Glossary


Info

Words highlighted bold have a definition within this page, letting you search for it here.

A - E

AA
Initialism for Ancient Apparition "AA" redirects here. For the professional player, see ARS-ART.   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     dota2 .
AC
Initialism for Assault Cuirass   Item   Changelogs     Assault Cuirass Forged in the depths of the nether reaches, this hellish mail provides an army with increased armor and attack speed. Cost5250 (1300) Bought FromArmor Passive Assault Aura dota2 .
Aggro
Abbreviation for aggression. The programmed aggression of AI controlled towers and creeps. Refers to getting the attention of a particular hostile unit, e.g. "I have aggro" means a hostile unit is focusing on attacking you.
AM
Initialism for Anti-Mage.
AoE
Initialism for Area of Effect. It refers to a spell, attack, or effect that affects an area around a point (for instance, Dragon Slave   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Lina 18 + 1.8 16 + 1.5 27 + 3.2 Level Base dota2 is an "AoE spell"). Also used to refer to the range or size of one such spell/attack/effect, for example Reverse Polarity   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Magnus 21 + 3.2 15 + 2.5 19 + 1.65 Level Base dota2 affects enemies in a 410 radius, therefore it has an AoE of 410, or "410 AoE".
AW
Initialism for Arc Warden   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Arc Warden 24 + 3 15 + 1.8 24 dota2 .
B
Initialism for "Back" or "Get Back". Used to call for a retreat. A player saying "b" is usually suggesting that everyone back up or run away.
BAT The frequency with which units attack is measured in attack speed. A unit s attack speed can be modified by items, agility, abilities, and auras. Contents 1 Base attack time 2 Attack speed representation 3 Attack dota2
Abbreviation for Base Attack Time, which determines how long an unbuffed unit with 0 agility and 0% bonus attack speed has to wait to attack again. Lower BAT units are able to attack more frequently. Most heroes have a BAT of 1.70. It is considered better to have a lower BAT and worse to have a higher BAT.
Backdoor
The act of attacking enemy structures while a player`s own lane creeps have not reached the structure yet. Usually ineffective due to backdoor protection Buildings are special units that are immune to most spells, use structure armor, and are immobile. Destroying a building rewards you with a bounty, similar to most creeps or heroes. Destroying towers rewards the entire dota2 .
Ball
May refer to Io or snowballing.
Barracks Buildings are special units that are immune to most spells, use structure armor, and are immobile. Destroying a building rewards you with a bounty, similar to most creeps or heroes. Destroying towers rewards the entire dota2
Structures found in each lane that when destroyed permanently grant super creeps to the team that destroyed it.
BB
Initialism for Bristleback   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Bristleback 22 + 2.2 17 + 1.8 14 + 2.8 Level Base dota2 or Buyback “ Play Now that s how you make gold. Click to listen— Alchemist ” Gold is the currency used to buy items or instantly revive your hero. Gold can be earned from killing heroes, creeps, or buildings. Contents dota2 .
BD
Initialism for backdooring.
BF
Initialism for Battle Fury For the cosmetic item equipped by Faceless Void, see Battlefury (Equipment).   Item   Changelogs     Battle FuryB The bearer of this mighty axe gains the ability to cut down swaths of enemies at dota2 .
BH
Initialism for either Bounty Hunter "Bounty" redirects here. For the reward earned from last-hits, see Gold.   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs dota2 , or Enigma   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Enigma 17 + 2.4 14 + 1 20 + 3.4 Level Base dota2 `s ultimate, Black Hole   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Enigma 17 + 2.4 14 + 1 20 + 3.4 Level Base dota2 .
Bird
May refer to Phoenix   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Phoenix 19 + 3.2 12 + 1.3 18 + 1.8 Level Base dota2 , Skywrath Mage   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Skywrath Mage 19 + 1.8 13 + 0.8 27 + 3.6 Level dota2 (and his spells), Visage   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Visage 22 + 2.7 11 + 1.3 24 + 2.5 Level Base dota2 `s Familiars Familiar Ancient Creep-Hero Level 2 Duration Permanent Health 400/550/700 Health regeneration 0 Armor 0/1/2 Magic resistance 35% Attack damage 10 Acquisition range 250 Attack range 160 Base attack time 0.4 Attack animation 0.33+0.2 Projectile speed dota2 , or the flying courier   Item   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Flying CourierB The faithful mount upon which soar the fortunes of battle. Cost250 (150) Bought FromConsumables Active Upgrade Courier Charges 1 Disassemble? No Alert allies? No dota2 .
BKB
Initialism for Black King Bar   Item   Changelogs     Black King BarB A powerful staff imbued with the strength of giants. Cost3975 (1375) Bought FromArmor Active Avatar Bonus +10 Strength+24 Attack damage Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe dota2 .
BM
Initialism for Beastmaster   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Beastmaster 23 + 2.5 18 + 1.6 16 + dota2 , Brewmaster   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Brewmaster 23 + 3.2 22 + 1.95 14 + dota2 , Broodmother   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Broodmother 17 + 2.8 18 + 2.2 18 + dota2 , Blade Mail   Item   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Blade MailBL A razor-sharp coat of mail, it is the choice of selfless martyrs in combat. Cost2200 Bought FromArmor Active Damage Return Bonus +10 Intelligence+6 Armor+22 dota2 or "bad manners".
Bot
Refers to either the bottom lane of the map, or an AI-controlled hero.
BoT, BoTs
Initialism for Boots of Travel   Item   Changelogs     Boots of TravelB Winged boots that grant omnipresence. Cost2400 (2000) Bought FromCommon Active Teleport Bonus +100 Movement speed Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe The Boots of Travel are dota2 .
Bottle Crow
The tactic of giving one`s Bottle   Item   Changelogs     BottleBL An old bottle that survived the ages, the contents placed inside become enchanted. Cost650 Bought FromConsumables Active Regenerate Charges 3 / 1 Passive Store Rune Disassemble? No Alert dota2 to the courier, then sending it on a round trip back to base to refill the bottle and give it back to the owner. This keeps the player`s HP/MP healthy, and they do not have to miss any exp/gold from lane refilling it themselves. Note that any bottle that is not full slows the courier by 30%, and the act of bottle crowing may hamper player`s allies as it gets harder to deliver their own items while the courier is making trips.
BRB
Initialism for "be right back".
Break
Refers to either the effect of disabling the effects of a hero`s passive abilities For the passive ability of Tranquil Boots, see here. Break is a status effect that disables passive abilities from those affected. It does not disable passive components from items such as evasion from Talisman of dota2 or the other passive ability of Tranquil Boots   Item   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Tranquil BootsB While they increase the longevity of the wearer, this boot is not particularly reliable. Cost975 Bought FromSupport Passive Break Bonus +14 Health regeneration+90 Movement dota2 .
BS
Initialism for Bloodseeker   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Bloodseeker 23 + 2.7 24 + 3 18 + dota2 or Bloodstone See the in-game item. For the Beta memorial gems, see Bloodstone of the Ancestor, Bloodstone of the Precursor, and Bloodstone of the Founder.   Item   Changelogs     Bloodstone The Bloodstone s dota2 . May also be used as an acronym for "bullshit".
Buff
A beneficial spell or effect placed on a unit. Refers to the opposite of a debuff.
Burst or Burst Damage
Refers to a high amount of damage dealt over a short period of time. Usually involves nukes.
Carry The heroes in Dota 2 are defined by the roles that they are suited to play as a combination of their attributes, abilities, and items, and the ways that these shape the game. Although the dota2
A type of hero which can overpower the enemy team in the late game. These heroes tend to scale very well with gold and experience, and thus require large sums of it in order to be successful.
Caster
Either refers to a unit whose primary function is to cast spells prolifically, or a live person who commentates on an ongoing game.
CC
Initialism for Crowd Control. See disable.
CD
Initialism for cooldown Play I m not ready! “ Play  Initializing in... 3..2..1! Click to listen— Tinker ” A cooldown is a period of wait time before a spell, ability, or item power can be used again. Contents 1 Mechanics dota2 or Captain`s Draft “ Play If that s the kind of fight they want, then I will give it to them! Click to listen— Legion Commander ” Game modes are a set of restrictions within which the game of Dota 2 dota2 .
Chicken or Chick
Refers to Animal Courier   Item   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Animal CourierB Losing the courier is punishable by death. Cost100 Bought FromConsumables Active Deploy Courier Charges 1 Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe The Animal Courier dota2 .
Chieftain
See Tauren Chieftain.
CK
Initialism for Chaos Knight   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Chaos Knight 22 + 3.2 14 + 2.1 16 + 1.2 Level dota2 . May also refer to "creep kill" (see CS or last hit).
CM
Initialism for Crystal Maiden   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Crystal Maiden 16 + 2 16 + 1.6 16 + 2.9 Level dota2 or Captain`s Mode “ Play If that s the kind of fight they want, then I will give it to them! Click to listen— Legion Commander ” Game modes are a set of restrictions within which the game of Dota 2 dota2 .
Comeback
A situation when a team is performing poorly for most of the game, but has managed to fight back, turn the tide of battle and ultimately win the game.
Crow
Refers to Flying Courier   Item   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Flying CourierB The faithful mount upon which soar the fortunes of battle. Cost250 (150) Bought FromConsumables Active Upgrade Courier Charges 1 Disassemble? No Alert allies? No dota2 , which upgrades a walking courier. A player asking to "please crow it" is asking for someone to upgrade the courier.
CS
Initialism for Creep Score, the amount of last hits Play “A murky mess.” This page has been marked for general cleanup. Please see Dota 2 Wiki style guide for information on how to improve this article. Contents 1 Last-hitting 2 Denying 3 Attack animations and a player has, or the amount of last hits and denies a player has. In DotA 1, typing -cs would show the player`s last hits and denies count. May also refer to "creep steal", the act of stealing last hits from an allied player.
CW
Initialism for Clockwerk   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Clockwerk 26 + 3.2 13 + 2.3 17 + 1.3 Level Base dota2 .
DD
Initialism for Rune of Double Damage   Double Damage   Haste   Illusion   Invisibility   Regeneration   Bounty   Arcane     See more: Runes#List Buff icon Double Damage Play AbilityNo Target AffectsSelf Increases base damage by 100%. Attack Damage dota2 .
Debuff
A detrimental spell of effect placed on a unit. Refers to the opposite of a buff.
Deny
Killing your allied unit, hero or building, in order to prevent an enemy from gaining the gold and experience it gives. You can manually attack your own creeps if their health is below 50%, your own towers below if they are below 10%, and heroes affected by certain DoTs. A hero can also be said to be denied if they die to neutral creeps instead of to an enemy unit.
Deward
The act of removing enemy wards, usually mostly pertaining to Observer Wards   Item   Changelogs     Observer WardB A form of half-sentient plant, often cultivated by apprentice wizards. Cost60 Bought FromConsumables Active Place Observer Ward Charges 1 Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe Observer Ward dota2 .
DGU
Initialism for "Don`t give up".
Dieback
When a player dies after using their Buyback, resulting in a much longer respawn time and them unable to use it once more as it will most definitely be on cooldown.
Disable Disables (also called crowd control, or CC) refer to any abilities or status effects that prevent, impede, or otherwise inhibit a Hero from acting. Disables come in many different varieties, and most Heroes have access
A catch-all term referring to any spell, ability, or effect that otherwise prevents an enemy hero from moving, casting, and/or attacking, leaving them helpless for a short period of time or in general impeding their ability to act. See the main article for more information.
DK
Initialism for Dragon Knight.
DoT
Damage over Time, an applied effect that repeatedly inflicts damage at a regular interval for a specific duration. A classic example would be Venomancer`s Poison Nova.
DP
Initialism for Death Prophet.
DPS
Initialism for damage per second, a measure of the damage dealt by a hero or unit over one second. Usually refers to heroes with consistent damage output over a period rather than heroes with high burst damage periodically.
Dunk
Refers to either Axe`s ultimate, Culling Blade, or Earthshaker`s ultimate, Echo Slam.
Durable
A hero that can take a lot of damage and abuse before dying. See the main article for more information.
Dust
Abbreviation for the item, Dust of Appearance.
Easy lane
See Safe Lane.
Egg
Refers to Phoenix   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Phoenix 19 + 3.2 12 + 1.3 18 + 1.8 Level Base dota2 ` ultimate, Supernova.
Epi
Refers to Sand King`s ultimate, Epicenter.
ES
Initialism for Earthshaker, Earth Spirit, or Ember Spirit.
ET
Initialism for Elder Titan.
Exp or XP
Experience, the resource used by heroes to gain levels, level skills, and otherwise increase in power over the course of a game.
ez
"Easy", typically said to mock the enemy team`s lesser power.

Videos

F - J

Fade time
The amount of time it takes for a unit to become completely invisible following the activating of an invisibility effect.
Farm or Farming
The process of steadily earning gold and experience by killing lane creeps and/or neutral creeps. This tactic is often slow and tedious, but is usually necessary for Carries to reach their full potential.
FB
Initialism for First Blood.
Feed
The act of "feeding" gold and experience to the enemy team by dying repeatedly. Can be intentional or unintentional. Those who feed are called "feeders".
Flash Farming
A style of farming when you farm your lane creeps until the enemy tower and then proceed to clear neutral creep camps in quick and efficient rotations. This is often the fastest method of farming, but it also allows the enemy to farm your creeps freely by their tower and can be risky, as being near the enemy tower is often an easy gank, or the enemy might know exactly where you are clearing the camp closest to the lane tanking creeps and losing health, etc.
Flash Farming Skill/Ability
An AoE ability that facilitates flash farming by allowing a hero to quickly clear lane creeps or groups of neutrals. The classic flash farming ability is Shadow Fiend`s Shadowraze which allows him to mow down wave after wave of creeps with ease. It is common to hit lane creeps below threshold and then clear them all in one shot with the flash farming ability, and then go off to check rune, kill neutrals, etc.
FF
According to DotA history, "ff" appeared on DotA-League.com (at this time it was for DotA 1), and it means "forfeit". You had to type "-ff" in the game so it can detected and recorded by the dota-league plugin and save the data to your dota-league profile. If all 5 members of one team type it the game would end. Now replaced by calling "gg" if the surrender option is enabled in a lobby.
Fog of War
Refers to the portion of the map that is dark and unseen. If you cannot see an area, then it is said to be "fogged". Most of the map is "fogged" by default, such as Roshan`s lair, and the enemy base.
Fortification/Fortify
The Glyph of Fortification is the button in the bottom right hand of the screen that renders all allied buildings invulnerable for 5 seconds on a 5 minute cooldown. If a player says "don`t fort", they are telling the team to save the glyph for later. Towers are "fortified" for the 5 seconds that the glyph is active.
FoW
Initialism for Fog of War.
Furion
Nature`s Prophet`s name in WC3 DotA. Still referenced in the game`s files for the hero.
Gank
Abbreviation for Gang Kill, but over time the term has come to refer to any time a hero or group of heroes attempts to pick off an enemy hero (or enemy heroes) by surprise, but usually with superior forces (such as 2v1).
Gem
The Gem of True Sight. Most commonly means to either buy a gem, or to be careful of the enemy team as they possess a gem (especially for allied invisible heroes).
gg
"Good game". Said by either team when they are winning or losing and the match is close to ending, or when a team or a player gives up or claims victory. For instance, both teams might say "gg" to congratulate each other after a hard fought match, or a team might call out "gg" after their ally abandons in an assumption that they can no longer win.
ggwp
"Good game, well played". Used in a similar fashion as "gg", but also congratulates the enemy for skillful play.
gj
"Good job", typically said to compliment an ally.
glhf
"Good luck, have fun". Usually said at the start of a game to encourage other players, or just to be courteous.
Golem
Refers to Mud Golems, Ancient Golems, or Warlock`s ultimate summon through Chaotic Offering.
Guinsoo
A reference to Scythe of Vyse`s full name in WC3 DotA, which in turn references one of the developers of the original DotA maps.
Hard Carry
A type of carry hero which scales incredibly well with items and requires a substantial amount of farm to be effective. Examples of this are Anti-Mage and Spectre. Hard carries are usually weaker than other semi-carry or non-carry heroes at the early-mid stages of the game, when they do not yet have their core items.
Hard Lane
The lane of either faction where the creep wave meets up furthest from the tower, making those who lane in it more susceptible to ganks (top lane for Radiant, bottom lane for Dire). See Lane.
HH
Initialism for the item Heaven`s Halberd.
Hook
Refers to either Pudge`s signature ability, Meat Hook, or Clockwerk   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Clockwerk 26 + 3.2 13 + 2.3 17 + 1.3 Level Base dota2 `s ultimate, Hookshot.
HP
Health/hit points, referring to the health a unit has.
inc
Abbreviation for "incoming", usually referring to enemy players heading to a lane to gank.
Initiation
The act of starting (initiating) a teamfight. A good initiation can catch the enemy team off-guard, possibly losing quickly to the attacking team. A hero adept at performing this is called an initiator.
Janggo
Drums of Endurance`s former name in WC3 DotA.
Juking
Running and weaving around trees, fog and other obstacles in such a manner to avoid and possibly escape an enemy.
Jungling
The process of killing the neutral creeps in the woods (aka "jungle") between the lanes. Killing ancient creeps also counts as jungling, but is more often referred to as ancienting or "clearing ancients". A hero adept at jungling (be it by having summons to absorb the creeps` attacks or having good durability/self-sustain) is termed a jungler.

K - O

Kick
More commonly used to refer to Earth Spirit`s Boulder Smash. May also refer to removing a player from a lobby or game or Tusk`s Walrus Kick.
Kite or Kiting
See pulling. A technique where a hero gets the attention of a hostile unit to draw them away or force them to follow. Can also be used to refer to a period of repeated hit-and-run attacks where the target is kept out of range.
KotL
Initialism for Ezalor, the Keeper of the Light.
KS
Either means "kill steal" or, usually jokingly, "kill secure". Firstly, it refers to the act of one hero stealing the kill of another hero that could have easily taken it themselves. Secondly, it refers to when another hero "secures" the kill if the carry or another hero could not do so themselves. The latter meaning is also sometimes interchangeably used with the former meaning in a satirical or comedic way.
LC
Initialism for Legion Commander.
Leoric
Wraith King`s name in WC3 Dota.
Long lane
See Hard Lane.
Lothar`s or Lothar`s Edge
Shadow Blade`s name in WC3 DotA.
LS
Initialism for Lifestealer.
LSA
Initialism for Lina`s ability, Light Strike Array.
Meatball
Refers to Invoker`s Chaos Meteor.
Micro
Micromanagement. Refers to (effective) control and usage of multiple units, items, and abilities in quick succession. Bad micromanagement can result in the many units becoming a hindrance or a liability rather than an asset or ability combos being wasted and/or used in the wrong situations, while a good one can easily overpower an enemy in seconds. Meepo, Invoker, and Chen are good examples of heroes who require good "micro".
Mid/Middle
The middle of the three lanes in the map.
Miss, Missing or MIA
Mentions that a particular hero has gone absent (missing) from their lane, and is probably setting up for a gank. Warning missing enemy heroes is crucial to warn your allies of a possible ambush in any of the lanes. "MIA" is an acronym for "Missing In Action".
MK
Initialism for Monkey King.
MKB
Initialism for Monkey King Bar.
MP
Mana points, referring to the amount of mana a unit has.
MS
Initialism for Movement Speed, or sometimes "missing".
Mute
Refers either to the effect that prevents item usage, or blocking any means of communication from a player in the game to avoid harassment.
N`aix Bomb
Refers to when Lifestealer uses his ultimate, Infest, on an allied hero, preferably one with high mobility or with a Blink Dagger (and perhaps a disable), so that Lifestealer bursts out of his ally upon arrival, dealing additional damage and having two heroes down their target.
Necro
May refer to Necrophos or the Necronomicon. Rarely used to refer to Visage   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Visage 22 + 2.7 11 + 1.3 24 + 2.5 Level Base dota2 , the Bound Form of Necro`lic.
nj
"Nice job", analogous to gj.
NP
Initialism for Nature`s Prophet or "no problem".
Nuke
A spell whose purpose is to deal a large amount of damage immediately or in a very short span of time. Heroes adept at nuking are referred to as nukers.
OC
Initialism for Octarine Core.
OD
Initialism for Outworld Devourer.
Offlane
See Hard Lane.
Offlaner
A hero sent down to the offlane/hard lane, usually on their own. These heroes usually have good escape abilities or are naturally durable to withstand being alone and facing usually two enemy heroes (and being more vulnerable to ganks).
Omni
Refers to Omniknight or Juggernaut`s ultimate, Omnislash.
OoM
Initialism for "out of mana".
OoV
Initialism for Orb of Venom.
Orb effect
The name used for unique attack modifiers in WC3 DotA.
Orb walk
Using your orb effect ability, i.e. Frost Arrows, Searing Arrows, to harass the enemy while moving forward to gain distance on the target, also preventing enemy creep aggro.

P - T

P
Abbreviation for "push" or "pause". Players saying "p" means they are either suggesting the team to push an enemy lane or asking for a pause.
PA
Initialism for Phantom Assassin.
Panda/Pandaren
Brewmaster   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Brewmaster 23 + 3.2 22 + 1.95 14 + dota2 `s former title in WC3 DotA.
Pet
A creature that a hero can summon or convert to their side. For instance, the Eidolons are Enigma   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Enigma 17 + 2.4 14 + 1 20 + 3.4 Level Base dota2 `s pets. Could also refer to the cosmetic pets that follow your hero in-game.
Pit Lord
Underlord`s former title in WC3 DotA.
PL
Initialism for Phantom Lancer.
PP
Initialism for "pause please".
PotM
Initialism for Mirana, the Princess of the Moon.
Proc
Short for "Programmed Random Occurence". It refers to the triggering of effects, whether the occurence is random (such as Wraith King`s critical strikes on attack) or regular (such as Bristleback   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Bristleback 22 + 2.2 17 + 1.8 14 + 2.8 Level Base dota2 `s quill spray every 250 damage he takes). When these effects trigger or "process", they are said to "proc". The rate of occurence for random effects is termed the "Proc rate".
Pull or Pulling
A technique where a hero gets the attention of a hostile unit to draw them away or force them to follow.
QoP
Initialism for Queen of Pain.
Rat
A strategy in which heroes avoid 5-man teamfights, and focus on pushing other lanes instead.
Rax
Abbreviation for barracks.
Recrow
To reuse the courier after it has finished performing one of its deliveries/tasks. Since the courier can only perform one task for one player at a time, this is mentioned to remind/alert other players that the courier is now free to use.
Reuse
See recrow, usually mentioned by Southeast Asian players.
Ricer
Hardcore farmer whose main goal is to be extremely strengthened by the time they come out of their farming.
RNG
Random Number Generation, referring to the proc chance of abilities and items such as Bash or Evasion.
Ro3
See Roshan, usually mentioned by Chinese players.
Roamer
A hero that jumps between lanes, especially in the early game, in order to gank enemy heroes or defend allies.
Rock
May refer to Warlock`s ultimate: Chaotic Offering, Earth Spirit`s Stone Remnants, the Ancient Rock and Granite Golems, or the Mud Golem`s ability: Hurl Boulder.
Roshan or Rosh
Roshan is a difficult-to-kill neutral creep that drops the Aegis of the Immortal when killed (or Cheese on his second death and afterward). Spawns at the beginning of the game, respawns 8-11 minutes after he is killed.
RP
Magnus` ultimate, Reverse Polarity   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Magnus 21 + 3.2 15 + 2.5 19 + 1.65 Level Base dota2 .
Safe lane
The lane of either faction, where the creep wave meets closest to the tower, making farming easier and less risky for those in the lane (bottom lane for Radiant, top lane for Dire). See Lane.
SB
Initialism for Spirit Breaker or Shadow Blade.
Scepter
Mostly refers to Aghanim`s Scepter, although can also refer to Eul`s Scepter of Divinity.
SD
Initialism for Shadow Demon or "self denial" (see suicide).
SF
Initialism for Shadow Fiend.
Sheepstick
Refers to the Scythe of Vyse, since back in WC3 DotA, it actually turned the target into a sheep (unlike in Dota 2, where the hex model is a pig).
Short lane
See Safe Lane.
Silence
The effect of preventing a unit from casting spells, but can still allows item usage and passive abilities are unaffected. See the main article for more information.
SK
Initialism for Sand King. May also refer to Wraith King in reference to his former title, Skeleton King, or Terrorblade, in reference to his former title Soul Keeper.
Skillshot
An ability that requires proper aim and timing to hit an enemy. Some examples would be Sacred Arrow and Powershot.
Smoke
Refers to either Smoke of Deceit, or Riki`s ability Smoke Screen.
Snowball
The situation where a hero or team just gets stronger as the games goes on (usually through getting kills) to the point where it is very difficult to stop them, much like a snowball rolling down a hill getting bigger.
SnY
Initialism for Sange and Yasha.
Solo
Being the only hero on the lane. A player may call for "solo" to prevent other players from interrupting their lane and splitting experience and gold.
Soul Keeper
Terrorblade`s former title in WC3 DotA.
Squishy
A hero that can only take relatively little damage or abuse before dying.
SS
See missing. Mentions that a particular hero has gone missing and is probably setting up for a gank, e.g. "Earthshaker ss" means that Earthshaker isn`t visible to the team. Also refers to the ultimate of a hero ("special/super skill"), usually mentioned by Southeast Asian players. May also refer to Storm Spirit, Shadow Shaman or Sun Strike.
Stacking
May also be referred to as "creep stacking", it is a technique which allows several groups of neutral creeps to spawn at once, done with proper timing.
Static Farming
A sub-type of farming where you aim to only kill enemy lane creeps when they have low hitpoints and deny the allied lane creeps whenever possible, with the goal of maintaining an equilibrium of the lane creeps in a safe position. This is often a slower method of farming, but allows you to farm safely with little risk of dying to a gank.
Stygian Desolator
The Desolator`s former full name in WC3 DotA.
Suicide
The act of killing oneself to deny the enemy of gold and experience. May also directly refer to Techies` ability Blast Off! (formerly Suicide Squad, Attack!), or Bloodstone See the in-game item. For the Beta memorial gems, see Bloodstone of the Ancestor, Bloodstone of the Precursor, and Bloodstone of the Founder.   Item   Changelogs     Bloodstone The Bloodstone s dota2 `s active ability.
Suicide lane
See Hard Lane.
Summoner
A hero whose primary function is summoning or controlling pets.
Support
A hero whose primary function is to help their own team through heals, buffs, and detection, or sabotaging the enemy team through disables, slows, or debuffs.
TA
Initialism for Templar Assassin.
Tank
See Durable.
Tauren Chieftain (or simply Tauren)
Elder Titan`s former title in WC3 DotA.
TB
Initialism for Terrorblade.
Teamwipe
The act of an entire team dying at once.
Throw
The act of giving a supreme advantage to the supposedly losing team, letting them win the match instead. This can be intentional or unintentional.
Throne
See Ancient. Remnant of WC3 DOTA in which the Scourge`s (Dire) Ancient is using the Frozen Throne model.
Top
Refers to the top lane of the map. For the Radiant, this is the lane to the North. For the Dire, this is the lane to the West.
TP
Initialism for Teleport or Town Portal Scroll.
True Sight
Anything invisible caught in the radius of a True Sight source gets revealed. Towers, a Gem of True Sight, Sentry Wards, Dust of Appearance, and some abilities of certain heroes (such as Slardar`s Amplify Damage and Zeus` Lightning Bolt) all provide True Sight. See the main article for more information.
Turnaround
The act of a team facing the enemy in a situation where they might be expected to run, such as when a team initiates on the other. Instead of running away, they try to turn the battle around and fight back, possibly even winning the battle themselves.

U - Z

UAM
Initialism for unique attack modifier.
Ult or Ulti
Abbreviation for Ultimate.
Veno
Abbreviation for Venomancer. Rarely used to refer to Orb of Venom.
VS
Initialism for Vengeful Spirit. Less commonly used to mean "versus".
Wards
Items that can be placed almost anywhere on the map and provide vision around the location for a few minutes. May also refer to the unit type of the same name.
WD
Initialism for Witch Doctor.
Well
The fountain from either team. Derived from its name in WC3 DotA, "Well of Eternity". May also refer to Shrines.
Wipe
See teamwipe.
WK
Initialism for Wraith King.
wp
"Well Played". Usually said by either teams when they are winning or losing and the match is either about to end or when a player did something skillful. Usually paired up with "gg".
WR
Initialism for Windranger.
WW
Initialism for Winter Wyvern. It also may refer to "Wind Walk" abilities, which is derived from the common DotA name of the invisibility spells of Bounty Hunter "Bounty" redirects here. For the reward earned from last-hits, see Gold.   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs dota2 , Clinkz, Shadow Blade and Storm, and the invisibility spells of Nyx Assassin and Invoker (which already had unique names in DotA). All 6 of them are based on the Warcraft 3 spell named "Wind Walk".
Zoning
The act of harassing an enemy hero away from the creep zone in order to prevent them from gaining experience.