FYI: COH TLA FAQ CFA

[DoctorDitko]

It was pointed out that we use a lot of abbreviations, initialisms, and acronyms in this game.

 

This can be confusing to new players.

 

Please help me assemble a list, which I intend to turn into a guide for the unlettered.

e.g.:

SL, S/L:  Smashing/Lethal damage or resistance depending on context.

 

Or if one exists, curse my Duck-Duck-Go-fu and kindly point me there...

 

Thanks!

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by DoctorDitko

[Troo]

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Category:Definition

[ArchVileTerror]

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/SC

 

So Classic.

(Also:  Sector C!)

[Techwright]

Might as well start with some of the first things they see in chatter upon arriving in Atlas:

 

TO = training-origin enhancements

DO = dual-origin enhancements

SO = single-origin enhancements

IO = invention-origin enhancements

HO = Hamidon-origin enhancements, aka "Hami-O" 

 

DFB = "Death From Below", an instanced "dungeon" for beginning players with faster than normal experience gains.

DIB = "Drowning In Blood", a mid-teen level instanced "dungeon".

Posi-1 & Posi-2 = The two halves of the Positron Task Force

Yin = the Penelope Yin Task Force

BM = "Black Market", the auction house for villain-side play

 

"blue", "blue side" = the hero city, Paragon City, and progression system

"red", "red side" = the villain city, the Rogue Islands, and related progression system

"gold", "gold side" = the Praetorian (parallel universe) city, and related progression system

"purple" = sometimes used to describe zones or events that mix both hero and villain characters for a common goal.

 

"Inf" = the game's main currency.  Though there's only one currency, sides apply different names to it:  "Influence" (blue side), "Infamy" (red side), or "Information" (gold side)

 

"START" / "P2W" = a special vendor marketing both free and inf-currency purchased goods.  Some of these are vanity items, while others have some very important benefits. Timed-usage jetpacks are sold here. 

UPDATE: "P2W" has been changed by name in Homecoming to "S.T.A.R.T.", but they remain the same vendors. The old P2W term is still sometimes used.

"badger" = someone focused on collecting as many badges as they can.

 

"NPC" = non-playable character.  A server controlled character.  (Stated just in case we get a true rookie player)

"GM" = Giant Monster (usually the toughest enemy to fight) or Game Manager, a person guiding the game.  Context will decide which GM (though some would argue they can be one and the same.)

"AV" = arch-villain, the toughest enemies to face except for Giant Monsters.

"EB" = elite-boss. A step down from AV

"SoA" = Soldier(s) of Arachnos - aka "huntsmen" or "crab soldiers" - a playable archetype like tanks or blasters.  SoA were considered elite selections back in the day, and can still be challenging to play/build well, so maybe not the first choice for new players.

 

"TF" = a task force.  A bit like a blue side story-arc "dungeon".  Task forces designate a specific team of up to 8 characters for a series of missions, usually with some length to them.  Once the TF start, no other character can join or be swapped into, so if one leaves or drops, the remaining team must carry on without them.  Due to the length, a player should consider the time commitment before joining so as not to cripple the rest of the team if they must leave early.

"SF" = a strike force, the red side version of a task force

"door mish" = an instanced mission one enters via a marked door

"radio mish" = blue-side missions select from a police-band radio.  You'll need to find your police contact in each zone to activate this feature per zone.

     Note: there is an NPC contact on red side known as "the Radio" that issues missions.  There's no relation, though it might be confusing if a newcomer sees this in chat.

"newspaper" or "paper" = red-side mission version of the blue-side radio missions.  You'll need to find your villain contact to activate this feature per zone.

"tip" = a mission that comes to you via random drop.  These alter or reinforce your morality rankings.

 

"COT" = the Circle of Thorns NPC villain group

"Vahz" or "Vaz" = the Vahzilok NPC villain group, or possibly a reference to their top dog, the arch-villain, Dr. Vazhilok.

"BP" = the Banished Pantheon NPC villain group

"Hami" = The Hamidon, or possibly its alternate-universe counterparts.  The Hamidon is one of the top villains/Giant Monsters in the game.  "Hami" might also references forces under the Hamidon's control.

"Skuls" = the Skulls, a low to mid level NPC villain group.  The use of the misspelling references a whimsical moment in the original game where a player typed "Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls."  The comment has since become a catchphrase throughout the game.

"LB" = Longbow, an NPC hero group with a penchant for sticking their collective noses and egos where they don't belong, annoying not only villains but occasionally heroes as well.  Ms Liberty is their leader.

"Ada" or "Adam" = nicknames given to Adamastor the Giant Monster found within the zone Echo Dark Astoria.  Adamastor is a popular opponent visited 1 hour after his last summons.

"Pal" or "Pally" = occasional nicknames for The Paladin, a giant monster robot found in Kings Row.

"BaBs" or "BAB" = the Back Alley Brawler, a signature character and player trainer found throughout the game, notably in the southwest end of Atlas Park, and within Fort Trident.  Not to be confused with nicknames sometimes used for Babbage, the giant monster robot.

"Babs" (note the lower case usage) = occasional nickname given to Babbage, a giant monster robot appearing in the Boomtown zone, and on the streets towards the end of the Synapse Task Force.  This latter version will appear anywhere the task force team leader exits from a former mission, but almost always this occurs in the Skyway zone.  Task Force teams frequently call for aid on the Looking for Group channel.   Not to be confused with nicknames for the Back Alley Brawler.

 

"PP" = Perez Park, one of the earliest hero-side hazard zones in the game.

"RWZ" = The Rikti War Zone.  This is a walled-off war zone where a crashed mothership belonging to the alien Rikti is wedged like a thorn in the side of Paragon City and continues to provide a constant threat of Rikti troops. As the Rikti prove a threat to the entire planet, they necessitate a combined response of heroes and villains under the banner of the Vanguard organization to protect the entire planet.  Access to the zone is only by Vanguard bases with portals which connect to a central Vanguard base within the RWZ.

"SC" or "Steel" = Steel Canyon, an early mid-levels zone on the hero side.  NOTE: Confusingly, SC may also reference Skyway City, which is an equal level zone to Steel Canyon, however SC is far more often used for Steel Canyon.

"Sky" = Skyway City, an early mid-levels zone on the heroes side.

"Bricks" = Brickstown, a later mid-level zone on the hero side.  Brickstown is home to the "Zig".

"Zig" = nickname for The Ziggurat, a pyramidal brick prison.  The Zig is one of the possible tutorial zones for new villain character through the "Breakout" story line.

"Boom" = Boomtown, or its older name of Baumtown.  one of the mid-level hazard zones on hero side.

"PI" = Peregrine Island, an endgame zone on hero side. 

"AE" = Architect Entertainment, a.k.a. the Mission Architect system.  Found in specific buildings throughout the game, this is the system for player-created content, both uniquely designed stories and missions as well as "farming" missions for rapid security/threat level advancement or currency gains.

"IP" = Independence Port, a mid-level zone on the heroes side. 

"TI" = Talos Island, a mid-level zone on the heroes side.  In rare cases, TI may reference the island itself, and not the full zone which include a bay, other islands, and corners of the mainland.

"TV" = Terra Volta, a mid-level zone on the heroes side.  TV contains the nuclear power plant for Paragon City and is therefore a frequent target for ne're-do-wells.  TV is unusual in that it is a zone entirely contained within a larger zone, Independence Port.

"DA" = Dark Astoria, an endgame zone for both heroes and villains.  Not to be confused with Echo Dark Astoria, which is a preserved previous interpretation of the zone, currently only accessible by portal from the back of the Oroboros zone.  Echo Dark Astoria is access practically every hour by those wishing to fight the Giant Monster Adamastor.

"KR" = Kings Row, a low-level zone on the heroes side.  Home to the occasional giant monster Paladin.

"CF" = Crey's Folly, a high mid-level hazard zone on the heroes side.

"FF" = Founders' Falls, a mid-level zone on the heroes side

"Striga" or "SI" = Striga Island, a mid-level zone only accessible by smuggler's boat or through designated base portals.  "SI" is very rarely used due to easily being confused with villains's side zone Sharkhead Island.  Striga Island in the original game was a heroes-only zone, however Homecoming has recently made it accessible to both heroes and villains. 

"Shark" or "SI" = Sharkhead Island, a mid-level zone on the villain's side

"Cap" or "CAD" = Cap Au Diablo, a mid-level zone on the villains' side.  "CAD" is rarely used.

"Mercy" or "MI" = Mercy Island the starting zone for villains' side.

"PO" or "Oakes" = Port Oakes, a low-level zone on villains' side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18 by Techwright
Greatly added/updated terminology

[Parabola]

One that i see queried in game quite a bit:

 

Pst: please send tell. When recruiting for a team/task force/league activity people often use this. They are requesting that you click on their name and select 'send message' if you would like to join rather than replying in a global channel.

[Clave Dark 5]

PROC would be a good one to include, probably.  I can't even tell you where the term comes from, but I can tell you what it means... ish.

[Lines]

3 minutes ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

PROC would be a good one to include, probably.  I can't even tell you where the term comes from, but I can tell you what it means... ish.

Procedure, no?

 

(Just googled, Programmed Random Occurrence, apparently. That makes less sense than procedure to me.)

[Clave Dark 5]

Nothing makes sense unless you know where it came from.  😃

[ArchVileTerror]

The big one:

 

Mob

 

Some players use this to refer to a single enemy, dating back to the use of the term as "Mobile Object" from some ancient game of yesteryore.

 

BUT

In City of Heroes, Mob often refers to a collective group of enemies who share roughly the same spawn location and targeting data.

Players who call a single enemy "a mob" usually refer to a mob as "a spawn" . . . even though spawn itself is a term used when something "pops into existence" in a game world.  Such as respawning being the process of a defeated game entity (usually the player-character) coming back at full health in a location other than the one they were defeated (such as in the Arena mode of this game).

 

It's helpful to know both uses of these words.

[MTeague]

2 hours ago, ArchVileTerror said:

The big one:

 

Mob

 

Some players use this to refer to a single enemy, dating back to the use of the term as "Mobile Object" from some ancient game of yesteryore.

 

BUT

In City of Heroes, Mob often refers to a collective group of enemies who share roughly the same spawn location and targeting data.

Players who call a single enemy "a mob" usually refer to a mob as "a spawn" . . . even though spawn itself is a term used when something "pops into existence" in a game world.  Such as respawning being the process of a defeated game entity (usually the player-character) coming back at full health in a location other than the one they were defeated (such as in the Arena mode of this game).

 

It's helpful to know both uses of these words.

And if you're dealing with the Family, you can have "a mob of mob mobs"  😄

[Rathulfr]

2 minutes ago, MTeague said:

And if you're dealing with the Family, you can have "a mob of mob mobs"  😄

And if you're running a team of characters with a mafioso theme, you're a "a mob of mobsters mobbing mobs of mobsters".

[EmmySky]

I have been running my D3 lately and people ask what is D3? 

 

Dark/dark/dark defender.

 

Just to be contrary I gave her ion judgement 😀

[Rathulfr]

4 hours ago, EmmySky said:

I have been running my D3 lately and people ask what is D3? 

 

Dark/dark/dark defender.

 

Just to be contrary I gave her ion judgement 😀

 

I like saying that I play an E² Blaster.  E-squared = Energy/Energy.  (Press Alt+253 on the numeric keypad for the ² char.)

 

[Techwright]

forgot to add "WW" for Wentworth's, the blue-side auction house, though I rarely see this used anymore.  It's more likely to just be called the "AH".  

also "WW":  War Witch, the trainer at the center of Croatoa, but also represented in the Pocket-D zone.

                    War Walls (rare), the massive glowing forcefield-on-top-of-concrete walls that frame most city zones.

 

And...

 

"+2", "+4",  etc.  when in context with recruiting a team refers to the adjustable difficulty settings the leader has set for the mission or task force.

MSR = Mother Ship Raid = mid- and upper-level league raid taking place in the Ritki War Zone.

"RWZ" = the Ritki War Zone

"AP" = Atlas Park, the first major zone of the game.

"KR" = Kings Row zone. Often the first zone new characters venture to after Atlas Park.

"team" = 2 to 8 players 

"league" = a collection of teams

"sg" = a Supergroup, this game's version of a guild

"star" = leadership of a team (based on its icon)

"Icon" = blue-side tailor shop chain

 

 

[Chance Jackson]

7 hours ago, EmmySky said:

I have been running my D3 lately and people ask what is D3? 

 

Dark/dark/dark defender.

 

Just to be contrary I gave her ion judgement 😀

The classic D3 was prior to Apps so yours is a D4

[golstat2003]

13 hours ago, EmmySky said:

I have been running my D3 lately and people ask what is D3? 

 

Dark/dark/dark defender.

 

Just to be contrary I gave her ion judgement 😀

Or Dark Dark Dark Corrupter.

[DoctorDitko]

Quote

"GM" = Giant Monster (usually the toughest enemy to fight) or Game Manager, a person guiding the game.  Context will decide which GM (though some would argue they can be one and the same.)

IIRC, they can be. I seem to remember some very funny Halloween parties with possibly some chemicals involved.

 

[Techwright]

Suggested by a comment from forumite "Janet" in another thread:

 

"PST", at least as I use it, is "Please Send Tell".  It's a request usually made by someone building a team or league who would like a private message response to a public announcement.  That way, they're far less likely to miss someone's request to team up.  If you're a new player, just click on the person's character name in the text line (not right-click as that's a different menu), and select to respond, then type and send your message.

 

"LFM", is "Looking For More"  and is also used in team & league recruitment announcements.  Sometimes you'll see a number needed with it, like "LF2M"