The Over-Dictionary
Terminiology for beginners
Idea came from this post.
This is a glossary for Overwatch slang and terms, intended as an educational tool for new players.
(insulting terms will not be included as to not conflict with Code of Conduct)
(Additionally, map callouts will not be included and can be found here)
#
X-Stack: A stack consisting of
Xamount of players.
(Ex. 3-Stack, 4-Stack, 5-Stack, 6-Stack)
1: 1 hit. Refers to a hero being low in health, specifically 1 hit away from death.
(Ex. “Roadhog 1” [Roadhog is 1 hit from death])
2/2/2: A composition that has 2 heroes of each role: 2 Damage, 2 Tanks, 2 healers.
2 CP: 2 Control Point. Refers to Assault maps, such as Temple of Anubis and Hanamura.
3-3: A composition that uses 2 roles, most often 3 tanks and 3 supports.
3/2/1 or 1/2/3: A composition consisting of 3 roles with different distribution.
(Ex. 3 Tanks, 2 Supports, 1 Damage)
3 on: Maintaining three attackers on the payload or control point to ensure it moves or captures as fast as possible when not challenged. One or two move it slower; more than three does not increase speed further.
Credits: righthere
A
Aimbot:
- Can refer to Soldier: 76’s Tactical Visor ultimate.
- Can refer to a form of cheating.
Credits: Profane
Alt: Alternate. Refers to an alternate fire (alt-fire) or an alternate account (alt-account)
Anti’d: An enemy or teammate who has had Ana’s Biotic Grenade debuff applied to them.
(Also referred to as: being “purple”)
AOE: Area of Effect. Describes an ability that can effect multiple targets withing in a designated area.
( E.g. Mei’s Blizzard ultimate, Sombra’s EMP ultimate)
Armor: A health type that reduces damage done.
(See more here)
B
Baby D.va: D.va when out of mech.
(Also referred to as: Pilot D.va, Zero Suit D.va, Mini D.va)
Back Cap: Capturing an objecting while the enemy was distracted or unaware. Usually done by flankers.
Back-line: Most commonly refers to supports and defensive damage heroes, such as McCree or Soldier: 76 (source)
Baguette: A joking way to refer to the hero Brigitte. The joke originates from the confusing pronunciation of Brigitte’s name.
Bait: Forcing or tricking an enemy to use an ability or ultimate in a wasteful way.
(Ex. You bait Genji’s deflect then I’ll use my ult)
Credits: zippity
Barrier:
- A shield that is used by characters like Reinhardt or Orisa.
- A type of health
(See more here)
Battle Mercy: A Mercy who pulls out her Caduceus Blaster to eliminate an enemy.
Beyblade: Refers to the combination of Ana’s Nano Boost and Reaper’s Death Blossom ultimates. More specifically, the version from season 2 when Nano Boost still had its speed boost property. This was such an effective combination that the meta was referred to as “the Beyblade meta”.
Credits: FledgeSRondo, OhEmGee, Tulkas, brokenstyli and Garret
Bongo: Refers to Orisa’s Supercharger ultimate
Boop: A form of knockback.
(Ex. Lucio’s Soundwave, Pharah’s Concussion Blast, etc)
Boostio: A Nanoboosted Lucio, often done by accident.
Bubble:
- Refers to Winston’s Barrier Projector ability.
- Refers to Zarya’s Particle and Projected Barrier abilities.
Credits: FledgeSRondo
Bunny Hop: A term to describe Mercy gaining extra momentum from Guardian Angel ability by canceling it early and immediately holding the jump key.
Credits: Silawatsi
Burst Damage: A high amount of damage being dealt instantly.
(E.g. Widowmaker’s Widow’s Kiss: Sniper, Junkrat’s RIP-Tire ultimate, D.va’s Self-Destruct ultimate)
Burst Healing: A high amount of healing being dealt instantly.
(E.g. Ana’s Biotic Grenade, Brigitte’s Repair Pack)
C
C9: The act of stepping off the point and as a result losing the point, round or game; sometimes in spite of winning the fight. Made famous by the team Cloud9.
Credits: Roks
Carry: When a player or group of players take the majority of the burden of a fight or game to make up for a weakness on their team or to elevate people through tough matches.
Credits: zippity
Cart: Sometimes used to refer to the Payload.
Credits: Badarm
Car Wash: Used to describe wall of Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets, often surrounding a large doorway, gate, or choke point.
CC: Crowd Control. Describes a movement hindering ability, including: stuns, knockbacks and freezes.
(Ex. McCree’s Flashbang, Lucio’s Soundwave, Mei’s Endothermic Blaster etc)
CD: Cool-down. Describes the charge time of an ability.
Cheese Comp: A team composition that is deemed as “cheap” or “cheesy” by the community. It quite often features a tactic that can be defeated by a high amount of co-ordination, such as the “Pirate ship” or “Protect-The-President”.
Credits: Badarm, Unnamed
Choke point: An area of a map that bottle-necks or funnels and forces congestion.
(Ex. The doorway on Hanamura)
Comp:
- Composition. The structure of a team.
- Competitive. The ranked mode for Overwatch.
Counter: A hero whose playstyle and/or abilities give you an advantage over another hero’s playstyle and/or abilities.
(E.g. Pharah counters Junkrat)
Credits: DustTheOtter
D
D.va Bomb: Refers to D.va’s Self-Destruct ultimate
Death Ball: A type of team composition, sometimes a form of Quad Tank using Moira and Lucio for speed and AoE heals. The composition is based on fast movement and close quarters fighting.
Credits: FledgeSRondo and PabloPenguin*
Discorded: An enemy or teammate who has had Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord debuff applied to them.
(Also referred to as: being “marked” or “tagged”)
Dive: A composition or style that utilizes high mobility heroes. The most common example is a composition consisting of Genji, Tracer, Winston, D.va, Mercy, Zenyatta.
DM:
- Refers to D.va’s Defense Matrix ability.
- Can refer to the Deathmatch gamemode.
Credits: zippity
DPS: Damage Per Second.
- Refers to the Damage role.
- A hero’s damage output over the course of 1 second.
(Ex. McCree can do 140 damage per second)
Dry Push: When a team pushes without spending any ultimates in attempt to force out key ultimates from the enemy and swing the ult advantage, or ult economy, in their favor.
(Also referred to as an “Eco-Push”)
Duo/Duo Queue: A group consisting of 2 players.
Credits: DeadLamb
E
Eco-Push: When a team pushes without spending any ultimates in attempt to force out key ultimates from the enemy and swing the ult advantage, or ult economy, in their favor.
(Also referred to as a “Dry Push”)
ELO: ELO is a ranking system used to accurately identify and track a player’s skill. Originally made for chess by Arpad Elo, it has since been adopted by competitive video games.
Credits: FledgeSRondo
F
F-Tier: Used to describe a hero that is under-powered or ineffective
Credits: zippity
Fade Jump: An advanced movement technique that allows Moira to gain extra height from her Fade ability by jumping just before colliding with a waist-high object.
Credits: Badarm
Feeding: Engaging in a lost fight and dying, often by one’s self, resulting in the enemy team generating more ult charge from damage you or healing the damage you dealt.
Credits: Tulkas
Flanker: A hero that excels at fighting the enemy’s backline, often highly mobile.
(Ex. Genji, Tracer)
Credits: Roks
Flicking: An aiming style where the user quickly moves their crosshair to a target before firing.
Focus: A call out for the team to all attack the same target. Mostly to refer to a specific target at that time but can be used as a more general attitude towards a single enemy.
(Ex. “focus down Zenyatta” or “we need to focus the Pharah more”)
Credits: zippity
Forced: A term used when a player causes an opponent to use a defensive ult in attempt to save themselves.
(E.g. “I forced Transcendence, we can Graviton now.”)
Credits: ThaShogun
Frag: General gaming term for a kill.
Credits: zippity
Front-line: Most commonly refers to tanks and aggressive damage heroes.
G
GA: Refers to Mercy’s Guardian Angel ability.
Credits: Silawatsi
Gamesense: Deductive reasoning and/or critical thinking based on the knowledge of how to play effectively, often developed naturally over time as a player gains more experience and learns the different mechanics in the game.
Credits: Kailan
GG: Good Game. Said at the end of a game, the online gaming equivalent of a handshake.
(Some consider it rude/bad sportsmanship to say GG before a game finishes or if first said by the winning team)
GOATS Comp: A composition made famous by the Overwatch Contenders team “GOATS”. The team consist of: Reinhardt, D.va, Zarya, Moira, Lucio, Brigitte.
Grav-Dragon: The combined usage of Zayra’s Graviton Surge and Hanzo’s Dragonstrike ultimates.
Credits: righthere
H
Hacked: When a player or health pack has been affected by Sombra’s Hack ability.
(E.g. “Our Reinhardt has been hacked”)
Credits: Spirit
Hammond: Refers to the hero Wrecking Ball, as the pilot is named Hammond.
Credits: Badarm
Hard Flank: Flanking the enemy without a clear escape route or an ability to get you back to your own lines.
Credits: Phototoxin
Hit-Scan: A weapon type that has instantaneous travel time.
(Ex. McCree’s Peacekeeper, Widowmaker’s Widow’s Kiss)
Hooked: Being stunned by Roadhog’s Chain Hook ability.
HP: Hit-Points. Refers to the amount of health a hero has.
(See more here)
HPS: Healing Per Second. Refers to a character’s healing output over the course of 1 second.
(Ex. Mercy’s Caduceus Staff can output 50 healing per second)
I
Insta-Lock: The act of instantly locking in a hero on the hero select screen.
K
King of the Hill: KOTH. Refers to Control maps, such as Ilios and Lijiang Tower.
L
Leaver: Someone who leaves a match early
LOS: Line-Of-Sight. A long line of unobscured vision. Can also be used to describe a requirement for an ability’s effectiveness.
(E.g. To be affected by Lucio’s Sound Barrier ultimate, you must be within the ultimate’s LoS and AoE)
Low: Refers to a hero being low in health.
(Ex. “Roadhog low”)
(Sometimes referred to as: Lit)
M
Main:
- Used to describe a player’s best hero.
(E.g. “I am a Zenyatta main.”)
Credits: multiple users- The central path to the point, rather than the right or left sides or any flanking routes.
(E.g. “The enemy team is pushing through main”)
Credits: Zippity
Main-Healer: Refers to support hero’s with large healing output, such as Mercy and Moira.
Credits: Tulkas
Main-Tank: Refers to shield tank who act as the central point for a team to group around, such as Reinhardt, Orisa, Winston.
(Also referred to as: Shield tank, barrier tank, anchor tank)
Mega: Any large health kit. Can be used as a map call out which tends to mean the closest one to your teams current location.
Credits: DeadLamb
Mein: Someone who mostly plays Mei; is a Mei main.
Credits: BattleOrc
Meta: The best strategy, composition or hero(es) available at that time. A common method to help people memorize this is “Most Effective Tactic Available” however the word “meta” is not actually an acronym for anything.
(E.g. Dive meta, Triple tank meta)
Credits: FledgeSRondo
Microwave:
- Used to describe wall of Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets, often surrounding a large doorway, gate, or choke point.
- Being attacked by Symmetra’s Photon Projector
Monkey: Refers to the hero Winston, used for faster communication.
Moth: Refers to a Mercy using her Valkyrie ultimate.
Credits: Profane
N
Nano-: Using Ana’s Nano Boost ultimate in conjunction with another ultimate.
(E.g. Nanovisor [Nano Boost + Tactical Visor], Nanoblade [Nano Boost + Dragonblade)
Credits: righthere
No–: Used before an ability to signal a hero’s usage of said ability.
(Ex. “Reaper no Wraith” [Reaper has used Wraith and does not have access to it])
O
Off-Healer: Refers to supports with a lower healing output but with more utility, such as Zenyatta and Brigitte.
Credits: Tulkas
Off-Tank: Refers to the tanks who offer more utility and damage, such as: D.va, Zarya, and Roadhog.
One-Trick: A player who exclusively plays one hero.
(Also referred to as: OTP. One-Trick-Pony)
Credits: zippity
OP: Over-powered. Refers to an ability or hero being too strong.
OT: Shorthand for Overtime.
Credits: Zippity
Overextending: The act of moving too far forward while pushing the enemy and going out of position, highly punishable.
Credits: Roks
P
Passive: An ability that does not need to be manually activated.
(Ex. Brigitte’s Inspire, Reaper’s The Reaping)
Peek: The act of checking a doorway/choke where you are in plain sight of the other team. Often used in a cautionary way, being it’s how players get sniped/killed before a team fight even starts.
(Ex. “Don’t peek”, “Stop peeking” and “No peek”)
Credits: DeadLamb
Peeling: The act of protecting the backline from oncoming attacks or dives, often done by tanks to healers.
Credits: Badarm
Pharmercy: Pharah + Mercy. Refers to the combination of Mercy and Pharah, where the Mercy will pocket the Pharah.
Pick: The act of achieving a quick kill at the start or before a fight.
Pirate Ship: A strategy on a payload map where a Bastion and a shield stay on a payload. More characters such as Torbjorn may be added and could be used with Orisa and/or Reinhardt and a Mercy pocket.
Credits: Badarm
Pocket: Maintaining a healing/damage boost to a single target, often done by Mercy.
Point: The objective.
(Ex. “Reinhardt on point”)
Poking: The act of using long ranged offense to chip away at enemy’s health or achieve a pick.
Credits: Roks
Projectile: Refers to a weapon type that has a travel time.
(Ex. Junkrat’s Frag Launcher, Genji’s Shuriken)
Pop-Off: The act of playing very well, often said after a very successful ultimate or if one player is consistently outperforming the other team.
Credits: zippity
POTG: Play of the Game. This refers to the highlight that is played at the end of a match. This is also called “Play of the Match” in competitive.
Credits: FledgeSRondo
Protect-The-President: A form of turtling, mostly found on defense. Similar to Pirate Ship but stationary.
Credits: Badarm
Pull/Pulled: Refers to Orisa’s Halt! ability.
Credits: Profane
Punish: When a player makes a mistake, which the other team act on and use as an opportunity for a kill, push, or similar.
Credits: Badarm
Purple: An enemy or teammate who has had Ana’s Biotic Grenade debuff applied to them.
(Also referred to as: being “anti’d”)
Push: Taking aggressive action as a team to move the other team off of a capture point or payload, by eliminating them or driving them off.
Credits: righthere and badarm
Q
Quad Tank: A composition made of four tanks and two supports.
Credits: righthere
R
Rez: Refers to Mercy’s Resurrect ability.
Rocket Jump: The use of one’s explosive ability to achieve a higher jump at the cost of taking damage. This is done by aiming at the user’s feet and activating the ability.
Some heroes and abilities that can achieve this are: Soldier: 76’s Helix Rockets, Pharah’s Rocket Launcher, Zarya’s Particle Cannon’s alternate fire. Junkrat can also achieve I higher jump by using his Concussion Mine ability, however this does not damage him.
Credits: FledgeSRondo
S
S-Tier: Used to describe a hero that is highly effective and powerful
Credits: zippity
Salt: Being aggravated, upset, or annoyed.
Shield: A type of health.
(See more here)
Shield Bash Jump: An advanced movement technique that allows Brigitte to use her Shield Bash ability to gain extreme height by jumping and bashing into a curved surface, like the sarcophagus on Anubis B. Highly impractical, but cool.
Credits: Badarm
Shot-Caller: A leader in the team who directs the team during a fight to maximize team co-ordination and communication.
Credits: zippity
Skybox: The “ceiling” of a map. No player can exceed it through legitimate measures. Used to refer to players, especially Pharahs, who are flying very high.
Credits: Badarm
Slambulance: Used to describe a form of quad tanks that utilizes Moira and Lucio for rushing objectives and AoE healing.
Credits: zippity
Slept: Being put to sleep with Ana’s Sleep Dart ability.
Smurf: A higher ranked player using a lower ranked account.
Soft Flank: Flanking the enemy but with easy access to an escape back to your own team.
Credits: Phototoxin
Solo-Q: Solo-Queue. Refers to a player queuing for the matchmaker by themselves and not in a group.
Credits: FledgeSRondo
Spawn: Refers to the designated safe area where players spawn.
Spawn Camp/Kill: The act of keeping the enemy team in their spawn area by killing them as soon as they walk out.
Credits: Spirit
Stagger: Dying at separate times and having delayed spawn as a result.
Stall Hero: A hero suited to contest the point for long periods of time, such as Mei or high HP tanks. Used by defensive teams in a difficult fight to stall or delay on the point and generally play for time.
E.g. We can still force them into overtime, swap to stall heroes.
Also known as a Delay Hero.
Credits: Zippity
Stun: Being affected by abilities that prevent you from being able to move or use abilities, a form of Crowd Control or CC.
(E.g. Reinhardt’s Earthshatter, Brigitte’s Shield Bash, Roadhog’s Chain Hook, etc…)
Credits: Profane
Squishies: Refers to characters with less than 250 HP and is a relatively easy kill.
Credits: Arceus
T
Teamfight: A fight, often around the objective, that involves both teams. Games are decided based on the outcome of these fights.
Credits: Badarm
Tele/TP: Refers to Symmetra’s Teleporter ability.
Credits: Profane
Throw: The act of losing a game on purpose. Officially defined in-game as “gameplay sabotage”.
Credits: DeadLamb
Tilted: Being frustrated or put on edge to the point where it hinders your ability to play.
Touch: The act of touching the OBJ. Often used when time is running out with intention to trigger overtime.
(Ex. “Touch point")
Credits: DeadLamb
Tracking: An aiming style where the player follows a moving target with thei crosshairs.
(not to be confused with Ult Tracking).
Trickling: When a team goes in one-by-one and dies rather than grouping up.
Turtling: A highly defensive composition and a type of cheese comp, similar to Protect-The-President.
U
Ult: Ultimate. Refers to a hero’s ultimate ability.
Ult-Combo: Refers to 2 or more ultimates that pair well.
(Also reffered to as: combo, Wombo-Combo)
(Ex. Zarya’s Graviton Surge and Hanzo’s Dragonstrike)
Ult-Economy: Managing ultimates and distributing them at optimal times. Often times teams will make pushes they know will fail to force out key ults and swing the ult advantage, or ult economy, in their favor. These pushes are referred to as “dry pushes”.
Credits: PabloPenguin
Ult-Tracking: Following which ultimate’s have been used by the enemy team and when as a way to work which ultimate’s they currently have or are close too getting.
(Not to be confused with Tracking).
Credits: zippity
UP: Under-powered. Refers to an ability or hero being too weak.
Credits: JǺMĔŜ
V
VC: Voice Chat. This refers to the voice chat channel that is available in-game.
Credits: FledgeSRondo
W
[Hero Name] Walled: Refers to a Mei using her Ice Wall ability to separate an enemy from the rest of their team, making for an easy pick.
Credits: Quasar
Wall: Refers to Symmetra’s ultimate, Photon Barrier or Mei’s Ice Wall ability.
Not to be confused with Walls
Credits: Profane
Walls/Wallhacks: Used to describe Widowmaker’s Infra-Sight ultimate.
(E.g. “Don’t peek, they have walls”)
Not to be confused with Wall
If you have any terms you think should be added please leave them below.
