Starcraft jargon and abbreviations

All games have their own lingo and if you are playing a game for the first time it can be a bit confusing. Here is a list of the Jargon you will see in Starcraft and Starcraft 2 and the meanings of these sc phrases. Some of the abbreviations are common to other games in particular Blizzard games but the usage may vary slightly. I have tried to make this list as comprehensive as possible but I am sure I would have left some out. If you have better interpretations or new abbreviations to add please drop me a mail.

scii_terran_nuke - starcraft abbreviations page

This is a list of the commonly used lingo in Starcraft, it does not include race specific jargon which I will create another abbreviation list for as soon as I get some time.

Starcraft Abbreviation List:

Abbreviation Short Meaning Longer description
3/3 Fully Upgraded Refers to having maxed out the technology tree upgrades in
APM Actions per minute Average actions taken per minute, used when evaluating your performance
Backdoor Backdoor Entrance Alternative base entrances very often blocked by debris which can be destroyed
Backstab Backstabbing Attacking your allies without warning or notice
BM Bad Mannered Reserved for sore losers who spam pylons or fly buildings around when they have clearly lost the match
BO Build Order Refers to the order in which build commands are issued. For example “Rax 11/19”
BW Broodwar Used to refer to the Starcraft 1 Expansion
Chobo Newbie Korean phrase for Loser/Newbie
Choke Chokepoint Narrow areas used to funnel or slow rushes and control the flow off units, a common strategy for Terran players
DD Don’t die Self explanatory and really good advice Tongue out
DL Don’t leave A request to not leave the game, may signify a request for a rematch
Drop Troup Drop Describes dropping troops using any of the flying units in game which transport units (overlord, vac etc)
DS Don’t suck Self explanatory
Expo Expansion Describes expansion into a new area, often used to refer to your secondary base
Eyes Detection Units Refers to units that can detect invisible units such as Ravens, Observers and Overseers
FTW for the win Common to all blizzard games, often used to express approval of units or tactics.
G2G Good 2 Go Ready to start
GG Good Game Used at the end of a match as a courtesy to other players specifically the winner
GL HF or glhf Good Luck Have Fun Used at the beginning of the game most often by the host as a courtesy
Gosu Upper Hand Korean phrase for high level players
GTG Got to Go Have to leave now
Harrass Harrasment Typically small but frequent attacks used to disrupt the opponents supply line or build order
Hasu Lower Hand Korean phrase for medium level players
KA Kick Ass Self explanatory
L2P Learn to Play A common Blizzard saying and normally a very negative way of saying “you suck”
Line Supply Line Mineral Gathering supply line, for example you may be asked to interrupt a supply line
Macro Macro-management The big picture focus of game play such as supply line management, productions, build orders and expansion
Main Main base Usually a players primary base and most often the starting point
Mass Mass Units Gathering large amounts of units to swarm attack an opponent
Micro Micromanagement The management of units and armies on the battlefield including the use of unit abilities
Money Resources Minerals & Gas
Nat/Natural Natural Expansion The most logical expansion point in relation to starting position
Newb Newbie Used to refer to new players with little to no experience
Noob Noob Used to refer to new or unskilled players with poor attitudes or arrogance.
Owned/Pwned Big Lose A lose by a big margin, for example “I was pwned” or “He got owned”
Pump Unit Production Short phrase for production of units, normally mass production
QQ Cry More Used to describe whining in game for example somebody could be QQing about race imbalance
RM Remake A game started over due to a lost player or any other unfavourable conditions
Rush Early Unit Rush Describes and early rush of basic units attempting to overun the opponent
SC Starcraft General abbreviation for Starcraft
SC2 Starcraft 2 General abbreviation for Starcraft II
Scouting Scouting Gaining information about the map and opponents using units or structure abilities.
SCUM User Map A map made by a starcraft player and not Blizzard
Tech/Teching Technology Upgrades Used to describe spending resources on upgrading technology trees
Turtling Holding Ground Building up a base with heavy defenses without a big focus on offensive, often a negative term
Wall Blocking Wall Blocking the ramp with buildings to slow melee units, common Terran strategy to allow marines to kill off early melee rushes
Worker Gathering Units Refers to building and gathering units – SCV, Probe and Drone
WP Well Played A courtesy to players who displayed skill during a match
XvX Race vs Race Used to describe which races are competing for example TvZ means Terran vs Zerg
Zerged Early Rush Description Used to describe the effect of being rushed, “I was zerged” Popular in many blizzard games for example in WoW you could zerg a PvP point

And there you have it an extensive list of the phrases and abbreviations you may come across while playing Starcraft or Starcraft II.

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