Guild Wars Glossary of Terms

This is the Guild Wars Dictionary. It is designed to help people who want to browse through the various sayings, words, phrases, and abbreviations commonly used in Guild Wars. You may also want to see the Glossary category for a complete list (but requires an extra click to get to the definition).

If there is a specific term you are looking for, just type the term in the search box to directly to go the article.

Numeric

 * 1: Commonly used in party chat to indicate readiness.
 * 1.5k armor: Refers to armor that usually costs 1500 gold to craft that has the best possible stats.
 * 12v12: 12 vs. 12 player-vs.-player Alliance Battles in Factions.
 * 15k armor: Refers to Ascended Armor and Obsidian armor that usually costs 15 platinum to craft each piece.
 * 15^50: A weapon with a perfect "Strength and Honor" inscription, that deals 15% more damage when Health is above 50%.
 * 55: Refers to the Invincible Monk build, which is unique in that the monk has only 55 HP at level 20.

A

 * AB: Alliance Battles, a form of pvp event available to Factions accounts featuring 12 vs 12 combat.
 * AC: Ascalon City.
 * AL: Armor Rating, The amount of armor a piece of armor provides. For example an Elementalist's max AL is 60 while a Warrior's is 80 and so the Warrior will take much less damage.
 * Account: The account you use to connect to Guild Wars.
 * Active prot: A monk that uses Protection Prayers but not maintained enchantments.
 * Adept (NPC): NPCs involved with the Oracle of the Mists in Factions.
 * Adept (Staff): Staff upgrade.
 * Adjacent: Skill range that requires you to be right next to your target.
 * Aeromancer: Elementalist dedicated to Air Magic.
 * Aftercast delay: The time after using a skill in which your character cannot move or use skills.
 * Aggro: When monsters switch from passive to aggresive. Can be used as a noun or a verb.
 * Aggro circle: See Danger Zone.
 * AI: Short for "artificial intelligence." Generally refers to the actions of henchmen and monsters.
 * Alliance: 2-10 Guilds joining together to increase the amount of players or for other reasons.
 * Alliance Faction: The amount of Kurzick or Luxon faction held by an alliance, used to control outposts.
 * Allegiance: Refers to joining either the Luxons or the Kurzicks.
 * Ally: Anything that isn't trying to kill you.
 * Alpha: An early stage of testing for upcoming Guild Wars chapters.
 * Annihilation: An arena and challenge game type, in which you must completely destroy the other team.
 * Archer: Ranger specializing in marksmanship. Also an NPC found during Guild vs Guild battles.
 * Armor: The clothing used by your characters, the Al (Armor rating) can vary from 0-100. Only certain headpieces grant 0 armor AL. There are certain skills that give armor buffs which decrease the damage taken by your character.
 * Ascension: Ascending in the Crystal Desert to change professions or gain access to the Fissure of Woe (FoW) or Underworld (UW). In Cantha, the equivalent is Weh no Su and in Nightfall, the quest Hunted!.
 * Area boundary: "Portals" from one area to another.
 * AoE: Area of Effect. Skills that can affect more than a single target.
 * Arena Guard: NPCs that teleport you to arenas.
 * Armor penetration: The extent to which damage ignores an enemy's armor.
 * Artisan: Crafter that combines common crafting materials to make rare crafting materials.
 * Ascended Armor: Armor that looks better than standard level 20 armor. Generally considered a status symbol.
 * Ascension: Attaining legendary heroic status, which allows you to survive fights with certain enemies.
 * ATM: At The Moment.
 * Attribute Point: Used to raise attributes.
 * Attribute quest: Quest that rewards 15 Attribute Points.
 * Attuned: Being under the effect of an attunement spell so as to lower your energy costs.
 * Avatar: (1)Representative of the Gods of Tyria. Players only ever interact with avatars, never with the gods directly.(2) A Dervish Skill or Form that allows you to become an Avatar of the gods.(3) Your Guild Wars charracter. You do everything in Guild Wars with your Avatar.

B

 * B/P: Can refer either to Barrage/Pet or Boon Prot.
 * Backline: Refers to line of spellcasters behind the tanks in an attack formation.
 * Barrage/Pet: A Ranger that uses Barrage for damage and a pet to tank.
 * Battery: Generally, a Necromancer who uses Blood is Power, but can refer to any number of other builds whose primary purpose is to maintain the rest of the party's Energy.
 * Beacon's: Beacon's Perch, an outpost in the Prophecies campaign. The Droks run starts here.
 * Beta: The testing stage after alpha but before public, commercial release.
 * Beta Weekend Event: Events that allowed players to play before the release of Guild Wars. Replaced by World Preview Events.
 * BiP: Blood is Power. A character using Blood is Power is sometimes called a "BiP" or "bipper". Generally synonymous with Battery.
 * Blessing: A temporary bonus, usually granted by an NPC for a price.
 * Block: Completely avoiding damage from an attack. Granted by certain skills.
 * Blue item: In terms of item rarity, the most common uncommon item.
 * Body block: The act of preventing other character from passing through your physical location.
 * Bonder: Monk that uses Life Bond and/or Life Barrier.
 * Bonus: In missions, refers to extra objectives that grant extra experience and (in Factions)
 * Boss: An enemy leader that is usually a higher level then their counterparts. They are surrounded by auras indicating their profession, and have additional affects that makes them more resilient or more powerful (see Natural resistance). Many Bosses drop a unique item. skill points.
 * Boon prot: Monk that uses Divine Boon and Protection Prayers.
 * Bot: An automated program generally used to farm items. Bots are prohibited.
 * BR: Blood Ritual.
 * Buff: (1) A skill that increases the abilities of a character; (2) a change to a skill, mission, etc. that makes it better. Opposite of Nerf.
 * Bug: A flaw in the game that prevents it from working as intended.
 * Build: A template of skills and ability allocation that fulfills a role needed in a party. See builds.
 * Build number: Essentially the version number of the Guild Wars release.
 * Bundle tank: A defunct strategy to outwit the enemy AI using carryable items.

C

 * Call: Broadcasting your actions over the team channel.
 * Cantha: The continent in which Factions takes place.
 * Character: A player's avatar in Guild Wars, the player you see in Guild Wars.
 * Campaign: E.g., the Prophecies or Factions campaigns. Also known as chapters.
 * Cancel stance: A stance used less for its intrinsic benefits and more to cancel another stance's downside.
 * Capture: Usually refers to skill capture or screen capture.
 * Capture the Relic: A "capture-the-flag" game mode in the Global Tournament.
 * Cast: To use a spell or skill.
 * Caster: Any character that relies more on spells than weapons.
 * Celestial: In Factions, an suffix indicating something of incredible power.
 * Challenge: A practice player-vs.-player-style mission against AI opponents.
 * Character: Generally refers to the in-game representation of other players. "John Doe" is the player, "Ragnar the Mighty" is the character.
 * Character level: A general indication of the might of a character, ranging from 1 to 20.
 * Character slot: Every character created on an account occupies one character slot.
 * Charr: A foe in Guild Wars and the main threat in part of Prophecies and Eye of the North.
 * Chest run: A form of farming in which characters run to chests in high-level areas without fighting.
 * Cinematic: The cutscenes before, during, and after missions.
 * Class: See profession.
 * Clean: A weapon with no weapon upgrades, dye, or other modifiers.
 * Collectable drop: Loot that can be traded in at a collector.
 * Collectors: NPCs that give items in exchange for collectable drops.
 * Command line: A method of changing the way Guild Wars runs.
 * Competitive online role playing game: What Guild Wars is. Not quite a MMORPG.
 * Condition: A negative status effect.
 * Container: Any inventory item that can hold other inventory items.
 * Continent: The separate regions that each campaign takes place in.
 * Cooperative Mission: The missions that make up the player-vs.-environment campaigns.
 * Core: Used to label any content that isn't specific to any one campaign.
 * Corpse denial: Corpse exploitation with the explicit purpose of preventing the enemy from exploiting corpses.
 * Corpse exploitation: Utilizing a corpse for a necromancer skill.
 * Counter: Using one skill or build to specifically oppose another.
 * Cover hex: A cheap hex placed immediately after a more expensive hex, to make removing the expensive hex more difficult.
 * Crafter: An NPC that converts crafting materials into something else.
 * Creature: Anything with a health bar that isn't dead.
 * Customize: Customized equipment can only be used by the character it was customized for.
 * Cutscene: See cinematic.

D

 * Damage dealer: A party member who concentrates solely on dealing damage, as opposed to a tank or a healer.
 * DoT: Damage over Time. Any kind of damage that doesn't take effect immediately, and usually comes in separate packets.
 * Danger Zone: The white circle on the compass that illustrates the range at which mobs will aggro.
 * DD: Defend Denravi/Defend Droknar's Forge, two of the Titan quests.
 * DP: Death Penalty. A cumulative penalty to your maximum health and energy for dying.
 * Debuff: A negative condition, or health or energy degeneration; something which makes characters weaker. Opposite of a Buff.
 * Degeneration: When the health or energy bar steadily decreases by a set amount based on the amount of degeneration used from between 1 to 10 "pips". Commonly shortened to Degen.
 * Direct damage: Damage that comes in a single unit, as opposed to damage over time. Sometimes abbreviated as DD.
 * DPS: Damage Per Second. Can be approximated through the Master of Damage.
 * Disrupt: See interrupt.
 * District: An instance of a public area, to be used for trading, chatting, and forming parties.
 * Divine Aura: A visual effect that owners of the Collector's Edition get while dancing.
 * NK/DNKP: Defend North Kryta Province, one of the Titan quests.
 * Droks: Abbreviation for Droknar's Forge, an outpost in Prophecies where one can craft max armor and undertake the Titan quests.
 * Drop: Usually refers to loot from mobs, but can also mean to lose connection to the game.
 * DoA: Domain of Anguish, a certain map in the end of Guild WarsNightfall containing high-end monsters. You go to DoA after defeating Abaddon; it is where you defeat Abaddon's remaining followers and "generals".
 * Dual Attack: A devastating type of assassin strike.

E

 * E-Surge, E-Burn: Energy Surge and Energy Burn respectively.
 * Elona: The continent in which the events of Nightfall occur.
 * Energy: The amount of mana a character has until it can no longer cast spells. To find your energy look for the blue bar above your skills.
 * EotN: The first and only expansion to Guild Wars players. It uses the same continent as Prophecies.
 * Echo chain: A strategy involving multiple uses of Echo and Arcane Echo to duplicate a spell many times.
 * Ecto: Means Glob of Ectoplasm. Other commonly used term is glob.
 * ELC: Ember Light Camp. An outpost in the Prophecies campaign, notable for containing Dakk, a skill trainer who teaches all the skills in the Prophecies campaign. This outpost is also the only staging area from which to enter Perdition Rock, which makes it a popular place for people seeking to capture Elite skills.
 * Elite Mission: Missions in Factions that require alliance control to enter.
 * Elite skill: A skill more powerful than other skills. Only one elite skill can be equipped at a time.
 * Emblem: The graphic that appears on a guild cape.
 * Emote: A command that causes your character to animate an action.
 * Enchantment: A spell that causes a positive effect for a period of time. Opposite of hex.
 * Energy denial: A strategy that focuses on removing the energy of your enemy, preventing him from using skills.
 * Environment Effect: A spell or enchantment that takes effect upon entering a certain area.
 * EoE: Edge of Extinction.
 * EoE Bomb: A mostly defunct PvP strategy that focused on the use of Edge of Extinction.
 * Err 7: The error code returned by Guild Wars after a server disconnect.
 * EW: Energizing Wind.
 * Exclusive area: In Factions, the portion of an outpost that only the controlling alliance's members can enter. Sometimes used to refer to areas which can only be reached at a certain point in the game, such as the "balcony" in Kaineng City.
 * Experience: The mechanism by which characters gain character levels and skill points.
 * Exploit: A bug in the game that can be used to illegitimately benefit a character.
 * Explorable area: The areas between outposts and cities.

F

 * Factions: The second campaign available to Guild Wars players. Has many relations to Asian culture.
 * Farming: To repeatedly enter an area and destroy the inhabitants simply for dropped items and money. (See Solo)
 * FoW: Fissure of Woe, an Explorable Area accessed from Temple of the Ages, Zin Ku Corridor, and Chantry of Secrets to get armor from the Forge Master or Farm the enemies for money and drops. Players must be Ascended to enter, and Henchmen cannot enter.
 * Faction (alliance): Kurzick or Luxon faction points used to gain alliance territory.
 * Faction (Balthazar): Points earned in PvP that can be used to unlock goodies on your account.
 * Faction Rewards: The NPC type used to exchange faction points.
 * Faction Transfer: The NPC type used to donate alliance faction points.
 * Faction farming: Methods by which to accrue faction points at an incredible rate. See FFF.
 * Factions Campaign: The second chapter of Guild Wars. See Guild Wars Factions.
 * Fame: Points accrued upon victory at Heroes' Ascent that eventually increase your rank.
 * Farming: Repeatedly killing the same things to repeatedly gain the same reward, be it items or something else.
 * Favor of the Gods: Reward granted to the world for noteworthy achievements in PvE.
 * Ferry: A player that provides transport to Elite Missions, often for a fee.
 * Fissure Armor: See Obsidian armor.
 * Flag runner: In GvG, a dedicated player that plants his team's flag in the flag stand.
 * Flag stand: In GvG, a point at the center of the map that can be controlled via a team's flag.
 * FotM: Flavor of the Month. Refers to a build that becomes extremely popular, but dies out as soon as a counter is made well-known.
 * Flawless victory: In PvP, a victory in which no members of the victorious party died.
 * Fleshy creature: A creature that leaves a corpse and that can be afflicted with all conditions.
 * FoC: Feast of Corruption.
 * Focus swap: A technique involving changing your equipment to avoid energy denial.
 * Forge: (1) Droknar's Forge; (2) sometimes used to refer to items created at a Weaponsmith.
 * FoW: Fissure of Woe. An explorable area available in Temple of the Ages, Zin Ku Corridor, and Chantry of Secrets; used to farm for money and drops, or just to complete it for a statue in the Hall of Monuments. Players must be Ascended to enter.
 * Frame rate: Simply speaking, the speed at which Guild Wars graphics appear to update. Also could be called FPS, Frames per second.

G

 * GL/GG: Good Luck/Good Game. Used often before and after PvP matches.
 * GLF: "Group Looking For..." A term used when an already-formed party is looking for more members, usually of a specific build or profession. Example: "GLF more monks"
 * Gold: The money used to trade or buy in Guild Wars.
 * Guild: Many Guild Wars players joined together in a large group. (See Alliance).
 * Guild Hall: The outpost where members of a guild can meet each other. Only players from a certain guild can visit that guilds Guild Hall, unless guested.
 * GvG: Guild Versus Guild. Guilds battling against one another from their Guild Hall.
 * GW:EN: Short for Guild Wars: Eye of the North. Also could be a driven term for Gwen, a Mesmer hero in Eye of the North from the original Prophecies campaign.

H

 * HA: Hero's Ascent, a PvP arena where you can battle other players around the world for the Hero Title.
 * HB: Healer's Boon/Heros Battle.
 * Health: The amount of life a creature has. Your health is the red bar above your skills list.
 * Henge/HoD: Henge of Denravi, an outpost in Prophecies.
 * Hero: (1) A party member like and unlike a henchmen that a player can control. (2) A title for mainly PvP players that you can obtain from winning battles in HA.
 * HH: Healing Hands.
 * HM: Hard Mode, a higher difficulty setting from the usual Guild Wars.
 * HoH: Hall of Heroes.
 * HoM: Hall of Monuments in Eye of the North.
 * HoS: Heart of the Shiverpeaks.
 * HoT: Healing over Time.
 * HP: Hell's Precipice, the last mission in the Prophecies storyline.
 * Henche: Henchmen

I

 * IAS: Increase Attack Stance/Speed. Something which allows a character to attack faster.
 * IDS: Icy Dragon Sword. A very unusual drop from Ice Imps.
 * IGN: In Game Name. The names of a player's characters in Guild Wars. IGNs are often swapped among people in online communities so that they may contact each other in the game itself.
 * Infuse: Infuse Health. Not to be mixed with Infusion, which is done to armor to protect from Spectral Agony, used by Mursaat.
 * Inventory: A list of the items you are carrying. Available by pressing "I".
 * Item: (1) Drops from monsters or other party members/NPCs that go into your inventory. Money is a special type of item or drop.(2) Ritualist spells or certain things found on the ground that allow you to hold up the ashes of great heroes, or are used for quests or grant temporary effects. You can not attack while holding an item. See Bundle.
 * IWAY:(1) "I Will Avenge You!", A Guild Wars Warrior skill mainly used in PvP. (2) An infamous gimmick build which involved suiciding pets to create massive regeneration and constant IAS.
 * IW: Illusionary Weaponry.

J

 * JI: Judge's Insight.

K

 * K: Used to denote 1,000 of something. When referring to gold pieces, it is a simpler way to refer to platinum. It is also used when talking about faction, fame, experience, etc.
 * KD: Abbreviation for Knockdown.

L

 * LA: Lion's Arch, a popular outpost in Prophecies for commerce, recruitment, and special events.
 * LB: Lightbringer points.
 * LBG, LB gaze: Lightbringer's Gaze.
 * LDD: The Last Day Dawns, a high-end quest in the Prophecies campaign.
 * LFG, LFP, LFT: "Looking For Group", "Looking For Partner", and "Looking For Team" respectively. Used to solicit party members in an outpost.
 * LFM: "Looking For More". Generally refers to Monks, but can also be used when looking for a particular build or such. Example: "Group LFM nukers"
 * LFR: "Looking For Run(ner)". Used to solicit party members for a run in an outpost.
 * LOL: "Lots of Laughter" or "Laughing Out Loud." A term used when something is funny.
 * LMAO: "Laugh My --- off." Generally used when something is REALLY funny.
 * LS: Life stealing.
 * LTB: "Looking To Buy".
 * LTS: "Looking To Sell".
 * LTT: "Looking To Trade".

M

 * Mana: Uncommonly used way of saying energy.
 * Material(s): Materials are used to craft armor. See (Materials)
 * Max (Armor): Armor that has the highest possible AL for your profession.
 * Mission: Missions are basically larger versions of quests. They are used to advance the storyline of Guild Wars.
 * MM: Minion Master. A necromancer that spawns undead minions. Usually used when looking for a minion master. Example: "LF MM."
 * MoP: (1) Mark of Protection; (2) Mark of Pain.
 * MS: (1) Meteor Shower; (2) Maelstrom.

N

 * Nightfall: The third campaign available to Guild wars players. As players progress in Nightfall the day moves on. For example in the first few missions the sun is barely rising but as you progress near the end the sun starts to set and turn to night.
 * NPC: Non Playable Character. They show up as "green" units on the map. Some may turn into allies, while others could become enemies. A few NPCs, such as Merchants, offer special services to the character.
 * NRG: Energy.
 * Nuker: Usually refers to the Elementalist, but can mean other high-damage professions as well. See Nuke. Like "MM", Nuker is a term often seen when soliciting party members. Ex: "Nuker LFG", "GLF Nukers".

O

 * OF: Obsidian Flesh. Also "Obs" or sometimes "Obby".
 * Orders: A specific type of Necromancer enchantment which affects the entire party and requires a health sacrifice.
 * OoA: Order of Apostasy.
 * OoB: Offering of Blood.
 * OoP: Order of Pain.
 * OotV: Order of the Vampire.
 * Outpost: A town. See Outpost.
 * Obby: Usually means Obsidian Shards or Obsidian armor.

P

 * P&H, PnH: Peace and Harmony.
 * PBAoE: Point Blank Area of Effect. Special skills like Inferno which have an AoE effect right next to the target.
 * Platinum: 1,000 Gold. Usually denoted by "K". Ex: "WTB Victo's Blade for 8 Platinum", "WTS nice FDS for 5K"
 * PS: Protective Spirit.
 * Professions: The class of a character, NPC, or monster. See Professions.
 * Prophecies: The original Guild Wars campaign. See Tyria and Eye of the North.
 * PUG: Pick Up Group. Refers to a party created largely from strangers and other characters you don't know. Also player unafilliated with a guild.
 * PvE: Player vs. Environment.
 * PvP: Player vs. Player.

Q

 * Quest: A task your character can uptake for a reward, or to continue the main story line.
 * QZ: Quickening Zephyr.

R

 * Regeneration: When the health or energy bar steadily increases by a set amount based on the amount of regeneration used from between 1 to 10 "pips". All creatures in Guild Wars have some innate Energy regeneration based on their Profession; most also possess Health regeneration under certain conditions, especially Bosses. Commonly shortened to Regen.
 * Res, Rez: Some type of Resurrection skill. Usually refers to Resurrection Signet ("res sig").
 * RoF: (1) Reversal of Fortune; (2) Ring of Fire.
 * Run: (1) To use a running or speed buff skill to increase how fast your character can move; (2) To finish a quest or mission with the minimal amount of effort required, often involving not killing many monsters; (3) To get ran by another character to a town, outpost, mission, etc. without having to complete the required storyline; (4) To have another character finish all the work needed to complete a certain quest or mission.
 * Test Run: When a characters wants to test their strategy to "run" other players. These runs are usually free.
 * Pro Run: A run done by a very experienced player who has done the run before and has a high success rate of completeing the run. The Droks run is a famous example. These runs generally carry a fee.

S

 * SB: Spell Breaker.
 * SF: (1) Sorrow's Furnace, the "elite" area of the Prophecies campaign; (2) Searing Flames.
 * SH: Savannah Heat.
 * Solo (Farming): To defeat many foes in one area without any other party members. Most farmings are solo.
 * SS: (1) Spiteful Spirit; (2) Sandstorm; (3) Spinal Shivers; (4) Sunspear points.
 * SoC: (1) Signet of Capture (PvE; Also called Cap, Cap Sig, and SC.); (2) Song of Concentration (PvP; also called Song of Conc)
 * SoD: (1) Signet of Devotion; (2) Shield of Deflection.
 * SoJ: (1) Signet of Judgment; (2) Shield of Judgment.
 * Species: A species of monsters or allies in the game; in Guild Wars 1, the only playable species is Human. This will change in Guild Wars 2.
 * Squishy: A profession with low (60) armor rating that can easily be killed by attacking foes.
 * SQ: Serpent's Quickness.
 * SV: (1) Sympathetic Visage; (2) Spoil Victor.

T

 * TA: Team Arenas.
 * Tank: A Warrior or Dervish designed specifically to take all of the enemies and have them attack you while taking no damage leaving your party to deal all of the damage unharmed.
 * TF: Tiger's Fury.
 * ToA: Abbreviation of Temple of the Ages, an outpost in Kryta. Players may access the Underworld or Fissue of Woe from here. It is also notable as the only place in Kryta where one may form a party of 8.
 * THK: Thunderhead Keep, a mission in the Prophecies storyline.
 * Title: A reward or goal obtained from exploring continents, killing things while under a bounty, etc.
 * ToPK / Tombs: Tomb of the Primeval Kings, a high-level area in the Prophecies campaign.
 * Town: The main outpost of a area. See Town
 * TS: (1) Teamspeak, a product which allows players to communicate with each other in real time. Often used in high-end PvE and most forms of PvP to coordinate stragegy, time spikes, etc. (2) The Titan Source, a high-end quest in the Prophecies campaign.
 * Trade: Giving an item from one character to another, usually using the Trade command.
 * Tyria: The continent that players walk and play on in Prophecies. Also the name of the world (see Tyria (world)).

U

 * UW: Underworld. An explorable area available in Temple of the Ages, Zin Ku Corridor, and Chantry of Secrets; used to farm for money and drops, get spiders (pet), or just to complete it for a statue in the Hall of Monuments. Players must be Ascended to enter.

V

 * Vent: Ventrilo, a similar product to Teamspeak.

W

 * WaF: Ward Against Foes.
 * WaM: Ward Against Melee.
 * WoH: Word of Healing. Commonly abbreviated as "Word" also.
 * WTB: "Want To Buy". Ex: "WTB Totem Axe for 5k"
 * WTS: "Want To Sell". Ex: "WTS IDS for 20k"
 * WTT: "Want To Trade". A character wanting to trade one item for another. Ex: "WTT Ecto for Onyx Gemstone". Note that WTT is sometimes used synonymously with WTS.

X

 * XP: Experience points.

Y

 * YAA: "You're All Alone!".

Z

 * ZB: Zealous Benediction.