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World of Warcraft (or WoW) has developed its own sort of language of abbreviations and terms. It takes a lot of time to get used to them and you will probably feel like a noob if you ask anyone. So I'll list some of these terms for you, along with a few universal abbreviations you might find.

Noob: This is short for "Newbie". If someone calls you a noob, it's not a good thing. People who don't know what they are doing (usually because they're either new to the game or horribly incompetent) are labeled as noobs. You are now one step closer to not being considered a noob.

LOL: In case you don't know what this means, it means Laugh Out Loud. It is pretty universal but if you ask what LOL means, people usually just respond with "LOL!". They might even say ROFL!

ROFL: Rolling on the Floor Laughing. It must be pretty funny to get this.

BRB: Be Right Back

PST: Please Send Tell. This means please whisper someone. This is usually used when advertising.

WTS: Willing to Sell. This is used all the time in the trade channel. 

Aggro: Aggro is extremely important in WoW. It is short for aggression level. Aggro determines who an enemy will attack. In a group this is extremely important because some classes like say a warrior can take damage all day and hardly be bothered while some classes like mages can be killed almost instantly by the same enemies. Keeping aggro on the right group members is extremely important in group dynamics.

Tank: This is the character that has all the armor and takes all the damage in a group. It is usually a warrior, but can also be a paladin, druid in bear form, or even a tough hunter pet. No matter what they may say, PRIESTS CAN NOT TANK. Remember that.

Buff: If someone says "Buff Me" they aren't getting fresh. A buff is a spell or technique that raises one of your attributes. For example priests give power word fortitude, druids give mark of the wild, etc.

Owned, Ownd, Pwned, or PZoWND: These are all extrapolations of OWNED. When someone gets owned, that means they got beat down so terribly that it's just plain humiliating.  

Something to keep in mind is that WoW players are lazy. Perhaps that is just an extension of the age group or the community of gamers in general. That is to say, we abbreviate everything we can get our hands on.

WTB: Want to Buy, generally used when advertising. Might also be used in passing conversation as remarking about how an commodity is highly desired (i.e. WTB lower gas prices).

LFM: Looking for Member, may also have numbers to specify how much such as LF2M to indicate that the party is looking for two more players.

PUG: Pick Up Group, or refers to a person that one does not know or is not a part of your guild. Generally holds a negative connotation, especially when referencing an individual.

There are also a number of abbrevations that correspond to areas or instances. Some are merely shortened versions of the name such as "Shatt" for "Shattrath" or "Kara" for "Karazhan." A short list follows of common abbrevations for places; this is by no means complete:

• VC - VanCleef, refers to the Deadmines
• DM - The Deadmines
• WC - Wailing Caverns
• BFD - Blackfathom Deeps
• SFK - Shadowfang Keep
• RFK - Razorfen Kraul
• STV - Stranglethorn Vale
• RFD - Razorfen Downs
• SM - Scarlet Monastery
• ST - The Temple of Atal'Hakkar
• BRD - Blackrock Depths
• WPL - Not used commonly, Western Plaguelands
• EPL - More common, Eastern Plaguelands
• LBRS - Lower Blackrock Spire
• UBRS - Upper Blackrock Spire
• DM - Dire Maul
• Baron - Undead-side Stratholme
• Scarlet - Human/Scarlet-side Stratholme
• MC - Molten Core
• ZG - Zul'Gurub
• BWL - Blackwing Lair
• AQ - Ahn'Qiraj. Often "20" or "40" would follow specifying if it was the "Ruins" or the "Temple" respectively
• SV - Steamvaults
• SH - Shattered Halls
• SSC - Serpentshrine Cavern
• TK - Tempest Keep
• BT - Black Temple
• SW - Stormwind
• IF - Ironforge
• UC - Undercity
• AB - Arathi Basin
• AV  - Alterac Valley
• WSG - Warsong Gulch
• EoTS - Eye of the Storm

Now it's time for a quick test to see how much you have learned. This is a great clip of Lord of the Rings as if it was a quest on World of Warcraft. See if you can follow the abbreviated (and horribly misspelled) gamer lingo now that you know some of the basics. Or just enjoy the funny clip. It's scary but people actually talk JUST like that when they're in raids. ESPECIALLY noobs.

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