jan 2021, the same time it was removed from Twitch.

What Does OkayChamp Mean?

OkayChamp did not come from the same Gootecks outtake video, but uses a different person instead. This is also one of the most popular emotes being used in Twitch. This original emote came from the host of Linus Tech Tips, who’s displaying a smile that denotes uncertainty or being unsure. It’s mostly used to signify that you disagree with whatever the other person was saying, but just resign yourself from arguing. If you see this on your favorite streamer, it’s mostly used for when the streamer says something and the community doesn’t want to believe him or her.

Twitch Decided To Remove PogChamp Emote

PogChamp, OkayChamp, Pog U, and all the other original emotes based on Ryan Gutierrez were removed from Twitch and other streaming platforms for his Covid-19 controversy. He was widely known for being vocal about the Covid-19 pandemic, and even went as far as sharing fake news, conspiracy theories, and other nonsense that related to Covid-19.

But the final nail to his streaming career came when he encouraged violence after the storming of Capitol Hill. Then the Twitch platform removed every POG emoji and other video streaming services followed suit.

Conclusion

There you have it. The answer to the question “what does POG mean in gaming”, and it’s just as expressive as the emojis that were born out of the term itself. While the original emotes have been removed from streaming platforms, streamers have taken it upon themselves to make their own versions of the emojis, even going as far as combining it with the Pepe emoji.

You’re chilling at home on a Friday night. You’re about to log in to World of Warcraft because you’re about to raid Castle Nathria for the nth time. You’re progressing just fine up until your raid leader tells the group to take a break for 10 minutes.

10 minutes later, the raid leader extends the break citing that there were a few people who were AFK. This went on for another twenty more minutes, and players have decided it wasn’t worth it anymore to wait for the others.

And so much like the fate of massively multiplayer online games, your raid group has disbanded and called it quits for the night. All because some people were AFK.

But what is AFK and what does AFK mean in gaming?

What Does AFK Mean In Gaming Community?

The term AFK stands for “Away From Keyboard”, and is used to let people know that you were unavailable for a brief time. AFK simply means that you stepped out and won’t be able to respond to anything up until you return to your workstation.

Regardless of the game you played, you write AFK on chat or voiced out in Discord to let others know that you were unavailable for the time being.

Players would often type “BRB AFK” to let other people know that they were going to do something and that they would be away from keyboard for the meantime. In the middle of a game, when a player would type BRB AFK, it would automatically mean that he or she has to do something urgently (like answer a phone call).

Many players would use the phrase AFK to describe someone idle. If a person has been inactive for a certain period of time, their teammates would automatically tag them as AFK. They’d let the other players know about this so the match ends quickly or vote the AFK player out.

What Does AFK Mean In The Workplaces?

AFK is one of many acronyms that has been adapted into the workplace lingo, even so much as becoming a word in itself (i.e. AFK-ing, or AFK-ed). The meaning of AFK in workplaces is similar to its meaning within the video gaming community.

During the pandemic, employees who worked from home used the phrase a lot more than gamers whenever they were about to leave the vicinity of their workstation or computer for any reason.

When Did AFK Start?

The phrase AFK was created back in 1989 during an online news bulletin from FidoNews, which included a whole list of acronyms. These different online phrases, like AFK or LOL, made their way into the chat rooms later on. Nowadays, AFK and other acronyms have been adopted into the video game community.

AFK And Online Games

Online games, whether played by console players or PC players, have existed as early as the 1990s. These were the early days of the uses of Internet acronyms, such as AFK, LOL, and so on, into the video game world.

Unfortunately, there was no official record as to when these phrases were first actually used, or what games were even played during that time. If a player was not playing, or was not moving at all, he or she would be tagged as AFK. An AFK player was often more of an annoyance than anything else.

Some video games would send out system messages to these AFK players to let them know that they were still playing, in case the player was alt-tabbed or was viewing a different window. Most gaming communities, such as WoW or League of Legends, frown upon AFKing in the middle of something important. Handful of gaming publishers would often punish players for intentionally AFKing in the middle of the game, and allowed players to report these perpetrators.

Some common examples of how to use the AFK phrase are:

• I need to feed the dog. AFK for 10 minutes.
• Got a phone call. AFKing for a bit.
• Going out to get something. AFK.
• Stepping away from keyboard for a quick break, be right back.

What Did Among Us Have Anything To Do With AFK?

The term AFK suddenly gained a resurgence of popularity after it was commonly meme’d out by Among Us players. Among Us became one of the top games back in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Among Us’ premise is simple. You and other teammates figure out which one of you is the impostor, whose main goal is to kill the rest everyone. In a group of ten players, two were dubbed as Impostors, and the rest played as Crewmates. Among Us gamers did not know who were crewmates or imposters, so the entirety of a round is spent on guessing who’s who.

The acronym suddenly became popular because a lot of people didn’t know the meaning. And with Among Us, the meaning was still the same, which was Away from Keyboard. People typed AFK into their chat box, indicating that they were taking a break.

However, smart imposters would often pretend to be AFK and killed off players. They’d stand over their body and wait for someone to report them. When a dead body is reported, the imposter wouldn’t talk or pretend to just walk in.

The term OG wasn’t exactly limited to just gaming, but rather, it was a common term used by people spanning different hobbies in mainstream culture and in real life, from athletes to musicians.

But what does the term really mean? Where did it come from? How did it become part of various pop cultures?

What Does OG Mean in Gaming?

The OG definition of OG is ORIGINAL GANGSTER, which refers to a player or person who has been around a particular game for a long period of time. The term OG might also refer to someone who’s the recognized expert for a game, or for inventing something that’s become a part of that game pop culture.

OG, or original gangster, does not necessarily refer to someone as a gangster from a Los Angeles Gang or part of a mafia. Within video game context, one might be considered so OG if he or she has been around since that game’s exception and who’s not part of that gaming company. Outside of how long a player has been in an online game, a player might be considered so OG for inventing or innovating an existing game mechanic that a lot of players are now taking advantage of.

Calling a player, or a person, an OG is a sign of admiration and respect. In the sports world, one might consider Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan as an original gangster for their particular sports. Within a relationship or friendship, you have OG mean as someone who’s been in your life for a long time.

When Did OG or Original Gangster Start?

OG dates back as far as 1970s when the phrase was invented by a Los Angeles Gang’s band who had members identify as the OGs, or as the original gangsters. The term would later one become a reference to people who were already into gang culture for a long period of time. Young gang members would also refer to their older members as original gangsters.

The term OG entered mainstream pop culture through the world of hip hop, which was incorporated into a lot of their ideas, lyrics, and words. But mostly, you’ll find that the inclusion of OG dates back to the 80s when Ice-T wrote a successful record called “O.G. Original Gangster”, which was a record breaking song and the album peaked the Billboard.

As we continue discussing pop cultures and its inclusion of OG, the first popular definition of OG dates back to 2004 when the OG definition was included into the Urban Dictionary. It then gained a lot of popularity during the late 2010s when social media platforms erupted. Within the social media context, OG’s popular definition would later on become a reference to the “Good old days”.

Did Ice-T Invent The Term?

While he made a song about being OG, Ice-T wasn’t the true OG for creating the term (see what we did there?). But he was actually the first person who people might reference to for the creation of the term.

Here was the actual lyric of Ice-T’s song:

I ain’t no super hero
I ain’t no Marvel Comic
But when it comes to game I’m atomic
At droppin’ it straight
Point blank and untwisted
No imagination needed, ’cause I lived it
This ain’t no fuckin’ joke
This shit is real to me
I’m Ice-T
O.G.

However, the “O.G. Original Gangster” was a successful record that Ice-T released, and remains Ice-T’s most popular song yet.

What About OG Kush?

OG stands for a lot of things and is used to reference different things. You might have also heard about OG being used to refer to a popular strain of Cannabis. No imagination needed here.

OG Kush was the name of this popular strain, which gained its status as the old school strain for breeding different plants. But despite its popularity, OG Kush’s exact origins remain a complete mystery and no one really knows where OG Kush came from or how it was made.

It’s also worth noting that the OG stand for “ocean grown”, not “original gangster”. Countless cannabis growers indicated that the OG Kush emerged somewhere along the coast of California. OverGrown.com, which is now defunct website that was the primary resource for cannabis growers back then, was also what people thought OG mean back then.

We’re going to stop our discussion about cannabis from here and won’t mention about OG Kush’s potency or any existing strain, or where you can find OG online even.

What Does OG Mean in Gaming and in Discussing Pop Cultures?

The context of OG has changed all throughout the years. The old school definition pertained to younger members calling the older members of a Los Angeles gang as OG or original gangster.

But within pop culture, OG refers to the first person who’s played a particular role or started a particular movement. For example, one might say that Christopher Reeve was the OG Superman, or that Adam West was the OG Batman.

Within the same culture, OG today can also refer to someone who’s authentic or admirable or innovative even within sports, music, video games, movies and TV shows, and a whole lot more.

How Do You Use the Term OG?

The term OG is simple enough to use, and depending on the context, you might even have your own version. You might even refer to your special someone was your “OG”.

Here are some good examples of how you can use them:

• Freddie Mercury is the OG entertainer
• Hugh Jackman will always be the OG Wolverine for me
• Shroud will always be the OG 360 YY No Scope player

What Does OG Have To Do With Playing Fortnite?

Straight point blank, the term OG also started to gain traction once more when it was used frequently in a video game called Fortnite. And yes, OG mean something else different here in playing Fortnite.

Fortnite is a popular battle royale video game where people go against each other while building insane structures and killing other players. Fortnite’s character customization is also very insane, as they’re partnered with the likes of Marvel Comic Books, DC, and other pop cultures.

What’s Considered OG in Fortnite?

OG refers to any exceptional or old school player in Fortnite. It also refers to players who have the OG skins, or those who’ve innovated in-game mechanics and have changed the way people play the game.

Is There Something Different About OG In Fortnite?

Fortnite players might have OG mean differently, because it refers to their purchasable gliders. The term OG in Fortnite refers to an original design for their gliders that was only given to players who played the game for the first time.

The first time you play a game can be overwhelming. There are so many things to take note of, so many things to learn, and almost instantaneously, you’re overloaded with information.

Imagine playing a video game like Fortnite or any other shooting game. You casually queue up for a game and all of a sudden, there’s this one guy named Shroud who keeps on one-tapping you. You’re thinking he’s hacking, or that he’s exploiting something. But that’s just your ego telling you what you want to hear. This player character’s ability to get rid of you with a single shot is just beyond human capabilities. But what you probably didn’t know at that time is that Shroud is one of the best first-person shooter players in the world right now.

Let’s move on to another game, like say, Elden Ring. You’ve been seeing the memes and rage quit clips on YouTube, so you’ve decided to give this game a try. You’re pitted against Malenia, Blade of Miquella the first time and then you realize that this player character’s ability makes you wish you never even bought this game.

Malenia, Shroud, and every other person (both real and in-game) are prime examples of what being OP is all about. OP means overpowered, and we’re not talking about superpowers here (except for Malenia, because she has powers).

What Does OP Mean In Gaming?

For multiplayer games such as Fornite, League of Legends, and Overwatch, you’ll hear the word OP thrown a lot, either as a praise or a sarcastic comeback to getting killed.

For single player games, OP also refers to any particular character, or computer controlled enemy, that can do what you can’t do, and that’s to kill everything with one shot.

Regardless if it’s single player or multiplayer, OP means overpowered. This is a gaming lingo referring to a real life player or in-game character that performs above normal expectations. The term OP is one of many slang terms you’ll encounter in Internet forums, YouTube videos, and even Twitch streams.

Why Is The Game Considered To Be OP?

A player, in-game character, or even the game itself can be considered OP if there is a noticeable increase in power, difficulty, or skill. A good example of what can be considered OP is Paul from Tekken. Paul has this one move where he takes out a huge chunk of your lifebar with just one hit.

Back to the topic of Elden Ring, Malenia is also considered too OP because she’s too quick for normal gamer reflexes and players have been known to go through her at least a hundred times or so before getting it right.

What Are The Different Types of OP?

For adjective gamers left and right, OP refers to many things, such as player skill, game difficulty, in-game mechanics, or even player luck.

Player Skill and Ability

When a player is considered too good at a particular game or a player overpowers another player without difficulty, he or she is considered overpowered. For example, we have Faker from League of Legends and Shroud from CS:GO. In gaming slang, OP means that they’re way too good for the game with their mindset, their abilities to carry out in-game mechanics, and other elements.

Game Difficulty and In-Game Mechanics

Sometimes, it’s not the players or the video game characters that are overpowered but the game itself. In most cases, it doesn’t refer to the entirety of the game but just a certain aspect of it.

Going back to the topic of Elden Ring, the in-game mechanics and game difficulty are both considered OP in a sense that it’s way too difficult for casual players but still very satisfying to play.

In multiplayer titles, it’s not only characters that can be overpowered. The OP gaming slang can also refer to items too.

Player Luck

Some players can also be overpowered in terms of in-game luck. OP can be used to describe a player’s insane good luck, such as looting items or opening loot boxes.

Other Gaming Terms Synonymous and Antonymous to OP

Sometimes, the quintessential term OP is not always a good thing, especially when it’s dubbed on a video game character or item. Games like League of Legends and Dota 2 release new champions or heroes to expand their rosters, but these characters aren’t exactly balanced right away.

Nerfing

The interaction of these champions and heroes might break gamers’ expectations, so they end up being labeled as overpowered. When games have these overpowered toons running around, publishers will nerf these toons.

Nerfing means to decrease the power levels of these toons and/or items to a more manageable level. Nerfing usually occurs in most multiplayer games, but single-player games aren’t excused from this either.

Underpowered

When toons are lacking in power, or at least lacking severely from gamer’s expectations, they are considered underpowered. Underpowered toons are the standards for what overpowered toons are held on to, and vice versa. Conversely, a toon can be considered overpowered when they exceed what underpowered toons are capable of.

Allow us to put the previous paragraph into context. Let’s take World of Warcraft as an example, mostly because this game is what I’ve been playing for the past few years and I know my way around what’s OP and UP.

Let’s compare two tank specs from two different classes: Protection Paladin and Blood Death Knight. Both tank specs have different tank kits and survivability features. Protection Paladins excel with high block chances and innate healing, while Blood Death Knights specialize in taking a lot of damage and healing at the same time.

When you compare their healing abilities, one would assume that the Blood Death Knights are more overpowered compared to the Protection Paladins. Likewise, if we talk about their survivability, Blood Death Knights are severely underpowered compared to the Paladins.

Final Words

Now that you know what OP stands for in gaming context, feel free to add it to your growing list of gaming jargon.