The GW2 Wiki’s abbreviations page is extremely useful. However, sometimes they are missing terms we think players might find useful.
- aDPS
A aDPS, or alacrity DPS, is a support DPS role that provides the alacrity boon.
- Area of Effect (AoE)
Area of Effect are typically characterized by the number of enemies they can hit at once. All skills are either single target or have an AoE. Most things that strike more than one enemy are considered to be AoE skills. Most ground targeted skills are AoE.
Areas of Effect can linger as a field, or they can be single burst of damage, conditions, boons, or other effects.
- CC
Crowd control. See also defiance damage.
- CM
CM, or Challenge Mode, is a type of content that takes standard modes and makes them more difficult. This can be through introducing time limits, adding or changing mechanics, or otherwise modifying encounters. Not every content has CM modes. Some T4 fractals, raids, and strikes have CM modes. The difficulty of CMs varies greatly by encounter.
- Defiance damage
Applying defiance damage will do damage to blue defiance bars underneath an enemies red health bar. Not all enemies have blue defiance bars. Applying sufficient damage to reduce the bar to 0 is known as a “defiance break” or “breaking defiance”
Skills that have disabling effects such as knockdown, knock-back, launch, pull, float, sink, stun, or daze are known as “hard CC”. Hard CC has the strongest defiance break ratings. Each skill’s defiance break rating is determined by the duration and type of disabling effect. Soft CC comes from conditions such as fear, taunt, immobilize, chill, slow, blind, weakness, or crippled. Soft CC is not always effective for break an enemy’s defiance. Tool-tips on skills in game usually reflect how much “defiance damage” a skill will do. However several tool-tips are missing this text or miscalculate how much defiance damage the skill does.
See details.
- DPS
Damage per second. Usually used to refer to a player that intends to provide no group function outside of damage.
If a player intends to provide a boon and do damage they are either qdps or adps
- Dungeon
The first step up in difficulty from open world and first exposure to instanced content outside of story. Dungeons are level scaled and involve two modes: story and explorable. Story modes will always be the same and must be completed before you can initiate an explorable version of the dungeon. Others can open explorable dungeon modes for you. Explorable modes have at least 3 paths per dungeon and are chosen by vote when players start the dungeon. Dungeons are not usually considered difficult, but may require players to think more carefully about their builds than open world content. All dungeons are part of the core game.
Party size: 1 to 5 players.
- Fractal
Fractals are the original end-game content. They range in difficulty from extremely easy to extremely hard. The difficulty is based on a scale that players select when choosing a fractal. There are four tiers of fractals commonly referred to T1, T2, T3, and T4. There are also a select number of CM fractals at the T4 level that have further increased difficulty. Players must use ascended (or legendary) gear with agony infusions in order to participate in T2 and above difficulties, else they suffer damage from agony and will not survive. While dungeons may ask players to think more about their individual builds, fractals require players to consider group composition.
No expansions are required to play any fractal.
Party size: 1 to 5 players.
- Heal
Heal is a role where a player intends to primarily function as a healer and support to a party. Healers should be either a quick healer (qheal) or an alacrity healer (aheal).
- Map meta
A map meta is a series of open world events strung together usually culminating in a final event with a boss. Map metas typically cover a wide region of a map, if not the entire map, on which they take place. A typical map meta lasts for thirty minutes, some lasting more or less.
One of the first map metas that players will see is Triple Trouble or the Silverwastes.
Map metas usually require a coordinate squad of 10 or more players, often requiring 20 or more.
- Open world
Public maps/events. Most PvE content includes some amount of this. Open world content includes looking for Hero Points, Mastery Insights, completing map events, map metas, and world bosses. Any content that is not competitive and is not an instance is referred to as open world.
Party size: 1 to 50 players.
- qDPS
A qDPS, or quickness DPS, is a support DPS role that provides the quickness boon.
- Raid
A raid is a series of events and boss fights. Currently, there are eight raids. These are commonly referred to as wings and abbreviated as W1, W2, W2, etc. These numbers are associated with the raid’s release order. Each raid also has a formal name. For example, the raid called “Spirit Vale” is also known as W1.
Each raid requires ownership of a specific expansion that the raid is associated with.
- Heart of Thorns (HoT) raids include W1, W1, W3, and W4.
- Path of Fire (PoF) raids include W5, W6, and W7.
- Janthir Wilds (JW) raids include W8.
Party size: 1 to 10 players.
- Raid encounter
A raid encounter is a single boss encounter in instanced content.
Raid encounters serve as introductory content for players interested in raids. They require players to consider squad composition and organization in addition to personal builds and performance.
Party size: 1 to 10 players.
- Stack
Stacking refers to standing tightly together as a single group, usually on top of your party’s healer. In group content is is frequently recommended, and even required, to stack so that players receive boons and healing from the support players.
- Strike
A strike is a single boss encounter in instanced content. Now known as a raid encounter.
Party size: 1 to 10 players.
- World boss
World Bosses are large-scale, open world events on a set timer that rotate throughout the day. These events usually require a collective effort from ten or more players to complete within the given time limit. Upon defeating the Boss, a large chest will appear near where it fell. Interact with this to receive loot.
A world boss is distinct from a map meta in that it usually only includes one or two events.
See also map metas.