A Guide to League Lingo, Part 1: Positions and Noob Basics

I remember what it was like to jump into my first game, confident that I knew a champion or two well enough that I could hold my own in a fight.  As soon as I accepted the invite and stepped into champion select, the chat was a stream of terms that it seemed I was supposed to know--apparently I had instalocked an ADC (Ashe) when someone else already and called bot and they were threatening to ragequit unless I took her top (after all, you can get away with that stuff below level 10).

My experience didn't end there.

After being told that I needed to worry about last hitting and I was such a noob, I apparently fed the MF bot and made it nearly impossible for my team to win.  Perhaps if I'd duo-queued with one of my brothers, I could have been saved the embarrassment.

For those of you who are new to League, or maybe even some not-so-new, here is a guide to League Lingo, Part 1: Positions, Abilities, Lanes, and other Noob Basics.

NOTE: I have NOT included terms that refer to vulgar language unrelated to the game.

Abilities:

Frequently, your teammates will refer to your abilities by the keys you press to activate them.  Having a working knowledge of champions and their abilities is key to doing well in League of Legends.

Champion Types/Champions:

Assassin - These champions are known for their ability to do a massive amount of damage in a short period of time.  They capitalize most off of quick encounters, and will typically use a sort of "hit and run" method in fights.  Their primary stat depends on what their abilities use to calculate their damage.

Fighter (Bruiser) - These champions can take a little damage and aren't afraid to give plenty back.  They are known for their ability to do a decent amount of damage in an extended encounter.  Like assassins, their primary stat depends on what their abilities use to calculate their damage.

Mage - Mages rely on their abilities to do their damage, and often have skills that compliment each other.  Their primary stat is Ability Power.  While they tend to be able to do a lot of damage, they have a difficult time taking it.

Marksman (ADC) - ADC stands for Attack Damage Carry, which tells us their primary stat is Attack Damage.  They do most of their damage through basic attacking, and are easily killed by other types--however, the amount of damage they can put out can also quickly neutralize strong targets.

Support - Support champions have abilities that help out their allies in combat.  They can heal, shield, enhance, stun, or slow down targets.  They are typically most useful in supporting the marksman down in the bottom lane.

Tank - Tank champions can take a lot of damage, but also don't tend to do a lot back.  The job of a tank is to be the focal point of the enemy team so that your team can capitalize on their distraction and eliminate dangerous targets before they have a chance to turn on the rest of the team.

Positions:

Top - Top lane refers to the solo-lane along the top left side of the map.  Typical top laners are characters who have the ability to survive on their own without much help from other champions.

Mid (or Middle) - The center lane.  This is the shortest neutral area between two towers, so a champion can lane here with less fear that they will be ganked.  Typical mid laners are mage types, assassins, and occasionally ADCs.

Bot (or Bottom) - The bot lane is the duo-lane along the bottom right side of the map.  Typically, a support and an ADC lane here.

Jung (or Jungle) - This character starts in the forested areas between lanes, and kills neutral monsters to gain XP.  Junglers take the Smite summoner spell.

Noob Basics:

AD - Attack Damage, the basic stat for champions who scale off of Auto Attacks (the extra damage on the ability is colored orange).

AFK - Away From Keyboard, which means they are no longer participating actively in the match.

Back (Fountain/Recall) - To return to the base by pressing the "B" key and waiting until you get there.  Typically, if someone is encouraging you to back, they have a pretty good reason for it.

Blue Buff - One of the two single target buffs in the game.  This one reduces the time between casting abilities and helps recover mana (the blue bar) faster.

CC - Crowd Control.  This refers to abilities that slow down, stun, or move champions to their detriment.

Chase - Chasing after an opponent, usually to the disregard of one's surroundings.

Crit - A semi-random occurrence when an ability does a lot of damage.

CS (Farm) - Creep Score, also sometimes referred to as Farm.  This is measured by the number in the top right of your screen.  It's the number of minions and monsters that you personally have killed.

Def - Defend, usually said when one of your teammates is concerned for the safety of the base.

DC - Disconnect, or when a player loses connection to the match and must reconnect in order to participate.  Their characters will typically return to the base fountain.

Fed - A champion is considered fed if they have a significant gold lead over other champions.  This is apparent in one of three ways: they have a lot of kills, they have a high CS, or they do massive amounts of damage and there seems to be no apparent reason why they should be able to do that much.

Feed - How a champion gets fed--a champion "feeds", or dies repeatedly and that champion gets the credit.

FF - Forfeit, or surrender.  Despite the frequency at which your teammates may cry for a forfeit, it's really best used when there is no possible way for your team to win, but the enemy team is trying to stall out the game longer.

Flash - A summoner ability that lets them instantly teleport a short distance every five minutes.  It's typically used to escape a sticky situation.

Gank - When an enemy suddenly appears and tries to kill you, typically from the Fog of War.  Junglers operate mostly off of ganks to get kills and to help their teammates in their lanes.

Global - An ability that has the potential to cross or affect the entire map.

HP - Hit Points, or the green bar underneath your abilities.

Inhib - Inhibitor, or the circular structures behind the three towers at the edge of your base.  These inhibitors prevent the enemy team from sending very strong minions to attack your base.

KS - Kill Steal, or when a champion last hits an enemy that they apparently weren't supposed to.  Although kills best benefit champions who are responsible for doing a lot of damage, in the end a kill is a kill.

Lag - When there is a delay between your computer and the server, usually resulting in things suddenly speeding up or jumping around the screen.  If this is a frequent problem, consider turning off Netflix and Spotify while playing.

Lane - Lane refers to any one of the three lanes: top, mid, or bot.

Leash - A jungler asks for a leash if they need help killing their first monster.

MIA - Missing in Action, or the enemy has disappeared and is most likely heading to another lane.

MR - Magic Resist, a stat that reduces the amount of magical damage your champion can take.  Best for tanks and fighters.

Nexus - The building you are trying to protect, and your enemy's Nexus is the building you're trying to destroy.  Doing this wins the game.

Noob - New player.  Usually combined with complaints about the unskilled nature of other players.

OOM - Out of Mana, which means the character will be unable to do much to help you out if you decide to attack an enemy.

Push - To kill minions in a lane and push back toward their base.

Rage - To get very upset and succumb to immature behavior.

Red Buff - Like Blue Buff, a single target buff that can be obtained from killing a special minion in the jungle.  It increases the damage output of a champion.

Squishy - A champion who can't take much damage without dying.

Teamfight - A fight that usually involves all team members of both fights.  Team fights are usually the deciding factor in a match.

Tower Dive - Pursuing an enemy into the range of a tower, which guarantees that you'll take damage from the turret.  It's important to make sure you can take the damage and escape if you're going to tower dive.

Troll - Someone who has no intention to help out the team, and instead spends their time commenting on how "noob" everyone else is while they wait for the game to end.  They typically have nothing better to do on a Saturday night than play a game badly on purpose.

Ult (Ulti) - Ultimate ability, or your "R" ability.  Typically it has a longer cooldown than your other abilities, but it also does significantly more damage.  Knowing when and when not to use your ultimate can make the difference in a teamfight.