Ever feel lost in translation while watching a League of Legends stream or discussing strategies with your team? Mastering league of legends terminology is crucial for communicating effectively and understanding the game's nuances. From deciphering cryptic callouts to recognizing advanced strategic maneuvers, this guide will equip you with the linguistic toolkit you need to level up your understanding of LoL.
At a glance:
- Decode common acronyms and in-game slang used by players.
- Understand the specific terms associated with champion roles and actions.
- Grasp the terminology related to in-game mechanics, strategies, and objectives.
- Learn how to use terminology to improve communication and coordination in your games.
- Identify and avoid common pitfalls in understanding LoL terminology.
Deciphering the Language of Summoner's Rift: Key Categories
The world of League of Legends has evolved its own distinct dialect. To make sense of it all, it's helpful to categorize common terms based on game elements. Here's a breakdown of the main categories and some essential vocabulary for each:
General Gameplay & Objectives: Beyond the Basics
These terms deal with the overarching goals and actions within a match. You probably know "push" and "siege," but what about "cross-map" or "backdoor"?
- Ace: Achieving an Ace means your team has eliminated all five enemy champions simultaneously. This usually creates a large window of opportunity to secure objectives.
- Base: Your team's home – a safe zone with your shop, Nexus, and defensive structures. Understanding where your base is (and where the enemy's is!) is critical for navigating the map.
- Push: Aggressively advancing your minion wave towards the enemy turret. Knowing when to push (and when not to) is a key aspect of lane control.
- Siege/Sieging: The act of applying pressure to enemy turrets after successfully pushing a minion wave. Effective sieging requires coordination and often involves poking down the turret's health before committing to a full assault.
- Backdoor (BD): A risky strategy where someone sneaks around the main fight to attack the enemy Nexus while the enemy team is distracted.
- Cross-map: Capitalizing on an opportunity to take an objective on the opposite side of the map from where the enemy team is focused. For example, taking Dragon while the enemy is pushing your top lane.
Example: "They aced us! Push mid and take the turret!" or "They're sieging our bot turret, we need to defend!"
Champion Roles & Actions: Defining Your Purpose
Each champion fits into specific roles and has unique abilities. Understanding these roles and their associated terminology is vital for team composition and strategic play.
- Carry: Champions that are designed to become powerful by acquiring gold and experience and dealing significant damage. Carries need protection in the early-mid game to "scale" into a late-game threat.
- ADC (Attack Damage Carry): Typically a marksman (ranged AD damage dealer) who focuses on dealing consistent physical damage in the late game.
- APC (Ability Power Carry): Champions that are the main source of magic damage. Often mid laners.
- Tank: Champions built to absorb large amounts of damage and protect their teammates.
- Assassin: Champions that excel at quickly eliminating high-priority targets, such as carries.
- Duelist: Champions who thrive in one-on-one combat. They can split push effectively or pressure enemy carries in skirmishes.
- Support: Champions designed to protect their ADC, provide vision, and enable their team.
- Jungler: Champions who focus on farming and ganking lanes from the jungle, securing neutral objectives, and providing vision control.
Example: "Our ADC is fed; we need to peel for them in team fights." or "I'm playing a tank; I'll engage the fight."
Champion Attributes & Gameplay: Stats and Skills
These terms describe a champion's abilities, stats, and how they interact with the game world.
- AD (Attack Damage): A stat that increases the damage of basic attacks and some abilities.
- AP (Ability Power): A stat that increases the damage and effectiveness of abilities.
- AS (Attack Speed): A stat that determines how quickly a champion performs basic attacks.
- HP (Health Points): The amount of damage a champion can take before being defeated.
- CC (Crowd Control): Effects that limit a champion's movement or actions (e.g., stuns, slows, roots, silences).
- CD (Cooldown): The waiting time before an ability can be used again.
- Engage: Successfully initiating a fight on your terms.
- Disengage: Successfully retreating from a fight.
- All-in: Committing all available resources (abilities, summoner spells) to a fight.
- Gank: An ambush by a jungler or other laner to surprise and eliminate an enemy.
- Dive: Pursuing an enemy under their turret, a risky move that requires careful planning.
- Peel: Protecting an ally, usually a carry, from enemy threats.
- Kite: Attacking while moving away from the enemy, maintaining distance.
- Harass: Attacking an enemy while they are preoccupied, often to lower their health or force them out of lane.
- Poke: Attacking from a safe distance, usually with long-range abilities, to chip away at the enemy's health.
- Burst: Dealing a high amount of damage in a short amount of time.
- Execute: An ability designed to deal increased damage to low-health targets, securing a kill.
Example: "He has too much CC; I can't move!" or "I'm going to gank bot lane at level 6."
In-Game Mechanics & Strategies: Playing the Map
This category focuses on the strategic elements of the game beyond individual champion abilities.
- Buff: A positive effect. A temporary bonus applied to a champion or a permanent change making something more powerful. Specific buffs exist, like Blue Buff (mana/energy regeneration) and Red Buff (health regeneration and slowing attacks).
- Debuff: A negative effect that hinders a champion's abilities.
- DoT (Damage over Time): Damage dealt over a period instead of all at once.
- AoE (Area of Effect): An ability that affects multiple targets within a specific area.
- True Damage: Damage that bypasses armor and magic resistance.
- Skillshot: An ability that requires precise aiming to hit the target.
- Auto Attack (AA): A champion's basic attack.
- Last-hit/Farm: Securing the killing blow on a minion or monster to earn gold and experience. (CS, or Creep Score is the metric).
- Freeze: A lane manipulation tactic to maintain the minion wave near your tower, denying the enemy farm and experience.
- Wave management: Manipulating the minion waves to create advantageous situations, such as setting up a gank or denying the enemy farm.
- Split push: Pushing a side lane while the rest of the team applies pressure elsewhere on the map.
- Counter jungle: Invading the enemy jungle to steal their camps and deny them resources.
- Invade: Entering the enemy jungle early in the game, often to steal buffs or disrupt their jungler's pathing.
- Bait: Luring the enemy into a trap by feigning weakness or overextending.
- Cheesing: Using an unconventional or unexpected strategy to gain an advantage.
- Kiting: Attacking while gradually retreating to maintain distance.
- Cross-map Play: Making plays on the opposite side of the map.
- Face check: Walking into a brush without vision, a dangerous move that can result in being ambushed.
- Camp: Repeatedly ganking the same enemy laner in a short period.
- Deep Ward: A ward placed deep within the enemy's territory to gain valuable information.
Example: "Let's freeze the lane to deny their ADC farm." or "We need to counter jungle their blue buff."
Communication & Player Behavior: Beyond the Game
These terms relate to how players interact and communicate with each other.
- AFK (Away From Keyboard): A player who is not actively controlling their champion.
- BM (Bad Manners): Actions intended to taunt or disrespect the enemy team.
- Feed: Repeatedly dying to the enemy team, giving them gold and experience.
- FF (Forfeit): Surrendering the game.
- GG (Good Game): A common expression of sportsmanship said at the end of a match.
Example: "Our mid laner is AFK; we might have to FF." or "Stop BMing; just focus on winning."
Items and Builds: The Path To Victory
The set of items a player buys during the game.
- Build: The specific items a player chooses to buy for their champion during a game. Builds are often tailored to the champion, the player's playstyle, and the enemy team composition.
Example: "This build is great against tanks."
Miscellaneous Terms: The Catch-All
These terms cover a wide range of concepts not easily categorized above.
- Elo: A mathematical rating system used to represent a player's skill level (less relevant with the current ranking system, but the term persists).
- Meta: The current most effective strategies, champion picks, and item builds. It evolves as the game is updated.
- Fog of War (FoW): The obscured areas of the map outside of allied vision.
- Ping: A visual signal used for communication, such as marking locations or warning teammates.
- FPS (Frames Per Second): A measure of how smoothly the game is running on your computer.
- ARAM (All Random All Mid): A game mode played on a single lane (Howling Abyss) with randomly assigned champions.
- OP (Overpowered): Something considered too strong relative to other options.
- Broken: Something with a grossly imbalanced or malfunctioning interaction.
- TP (Teleport): Refers to Teleport Summoner Spell.
- VOD (Video on Demand): A recorded game that can be watched later for review or entertainment.
Example: "That champion is OP; they need to be nerfed." or "Check the VOD to see what we did wrong in that team fight."
To further cement your knowledge, you can check out Learn LoL terms for an even broader overview of common phrases.
Putting It All Together: A Practical Playbook
So, you've absorbed a mountain of league of legends terminology. Now, how do you apply it effectively? Here are actionable steps:
- Active Listening & Reading: Pay close attention to the language used by experienced players, streamers, and analysts. Read patch notes and strategy guides to stay updated on the meta.
- Practice in-Game Communication: Use the terminology you've learned to communicate with your team during matches. Call out enemy positions ("mia mid"), suggest strategies ("let's siege bot"), and coordinate ganks ("ganking top in 30").
- Review Your Replays: Watch your replays and analyze the language used by yourself and your teammates. Identify areas where communication could have been improved.
- Don't Be Afraid to Ask: If you encounter a term you don't understand, don't hesitate to ask a teammate or look it up online.
- Context Is Key: Remember that the meaning of some terms can vary depending on the context of the game. Pay attention to the overall situation and use your best judgment.
Here’s a snippet of team communication you might see:
"JG (jungler) pathing bot side, mid prio for drake (dragon), top TP (teleport) advantage"
This snippet communicates the jungler's current location, the mid-laner's responsibility to help with Dragon control, and that the top laner has the Teleport summoner spell available.
Quick Answers: Addressing Common Questions
Let's tackle some frequently asked questions and common misconceptions surrounding LoL terminology:
Q: Is it okay to use slang and abbreviations in ranked games?
A: Yes, but use them judiciously. Clear and concise communication is always preferred, especially in high-pressure situations. Avoid using overly obscure slang that your teammates may not understand.
Q: Does the meaning of terminology change over time?
A: Absolutely. The meta evolves constantly, and new terms and strategies emerge regularly. Stay updated by following the LoL community and reading patch notes.
Q: What's the best way to learn new terminology?
A: Immersion is key. Watch streams, read guides, and actively participate in the LoL community. Don't be afraid to ask questions and experiment in-game.
Q: Is it toxic to correct someone's terminology in-game?
A: It depends on how you do it. If you're polite and constructive, it can be helpful. However, avoid being condescending or argumentative. Focus on clear communication rather than correcting grammar or vocabulary.
Level Up Your Game: Putting Knowledge Into Action
Mastering league of legends terminology is an ongoing process. By actively learning, practicing, and adapting, you can significantly improve your communication, coordination, and overall gameplay. So, dive in, embrace the lingo, and watch your understanding of LoL soar!