Glossary

Combat terms

Airdet

When a Demoman detonates his stickies while they are in mid-flight.

Amby

Another name for the Ambassador.

Airpipe

When a Demoman hits someone on the enemy team in midair with one of his grenades.

Airshot

When a player hits someone on the enemy team in midair with a projectile. Usually used to refer to a Soldier hitting someone in midair with one of his rockets.

Baiting

When a player, either intentionally or unintentionally tricks another player to take a fight. When the bait is intentional, generally an opponent will be tricked into fighting a fight that is not in his/her favor. When the bait is unintentional, a teammate will generally suffer, as he/she was tricked into committing to a fight with a low chance of winning.

Players might bait their own teammates if, for example, a call is made to commit to a fight but they fail to do so without letting their teammates know.

Buff

The excess health granted (up to 150% base hp) by any of the Medic's Mediguns when he continues to heal a player after they already have full health.

Bomb

The act of using explosive jumps in order to propel yourself towards the enemy. The resulting speed and height advantage is then usually used in an attempt to take out key targets such as the Medic or Demoman. Bombing is generally done by the roaming soldier, and usually results in the bomber dying

Clutch

Adjective used to describe risky plays that save a team from certain round or match loss.

Crater

The act of a player falling to their death. Often used after a player is airshot.

Crit Heals

A term used to describe the Medigun's mechanic of healing faster based on how long it has been since a player has taken damage. After not taking damage for 10 seconds the healing scales up from 24 hp/s to the maximum rate of 72 hp/s. Crit heals apply for buffs as well.

A Medic's self heal rate also increases based on the time since damage was taken. This starts at a rate of 3 hp/s, scaling up over 10 seconds to a maximum of 6 hp/s. This rate is doubled while the Medic is healing a player who is below full health, to a maximum of 12hp/s.

DH

The Soldier's unlockable item, the Direct Hit.

Drop

A drop is when the Medic dies with ÜberCharge ready. It also refers to a Medic with his ÜberCharge ready or currently deployed letting a nearby teammate die by not flashing or using Über to save the player.

Focusing, Focus Damage

As a combat class, focusing means intentionally targeting a single player to prioritize kills on the most important players. Usually, multiple players focus targets together to kill them faster instead of spreading out the damage dealt by teammates across multiple enemies.

Frag, Fragged

To kill a player. A Frag movie refers to an edited video completion of kills or good plays.

Gun, Mini, Level 1/2/3

An Engineer's sentry. Players often refer to them by their level. Eg: "Level 3 on cliff" Or by type of sentry (mini/normal). Eg: "Mini on left, behind the point"

Hardscope

When a Sniper stays scoped for enough time to fully charge his shot. It also refers to a Sniper locking down a single sightline.

Hurt, Lit, Destroyed, Hit, Tagged, Fucked

Used to describe players who have taken a lot of damage. The ambiguity of these terms emphasized the importance of calling the specific amount of health a player has.

Juggle

To use damage (usually explosive) aimed at an enemy's feet to knock them up by a small distance, preventing effective movement and making a follow-up hit easier.

Juke

A dodge.

Kite

A universal gaming term for dictating the range and engaging from a distance (when an enemy may want to bring the fight closer). Usually in the context of Über fights, the defending team may kite an offensive Über by running away and staying out of the optimal range of the offensive Über.

Kritz

An abbreviation for the Medic's weapon Kritzkrieg. Often used as a verb to mean using the uber of this weapon.

Meatshot

A close range shot with a Shotgun or Scattergun where all pellets hit the target, doing 90 damage (Shotgun) or 105 damage (Scattergun). The term was popularized by ESEA-Invite Scout player carnage.

Milking

Holding out using an Ubercharge in the face of large amounts of damage, to maximize the potential of the Ubercharge, when it is used.

Peeking

When someone looks into an area but is not planning on pushing into it, usually to gain information on the enemy's positioning.

Pipe

A Demoman's grenade. When used as a verb, eg: "Medic's piped", it refers to said player taking a direct grenade, or 100 damage.

Pop

The act of deploying an ÜberCharge or Kritzkrieg.

Quickscope

When a Sniper scopes in and fires without charging his shot.

Roller

A Demoman's grenade after it hits the ground / wall.

Spam

Repeated shooting at chokes for the purpose of area denial, usually by Soldiers and Demomen due to the splash damage property of their projectiles.

Splash

The property of the explosion of rockets and grenades to damage players near the explosion without making physical contact with the projectile.

Trickstab

A term used to describe maneuvers in which a Spy backstabs an enemy using a set of movement tactics to kill players that are aware of his presence and who are actively trying to avoid getting backstabed.

Übered

Used to describe a player that has been Übercharged by a Medic (Eg: Demo’s Übered) or used to signify that a Medic used their Übercharge. (Eg: Medic Übered)

Force

When a player forces an enemy Medic to activate his ÜberCharge earlier than desired by presenting an immediate threat to the Medic's life or that of his teammates.

Wipe

A wipe occurs when the entire team dies at once.

Metagame terms

Backcap

When a player, typically a Scout, gets behind enemy lines and starts capping a point behind the front line thus forcing some members from the team to go back or, if the backcapped point is last, winning the round.

Called

The act of using the voice command "Ubercharge Ready!" This voice command is automatically called when a Medic gains full Ubercharge if another voice command is not already in use. This command can also be called manually by a Medic in an attempt to trick the enemy team into thinking that he has full Ubercharge. For this reason, it is important to differentiate between hearing the enemy Medic "Call" and seeing that the Medic has Ubercharge.

Callout

A term attributed to a particular area of a map to quickly communicate location.

Coast to Coast Push

The term referring to the process where the team that was pushed to their last point pushes all the way to the opposing team's last point, subsequently resulting in a capture and round win.

Combo

The Medic and the players that play near him. Their job is to use Uber to spearhead pushes and secure main areas to control objectives on offense and to deny access to the objectives and shut down Ubers on defense. In 6v6, the combo is usually a Medic, the Pocket Soldier, and the Demoman. In Highlander, the combo varies but is most often made up of the Medic, Heavy, Demoman, and sometimes Pyro. In 4v4, the combo usually consists of a Scout, a Soldier switching between Roamer and Pocket when needed, a Demoman and a Medic.

Dry Push

When a team pushes a point or an area without an Ubercharge. Commonly used when there is not enough time to charge an Uber, or when there are other factors that make the push viable (Player/ammo/health advantage, etc.)

Distraction

When one or more players openly present themselves to engage on the enemy in an attempt to draw their attention away from key targets, objectives or positions.

Domino Cap

When a point is lost because the previous point was taken with such force that a defense of the next could not be set up in time (ex. after a wipe on a 5CP map, a team is likely to lose two control points before they are spawned and ready to fight back).

Double Overtime

In King of the Hill, when both teams have dropped their timers to 0 and the attacking team has capture time on the point, triggering Overtime.

Golden Cap

When the time limit has expired and both teams have the same number of rounds, a Golden Cap determines the winner in a winner takes all round.

Faked, Faking Uber

When a Medic manually triggers the 'Ubercharge ready' voiceline to fool the enemy team into thinking they have Uber. This is done for strategic purposes, often to disguise the fact they are at an Uber disadvantage or to trick the enemy into thinking they are using The Kritzkrieg.

Flank

In 6's, the flank consists of the roaming Soldier and the flank Scout, who coordinate with one another to secure kills. For example, in many situations, the roamer uses his Scouts as bait to lure the enemy into the roamer's hiding spot for an easy pick. If plays are made on the flank and the team secures a positional or number advantage (in 6s and Highlander) the flank classes can push forward to hold territory and create a buffer for the combo classes to push in and capture points.

In Highlander, the flank composition can vary between teams, but generally consists of the Soldier, Scout, Engineer, Pyro and Sniper (both occasionally) and the Spy. Soldier plays a roaming role to distract the enemy and secure picks. Spy attacks with the help of a distraction, such as a bombing Soldier or Über push. When the Scout is not pushing the Payload cart, he watches the flanks and ensures no one flanks his own team, by putting out damage and/or getting key picks, for instance, shutting down the enemy Sniper. Ocassionally, Pyro may choose to make flanking plays if he does not stick to the combo, and the Engineer can choose to patrol a flank on maps with his sentry guns. In addition, the Sniper normally hangs far back behind friendly lines to get picks (or with the combo) but if he chooses, he may roam around on the flank to secure better sightlines on enemy players, especially the enemy Medic who is building Über.

In 4s, the flank is consisted of a Scout and a Soldier/Pyro. The roles of the Scout and the Soldier are the same as in 6s, but because the teams are smaller than in 6s, flanks are easier to control and as such, allow for a more fast-paced gameplay.

Flank classes assist the combo classes by watching the entrances that the combo isn't during holds and stalemates, and create openings and advantages via bombs, picks and off-pushes.

Flex

In Prolander this is the player/s outside of the combo who regularly switch classes within a round/match. For example, on defence they might run Engineer but on offence switch to Spy. Some classes such as Medic, Demoman, Heavy, Sniper, Soldier almost always remain constant within a match and the other 2 players, the flex players, swap to adapt to the game/strategy.

Focus

Focus, or also known as Focus-Fire, is when most classes on a team all attack the same player, usually a target of high value, or a target that is very aggressive.

Leapfrogging

When the two Medics have übers out of sync, the medic who has full über first can get a free push into the other Medic without much risk since the enemy doesn't have full charge. However, if the push doesn't result in an enemy Medic pick, then the other team will have advantage and can push back in the same manner. This is called Leapfrogging. The occurs commonly on midpoints of 5CP maps when the team that loses their Medic wins the Midfight.

Pick(s)

Kill on a player who is on the other team. Generally used to indicate the kill obtained when the enemy team was off guard.

Main

The Class somebody almost always plays in a competitive team (e.g. Roamer Soldier, Scout, Medic, Sniper). The class one mainly plays in public servers and other non-competitive formats does not contribute towards the concept of a main, although PUGs and Matches that one has merced/rung for would.

Main Caller

The person who decides, communicates, and organizes, or calls, all the team's plays. In lower levels, the task is often delegated to the Medic but higher level play usually is the Pocket or Demoman.

Mask, Masking

When a Medic manually uses a random voiceline to override their automatic 'Fully charged' voiceline that is triggered when they get Uber. This is done for strategic purposes to confuse the enemy and potentially take them by surprise with an Uber/Kritz.

Medigun Checking

When one player on a team changes class to Spy and disguises as the enemy Medic to determine whether the Medic is running the Kritzkrieg or the stock Medi Gun. Many Medics now rename their secondary weapons making it harder to tell, but using 3D disguise viewmodels will circumvent this.

Midfight

The initial battle that takes place on the central control point in a 5CP or King of the Hill match at the start of each round.

Offclass

In 6v6, an offclass is a player of any class apart from the standard line-up of Scout, Soldier, Medic, and Demoman. These are situational classes, most often switched to by a Scout or Roamer when holding, pushing last, or in stalemate situations that often occur in 5CP to acquire a pick.

Overtime

Overtime is the period of time where one team has successfully capped the point, the time has run out, but the point is contested or semi-captured by the opposing team. If the semi-capture recedes fully then the first team wins. In King of The Hill, overtime occurs once the timer has been run all the way down by one team, but the other team is contesting or has some cap time on the point. In Attack/Defend if the opposing team successfully captures the point, overtime ends, time is added to the timer, and that team must then capture the next point.

Pocket

As a noun, it's the player (usually a Soldier/Scout in 6v6 or a Heavy/Demoman in Highlander) who protects the Medic and gets the most heals. However the role of pocket can be applied to most classes depending on the situation.

As a verb, it's the act of taking lots of heals from the medic and protecting him from any threats.

Push

The act of a team moving forward onto the enemy team.

Rotate

Essentially another word for 'move'. For many maps the combo will hold one area (often choke) while the flank classes hold another area (often flank). If the combo wants to push from the flank it is often called for them to 'rotate flank'. They will then move to the flank. The key difference from just saying 'move' is that rotate implies that the flank will swap with the combo and then hold/push from there. Individual players can also be called upon to 'rotate to the combo' or rotate to a specific location. In these cases it essentially just means 'move'.

Sac

Short for sacrifice, when you purposely get yourself killed to help your team. For example getting yourself killed to touch payload cart or jumping into their entire team to force their Medic to use Uber.

Stock

Stock weapons are the vanilla weapons available in the game, which were present in the game at launch. The opposite of unlocks.

Trade

When one person from each team kills each other; also when an offclass such as a Spy or Sniper kill a class of equal value like a Scout or Soldier.

Tunnel Vision

Originally a reference to camping Snipers who look down their scope too much and have no peripheral vision (as if looking through a tunnel), in Team Fortress 2 it usually just refers to a player who focuses too much on an objective or player and fails to notice other players around him, which usually results in death to ambushers or flankers.

Über Advantage

When a Medic is significantly closer (usually ~20% or more) to having a full uber or gets his uber before the other team's Medic. Can also be referred to as just 'ad'.

Über Counting

When a team (often the Medic) calculates or predicts the enemy Medic's Uber levels allowing them to be aware of potential Uber advantage/disadvantage. This can be done in several ways including calculating the time since the enemy Medic has spawned, and noting the difference in time between your Medic spawning and theirs. Knowing which team has Uber advantage/disadvantage has a large impact on the immediate strategy of the team.

Über Exchange

When one Medic uses an Uber to force the other Medic to also use Uber. Both teams will try to make the enemy Medic flash more or drop players (not save them with the uber) to give them an advantage. It is a tactic commonly used to break stalemates and bust through choke points.

Unlocks

Unlocks are the non-vanilla weapons available in the game, which were added to the game after its launch. The opposite of stock weapons.

Turtling

Turtling is a gaming strategy where the player focuses on building up his defenses rather than going on the attack in a way that depends heavily on defense, such as blocking, counter-attacking and then avoiding attacks until the time runs out. Eg. defending last when having match points advantage until de half time concludes.

Map terms

Cart Path

The part of the map on which the cart runs, and tracks are visible on the ground. Also may be referred to as Track.

Choke

General term applied to several maps referring to narrow hallways, rooms, or entrances.

Flank(ers)

The Flank is any area where the combo isn't. The Flank can also refer to the players who watch those areas. They are the players that don't rely on their Medic for heals and who prevent enemy flankers from getting into any positional advantage from which they can ambush the Medic. They tend to spark pushes by forcing Über or securing significant picks. In 6v6, the flank typically consists of the Roamer and a Scout.

Last

The final control point. Used to refer to the 1st control point on either side of a 5CP map, or the bomb site in payload.

Mid

The 3rd (or center) point. Usually where the fighting begins at the start of a round after players complete their rollouts. Can also refer to the point in KOTH.

Rollout

The sequence of jumps and paths each class takes to the mid point. While there are many different strategies and rollouts employed for each map, the general objective is for each team to have the fastest rollout to the middle point that leaves everyone with a full buff, as that gives immediate point presence and area advantage to the faster team.

Sightline

An angle or area that a Sniper might be commonly be watching. Often long distance stretches where a Sniper can sit safely back and cover. They are areas to be avoided or approached cautiously, especially by Medics.

Shutter

General term applied to several maps referring to areas with grey doors that open when players are near them.

Spire

A control point with a large height advantage (ex. Process 2nd). Gives jumping classes an advantage and is usually the second control point on a 5cp map. Spire is also a callout referring to the second and fourth points of badlands respectively.

General Terms and Abbreviations

Alien

Used to describe a player that utilizes unconventional or nonsensical movement, tactics, etc. to their benefit. These strategies are often utilized when facing opponents who lack experience outside of the meta, causing confusion. The target of this label may or may not be aware that they are using these tactics.

Big

A common verbal response to a game/match-winning kill such as a medic dropping Uber/Kritz or an important kill is made.

Comms

An abbreviated name for your teams' communications. The term is often used in phrases such as "Clear comms!" which means a call to stop unnecessary talking in your voice chat that could be found distracting.

DM

Short for "deathmatch", a term used to describe a player's individual ability to kill enemy players.

Demo

A person's perspective from a game. Demos are recorded in a few different ways. The most common and hassle-free method is PREC, a plugin used by many players. This program records demos automatically and has many features such as bookmarks. Demos can also be recorded manually through the console commands "record <demo name>". You can stop recording with the command "Stop".

Recording a demo is also known to fix some glitches, such as invisible player models.

Demo is also used as a shortening of Demoman.

Fatkidded

Commonly used term to describe not being picked in a PUG, referring to playground pickup sports, where the fat kid is always picked last (or not at all).

GG

"Good Game".

GH

"Good Half."

GL HF

"Good Luck, Have Fun".

GR

"Good Round".

LAN dodger

A term referring to someone who is unable to attend their team's LAN matches.

LFT

An abbreviation for Looking For Team. A person who wishes to join a currently active team.

LFP

An abbreviation for Looking For Players. A person whose team is in need of players.

LFS

An abbreviation for Looking For Scrims. A person who wishes to find another team to scrim with.

Lobby

A lobby is a semi-competitive game played on a matchmaking website such as tf2center. Lobbies are often not taken seriously, and PUGs are generally better for practicing.

MGE

A gameplay mod that allows for 1v1 matches, typically on 6v6 classes, is often used to practice DM.

Mix

A match in which the teams consist of friends. The Medic is usually chosen at random or with a "Last to spec" call if there are no volunteers. In Europe the term "Doublemix" is used for in-house PUGs.

Roach

Derogatory for an annoying, toxic, or otherwise undesirable player.

RUP

"Ready Up"

PCW

An initialism for Practice Clan War. A practice match between two teams. A European term; see Scrim.

Pencil jump

When a player, usually a Soldier, jumps straight up in the air. It is common amongst less experienced rocket jumpers and new players.

P-REC

A demo recording plugin for TF2.

Pub

Commonly used term to describe public games and/or servers.

PUG, Pickup

An abbreviation for Pick-Up Game. Usually employed as a way to practice in a competitive environment as close as possible to an official competitive game, in which players sign up for classes they wish to play. Some pickup systems/sites also have a captain system in which two players are then assigned as "Captains" and pick their teams.

Scrim

An abbreviation for scrimmage match. A practice match between two teams or two people.

STV

Source Television. A server plugin that can be used by casters to watch a game with a default 90 second delay. STVs make watching matches possible, as a caster or viewer does not have to be connected to the game server to watch, just the stv server.

Solly

A commonly used term referring the Soldier.

VOD

An abbreviation for Video-On-Demand. An uploaded recording of a match. Also sometimes used as a term referencing the archiving of a live stream.

Ringer / Merc / Sub

A name used to describe players who are playing as a substitute for a team due to missing players, while not actually being on that teams roster.

Waddle

A term used to describe Soldier players who rarely utilize rocket-jumping, thus resorting to Soldier's slow walking speed as their sole means of locomotion.
The term is also used in a more broad sense to describe any sort of movement along the ground as Soldier; Particularly when rocket-jumping isn't possible due to low health, or a lack of ammo.

Whitelist

A whitelist is a list of allowed items used mainly in competitive. The items not in the whitelist will not be equipable and will reset players to stock.