First Time Playing Online Game? Lost in the sea of acronyms and MMO terminology?

[Slave_to_the_Wheek]

[comment: The glossary below was completely revised on Dec 6, 2012 after several years of gameplay there was much to add]

As a first time online MMORP player I spent my early levels alone. A vast amount of time went into deciphering the terms in the chat windows and trying to translate what other players in my fellowships were asking me or telling me. I didn't even know what a kin was, and when I learned what they were I had no idea if I even wanted to join one. I wanted to play, but everything seemed against me. I googled terms but so much of the terms used in other MMO games simply don't apply to LOTRO, or even have different meanings here. I also found that the descriptions offered here as well as other sites were still written in some kind of "game speak". This discussion is intended for other new mmo players to find a place to gain an overall understanding of the easy, but complicated world of LOTRO MMORP and learn from more experienced players.

Joining a fellowship can be daunting. Inexperienced players hear a language that is so foreign it might as well be Latin. Sometimes experienced players who have played since they were children have little empathy for new players and lose patience. The trouble with fellowships is that so much happens so fast you don't have time to ask the other players to explain. It can be humiliating at first for everyone-so don't feel alone. I didn't know that you could actually talk in person to other players for example. I thought it was some fancy do-dad rather than just clicking a button. Typing while trying to stay alive and figure out what's going on was so stressful I avoided grouping until I absolutely had to.

This was all so much work to learn from scratch, I thought why not share what I know so far, while at the same time learn as much as possible from others.....

The following Glossary is intended to help First Time MMO player learn the gaming language of LOTRO as well as helping to understand the conventions of Fellowshipping and general gameplay.

**"Chat Speak" however, is a horse of a different color. Feel free to post questions and discuss chat speak on this thread but I won't add it to the Glossary, since chat speak dictionaries are available all over the web: http://www.alphadictionary.com/artic...imglish_a.html is just one example. I recommend keeping a translator up in a second window. When you see a word you don't know, Click and hold ALT and then TAB and you can switch to your open window without logging out of the game.


PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK YOUR OWN QUESTIONS OR PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS (or corrections of mine) FOR TERMS NOT INCLUDED. Even after five years, I'm still a just a recruit. After a 2 year hiatus I'm already spending a lot of time asking my kinsmen what all the new acronyms are for the newer questing areas.

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+++++++++++++++++++++++ General Game Play +++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Race and Class- Your race is man/dwarf/elf or hobbit. Each race has distinctly different abilities and drawbacks. Dwarves can take more of a beating than than elves for example. This means if you choose an Elf to be a Guardian you will have to make extra efforts in building out your character to make him stronger. Your class is not the same as your crafting profession. You chose your class when you launched your character inthe options screen. Hunter, Guardian, Burgler, Minstrel, Loremaster etc. For a complete list of the current classes go to the create character screen or go to the LOTRO Lorebook. It's a great source. If you are having trouble with a class, leave it and try a new one don't agonize at how much time you've spent on it. If your not having fun it's not worth it.

Kinship or Guild -A group of people who have officially organized into an organization. Some kins are very loosely joined while other kins might require a great deal of effort to become and stay a member. Most new players change kinships fairly often until they locate the group they feel comfortable with. Don't feel like you have to stay in a kinship if you just don't fit in or there is no one willing or available to quest with you. It is not necessary to join a kinship to play LOTRO. It's simply another option of play..and in fact is the MM part of MMO. Some kinships are built around the crafting portion of the game. They grow crops, share the different elements that they pick up or gather etc. Some kinships are folks who know each other in real life, while others might be based on other criteria such as Role Playing, Language etc.

RP or Role-Playing - The idea of using your character as if they were an actor in a play. There are varying degrees of role-playing and the game lends itself to it quite easily. There are entire websites dedicated to to the topic of RP but the basic idea is to play in character as if you were acting out a play. It can be quite fun even if you don't know what your doing. It's an interesting approach to gameplay and most do it on occasion rather than the entire time they are playing. We have several servers dedicated for RP players. They are the ones with RE or RP after their names. Best suited for those with good typing skills or ability to use Voice Chat and somewhat of an interest and knowledge of Tolkien's books or movies. If you type /RP into the chat window you will have the letters appear above your head-in the front of your name, alerting others that you are in role-playing mode.

Lore - This is the world we play in, and every game has different lore. The lore is what the world is made of. It's the history of the people's in the game and the personalities of the races. It's the way we dress and the speech we use. It's the architecture and the wildlife. The flora and the fauna. It's the history of our world inside the game. The lore is the backdrop that the game is played on. While the LOTRO game engine is similar to other games, the lore for LOTRO is unique to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth.

Mob or Mobs - Used to describe any animal or race or creature in the game who will attack you. Often used specifically to describe groups as well as individuals. The amound of XP you earn for killing each Mob is based on each individual creature depending on it's level and the situation. Mobs are color coded in their title based on your relationship to that Mob. The same Mob will start at one color and change as you level. XP amount is less for those under your level and more for those above.

• Purple10+ levels above you. You recieve zero XP when it dies, it does not count toward kills. Don't waste time on it
• Red 6-9 levels above you, hitting a red mob will mean 2/3's of your strikes will miss
• Orange 4-6 levels above you
• Yellow 1-3 levels above you
• White --> At your level
• Blue: 1-3 levels below you
• Teal: 4-6 levels below you
• Green: 6-4 levels below you
• Grey: 10+ levels below you. You recieve zero XP when it dies. It does count toward kills for your "Virtues"

In addition to Mob levels, there are many terms applied to the various types of Mobs. Here are some that I know of:

• Adds - Mobs who appear after you have attacked your original mob, they often pop-up out of nowhere.
• Elites - these are supreme bad guys not to be treated as any other mob. Elites are indicated in their name, when you select them.
• Re-Spawns - MOBS who were killed but have already been resurrected by the game mechanics. You are not killing fast enough if this happens to you.

XP - Experience Points. This is how your hard work is measured. Most of the XP in this game is earned by completing quests. Fighting creatures in middle-earth also gives you some degree of XP. If someone helps you while you are fighting said creature, your XP is somewhat reduced. Because of that it's considered proper to ask first. "Drive by" helpers can be a frustration for some players while other players expect to help others and want the same for themselves. If you are a Good Samaritan type, be sure to ask or have them signal if they need help. Of course, if they are dying they are not going to have time to stop and answer. Most folks appreciate getting help if it appears they are "heading for the stone circles" as the cost of repairs to equipment is much worse than than the loss of some of their XP. Whatever you do, it will probably still make someone mad at some time while your playing, just don't let it get you down.
**UPDATE** The Riders of Rohan creatures give equal and full XP, to anyone who touches the MOB. see below

NPC - Non-Player Character: Any computer based animated character withing the game, that is NOT a mob. Quest givers are NPC's for example

Leveling- Used either to describe someone working hard to get a character leveled up -or- when upper level players run other players through quests just to help level them up. It might be to get someone's ALT up to the same level as their MAIN character. Sometimes it's so that the new player can play in the areas others of the kinship are in. The challenge is that once the new player reaches the goal level, they very have little understanding of their class and it's role within fellowships. This can actually slow one down in the long run. If the kin is dedicated to helping you learn once you get there I suppose, but do not feel like you have to level up to catch up. If it's offered to you, it's okay to say no. The trouble is: the best running parts of LOTRO are the lower levels, they have been updated for five years so they are now extremely enjoyable. Rather than a constant non-stop mindless grind they have streamlined it beautifully. Developing your character is actually enjoyable.

Life is the journey ....not the destination.
It's no different in gaming, the joy of the game is in the playing of it

Millions of dollars as well as thousands of hours have been put into the early levels up to 50, and they are the award winning part of LOTRO. It can be lonely on the way up, you might want to explore servers until you find one with plenty of others working on lower levels. Unless your looking for RP play, the server listed at the top when you log in is the current server nominated to take new recruits so it should have lots of people at lower levels

Tagged or Tapped - If a Mob is "tapped" someone has already claimed it. The XP bar on that Mob will go from red to white which means you will not recieve any benefits from striking it. In addition if you strike just a single blow or heal the person while they are still fighting the creature, they will have a reduction in the XP received. Tapping someone else's Mob is bad mojo.
**UPDATE** Riders of Rohan Expansion creatures have a completely different set of rules.
Please see: http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?477994-Official-Discussion-XP-and-Tapping-changes-coming-with-Rohan

Fellowship or Group- Not to be confused with "kinship or guild". This is a small group of people joined together to take part in a specific quest or for friends to group while they are playing. The goal of the typical MMO player is to find others who play at the same time as they do and who they enjoy playing with. Whether this is within a formal Kin or just happenstance it makes Fellowshipping a really fun part of of LOTRO. Learning how to play your character with others who are more experienced at the game gives you the confidence to enter into the harder parts of the game. Being in a fellowship gives you a special "fellowship" channel that allows you to voice chat or type chat in your own chat channel.

Voice Chat: LOTRO has a built in chat channel which activates when you have joined a group or raid. To activate your voice options you need to go into Options/Audio/Voice. Of course you will need speakers and a microphone. If you are new you will need to have a headset with a microphone, and you need to turn of any exterior speakers on your system. If you have never used it before it will take a bit of tweaking between your computer and the Audio options, and you'll need to have someone assist while you do it, so they can tell you what's working. When you are up and running and using voice though you will find that voice chat is really the only way to really enjoy grouping. Most fellowships do require voice chat to be activated, even if you don't have a microphone or want to use your voice, you can still hear the directions and comments during combat. ^{Here is a guide for PC gaming audio that has lots of information to help those who can't get their voice chat to work. It may or may not be over your head, but it's worth a look: http://www.head-fi.org/t/593050/the-...surround-sound}

Teamspeak, Ventrilo or other outside of game audio: By far this is the most popular form of communicating for kinships. It requires downloading of the specified software and setting it up on your computer. Most of these programs are well tested and your kin will help you do what you need to get it to work. Please be sure to ASK others how you sound, since a "hot mic" (so loud you can hear them breathing). Every's computer will at some time have to be readjusted. If more than one person tells you that you have a mic problem..it's not them its you. Considering how many hours of play you will invest in your gaming relationships you will want to make sure you are being considerate of others with your audio. Remember that they hear what you hear, this includes music or tv. When you talk into your mic, everyone hears it too. A bad mic has resulted many a player to be left out of groups or completely ignored. People can't stand the irritation of a bad microphone. Let everyone know that if they are having a problem with your audio to let you know.

PUF or PUG - "Pick Up Fellowship" or "Pick-up Group" used to describe a fellowship who does not normally play together and have grouped together for the first time. If someone is asking for people to join a fellowship in the LFF (looking for fellowship) chat channel, then it's probably going to be a PUG. PUGs are often looked down upon since you are playing roulette with who you are playing with. They can be awesome or they can be horribly uncoordinated nightmare. When you first start the game, unless you join a Kin right away you will mostly play in PUGs consisted mainly of other new players and a few experienced players starting an Alternate Character (known as an ALT). PUG's are how you learn the basics of combat until you find people to play with consistently. Of course, you can play the whole game solo if you prefer.

Typical Fellowshipping Roles

• Tank -Used to describe the Guardian/Champion in this game. It's also a generic term for the guy taking all the blows. These heavily armored (or buffed) characters have special traits which allow them to enter into play and take far more blows than anyone else. They are the characters in a fellowship who are expected to draw attention of your mob members as needed so that everyone else can live. There are many ways of tanking and just like any class, it's an ART not a science and requires using knowledge and experience to take on the really hard quests.
• Healer-Used both to describe the character who has the healing skills in your fellowship. Many classes have varying degrees of healing. However the Minstrel is the key healer and the Loremaster is the sometimes support staff for that healer and can also work to assist in small heals for less intense battle scenarios. Having a healer on a "assist" quest to keep an NPC alive makes it a breeze. They can heal the NPC while everyone else fights the bad guys for example.
• DPS - "Damage Per Second" relates to the role of a character in a fellowship, and also used to describe how much damage an individual weapon wields. The higher the "DPS" a weapon has the more damage it does overall. Certain classes are typically considered "DPS" classes such as Hunters, while other classes can customize themselves to play the DPS role in a fellowship.
• Nuker -Any character than can send high volume hits from far away. Depending on his skill and talent a nuker can be a key asset when playing in a grouping situation. They are slower in striking but take down tremendous blows when they hit.
• CC - Crowd Control can be both a the act of controlling crowds as well the role of an individual within a fellowship to do so

AFK- Away from Keyboard. If need to leave the game for a few minutes, type /AFK into the chat window and it will alert anyone who is trying to contact you that you are away. It will ALSO place the letters AFK above your head onto your name. To remove it, type /AFK again and it will tell you it's been removed. Don't forget to remove it when you come back. You will see lots of people who forget to remove the AFK from their names

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+++++ Combat Terminology ++++

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Aggro - The "aggression" of any other NPC character who wants to hurt you. Once you "draw aggro" you either have to fight them, run away, or have someone "pull aggro" by using a skill of some kind to get their attention. In a fellowship understanding aggro is a big deal.

Buff - Anything that enhances your character's abilities (mobs can and do have buffs too). These are usually short term, but may also be long term such as the Hunter's Stance that continues until stopped by you or you are incapacitated or log out. Short term buff might be a Battle Lore scroll for example (As a side note - although it isn't generally used in this way, any piece of armor, jewelry, or weapon that has a stat or ability increasing characteristic may be considered a buff) Of course there are also potions and food that give a variety of buffs.

De-Buff - Anything that removes buffs currently on a character or mob. Mobs can de-buff you and you can de-buff mobs. A de-buff on a mob is not necessarily one that will reduce his ability to harm you, it may also increase your ability to harm him such as an armor de-buff (again, this works both ways).

Ranged Damage - Damage from arrows, knives or spells from a distance. In the case of some NPC's it would be poop.

Melee Damage- Damage done within arms reach with swords, axes, fists, etc. Yes you can fist-fight in LOTRO.

or or Flash or Riddle - . There is also the ability to which prevents melee characters from getting to you your but ranged Mobs can still attack.

CC or Crowd Control - Used to describe a class type, a fellowship role, and an ability. As an ability it includes skills used of an individual alone or within a fellowship to manage the mobs. However you manage them it's known as CC. Usually used to keep them from attacking you all at once. As a class type you'll see players looking to fill out a fellowship and specifically ask for CC character.A good fellowship will ALL work together to use their various parts of crowd control to allow everyone to apply their energies on as few of the mobs as possible. The Loremaster is the probably the the most obvious CC class in LOTRO, but all classes have some degree of ability to control the crowd. If your fellowship doesn't discuss this before going into battle, watch what happens. Google "Leroy Jenkins" and watch the video if you have any questions.

INC: It happens from time to time when you run with a fellowship or whatnot. Not everyone may be at the same level or running in a single line. Sometimes someone gets within the aggro range of some mobs and they start chasing. People will type INC which is short for Incoming!! Just like with the military term it means the bad guys are heading your way.

Using the word Inc or INC notifies the fellowship that a mob is approaching and that action should be taken to sort it out. For example. If the fellowship have one tank who runs in the front and are belinging for a mob. The "inc" will tell them that they should stop, turn around and handle the incoming mob, before going for their intended target.

Skills - used to describe the abilities each character gets from their trainer. Every character has different abillities at different levels of the game. No two characters are exactly alike. You can 'roll' a two Guardians and each one will have different skills and abilities depending on virtues completed, legendary weapons, skills equiped etd.

Mez - The ability certain classes have to place a character into a "mezmerized" or "stunned" state. Sometimes they will stay "mezzed" for a long period of time . Completely shuts down the target (can't move, can't attack), long duration, breaks instantly on damage. Some skills prevent indirect AoE damage from affecting the target while mezzed.

Stun- Completely shuts down the target (can't move, can't attack), shorter duration, will not break on damage. Stuns only last a few seconds at most

Trap or Root - Prevents the target from moving (but not from turning in place), medium to long duration (every skill has specific durations) has a chance to break on damage. The rooted target can attack back as long as its target is within its attack range from where it is rooted. How easily a root can break on damage varies by game and root skill.

AOE or AoE - Area of Effect. This is a certain type of skill that has an "area" in which damage is done, rather than directly onto the target. Using these when others are using crowd control methods can create havoc in fellowships. If done at the right time and the right place though, they can save a fellowship. Each class has it's own AoE skills. It's important to know them and use them appropriately when grouping.

DoT or DOT - Damage over Time. All classes have skills that cause the damage to be spread out over time. Each skill varies such as to make it bleed profusely or other health draining activity over a designated period of time. These skills are of course best used in the beginning of an attack to allow for their full potential.

HoT or HOT- Heal over Time same as DoT except with Heals.

InstaCast- Any skill that has no induction timer to use. Once you press the button if it's ready to go, it fires off immediately.

Pulling - The act of getting the attention of specific Mob(s) and bringing him back to the waiting group for a beat down.

~~Types of Pulling:

• Body Pulls - Getting into the aggro range of a creature without using some type of attack. Usually involves getting close and backing up quickly until the mobs notice you.
• Ranged Pulls - Using any type of ranged attack. Shouts, bows and Lore master spells.
• Mezz or Stun Pulls - Using a skill that induces a Mezz/Stun/Flash on one target in a group so it's completely out of the start of a fight, letting his friends come to play. Nice in that it usually eliminates the AOE problems with waking up mezzed mobs. When you attack certain mobs, it pulls all the mobs nearest to them. For example, using a mez on the strongest Mob in a group allows you to kill the lower ones first and then focus everything on the bigger one after they are done.

Specific to LOTRO:

Freeps - Free Peoples in the PVP areas. All player classes are considered Freeps, we're the ones fighting against Sauron's forces.

Creeps- Monster Players in the PVP areas - Monster Players. Player controlled enemies in the PVP areas. All players once they reach level 10 can go into the Monster Play and create characters. It can be a fun distraction a Monster cracter.

[Someday]

DPS - yes, Damage Per Second

AoE - Area of Effect

[somewhiteguy951]

Nuker and DPS are similar in meaning and can be used interchangably. AoE is Area of Effect of a skill. You have the basics down pretty well, the stuff gets harder to understand if you run into younger gamers.

Young gamers have more experience with IM chat and thus shorthand more. Though us old guys who play a lot of MMOs are catching up.

[Slave_to_the_Wheek]

DPS - yes, Damage Per Second

AoE - Area of Effect

Can you help me understand how AOE works and what it means? I understand certain spells or skills can break mez and I don't understand how to tell which ones do this. How do you know if something has AoE for example?

[andrewj2000]

AoE, or Area of Effect means just that. This is most commonly seen in attacks. Basically, one attack does damage to a group of mobs that are in the same close proximity. Example of this is the hunter has an AoE attack where he shoots arrows into the air and it causes damage to all the mobs in the near area to the one he/she targets. This is also seen in minstels healing in groups. AoE is not limited to attacks but healing as well. Hopefully that clears things up a bit.

[Adder]

Can you help me understand how AOE works and what it means? I understand certain spells or skills can break mez and I don't understand how to tell which ones do this. How do you know if something has AoE for example?

AOE means that the weapon/skill/tune has an effect on all creatures within a specific area as apposed to one that affects only one creature at a time. If the skill you want to use affects all mobs in front of you up to 40m for instance and a mezzed mob is within that area, your skill will break that mezz. On the otherhand, if the skill you use has its effect only on the mob you have targetted, it will not break the a mez even if the mezzed mob is standing right beside your targetted mob.

[Braack]

Can you help me understand how AOE works and what it means? I understand certain spells or skills can break mez and I don't understand how to tell which ones do this. How do you know if something has AoE for example?

Mezz breaks on damage usually, and is often a point of frustration with Mezzers =)

Mor example: 3 mobs rush the group - me, a burglar, riddles one (effectively taking it out of battle) so the group only has 2 "mobs" to contend with. Someone in the group attacks the Riddled mob, breaking the riddle, and now the group has to contend with three bad guys instead of 2, making it hard on everyone =)

AOE has long been an issue with this- if the riddled/mezzed mob is close to where the group is fighting, and an AOE is cast sometimes the mob is damaged by accident, breaking the mezz and adding another enemy to contend with. Hence, always be really careful using AOE spells when there is crowd control.

Should tell you in the tooltip if the ability/spell damages more than one mob. For meelee, it will say something like "damages all enemies in front of the guardian/champion", etc.

[Slave_to_the_Wheek]

Wow. I never realized the the arrows would hit ALL the mobs in the area. It's funny how you miss something so simple but there's just so much to learn about. I've located the lorebood reference that has a good listing of the various AoE skills available to different classes. This might help even further.

http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Speci...ulltext=Search

Now it makes sense that AoE skills or spells shouldn't be used when mezzing mobs side by side. Now I know why we look like fools.

Every skill or spell has a different AoE and you should know which ones are single and multiple? Or...is it that AoE ONLY applies to one who cast on multiple mobs?

That's one thing that I had never realized was part of the mastery.

[Xehirut]

Great list Wheek.

[azreila]

THANK YOU for pointing out the fact that there really ARE some true newbies out there and not everyone came from WoW!!!

It cracks me up when someone asks me for help by referencing their questions around other games (usually wow) cause I have no clue how those games work

And I was just reading another forum post where someone said, "You would think these people never played a MMORPG before!" while discussing their dismay of other players.

There is definitely a bigger learning curve for those of us who dont normally subscribe to these types of games. Luckily for me, I generally have one of those "hardcore gamers" in the same room as me so I can just shout over, "What's DPS!?"

[Slave_to_the_Wheek]

Luckily for me, I generally have one of those "hardcore gamers" in the same room as me so I can just shout over, "What's DPS!?"

uh yah. I got one of those. Let's just say that this his explanations are often the type we see here. A sort of "well duh..what do you think it means" approach to education.

[Adder]

Wow. I never realized the the arrows would hit ALL the mobs in the area. It's funny how you miss something so simple but there's just so much to learn about. I've located the lorebood reference that has a good listing of the various AoE skills available to different classes. This might help even further.

http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Speci...ulltext=Search

Now it makes sense that AoE skills or spells shouldn't be used when mezzing mobs side by side. Now I know why we look like fools.

Every skill or spell has a different AoE and you should know which ones are single and multiple? Or...is it that AoE ONLY applies to one who cast on multiple mobs?

That's one thing that I had never realized was part of the mastery.

Not every skill or spell is/has an AOE. The term AOE refers only to those that affect more than one creature. That being said though, each skill or spell that is an AOE type has its own parameters as to how many it will affect, its range &/or direction, whether it is an all-at-once damage/benefit or DoT (Damage over Time), etc.

[PainDivine]

Why turbine decided to change terminology (Like Fellowship instead of group) is beyond me. It confuses the **** out of everyone new that comes to the game. And don't tell me it's for lores sake... cause we all know we don't speak elven, yet we can understand the elves. Obviously there's some translation involved here.

[Slave_to_the_Wheek]

Not every skill or spell is/has an AOE. The term AOE refers only to those that affect more than one creature. That being said though, each skill or spell that is an AOE type has its own parameters as to how many it will affect, its range &/or direction, whether it is an all-at-once damage/benefit or DoT (Damage over Time), etc.

Thanks! That makes more sense of course. Since if it's only hitting the target it's not going to have an Area to Effect. doh!

I've just updated the op with this definition and added DoT as well.

Now... anyone care to approve my take on what makes a Buff and a De-Buff? I've been confligerating (technical term) that Buffs are something that is very short term and temporary. Such as certain foods, scrolls, or destiny points that will enhance your character, while a De-Buff will reduce your enemy's ability to harm you.

Is that correct?

[Adder]

Thanks! That makes more sense of course. Since if it's only hitting the target it's not going to have an Area to Effect. doh!

I've just updated the op with this definition and added DoT as well.

Now... anyone care to approve my take on what makes a Buff and a De-Buff? I've been confligerating (technical term) that Buffs are something that is very short term and temporary. Such as certain foods, scrolls, or destiny points that will enhance your character, while a De-Buff will reduce your enemy's ability to harm you.

Is that correct?

A Buff is anything that enhances your character's abilities (mobs can and do have buffs too). These are usually short term, but may also be long term such as the Hunter's Stance that continues until stopped by you or you are incapacitated or log out. (As a side note - although it isn't generally used in this way, technically any piece of armour, jewelry, or weapon that has a stat or ability increasing characteristic is a Buff!)

A De-Buff is anything that removes Buffs currently on a character or mob. Mobs can de-buff you and you can de-buff mobs. A de-buff on a mob is not necessarily one that will reduce his ability to harm you, it may also increase your ability to harm him such as an armour de-buff (again, this works both ways).

[NinetyNine]

Please include "Trump card to negate any suggestion you don't agree with" under Lore.

Thanks in advance.

[Fraktyl]

Great post Slave! It is hard for long time MMO players to realize not everyone has had our addiction for as long as we have. You'll also find that most of the oldtimers don't have a problem explaining things. I remember the first week answering the "What's OOC mean?" question quite often.

That said, a couple additions to your list:

CC - Both a class type and an ability. Sometimes you'll see people looking to fill out a fellowship and specifically ask for CC.

Pulling - The act of getting the attention of some creature and bringing him back to the waiting group for a beat down.

Types of Pulling:

• Body Pulls - Getting into the aggro range of a creature without using some type of attack. Usually involves getting close and backing up quickly until the mobs notice you.
• Ranged Pulls - Using any type of ranged attack. Shouts, bows and Lore master spells.
• Mezz Pulling - Using a skill that induces a Mezz on one target in a group so it's completely out of the start of a fight, letting his friends come to play. Nice in that it usually eliminates the AOE problems with waking up mezzed mobs.

InstaCast - Any skill that has no induction timer to use. Once you press the button if it's ready to go, it fires off immediately.


Specific to LOTRO:
Freeps - Free Peoples. All player classes are considered Freeps, we're the ones fighting against Saurons forces

Creeps - Monster Players. Player controlled enemies in the Entemoors. All players once they reach level 10 can start a Monster character.

[marika9]

Thanks for the list. I was going to ask if something like this existed but at that point after reading a lot in the forums i pretty much had figured everything out.
I also liked a forum member that was having such a confusing time with the game - but then mentioned having gone to endgame in eq or wow. Exchanging fellowship for group is not as big a deal as figuring out aggro, tank, pulling etc when you haven't played these games before.

[RunetheDwarf]

Here's a term I see missing from the list.

HoT

Heal over Time.... A heal that takes time to reach it's full potential. Most foods and some spells have this effect.

[Etymonia_Blindshot]

Since i've only been playing a Hunter, i'm not sure if this applies to this game or not but, dont forget PBAoE in regards to AoE's. AoE means area of effect doing damage of the target, PBAoE is point-blank area of effect, meaning does AoE damage in the general vacinity of the caster instead of the target.

[Slave_to_the_Wheek]

I've finally read my e-mail since the servers were down today and have updated the OP with everyone's comments. Except the PBoE because I don't understand it enough from the brief description. If anyone cares to elaborate that would be greatly appreciated.

[Hijynx]

Suggestion: The term "Elite" is often thrown around to describe a non-normal mob. However, they may be a Signature, Elite, Elite-Master, Nemesis, or Arch-Nemesis mob. The color in which their name is displayed has nothing to do with their difficulty rating. It is based on their level relative to yours.

Reference: http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Creatures

[Yula_the_Mighty]

Why turbine decided to change terminology (Like Fellowship instead of group) is beyond me. It confuses the **** out of everyone new that comes to the game. And don't tell me it's for lores sake... cause we all know we don't speak elven, yet we can understand the elves. Obviously there's some translation involved here.

It really is lore. It was done to stay true to the books Tolkien wrote. He used fellowship - Fellowship of the Rings. It was not the Group of the Rings.

[Doronlas]

Suggestion: The color in which their name is displayed has nothing to do with their difficulty rating. It is based on their level relative to yours.

Reference: http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Creatures

Very true and good point!

[Elessar2007]

Here's a few other commonly seen abreviations/definitions:

AH = Auction House, place to buy equipment or sell gear, crafted items or loot you don't need.

BoE = Bind on Equip. Once you use the item once (equip it) it is now bound to you and no other Freep can use it, however you can still sell it at an NPC vendor.

NPC = non player character

BoA = Bind on Aquire. Once you receive (acquire) the item it is now bound to you and no other Freep can use it, however you can still sell it at an NPC vendor.