Communication: Part 2
by JR Cook - 9 years ago show comments
Last week we started discussing communication, specifically how to use the ping system. This week I thought we would follow up with some examples of how you can use the chat feature to improve your game experience. We will also define some common MOBA terms that you might see in chat.
Let’s be friends!
I am not sure if this works at Rank 1 Hero League, where everyone is a super cool leet gamer, but at the Average Joe level where I play, it seems like a little civility goes a long way. Simple things like saying ‘hey guys’ or ‘good luck, have fun’ in the beginning can set a positive tone that will carry over thru the rest of the game. Building a solid foundation of upbeat communication early can also soften the blow of a critical comment later in the game. If the first interaction you have with a teammate is him saying, ‘WTF are you doing #$&@%???’ 10 minutes into the game, things are probably going to go downhill quickly. Good communication at the beginning of the game can also lead to better teamwork throughout the game. Once people get used to working together it becomes second nature. Even two or three players who are on the same page can have a dramatic impact on your team’s success.
Keep the cheerful comments going throughout the game. Compliments can go a long way towards keeping your team’s moral up, even if it is something as simple as ‘good job’ or ‘nice!’. If someone starts to complain, say something encouraging or try to steer the conversation in a different direction. It can be very easy to lose a casual player or a negative one. Some people just aren’t that invested in the game to begin with, while others are prone to give up at the first sign of adversity. Being optimistic and confident in chat can help keep these people on the right track. Most people play this game for fun. Anything you can do to help make it an enjoyable experience for everyone is time well spent.
Take charge!
Teams generally do better when they have a leader. Just because you are playing solo queue doesn’t mean that you can’t have a coordinated team. Don’t be afraid to be the person to step up and take charge if your team is lacking direction. The key is to be subtle. You don’t want to come out firing and immediately start telling people what lane to push, what build to take, or how the Hero they are playing isn’t a top tier selection. No one likes a micro manager, and no one likes a know it all. Keep it positive and be selective about when to lead, and people will follow you. You can accomplish quite a bit with timely pings and well placed comments. Even a small increase in your team’s ability to work together is going to give you an advantage over a team of random players.
Say what?
Have you ever tried to explain a game to someone who isn’t a gamer? If so, you know it can often seem as if you are speaking a completely different language. That is because in many ways you are. The gaming culture is littered with slang and abbreviations that often don’t make any sense when taken out of the context of the game. Even if you are an experienced gamer, there are still plenty of MOBA specific terminology that you might not know. The fast paced nature of MOBAs lends itself to very abbreviate chat. It quite common to see one word, or even a single letter, typed in chat and players are expected to understand the meaning. Here is a quick rundown of some of the more common terms that you might encounter in Heroes of the Storm.
AOE – Short for area of effect. Refers to attacks that do damage to an area, as opposed to a single target.
Back or B – Means that the Hero is returning to the base.
Body Block – Using a Hero’s body to restrict the movement of another Hero.
Bot – Bottom Lane.
Build – This refers to the talents that you select for your Hero, as well as the overarching theme for selecting those specific talents.
CC – Short for crowd control. Refers to abilities that stun, root, or otherwise limit the movement of an enemy Hero, or their ability to participate in a fight.
CD – Cool down.
Care – Take care, be careful. Often used to point out situations such as the enemy team approaching level 10, or when the location of opposing Heroes is unknown.
Carry – This has a different meaning in other MOBAs, but in Heroes it refers to primary damage dealers.
Champ or Toon – Refers to the Hero that you are playing.
Creeps or Minions – These are the small, computer controlled creatures that spawn at your base and then advance down a Lane towards the enemy base.
Def or D – Defend.
Dive – Refers to aggressively, sometimes even recklessly, attacking the enemy.
DPS – Term from other games that means damage per second. In Heroes it typically refers to either Assassins or high damage Specialists, or simply damage in general.
EXP or XP – Experience.
Feeding – Excessive deaths, whether on purpose or thru poor play, that provide experience to the enemy team.
Gank – Surprise attack or ambush.
GJ – Good job!
GLHF – Good luck, have fun!
GG – Good game!
Heroic, Ultimate or Ult – This is the talent that you receive at level 10. These are very powerful talents that define your Hero.
Jungle – This is the area between lanes. It is also where mercenary camps are located. A Jungler is a Hero who specializes in capturing Mercenary camps, or who attempts to Gank opposing Heroes between lanes.
Kiting – Getting the enemy to chase or follow you.
Lane – The main roads leading between the bases, where the creeps travel. Most maps have either two or three lanes.
Laning Phase – Generally the early part of the game, prior to level 10, where your goal is to gain experience as quickly as possible by having someone in each Lane.
Mercs – Mercenaries, such as Siege Giants and Bruisers, who can be captured to fight for either team.
Mid – Middle Lane.
Missing or MIA – This means that an enemy who was once in a lane is no longer there. Meant to warn others of an enemy who may be Roaming.
Nuke – A hard hitting attack, or quick series of attacks, meant to quickly take down a target.
OOM – Short for out of mana. Generally means that it is time to fall back, especially if it is the healer who says it.
Overextending – Advancing so far down a lane, or into the enemy team, that you can no longer be supported by your team, or no longer have an escape route.
Peel – Protecting a teammate who is being targeted by the enemy. Often involves the use of Crowd Control.
Poke – Attacking from a distance, or dealing damage without fully engaging in a team fight.
Push – This is the process of advancing down a lane farther than your opponent.
Roaming – Moving around the map to pick up enemy kills, as opposed to staying in a Lane to farm experience.
Skill Shot – As the name suggests, this is an ability that you have to manually aim to target.
Soak – Focus on gaining Experience.
Split Push – Pushing multiple Lanes at the same time.
Top – Top Lane.
WD – Well done!
WTF – Why The Face (this is a PG 13 article after all). You have done something that they do not approve of, or they do not understand what just happened.
#&*@% – You have your profanity filter enabled and are unable to see the colorful language that your teammate is using.
Heads up!
A big part of effectively communicating in Heroes of the Storm comes down to being concise and to the point. With all the action in the game, you don’t have a lot of time to type and your team doesn’t have a lot of time to read. Whenever possible use pings to get your point across, and don’t waste time with unnecessary chat. The more you type, the less likely your team is to listen to you. Focus on key information that is relevant at that moment. If you are Lili and your Ult is on cooldown going into a fight, you might say, ‘cups on CD’. If you are ETC and you have Mosh Pit ready, you might say, ‘Moshing next tm fight’. If the Objective is about to spawn and they are close to level 10, a ‘care, ults for them soon’ might be a good way to keep people from overextending. Little things like this can be enough to tip the game in your favor.
See you in the Nexus!
